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ลำดับตอนที่ #6 : Before Dawn
5
The Exiled: Dark Stars
Before Dawn
Suddenly, I was back at Paradise again. I was once more a little girl in a tribe of Wolves, learning about crafts and weapons. I learned how to craft the Seccharian Seal and how to make metal masks for missions. I made the mask Zyen used for his first mission with the Wolves, and it turned out to be a success.
My parents and the tribe were so proud of me. It made my heart puff in joy. That was…until I heard a childhood rumor resurfaced.
“Did you know? The forbidden yard of our school is actually a cemetery!” Rachid, who was a small nut-colored boy said excitedly, treating this unsettling rumor as something fun.
“I heard it was a forbidden lab where they torture naughty children.” Luminette said, flipping her elegant golden hair. She was named after a princess of a prosperous kingdom in a fairytale. A princess who fell in love with a commoner who saved her from drowning.
“That doesn’t sound fun. We should not be talking about this. The teachers wouldn’t like it.” I tried to end the conversation, but Rachid laughed, revealing a missing tooth.
“Destiny, Destiny.” He waves his index finger around playfully. “How ignorant can you be? There’s a cemetery inside our school. Right under our noses!”
“Lab,” Luminette interjected.
“And our job is to figure out the truth. Let’s meet tomorrow night, right here.”
“I’m not coming!”
“You’re a chicken, Destiny.” Luminette shoved my chest with her finger. She was my best friend, but at times like these; I hate her.
“If you change your mind, you’re free to come along.” Rachid had his usual beaming smile and parted to the other direction.
I never went. And I never saw Rachid nor Luminette again.
Rumors spread that there were exiled, or maybe sent to work in a camp. Some even said the Wolves killed them because they were better off dead anyway. Regular Paradise children could not survive in the filth of the Outside World.
I agree. The Outside World is a pile of junk compared to Paradise.
And I regret not stopping them that night. The guilt weighted my heart for years. Guilt even Zyen’s warm presence cannot erase.
That’s why—
“Des!! Wolves!!” Ig shook me like crazy. Beside me, Elliah was shuffling her feet, looking nervous. Raleigh was up and about, seemed about ready to kill someone. I stood up.
“Where?”
“They’re coming closer. If they kept going at that speed, within five minutes or less, they’d find us.”
I looked at Raleigh whose eyes surveyed the possible escape routes.
“We have to get to that sky train bridge, then into that shopping mall. All the malls are connected.” He said calmly. Ig automatically put his finger in my belt loop, Elliah already firm in his arms. I scooped the boys up and took them all down. We followed Raleigh as he weaves his way through the bustling streets and into the mall.
“The mall is quite a sight.”
The four of us walked through the metal detectors. Almost blinded by the colors, we looked at the numerous fancy shops and restaurants, and all the people walking around inside. It was so different from Paradise. There, it was more down-to-earth and modest, giving more attention to utility than appearance. Shops were filled with all the items imaginable, and we didn’t have to go venturing anywhere to get what we need. It was a perfect world like that. We just need to do our job. Paradise fed us and gave us what we need.
The smell of pastries attracted my attention and earned me a tug from Elliah.
“We’re broke, El.” I repeated. Just then, my stomach growled in protest. In Paradise, we always have more than enough to eat. Out here, we had to fend for ourselves, resorting to robbery if necessary. Each piece of pastry in the shop cost over a hundred Baht. Forget it, I’m never buying them.
We nervously got on an escalator which led us to the second floor, then we were at another mall.
“Where are they, Ig?” I whispered.
“God. They’re tailing us.”
“How?”
“Oh. They stopped.”
The three of us turned our heads and stared at him as if he just said ‘I think a rat ate my face.’
“The security stopped them.” Raleigh concluded. “They were generous to let dirty kids in, but they can’t let suspicious hooded guys come and go as they please.”
“Elliah, you know what to do, right?” I patted her head. The little girl nodded. For a moment I saw her examining herself using her one eye. She was covered with a thin layer of soot and dirt. Her black hair was starting to get grimy from the heat and sweat. She also needed a change of clothes and bandage. We were about in the same state as her. If not for our normal looking clothes, we would look like kid beggars and would get reported to the authorities.
“Quite the sense of smell they have. Or maybe we’re really rancid.” Ig mumbled as we walked through the food court. “I hope they would just stop to sniff the food and act like real dogs. Gosh, I’m hungry. When was the last time we had actual food? Hey, do they offer free samples around here?”
“Quit the nonsense, Ig. We are running for our lives here.”
Elliah tugged me again. She agreed with her brother.
“Raleigh, say something.” I turned to the vampire boy for support, but he’s already in the elevator, heading down to the supermarket in the basement.
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