The Wavering Hawk [ENGLISH]

P13. Escape

We communicate that way, every time, every day—if day really had passed. Omar was the active and I was the passive. He was the one who usually approached me first, talked more. But five times a day, he would walk away from me and did something I couldn't even comprehend and he didn't bother to tell, so I guess that was a secret of his.

As the passive, I supposed to be not bothering him at all. But damn him, this prison without him felt quieter than the void in space. And I usually had to call him.

Just in case, he died in sleep and I had to endure this cells with a rotten corpse.

WARDEN-NO-GUNS, Omar wrote as he checked my injuries. "You're getting better. And no infections on your injuries. Good."

But I was as stink as shit. I haven't taken a bath for years. I wander why these injuries didn't get some kind of infection yet.

"You didn't sound happy."

I sniffed on my skin. Even from afar, I could tell its salty stink. "Should I?"

Omar laughed as he drew on my back.

I HEARD THEM.

"You're unusually talkative today." He chuckled. "You usually always waiting, always calculating. It's a good sign, I think and I'm afraid a bomb might drop on us while we're here today."

That wasn't even funny.

Omar sighed. "I'm being serious at the good sign. Ask is better than always speculating. That was why humans kept calling Maha monsters. They are independent species, why do they even need the others but for numbers?" He patted my shoulder. "Asking is what connecting us as an intelligent species. Believe me when I said that."

"Ask means your knowledge wasn't completed."

"And never ask means you know everything?" Omar snorted. "That's boring."

He wasn't the first one who said that.

"What kind of creature that never confused? Never ask? Did he try to be a God or something? Even for a free thinker, that was stupid."

"Why?" I blurted. "Orders can do the same."

"A different approach make a different result." Omar patted my shoulder. "If you met my daughter you'd be a dead man. She asked a lot and refused to listen to any orders."

"You had a family."

"Of course." He answered as he wrote again. ON-MY-MARK. "A beautiful wife, a dutiful son and a lovely five-year-old daughter. They must have miss me a lot by now."

"Your life sounds ... happy." I asked as I wrote: I AM A BAIT?

"Yes. In a peaceful remote village in South Hampshire, there was nothing but tranquility." He wrote: I-CAN-NOT. "My son should've been in junior high school by now."

Omar sighed.

"You know ... I didn't know details of this war." He admitted in low whisper. "Why did they suddenly turned on us? They've shared their technologies. They've helped us with our sterility. They've helped us recuperate from our doomsday. If they only wanted resources, they could've just asked. Why attacking us? What's The Promise? Isn't there any other way?"

My foggy mind went slow on processing the information he shared. But some things remained clear even to this day.

"Maha...." I swallowed the bitter sensation left by that words on my thoat. "Came from a long extinct civilization of Mars. They extinct because of harsh environment in Mars. Their ancestors built a hidden facilities deep underground to save the remnants of their kind. With that sacrifice, seven tube babies preserved. From then, they used limited remained of resources, they rebuilt the civilization." I continued. "Right when they've built an army, Humans found them in a mission to find another home, escape from their dying Earth."

"That's when they helped us," Omar continued the story. "And then asked Eurasia as theirs for compensation. That's when everything turned bitter.

Silence wrapped us.

"But strangely, it's like even The Earth supported you guys." Omar said. "Have you heard about the new unidentified viruses? They named it Medusa. It kills Humans but not Maha. And then, there were those new species of plants and animals that similar to those that grow and live in Mars..." He paused. "If only—if only there were chance ... if only we meet in another circumstances ... do you think we could've been coexist?"

"No." There were no hesitation.

He chuckled but it sounded strange. "I see ... It's too late for us."

That strange pain hit my chest once again. As I struggled to breath, I hold onto his arm. It wasn't because of the oxygen. Omar seemed to be fine. Then, what is this?

"Are you all right?"

I shook, but realized that Omar couldn't see me. "No ... I...." I gulped, tried to find any suitable expression for this. "I don't know—I feel...."

"You're injured." Before I could say anything, he tapped on my chest. "It's deep in here, right? Like choking you, killing you from the inside."

A surprise was sending me froze. "How....?"

Omar laughed as I was lost for words. "You remind me of my daughter when he fell of her scuterbike for the first time....."

"I didn't know...." I grabbed his arm. "I didn't know any of this. I...." Again, words disappeared from my mouth. For unknown reason that I didn't want to think about. "I didn't know anything...."

"Then just scream." What? "Or crying like a baby. Tears is the best med for a broken heart."

"Broken-heart....?" I didn't know heart could break. Breaking that one must be extremely painful, since the pain of the attack alone was sufficient to kill someone.

"Do you ever cry?" Omar asked as my pain subsided.

"No." I took a long breath.

"Scream?"

"No."

"You have to make more friends out there, Pal." He patted my shoulder again. "Not all of them would be loyal to you, but if you find one someday: someone you could call a friend that will always be by your side, smile with you and stayed with you to fix your mistakes ... please treasure it ... For faith is the base of what we called hope."

Then he write with his arm again: SOMEONE-COMING

And I heard it. The door in front of us clicked, beeped, and then opened, let us see a ray of blinding light.

Then, everything happened so fast.

A shadow jumped to the slot of white light when I was struggling not burn my eyes. It leapt to another two shadows that appeared on the opened door, pushing them down on the floor. I could hear a low thud and a list of swearing in Arabic when those two shadows fell.

I blinked to get used to the strong light when I struggled to stand. As the pain throbbed, I looked at those struggling figures on the floor, tried to find Omar and instead found something unnatural between wrestling figures on the floor.

It has four limbs, just like any Humans. But it has no hands or feet. When it turned to me, I saw a disfigured face with half-burned face from eyes to the top of his bald head.

"Run, now!" That was Omar's voice. Taken by surprise, I was taking a step back instead of moving on. "What are you doing? Run, now, Neil!"

One of the warden pulling out gun from his pocket. He aimed at me, but Omar reacted fast. He moved his arms wildly, wiped everything on its path.

I used that chance to take the gun from the officer. When he tried to take it back, I twisted his wrist. The other warden tried to help. I punched him as hard as I can. Omar helped me with his elbow. The wardens knocked off. I stepped on the other screaming warden.

Everything done.

"You're a fool." Omar grunted.

I tried to think about any words, but nothing came out right. "Let's go." Was the final thing I could think of.

"No." He said. "I will only be a burden. You go first. I will follow you."

I looked at his condition and thought no more. I took him with me.

***