Zora got to Erica a little too late. By the time he arrived, Kai was already gone. He met what was left of Erica's house, but for a reason, he didn't seem in a hurry. He followed the trail of blood as he entered through what used to be the door. And there Erica was, lifeless, with a hole in her body.
Erica was a cheerful girl growing up. She had a lot of friends and she always wanted to make more. She didn't grow up in the same neighbourhood with Lucas and Auron. Her and her parents lived quite far from there actually before they moved. Everything was fine until Erica awoken to her god killer abilities. There was a ghastly accident that happened when the school bus was taking her and the other kids to their homes one day. No one knows what caused it… because everyone in that accident died. But out of the unspeakable wreckage, Erica walked out. She was covered in blood alright. But not her blood. There wasn't the slightest injury on her but her mind was scarred. She was seven years of age then and she had seen so many people die. She was never the same after that. The trauma, the questions. They were just too much. Her parents never understood how she survived the accident. And neither did she. Until she moved and met Lucas. She didn't know it at first, but they were the same. God killers. And Lucas was aware of his abilities thanks to Auron, who inherited Liana's memories and abilities. Without knowing, Erica fell for Lucas. But the problem was, Lucas already fell for Auron.
The same feeling of indebtedness that triggered her feelings for Lucas, the one who enlightened her on how to use her powers, was the same thing that triggered Lucas's feelings for Auron. Subconsciously, she competed for Lucas's attention, trying to be more relevant. But Auron always had the head start, thanks to Liana. She thought she was helping the group by turning Kiro over to PRIDE, when he went berserk. She and Auron had differing opinions and Lucas sided with Auron. It was Erica's chance to prove she was right and Auron was wrong. But when all went south, she called for Alice's help and seeing as all ended well, she hated herself even more for not trusting her friends. But it was too late.
PRIDE took advantage of the rift between them and Erica became their informant. A chance to take a different step from Auron's orders and still be on the right. So she distanced herself from the group and transferred her aggression to Alice. But when Auron saw the hunter in the tomb, she knew she had to do something extra. Auron was well aware that Erica was not with them. But as Gifteds can communicate telepathically with each other, they can also do same with god killers. And so, Auron made a pact with Erica. The price, Lucas. She'd leave their lives for good and Erica would have done enough good to make Lucas forget all her wrongs.
But there she was, lifeless. Her efforts, wasted. Zora stared at her for some time, inspecting every inch of her lifeless body. He looked a bit puzzled. "Why is she still sleeping? Hey, wake up!" He said as he kicked her, but he got no response.
"It's easier to stay dead than to keep on living. You eccentrics should know that better," Erica said, but her eyes were still shut. After a few moments, she finally sat up. The hole on her stomach was smaller than it was previously. It was closing up slowly.
"Why didn't you heal up earlier?" Zora asked.
"I wanted to rest a bit. I just slowed down my healing, enough for it to be negligible. I can't even stop it if I wanted to. Nature keeps forcing me to live," she said with her hand on her face. She remembered the first time her powers surfaced. The accident. She had broken most of her bones, same as everyone else. She fell unconscious. But somehow, when she woke up, her wounds were healed. She thought it was a dream until she saw all the lifeless bodies around her. She never understood it until Lucas made her know that, that was her perk. Immortality. Her healing accelerated and her wounds were completely covered. She got up to face Zora, walking up so close to him that there was almost no space between them. But Zora didn't budge. "So, what's the next plan?"
"Let's go save Liana."
***
Esther arrived at an underground facility, which was beneath PRIDE's headquarters. Liana was still covered with Esther's water. She floated behind Esther as they moved through a passageway. Liana was complacent, considering the fact she was held captive. She was relaxed. Nothing that was happening at that time was outside what she had predicted. Except for what she was about to see. Her parents! They were also being held captive. Esther flung her towards them. She landed in front of them, her clothes drenched. "I could have kept your cloth dry and all, but where is the fun in that?" Esther goaded. "You've got one minute," she snapped and went to sit at the other end of the room they were presently in.
"Auron, are you okay?" her father was the first to hold her as she tried to get herself up. Esther scoffed at the realization that Auron's parents didn't know that her body had been possessed by Liana.
"I'm sorry. I'll get you out of this. I promise," Liana replied.
"What's going on honey? Who are these people?" her mother asked.
"Do you trust me?" Liana asked and her parents nodded. "Then know that I'll fix all this. And by then, we can talk. But now, is far from a good time." Reluctant as they were, her parents decided to leave it to Auron. Or in this case, Liana. "I love you," she said and she walked towards Esther. "You'll regret this. I'll make sure of it," Liana threatened Esther, to which she simply gave a soft smile.
"You'll see them again if you co-operate. You're quite the actress though. I'll give you that," Esther said, as she got up. "Shall we now? Your duty awaits," Esther teased.
They walked through another passage, this time more people could be seen working. "Why didn't you tell them about Auron?" Liana asked. Esther wasn't one to pass up an opportunity like that.
"Because I envy what you have. Your bonds, your family. Almost as though I wish I had the same," Liana was surprised to hear those words come out of Esther's vile mouth. Esther broke into a hysterical laughter when she saw Liana sympathizing with her. "What kind of good person do you think I am? Of course not. They are our leverage. Severing ties is of no use to us." They were finally in front of a large machine. Kai, Goliath and Leo were also present. "That was quick. I guess Erica wasn't such a big deal after all," Erica goaded.
Liana was infuriated, just as Esther hoped. "What did you do to her!!!" Liana berated.
"Oh, you don't know. Kai was sent to kill her," Esther goaded with an obnoxious grin.
And that was the straw that broke the camel's back. "I'll kill you!!!" Liana gnashed her teeth as she pulled up one of her seals on air. Kai was flustered.
"Calm down, love. Remember your parents are here. Auron's parents are here. Think about them first," Kai spoke calmly trying to pacify Liana. And after a few seconds, she reluctantly retracted her seal. "Good. Just one more thing and you're free to go."
"And what's that?" Liana snapped. The fury was very much apparent in her eyes. Even though she was talking quite calmly at the moment, Kai knew that Liana was on the verge of exploding and he earnestly wanted to avoid that.
"Well---," Kai murmured, still unable to muster the appropriate words to say.
"We need you to place your hand in that machine over there," Leo interjected.
"You want me to help you break the seal," Liana cursed under her breath. "Are you really that cocky that you think I'll oblige, or are you just plain stupid?"
"You will, even if we have to force you," Leo declared.
"This should be fun," Liana chuckled.