Under the Moonshine

Twenty Seven | Closing the Book

Taren watched Emily as she drowned herself in sleep. It was nearing midnight but he tried to evade sleep for the nth time now. From the opened window opposite her bed, he could see the full moon, its light subtly reaching his eyes. He felt something deeper in him, something he needed to get rid of. If he would be living with the rest of them in this world, he needed to be as human as possible, not someone who came from a comic book.

Knowing that he got experimented by scientists was one thing but to transform himself to incredibly horrific being was another.

Sebastian might be the one who had initiated the beginning of what they called hybrids. But to his defense, Taren felt living with a family while he was with him. He trained him to be human again and helped him find his sanity, the one thing he'd lost the moment he submitted himself for their experiment. He couldn't thank him enough.

But it wasn't enough.

Looking at the girl who tamed the monster beneath him, he knew he still wasn't good enough. He remained a complication to her life and he couldn't live like that and let her protect him for the rest of his existence. And he didn't want to just exist.

Taren wanted to live.

The incident that had happened in Elton brought the whole village in shock. Most of the people left their mansions, fleeing from what they had called the 'danger zone'. Especially that the people knew he was still alive.

Atty. Felix Forte already coordinated with Emily, protecting them like what he had promised to his old friend, Sebastian. While the Green Empire had been exposed, Peter faced a ridiculous amount of charges for what he did, and that included Yotta Corp.

And so Taren decided that it was time to correct the wrongs, straightened the curve and be done with it. Once he sign the contract offered by Wilson, there was no going back. He would have to let her go.

Taren planted a soft kiss on Emily's forehead, the only goodbye he could make. He swallowed and blinked, not allowing the tears to roll down his cheeks. Looking at his dog tag chain, he pulled it off and placed it on Emily's bedside table.

He left her room and gently closed the door.

Wilson was patiently waiting for him in the living room. His face looked tired, bags under his eyes as he tried to hold everything together for the sake of the Yotta Corp. But he wasn't sure if they could drop the charges.

"I'm ready," Taren said to him.

Wilson looked at him. He respected the guy now. "Are you sure about this, Taren?"

He just nodded his head.

"You do know what could happen, right?"

"I could die, yes, I know."

Wilson looked up, a bit puzzled. "That girl up there wants you to live. She chose to give you a chance when she decided to hid you here in this mansion."

"I know."

The president shook his head. "And you're still willing to do it?"

"Yes," he answered. "I am doing this for her."

"How come you're doing this for her? Aren't you doing this for yourself?"

Taren pushed the lump forming in his throat. "If I stayed like this," he started, chest heaving. "I will be nothing but a complication to her." The innocence of his voice reached Wilson's ears.

"The success rate is thirty percent," he said to Taren. "My goddaughter will kill me."

"But you promised to help me, Wilson. And you won't tell her anything."