ORCHIDS AT MIDNIGHT

ᬁ𝕻𝖆𝖗𝖙 𝕺𝖋 𝕿𝖎𝖒𝖊

*Universe I

                Running through a field of flowers, the gentle breeze on my face. I felt free, the sun was bright, brighter than it had ever been but the temperature was just right. There is a distant voice behind me, chasing me telling me to wait. For some reason I dismissed this voice and continued running. My heart pounding hard in my chest, I find myself on the ground, staring at the orange sky...orange?. Where the hell was i?. Footsteps approached me and they join me by sitting on the ground. He brings my head to his thighs and gently strokes my hair.

            "I will always find you if you run away...even if you don't and I leave, I will be come back to you". His voice was calm almost too familiar, like I was dreaming of somebody I knew.

          "Liar...".

    My head ached badly. I needed water and I needed it fast. My  throat was burning, I reached for the cup of water on the nightstand. Taking a sip, I  placed my hand on my forehead. The memories of last night came back in bits and pieces. Xavier. He spoke about the stars, it seemed he really loved the sky and it's elements. I have never really thought to talk to him about his likes and dislikes but it seems I just discovered what one of them might be. A beeping sound crowds my thoughts and I look at my hunter watch, a message pops up and it reads;

              Dear hunter,
You have been given some time off duty, a colleague reported that you are unwell and need rest. Please make sure to take care of yourself and avoid any task that could lead to an illness increment.

I smiled at the message, and laid back in bed. That dream. It felt like I was in someone else's body, that wasn't me, it couldn't have been me and the sky was orange. The face, the boy, who was he?. I worked my brain, trying to remember. There's no way, I could be part of all that, part of someone else's dream. My heart ached again and my thoughts go back to Xavier, I remembered watching him constantly look at the stars last night. His face held longing, like he was searching for something, something that was there but out of reach.

I began my day, except I wasn't going to word. I sat at my desk going through the compilation of test results I got from the hospital. It was always the same, nothing new. I had a heart condition that messed with my evol and the evol caused me to have unusual brain activities that made me see visions, strange visions and dreams. Each time I went for a brain scan they'd tell me I had a short memory span but my evol makes me remember things that "didn't exist".

I scoffed at the thought, if they didn't exist why did it always feel real. Too real, like I have experienced every bit of it before. I groaned and relaxed sinking in my chair, what if it was me. I brought my hand to my chest, exhaling deeply, I try to use my evol to remember, knowing the consequences, I gripped my shirt and closed my eyes. My chest was tightening and it felt like I was going to pass out. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and stared at the white ceiling.

          "I guess resonating with myself also triggers it...". I said while taking slow breaths, it was painful really painful but what else did I have to lose?. I take one of the files and read through it, it talks about how this condition has been recorded before but the people that worked on it didn't disclose any information on how they did treated it or who they treated it for or even the date it was done. I continued reading the file, line by line until I stumble upon;

"Test No 1: AETHER IMPLANT".

        "Subject no 1, has displayed signs of revival after the implant. Due to the subjects weak heartbeat, the team decided to send small volts of electricity to her heart trying to jumpstart the aether."

My eyes widened in shock, was it THAT bad?. I threw the files to the table. What caused the patients heart disease and why did they have to do that. I pause
my thoughts and looked at my hunter watch, checking for any sign of wanderer activity. Protocores.

            "This aether thing must have something to do with them right?". I thought. I pulled up the No hunt zone patrol schedule, no one was assigned any job there. If I wanted to get my hands on any protocore, it would mean killing a wanderer.

          Alyssia finished up all she had to do and rushed towards to No hunt zone No 9. The plan was simple, go in retrieve a protocore and get out with out getting caught.  Venturing into No hunt zones without permission was strictly prohibited by the hunters association, but it was a risk she was willing to take. Finally arriving, she placed a facemask over her nose and mouth, there was no telling what dangerous poisons she would inhale. She gave the broken gate one last look before strolling in.

            The pressure had immediately settled in her. The eerie atmosphere of the forest. Alyssia held her gun firmly, ready for anything that would attack her. Just as she ventured deeper there is a sudden surge of energy, one that knocked her off her feet. She pointed her gun in all directions, keeping her guard up. Low growls and snarls approached her, turning around she shoots in its direction, the creature snarled loudly and charged at her. Pulling out her other rifle, she shot at the wanderer while dodging it's attacks. The creature resembled a golem, being over 10 feet tall, Alyssia didn't give up, shooting at it like her life depended on it, because it did. It roared loudly and crashed it's limb to the ground, causing the earth beneath her to shake, she fell, her gun flying out her grip. She looked up, the wanderer was about to crush her. Her heart rate increased by a hundred but she sat frozen like a pillar , watching as the hand fell towards her. Alyssia closed her eyes shut, bracing for impact but it never came.

There was silence for a bit. Wondering what had happened, Alyssia opened her eyes, the figure in front of her held something in his hand. Her vision cleared and the figure turned out to be Xavier, the man she walked home with the day before. He was in his hunter uniform, a sword in his left hand and a floating protocore in the right. Xavier inspected the protocore for a few seconds before destroying it.

             "No!". Alyssia exclaimed. Xavier immediately turned his gaze to her and knelt in front of her. He held a stern look on his face, his eyebrows almost touching. Using his finger, he ripped the mask off Alyssia's face earning a gasp from her. His gaze changed immediately, revealing the soft hearted Xavier she knew. He sighed and tilted his head abit.

            "No?...what do you mean?". He asked. Alyssia sighed and hung her head. "The protocore, why did you destroy it?". She asked. Xavier's eye widened, he placed his fingers on his chin. "That protocore was useless, it wasn't even a high grade". He simply said. Alyssia was upset, not only did she need it, but by the way Xavier talked about it, it seemed it wasn't even worth the risk.
             "Oh well...I guess I risked my life for nothing". She said, Xavier looked at her, anxiety in his eyes. "You did, why did you come here anyway?". He asked taking her hand and pulling her up. Their eyes meet eachother , he remembered her, he remembered her from the future, the way her eyes sparkled, the way she smiled. Alyssia also felt it, denying it, that she felt something, like a string that connected both of them. "I came looking for a protocore, one that has something to do with an aether". Xaviers eyes widened again. "Is she talking about the aether core?". He asked himself, looking away from Alyssia in deep thoughts. Alyssia saw the ponderous look he wore, the air tensed around them. She cleared her throat, snapping Xavier back to reality, she beamed a smile at him and he felt like holding her, holding her like he did before, when they were together.
          
             "And you, what're you doing here?". Alyssia asked, Xavier looked away avoiding her gaze. "I came to do some training". He answered. Something felt odd about his answer but Alyssia chose to ignore it. He took some steps back, taking a final look at her. "You should see a doctor if you don't feel well". She nodded. Her nerves were uneasy but she stayed calm, something about Xavier wasn't sitting right, he looked like he was avoiding something. "Where are you heading?". She asked. Xavier was about to leave before she asked the question. "Home...". He answered. "...you should do the same". She pursed her lips at his words and nodded picking up her rifles. Xavier is already fading into the forest when she looks back. She looks at the sky, field with stars, didn't Xavier adore the stars?. She sighed at her failed attempt to get her hands on a protocore. Walking back the way she came, her thoughts raced, who did she really talk to tonight?.

***