The Monster In Me

Goodbye

“Ayo, fast! We should get away!” tell Firda while lifting Aron by hugging him. Aron continued to cry and pointed towards Adira disappearing, but Firda tried to ignore her. Along with the guilt in his heart.

Adira is his closest friend, and they have faced various problems in this Playground together. So, now that Adira is fighting to save her brother, what should Firda do?

Firda thought, her friendship is not as precious as her life right now.

“Why does Adira sister go there?” asked Aron finally after a long time just speechless and crying. He seemed to have wondered so much that he could no longer bear to not speak. “Why are we going? We should always be together!” Aron began to beat Firda's shoulder violently.

As much as Firda's power to withstand the pain of Aron's punch and resist fatigue because his body is constantly forced to carry Aron while running. “A minute, Aron. Soon we will get to a safer place. New after that ..” Firda was unable to finish his remark, as he himself was not sure what he would do after ensuring the safety of the two of them.

After arriving at the High Slide vehicle, Firda stopped in front of the fence blocking the way to the stairs to the top. He groaned violently as he lifted Aron over the fence, before he himself crossed by jumping. The fence is not too high, so most likely zombies will also be able to pass through it. However, so far Firda has seen no signs of zombies such as blood spots or broken objects.

Quite strange, but Firda did not have time to think about it.

The girl kept pulling Aron to run up the stairs. Even though their figure was already safely covered in a fence, he still wanted to get to the highest place in order to be able to keep an eye on the situation. He could feel Aron occasionally pulling his hand by putting all his weight back, trying to make him stop running. Firda bit her lower lip, starting to feel annoyed by the boy's attitude.

“Kak, we're already far away. How do we get to Adira's place?” asked Aron while whining. “Kak, stop, Brother! Sis! Kaaakkk!”

“Aron! Shut up or I'll leave?”

Firda's loud voice that snapped at Aron instantly made Aron freeze on the spot. The boy looked very surprised at the two eyes that were starting to water. Her little lips trembled before she actually went back to crying sobbing.

“Says Brother Firda and Kak Adira want to nganterin Aron to meet Dad? But why did Adira leave? Why does Brother Firda keep getting angry?” Aron screamed with his eyes closed and his head held high. The little boy had managed to strengthen himself in the midst of a very chaotic situation and had just evaporated all his emotions at this time. Anyone would feel deeply scratched his heart witnessing the boy's sorrow. For the same reason Firda still wants to fight to save Aron.

However, now that she is living alone, in the absence of Adira, Firda begins to rethink her decision.

From the beginning Adira was very uncooperative in terms of Aron. The girl did not want to hold Aron in turns, always throwing cruel comments like wanting to leave Aron somewhere, so really did not consider the presence of the boy. Firda himself was fed up with the behavior of his best friend, but he knew the reason behind Adira's strict attitude so that he did not reprimand the girl much.

After all, Firda felt that although it did not help directly, Adira was still able to ensure their safety by leading them through the right path. That way, Firda just needs to make sure Aron is by his side and follow Adira's steps.

Given that, Firda is increasingly convinced that he will not be able to keep Aron alone.

“Listen to me. You stay here until a human comes looking for you here,” Firda said as he directed Aron to stand in front of a pile of tires, before he composed another pile around the boy. “You may feel hungry, thirsty, or lonely. But don't cry. Don't make the slightest sound until you are sure that what comes is a human, not a zombie.”

Aron looked at Firda with horror. The boy was smart enough to know the intent of Firda's words quickly. Her cries grew, and her hands were now tightly holding Firda's arms. He begged on his knees. “Kak, don't stay in Aron! Aron promises to be a better boy! Brother, Aron please!”

Firda closed her eyes tightly. With a heavy heart he forcibly removed Aron's grip from her. “Aron is already a good boy. Unfortunately, Big Brother is not good enough to be able to take care of Aron. Patient, yes. Brother is sure, there will be someone who finds you and takes better care of you than Brother.”

“No! Aron does not want to! Aron wants to be with you!”

“Can't, Ron.”

“Aron promises Sister no need to carry Aron again! Aron will also help you fight zombies!”

“You don't need to get to that.” Firda almost finished stacking the tires in front of Aron until now only visible part of the boy's head. The girl wiped the tears on her cheeks before smiling. “See you later, yes, Ron. I'm sure we'll see you out there soon. Take care of yourself.”

After saying that, Firda piled up many tires at once until Aron's figure was no longer visible in the slightest. Only the sound of the boy's cries and screams could be heard. Firda hoped that Aron would soon stop crying, or that his attempt to hide the boy would end up in vain.

After saying her last farewell, Firda turned around and retraced the path she had been on with Aron. This time he was really alone. Everything feels lighter and more spacious, but also heavy and limited. Firda did not know for sure how he felt at this moment. Everything felt so jumbled that he thought he was going crazy soon.

“Maybe going crazy will feel more comfortable,” watered Firda slowly. “I won't realize how bad I am as a human being. I left the little boy to survive alone without proper supplies. I'm really trash.”

Suddenly Firda remembers how he and Adira first found Aron. The boy was curled up inside an iron barrel that was no longer intact with the state between being aware and not. Firda insisted on taking her while Adira continued to refuse desperately.

And now it was Firda who left Aron. Inside the pile of tires. How unfortunate the fate of the boy was, he always ended up hidden to be left behind.

***