CHAPTER 20 : SECOND CHANCE

Khairul was stabbed by several thorns from the black wall and pushed against it. He felt another stab in both thighs and knees from behind."Arrghh!" Khairul howled in pain as blood flowed from his wounds. Mikael conjured an axe and walked toward Khairul with a blank expression."I'm going to kill every one of you here, one by one. I see your abilities; when you're grouped together, you're dangerous." Mikael said. Khairul glared at him, trying to endure the pain."Your daughter... is gone!" Khairul shouted, and Mikael's face twisted in anger as he jumped at Khairul, raising the axe.Outside the wall, Khalid released his cannon attack, and Kyoko struck with her lightning power, but neither of their powers could penetrate the wall."What can we do?" Khalid sighed."My power... can't go through that wall either," Mei said, trying to use her Telepathy but unable to enter the minds of anyone behind the wall.Other police officers attempted to break down the wall with their ram, but it had no effect."Let's try using C4 instead," Rose suggested."Okay, ma'am!" replied an officer who rushed toward their police car with two others.Back inside the situation within the wall, Mikael approached Khairul with the axe aimed at Khairul's neck. Suddenly, from behind, Stray Farah struck Mikael, sending him crashing against the black wall."It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Kill them all!" Stray Farah woke up again, her human eyes gone, replaced by reptilian ones. Khairul forced himself free from the thorns piercing him. Stray Farah swung her arm, and Khairul rolled aside to dodge the attack."Farah! You're safe now; Papa is here!" Mikael called out, but Stray Farah continued to attack him, punching Mikael again and forcing him against the wall."F-Farah..." Mikael tried to smile at Stray Farah. Khairul jumped and turned, slicing Stray Farah's left arm that held Mikael against the wall."I told you! She's gone!" Khairul said. Mikael gritted his teeth and pushed Khairul away from him using the black liquid."Don't touch my daughter!" Mikael yelled."Kuaaargghhh!" Stray Farah unleashed a sound wave attack toward both of them, and Khairul was dragged along the floor, covering his ears, as was Mikael, but he strengthened his resolve to move toward Stray Farah."Farah..." Mikael stepped forward, one step at a time.This old man. He won't listen to me...Damn it. What am I supposed to do now?The sound wave attack stopped. Khairul drew his blades again. Mikael was walking toward Stray Farah, arms open, and the creature halted, merely gazing at Mikael."Pa... pa...""Yes... This is Papa. Do you want to go home? Let's go home, dear..." Mikael said, and Khairul froze, hearing Stray Farah call Mikael.Both of Stray Farah's hands moved toward Mikael.Is it possible? She still—Stray Farah slammed Mikael to the ground with great force, causing a violent tremor, and Khairul's eyes widened in shock.Idiot!Khairul ran quickly toward Stray Farah, who lifted her hand, revealing Mikael in a small crater, his head bleeding and his right arm clearly broken.Stray Farah focused her attack on Khairul instead, but he managed to dodge all her strikes and jumped to stab Stray Farah's left eye."Kuuuaaaarrghhh!" Stray Farah howled and struggled, and Khairul stabbed the side of Stray Farah's face to hold on to her.Khairul thought of a way to kill her; the scaly parts were very hard, but there were areas that were still unscaled. I'll blind her first... to make it easier to fight her later—Before Khairul could finish strategizing, a black ring struck him down from Farah's face and pushed him until he collided with the wall."You!" Khairul gasped. Mikael held him there, binding both of Khairul's hands with black liquid."D-Don't... hurt her again..." Mikael said."Don't you realize yet? She's gone! Farah... is gone! She's gone, old man! You're going to kill us both!" Khairul yelled. Stray Farah continued to roar and thrash about; the injuries Khairul had inflicted on her weren't healing quickly."I-I will not give up... on her," Mikael slowly tried to stand, even though his legs were weak and trembling."Let her go, old man! That's how to save her! Letting her live now will only make her hurt more people... Is that what your daughter wants? To remain a monster?!""Please... don't... take... anything from me again... Please..." Mikael cried, his hands shaking as the wounds on Stray Farah's face began to heal."You can't turn back time; you have to accept it, whether you're right or wrong. Old man, if you love her, let your daughter go. Your actions right now, in this moment! That's what matters!" Khairul retorted. Finally, Mikael released Khairul, and the black liquid that covered his entire body absorbed back into the shrinking black ring. Khairul landed on the ground and prepared himself to attack Stray Farah.Mikael clung to the black ring he had created. Memories of his life with his family played in his mind—meeting Syakila when they were young, their wedding, finding out Syakila was pregnant, Farah's birth, and the moment Farah's tiny hand touched his fingertip.Forgive me, Farah.A sickle formed from Mikael's black ring, and he swung it swiftly toward Stray Farah's neck, the creature staring directly into his eyes.If only we had a little more time...Papa should have tried harder.The black wall that enclosed Khairul and Mikael collapsed, the police officers who had just set up the C4 bomb paused in their tracks. Khalid and Kyoko rushed forward to reach Khairul."Old man..." Khairul was at a loss for words. Mikael embraced Stray Farah's head, blood splattered across his vest and face."Please let me bury my daughter... Somewhere no one will find her body. Don't let her body be made into an experiment," Mikael pleaded as Khalid and Kyoko arrived and heard his request."We can help," Khalid said.Rose and Shaurya approached them as well, and Khairul turned to them. Rose sighed deeply."Get out of here quickly, take Mikael with you," Rose ordered."Yes, that's our plan now," Khalid replied."Be prepared to hear my complaints." Rose frowned, and Khairul just gave a bitter smile as the other HOPE members moved quickly, with Chyou teleporting Stray Farah's body away."What are we going to say to cover this up, Sister Rose?" Shaurya asked."I'll think of something later," Rose sighed, glancing back at the police officers approaching them.The next day..."Damn it!" Mikael shouted, unleashing a large amount of black liquid toward Sui'ra, a small smile fixed on Sui'ra's face, seemingly enjoying Mikael's reaction."My daughter's life! My wife! They are not for your alien experiments!" He conjured an axe again and tried to decapitate Sui'ra, but the blade of the axe didn't penetrate Sui'ra's neck at all."Enough, Mikael. We've tried to kill him, but it's useless..." Kyoko admonished, and Mikael gritted his teeth, slowly stepping back."Alright... I've told you everything you need to know about the Mutant Cell and Zoturia. You can come at any time to try to kill me if you think you're strong enough. Don't bore me," Sui'ra waved his hand with a smile, closing his eyes.Mikael, Kyoko, and Khalid finally left the abandoned house where Sui'ra was. As they walked through the forest, Mikael paused briefly at a grave nearby, its headstone black, created from Mikael's powers."Are you sure... no one will find her here?" Mikael asked."No one knows this place except us. It's hidden, so yes, no one will find her," Khalid replied. Mikael knelt down and gently stroked the headstone with a small smile."Papa will come to visit Farah, okay... I'm leaving now," Mikael said softly, and Khalid and Kyoko just watched him."I'm sorry... I wasn't very useful yesterday," Nasuha said from the bed, and Khairul gave a small smile. They were both in the treatment room where they had been earlier at Rose's house."You did your best. That's enough," Khairul said."No, I didn't do enough. If I had been more careful, I wouldn't have gotten caught like that. Khairul, you fought the most. Your wounds are worse than mine... You faced harder things than I did." Nasuha held Khairul's hand tightly, the smile on Khairul's face faded, and he exhaled deeply."All our efforts and we still failed to save her. It feels really awful, look at Mei; she hasn't talked to anyone since yesterday. She worked the hardest to save Farah," Khairul replied."Nasuha." The door opened, and Nasuha immediately released Khairul's hand. They both turned toward the door. Ehsan, looking worried, entered the treatment room and went straight to his daughter."I can't believe you had the guts to hide all this from the PDRM all this time... I don't know whether you're brave or foolish, Rose," Mikael said, and Rose looked at him with a bitter smile."Well, now you're the same; you have to hide and be my secret too.""There are only two options now, be a government experiment or join this superhero group," Mikael sighed."You can trust us. I'm giving you my full trust," Khalid said as the three of them were in the living room of Rose's house."I want to honor my family. This power, to prevent the same tragedy from happening again. I will eradicate as many Strays as possible. Save them and try to end this vicious cycle," Mikael looked at his palm."We will provide training so you can fully master your mutant powers," Khalid offered."Yes... and I apologize. I hurt all of you, especially that kid Khairul. Almost killed him," Mikael said."Khairul is actually soft-hearted; just talk to him nicely and he will forgive you. We all understand your situation... We won't punish you, Mikael," Khalid replied, and Mikael nodded in understanding.You can't turn back time.But right now is a second chance to do something right, something meaningful."Sister..." Chyou called to Mei, who looked gloomy at the dining table. Mei turned slowly toward her brother.Chyou smiled while showing the drink and snacks he brought, and Mei lifted her face slightly and smiled a little as well.That's what I've learned in this past month.This power I have received is a curse, my curse. If I fail to control it, it will control me.Ehsan was talking to Nasuha, looking anxious and worried. Nasuha seemed disturbed by what he was saying. Khairul watched them through the glass in the treatment room door but couldn't hear what they were discussing.Out there, something much bigger was happening. It felt small compared to what we were facing, even though it seemed significant to us.But that doesn't mean anything now...I can only reach what I can reach."Ah?""Oh?"Khairul ran into Mikael behind Rose's house. He was smoking, with smoke billowing from his nose and mouth."Uhm, hey," Khairul greeted."Ah... yeah..." Mikael dropped the cigarette butt and stomped on it. Khairul continued on his way, carrying a basket.Khairul lifted his clothes hanging on the line at the back of Rose's house. Mikael just watched and then took out another cigarette."You... and almost all the HOPE members, you're all just kids. And I hurt you, tried to kill you. I'm sorry," Mikael said while lighting his cigarette, and Khairul turned back to him."You're just grieving, old man. I understand you.""Hah... You're all just too nice and understanding.""Call me Mikael... not 'old man,' I'm not that old.""You're the oldest here; I call you 'old man' as payment for how many times you stabbed me. Thankfully, we're mutants, and our injuries heal quickly; otherwise, I wouldn't forgive you so easily," Khairul teased, making Mikael chuckle a little as he looked at his right hand, which had been broken before."That's true; it's quite amazing how quickly our bodies heal."Khairul sat beside Mikael, and they both gazed at the sky, which had turned orange. Suddenly, Mikael's eyes welled up, and a tear rolled down his cheek."I... did the right thing, didn't I? Killing my own daughter.""You didn't kill her; you saved her, old man.""I know that, but I still can't forgive myself." Mikael's voice grew hoarse. Khairul remembered his mother and then his father, closing his eyes."I still can't forgive myself either...""Huh?" Mikael turned to Khairul."But I want to try... or someone will be sad later," Khairul said with a smile.Ehsan was helping Nasuha walk slowly toward the dining table, where Rose, Shaurya, and Khalid were sitting."Let's make our second chance better, old man."Food was already served by Shaurya, and Khairul and Mikael appeared, both sitting together."Tch... I'm such pathetic adult, crying like this in front of a kid like you."