I re-lived the time when my parents were murdered by the church group, but this time I managed to remember more... something haunting I had seemingly pushed away from my mind and memory.
While I was running, I remember turning around to see blood splatter on the kitchen window... mom's blood. Mother ran to the kitchen after pushing me outside. I continued running in fear, tears streaming down my cheeks.
I was abruptly grabbed by a man or woman on a horse and taken away, they calmed me and promised my safety.
***
I woke up from the dream, which had directly mirrored my memory of the event. How dreadful.
Upon waking up, I instantly noted how dark the room was. It was still in the early morning hours. I spent some time trying to remember what happened after I was taken away, but it was a blur. All I ended up remembering was that the person who saved me had bought me a house in the town, talking to officials and the town hall about letting me remain there on my own.
Which I did.
***
It's almost like I had blinked and it was now morning. I looked around and I exited the room, meeting Kayla in the kitchen area, helping the adult daughter cook something. I smiled and walked outside. There were some mindless Pathogens rubbing their faces against the gate, groaning and saying small words of English. One was repeating, "Help me." I can see how many hunters mistake them for humans. The more of each other and the humans they eat, the smarter they get. They particularly enjoy the brain of humans.
"Heyo," Pika said, appearing beside me and scaring the soul out of my body.
She began laughing and I was breathing heavily. "Hey. Look at them... they keep trying to get inside... they act so humanly... it's disgusting." I remarked, anger filling my heart and eyes, a burning flame.
"Right, but aren't you a part of them?" Pika asked, her eyes not leaving the Pathogens.
"Well... I like to say I... um... am more Human... than Pathogen."
For some reason, that question really hurt me. I never really classify myself as a Pathogen. They're vile, cruel creatures who eat whatever living thing they can get to. I don't hunt down people... or kill my friends... nor do I kill everything in sight.
"Or perhaps you are more Pathogen than Human, but got Human intelligence from one of your parents."
I froze in my place, looking at Pika with my mouth agape.
"After all, most of the time people take after features or genes from their father." Pika continued.
She noticed my surprised look and sighed.
"Sorry, just speculating. Just know that I will stay by your side either way. I trust you. Plus who doesn't want to be friends with a hope for humanity?"
She tried making me feel better, but my heart hurt, and so did my head. There was no way I was more Pathogen... no way in hell.
"What makes you think I could somehow be a hope for humanity?" I asked, honestly puzzled.
She smiled and put a thumb up.
"Because! When Pathogens get really powerful, they can control other Pathogens. Kinda like a commander in Kai's game!"
Great. She was learning from Kai now.
"Who knows? You could end up saving us by sending all Pathogens into the fiery depths of hell!"
She was silent for a moment. I was about to ask how we would open hell, but she began speaking again.
"Well actually maybe we could just trap them in a huge pit and light them all on fire or something."
This plan seemed good, but there was one problem in my mind.
"What about me? Nobody would really keep me alive then... they would be afraid I would infect people or something." I said what was really on my mind.
"Well, that would surely suck. I guess at that point just start infecting and curse those people with the mistake they'd be making." Pika said, with a malicious smile.
"Right..." I said nervously.
"I'm kidding. We wouldn't let that happen. Surely I wouldn't at least." Pika chirped out before entering the mansion once again.
***
After a while of eating and getting ready, with Instructor Miko flirting with the couple's daughter, of course, we left. Heading back to the city to regroup and complete the mission. This had been relatively quicker and easier than the first mission, which was lucky for us.
***
We arrived and got off of the horses we had ridden in on. I used a brush to get some dirt and dust off of the horse I rode on and put it into the stables.
Instructor Miko was on the stage once again, yelling to us that in the city, there is a school we will be able to attend some school activities, learn more about our jobs from professionals, and even attend a dance. This dance included a gym for each individual school. Our school had one of the bigger gyms which we were to share with another school. All High School students from our school could attend, as long as they were currently in a job. Everyone would be transported from their hometowns to this huge school for the activities tomorrow. Which was quite nerve-wracking.
I slept easily that night, Kai stayed up late playing on his phone, and Markus was reading before closing his book and laying it on his nightstand, going to bed abruptly.
***
It was morning before we knew it and exited the room we were in, headed outside, and went to get breakfast.
While eating, a bird had landed next to me. I looked over at it, and it was... different. It had strange eyes and had small Pathogenic tentacles sticking out of its body. Its wings were elongated with bone. I panicked and scooted to the side, to which it flew away.
Why did it look so familiar to me?
I guess I knew somewhere deep down.
***
At home, mother and father had left to work. I was home alone and I could hear kids outside. I looked outside, curious, wanting to play, but knowing better.
The kids were chucking rocks at mother's favorite tree. Eventually, something fell to the ground and stopped moving. I was shocked and didn't understand. The boys then looked at the thing and ran away laughing. They were the closest neighbor's kids.
I exited the house. Trying my best to be undetected, I crept over to the thing, only to see a crow. It was dead. It had been hit and fell. Its neck was at an unnatural angle and his leg was turned in a bad direction. I picked it up and blood seeped between my fingers. I felt so bad for the creature, birds were supposed to be free... not locked up and killed by merciless creatures.
I took it inside and held it gently, thinking I could somehow revive it. When I was ready to give up and take it outside to bury it, a small tentacle came out of my fingertip. It wormed its way into the bird and the bird began spazzing. I put it on the dinner table and backed up, scared as any child would be. I was on the verge of tears when it flew to my shoulder and sat there. I turned slowly and it was just laying there. It was seemingly... happy?
I took it outside and it flew away, but anytime I was outside, it would find me and drop off pieces of metal and coins. I had no clue where it was getting these things, but I never told my parents about the bird or these objects.
The day my parents were killed and I was taken away from my home, I saw the bird flying away. Ever since then, he had never come back, so I assumed he may have died or flown far away from there.
***
I looked around the breakfast tables for the bird, but it soon returned. It landed on my shoulder, and its tentacles and twisted wings sank into its body, making it look like a normal bird.
"So you know how to look normal? Like a Pathogen does?" I asked, somehow I expected a response, but only got a small head tilt out of the bird. At that moment, I wondered if I had a Pathogenic form.
The bird politely chirped and I looked to my plate, where a couple of strawberries resided all by themselves.
Picking one up, the bird jumped around cheerfully and I handed the strawberry to it, to which it pecked at the strawberry many times, getting big bites out of it until finally it was all gone. I smiled and fed it another, which seemed to be all its tiny body could eat.
I stood up and walked over to Kayla, who had just entered the breakfast area. She panicked and warned me about the bird, but I assured her it was fine.
"It's... a regular crow!" I promised, which was obviously a lie. I looked at the bird and somehow tried to get an intelligent answer out of it.
"Are you a boy or a girl?" I sat silently and Kayla looked confused. "Right. Chirp once if you are a boy, and twice if you are a girl."
The crow chirped twice.
"So it's a girl!" Kayla laughed. She seemed to have an idea as she pulled out her notebook and began writing the entire alphabet.
"Do you have a name? Just peck at the letters in your name in order, and I'll write as you do.
It seemed we both expected a lot from this crow, but somehow it knew what to do.
It began pecking. It only pecked three letters, so there were three holes. In order, the name was "Nyx".
Nyx chirped happily and jumped around slightly in circles. Kayla and I laughed.
"Isn't Nyx some kind of god or something in Greek Mythology?" I asked, not knowing exactly what the name meant.
"No!" Byul yelled, his eyes wide. Uh oh... I got something wrong. He only does that when a piece of information he knows has been mistaken.
"Nyx is a Greek Goddess, the Goddess of the night!" Byul declared proudly. I looked back at Nyx and smiled. It made sense. She was a crow, after all, her darker colors matched this name, but how did Nyx choose such a name and how is she smart enough to understand our language? Being a Pathogen Crow... I'd have to assume she... ate people or Pathogens...
***
Before I knew it, the spotlight was on me.
People swarmed me and began petting and asking questions about Nyx. I told them her name and all the basic details, but they wanted to hold her and pet her, which made her nervous as well. She soon flew away to everyone's dismay.
Everyone said "Awww..." sadly and all walked away. I'm just glad Nyx wasn't hurt.
I would just have to wait for Nyx to come back at some point.
***
We were finally able to ride in a vehicle other than a train or on horseback.
We rode on a bus and it was the first time on a real vehicle with wheels for most of us.
The ride was calming and the bumps were something new to experience. Usually, they don't use vehicles, as there isn't as much gasoline as there used to be, so horseback and trains were the main forms of transportation in our modern world, with only the rich and famous/important being able to own a vehicle.
***
The city's school was huge, and it was approaching the afternoon. I had no intention of going to the dance, even though it started around 7-8 PM when it would be quite dark.
Little did I know... I didn't have a choice.
Later that night, Markus, Kayla, Byul, and I were wandering around the school and accidentally entered the gym for the dance. People were dancing wildly to a funky song.
We decided to just sit down and chill.
Everything was fun for quite a while, the song was now calmer, and everyone was dancing quite calmly. Pika was also there and ran up to me.
"Hey! I want to practice dancing!" she yelled, to which I just tilted my head and said, "Okay, go ahead."
She grabbed my hand and pulled me away, slowly dancing with me, and I just followed along with what she was doing. This was awkward. I was sweating and was nervous. She danced so well. She was so small and adorable.
The doors to the gym burst open and Pathogen Hunters and police entered, they were grabbing people and swabbing their fingerprints. Anyone who tried to leave was stopped. The music was turned off and the lights were turned on as they made their way to Markus, Kayla, and Byul, declaring that they will find the murderer that killed the church members.
The church people were Pathogens... so why would the killer get punished.