CROSSING RIVER (B×B×B..) *COMPLETE*

Chapter 29- We sensed you

Far away from the newly formed family...

Brandon had been feeling lonely and it had only been twelve hours since River and he bid each other goodbyes. He doesn’t know if he will ever see the boy again in his life. Now orphaned, Brandon didn’t want to stay in this country but the pain from not being able to ever set his eyes on that beautiful boy made him feel terrible and excruciating pain, deep within.

He kept reminding himself that River’s life goals which the boy never set out before had suddenly spurt in action. His first love, his best friend who just went on with life without any plans, now actually had some goal to accomplish. Brandon never wanted to go and study in states, the education system here was far better than there but it was his parents who had made him leave.

The blonde boy had actually been crazily obsessed with River since they started hanging out. His parents had asked him to stay close with the boy and back then he didn’t understood their purpose behind that but now he knew and he couldn’t even vent his anger at them.

He was good at studies and would have inherited his parents business but he wanted to stay close to River, but the boy had no plans for the future. Brandon had tried to convince River to study business so that they would be together but River hated anything that required him to make decisions. The boy couldn’t even decide what movies to watch or what food to order.

Then one day he had just up and went to study biology as his major, Brandon tagged along with him despite his parents warning. When he had returned to his home, his parents had packed his bag and had conveniently told him about his acceptance in a university in the states at last minute.

They had found photos, sketches and clothes that was all about River in his room and had decided it was unhealthy for him to continue being friends with the boy. They weren’t against his love for River but they wanted him to do as they thought what was best for him and they decided doing that by using his love for River.

They offered him a condition, if he went to the states and studied there then after his return, he could do whatever he wanted with his life. They just wanted him to have some space from his unhealthy obsession.

Since he had done biology and he knew River’s sudden interest with animals, he chose to become VET. Brandon knew what he studied wouldn’t matter because his future had already been planned out by his parents and that was to take over family business. He still did it to have some what common things with River.

However, now nothing mattered, The boy’s life was completely different to his own. Brandon punched the bed and quickly stood up then went out to the balcony. The sun was about to disperse the dark clouds and the dim yet beautiful sea all around him had started to lit up a bit. In few more hours he would reach the city and would have to face the reality in which he was all alone.

As he gazed at the sea, it seemed like he was having an inner battle. He placed his right hand and fished out a glass tube that was about two fingers thick, which had about three tea spoons of reddish blue liquid inside. Brandon turned the tube and in a white label, “River’s sample”, was written.

In the facility, When he woke up inside the room with tanks and other things, he had seen this tube on the counter with others but only picked this one. After River had declined to come with him, he had secretly gulped half of the contents in the tube. He didn’t know how it worked but he had hoped he would change and become one of those creatures but nothing happened. He found out that his parents had given him River’s blood which had cured his illness and he was still human, so he had hoped this liquid worked but at last it didn’t.

Hopelessness was prevalent in his eyes and now with nothing to wish for, he crushed the tube in his hands. Blood gushed out of his palm and along with the contents inside the tube, it slipped down and spilled into the ocean. A single streak of tear dropped down his eyes then he shook his injured hand and went back in to the room.

An hour passed and Brandon had collected himself as best as he could. He had gotten out of the room and into the top front part of the ship. He could see the outline of city in the distance, with a sad sigh he turned around but his step came to a sudden halt. The blonde boy quickly snapped his head to the right and narrowed his eyes.

He could swear that he saw a white flash, like something white skipped on the surface of the sea. He looked down and muttered, “It’s just a dolphin”, then he walked to the entrance of the ship. Suddenly the ship turned away from it’s destination and now it was facing back to the direction they had come from.

Brandon ran to the captain’s compartment and demanded, “What the hell are you doing?!”. But no one acknowledged his presence, he took long angry strides to the guy who was driving this thing and stood face to face in front of him. However angrily he looked at the man, the man’s eyes seemed like they were looking through him and not at him.

Brandon waved his hand in front of the guy but there was no reaction, he turned around and everyone had same zombie like expression. He rushed out of the room and into the ship just to find those who had woken up after the organization incident, were in same state. The blonde boy hurriedly went to check on those who hadn’t woken up, only to find them bleeding from their eyes, nose, ears and mouth.

“Tragic really, I didn’t know they had been subjected to a song beforehand”, came a voice from behind him with an accent that he had only heard from the guy who was with River. Brandon quickly turned around but there was no one, “How peculiar! I sensed you but you are.... Different. I thought you would be pleasing to the eyes but your looks are of human standards”, he heard the disappointed voice from behind him once again.

But when he tried to find the owner of the voice, he never found them. His words got caught in his throat when he was slammed to the wall. His eyes widened when he saw a person who was all white Only their eyes were black. Brandon glanced at the hand and finally noticed scales but the skin was still greyish white with black claws for nails.

One hand had blocked a way out for him while the other was placed on his chest. The creature sniffed his neck then hovered close to his body, “You smell like human”, as that was said, the hand on blonde boy’s chest lifted to his neck and it was held in a tight grasp. “I am absolutely not betrothed to a foul breed. I had high expectations in you Rhael, but someone else I know can have you”, the creature knitted his brows.

He let go of the tight hold then turned and looked around, “Living among humans have turned you into a real human, you really have no place in Meridia but I have been tasked to bring you back”, he sighed then continued, “Now, be very useful and get yourself into something that can help you breathe underwater”, he said as he locked his eyes on Brandon who was coughing on the ground. The creature’s expression twisted in disdain and he was exuding utter disgust after glancing at Brandon.

The boy got up and moved forward to punch the creature in the face, he tried side kicking the weird guy but both his punch and kick was dodged very smoothly. Instead of getting angry, the creature actually looked somewhat pleased. “At least you haven’t turned into complete pathetic human who would cower when seeing someone like me”, he tilted his head to the side, “but that makes me wonder why is their no surprise or even fear or shock in your face? Say, have you met Meras before?”, the creature asked in his mesmerising accent.

Brandon being a business man’s son decided to weigh in on pros and cons of everything the creature had spat from the moment he opened his mouth and he concluded, ‘He is looking for someone called Rhael and has mistaken me for them. A runaway perhaps? If I was betrothed to someone like him, I would run away too. Then he said something about Meridia? He definitely had never seen this Rhael in person’, Brandon took a deep sigh then faced the creature.

“I’m guessing you are not asking for me to return politely because it feels like there’s no room to discuss ? However, I do have to let you know, I am not the person or being you are looking for. And yes, I have seen your kind before”, he said without any fear. Brandon had nothing to lose and he was not being nice to an arsehole.

The creature’s black eyes suddenly slid open, revealing two rich blue slits, he reached out and grabbed Brandon’s right hand then brought it up to their face level, “We finally sensed your existence couple of days ago. After following the trail, our people scattered throughout the area few hours ago and now I am here in front of you because I smelled your blood. Rhael is the name given to you by your grandparents before your father took you and ran”, he dropped the hand, not so gently then turned around.

“Tell me....”, he paused and Brandon answered, “Brandon Mills”. The Creature gave him a stank eye and continued, “Yes. Tell me Brandon, were you born this way? Uh... Without a tail?”, he asked. Brandon was starting to get the idea that all this was somehow related to River and his heart tightened. He didn’t know what to do, he had to keep River away from this guy.

His brain worked fast and remembered what River had said about the memory he had regained about his parents, “I think I had tail ....but my memory is muddled. I remember being saved by humans and they adopted me. Since they never mentioned any tail, I think I had legs? I don’t know. But I could breathe underwater for longer than any humans”, he answered knowing that he had no choice but to act as River.

The creature looked at him suspiciously then asked, “Any abilities? Your mother could freeze water and your father was .... Respected warrior who could manipulate waves. What can you do?”, Now Brandon was sweating. He didn’t know if River had any abilities so he decided to answer, “I don’t have any of those abilities. I don’t even have a tail, I was just swimming in the area when I encounter someone like you and I did something in fear, it just happened on its own then I escaped but that creature sang a song and this is what happened to my crew”, he jumped around truth and lie.

“And what is this something that you did?”, the creature wasn’t backing down. “I don’t remember, it happened in lighting speed”, he chose to answer which made the creature blink twice then before he asked anything else, his necklace started blinking blue. He had an exotic looking dark blue crystal necklace.

“Impossible!”, he whispered as if he heard something from the necklace then narrowed his eyes on Brandon and in a flash his right hand was choking the boy, “Who really are you? Why does your blood emit our scent? Don’t lie to me or else I will snap your neck!”, he threatened and his hold just got tighter. Brandon kicked and punched but the creature didn’t even budge.

His necklace emitted a long blue glow instead of a blink like last time and he quickly let go of Brandon. The blonde boy had turned red and started gasping for air hungrily. The white creature seemed to be contemplating on what to do as he looked out to the sea and back at Brandon. He quickly bit his own palm then tightly grabbed Brandon’s hair and tilted his head.

Brandon opened his mouth to scream from sudden pain but a bloody palm was placed on his lips as soon as he opened his mouth. Cold blood with hint of salty ocean poured inside his mouth and he wasn’t allowed to spit it out as the Creature tightly locked his jaw and closed his mouth shut.

When Brandon swallowed the blood, he felt his heart go icy cold and he dropped backwards on the floor. He clenched his chest and looked angrily at the Creature with red wide eyes. He felt the icy cold feeling running down his Veins and after few seconds his entire body was writhing with pain. He felt himself being hoisted by the shirt and was carried out of the room, into the balcony.

He had bad feeling about this as he was hanging over the height of five storey building. “If I find out you were lying to me, I will kill you and feed you to piranhas”, the creature threatened and let go of his hold. Brandon flayed his limbs as he fell down and into the water with a loud splash. The creature walked away and out of the room then after a while , he opened the door of captain’s compartment.

He walked to the captain as whispered, “You didn’t hear or see anything. Turn around and return to human civilization. The people who are bleeding had come into contact with radiation”, with that said, He soon got out and jumped back into the water.