Anomalies

A Lesson Learned's

“Keep away, Fuck Popo!!”

Eva continues to be haunted by the Popo presence, both in the real world and in her dreams. He continues to be in a dark room whenever the Popos haunt him. Eva hits, slams, and even stabs their head with a knife only to escape the darkness that surrounds her, but it is still not enough to free herself from the terror of Popo. A sense of regret continued to fill him, even though he was actually rejecting the feeling. Eva is like injected regret and fear by Rigel, making her unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy. He ran, kept running, until Eva finally made it out of the darkness, only to find herself in the middle of the crowd and shouting loudly among the many people. Thanks to that, many people looked at him with pity, as if they were looking at a madman.

“That person why the hell is ?”

“Testing. Kasian yes, but still young.”

The whisper continues to be heard by Eva, making her more depressed and wanting to leave the crowd immediately. He keeps talking to himself, I'm not a madman, I'm not a madman ! In fact, he has lost all his mind. It was all thanks to Rigel, his own stepfather.

New York, United States, that's where Eva lives today. He has moved between countries dozens of times, of course by robbing banks. Because of this, he is now not only pursued by the SCR Foundation and Rigel along with his Popo, but he is also a fugitive police world. Eva entered the apartment room she was renting, then slammed the door hard. The first thing he saw was not a comfortable white mattress or bathroom to relieve fatigue, but the figure of Rigel who stood behind him. Eva growled, then took the kitchen knife out of her pocket and ran towards Rigel.

“Let me alone, Rigel bastard !!”

Eva jumped and thrust her knife into the white mattress, but Rigel had disappeared from her room without leaving a word.

“Arrgh !!”

Eva pulled the knife to tear the sheet from the white mattress, then slammed the knife into the floor. It was true what the person said, but Eva continued to reject the reality that was going on in her mind. He sat on his bed lethargic, and once again his eyes found the shadow of the tentacles of the Popos on the floor. Eva went on a rampage once more and got out of her bed to pick up a ceramic vase on a small wooden table, then slammed it hard on the floor until it broke. His voice of course until it sounded outside his room and attracted the attention of 2 people who were walking towards their room. One of the men then opens the door to Eva's room, only to find Eva slamming the other stuff.

“Hey, you why !?”

“Go from here, Rigel !!”

“Rigel ?”

“Bro, that person is crazy.” said the other person as he walked leaving his friend was in the doorway of Eva's room.

“Alright.” murmured the man while closing Eva's room door slowly. At that moment, Eva realized that she had messed up once again. He shouted loudly while grabbing his own silver hair with both hands. Eva then fell to her knees to the floor and thought of her fate. The question of suicide came to his mind, and Rigel was always there, persuading him to end his already chaotic life. There was no future for him, yet he still wanted to live. No matter how devastated she was, Eva just wanted to stay alive in this world alone. He decided to sleep on his bed where it had been torn, and he really did not care about it.

Eva falls asleep into the night before, not wanting to wake up and meet the terror of Rigel and the Popos back. But still, even in his sleep he still had a dream, a dream about his gloomy past. Eva meets up with Javier in the dream, and Javier keeps asking for the whereabouts of his other brother. Eva tried to answer, but it was as if her mouth was locked. He delirious with a loud voice, even to wriggle back and forth on his own bed until finally woke up again, with a loud cry for sure. He was aghast to sit limp on his bed for a moment, and as he had expected from the beginning, the shadow of Rigel came back to haunt him. Eva tries to hold herself back, fearing being chased away by others who live in the next room. Eva was very lazy to find an apartment or another hotel. For it is only when he is outside that the Popos will terrorize him in that darkness again.

“Go from here, Rigel.” muttered Eva still lowered her head towards her bed. The shadow was still in the same place, even getting closer. Now Eva raised her head slowly and began to raise her tone.

“I said, get out of here, Ri - gel.”

Only when Eva raised her head fully upward did she realize that the shadow in front of her was not Rigel, but an S.W.A.T agent who was now pointing his assault rifle at Eva's head. Not only one, but several other S.W.A.T agents also stood around him.

“Well, who is Rigel ?”

****************

No need for interrogation, Eva was immediately thrown into a female prison cell after she was arrested by S.W agents..The A.T. Some prisoners stared intently at Eva, but no matter how scary they were, Eva was scarier than all the prisoners in her cell. The prisoners took only a second to figure out who their new boss was, quickly standing up and getting out of their place, gave him a much larger room than the other prisoners in the cell. Eva gave a small snort, then occupied the only mattress in the cell without saying any excuse at all. He's the boss here anyway. Tomorrow, he might have to get acquainted with his new subordinates.

The next day, Eva and the other prisoners were awakened by the clanking of sticks that were smashed into the bars. The officer paused for a moment, then turned to look at Eva.

“Hoi, silver hair ! There's a special guest who wants to see you today. Prepare.”

Eva looked at the officer sharply without saying a word, and that alone was enough to make the officer shudder in horror and go straight to the other cell. Eva then got out of her bed and walked towards the door of her cell, then leaned there while folding her hands together.

“Yo, greetings know.” said Eva while staring at all her fellow prisoners. They did not answer, some even went back to sleep and did not give him any greetings.

“Do you all mute ? My name is Eva.”

An awkward moment that was there. All of Eva's words felt like the wind then, no one noticed her at all, nor did opening her mouth. Eva sighed in annoyance, then decided to go back to her bed.

“Alright, up to you.” murmured.

At 7 am. Eva and the other prisoners were headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. After several hours waiting in line with the humming of his favorite metal song, even to mimic playing the drums, finally Eva's turn to get her breakfast. A dried rice, as well as a boiled egg of a grain, had not even been boiled completely.

“What is this ? The others are potatoes too, why don't I ?”

“Take or discard, that's the only option.”

Eva looked back where some male prisoners were smiling sinisterly at her. It seems like there was something they did before.

“Special for new prisoner.”

“Cih.”

Eva walked away from the laughing waiter behind her, then headed to a table in the middle of the room, with a cellmate she remembered eating alone. Eva then sat down opposite the woman, continuing to stare at her sharply, more precisely at the potato on the woman's plate. Eva continued to watch over the woman who was originally eating voraciously, but slowly began to be distracted with Eva's sharp gaze. The woman finally lifted her head and stopped putting rice into her mouth, returning Eva's gaze. Eva finally realized that what she expected would never happen without her talking to her mouth.

“Hmph, your kayak will give your potatoes to gw.”

The woman did not react. From his eyes alone it could be seen that the woman was being extremely disturbed. Eva stuffed dry rice into her mouth, and her tongue could now feel what hell really meant.

“Cih, yummy.” complains Eva while holding back to spit out her dried rice right in front of the woman. In the end, Eva couldn't stand it anymore and spewed the dried rice out of her mouth, enough to make the woman lose her appetite and stand up from her seat.

“I Stella. And don't bother me anymore.” Stella said as she left Eva alone. Stella goes to bring her food, then moves to another table full of male prisoners. There, Stella is seen talking intimately with the prisoners, and that feels like a quip to Eva.

Eva's first day in prison felt like a real hell. Not only breakfast, but also lunch until dinner he got the same menu, dried rice. In his heart, he was already determined, I will get out of this damn prison, if I can I will destroy it too !!

The second day, everything went as usual. He and his cellmate were woken up at 4, kept quiet with the other inmates and sometimes harassed Stella, then headed to the cafeteria with the other inmates. He got the same menu, dried rice and half-boiled eggs. Not only that, now there is a dead cockroach that was dropped on his rice, a beautiful decoration. Behind Eva, the 2 male prisoners chuckled. Without having to see it Eva already knew that the 2 rascals were the ones who placed the beautiful decoration on the dried rice. Eva held one of them by pulling her prisoner's shirt, then turned to the person with a sharp look.

“Take.... That's..... Back !”

“What are you blind ? My hand again bring a plate, *****.”

The insults from the man's prisoners instantly drew laughter from the other prisoners, making Eva very angry. Eva quickly stood on her long chair and immediately kicked the man prisoner with a swirling kick in the air, then Eva landed back on the floor while spitting her saliva into the man's custody. The man's prisoner instantly falls to the floor along with his food that looks more decent than Eva's. It was obvious that people were doing something to him !

“What is that girl !? Kung Fu Panda Drops !?”

That same day, Eva managed to attract the attention of many violent prisoners in the prison, and they finally began to call Eva the Queen of Prisoners.

The third day in prison, Eva lives her inmate's life more calmly after yesterday's incident. He now gets decent rice, as well as the potatoes he has been craving for. At least, there are no more cockroaches that plunge like a boy in the Japanese sky on his rice. It only took a few days for Eva to spread her popularity throughout the prison. Now, the 15th day Eva became a prisoner, but no one dared to challenge or disturb her. Thanks to the cockroach plunge, Eva is now at the top as queen of the prisoners, with her tyrannical power oppressing the police in the prison

****************

Years passed, and the special guest who was said to be coming on the first day Eva became a prisoner never came. In fact, Eva had forgotten about that special guest right now. He had been too preoccupied by the various difficulties made by his subordinates who continued to force himself into a rebellion to get out of this prison. Eva's confinement period never decreases at all, it's getting longer and longer. Until he was made to think that he would be imprisoned forever. Maybe what his subordinates wanted was true, and also useful to himself. 3 years in prison now has felt like 300 years in bear confinement, and believe me, 3 years in prison has now felt like 300 years of being in a bear cage, living 300 years in confinement was not good at all. Eva and her friends have to move. Otherwise, it could be that he would die rotting in this prison together with his fellow comrades in arms.

“Oi !! Men o' Wars are all ! Dengerin gw !!”

The prisoners cheered when they finally heard Eva speak out loud for the first time in her leadership history

“This is the day you've been waiting for, the day we'll be free from this damn prison forever !! Get ready, 'cause we're gonna beat up those fucking cops until they're out of shape ! Fight, Men o' Wars !!”

“Fight, Men o' Wars!!” the prisoners followed Eva. They began to take whatever items they could use as weapons, ranging from iron rods, wooden boards, to a pencil. Yeah right, a fucking pencil even to the point of being used as a mass murder weapon by those prisoners. It only took a few minutes for all of them to throw the prison into chaos. With cooperation and determination, they finally managed to get out of the prison was led by Eva, a thin 22-year-old woman. Eva proudly led the prisoners out, passing the collapsed guards one by one to the ground due to the unstoppable strength of the prisoners. But it didn't last so long. Eva, Stella, and other prisoners were shocked by a van that read S.W.A.T stopped in front of the prison's iron fence.

“Damn it, S.W.A.T is here ! Split now !!” exclaimed one of the male prisoners who made the prisoners run scattered around the prison field. But Eva realized there was something strange with the S.W.A.T car. There is only one van, whereas usually, S.W.A.T agents carry 5 or more cars. Stella who realized Eva was just silent immediately approached her in panic.

“Hoi, Eva ! Why are you diem here !? Cepetan run, at least go with gw, son of a bitch !!”

Eva gives a hand gesture telling Stella to stop. Stella also became astonished at the behavior of her boss.

“They are not S.W.A.T, they are monsters.”

“What do you mean monster ? There are no monsters in the world.... It.”

Stella's eyes widened when she found someone with a giant body posture with a minigun coming out of the van.

“Lu. They are monsters.”

The mysterious giant then stands facing Eva and Stella while pointing his minigun at them. It only takes a second for Eva to realize that the giant is eyeing her life.

“Stella, run !!”

They also ran with all their might towards the parking lot of police cars on their left, while the giant in armor began to slowly chase after the two of them while shooting a hail of bullets from inside his minigun. The original gunfire from the giant minigun has immediately claimed many lives of prisoners who scattered here and there without direction, he said, meanwhile, Eva and Stella keep running while sometimes looking down when some bullets almost hit their legs.

“Eva ! What the fuck is that !?”

“Don't ask me, motherfucker !!”

The two of them continued to run until they were close to an old Mercedes benz police car. Eva starts reaching into her pants pocket, and gets a car key she just stole from the poor cop a moment ago. He then put the key into the door in a hurry.

“Eva, spout !!”

“Sabar dikit, son of a bitch !!”

In her heart, Eva prayed that the car keys she had put in the door were correct. Thousands of bullets kept darting past them, almost even through the soles of Eva's back legs.

“Damn !!”

Eva panicked even more, until finally the key opened the other four car doors. Eva and Stella sighed at them in relief for a moment.

“Heh, it turns out that goddess Fortuna is still on our side. Stella, log in !”

Excite Eva while entering the car while taking back the key. Stella quickly rolled over on the hood of the police car and went straight into it and breathed a sigh of relief once again.

“Finally.”

“We're still not safe, motherfucker. Light up !”

Eva emotionally tried to start the old car. He and Stella were almost hit by a bullet that shot through the window of his car.

“Arrggh !!”

After many times trying, the car's engine finally turned on as well. Eva and Stella were cheering. He drove the police car, leaving the giant far behind alone. The two of them laughed out loud, finally they were free as well.

“So long, motherfucker !!” eva shouted while breaking the entrance barrier from the prison by hitting it.

“Where are we going ? Nevada ? Colorado ?”

“Solar, the origin of the gasoline is quite aja.”

“Oke !!”

Eva and Stella head to Nevada in their stolen police car from New York. It was a very long journey, but they always enjoyed the trip together. No one will ever be able to stop their journey, except one of their own.

****************

Nevada, United States

Their car stopped at a gas station near a road with an arid desert. It was the hottest day the two had ever felt. Stella fanned herself with her right hand. Her body had been filled with sweat, as well as Eva who was even more severe at the moment.

“Damn it, why ac ga flame, anyway ?”

“Diem. Smell you wry, tau.” said Eva while opening the car door and getting out of it.

“Lu too, motherfucker !”

Eva peered at the slightly neglected super market in front of her. There was no one guarding the cashier at the moment, it meant that he did not need to change his clothes in a police uniform anymore as a disguise.

“Finally, there is no other fucking cashier.” he murmured.

Eva also filled her car gasoline while humming her rock song. He also keeps an eye on the super market in front of him. A person with a fat and large body then walked to the cashier table, it was clear that the person was the cashier. Eva hides behind her police car and whispers to Stella.

“Oi, Stella ! Police uniform gw !”

“Patience, motherfucker !”

The cashier noticed that a police car was parked at his gas station. The man was made a little astonished when he saw that no one was seen coming out of the car, enough to make him suspicious and take his gun slowly. But all suspicions disappear instantly when Eva finally appears behind her police car. Although it was a little strange to that person, he still did not care about it. The man immediately threw his gun on the floor and went back to reading the newspaper.

Eva let out a sigh of relief, and a moment later, her car's gasoline was already full. He got back in the car, took off his stolen police uniform, and immediately shocked when a van S.W.A.T he had seen in prison time is now parked on the side of the road a few meters in front of him. He turned his head towards Stella, who also seemed to be somewhat frightened just as he seemed.

“Oi, it's been since when that damn van was there ?” whispered Eva.

“Testing. Arrived the car was already there.”

Eva is thinking hard. How he got out of this gas station without getting caught by that fucking van. Eva put her hand on the car gear. I hope this car is faster than the fucking van, he said in his heart.

“Stella, grip tightly.” he said in a serious tone. Stella nodded in understanding. He tightened his seatbelt, and prepared for the chase action that was about to happen. Eva drove her car quickly, immediately passing the van in front of her. The van then also started following Eva's car from behind, and it was seen to have speeds above normal. Eva stepped on the gas even more, but still the van was still able to chase after him, even hit the rear bumper hard.

“Damn ! Stella, do something to this fucking van, motherfucker !”

“Liat now, first time I've shot.”

Stella quickly grabbed a gun from under her chair. Eva was a little surprised, she thought there was nothing in this old-fashioned police car.

“Pistol ?”

“Surely you don't know, right ? This is a police car, know !!” stella shatters her car window and shoots a few bullets at the van behind her. All the bullets hit the windshield of the van, proving Stella's tenacity in using firearms. The speed of the van began to slow down, then disappeared somewhere.

“Oi, what the fuck was that !?” stella asked as she returned to her seat. Eva did not answer and simply continued to drive her car. He does not want Stella to know about Rigel's whereabouts and other anomalies.

Their car drove on until they finally reached the Nevada dam. Stella is asleep and still holding the gun, while Eva's eyes are still fixed on the road in front of her. He realized the existence of the shadow Rigel who was sitting sweetly in the back seat. Eva does not banish the existence of Rigel's shadow because she does not want to disturb Stella's deep sleep. Rigel's shadow began to extend its hand to Stella, but was immediately pushed aside by the dim green light that came out from within her body. Rigel smiled a little, then disappeared from the car.

“Do not dare disturb this person, Rigel.”

****************

“Do you know what happened to Vera, Ivan ?”

“I don't know what, motherfucker !!” ivan shouted while pounding the table loudly. Shan was not surprised at all, and he instead took the soda drink that was in front of him. For years Ivan was asked the same question by Shan. He was never released from SCR Foundation, even he already has a label as D class at this time. That meant, he would remain as a D-class prisoner in this place, and would have to prepare to face any anomaly as a certain experiment.

“When will I be released from this damn place, Shan !?”

“Of course until SCR 230 caught.”

Ivan was silent for a moment. What he just heard must have been wrong, he thought.

“Once you called my sister now ?”

“She's not your sister anymore, Ivan. From now on, he is our asset.”

“Aset !?” ivan asked as he kicked the table once more. He growled, not believing what had just been released from Shan's mouth casually.

“Forget about Eva, Ivan. He no longer has a relationship with-”

“Calling a human as an asset is too cruel. Isn't that so, Ivan ?”

Ivan and Shan looked back for a moment. A woman who was quite familiar in Shan's eyes, yet very foreign to Ivan. The woman then walked towards Ivan's left side and looked at Shan sharply.

“Restore that SCR 230 containment to site 35, right now. Let me take care of this woman.”

“Let me guess. You want to torture this thing with Suzaku, don't you ? You are not much different from me, Libya.” Shan said as he drank his soda back. Libya was infuriated by Shan's words, and he broke through Shan's desk just as Ivan did just now.

“Don't call him a creature, Shan !!”

Shan was still sitting leisurely in his swivel chair, as if all that was spoken by Libya and Ivan was just a past wind to him.

“For a long time my table could be destroyed because of you guys, you know.”

Libya rose in blood, until he stepped on Shan's desk with his right foot. Ivan was shocked to see an emotion-filled Libya. Although she looks like a calm young mother, it turns out that the woman in front of her can be this barbaric.

“Do I have to destroy your other facilities ? I can do this every day, Shan.”

Libya grieved angrily, then lowered his feet from Shan's desk and walked out of the interview room accompanied by some special agents. Some held a bow, a hammer and a shield, and the last one that caught Ivan's attention was the one holding a flamethrower. As he walked out, Libya grumbled a little louder until it was heard by Ivan and Shan, who likened Shan's ambition to that of someone named Nova. The door of the room was closed hard, but was opened again by another special agent.

“Don't equate me with that blue star, damn.” muttered Shan while turning his swivel chair back, then getting out of that chair.

“Interview finished. Bring Ivan back to his cell, Tacet.”

“More like interrogation in my opinion.” muttered Ivan.

Tacet told his other companion to bring Ivan back into his cell, while he still stood staring at Shan who was behind him.

“I entrust that person to you, Tacet.”

“Understanding.”

****************

Capital of Jakarta, Indonesia.

After days and even months of being chased by the mysterious van, Eva and Stella have decided that Indonesia is much safer than America. They even just knew that this country called Indonesia really exists on earth. Eva and Stella who were walking at this airport continued to be greeted by the enchanted gaze of the Indonesian people. For the indigenous people, their presence is like an angel falling from heaven.

“Crazy, brown all.” whispered Eva on Stella.

“Nobody cares the same skin color, motherfucker. Now, do you know how to speak their language ?”

“Fuck with it. People like them have language?”

Stella sighed in annoyance. Eva was always like this to people she never knew or met, let alone different races.

“Racist basis.”

Eva's racist nature is no longer helped. Since he became the supreme leader of the prisoners in the prison, he no longer knows what it is to appreciate and respect others. Hours have been passed by them, traveling around the city of Jakarta that they do not recognize at all. It was all thanks to Stella, until the two of them finally got a place to stay. A boarding house in a remote village, which he says is full of ghosts and terrible dedemits.

“Are you sure you want to stay in this place ?”

“Pastya. There is no such thing as a ghost on this earth.” Eva replied casually. After all, the cost of the boarding looks still quite feasible to live in, even the word abandoned is not suitable to be carried by this place. Nothing suspicious at all, everything is very well maintained, and also many of its residents, can be seen from various cars and motorcycles parked in the yard. Stella sighed because she no longer knew how to take care of Eva who already did not know what it meant to be afraid.

“Good. Let's just try a few days-”

Stella stopped her sentence instantly when she realized Eva was no longer beside her. Right, motherfucker, he said in his heart. Stella got into the fence from the boarding house, and behold, Eva was talking to a rather burly man. How could Eva do something like this ? He had stayed away from others many years ago.

“Oi, Eva. It turns out you've evolved too, huh ? Who is he ?” stella asked in English.

Eva did not answer. He had a little trouble pronouncing the name of the person he was talking to. Eva turned her head towards the man, and managed to make the man a little embarrassed.

“My name is Rangga.” replied the man, in Indonesian.

“Huh ?”

“My name is Rangga.” replied the man once again, this time followed by a friendly smile. Stella still looked at him sharply. Such a name he had never known would be in this world before, as well as Eva. Everything turned awkward for an instant. And so, the beginning of Eva and Stella's meeting with the owner of this boarding house, Rangga.

Their day went very peacefully, and they both began to get used to the name of the Indonesian people. Fitri, Choirul, Narendra, Herman, Nurul, Haikal and others. They all started to become close friends right then and there. However, Eva's life doesn't end here, because it's not over yet.

****************

Later that night, Eva woke up at 3am. People say it's a bad sign, but Eva doesn't care about it. After all, he was not a person who came from this country, for what reason did he come to believe in such superstitions. He looked around, and there seemed to be no shadow of Rigel haunting him. That means it's something else. Eva was still sitting still, letting silence surround her. Stella was still soundly asleep, even to the point of snoring loudly. Maybe that's what makes him wake up in a clock like this. Eva again laid her body on the bed, and just as she closed her eyes, she heard a knock and also the words ‘Excuse me’ on her glass window. Kuntilanak, genderuwo, or whatever it is he no longer cares. He just wants to sleep well at this time, but there is terror from other creatures that interfere with his sleep. Eva can feel a cold mist begin to creep into her room, and past memories of Leonora's death haunt her back, only now, Leonora has been replaced by Stella. Eva opened her eyes right then and there. A bad feeling related to Stella instantly surfaced in his mind. He couldn't let Rigel take Stella from him as easily as he could. Eva walked up and opened the door to her room, and the first thing that surprised her was the fact that the boarding yard was completely empty, no car or motorcycle parked at all.

“This guy, why the hell go out so early in the morning ?” muttered.

Some of the sounds of objects falling had made him jerk in shock, but that was nothing to him. Everything seems completely normal, except for the loss of all vehicles parked there. After a quick glance - rubbing both eyes, Eva decided to go into her room and sleep again. And as she reached the threshold, Eva realized that someone was standing in the middle of the courtyard. He looked back, and the presence of the man in black clothes immediately made Eva growl.

“Rigel... !”

Rigel slowly turned towards Eva. His right hand was smothering a little boy unknown to Eva.

“What do you want, Rigel !?”

“I just reminded. Those people who are after you never know what mercy means.”

“Heh, thanks for reminding. Then what about that boy you're cupping, motherfucker ?”

“Only a small gift to let go of longing. Didn't you have a dream about Leonora just now?”

Rigel let go and let the boy slowly turn to Eva. Eva shuddered in fear for a moment, and her eyes widened when she saw the boy. Leonora's face had been roughly sewn in place of the boy's real face. Not only that, the boy now smiled cheerfully, making Eva remember his closeness with Leonora when she was a child. Eva retreated backwards, and both of her arms stretched out blocking the door as the boy began to walk closer to her.

“Rigel.... Go to hell, right now !!”

Eva tried to let out a green light from inside her body like she used to, but she fell down in pain. Hard blood like a stone began to fall from within his ears and eyes, making both his ears and eyes heavily injured.

“Aaakh !”

Eva screamed in pain. As if now, there was a sword piercing in his stomach. His mouth was then held from behind, and he saw that the boy with Leonora's face had disappeared from before him.

“The past was indeed the worst, because you will never be able to run from before him. Isn't that right, Eva ?”

Eva tries to free herself from the mysterious person behind her, but her body is now filled with various sharp scratches and blood flowing profusely. His mouth could not bear to curse, but he seemed to become mute instantly. All he could do was move his eyeballs to find out who the mysterious person behind him was, and how surprised he was to find out that Stella herself did it. Not Stella anymore, because her face had been replaced by the face of a boy with an expression of fear that he was completely unfamiliar with.

“Mmph, mmph !!” (Stella, Stella!!)

There was no way Stella would just die, that was what she was thinking. But everything has happened, the beautiful face of Stella that he is very familiar with has now been replaced by the face of a little boy who does not even fit in the head of Stella. Some red meat can be seen clearly, and Eva was really scared right then and there. He attempts to rebel, but Rigel appears right in front of him, instantly kicking Eva in the stomach. Stella's corpse released her clot, and let Eva fall to the floor while spewing fresh blood from her mouth.

“Rigel... Bastard ! .... What have you done... On Stella !? ‘Cough cough’.”

Rigel did not answer, and he squatted down to Eva's right. He then thrust a gun at Eva.

“I'll tell you something important. They're chasing you, wanting you as an asset to their own interests. I'm here to help you, Eva. Take this and go. And don't forget to come back to me after everything is done.”

Eva looked at Rigel sharply. After all that Rigel has done to him, now Rigel wants to help himself ? It really doesn't make sense. But Eva still took the gun given by Rigel quickly. The pain that spread all over his body began to slowly disappear, but his wound was still wide open. Rigel then stood up and stared at a floodlight coming from a distance. He knew who the owner of the light was. Tacet, a special agent with a knack for blinding people. Rigel then manages to surprise Eva by cradling her body without a word.

“Maybe I should also drop you off today.”

****************

Eva ran while being swept away, leaving blood spots along the path leading to a village with a sign that read ‘Desa Sekar Sari’. Eva does not attach importance to the name of the village in front of her eyes at this time, what is more important is the fact that Rigel really moved her to another village. He hated it, but also thanked Rigel at the same time.

“You have owed me twice this time, Eva. Remember that.” so said Rigel shortly after he moved Eva to the road that leads to this village. Now Eva has entered the village, and everything looks so lonely here. His eyes were only fixed on a rather large house nearby. Eva quickly entered the house through the window, without knocking or saying any excuses at all.

“Who's there !?”

Eva was immediately startled and pointed her gun at the source of the sound. Her eyes could faintly see a woman with a purple or dark blue veil also being shocked by her presence.

“Mayway from ! Or I'll shoot you !” threaten Eva against the woman in front of her. The woman looked a little frightened when she realized that Eva was carrying a gun in her hand, but she did not immediately scream for help. He was also aware of Eva's body being covered in tear wounds as if she had just been whipped many times.

“You..... Injured ?”

Eva shook her head to wake herself up from the blurred vision. He desperately tried to stabilize his hand which began to tremble violently. The woman slowly approached Eva with her hands slightly raised upwards, and that was when Eva fell unconscious and lost her consciousness.

“Astagfirullah ! Mak, mak !”

“What's up, nduk !?”

The next morning, Eva is awakened by the sunlight that pierces her eyes. He was filled with bandages, and he was aware of it. While enduring the lingering pain, Eva attempts to recall what just happened last night, and she eventually discovers the reason that kept her inside this mysterious house.

The door opened, and now Eva could clearly see the figure of the veiled woman she had met that night. The woman smiled kindly at him while carrying a tray with warm food and tea on it.

“Are you okay ?”

Eva is a little understood by what is spoken by this woman, but her Indonesian language is still not fluent. Eva did not answer with a word, and just gave her thumb.

“Basic bule.” muttered the woman while sighing her. He placed the tray on a table at the side.

“My name's Arum.”

Eva was silent for a moment while turning her face away from Arum.

“Eva.”

Eva immediately wants to get out of bed, making Arum have to block Eva.

“My rounds healed already.” Eva said while trying to stand up from her bed. He thought his regeneration was working last night, but it wasn't. Eva was instantly attacked by excruciating pain and almost made her fall to the floor. Luckily Arum was already there to hold Eva's body.

“Don't be reckless. Just stay here, okay ? At least for a few days.”

Knowing that Arum was able to speak English fluently, Eva slightly discouraged her from leaving the village now. At least he'll stay here for a few days.

A few days had passed, and Eva lived her life by staying away from the people in this village. Thanks to Rigel, Eva no longer wants to connect with others, or they will experience the same thing experienced by Stella, her friend. He can no longer trust others, because it could be the eyes of the organization that wants his strength. He spoke harshly, but no one in the village hated him even once. Until finally, the day that Eva had been waiting for had arrived, the day that her wounds had healed and she was able to get out of this village.

...****************...

Jakarta, 19.00

Eva was staying at the apartment she had just rented. Now he is contemplating, does he have to steal money from the bank again ? That was impossible, as it would only add to the party chasing him at the moment. The same thing happened back. Eva is plagued by depression and trauma to the past. He is plagued by regret for not being able to protect his loved ones. First Leonora, and now Stella. If he had told Stella about Rigel's whereabouts and the mysterious organization that's after him, Stella wouldn't have had to die a terrible death. Although for the rest of his journey will be filled with loneliness, at least he can still meet with Stella again. He began to think, was the power that emerged from his body a blessing, or was it a curse ? He himself cannot answer.

Religion, which Eva initially did not consider important, is now something to her. He cried out to God, no matter who God was. But God's answer is certainly not direct in the form of words, but rather a sound of footsteps that he hates. It was the person who kept chasing him. Eva quickly picked up her gun and stared at the only entrance in her rented room. But the unexpected happened, because an agent actually entered through the glass window behind him. Eva turned to the agent and fired a few bullets.

“Backed !!”

The agent dodges, then manages to surprise Eva by jumping high above the limits of ordinary human abilities. A close combat ensued, before Eva's room door was broken and several other agents entered. Eva is completely surrounded, but she is not out of her mind. With great difficulty, Eva finally managed to pull that green light back from her body accompanied by a fierce explosion, sending the agent that surrounded her crashing down instantly. Eva thoughtlessly chose to plunge from the height of her apartment, and then landed on the roof of another building and continued running. Three special agents also follow Eva from behind, but they are no match for Eva. He's been doing this for a long time, a long time. The barrage of bullets fired by them was nothing more to Eva. He nimbly avoids it all, then jumps and drops someone who is riding a cbr motorbike. Eva can get away with their pursuit very easily, but it's not done yet. There is still one more agent who is chasing him with a racing bike just like the bike he just stole.

“Cih, sucks !”

The agent is Rider, one of Tacet's subordinates. Rider fired a sharp thorn from his motor, but it was not an obstacle for Eva, even stuck even though he could avoid it easily. The chase lasted for hours, until Tacet finally managed to drop Eva from his motorbike by dropping a drone right in front of his motorbike. Eva is dragged a few meters ahead, and instantly she is surrounded by Rider and Tacet.

“Hey, Rigel's darling. Any last word before caught ?”

“That was a good chase. Oh yeah, and also... Thank you for calling you son of a bitch gw.”

Tacet and Rider stared at each other, and right then and there, they were both ambushed by Rigel instantly. Rigel strangled the two and made them drag on the highway a few meters back while growling.

“Rigel !!”

Rider attempted to counterattack by wanting to hit Rigel using his assault rifle. But before that was successful, Rigel had pressed them to the ground so firmly that the highway was destroyed all around them. Eva who had risen to her feet since the appearance of Rigel saw the two poor special agents were battered by Rigel in the distance. Supposedly, if this is not a highway, he can take a plastic chair, buy sweet iced tea and snacks, then sit casually while paying attention to the fight that looks like a scene in the action film. But a lot of cars are passing by at this time, so he had to step aside to the side of the road and see the two agents were slaughtered completely by Rigel. Rider has fallen, and now only Tacet looks very tired against Rigel. Tacet threw a stun grenade at Rigel. Even though he had been blinded for a while, Rigel was still able to withstand the blow from Tacet with his right hand. Rigel continued to hold Tacet's right hand, forcing him to stare at Rigel. Instantly the hustle and bustle of the highway turned into a strange silence for the two of them.

“Ah, how awkward this moment is.” murmured Rigel. Rigel then pressed Tacet's right hand with just a little movement, then slammed it backwards to destroy the hood of the car that was driving towards Rigel accidentally, as well as stop the car. Tacet's consciousness had disappeared after being swallowed by the earth shortly after he hit the hood of the car. Rigel walked away from Tacet while listening to the driver's abuse from a distance. That was not a big problem for Rigel, because he himself did not understand Indonesian either.

Rigel approached Eva, who retreated slowly. Although at first he looked very amazed to see Rigel slaughter the two agents, but now his face was filled with fear. Eva points her gun at Rigel, but Rigel casually drops the gun back. He knew that his favorite son would not shoot him on the spot. Eva growled, but she was not a wild animal that just growling could make others afraid. He's just a human with super-regeneration in Rigel's eyes. But somehow Rigel himself can not let Eva alone tormented by humans. Her compassion has grown back after so many hundred years ago losing her daughter. And Eva had reminded herself of the princess once again.

“I want to talk to you for a minute. Not here.” Rigel said as he stroked Eva's silver hair.

“Huh ?”

...****************...

Rigel and Eva have moved once again to the village of Sekar Sari. Eva sensed that something Rigel was going to do to the village at this time. Eva watches Rigel's every move, but everything Rigel does is a subtle father-like gesture to his daughter. What the fuck is this ? Ask Eva in my heart. A little while later, Rigel stopped his steps, right in front of the village entrance.

“Eva, do you want to be my son again?”

Eva looked all over her body which was filled with green glowing curved lines. He finally knew what made Rigel this good.

“Begging for my strength, huh ? Only when I cannot awaken my power do you become evil to me. Isn't that so ?”

Rigel did not answer Eva's question. He looked like he was regretting what he had done.

“You, chasing me with that damn Popo to the end of the tomb, even to the point of killing my friend, just to make me intend to awaken this damn light, isn't it?”

“What exactly do you want !?” exclaim Eva while pushing Rigel. Regrets always come at the end, that's what people say. Eva was already unable to hold back her emotions. He was eager to vent all his frustration to the person he hated the most in the world.

“And now you want me to be your daughter ? Bah, it can't be !!”

Tears began to pour in Rigel's eyes. It was dark black, revealing that Rigel was indeed not human.

“I guess you did the same thing to your daughter in the past, didn't you !?”

All the words of Eva really pierced Rigel's heart to the deepest part. Until he begins to think back to his dark past, not much different from Eva.

“Eva, what's going on ?” asked Arum and his mother, Ningsih while running out of the village gate. Eva remembered everything they had done to her back then. Arum, Ningsih, and even the other villagers were willing to treat his wounds selflessly. They taught him how to speak Indonesian, do good things to others. Whatever they taught him meant a lot to him right now. He began to ask himself, why did he have to leave this village after he was healed ? Even with the insults that make anyone can be offended ?

“You see for yourself, Rigel. I already have a new family, even an older sister now.”

“Go from here. And regret your actions as I have experienced at that time.”

Seeing Eva walking towards her ‘new family’ made Rigel overwhelmed by despair once again. He had to lose the family he wanted to protect once again. He tried, and kept trying until hundreds of years had passed. However, everything was just a futility. He tries to send her memories as she tells Eva about her past, but Eva looks at him cynically and sharply. He once said that he was learning to be a good father to his family. As a demon, he really hated humans, but there was only one person who loved him. She is the wife. Day after day passed, and they finally had a child, a beautiful daughter. Rigel promised his wife that he would protect her, no matter what, and she asked him: What happens if we both leave you ? Are you still going to be the same person you are today, or are you going to go back to your old self, a cruel demon ? That question is what continues to ring in his head to this day. Does he stay the same as when he didn't lose his family ? All he did was learn, but he never got the results. A sheer futility and despair, that was what made her do such a heinous thing to Eva all along.

Eva realizes that Rigel is trying to remind her of Rigel's past story. He stopped stepping, and realized that Rigel would turn into his current demonic form. Emotions, that's what Rigel can't control.

“Why ? Why don't you just let me learn this once, Eva ?”

Eva turned towards Rigel with a condescending look of hers. Family, that's what Rigel wants. But he never struggled to keep his family.

“Because, you never learn, Rigel.”

Rigel loses all control of his emotions, and he is forced to show his true form to Eva, Arum, Ningsih, and the rest of the villagers. They were all scared, but not for Eva. He learned to protect others. Whether he is as strong as Javier says he is, he is not sure of that. But it's not just for fun. Javier spoke of it as a final teaching for Eva. Eva begins to realize something, that protecting someone not only requires a super power or an extraordinary sophisticated weapon, but also a determination to do so. He has learned something from everything he has experienced. Whatever survives in the world is only temporary, if it is only because of hard work or own effort without being accompanied by determination. He had decided, that his regenerating power, the green light that appeared all over his body, was a burden he had to bear to protect others. If indeed this power is a curse, then he will continue to learn to turn it into a shield. And if indeed this power is a shield for people who are helpless, then he will continue to learn to sharpen it and make the shield become stronger, as Javier wants.

Eva and Rigel beat each other up. This was the end of Eva's test of determination, and she was really serious about taking the test, passing it to the end of the finish line. All the events he experienced to date have made Eva a better figure, stronger than the previous one. Someday, he will definitely become as strong as what Javier said. One day, he will not only protect his brother, but also all those who need his help.

The fight has ended, and Rigel is successfully made a retreat by Eva. With just his punch, Rigel managed to be battered to death. The entire village slightly held back their excitement. They wanted to cheer, yet they were too astonished at what they had just seen with their own eyes. Eva looked at Arum and Ningsih. He almost fell to the ground, but was immediately refuted by Arum. The last words spoken by Rigel before he left this village were: Goodbye my daughter. I, I, have learned something from you.

Eva could not help her crying. He quickly hugged Ningsih tightly while crying loudly. Finally, all the bitterness experienced in his life had passed. He finished the test, and he really passed. The two figures of the father who accompanied him for as long as he lived, and also a mother who he embraced at this time, all three were really proud of him. Javier, a strong father figure. He taught Eva to be a strong and determined person. Then Rigel, the cruel father. She teaches Eva to change and learn from the past, constantly striving to become a better person. Meanwhile, Ningsih who was currently in his arms, taught herself to forgive all the evil deeds of others, regardless of how bad their treatment was.

“I'm sorry. Forgive me for always being rude to you guys all this time !” exclaim Eva while sobbing isak in Indonesian. Although a little chaotic, everyone including Arum can accept it. Arum hugged Eva along with her mother.

“It's okay. We always open our heart to your sorry.” whispered Arum to Eva.

“ That's how it is, I'll still be next to you, Eva. No matter what separates you from me. No matter how many times you let me down. I will love you as we first met. My love will never fade, though devoured by time or darkness, I will still love you. Because you're my son, and I'm your mother. We're all going to be a family, now and for good.”

All the villagers who saw it began to tear and tear. At first they were a bit cynical about Eva's behavior and rant all along. However, after learning what Eva had experienced from Arum and Ningsih, they began to forgive Eva and all her abusive treatment. All the cheers that had been held back now they let out loud. All were happy, and touched because of these three wonderful people before them. No matter how small you are, believe that you can produce what is greater than the earth itself.

“They why ?”

“Consider as your welcome.” replied Arum with his signature friendly smile.

“True too. We have not welcomed you at all since you first came to this village, Eva.”

Hearing that, Eva finally smiled back. That long-lost smile finally shone back after being long locked in the darkness.

“Thank you, all of you.” muttered Eva.

And so it is. Eva was eventually accepted as a new resident of the small village. Even so, he remains grateful. Whatever he has experienced, it all happens to turn his person into a better person. Eva, who was originally an easy person and likes to insult others, is now back to being a cheerful girl. It was all thanks to Arum, his sister. Ningsih, mother. And also, all the villagers who had received his presence in their hearts. Even with that power, Eva no longer felt cursed and harmed others. He only saw that this power was to protect others. He has learned something from his power.

...****************...

Vera walked through the forest, until she finally found the village where Eva lived, Sekar Sari village. His body gave off a line of glowing red lines, and now he was carrying a large sword on his back that was also blood red. He growled, knowing that Eva would soon forget about her determination and be lulled by the peaceful life of her village. He looked at the village from a distance and muttered.

“Let's go. Keep running from reality, Eva.”