IDENTITY: EIGHT

ALEX POV

Three days have passed since the incident. Lola Vemine has recovered and is doing well. I never expected Lola to bounce back to normal so quickly. Today's elderly are more vulnerable to shocks, but Lola Vemine seemed an exception. Her usual good vibes are palpable once again. She even cooked us breakfast when she learned that we were the ones who saved her. But something still bothered me.

"How did she not get hit?" I asked Sky. I immediately looked at him, and I first noticed the band-aid on his temple.

"Are you injured?" I asked in surprise, then looked back in front of him. He didn't answer immediately, as if searching for the perfect excuse to cover up the truth behind his wound.

"It's just a disgusting pimple. It's not that bad." A pimple? Does he even get pimples on that kind of face? "By the way, it's my first day of school...maybe you could tour me around?" he requested.

Is he a child? Doesn't he know how to use a map?

"Sure," I replied and refocused on the path. It's the end of Maica's and my suspension, but sadly, I won't be able to go to school with her or see her today. Fortunately, Sky is here; at least I have someone to talk to.

Wait, can I really talk to him? He's even quieter than me.

"Isn't he Maica's friend?" I heard a girl ask from behind us.

"Yes, he is. He moves on so quickly. He has a new friend again," his friend replied.

"Do you know that he's cursed?" one accused.

"Really?"

"They say something bad will happen to you if you become friends with him. That's why he doesn't have parents anymore because they died because of him."

"How frightening."

"Poor Maica. She got involved."

"Even Kuya is more unfortunate," she pointed to Sky. "I'm sure he'll be the next to disappear."

I'm already used to it. Being called cursed? Unlucky? A jinx? Whatever. It doesn't bother me. But dragging Maica into it? That's a different story. It hurts. It hurts so much. It's like I regret agreeing to be friends with her.

"Don't listen to them. You know within yourself that you're not the reason for Maica's disappearance. Always remember that," Sky suddenly said, surprising me. I just smiled and followed what he said. I don't know, but even with his personality, I feel his sincerity when he speaks.

You're getting giddy again! Flirt!

******

"Good morning, class! Today, we're going to have a new member of our class. Come in, Mister," our homeroom teacher invited, and Sky entered the room without emotion. I immediately glanced at my female classmates, silently squealing and trying to contain their excitement.

Tsk. This guy is really handsome!

"I'm Sky Ace Santos-"

Suddenly, my head started ache, and I quickly closed my eyes and bowed. My ears rang, and unknown images flashed in my mind, like memories I couldn't recall. The pain was bearable, but it was enough to make me cry, although I didn't want to.

I could hear faint voices calling my name, but I didn't care because of the pain I was feeling. I instinctively gripped the edge of my desk and tightened it. I wanted to apply force to alleviate the pain, but it didn't work. I wanted to shout, but it wasn't possible. They might think that -

"Alex!" Sky shouted, and the pain suddenly disappeared, along with my closed eyes. I was catching my breath, and I could feel the beads of sweat on my entire face. I stared blankly at my desk, watching my sweat drop onto it. "Alex, are you okay?" Sky called me again, so I slowly looked at him. This time, I could literally see an emotion. It was the same as that night when we heard a gunshot.

"Alex?"

"I-I'm fine," I replied and composed myself. I grabbed my handkerchief and wiped away the profuse sweat. As I wiped my sweat, I felt like many eyes were staring at me. And so, I knew that our classmates were already looking at us—even our teacher. I just lowered my head and secretly endured the embarrassment they were giving me.

"Are you sure?" the young man assured.

"Yes, Sky," I answered.

"No," he shook his head. "You're not okay. Sir?"

"No, Sky, plea—," and my vision started to blur, and everything went black.

******

This smell. This familiar smell.

I found myself, eyes closed, in this unknown place I'm at. It seemed that I was floating, but I couldn't feel any cold or any sensation of water that I thought caused my body to float. No air pressure kept me in mid-air. I couldn't feel anything except for myself. I could feel my clothes, but other than that, I couldn't feel anything.

Where am I, by the way?

"Alex?" a female voice called me, snapping me back. I thought I would see something when I opened my eyes, but it still seemed like I had them closed. Everything here was so pitch black. It felt like I was in a black hole where no light existed.

"Alex?" There was that voice again, but this time, it was less echoey. It seemed vivid and closer. Once again, I caught a whiff of a familiar scent. "Alex?"

"Who's there?"

"Don't you remember me?" it asked, and I was surprised when I felt its breath on my ear. I started to get goosebumps, and that's when I realized it wasn't a woman but a child.

"Who are you?" I shouted, and all I heard in response was the child's laughter.

"You're exaggerating, Alex," it replied, and suddenly, the surroundings brightened, prompting me to cover my eyes. After a while, I slowly removed my hand and looked around. It seemed like I was in a room painted entirely white. But I couldn't see anyone. Not a single person. "Looking for me?" it whispered, making me turn my head to the left where its voice came from. But I saw nothing.

"Alex," it called again, and judging by where it came from, I could tell it was right in front of me. When I looked, a young boy stood just a few meters away. But what caught my attention more was the emotion on his face. I could feel his rage through his eyes as if he harbored resentment towards me.

Fear suddenly gripped me, afraid of what he might do. But confusion took over. Confused about why I was there or who he was.

"You really don't remember me?" he asked with his adorable yet threatening voice.

"No-no."

"Never mind. Let's just get into business."

Suddenly, the boy disappeared, and what followed was a powerful knee that hit my stomach, causing my eyes to widen in pain and shock. I fell to the floor, and the boy immediately appeared above me, choking me. I could barely breathe, and my body wouldn't respond. I couldn't move anything except my eyes and mouth. I took another glance at the boy, and this time, I was way more scared than before.

He was wearing an evil smile as if he enjoyed killing me. The determination and desire to kill me emanated from him. The stench of murder erupted from his very body.

"You know? I can kill you right now, but no," he threatened. As he said the word "no," he immediately released me but still sat on my chest. I still couldn't move my arms or my legs, so all I could do was lie there. "You know why? Because I was just a part of you. If you die, I'll die too. And I just can't die just by killing a coward like you. That would be shameful."

"Wh-Who are you?" I managed to ask, although my throat still hurt from being choked.

"I am you. Or let's just say... you are me." And he let out another irritating laugh, but it was instantly wiped off. "I was locked up for six months because of that damn old hag who injected you with some kind of a drug. But thanks to this friend of yours, I'm finally free."

Friend of mine? Who?

"Sky... am I right?" Sky? Why him? "Another dumb look. Sky and you are the same. You both were given extraordinary abilities that rarely man possesses. What extraordinary abilities is he talking about? "Fine!"

Suddenly, I felt something forming behind me, soon realizing it was a chair. Now I was seated, and the boy reappeared in front of me, the one who nearly killed me a while ago. I thought I could move now, but I was wrong.

"Alex," the boy called. "You are not an ordinary human." A holographic image appeared in front of me, showing a baby inside a tube filled with liquid. Attached to his head were wires connected to a device, which I believed was called an Electroencephalogram (EEG), that reads and records brainwaves transcribed into readable data or information. "You are a product of modern science and discovery. Along with you, there are fifty more of different ages and statuses, but only you passed the experiments. By merging the power of technology and the philosophical concept of the human brain, they successfully unlocked the mysteries hidden within our mental capabilities."

Experiments? Me? I was born in a lab with no actual parents.

"Want to know what your capabilities are?" More holograms appeared, and each displayed a boy doing inhuman things. I soon realized that the child shown in the hologram was the same boy before me. "You can do things that a normal human can't do. However..."

Now, all the holograms showed the same boy being unconscious. "Your body is weak then. Scientists theorized that it was just a normal effect. The brain waves you released every time you used your abilities were too much for your body to handle since you were just a kid. So, they decided to wait for you until you reached adulthood to conduct another experiment. But something happened."

The hologram changed again. This time, the facilities were attacked by some kind of a group of soldiers, and everyone was killed except for me, a boy, an adult, and a couple. "The government knew about the project and killed everyone except you and the other four."

"I didn't know about this," I said finally.

"It's because you never wanted to."

"But why can't I remember? All of that?"

"I don't know. The last thing I knew is that, after you escaped along with the others, I was locked up."

Silence filled the entire room. I couldn't seem to process all the things the child told me just now. And it seemed challenging to believe.

"So, why are you trying to kill me?"

"It's because you're weak! And I never want to die because of a weakling like you?"

"Is that all? Your reason is so shallow. Being weak is not something to be ashamed of. Being weak is not something you should underestimate! Weak defines strong! Weak justifies power. And you won't know that you're strong if you never tried being weak," I explained. I didn't know why I was saying this, but it was something that I needed to express, especially for him. If he's a part of me, then he's my responsibility. "We should work together if you don't want to die inside a weak body. Help me to be strong. Help me gain power. Help me bring justice to those who need it."

******

SKY POV

I was sitting on a chair beside Alex, silently sleeping after he collapsed earlier. He's been sleeping for almost 2 hours now, and it seems he has no intention of waking up. Luckily, I had my book, keeping me from boredom while waiting.

The screeching bed springs caught my ears, stopping me from reading. Slowly, I lowered the book, and there in front of me was Alex, who had just woken up. He was looking at me, and I sensed an eagerness to know something from him. It's the kind of look that suggests he wants to learn something from me, and it seems I know what it is.

"Sky?" he called.

"Yes?"

Alex stared at me as if he was reading my face while I, in turn, looked at him, trying to understand what he was thinking. "What are you?"