Chapter 3

I, When Morning Comes

Lights.

A ray of light streamed through the curtain’s gap, rousing me up. It hadn’t been closed completely the previous night because Kallum was afraid of total darkness. I regretted not shutting it after the boy had fallen asleep.

The ceiling, painted pristine white, was unfamiliar to me.

I had decided to stay at a hotel, for it was clean and relatively safe. Suppose that the location was found, the pursuers would still have to figure the room number.

I pushed my blanket away and yawned as I rose. Beside me, the boy was still asleep; his drool spoiling the pillow. Seeing him sound asleep eased me. It had been a peaceful night.

I lifted my pillow to see my bladeless sword hilt under it.

Like it’s a part of me… I thought. The old habit was impossible to kill.

Drowsily, I stood up. My feet touched the warm brushy carpet on the floor.

I intertwined my fingers and pushed my palms toward the ceiling. Stretching was important to get rid of the rigidness from waking up, my grandfather would say. It would impact movement for the whole day.

Once done, I went down to the carpets and started doing push-ups. Staying fit was crucial; especially since I would face more enemies now.

Eleven… Twelve… I counted. Thirte—

Screams.

Inside my mind.

I could hear them, far and distant.

Go away, I wished. When the screams haunted my mind, I always wanted them to immediately disappear. I don’t want to hear.

My knees touched the carpet. The screams were barely audible, but it was hard to withstand without a good reason. I had become too dependent on the pills. The silence made me soft; and when it was broken, I could not endure like I used to.

I reached around my ribs, only to feel the silk of my camisole.

I pushed the ground and stood up, looking toward the room’s entrance. Beside the door was a coat stand where my red jacket was hung.

My gait was brisk and silent as I approached my jacket, searching the inside pocket. Not you, I thought as I found Rie’s wallet. You. Found my pill container inside the other pocket.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I was about to twist the lid open, but a sound bothered me.

‘Don’t leave me… Please…’

At first, I thought it was the scream, but it wasn’t a line I had heard before and wasn’t internal. I glanced over my shoulder to see Kallum on the bed, talking in his sleep. His face was anguished, and tears dripped down.

Nightmares?

The screams inside my head haunted me; but instead of swallowing the pills, I attended Kallum. Went to his side of the bed and softly sat on the edge.

What nightmares are you having? I thought as I caressed his head gently.

‘I don’t want to be left alone…’ he muttered.

There was—so much I didn’t know about the boy. We were far from close, since we had only been together for a day, but hearing his mutterings made me empathize him. I knew what it felt like to be alone.

It felt crushing.

‘You won’t be alone,’ I told him. ‘I promise you that.’

He started opening his eyes slowly; my voice had woken him up.

‘… Synth?’ he asked.

I nodded.

He was relaxed and for once didn’t avert his eyes from mine. I wondered if this was what my brother felt when he took care of me.

Kallum then realized that I was caressing his head. With a sharp rise and a startled jump, he went to the other side of the bed; gaining distance from me, and stared at my hand with panic in his eyes.

I looked at my own hand.

I suppose we’re still strangers, I thought.

‘You should wipe your tears.’ I pointed at a tissue box atop the drawer beside the bed. ‘What did you dream about?’

The boy felt his face, noticed the tears, and wiped with a tissue.

‘It’s… nothing,’ he answered.

“Nothing” made you cry. ‘If you want to talk about it, you can always share it with me, alright?’

‘Alright.’ He nodded.

I still heard screams.

‘Synth, are you fine?’

‘Yes.’ The screams would disappear once I drank the pills. I shook the container and heard a rattling sound, wasn’t empty.

The boy breathed relieve.

The screams bothered me, but I still needed my head to think. I had to figure out my next course of ac—

‘Don’t touch it,’ I said with a raised voice.

Kallum pulled back his hand before touching my bladeless sword hilt. He looked terrified after hearing me. ‘I knew it,’ he muttered, ‘you’re not fine. You’re mad at me…’

‘It’s a Possessed Weapon. You wouldn’t want to touch it carelessly.’ I went on the bed and claimed the object. My fault for leaving it there within his reach. ‘I shouldn’t have raised my voice, sorry.’

His eyes had welled up with tears, but thankfully they didn’t flow.

Almost made him cry.

I sighed. No matter how I saw it, I wasn’t a good caretaker.

Screams… They bothered me.

I had to finish a matter before I drank the pills.

‘Kal, why are you chased?’ I needed to know the enemies to protect the boy better. Hadn’t asked him the day before as I imagined it had been a rough day.

The boy had a troubled expression. ‘Rie—told me to keep it a secret.’

‘In the sense that you’re not allowed to speak of it or that I’m not allowed to find out?’

I might have spoken too fast because he was confused for a while before answering, ‘… Rie told me I shouldn’t talk about it.’

That meant that I was free to find the reason myself if I could. Since the boy wouldn’t speak of it, I knew what my next course of action would be: to find why Kallum was chased.

I’ll have to meet that man. I looked at the clock on the wall above the bed. Still half an hour before eight. I know where he’ll be.

‘Would you want warm bread for breakfast?’ I asked Kallum.

He gave an eager nod.

Finally, after the confirmation, I twisted open my pill container’s lid and swallowed the pills without counting.