Chapter Ten
“Are we going to run forever?” Soul asked, watching as Hiro packed a bag with some clothes Syph had provided.
Hiro shook his head. “We can’t run forever,” he said, zipping up the bag and standing. “We don’t have enough time.” He looked at Soul who was sitting on his bed with her ankles crossed. She was hugging his pillow and frowning in concern. Her blond hair fell over her shoulders and her silver eyes held hidden sorrow. Hiro gazed at her grimly. “Don’t look so sad, Soul,” he said, placing the bag by the bed and taking Soul’s hands. She looked startled, but didn’t pull her hands away when Hiro knelt in front of her.
“We may be running, but it’s only until I can find a better way to solve this problem,” explained Hiro gently, holding Soul’s gaze. “I want you safe. I will only make the choices that will keep you that way.”
Soul hunched her shoulders shyly and looked away. Just then Syph entered the room. Hiro released Soul’s hands and stood up, grabbing the bag as he looked back at Syph.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, noting the anxious expression on Syph’s old face.
“They’re coming,” Syph replied, looking from Hiro to Soul and back again. “I can feel them. Anna has always given off an ominous presence. They’ll be here any minute.”
“What?” Hiro was startled. He hadn’t thought they would catch up so fast.
“We have to get out of here,” said Soul jumping off the bed.
“I’ll hold them off,” said Syph, leading the way out of the room. “Go out the back door and take the garden path.” He pointed down the hallway that led to the room Soul had woken up in. “From there, if you can get to the forest in time, avoid the path and run south. You’ll have to let your instincts take over after that, Hiro. I’m sorry.”
“You’ve helped plenty,” said Hiro. “Thank you.” He took Soul’s arm and hastily brought her down the hallway. Syph watched them go, a sad grin tugging at his face.
“I shouldn’t have been so anxious to die,” he said, turning in the opposite direction Hiro and Soul had gone. “This is much more sudden than I thought it would be.” With that, he made his way slowly towards the front of the house. Any minute now the doorbell would ring, and when he answered it his past would be there waiting for him.
Hiro and Soul made it out the glass door and into the garden before they heard the doorbell. Soul looked back with a pale face, but Hiro tugged gently on her arm to remind her of the escape plan. He knew she was worried about Syph, it was obvious on her face when she turned away and followed him swiftly across the garden path. She wished she could run as fast as she knew Hiro could. They would be miles away in only a few minutes, but with how fast Anna and the rest caught up Soul knew it would be pointless. She wasn’t even sure why they were running when Syph would only slow them down for a few minutes.
They reached the edge of the woods and as they passed into the trees a scream of agony cut through the air. Soul stopped dead in her tracks, spinning around and staring at the house. The air seemed to chill when they both heard a loud crunch that sounded oddly human. Soul stepped back into Hiro who took her shoulders, keeping her close.
“What... did they do to him?” Soul whispered in terror.
Hiro moved her behind him, watching the house suspiciously. “Soul,” he whispered. “Enimito is here.”
Soul looked at him in alarm, but right before she could sleep the branches above their head snapped. They both looked up and Hiro shoved Soul away before Shadow Eater dropped on top of him.
“Hiro!” Soul shouted when Hiro slammed into the ground with Shadow Eater standing on his chest.
“We’re done playing games with you, Crystal Crier,” hissed Shadow Eater darkly.
It happened too fast. Shadow Eater whipped a dagger from his arm and threw it at Hiro whose eyes widened a second before the knife struck.
Soul screamed at the top of her lungs.
The knife gouged through Hiro’s throat to the hilt, stabbing the ground beneath him. Hiro’s golden eyes misted over and blood spilled from his mouth when he opened it. He tried to speak, but a gargle and squeak of pain was all that came out.
“NO!” Soul cried. She ran forward and shoved Shadow Eater off Hiro, falling to her knees beside him. Her hands were trembling as she stared at the knife and Hiro’s pale face. He looked at her, tears sliding down his expressionless face. He blinked slowly, holding her gaze a moment longer, but then his eyes shut and he went limp.
Soul burst into tears, breathing hard in shaky breathes as she cautiously reached out to him, but Shadow Eater seized her and pulled her away from Hiro. Soul struggled against him, kicking and shouting. She stared at Hiro’s body as she fought Shadow Eater who was bringing her to the house. It was like a nightmare. Hiro was lying there, bleeding and dead and she was being taken away from him. She sobbed out loud, cursing Shadow Eater and trying to wriggle free.
She was brought into the house and thrown to the ground of the glass room. Soul lay on the ground where she fell, crying into her arms as if she were the one dying.
“Get the weapon too, Shadow Eater,” said Anna as she entered the room with her two bodyguards. “We’re not done with him.”
Shadow Eater nodded and left.
Anna approached Soul, standing over her with her arms crossed. She tilted her head, strands of her blond hair sliding past her scowling face. “Stop wetting the floor with your fake tears,” she snarled. “You are a heartless devise like Hiroshima was. Your feelings are fake.”
Soul lifted her head, glaring at Anna through puffy red eyes. She slowly stood up, her fists clenched. “I have learned to love without a heart,” she hissed. “I don’t know why you assume everything is how you say it is, but it’s not!”
Anna whipped out her gun and fired, but the bullet struck the ground where Soul had been a moment before. She stood nearer Anna, her hand to Anna’s stomach where a stain of blood began to spread. Anna smirked and looked down at Soul who was glaring straight ahead. She wrenched her hand back and Anna’s lip twitched. In Soul’s hand was the twisted key she had found on the train. She took it back, moving past Anna and dropping to her knees again. She hung her head, tightly shutting her eyes and holding the key.
“Where did you get that?” Anna asked, looking down at Soul. Her stomach was bleeding, but she didn’t attend to it.
“I found it,” answered Soul quietly. “On a train.”
Anna’s expression darkened. “A train,” she whispered. “The one we found you on?”
“No, a different one,” replied Soul, shaking her head.
Anna looked to her bodyguards, pointing at Soul and the key. They moved in on her and Soul looked up in alarm when they seized her and one tried to take the key from her hand.
“Don’t take it!” Soul shouted, kicking the man’s hand.
The wall of glass was shattered suddenly and everyone looked up to see Shadow Eater tumbling across the ground. He jumped up, sliding a sword from his leg and bracing himself in front of Anna.
“Crystal Crier,” Shadow Eater whispered to Anna over his shoulder. “He’s alive.”
“He is, yes,” replied Anna, peering past Shadow Eater jadedly. “Now that Hiroshima is dead the crystal has free range of the body.”
Soul was forgotten by the bodyguards who quickly took up post on either side of Anna. Outside the sky was growing dark, but there was a red glow and a heavy wind began to blow. The trees bent and every peddle on the flowers were torn and sent spiraling into the air. It would have been beautiful had the sky not looked like fire and smoke.
The darkness was cast over the garden and Soul saw Crystal Crier.
He left the forest and walked forward with his head down. His metal armor glinted in the red glow and his metal visor hid his golden eyes. Soul got up, wondering if it really was Crystal Crier, or if Hiro had survived. As he approached Soul began to feel an overwhelming trepidation that made her step back until she was against the wall.
The Crystal Crier came forward, stopping a few yards away. The wind cut off at once and dead silence fell.
Everyone was still, watching Crystal Crier who didn’t move. He was close enough now that they could all see the blood and oil rushing from his throat and the knife he held. It was dripping. He suddenly hunched his shoulders and the ground around him erupted.
Anna threw her arms up and her bodyguards dove in front of her to save her, but Shadow Eater vanished from in front of her. He leaped to the back of the room, slamming his hands onto the wall on either side of Soul who gasped in alarm. Shadow Eater wrapped his arms around her, shielding her from the chunks of flaming earth that flew at them. They crashed into Shadow Eater’s back, but he stood sturdy like a brick wall, unmoved by the impact. Soul cringed, shutting her eyes as burning dirt and grass tumbled past her feet and fell from Shadow Eater’s back. She had no idea why he was shielding her instead of Anna.
The explosion died down and Shadow Eater stepped back, looking to Crystal Crier who was motionless again.
“The key,” whispered Shadow Eater quickly, looking down at Soul.
“What?” Soul looked at him, the key still tight in her fist.
“There’s a missing piece in Hiroshima’s system that Anna’s been hunting,” explained Shadow Eater quickly, pushing back his goggles to his forehead. His gentle blue eyes were filled with what looked like worry. “There’s a five percent chance you can save him with the key.”
Soul opened her mouth speechlessly, but suddenly the ground rumbled again. Shadow Eater looked back swiftly to see Anna and her bodyguards were gone, but the room was nowhere near empty.
Crystal Crier was crouched in the broken window, his steal visor reflecting the light of the fire that had caught on the walls. The flames were spreading up the woodwork and melting the glass. Smoke rose into the air in dark clouds.
“Shadow Eater,” said the silky voice from the mouth with the red lines reaching down to his chin. “Want to play, brother?”
Shadow Eater turned his back to Soul protectively. “You stopped calling me brother years ago,” he said darkly. “Are you no longer in there, Hiroshima?”
Crystal Crier shook his head. “You killed him,” he said, lifting his head and pointing at the puncture wound in his throat that oozed blood and black oil. “I thank you. I’ve been trying to get out for centuries.”
Shadow Eater scowled, his metal jaw clicking. “Anna was a fool to think freeing you from Hiro would be a good thing,” he said darkly.
Crystal Crier straightened up. “You and Geicko were both too slow,” he said coolly. “A moron could see that idiot woman was going to free me and destroy the world.”
“You can’t-” Soul said, cutting off and covering her mouth when Crystal Crier vanished from where he was and appeared right beside her.
“Symphony,” he said emotionlessly, looking down at her. Soul saw herself reflected in his silver visor and her own wide eyes stared back at her as Crystal Crier spun the knife that had killed Hiro. “Where is your hero now?” He asked.
Soul gasped and Crystal Crier lifted the knife. Shadow Eater whirled around, knocking the knife out of Crystal Crier’s hand and grabbing him by the hole in his throat. Soul had to look away when Shadow Eater stabbed a knife into Crystal Crier’s side. There was suddenly a loud crackling sound and Soul looked up to see bolts of electricity shooting from Shadow Eater’s hand into Crystal Crier’s side.
Crystal Crier jerked and tried to pull away, but Shadow Eater held him fast and didn’t let go until Crystal Crier’s knees hit the ground.
Shadow Eater released him and he fell to the ground.
Soul stared as the armor on Crystal Crier slowly faded and she held her breath when she found Hiro lying on the ground. His eyes shut and his face pale.
“What did you do?” Soul asked, looking at Shadow Eater who knelt by Hiro and set a hand over the hole in his throat.
“I restarted his system,” replied Shadow Eater. A strange red glow surrounded him and his metal armor vanished. He pushed back the hood of his cloak and his short blond hair caught the light of the fire climbing the walls of the house. “We need to get out of here.”
Soul had questions, but she knew it was a bad time to ask them.
Enimito picked up Hiro and nodded Soul towards the gapping hole in the side of the house. “To the woods,” he said. “Anna won’t be far behind us when she realized Crystal Crier is subdued.”
Soul nodded and they hurried out of the burning house. She didn’t look back. All she did was cast Hiro terrified glances. He was limp as if dead, but Shadow Eater said he had restated his system. What did that mean?
The Beginning - 8
I opened my eyes to find myself lying sprawled on the ground. Smoke rose from the ashes and off the chunks of rubble that remained. I sat up, placing my hand to my head. Never had Crystal Crier taken over me like that. I was determined that it would never happen again. I gazed over the crater and smelled the scent of burned electronics, metal, and wood. It made me shudder. I stood up dusting off my arms. The cloud of ash fell from me and I checked my surroundings again. Any human would have been incinerated in the explosion. I wondered briefly if Enimito and Geicko had escaped, but there was no way of knowing.
With the lab gone I was free, but I hadn’t realized that I had no idea what to do with the freedom. I stood still, mulling over what I should do. I decided to go home. Well, back to my village. I was curious to know if they would accept me now that I was intelligent enough to care for myself. With my mind made up I set off.
It didn’t take me long. The lab had been built on an island not far from my homeland. I changed into Crystal Crier so I could cross the ocean and reached my village in less than a day. It was late in the evening when I arrived. The familiar houses were like a memory that had escaped me. I walked the empty roads, gazing at the structure and recalling how I had begged outside many of the houses. Now I walked by them, no longer needing what they could offer. It was strange, and I’m not sure what I felt, but there was something there that troubled me. I didn’t like feeling that way.
“Hey, you,” said a voice suddenly. “What are you doing out here?”
I turned and looked over my shoulder, finding an old man in an overcoat looking at me. He had wispy gray hair and weary eyes. I didn’t recognize him, but I knew he was some kind of watchman.
“Hiroshima,” I said to the old man, turning to look at him. “Scientists took me from here, but I’ve returned.”
The old man stared in alarm. “Hiroshima?” His old eyes examined me with disbelief. He moved closer, shaking his head. “It can’t be you,” he said. “We were told you died.”
I shook my head, not understanding. “I’m not dead,” I said.
“We were told by the scientists that you were,” replied the old man. “After the mayor sold you to them.”
“Sold me?” I asked.
“Oh, how sad,” crooned a voice in my head. Crystal Crier was back.
“Not you again,” I snapped, looking away from the old man. “I told you to go away.”
“Me?” Asked the old man blankly.
“There’s a voice in my head,” I told the old man, glancing back at him.
“Tell him my name,” urged Crystal Crier with jest.
“No,” I shot with a glare.
The old man took a step back. “Something is wrong with you,” he said nervously.
“Don’t be scared,” I said, turning to face him. “Please. I just need a place to stay now that I’ve escaped the scientists.”
“Escaped them?” The old man asked. His face grew pale. “But our safety from their weapon was in the deal. If you ran away then we aren’t safe anymore.”
If I had emotions I would have reacted differently. I would have considered their safety. “The lab was blown up,” I told the old man. “And I am the weapon, so there’s no way they can harm anyone if I’m here.”
“You’re the weapon??
?? The man demanded in horror.
“Oh boy,” said Crystal Crier teasingly. “You just blew it. Like you always do.”
I wasn’t sure what Crystal Crier meant until the man started shouting.
“The weapon!” He yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran away from me and down the street. “The weapon is here! The treaty was broken! It’s going to destroy us!” As he shouted the village began to wake up. I stared after him as doors opened to houses and people looked around. The moment they laid eyes on me they broke into a panic and I watched as the whole place erupted. They ran around me as I stood and wondered what was going on.
“Hey, Hiroshima,” said Crystal Crier thoughtfully. “Are you also aware of that tingling in our hand?”
I blinked, becoming aware of what Crystal Crier was talking about. I looked at my hand as if dazed.
My armor was forcing its way out.
“Are you doing this?” I asked, watching as it gradually slid out. I tried to make it go back in, but it wasn’t stopping.
“No,” said Crystal Crier. “Maybe that treaty was something you should have looked into before killing the scientists?” Crystal Crier mused at the back of my mind. “It is odd that we’re both being forced to blow this village up though. Interesting.”
“How is this happening?” I demanded, watching as the armor shot out of my shoulders, arms, and legs. I couldn’t stop it. The sky filled with black clouds and I tried to reverse the energy flowing from me, but it was futile.
“You can’t do this!” Cried the voice of the old man. “Leave! Go away! Why are you doing this?”
“I can’t stop it!” I shouted. The ground began to shake and the sound roared like thunder. I watched as the earth broke open and inside the red glow of fire rose. I was frightened and wanted to stop it. The smell of smoke made me cough and then the light burst from me. Purple instead of white. I screamed and heard the man’s voice in the distance.
“No! Stop! Leave us alone!” He yelled at me.
I wished I could have stopped. If I had a heart it would have torn. The sky was filled with fire and I knew what was coming.
“Don’t do that!” The man shouted as if hoping he would stop me. “No! DON’T!”
The screams of the villagers still haunt me. The people that had sold me for their safety, burned up in the fiery explosion. When it was over I stood in the remains. My golden eyes hidden behind the visor while I cried.
“Never again,” I whispered hoarsely, the pain tearing me up on the inside. “I’ll never do this again.”
“I doubt that,” Crystal Crier whispered in my mind.