Chapter 5 Clemency

“How much gunpowder did they use before it burned out?” Asia played the thought in her head as she stared outside the classroom.

After the training in the jungle, they returned back to their respective universities but with a different curriculum compared to the regular students. It had been months since then. And it had been months since she was confined within the four corners of the classroom, a room built specifically for Ekrons, and that means it was situated kilometers away from the ordinary students.

“Is this class too boring for you, Ms. Asia?”

There were around thirty of them that remained from the previous, initial training. A pretty high number from what their instructors from Ashkelon predicted at the start.

“Ms. Asia?”

Asia looked at her old instructor but she only stared at him. She heard him the first time but she did not want to answer him.

“Are you nearing insanity too?” the instructor smiled and her classmates laughed at her.

Asia blinked and stared at the instructor again. “What is it, sir?”

“What is your answer?”

“For what question?”

“Look at the board and stop fantasizing, Ms. Asia.”

Asia looked at the board and recognized the written numbers were the survival rate of the Ekrons.

“Well…” she said, stuttering. “Humans with a lower EQ had a high chance of failure because myrtus makes them prone to insanity. That is why Ashkelon picks candidates through both written and practical examinations coupled with interviews. Later studies said that those with above average intelligence has a higher chance of assimilating completely with myrtus. That is the reason why for this year, they went to the prestigious universities to look for the next batches of Ekrons, where most of the students are a cut above the rest. After that decision, the researchers had recorded that from less than 1% survival rate, it soared to as high as 80%. That is, if you exclude the new Ekrons who failed during the training.”

“What are you talking about, Ms. Asia?” the instructor asked, raising his brows at her. Laughter erupted from the room.

“I was trying to answer your question, sir.”

“And you got it all wrong. Just shut up and listen, will you? Although, I must commend you for accurately stating a fact, no matter how disconnected it was from the current lesson.”

Amidst the laughter and snickering of everyone, Asia bowed her head and stared at her desk.

“Stupid.”

Asia had no need to look behind her to recognize the voice. It was Angus, who miraculously got over his failure of killing the monster in the jungle. She shut him out of her world, a feat that had become easier with practice. Then, her mind wandered off again. It wandered towards her friends and how she made up her mind never to meet up with any of them, especially Zane. Not like he was doing anything to reach out to her either. And if he does, what then? He would never understand what she had gone through. Zane becoming an Ekron wouldn't help either.

“An Ekron should always be---” but their instructor stopped midway and looked towards the direction of the gate, a distance of a kilometer away from them.

Asia felt it too, as well as all the students in the room. They heard the crash and they instantly knew what had come to pay them a visit. The same kind of monster that they encountered back in the jungle.

“Hide!” their instructor shouted but before they could even move, the building trembled. A monster had already arrived at the classroom.

Chaos followed right after. Asia was the first one to get up from her seat and ran away. The other students followed but not everyone was lucky enough to escape the monster. She could hear their faint little scream as life went out from them.

“Fight! You morons!” Angus hollered.

Asia stopped in her tracks and saw as Angus faced the monster.

"He is the stupid one", she thought.

But everyone might be as stupid as Angus. They stood right next to him and faced the monster. She watched them just in time to see as half of the brave, stupid ones were killed. Then she ran. She knew it was hopeless. Besides, she was cowardly enough to even think of exchanging her life for the sake of defeating the monster.

Asia ran down the stairs and almost crashed towards a human body thrown into her direction. She skirted and managed to hide behind the huge barrels. She was starting to feel fear again. Suddenly, an Ekron with long black hair sat meters away from her. Like Asia, she was using the huge barrels to hide her existence. The girl positioned her finger in front of her mouth, gesturing to her to keep quiet.

Then Asia felt it. A monstrous existence that exceeded even the monster in the jungle, even scarier than the monster in the classroom. And she pondered how Ashkelon could ever hope to defeat this monstrosity.

Beside Asia, the barrels were squashed like jellos. She whimpered in fright and covered her mouth to keep in her voice. She and the girl with the long black hair stared at each other, both afraid of what would happen next. Suddenly, a huge claw took the girl from her hideout. They both looked at the claw that was impaling the girl. Asia looked at the girl who tried to speak but blood came out of her mouth. Asia tightened her hands on her mouth. She needed to control herself. Then, she made out what the girl was saying, “Help,” she asked. Instead of helping, Asia shut her eyes so the girl would disappear from her sight.

Asia whelped. "She lucked out," she thought. "It was unfortunate of her to have me instead of someone as brave as Angus."

Asia could make out as the girl was pulled by the huge claw away from the barrels. She heard a loud thud and she knew it was the girl's body being hurtled around the hallway. Loud, deafening screams and rumbling of the ground followed.

Then silence fell. She might be quivering out of fear but it was also fear that made her look beyond the barrels. She was aware that if she did not leave the place, she would surely meet her demise.

Asia covered her mouth in time to stifle the shrill scream that almost went out of her. Trails of blood greeted her as well as the huge claw around the girl's body. What was most striking was the way the monster handled the girl. Calling it monster only described half of it. Aside from the huge claw attached on its arms, it looked like a regular old woman to her. But not just an old woman, as it gently brushed a strand of hair away from the girl's face and kissed the girl in the forehead.

The scene reminded her of that famous painting, Pieta. If only there was a patch of grass behind and a number of buildings, it would perfectly fit the bill, except that the monster was not showing any emotions at all.

As gentle as the monster touched the girl, it won't erase the fact that it killed her. The thought paralyzed Asia and the dull throbbing on her head came back. This time, it was accompanied by nausea and headache, a signal that her fears were trying to subdue her sanity.

Asia hid again. Her fears warned her that the barrels weren't enough to completely conceal her from the monster. She looked around and realized that she was close to the storage room. She noticed a cabinet through the cracks on the door, it’s a meter away from her so she crawled towards it.

“I apologize for killing you. I will repent for this sin,” Asia heard as the monster spoke.

Asia crawled faster and fell face first onto the hard floor. She was finding it hard to move especially when she was overwhelmed by terror.

“But you are weak, my dear.”

When Asia heard the monster's voice, she temporarily found her strength. She even managed to hide inside the cabinet. She was about to cover her ears when she heard the monster say, “You are my only daughter and yet you are so weak and useless. Dying is a mercy for you.”

Asia's bit her lips as her eyes fixated into a single empty place. She was frozen with horror and she could not even breathe. Her acute senses could hear as the huge claw went through the girl's body again. She listened to the girl whimper until life finally left her.

Then the monster approached Asia's hiding place and stopped before her. At the hole at the bottom of the cabinet, she could make out regular looking feet in front of her. It was wearing a black high-heeled shoes and when the cabinet screeched open, no words could ever describe the terror that she felt. The hinges of the cabinet doors squeaked and when it was separated from its bolt, it was thrown on the other side of the room.

“Are you not going to introduce yourself to me?” The monster asked and leveled its eyes on hers.

A gasp escaped Asia's lips and she observed how the monster's expression changed from delight to confusion. The monster took her by the collar and made her stand up. When the monster removed its paws from her, her knees buckled in fear and she fell into the floor.

Asia observed that the girl's body was laid down on the floor. Her body was still intact, aside from the gaping hole between her chest and stomach.

Asia did not want to die but she could not move out of fear. Then the memory of her friends came into the surface, unbidden, and she realized she had already forgiven them. More than the feeling of terror and helplessness, regret took hold most of her sanity.

She found herself wishing for their safety when it’s her that’s right in front of death's door. If only she had a little of Angus braveness. But no, braveness wouldn't save her, it was always fear that forced her to survive.

The monster took her again and raised her up above its head. “Strange,” it said. “This one still feels.”

Asia's legs flailed in the air and her hands fought to loosen the hands around her neck. The monster let her go and she fell down again, this time gasping for air.

“Go. Killing you would be a waste of time.”

Asia did not wait to be told twice. She ran away from the storage room as fast as her feet could carry her. This vividness of fear, this dread so pronounced that causes her to be unable to move. Then, it only means one thing, it’s no mere memory.

When Asia got out from the storage room, she was greeted by a deafening silence. It seemed like the monsters had already passed by the place and were wrecking havoc. The trees were torn, buildings were shattered but no blood was visible.

Asia did not stay long enough to enjoy the serenity of the view, instead she ran directly to her and her friend's hangout, back when she was still a human being. It took her hours before to reach it, but after becoming an Ekron, it took her mere minutes to reach the University building.

Outside the building, there were rows of emotionless people dressed in different shades of green--Ashkelon colors--and instead of guns, they were armed with huge swords.

This building is safe, was her first thought.

She ran up the stairs, ignoring the injured students who were trying to find a safe place. She faintly heard one of her previous instructors trying to calm down another student on the verge of losing her sanity. She passed by an open room full of bodies covered in white blanket. Beside them were students in grief or students staring listlessly at nothing.

Asia's anxiety rises on every step of the stairs. “They are here, safe and unharmed, protected by the Ashkelon,” she thought, assuaging her worries. It was the only thought that kept repeating on her mind.

"That monster won't be able to pass, right?" Asia asked herself as she ran another flight of stairs and almost collided with Aya.

“Asia!” Aya called. Asia examined her. Her straight hair was loose and she was only wearing a hat. When she was certain that she’s not injured, she embraced her. Before long, Ellis appeared from behind Aya and joined the embrace.

“You're alright…” Ellis said. “I was so worried... I thought…”

Then Ellis burst into tears. Asia tapped her head. Ellis had always been a crybaby but a very sweet girl. Very opposite to her older sister, Frieda, who never cried in front of them.

“Ellis, stop crying,” Aya reprimanded.

“But she just came back,” Ellis wailed.

Asia put her hands on Ellis' head and patted it. Her hair was styled cutely compared to Frieda’s tied up medium length curly hair.

“This girl thought you would never be able to forgive us or something like that,” Aya informed and tried to detach Ellis from her.

“I thought like that before...” Asia admitted and looked at Ellis. Her makeup was a mess.

“I am so sorry…” Ellis bemoaned.

“Stop apologizing for saving yourself, Ellis, that time I was actually relieved to see you safe,” Asia said and continued, "And Aya, thanks for warning me even if I do not usually take your advice,” Asia apologized, reminiscing how she would respond before she was injected by the myrtus.

“You never followed any of my advice before,” Aya corrected.

“Ellis, sorry for making you worry about me.”

“Apology accepted!” Ellis said and hugged her once again.

“Stop trying to baby her,” Aya said and looked at her. “Well, I forgive you as well even though for more than a year, you never called and always ignored my calls. You ran away from, transferred from your apartment to who knows where, even transferred class--”

“Stop rubbing it in, Aya.” Asia said, smiling. Aya remembered everything she had done to avoid them. “And thank you.”

“On second thought, I’m only giving you half of my forgiveness, since we are only a part of the reason why you came back,” Aya added.

Asia smiled at Aya apologetically and proceeded to look around for Zane.

“There,” Ellis said and pointed to Asia's right, meters away from her. And there he was. He was sitting alone on a chair with bandages around his head and shoulders.

“Just go,” Aya said and gave her a slight push on the back.

Asia walked towards him. When he looked at her, she hugged him, enough not to suffocate him. She could not explain why she did the gesture. She only knew that if this happened before she became an Ekron, she would probably do more than just hug him. She wouldn’t care if he had a girlfriend or not. Besides, she did fall in love with him and love does push people to do selfish things.

Asia tightened her arms around him and it felt good. It might be because of the memory of loving him but she was relieved that he was safe, never mind the bruises.

“Asia?” he sounded surprised. Asia loosened her arms around him, worried that she might be choking him.

“Sorry,” she apologized but the apology was mainly because of being mad at him. It was an apology for never giving him a chance to explain himself. Back then, she might have cried due to the feeling of relief of seeing him safe. But all she could do was to wrap her arms around him and never let go.

“Why is it that she hugged him longer than she hugged us? It's unfair don't you think?” Aya commented.

Ellis answered it with a laugh.

“There, there,” Zane said in jest and gently rubbed Asia's back. She might have looked like she was crying or maybe he expected her to cry.

Asia tightened her arms once more around him. If only she was the same way as before, she might have felt authentically happy and glad. But those emotions have been light-years away from her. All she could do was to reminisce and fake it.

“This gives me the opportunity to touch you everywhere I want, you know.” Zane whispered to her ear. Asia felt as his hands traveled slowly along her back and towards her backside. She let him.

“That opportunistic bastard!” This time, it was Frieda's voice, Ellis’ sister. A sharp blow on Zane's head followed.

Zane groaned in pain. “I'm only kidding. Besides, give me a break! It's been months since the last time I saw her!”

Asia removed her hands around him and gently pushed. She stared at his face and she could still remember the love she felt for him.

“Stop looking intently at me like that,” he said and his eyes darted around. Then it goes back to hers and he said, “I am sorry that I broke your trust. I am sorry I was not able to choose you. They said I could not choose you. I deserved it if you never wanted to see me again, if you still hate me.”

"Cannot choose me? How is that even possible?" Asia thought but instead, she nodded. There was nothing more to say but to forgive him.

“You and I can be together now? You still love me?” he asked and Asia was taken aback by the question. She did not expect him to ask something so direct.

“I-I care for you as my friend and that means I love you.” It was only half-lie. Asia could still remember what love was but she could not genuinely feel it anymore. It was true that despite losing her capacity to love, she truly cared for him and for her other friends.

Zane did not speak, rather it was Frieda who commented, “Rejection?! That's a first, I thought it would be a happily ever after, who would-- Ow!” Frieda complained when Aya hit her.

Zane was silent for a while then he asked, “Then why are you acting like I am still the most important person in your life?” he asked it calmly but with a hint of bitterness.

Asia fell into silence and proceeded to get away from him. Instead, Zane pulled her closer. He pressed his head on her shoulders and said, “Don’t, I’m sorry, just stay like this for a while.”

Asia took the time to explain. “After all that happened, I thought... I won't be able to tell you that I have forgiven you. I-I just want to tell you that, at least.”

“Am I the only one assuming that you love me?”

“I loved you,” she answered in past tense.

Zane looked at her again, “I mean are you in love with me. The kind of love that brings to marriage?” he asked as he gazed at her.

This time Asia had become unsure of how to answer. What would be her reply? Is telling him the truth the correct one?

“I would like to marry you,” she answered, almost adding, 'I think', in the end. "That is how I would respond before right? And why would we even talk about marriage?" she thought.

Zane flushed. “I-I mean, the kind of love that will create babies, you know, a family.”

Asia heard the stifled laugh of her friends as they repeated the phrase, 'create babies'. They had already recovered from the previous shock. Zane flushed more than ever, he also heard the teasing.

“I can tolerate sex and procreation,” Asia answered almost instantly, in an effort to keep him from being more embarrassed.

When Zane's eyes widened, only did Asia remember what he meant by love. She answered wrong. She could remember the feeling of it but she could not understand how it was possible for her to feel something as irrational like that.

The feeling of love borders one's sanity. Asia had always liked being with him, being safe with him, caring for him and wanting to give everything to him. Most of all, every touch gives an uplifting feeling. It was an obsessive desire to own a person. How foolish that feeling could be?

Despite all that, Asia could not tell him that myrtus had already robbed her of that emotion. She could not feel love like that anymore. She could fake it but it would be unfair to him. She could marry and procreate with him but it would be a task for her. A task only one of them would enjoy.

At last she shook her head.

“Is that so..” was what he only said.

Zane put his ear on her chest amidst the disapproval of her friends around them.

“It's true. I could not hear the beating of your heart when I do this,” Zane said and added, “unlike before.”

“I am sorry,” Asia said as she hugged his head to her chest, wishing that it could console him.

“You have no idea how much my heart is beating right now.”

“I could tell,” she responded.

Using the heightened senses the myrtus had given her, she could hear the sound of his heart pounding against his chest. And she knew it was the most honest thing she said to him that day.

To be continued…….