Awaken Into a New World

Chapter 19: Troubled Heart

Alecia stood, locking eyes on Virgil. Just then, Joel's voice echoed as he called Kellan's name from down the passage.

"Where is she?" Joel said in panic as he entered the room.

Alecia stepped to the side, closing her eyes.

"No!" he cried out with a look of despair in his eyes. 

He walked passed Alecia, eyes drawn to the floor. 

"Kellan?" he muttered, lips trembling.

Joel dropped to his knees and placed his hands on both sides of her face, looking into Kellan's lifeless eyes.

"No. . ." He began to cry uncontrollably as he sat her up and wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't worry, I'm here. Daddy's here now," he murmured, crying while rocking back and forth. 

He cried over his daughter's shoulder, his cries muffled by her hair. 

"Tell me, what happened?" Virgil asked quietly while looking at Alecia. She opened her eyes and looked at Virgil, her pupils still glowing. 

"Did you do this?" he said with a stern look. "Or was it them?"

He stepped forward. Alecia drew her blade to him, slight anger in her eyes. 

"Stay away from me, Virgil," she said calmly.

Virgil stepped back, his eyes drawn to the blade. 

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't want to hurt you either."

"We can talk about this. We can fix this." 

"No." She shook her head. "No one can fix this."

She looked at the floor for a moment before turning to him. "I don't belong here. There's no one there for me, no friends, no family."

She lowered lower her blade as Virgil slowly stepped forward. 

"That's not true, Alecia," he said, a saddened look in his eyes. "I'm here for you. I-"

Alecia drew her blade to him. "No. It's the best we part ways."

Virgil looked at the floor, nodding. She walked past him, her blade still drawn.

"You know I would never hurt you," he said, looking at the blade and back at her. 

"It isn't you I'm worried about," Alecia said, stepping back into the passage. "Goodbye, Virgil." 

Diana walked to Joel who was still weeping for his daughter. She knelt down beside him, her hand on his one shoulder. Virgil turned to look at all the dead bodies on the ground, both the hunters and the residents. 

"She's gone," Diana whispered.

"If only you have let me," he said with a sniff. "She would still be-"

Joel cried before finishing his sentence. Diana patted his back and looked at Virgil. Virgil sighed and turns around to face the passage where Alecia ran off to.

-

In the dead-end alleyway, the drain's lid slid off, and Alecia climbed out. She stood and caught her breath while looking at the hole and turning her gaze to the alleyway. She exited, and all she saw were dead bodies everywhere, which stretched as far as the pavement. The bodies of the men and women lay motionless in pools of their own blood.

She moved among the bodies, carefully taking her steps between them until she reached the pavement, walking down the street of the city. 

Alecia traversed on the decimated city for a whole hour. In the broad road, as she walked out of nowhere, so many thoughts went through her mind. The ground she strode upon helped her ponder her thoughts more clearly. 

She failed to save Kellan, and all those people, they died because of her stubbornness.

Alecia constantly thought to herself, 'What if I said yes? Would Kellan still be alive? Would I be a monster like them?'

She stopped and turned her gaze to the window of a building. Walking towards it, she watched as her reflection came into view. And what she saw was truly horrifying. A bloodied killer-the same person she tried to prevent herself from becoming; the same person she was accused of being. 

She looked down near her feet to see a small brick. Picking it up the brick, with a shout of anger, she threw it through the window which smashed it into pieces. The blue glow from her eye pupils faded away as she gave a downcast look and sighed.

She continued trudging on the road. Where she was headed, she didn't know.

Moments went by, her feet felt heavy, the sole of her boots kicked the ash on the ground. Each exhausting step she took, the dry blood on her skin began to c***k and the day had long since gone to evening. Alecia walked into an open area, with buildings spread out around her. She collapsed to her knees and rested on her hands. Her hair hung on each side of her face. A droplet of sweat formed on the tip of her nose and fell in the ash as it penetrated through it. No, it wasn't sweat but a drop of her tears. 

Alecia cried quietly as she took handfuls of ash. 

"Why?" she whispered sorrowfully. The ash around her began to ascend.

She straightened and raised her head upwards.

"Why?" she screamed out in anger as blue flames erupted from her body, sweeping a cloud of ash away. Alecia slowly looked up in the heavens, her pupils shining brighter than ever.

"Why did you leave me here to die?" Her eyes flickered in thought. "Why have you left me here in a world filled with hateful, murderous people? What have I done wrong?"

She looked down and gazed at the sky once more. "Mother, after so many years I have been away from you, why haven't you come searching for me? I remember you now, I remember feeling safe in your care. Have you forgotten me? Please, if I did something wrong, if this is punishment, forgive me. Come for me."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. 

"I beg of you." She tried to keep herself from crying. "I don't belong here."

She lowered her gazes and closed her eyes which squeezed out another tear.

"If you don't come back for me," she opens her eyes, her pupils having a dim glow, "then I understand."

She looked at the blade on the floor near her and gazed ahead. "There's no turning back for what I have done. I understand that now. I beg of your forgiveness, please forgive what I've done."

Alecia heard her name being called by a man's voice. Familiar. She calmly looked behind herself and saw Virgil who was shielding his eyes from the ash cloud that surrounded her. Frowning, she took the blade in her hand and stood.

"What are you doing here? Why did you follow me, Virgil?" She drew her blade forward.

"Wow," he said, twitching his lips into a smile. "That looks beautiful."

He clenched his jaw and swallowed. "What are you doing?"

"Why do you even care?"

"Because. . . we don't leave each other," he said, slowly stepping, his one hand drawn to her. 

"Don't see what I am?" She took one quick step towards him, blue flames around her surging more violently. "Don't you know what I've done?"

Virgil shielded his eyes from its brightness. "What happened back there wasn't your fault."

"I failed them!" Her hand with the blade trembled. "It was my fault Kellan died!"

He shook his head, taking another step forward. "No, it was no one's fault. You were the victim just as much as she was."

Alecia kept muttering 'no' and shaking her head. 

"Even if that was the case, look at me." She watched her hand as flames constantly emitted from it. 

"Look at what I am." She looked at him. "I don't belong in this world."

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does!" Her eyes widened. "Everything here, it's all because of me. I did this, I was the one responsible for this world's ruination!"

"Now that's the thing, Alecia, I was born into this. I know very little of how the world was."

"What makes you think that justifies the things I've done?"

"Because it's in the past, Alecia. It's all in the past."

Alecia shook her head.

"For the past few days, I've been trying to remember the past!" She took a step back. "And your grandfather did little to help me with that."

"Alecia," he muttered with a reasonable tone. "If there's any hope of getting back your memory, we can help you as much as we can."

Alecia lowered her blade. 

"Why?" she said sorrowfully as her pupils dimmed. "I don't deserve any help. I don't deserve to be treated with kindness. What I do deserve is to die."

For a moment the flames around her ceased and reformed.

"No, you don't deserve to die. I know you deserve kindness just as much as anyone else. You're what you are now, and whatever person you were before was gone."

Alecia's eyes glistened. "Why're you doing this to me?"

"I'll tell you why." He took a step near her. "You're our friend."

Her eyes widened as a tear fell down her cheek. 

"We're not only your friend, we're family."

Alecia lowered her blade to her side and dropped it. Virgil walked in his arms towards her. She stepped to him, as the flames faded. Her knees felt weak as she rested her head on his chest and cried. Virgil wrapped his arms around her, and both of them fell to their knees. Just then, the flames around her ceased as the ash cloud calmed.

Alecia's soft cries were muffled from Virgil's jacket. He stared blankly into the distance as he held her in his arms, his hand gently rubbing her back. She wrapped her arms around him as well. 

For a long while, they held each other. Silence filled the night and only sound of her quiet breathing was heard. She opened her teary eyes and blinked them. 

"Thank you, Virgil." She held him closer.

Virgil gently formed a smile. "I'll always be here for you, Alecia."

He then closed his eyes.