Shades of Wolves

Chapter 11: The Melody of Blood

Chapter 11: The Melody of Blood

November 12th, 2100.

It is a new day now. I am chilling with a song. Usually, with nights like this, the pain often wakes up and rises up strongly. And that’s when our hearts need to play beautiful tunes.

I have composed a couple of good parts for the songs. I love those deaths occurred here so damn much. I can see their blood are turning into the music notes. Thumping, thumping… The redder it got and the more it pouring out from their bodies, the stronger and the higher my hands and brain became.

I came here for that reason. It's not bad to be the host of this game. Malvis says that those who cooperate with WIC will not die, unless…

What if I wrote music based on my death?

Peccinini

Day 2. 6am. 1 hour before the first qualifying round.

“Hoa… how are you doing?”

Mahoney's constant knocking on the door woke Hoa, who was dozing on the table. She was surrounded by countless sheets of paper that were heavily crumpled into tons of balls lying everywhere on the wooden floor. On the table, bunches of paper with numbers and calculations were found.

Hoa dragged her heavy body to the door. If she didn't come out, Mahoney might even smash it.

“Coming”, Hoa pushed the handle down and went back inside to lay down on the bed. Her body ached as hell from sitting for God knew how many hours in a chair.

“Whoa, this is the first time in 7 years that I see you being so diligent!” Mahoney wasn't worried. On the contrary she was a bit surprised.

"What is this?" Mahoney held a piece of paper on it. It was filled with triangles along with all the formulas below. She wondered what could be troubling her friend.

"Some kind of code, I can't decipher it!" Hoa had her head down on the blanket. Her hair was messy as if she just came home from some wild party.

“You will figure out in no time. I am sure of it. Ain’t you a genius?” Mahoney smiled softly. But when their eyes met, she knew she'd made a mistake. That word was actually really a big wound to Hoa.

Hoa pet on her friend's arm as if to reassure Mahoney that it was not her fault. Hoa suddenly remembered something. She got out of bed and handed her best friend a piece of paper and a pencil.

“Keep it, and write down the key word for each question.”

Hoa put her hand on Mahoney's shoulder and squeezed it, telling her to remember it carefully. She then went to the bathroom to prepare herself a bit.

By the time they got to the exam room, there were only 15 minutes left until the next twenty questions. The bulletin board was flashing with boxes of numbers. Hoa looked up at it. The seating order had changed. She was no longer sitting with Sammul, but another person, number 056. Both Mahoney and Sammul were seated away from her.

“Let’s go”

When Hoa got to her seat, those chairs beside her were already filled. The guy had white skin, flowing chestnut hair, a high nose, and deep eye sockets. His look wasn't brighter than Sammul at all, by the way. The man was wearing a brown sweater, long black pants, and shiny leather shoes. His eyes were half-lidded. His head was swaying slightly back and forth, probably in tune with the music from the headset he was wearing. Were there still people using this type of antique, for real? His headset must have been 30 years old, even though it did not look as junk.

"Hey there. I'm Peccinini!"

When Hoa sat down, he immediately opened his eyes. A pair of beautiful blue eyes looked at her. They looked like a lake in autumn, shivering with light.

“I am Hoa.” She also shook his hands.

"Do you like listening to music?" A silly question, but okay.

“I am a musician…”

Hoa was about to ask what genre he liked. But when he added the latter, it left her speechless. She could not ask anymore. She kind of did not know how to deal with that information to begin with.

“I compose music made of painful deaths. If you die, I'll be honored to turn your blood into my notes"

Peccinini was cheerful and happy when he mentioned his hobby, his personal joy. His smile was warm, which was so much different from and not really matching with the strangely weird venomous words he had just uttered.

Hoa put on a fake smile to cut off this awkward conversation between them. She then turned her head back where it’s supposed to be to focus on the screen. The examiner appeared, but he also said nothing beside announcing that the next 20 sentences would begin now.

“What is the largest magnitude of earthquakes that has ever been recorded in human history? A, B, C, D?”

A historical and geographical question. It was not like everyone would have that knowledge. It required the players to read a lot of documents as well as pay attention to the news. Because in the past 50 years, there had been super strong earthquakes but none of them had surpassed the 9.5 magnitude earthquake in Chile in 1960. The level of the question was a hundred times more difficult than the first 20 questions.

Hoa could easily hear the whispers slowly filled the room. Everyone's face was turning darker. It was almost as confusing and surprised Hoa had been when she saw that ‘1 + 1’ question. Hoa looked over at Peccinini. He was still carelessly drawing musical notes outside the answer area. He did not fill in anything either.

“I don’t fill it out because I don’t know the answers”, he shrugged.

He looked at Hoa. He tried to make a friendly expression but she found it a bit cunning. Perhaps, the vibe was even from the previous statement. Hoa did not have much good feelings towards the man. The musician wrote his music based on deaths. Then how sad must his music be, how empathetic his mind must be to filter out the melancholy melodies. It's really impossible to tell if his heart was made of flesh or steel.

“Question number two: What two acids does aqua regia can dissolve gold? The answer is A, B, C, D.”

Another not so easy question. It was a far different field than before. Although it was not advanced knowledge, it was ready to take down dozens of people.

Peccinini looked at her with an amused look.

“I can hear your blood throbbing and thumping through the tubes. It's beautiful. If you die, I'll make such a great piece of music."

"I won't die!" Hoa affirmed. Each word was steely.

"I hope so. I still want to hear more of its melody.”

He uttered that sentence before turning all of his attention to her. He did not bother to even look at the electronic board anymore. Wasn’t he afraid of being eliminated? Or did this Peccinini man realize that those questions were not actually the thing everyone was supposed to look for the answer from? Was there any chance that he also discovered the hidden secret behind all of this the way Sammul and she did?

“Don't worry, I can feel the touch pad just like… him.” Peccinini glared at Sammul over there.

“Who wrote the Symphony No. 5 in C minor (Destiny)? A, B, C, D?”

Hoa was a little hesitant. She put her hand on her chin in thoughts. She must have read about this musician's biography before. Musician, musician, Hoa turned around to relax her mind a little. Unexpectedly, she met Peccinini's blue eyes. She noticed that Peccinini was looking at her with an amused face.

“It's Mozart. The answer is C!”

"Oh. Really?"

"Definitely!"

“….”

Peccinini gave a thumbs up as if he was as sure as fact. Hoa also did the same as him, just the opposite.

“Is Mozart the deaf one?”

Peccinini could not hide his excitement when he heard the question of the girl next to him. She was not that simple if she knew the answer. In the first two questions, he had heard that her heart had skipped a beat for a few seconds when the test had showed up, then the blood had returned to its normality. She had not been panicked, probably just surprised by the sudden change in the question types from yesterday.

"I'm sorry, it's Beethoven!"

Hoa glanced at him with her annoyed set of eyes. This guy was so unbelievable. The music he made was probably bullshit to one’s ears. That could be why he came in here and used himself as a bet.

Twenty sentences had passed, finally. Hoa could hear the slam noise on the tables, the sound of cursing from the players. Some people even ran to neighboring tables to get answers, causing the room to be quite chaotic. To all of that, the supervisor just calmly sipped his coffee. This looked more like a silent confirm that her and Sammul's deduction had a high chance to be the actual case here.

…………….

At the WIC canteen,

Hoa and Mahoney sat at the same table. While Mahoney was enjoying a hot pancake, Hoa focused on her calculations.

Another shadow blocked them again. The man in front of them scanned his eyes through the numbers below. They were like flying dragons and dancing phoenixes in his mind. They looked quite interesting, to be honest, although it was not his major of talent.

“May I sit here?” Peccinini asked Mahoney. It seemed like he would rather sit next to this cute girl.

"Yeah. You may. Have a seat" Mahoney moved to the side a bit. Hoa previously had told her about a musician who liked to compose based on death. He was quite interesting to her, though. Her brother had been a music lover after all.

“I am Mahoney, her friend”

"Are you two close?” Asked the man.

“A lot. We have been together since elementary school” Mahoney replied.

“Then if you die and your blood splashes on her face, it will be spectacular to see that.” Puccinini sucked his coke from the straw while talking excitedly.

Hoa did not respond. She would rather to stay silent. This guy was pretty full of crap. Somehow, Mahoney found him interesting.

“If that day comes, will you play an oration song for me?” Mahoney proposed with a beaming face.

"Of course!" Peccinini hooked his pinky finger with hers. Hoa found this whole situation was strange. Should she cry or should she cry? They had only known each other for a few minutes. And there they were, making each other’s promises.

"Hey!"

"Hey!” Pecccinini called out towards Hoa.

"I'm busy." Hoa didn't look up at him.

"She’s in a difficult situation. When she's focused, she'll be very focused, like as much as she can." Mahoney explained on her friend’s behalf.

“I know how to solve it!”

Hoa raised her head up. She was completely found this guy not trustworthy at all with what he had just said. Music and mathematics were totally two different fields. They were quite far apart. Although in some respects, it was safe to say that everything had something in common.

“Cut the crap! I won’t believe in a deaf Mozart anymore!" Hoa sniffed.

“You are stuck at the end. Even though you know that your direction is not wrong, but still…" Peccinini said with a so-so expression. It was not like he’s trying to pull out a joke anymore.

Hoa put down the pen. She looked at him for the hint.

“Eat some pancakes and listen to a bit of music.” Peccinini pushed the plate of cakes which she had neglected earlier towards her. He then placed a thumbstick-sized sticker in front of Hoa. It was a super-convenient record player that could be integrated with a multitude of devices, but nonetheless it was more than a decade old kind of model.

“Is this the answer? Then thank you!" Hoa laughed. She also put away the papers and pen. Whatever it was, she could always solve the puzzle later tonight. No rush.

“Listen to it. Give it a try. It's my latest record!” Peccinini crossed his arms in front of his chest. He also politely handed Mahoney another plate.

…………….

While they were talking, a painful sound showed up in the distance. Hoa felt a bit worried. She was having some bad feeling about something that might be happening.

"Let go of me. It hurts!" It was a scream that came from the girl wearing a business suit with pale makeup. Her name was Felix. Her blond hair was gripped by Ander's large hand. His face was lighted up with the amusement as he was bullying a vulnerable prey.

“Give me the answer, or I will rip your paper apart!” Ander grew even more furious, making Felix's eyebrows stick together, which must have been painful. But no one dared to save her. Malvis would even sit back and watch this with joy even more because they did not have any responsibility or duty to control players’ behaviors.

“But I only remember my answers! How do I know what is the correct answers for your questions?” Felix burst into tears.

“I have written those hints down. You have to solve them for me.” Ander bit his lips in anger. The force of his hand grew even stronger.

"But I don't understand anything you have written. I can’t cross check with mine!" Tears welled up in Felix's eyes.

Hoa got up. She intended to go there, but when she passed Sammul's table, he stopped her with a sentence.

“You want him to skin you? If you die, look at your friend, she'll be sacrificed by that stupid musician." Sammul said while eating very calmly.

Hoa looked at Felix. The poor girl’s pair of eyes looked back at her as if they were begging Hoa to save her. Hoa turned to look at Mahoney then saw Peccinini who had a look of amused as if he was enjoying an interesting play. Her best friend's face was clearly begging her not to be too pushy. If something happened, no one would take action to help. Since the more elimination, the better for them.

Hoa stepped back. Just as she turned away, Felix screamed loudly.

“She. She can help you. Her memory is extremely good. Even with a tiny detail, she can also remember. I need her to remember the questions for me, then I'll give you the answers!" Felix cried out and begged. Her hand pointed at Hoa. All eyes were on the little girl.

Hoa turned around. A cold shiver ran up and down her spine. Apparently, Ander looked at her with hunger like a tiger seeing a young goat. He pushed Felix to the floor, then aggressively headed towards Hoa.

"I'm just an ordinary person!" Hoa raised her hands to cover her body. She was a little bit of scared. Ander's shadow was so big that it covered her whole body.

“She is lying. When I was a little, I once joined a memory contest with her. At 7 years old, she was already the champion. She has beaten hundreds of people.” Felix spilled out as if Hoa was her human lifesaver. Just like that, she dropped this whole situation on Hoa's head. She placed Hoa in front of the waves of storms.

"I have no idea what she is trying to say!" Hoa backed off. But quickly, her collar was grabbed and lifted by Ander.

"Then let me tell you what she’s trying to say, shall I?" Ander raised his big biceps. His fist raised, ready to slam it on Hoa in the face.

Grip…

A hand, out of nowhere, came and got grabbed his wrist. It's Nabeya. She got a hold of Ander.

“She was just scared. She will tell you the answers, for sure. She still needs you, after all. She needs your protection in the future."

Ander's fist slowly dropped and loosening his hold. Hoa’s whole body collapsed on the ground. Nabeya looked at her. Her eyes were giving Hoa some kind of secret signal, asking her to get what she meant. Obviously, Hoa had been put in a stalemate kind of situation. If she didn’t do what she had been asked, Ander would cause her troubles and mess with her forever. It's definitely hard to live on. On the contrary, if she’d been his minion, a follower, she’d be safe. The fool needed her to survive this round. Hoa and Mahoney would both be safe at least until the end of the first round.

“I will help you, give me your hints that you have written.”

“That’s it!” Ander chuckled. He walked past Nabeya. He quite enamored of her figure, her shape of body. Then he went to his desk and took out his paper. Nabeya helped Hoa stand up on her feet.

“Thank you!”

“No big deal. I just help those who are worth helping!” Nabeya led her to Ander and then back to her place.

“You sit here too!” Ander pointed at Felix, who was still lying on the floor, and signaled her to get up and sit down.

When their eyes met, Felix looked at Hoa extremely angry. However, to Hoa, she didn't quite understand what she did wrong to deserve such anger. Was it not just a contest? She had been 7 years old then, while Felix had been 12 years old. The competition had also been only within the district, not internationally or anything. There was nothing to resent or hold the grudge for such a long time.