Hotel Selten

Nature's Wrath

After interrogating the couple, they silenced them as they went group by group to the border. Hugo was taking the situation well, they succeeded in crossing it. “What happened back there? Why you took a day-long to get here?” He said as he escorted Miss Eve out of the river. “We did some investigations back there and confirmed things.”

“Oh… The superintendent visited earlier, gladly we tackled him and taken care of the rest.” Ophelia was the last one to cross, she looked at the surrounding. Since it’s night, it was cold and no one is there. “We should start going,” Thilda said as they collected in one place. 

“We aren’t sleeping tonight, I guess.” Peony said as she fixes her hair. “We will just move, night is our friend,” Thilda said as she looks at the map of France. “We can just walk and hope we can find clues in the way.” Miss Eve looks around, she saw something just hiding behind the trees. She went there and saw no one. 

“Miss Eve, what are you doing there?” She looked at them, “Nothing, let’s go.” She smiled as they start venturing through the night. Ophelia, however, seems just following them as she looks around. She was having thoughts on what they are doing, especially earlier. She is quite not used at killing, she gets traumatized every single bit of it. The sight of a dead body, especially watching it die or get killed, secretly terrifies her. She wonders if she’s the only one, some parts of her mind still insist they are monsters, this group she is in is just poisoning her mind. 

She looks at everyone, she never saw them what could their eyes be when killing someone. She never attempts to. She just wishes that they feel guilt, even a single ounce of it. She can’t just think that they are happy with this, nor just indifferent. She has been silent since she saw the last breath the man breathed and the last shriek of pain he screamed. She knows she has witnessed this a lot of times, but fear slowly crawls on her back every time she sees it with her own eyes.

The cold breeze caresses her cheeks, she didn’t mind it. Unlike her, the others are already cold and tired. But they still don’t have anything or anywhere to go other than in Rennes. She was thinking bringing others might not be a good idea at all. Based on what she saw on Thilda’s map, there is still a lot of ways to go there. It makes takes months if they are just gonna walk. She lost track of time too, and she doesn’t know if she is tired or not. 

“Ophelia, is something wrong?” She has trailed off her thoughts as a familiar sweet voice talked. “Yes, miss?” She said with a tired tone, hinting to the lady that she is tired and not ask so many questions. “I guess you are tired like everyone else, don’t worry, we will have a resting place anytime.”

They start walking through the trees and kept an eye on whatever is gonna pop out while they are walking. Miss Eve is still sensing someone is following them, she doesn’t let her guard down. They all stopped as they heard the rustling of a bush in the middle of silence. Thilda took a look at the bush where the noise came from and a vine suddenly chokes her.

Some other vines started to crawl their way out and start attacking the others. Thilda cuts the vine off before she even dies. Lucky for her she encountered a thin vine, she wouldn’t have cut that in a second. She coughs and gasps for air as Ophelia goes to her, “Hey, you alright.” Thilda nods as still breathing heavily. Ophelia’s arm got caught by a vine as she was taken away. She tried to put it out but she can’t, she doesn’t know how far the water is and she can’t focus with her getting pulled around.

“Hold on to it, Ophelia!” Thilda went to her as they both hold the vine in the place, Thilda slice the thick vine, it was a bit hard but she successfully saved Ophelia. “I might need to sharpen this.” She ran away as she went to the others and rescued them. Ophelia ran to the place where they stopped earlier and tries to help. 

Peony was terrified, she knows who is attacking them. Well, she might know what they are, not who they are. She started to counter every vine with hers, she stopped in the middle as some of them gets confused by the others. “Ouch!” She exclaimed as Thilda cuts her vine accidentally. “Peony!” The enthusiastic girl who is now in pain shooks her head, “Just go, I am fine, and it’s fine.” Thilda nods as she attacks other vines. 

They were keep attacked, the others find where those attackers are but they are being knocked back. “I wish Aquil was here, she may have seen them with her hawk eye!” Arabella shouts as she tends to other wounded and almost dying residents. “We don’t talk about who is resting already, just focus!” Thilda said she was tired of slashing. “Adam! Get us some small quake!” The blonde-looking boy nods as he initiates some small earthquake, which shakes off some attackers on their high ground. 

“There they are!” The fighters start to apprehend them and tackle them. Ophelia was back in action and wipes out the attackers on the trees through water, wetting the whole place up. Unfortunately, some of the attackers ran away with some captured people, especially kids. Some of the fighters followed them and some stayed, Peony tied them all on the trees with her vines. 

The other residents calmed the traumatized and nervous ones. Arabella is still tending to the wounded. The others, such as the fighters, went to the unconscious attackers. “I don’t have anything to this, you know… But I know what are they… They are the same as me.” Peony was trembling, she was terrified that the species and the persons she idolizes when she was a child, they are attacking innocents. “It’s okay Peony, I know you aren’t.” Thilda comforts her.

“You’re from Ireland, right?” Ophelia asks her, which Peony just answered with a gentle nod while covering her face. “Is your race there too?” The flower girl wipes her tears, “Well, most of us are there… I don’t know why are they here.” Ophelia thinks, “You said last time war broke in your place right?” Peony nods again, Thilda has enlightenment, it was evident on her face. “But… That was 10 years ago.” 

“Maybe they are living here… And they are just protecting their territories?” Ophelia said, but Thilda dismissed her opinion. “I don’t think so, some of them ran away, they may have some intent why they attacked us.” They were cut off as someone groans, someone is already waking up. He looked at them and strangely, he didn’t react.

“You are now awake.” Miss Eve faces him, but he still has a flat face and he didn’t answer. “Let’s get this straight, why did you attack us?” Thilda joined them which made the boy look at her. “I won’t tell anything.” His voice was empty and pale, like a robot. Miss Eve raised her eyebrow, “Why wouldn’t you?” 

“I won’t tell anything.” He repeated what he said, still having his look. Thilda is getting pissed off, but Miss Eve stopped her from whatever she wants to do. “Even a single bit?” She asked one more time, but he muttered the same thing, “I won’t tell anything.” Miss Eve decided to wait for others to wake up. The boy just looks at the ground empty. 

“What do you think happened to them?” Hugo asks them as they went out of the scene, leaving Miss Eve to look for them. “I think they are mentally broken, can you tell they are being manipulated?” Hugo shook his head, “I don’t know, but it can be, I can’t speak on the behalf of my brothers, every manipulator have different tactics and ability.” Ophelia thinks as Thilda joined them, “He is just so stubborn.” She was clearly pissed off. 

“Let’s just wait for the others to wake up.” Ophelia suggested as Hugo sighs, “If that boy is manipulated, the others are too.” The brunette girl looks at the tied-up attackers, “There’s no problem of hoping, right?” Just as she said that the other two woke up. Hugo and Thilda just shrug as they approached the tied-up people and accompany Miss Eve.

A girl and a boy woke up, they were showing the same trait as the previous one they interviewed, empty and pale. Ophelia started to confirm her theory. They started asking them again, the girl said, “Master said not to tell anyone.” It became on repeat too. The boy said, “I don’t know,” in repeat too. They were all disappointed, they can’t get into the middle of this. There’s the last girl who is still knocked out.

“Can I start not to hope now? I’m gonna bet this rock to that girl being mind broken or manipulated too.” Thilda was throwing a smooth rock into the air several times. Ophelia just shrugged, “Your choice.” They waited for the girl to wake up. “Anyways, where are your companions?” Hugo asked Thilda that made her stop and grip on the rock. “Excuse me for a second…” She threw the rock away as she started running.

As soon as she left off, the girl woke up, surprisingly, she spoke normally. “Where am I!?” She started to struggle, she stopped as she saw the others. “Uhm, I mean, nothing…” She changed her voice like her other companions. Ophelia was shocked then she smiles at her, “Hey, we caught that. Don’t be scared.”

“What do you mean?” She said again with her new pale voice. The silence commences after that, the girl sighs as she looks around. “I suppose that mad scientist s***h doctor is out.” She sighs again as she looks at the ground. Ophelia lends her ears to her as Miss Eve and Hugo watch them. 

“Aren’t you terrified with my look? I mean… My bun is unusual, you can just see this on anime and stuff.” She showed her hair with her weird-looking bun that resembles a flower. “Anyways, I am Hibi.” Ophelia sits on the dirty ground in front of her, “I am Ophelia.” Hibi looks at her, “Yes, I am the one who attacked you guys with my other 5 companions.” 

“Where did you came from?” She sighed, “I am from that cathedral stuff. Well, a hidden laboratory in that cathedral. I am a captured one from Ireland. I escaped from that prison and eventually found that crazy scientist whom I thought would help me, but he made my life like hell.” She was angry, it was printed on her face. She sighed to let herself calm. 

“I was a manipulated one before. With those devices that he put inside our body. I don’t want to talk about how I got it off.” She breathes and lets all her nervousness out. “I needed to act like I was manipulated till I was deployed to let you not cross the border and stop you for a little while to get to the cities.” Ophelia’s curiosity rose, “Who deployed you?”

“That crazy bastard, of course. But he has a boss that visits him sometimes, I didn’t take a look at his face, it was masked. But all I know he calls him Mister M, that’s all I know.” Ophelia looks at Miss Eve, she seems satisfied with what she is saying, even Hugo. Her companions couldn’t care less, they were just staring at nowhere and seems done with life. Ophelia was thankful at least one of them was able to trick a genius, crazy dude.

“How about you, why are you all here?” Ophelia was gonna answer her when she was cut off.

“Come, quick! We need help!”