Elcon City (ON HOLD, Rewriting)

Chapter One

Trisha liked the color red. She had nothing against it. She likes red roses, red lipstick, anything. What she doesn't like was the fact that red liquids were dripping out from her injured ankle. She could feel the pain made its way through her leg. She didn't quite know how S.C.A.R.S found their way to her. She was in hiding, and she didn't realize that they would somehow find her. She was planning to leave Elcon City. She didn't know how yet. That's why she hid. She has been searching for someone who would help her, someone who's on her side.

She was running with all the strength she had, she tried to ignore the pain but she couldn't. Her speed slowed down and her breath turned into a ragged one. Her eyes watered but she knew she had to be strong.

For my parents, and for Rosa. She thought.

Rosa was right all along. The girl had warned her of what would happen if she does not leave Elcon immediately. And she was right. Boy, how Trisha wished she had listened. She didn't want to accept the truth about her friends, her family, and about her life. But that's the truth. Whether she likes it or not, that's what's truly happening.

She wiped her hand across her forehead. She was feeling dizzy. But through her blurry vision, Trisha could have sworn that the wall gate to leave the city was open. And she realized that it is, in fact, open. She remembered that this is the exchange night, the night when the best S.C.A.R.S guards exchange position; the ones who has been guarding inside Elcon goes out and the ones who has been guarding outside goes in. It only happens once in a month. And so she ran again, this time faster. She noticed they were starting to close it. They knew that she would try to leave through it. The gate was only a few meters in front of her and she didn't stop running. She could see the woods full of trees from the distance. She reached the door but she didn't slow down, in fact, she ran faster. She felt like she was flying. She was a bird flying out of her cage, and she was welcoming her freedom.

The space between the gates was getting smaller and smaller really fast. But luckily, Trisha was faster than it. She closed her eyes tight. And she kept on running. And when she finally opened her eyes, she turned her head back, the gate was closed. She made it. She finally made it out of Elcon.

***

Her first problem was solved. They won't be able to start chasing her again at least until morning. S.C.A.R.S knew better than to send their men out in the dark of the night. It was too risky. They knew what would happen to people who went out of Elcon at night. They all got snatched. As for the guards who stand guard outside, they have better things to worry about than a seventeen year old girl with no defense knowledge.

Snatched was the term used to describe people who went missing outside of Elcon city at night. The cases of the snatched are the cases that forced S.C.A.R.S to assign guards outside Elcon. After the snatchers came the Imposters. Imp for short. They sneak inside the city and live there, they are humans. Just like the snatchers. The guards caught most of the snatchers and imps until they eventually stopped coming. But the imps inside Elcon were impossible to identify, that is until sixteen years ago when a human revealed everything to S.C.A.R.S. They killed every imp. First they killed the imps posing as S.C.A.R.S agents, and then they killed Rosa's parents, and now they killed hers. Honestly it surprised her how long it took them to kill her parents when they could have killed them all those years ago.

Trisha shuddered at the thought. A wave of anger once again came to her. Her insides were burning. She was breathing heavily from all the running. Her hands went to cover her ankle and her back was rested against a tree when she felt a hand on her mouth and a gun to the side of her forehead. She knew who they were so she didn't resist. She knew that if she told them now that she was on their side, they won't believe it and think that she is lying, they'd think she's just begging for her life. But she can't help but wonder of what they might be doing near Elcon during exchange night.

They blindfolded her so she couldn't see a thing, and she felt someone tied a rope to her hands. She had to rely on her hearing to know what's in her surroundings. She heard the sound of blades. Was it a helicopter? She must have been so tired from running that far that she didn't hear the sound earlier.

She was pushed inside the helicopter and she wondered where they were taking her. Were they taking her to their home base? Their headquarters? Or maybe they were taking her to a prison? Wherever it is, she knew they wouldn't kill her. She knew Rosa would recognize her. She knew that Rosa wouldn't let them think she is one of them. She is not one of them. Not anymore. Not since she found out the truth.

She wasn't on S.C.A.R.S's side now, nor is she on REX's side. She decided a while ago that if there was a side worth taking, it was truth's side. Though she was genuinely surprised the weight of the truth on her shoulder hasn't turned her into a dwarf yet, she could actually feel how heavy it was. Carrying it on her shoulders might be hard, but it was worth it. Her thirst for avenging her parents was far heavier that the truth could ever be.

***

A guard took her blindfold off. She didn't find much difference between using the blindfold and not using it. The room she was in was dark. She could barely see a thing. The guard left the room and she was left all by herself in the dark, cold, room.

Trisha started to walk around the room, trying to find an object; a chair, a table, anything. She was doing it with her hands because she wasn't able to see. She was sure she had searched the whole room, and what she found was only empty spaces.

She was still standing when she felt dizziness, she reflexively closed her eyes. She backed off until her back hit the wall and she sat against it. She buried her face between her knees. Now that she wasn't moving, she finally realized how tired she really was. She tried to keep her eyes open just in case someone was planning to question her that night.

Every second that passed felt like eternity, she had been forcing her eyes open for the last 40 minutes, and yet there was no sign of anyone outside the door. Not even a single noise. No clatters. No chatters. It was a complete utter silence.

Trisha was starting to lose her control. She started to doze off and waking up over and over again. After the third time she doze off, she finally gave in and she let the dream lord took hold of her mind.

***

She was screaming. She was screaming really loud. She was cursing the girl, telling her to go away. Who was it? She couldn't quite make out the girl's face. But she knew that the girl was crying. She was probably her age, only fifteen.

"Please, Trisha. Believe me. Come with me." the girl begged.

Trisha could hear gunshots. She knew that it wasn't aimed at her; it was aimed at the girl in front of her. She knew that the bullets have yet to hit either of them. And yet, she felt pain in her chest.

"No, Rosa. You can't drag me into this madness. S.C.A.R.S didn't kill your parents. And I know they won't kill my parents."

She wasn't sure if what she said was true or if it was only what she wanted, what she wished to be true. But that's the thing she decided to believe in. Nobody could tell her otherwise. Trisha sobbed and wiped her tears.

Suddenly, the girl's face cleared up. Trisha was crying and so the girl's face became blurry. But now that her eyes were free from all the tears. She could finally see Rosa. Standing in front of her and begging her to believe.

The sound of gunshots became chaotic. Rosa smiled faintly at Trisha, turned her back, and started to run.

***

Trisha woke from her dreams. She was sweating despite the cool air in the room. She dreamed of the night Rosa begged her to come with her and leave Elcon. The night Rosa left her. She rubbed her eyes and that was when she realized that it wasn't sweat at all, it was tears. She was crying in her sleep. She regretted not coming with Rosa two years ago. And now her parents are gone, S.C.A.R.S killed them. Just like how they killed Rosa's parents.

Trisha was fully awake when she realized that someone had treated her wound, the blood had stopped dripping and she felt a lot better now. They must have treated it when she was deep in her sleep.

She then noticed a faint shadow appear beneath the door to the room she was in. She saw the doorknob started to turn. Someone was about to enter her room.