The Children Of Thalia

One More Person

We passed the living room, a room that was usually crowded every night. The television in front likes to be a snatch. Lee used to want to watch dramas, Marc wanted to watch animal worlds, Lizzy wanted to watch animations. I could see the whole scene as clearly as noon, but I knew that what I was passing through was just an empty room, and would probably remain empty for some time to come.

Exiting the living room is a corridor connected to a small library, a father's room, and a study room. Two people were standing there, an Asian youth and a stocky young man earlier.

"All that?" Asked the Asian youth while glancing back.

"It has. Gather at Felice's place." Ansel replied firmly. The Asian boy nodded. Ansel then glanced at me. "The Japanese man is Kuro Fuyuki, my left hand. He does his job quickly. The other one is the loudest tank in Helder, Tobias Clausen."

He introduced his two friends. The stocky young man swung his hand at me several times, probably wanting to say hello. I smiled back thinly. The young Asian, Kuro Fuyuki, had already disappeared from sight.

The rain was still pouring down, I felt even more heavy than before. There were two more people outside wearing raincoats, but I could clearly see their faces. A young man with a fire symbol tattoo under his right eye and a girl with red pomegranate eyes.

"Ansel!" exclaim the young man.

"Chairman." exclaimed the girl, calmer than the young man. 

Ansel stood in front of them, firmly like a leader. I was quite surprised to see him, I didn't think he could behave like that either.

"Everything's here. Help evacuate the children, gather at Felice's place as planned. What about the victim at the front door?"

They're talking about dad. At first glance I feel my heart is hoping for a miracle, I feel like I don't want to hear anything but good news. But of course, the truth is bitter.

"Sorry, Chief, the victim is confirmed dead. Gunshot wounds directly penetrate the arteries of the heart, heavy bleeding being the leading cause of death."

I see. It felt like I was shot again by a bigger bullet. It felt so crowded, even though I was at the place when it happened. It happened in front of me. 

My head feels heavy, it's hard for me to lift my face or just look to the side. The reason was of course, I could clearly feel Lee's trembling hand. He was also surprised, perhaps even in a period of rejection. He didn't want to believe it, but he heard it with his own ears, and I'm sure he knew that what they meant by "deceased victim" was our father. But he chose to be quiet. He tried hard, didn't ask anything, didn't try to be sure of anything. Lee is a strong girl, stronger than me. 

"Continue the report while walking. We need to get to a safe place. Klaus, use your abilities." Tell Ansel as he continues to walk through the rain. How lucky I was to see the rain was not wet Ansel at all. There was some kind of invisible wall covering it, probably one of the gift techniques. He showed an impression of being untouched by anything. 

The stocky young man, Tobias Clausen, raised his hand high. Before long, the light gathered, spinning spirals like a galaxy, then flattened into a huge disk that floated above us. The light disk was holding back the rain that was falling rapidly. Great, now I know why he's called the loudest tank, although I haven't really seen how powerful this light disk is in resisting attack.

"Come on." Tobias Clausen. We stepped slowly, barefoot along the wet and muddy ground. Not the time to complain, although it is a bit stabbing also because of the gravel.

I looked at the edge, two grown men slumped over with their bodies tied to a thick rope. They were wearing bulletproof vests, complete with several machine gun magazines in each bag. I see, they play the role of back door guards. If anyone runs out through the back lane, they are ready to knock him out or kill him. 

"Has all the attackers been secured?" Ansel asked the girl who had reported earlier, but the one who answered him was the fire-tattooed young man at the side.

"When we came, we found nine people; two people at the front gate, one big man beside them, one sprawled out in the front corridor, three near the stairs, one sprawled out, and two more at this outer gate. We've all tied up so hard."

Huh uh?

"Eh?"

"Anu.... How was it? Are there nine people secured?"

Ansel and the young man looked at each other for a moment. Lee, Val, all my brothers, that young man, all looked at me strangely. No, I feel weird myself. Something is not right.

The fire-tattooed youth again explained. "Yes, we secured a total of nine people. Five are in very bad shape. The big man who fell outside was thrown from the top floor to destroy the concrete fence, the miracle he could still live. The man in the living room also broke his bones and there was internal bleeding in several parts of the body. Then, I don't know what you're doing, three people near the stairs are unconscious with multiple gunshot wounds to the body."

Gunshot wound? Wh who? The three people I was dealing with at the time? 

"Oh, right, it also amazes me." Ansel spoke up. "Did you use your gift against the three of them? I know your gift is a reflector, but it's also great that you can tell the direction of the bullet and bounce it back to the attackers."

Estimating the direction of the bullet? What absurd thing is he talking about? Wasn't he himself the one who said it was very difficult to aim in the dark?

Besides, my ability was to reflect energy, not the direction of the attack. Unlike the light bullet from the skinny one when I was helping Lee, the original bullet was a real solid object, its energy from spin and momentum. My powers can withstand bullets, but in a sense stop them, not bounce back to the attacker.

Also, there's another gaffe. There were three people near the stairs, one person in the living room.

"Hey, anu...." I looked at the fire-tattooed young man, then continued to ask, "of the nine people found, does anyone have an incision or puncture wound?"

The young man looked at me in surprise, but Ansel seemed to have begun to understand.

"You mean a cut from a sharp object? They all have it. Old wounds, of course. Who carries a sharp weapon in a shootout?"

I felt like my surroundings were suddenly silent after hearing the young man's reply. Everyone looked at me in surprise, puzzlement, but Ansel began to order people to quickly move. The Japanese youth grabbed my other arm, the healing woman at the back helped direct the children. Everyone started to panic, but I heard a voice.

My eyes rolled, my head turned. In the back, in the dark doorway of the orphanage, someone stood up. Blood flowed from his feet, anger reddened his face, an orange glow like a flame in his eyes as if ready to burn anything in front. The man's right hand stretched out, the eye symbol on his palm glowed brightly, then gave rise to a glow-like smoke.

My body is heavy, my feet are like stones, my hands are chained. Only my eyes move. The light in the person's hand was getting brighter. Everyone panicked, not looking. Everyone tried to run away, but my instinct told me it was useless. Is the attack personnel type, or territory? Is it a direct attack, or a curse? Is it in the form of an element like fire, air, or a concept form like space or waves? Whatever it is, the victim must have fallen by now.

My eyes glanced again, everyone showing almost the same expression. Even the Wild Dogs who should be trained are not spared from panic. I'm the same. I fear. The pain of being shot in the chest was real, I had never imagined that such a level of pain was real, and it was still throbbing in my chest.

However, if you have to choose, whether it is better to feel the physical pain again, or return to silence can not do anything when the face of the person who is important to me is covered with white cloth, white cloth, what can I do? These guys are a bitch sometimes, but they're my family.

I pulled my arm strong, letting go of Lee's cling and this Japanese youth. Instantly my focus was just a foot that still felt limp. My path staggered, my strength was running out, but I used everything I could. If I fail now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Although my breathing was heavy, but I still ran staggering back, past Lee, past the Japanese young man, past the healing woman, past Lizzy, past the younger siblings as soon as possible, past the surprised Val. My right hand is tight. The ribbons of light expanded like flowers, turning towards a fist that began to glow as well.

The glowing eye on the man's hand turned white like hot iron. The air revolved in his hand, a fine red cloud appeared suddenly, spinning, forming a dense red sphere. I raise my glowing right hand towards him.

The red ball there glowed brightly, delivering a burst of fire that shot out like a pheasant. The cold air suddenly warmed, the raindrops evaporated, the darkness of the night became as bright as day. My skin felt like I was in the hot summer sun.

Silence, no sound. My vision faded, only a bright light could I catch, and the shadow of my thin hand stretched straight ahead. The fireball is getting closer. My face, my clothes, my hair, everything feels dry. My hands are on fire, but I can't pull them back. The wider I open my palm, the brighter the light shines.

...* * * * *...