Chapter 12: Consequence Coverup (1)
1.
My limbs aren't working.
I can't move. Who is this guy?
He looks a bit confused.
“You can talk?”
“Yeah?”
“How did, you survive that explosion just now?”
I have no clue what to say to that.
“Luck.”
Sure whatever I'll just go with that.
Instantly I feel my arm contorting and twisting.
Since I've gone through much worse today, my expression of tiredness just stays the same.
I'm just done, when all of this is over I'm running away, this city has brought me nothing but suffering.
Urgh I promised Emily I would make her my assistant though... Guess I can stick through it for a little bit.
I thought I was done with the pain after the crystal fell, my arm is just twisting and twisting until it rips itself off.
This man is doing it, he must be blessed, he has a neutral face like what he is doing is completely normal, urgh is every blessed person a psycho?
My arm grows back from the stub, his face looks neutral and concerned now, like he put something into place.
He turns back to the people following him.
“Leave at once, take care of any rogue parasites. Oh! Except for you, Lily.”
The group that was following him run in different directions at super high speeds, probably being blessed beings as well.
The girl called lily stays back, right behind this man.
She has dark purple hair, purple eyes and a purple robe.
I guess she really likes purple I Dunno.
She looks around 16 but still looks incredibly wise for some reason. She was incredibly tall, probably the same height as Immy.
She gives off an ethereal look, it almost looks like there are stars contained within those eyes, she doesn't say a word, she is just clasping her hands together, almost like she is praying.
Her hair is incredibly kept and straight, not a single strand out of place.
He looks back at me, with a softer expression.
He passes me a shirt and some pants from the backpack Lily was holding in her hand.
I was thankful.
“you’re the one who was climbing towards that crystal? I didn't believe it when I saw you, thought that sinner would be dead by now.”
He spotted me? This really wasn't good, I could get into a lot of trouble from this.
“I understand your motives, in fact id call you a hero given the circumstances, but we can't excuse what you've done here, the crystals are sacred to life and you completely destroyed one.”
Yeah... I did...
An awful excuse that a child would come up with slipped out of my mouth.
“There's still plenty more in the cave, and besides if I didn't we would all die.”
“we?”
Oh right? Should I say, I feel like he would help them if I told him.
“Diana and Emily, Diana is a ble-”
“Yes blessed I understand. So she wasn't infected?”
“she isn't infected.”
I give him a proud look, he responds back with his neutral face, showing no emotion.
I feel like I'm walking on shards of glass around this conversation.
And why is this lily girl staring at me so intensely, I feel like she is judging me on every word I say.
“Where are you from? I've never heard of a blessing such as yours.”
What's the right thing to say in this situation?
“I'm from the inner circle.”
Lily speaks up.
“Lie.”
Oh... She is a lie detector.
“I live in the inner circle currently.”
They look at each other, exchanging glances.
Please don't ask for more, please don't ask for more info.
I don't know if being from the wilderness is normal or not.
“So you were born in the outer circle and made your way into the inner circle?”
He seems distant now, like he is talking down to me.
“Yes.”
“Lie.”
Yeah of course.
“Huh? Where are you really from.”
“Outside of the cave...”
“You were born out there, in the wild... Okay... Who are you staying with now?”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Imogen. Uh.. Imogen Abel”
His face looks annoyed, like he was wishing death upon me.
He looks back at lily, she just nods.
“So why is Imogen so interested in you?”
“I can heal super fast.”
“so you are blessed?”
“Yes.”
“Lie.”
Instantly his face contorted.
My body feels like it's being crushed, he is now using his ability to force me to the ground.
He spits out another question.
“Are you human?”
Am I human? I don't even know? I think i am, maybe not. I have no clue.
“Yes.”
“Lie...”
My body is crushed, I feel everything being compressed into one single point.
Sweet nothingness here I come.
2.
Sophie runs up to where Holly landed, she looks battered and hurt.
“Holly? Are you okay!?”
“Yeah... I'm fine...”
She lets go of Diana and Emily, she was wrapped around them, they both passed out from the force of the explosion.
“they’ll be fine... They’ll be fine...”
Holly looks over at Sophie, she is covered in cuts, including a big cut in her right eye, destroying it, there was no way of recovering that.
It looked really bad.
“Shit. Holly, we need to get you to a doctor.”
“I'm fine, there's no organ damage, just carry the maid ill carry Diana, let's go home sis”
Sophie knows better than anyone how stubborn Holly is about self-care and health. It will get her killed one day.
She picks up the maid, she has bruises all over her body, but nothing substantial, luckily, she survived, for a non-blessed human this was a miracle. Diana must have really tried to protect her.
They began walking the destroyed landscape.
Holly looks like she is struggling with movement, she has a broken ankle.
She isn't complaining, she is on a mission, and nothing will stop her.
“Shit, holly hide.” Sophie pushes her slightly behind a rock.
It was the red knight prick with a pretty lady.
She recognises her, she is Lily, they had met before. But she knows she is bad news.
And then there's a boy, forced onto the ground, I think he is going to be killed.
Wait... is that Amelias brother...
“woahhh its Z, he is alive? What are they doing to him?”
Wait holly’s friend Z is the creature that took the appearance of Amelia’s brother? Shit this is getting way to complicated, so much potential drama.
Instantly Z gets crushed, blood splattering everywhere.
Welp not anymore, there’s no coming back from that.
Holly drops Diana on the floor, with a thud she instantly rushes over and strikes the knight in red with a kick.
Catching him off guard the kick hits him in the head.
“argh fuck.”
He looks up and tries to subdue Holly but she twists out of his grasp and punches him in the nose, breaking it.
A snapping sound could be heard, he just broke her wrist as she struck him.
He wafts his hands sideways and flings Holly into the air without touching her, she crashes into a few rocks.
“Fuck, what was that about?”
He mutters out loud.
Holly gets up from the rocks.
“Holly Caldwell? Oh using your demon powers are we? What were you siblings to the monster I just killed? Wouldn't be surprised.”
He teases her, he really wants an excuse to kill her, he has not been struck in a long time, he wanted to cut loose.
Before holly can rush in again, Sophie comes from behind a boulder.
“WE SURRENDER!”
“Oh?”
He looks at Sophie, who dropped her two knives.
“I think holly was confused, she did not know the boy you just killed, she thought you killed a random person.”
Lily speaks up, “Lie”
“Oh, you stupid bitch.”
The man just laughs to himself, touching his face which is now covered in a bit of blood from his nose.
“you two both trespassed! Completely ignoring me! You should be punished.”
He laughs again.
“I could kill you right now, but I'll be merciful, how about you two get on your knees and beg?”
Holly’s anger fills her, but the pain from her bodies injuries has already made her fall on her knees.
“Holly has the right idea, come on Sophie, beg for m-”
Another punch, it was weak and in his jaw, but still caught him off guard.
The punch turned into a grab, arms wrapped around his neck, he quickly twists the body attached to him.
What? It was the boy I just crushed?
Holly shouts “Z!!! Z z z !! Z!”
He twists more but Z just continues to squeeze, the twists and turns that he is applying to his body are being healed quicker than he can apply them.
He cant crush his entire body from this close distance.
He flings the body attached to him, his hand finally let go.
Z was flung 50 meters into the air
He begins breathing heavily, his vision is slightly blurred.
Sophie runs in and punches him. He gets knocked back, his neck making a cracking noise. Recognising he is actually hurt now he decided to lower himself to ask for help.
“LILY!”
“what?”
“HELP?”
“no.”
He holds his hand out to push Sophie backwards, he needs space to be more effective, he was incredibly weak in close combat.
Sophie tries to grab the neck of his Armor but he gains hold of her arm and twists it.
“ARGH”
Before he could full snap Sophie’s arm, Holly comes in with another flying kick.
He saw right through it and as she is in the air he wafts his hand down and slams her forcefully into the rocks.
The force of the slam destroys the ground below her, making a crater.
Holly is incapacitated.
He then flings Sophie backwards, planning to finish Holly off.
“Urgh this is tiring.”
Suddenly the boy comes back and lands on his back, he puts him in a headlock.
“GO AWAY.”
He elbows Z, each elbow crushing his ribs, but that only made him squeeze harder.
Holly wakes up barely, still dazed from the impact, she sees Z saving her from the man that was probably going to kill her.
Z didn't have enough strength to actually knock out this man though. Considering blessed people had significantly stronger bodies.
She forces herself up like a puppet and slams her fist into the man's face, over and over again until he falls over.
“My... Saviour...”
She collapses and falls asleep.
Z just stands near the body of the man, he was out cold.
He looks at Lily, who was just watching.
Her lips move, she asks quietly.
“Are you evil?”
“No.”
She smiles like a little girl, “Good!”
She walks over to the man in the knight's armour and grabs him by the collar, she begins to drag him into a more restful position.
“You don't want to be here when he comes back, expect repercussions for this whole ordeal of course.
Kal isn't all bad, he just has a bad personality, but he usually does the right thing, don't hold it against him.
You are a hero though, you killed all those hosts, you saved lives, that's why I'm on your side, can I get your name?”
This info was a lot to process for him.
“My name is Z.”
“Cute name, ill remember that one, my little hero.”
She gives me a wink, it looked really weird seeing her act playfully when she looked like the princess of heaven.
Z blushes.
She smiles at my reaction, like gained something from it.
“Also.”
She reaches into her backpack and gives me a new shirt and pants, the previous was destroyed when I was crushed.
“Cover yourself up.”
She laughs cutely.
Z was incredibly embarrassed.
She looks over Z’s shoulder while he is changing, Sophie is by holly's sleeping body.
“Hey Sophie?” Lily speaks softly.
She spits out a reply.
“What?”
“you've gotten stronger, your parents would be proud.”
“I really don't give a shit about my parents Lily.”
She picks up holly then walks over to the rock where Diana and Emily are sleeping.
Sophie shouts at me from behind the rock.
“Z. Help me carry these people back home, I can take Diana and Holly, you carry the maid.”
He runs over, glad the two are okay, his efforts were not for nothing.
3.
Emily is light, so I'm fine physically.
But mentally? Sophie is giving me really weird energy.
She seems to be conflicted about something, probably me, which makes sense.
She seems to notice me being afraid around her.
“Relax kid, I'm not going to hurt you or anything.”
“No, I didn't think that...”
“it's not like we are friends though, you caused this whole situation that got holly hurt, I don't know what she sees in you.”
I don’t know either, I only met her yesterday, maybe she gets attached quickly.
“Sorry.”
“Relax, I'm not actually mad, actually I had a question, was it you that caused the explosion? The one that made people actually aware something was wrong in this town”
“yeah... I set myself on fire and exploded the bar”
Why does it hurt to think about this? The memories being grainy and terrifying; my stomach is dropping when I recount it in my mind.
I wish I could heal from mental side effects.
After this. I'm living a life of peace.
“Holy shit, really? Thats metal.”
She gives me a concerned look, she can tell what kind of mental toll something like that can bring.
We are making our way around the burning town, it was a long walk.
“So Z. Are you not an unholy creature? What did Immy say about you.”
“I don't know if I am or not, Last thing Immy said was that she was also unsure, but I have this bodies memories, I think that's all that counts.”
“Memories of your past and then like, what? 10 plus years of you living with a mimic? Thats wild.”
She gives me a sad look.
“Do you remember how you died? The first time.”
I have no memories of dying originally, I just remember my parents losing their life near the cabin, by a huge bear unholy creature, a bear that had no right being that big, it roared, and my parents stood still, passive to the situation that was going on, letting the bear eat them alive with a smile on their face and open arms.
Was a very traumatic memory.
This creature was in the book I read, it reminded me instantly of this distressing event, unlocking it from my mind.
Then I remember running with my sister, getting her safely to the cabin... and then? Yeah then we just survived.
“I don't remember dying.”
“Hm, well that's fine, I'm sure its blocked up somewhere in that brain, Amelia never told me what happened, she is kind of secretive in that way.”
“How is Amelia doing?”
“I can't tell you, she would hate me if she found out I was talking to you, let alone telling you things about her.”
“Right.”
We didn't say another word until we arrived back at the perimeter, there was an impromptu fence placed around the circumference, allowing for no entry into the forest.
The ground and trees here were burnt, I guess that'll be the best way to get rid of any of the worms that are hiding in the grass.
Sophie easily jumps over the fence and leaves Sophie and Diana on the floor, then jumps over and grabs Emily from me, jumping over again.
“Need me to carry you as well?”
I shake my head.
I was fine, I just climbed up the fence and jumped over.
“Got a nice set of muscles on you, hey did you get older? You look older than when I first met you”
“yeah, when my entire body was destroyed, I got older... wait is there a mirror anywhere?”
My body was completely destroyed 3 times, once with the explosion, second with the crystal impact and third with being crushed into nothing.
She takes me to a lake, and I look at my face in the reflection.
My hair is back??? What, when did this happen?? It's like it grew to how it was when I was a kid. Kind of longish hair. It was still blonde though.
I'm so confused. This regeneration system seems to have no rules whatsoever.
Oh. I still look the same as I did back in Baker's house, face wise at least.
Weird. So, what was the trigger for me to age?
I step away from the lake and pick Emily back up.
“We can continue, same boring face.”
Sophie gives me an amused look, she is warming up to me, I can tell.
As we walk, we see Immy sitting down on the dirt path, completely broken.
She hasn't spotted us yet, but I'm sure she will be happy when she sees her precious Diana is fine.
Sophie shouts out.
“YO! Immy!!!”
Immy slowly turns her head, expecting nothing.
Once she sees what we are holding, she starts crying.
Oh she probably thinks its the corpse of Diana, that's funny in a morbid way.
Sophie just realises what this looks like.
“NO NO NO!!! She is alive.”
She runs up to Immy and places Diana on Immy’s lap. She is still clearly breathing.
Immy doesn't say a word, she just brushes Dianas hair with her hand.
We stay like this for a few hours, eventually Holly wakes up.
“woah, woah did we win??”
That was the first thing that came to her mind.
She looks at me.
“You saved me!!!”
And hugs me, wrapping her body around me.
Her face is nuzzling mine, Sophie pulls her away, placing her in a resting position.
“Holly don't move, you are still incredibly hurt.”
Holly realises this, it took a while for her to notice the pain.
“Right... I'm going to sit down... thanks Z... You can take me to the doctor now sis, my mission is over.”
Sophie sighs.
“I'm going to take holly to the doctor, are you okay staying with Immy Z? Also, don't mind my sister, she gets attached to people too easily.”
“yeah ill be alright, thanks Sophie, for everything.”
Sophie does a little hand gesture of a heart towards me, then picks up holly, taking her further into the packed city.
“I feel like a queen with you carrying me!”
I could hear holly say that in the distance.
I can only let out a breathy exhale.
“z..” Immy spoke softly.
“yeah?”
I look at her, she seems to be holding back tears, it's clear she is incredibly grateful.
“lets go home...”
“okay...”
I carry Emily, while she carries Diana.
End of chapter 12.