The Remnant of the Past (GXG)

Chapter 11: The Paranoid

"I always visit our ship every chance I got, but I never dared to go inside." 

We walked past the ancient ship but Chantel's eyes lingered on it. The midnight where the criminals marched has also passed, and I am still alive. Although I feel bad for the woman who I talked to yesterday at the cages.

"So...you thought I was an easy target?" I joked and Chantel smirked.

"Well, you were alone...and I saw your friends trying to escape by swimming in the ocean, I don't know what happened to them but I guess that they either drowned or got eaten by great whites."

I shivered at the mention of sharks. "What about the girl I was with? I know you saw her."

"I don't know. We're not responsible for her disappearance." Chantel shrugged her shoulders.

I bet that girl already fixed the device now. She's probably back at the section telling our people about her heroic story of how she survived crashing in the middle of nowhere. 

"What about me? Will I ever go back home?" 

Chantel glimpsed at me for a moment before taking her eyes back to the ocean. "There's something that needed to be done first."

"You know that I am basically trained to destroy your kind, right?" 

Chantel grinned and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know that but you showed kindness, which is pretty rare for your kind."

My face flustered when I remember the night we first met. I was so drawn to her, and I guess until now, but she needs to tell me everything I don't know.

We were walking past their ship when I thought of an idea. "Hey, what if we go inside the ship now? I went there yesterday." I suggestively smiled.

I can see the hesitation across Chantel's face until she took my hand and dragged me along with her to the ship. 

"Promise that you won't leave me alone?" She said, almost begging.

I tightly held her hand and nodded. We walked to the planks that I have crossed yesterday. I pointed to the carved symbol on the ship and Chantel stared at it confusingly.

"Is that your family's sigil?" 

Chantel unsurely nodded so I decided to take her mind off it for a bit by asking her to lift the lever of the lower ground's door. It's probably a bad idea to take her back to the ghost's lair but she could give me answers as to why there was a ghost under there.

"Is it safe?" Chantel asked. I nodded and went down first. She followed and this time we brought a lightstick from their stash. I can now clearly see the details of the room.

"What's that?"

I followed the direction of Chantel's finger. We just spotted something that looks too advanced for an ancient ship. Its materials look very similar to what we use at constructing things back in the section.

We walked closer to it and my eyes widened in surprise when I saw the symbol etched on the back of my jacket. 

"Is that..."

"It's ours."

Why the hell is it here in an ancient ship? What we saw in one of our tubular decontaminators that are specifically used for preserving artifacts from the old Earth. It was here because they are trying to preserve something.

My eyes examined the whole room again, and then I saw the button that the ghost made me press. I stopped moving and that's when everything that happened to me here clicked. I just made an artifact escape.

"Oh, crap. I think I just did something...bad. I let whatever they are keeping here escape."

I started to pace around while Chantel kept on telling me that everything will be just fine. Well, it won't. I know how important tubular decontaminators are, and when an artifact got breached for a second, it will create a doomsday.

"I need to go back to the section! The council should be aware-"

"No."

Chantel quickly grabbed my arm to stop me from going back outside. I glared at her in disbelief. I thought she would do anything to protect her people, why is she stopping me from preventing a bad thing to happen?

"Chantel, this is code red. I need to at least send them a signal-"

"I said no, Angelie. Once they realized that this island exists, my kind will go extinct." What she said made me stop running. I walked closer to her until we are only inches away from each other.

"What is it you need from me, huh?" I spat while clenching my jaw.

Chantel closed her eyes before releasing a shaky breath. "I haven't been totally honest with you"

I roared in anger and clenched the collar of her clothing with my grip. I pushed her against the wall which caused the ship to shake a little bit. 

"You've been lying to me too?"

"Your mother told me not to tell you-"

I groaned and pressed my wrist to her throat. 

"What is it?" I said through gritted teeth, adding more pressure to her throat as she hesitates to answer.

"I-it was my sister, Chelsea, you freed! She has been bound to this ship ever since and I was the one guarding it. Your mother made me promise that if I will ever meet you, I shouldn't tell you the truth and that it is best to keep it that way...that you always know her as one of your kind."

"What is that supposed to mean?" 

"Your mother is one of us, Angelie. She's a Remnant. Your father knew but still threw her to Taran to keep your family away from committing treason. It was also your father who kept my sister there and the only thing to end her miserable years of being trapped was you...and the blood inside the pendant your mother passed to you." 

I eased my wrist from pressing her throat and released her from my tightening grip. Chantel coughed and gasped for air but I couldn't care less, she lied to me.

"How dare you to keep the truth from me..." My nostrils flared in anger, I was ready to end her right there but she did something that made me not feel my body.

"W-what have you done?" I gasped as I suddenly feel like falling asleep.

"I'm sorry, you were freaking out and I have to take you back."