It had been two weeks. The incident that occurred during the white night brutally marked the trust that citizens placed in their city. Two dead citizens, suddenly assailed by the curse of resentment, within those walls that reflected security more than anything else. This was expected to happen again, at any moment, with even more disastrous consequences.
Oskah was recovering. After three weeks, unable to sit still in a bed doing nothing. He was deeply depressed, and as if that weren't enough he was forced to detach himself from the two people he could confide in. The only two who, together with him, knew ...
Zen was, after much insistence, reintroduced into the corps of exploration.
"Your skill will be useful to us." Said the Division Chief, in front of the whole scout corps, when he was assigned another mission.
"This was the first tragedy that occurred in our city since time immemorial. We can do nothing but react. Among the ten most able and currently healthy members, a very important mission will be assigned."
Dulkha, Zen, and eight other soldiers were selected. The mission's goal was to convince the Nephto village of Luhna Island to join their cause. The Nephto village lived on an island not too far from the coast of Anatolia. It is said that exorcists still live on that island, capable of curing resentment and purifying a city.
The government of Anatolia never had the intention or the need to communicate with the Nephto, as "Miraculously" it has always been protected from the evil of resentment. Now, this was the only solution.
"That idiot must have broken his leg right now ..."
Zen said, leaning against the edge of the airboat.
"See it as a good thing." Dulkha said, trying not to attract attention.
"And what would it be?" "We are here, he is still within the walls of that city. He will be able to watch the city while we are away, find out something. Maybe." Zen remained silent. He watched the red painted horizon, the sun falling without ever touching the bottom. A piece of land began to resurrect from the surface. A strange fog surrounded them; it seems to surround the whole island.
"Here we are, get ready to disembark." One of the top scouts said.
Dulkha and Zen looked at each other. "Do you think the bitch and the others in town know anything about our discovery?" Zen asked in a low voice. Dulkha stared at the mist-faded island. "I can't say. If they had wanted to kill us, they would have done so already." "But they tried, didn't they?"
Dulkha didn't know what to say.
...
In the city of Anatolia everyone was asleep. Almost. The Division Chief walked out of his office. His footsteps echoed in an imperceptible tick. She passed through the sector where the wounded were. She walked around silently, peering at those convalescing bodies asleep. She lingered on Oskah, or so it seemed, as he had his eyes closed but his mind was awake. The moment the Division Chief's heels stopped in front of him, his heart began to accelerate, his body began to tremble slightly but perceptibly. To spice it up, Oskah started panting, rolling his wide-lidded eyes, as if he were having a nightmare. The Woman came up to him, dropped to her knees. He could feel the warmth of her body, the sting of his breath on her neck. Oskah felt a contact on his forehead, it was the woman's fingers touching him lovingly, the fingers of a mother, a wife, a lost sister. Unwittingly, he felt deeply vulnerable. He was almost tempted to open his eyes and expose the farce, but he didn't. A thin tear ran down from the usual eye, the woman's fingers picked it up and Oskah's cheek was dry again. The Division Chief got up and walked away, his light heels gone within seconds. Oskah opened his eyes. He was alone. He waited a few seconds to get up and limp to the exit door. He noticed that he had an erection.
"Shit..."