Departed

Chapter 3: Hope

Morro's POV

     Harumi sat next to me, hugging her knees. We watched the horizon together. There was a hazy red glow from chasm smoke and a faint sound of screaming from far beneath the flames. Blocks in front of us was the giant white demon.

     Everyone in my company soon realized this giant demon was no ordinary 'I will chase you until I catch you' kind. In fact, it just picked one building up after another, surveying each one very slowly. It would send in its little demons in the building to catch anyone hiding inside, then destroy the building with a giant beam that came out of its head. Everywhere it moved, the city slowly crumbled beneath it. It was slowly destroying the Departed City one building at a time, and it looked like nothing would stop it.

      Quite a few days passed since it first appeared. They had been very peaceful ones. All the demons who usually patrolled the Departed City were helping the big one search each individual building. We hadn't been chased in about a week, if this realm worked in Ninjago time. It was hard to tell when there was no day or night. Wrayth and I had been able to scratch out a chess board into the floor. We'd been using random objects to play chess and checkers. I hadn't had this much relaxation since life.

     Harumi's gaze never faltered. She was silent, just watching the giant demon do its work. She barely talked anymore. She never really talked before, but when she did it was always in an angry or challenging manner. Now, she seemed to be sad, defeated, or contemplating. I didn't know which. The encounter with her adoptive parents really shook her.

     I took a quick peek back at the roof door. We were still doing lookout patrols, even though no demons were coming for us anymore. I always stated that it was better to be safe than sorry, just in case a miracle happened, and the mega-demon stopped destroying the city. The others started to complain that lookout duty was unnecessary, so I took most of the shifts to quiet them down. I never took a lot of shifts before, and now I realized just how boring lookout duty could be. There was literally nothing to watch or talk about. Most of the time I just sat in silence by myself since the others didn't want to 'waste their time'. I had Harumi sitting with me today, but it seemed she had no desire to speak to me. I was getting anxious just sitting there.

     "How much longer until he gets to us?" Harumi asked softly, making me jump inside. I hadn't expected to hear her voice.

     She knew what I knew. Every building that had been searched was destroyed. They were going to catch us eventually. It looked like no one could run from the chasm forever. I had just been foolish enough to think I could have.

     "I don't know," I confessed. She tensed, her head drooping down with her next exhale. Underneath that mask of authority, she must be so scared. Even I, who had seen many terrible things in my lifetime, was terrified when I thought of being tossed to the flames of unending torture. I always had a hard time in these situations where I was supposed to comfort someone. The whole concept was foreign, since no one ever needed it in the Cursed Realm. I gently laid a hand on her shoulder, hoping she wouldn't try to slap me.

     "I'm sorry I had to drag you into this," I said. Inside, I really was sorry. I had no idea this was coming. No one wanted to be thrown into the fires of a second death. I thought I could outrun the inevitable, but it seemed there really was no such thing as hope here.

     Harumi turned her head away from me, her white hair falling over her face. She never bothered to tie it up. "I chose this path."

     "I thought I could protect you."

     "You were being heroic. I don't deserve it." She sighed, tilting her head back up. "I deserve to be in there."

     I knew she meant the chasm. From the tone in her voice, I could only guess she had given up. I knew the others had the same level of hope for the future. We had seen to many allies lost to the demons, and we had to suppress any grief we might feel, lest we get caught as well. I led this rag-tag band of villains. My failure resulted in them being lost. If anyone deserved to be punished, it was me.