Blades of Grass

A Search

Another set of hands emerges from the puddle, these covered in shimmering scales—Freyja.

She springs out of the water, rushing toward me, her eyes wide with concern. "Alvin? Are you okay? Where's that... thing?" She throws her hands in the air, her voice tense.

"She's gone... for now," I reply, glancing up at her. "But something feels off."

Freyja's brow furrows as she drops down beside me. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, she isn't as evil as I thought. She's consumed by revenge, deafened by its song. Blinded by rage. It's senseless, sure, but there's a part of me that thinks she could be brought back—reeled in from the edge."

Freyja gives me a skeptical look. "You really have faith in her humanity?"

I meet her gaze. "The crimes she talked about... they were against elites and war criminals, not ordinary people."

Freyja raises an eyebrow. "And the debauchery?"

I shrug. "Well... is that really a crime? She might've exaggerated or lied about that. Maybe she just wanted to sound tough."

"I don't know, Alvin." She tilts her head, considering. "But I trust your intuition."

I nod before continuing, "The second thing... she lost her voice mid-fight."

"Lost her voice?" Freyja's curiosity sharpens. "What does that mean?"

"I hit her square in the jaw, hard, but it didn't faze her. Then, when she tried to speak, nothing came out. Like her words just... disappeared."

"So, you punched her so hard she couldn't talk?" Freyja smirks.

"Freyja, you hit way harder than I ever could. If that was the case, she'd have been mute the whole time."

She flexes her arm, a playful grin spreading across her face as she reveals the defined, toned muscle beneath her scaled skin. "I never pull my punches."

"Woah, I knew you were strong, but it never really showed."

"Hidden and lean muscle," she explained with a small smirk. "Shark stuff."

"Right." I nod, still a bit impressed. "What about the others? Are Aesar and Presz okay?"

"Presz woke up in a panic, and Gertrude with him, once that thing started rampaging through. I told Aesar to stay in the lab while I handled her in the underwater cave."

"And Marshall? Where did he disappear to? He would've been a huge help."

"As soon as we stepped into Hema's room, he said he had 'business' to attend to and just... left."

"Weird," I snort, shaking my head. "Alright, let's head back inside."

We head back inside the lab. The large gates stand wide open, and Aesar is there waiting for us.

"Is she gone?" she asks immediately, eyes sharp with concern.

"Yes, scorched and smoking," I reply, a slight smirk escaping me.

"You actually fought her again?!" Aesar strides up to me, her hands gripping my shoulders as she inspects me for any injuries. "That was reckless, Alvin! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry. I fought her, and she fled."

"We're going to see her again, aren't we?" Her tone is resigned, already anticipating more trouble.

"Yeah... probably." I go on to update her on everything about Hema, but she, like Freyja, doesn't see any hope in her. I can't really blame them—they didn't hear her story like I did.