Black Equation - The Gifted Ones

Number Twenty-Eight

“There is one thing in this world that is inevitable, Death. As all that’s good must end, and all that’s not will too.”

 

Number Twenty-Eight

Abcidee heard her own breath get out in a series of whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, and thought it was odd. She opened her eyes, or thought she did. There was nothing but darkness around her – pitch black, deep and inky, where all shadows blended together in eerie harmony.

“Cecilia?” Her voice came out wrong, scratchy, as she remembered what happened. That force that saved them. . . it came from inside her. It pulsed and burned out of her not in gentle waves, but in one destructive tsunami. She could feel it like it had always been there inside her, and she just didn’t notice it until now. Pulsating. A mass of energy that had ebbed, just lingering under her skin, and ready to pounce back once it was needed – whatever it was.

Her Gift.

She went on her hands and knees. She couldn’t feel her shoulders, or her arms and her legs for that matter. She tried to move them, but with no vision and no sensation, she couldn’t tell whether she’s making progress or not.

“Cecilia? Where are you?”

Again, there was nothing but the odd, weakening whoosh sound. She realized that it wasn’t coming from her. 

 “Cecilia?” she called out, frantic. “Answer me! Please. Where are you?”

Her voice echoed from what seemed like miles away.

How long were these tunnels? How deep were they underground?

Finally, a prickly feeling came over her palms. She could now tell that the floor was cold, moist and rough like the pavements on the sidewalks after a brief rain. And then at some places, slippery wet. From the smell of it, it was blood. Fresh blood.

The whoosh-ing sound was directly in front of her.

“Cecilia!”

Abcidee gripped the woman’s ice cold hand when she found it.  Her free one reached for her chest. Barely moving. Her heart, barely beating. It was too late. Cecilia was not going to make it.

No! She had to make sure she would make it. Rael could heal her. Rael could save her.

“Help me,” she said, her voice firm for the first time in so many days. “How do we get out?”

“Wall,” Cecilia answered weakly. “Just straight...ahead.”

Without hesitation, she held the woman’s body with a single arm and used the other to search for the wall. The wall that would be their salvation in this darkness. As  soon as she found it, she wrapped her arms around Cecilia and pulled her up, so that the two of them could walk, leaning against the wall for guidance.

“Is this the right direction?”

“Yes…”

“Keep your eyes open, okay? Don’t fall asleep.”

She could almost hear the smile on Cecilia’s voice. “Won’t.”

“Okay, okay, you promised. Don’t break your promise.” For what seemed like minutes and hours, Abcidee unsteadily followed the walls, hoping that each step would bring them closer outside.

"Can I, can I ask you something?"

She waited for Cecilia's response, but as the silence stretched on, she decided that she would ask her question either way.

“How do we stop them from fighting?”

After one arduous step and then another, her knees buckled. She was struggling to keep her grip on Cecilia, but her sheer will was motivating her to continue on. “I think I can use my Gift. But for what? How? Do I have to kill? Is that the future you See? That I will be killing Falcon?”

Was she destined to kill Krad’s father? Was this a part of being born Gifted?

“It’s,” she continued, hesitation apparent in her voice, “It’s just that, I don’t think I can do that. I’ve never killed a person, and I don’t plan on starting. From what I’ve heard so far, Falcon must be a really evil man. But I don’t want to judge him. Regarding people that do evil things as purely evil is something that provides us with some sort of comfort, assurance, that we are good and they aren’t, that we are superior to them. I don’t think it’s like that. He must be doing these things for a reason. He’s human too, just like us. Maybe he’s… hurting. I don’t know. Maybe I’m the one who is ignorant. I’m sorry. I’m blabbering.”

She laughed bitterly. It was because of her ignorance that she was placed in this situation. She shouldn’t have left the Command. She should have followed her father’s orders and waited for Arashi to fetch her. They knew what was best for her.

She clearly doesn’t. 

“You’re exactly what Creed needs,” was all Cecilia said, her voice tender with emotions, before she started coughing violently. “I’m … glad… that we met… again.”

“Cecilia?” In the darkness, she couldn’t see all the blood running down the woman’s mouth. “We’re near,” she pleaded. “Stay with me. Don’t leave me alone.”

“Your Gift… two sides… coin…”

“What? What? Don’t, please.” Sobs were wrenched from her lips as pain and anger filled her to the brim. “We’re going to see Rael! Stay with me!”

“It's okay... it's time...”

Cecilia became a total deadweight, and she stumbled on the floor, bringing Abcidee along with her.

Abcidee was desperate. “You’ll live! I promised you, didn’t I? Don’t die yet.”

Even at the brink of her death, this woman was still a stranger to her. It was miserable, knowing that someone cared for her and that someone would die for her. Someone she used to know.  If only she would just remember everything! These people who protected her, these people who she should be protecting, how to fight, how to use her Gift. . . then she wouldn’t be so pitiful and worthless!

“Uuh-shhhh…uh..nuhh…”

Abcidee lowered her head to understand what Cecilia was saying. She pressed her cheek against hers, ear on her mouth.

“…believe…you’re…not alone…” and then, almost a sigh, “… mi tesoro.”

“You can’t do this to me,” she cried softly, her lips trembling as she embraced the woman, willing her heart to beat again. “You were going to answer my questions. We were going to end this, together, right? Right? You were supposed to live. You can’t die!”

There was no way Cecilia would come back, but there was still this piece of hope, a shimmering thread of faith she kept on holding on, that maybe, just maybe, Cecilia would be able to breathe again. That her injuries would magically disappear. That she would be whole and well and be enigmatic again.

She tightly held the woman’s body one last time and whispered her thanks before she slowly pulled away. With the back of her hand, she dried her tears. No sound. No pain. Just a purpose.

She should move on now.

She shouldn’t let Cecilia’s death go to waste.

After that, only after that, would she be able to grieve.

Yo!

Sorry for the short update. Hopefully, you won't threaten to bomb my house or tie me in front of my laptop for the next update. hahah~

Thoughts?

BTW, thank you for the votes and the comments in the last two chapters. I was so happy (understatement) to feel your support. Means the world to me.