I read the note once and then some more.
Penumbra.
They were the ones who killed my father.
Although, something seemed amiss. Why was this messenger going above and beyond to tell me all this? How did he know who I was? How did he know I longed for vengeance? And how was he sending me letters without anyone noticing? Not even me.
I sat on the bed struggling to organize my thoughts when the door swung open and Avery stood with tears in her eyes. "Nyla!" she hollered as she almost flew towards me.
I hurriedly pushed the paper in my hospital gown pocket. "Avery, what's wrong. Are you okay?" I asked, catching my breath and my best friend.
"I was so scared, Nyla. I don't know what the hell happened. Did you hear it was a terrorist attack?"
I nodded slowly. "I can't believe someone would do that to a religious place. They even broke down their prized monumental landmark."
Sniffing, Avery said, "I don't think their goal was just the chapel. I heard the first bomb blew up at the hotel we were supposed to check into. I think they're target was us." She pulled her legs against her chest and rested her head on her knees. "Do you think they were the same people who hurt Leader Jennings?"
I cracked a smile, realizing that Avery and I were best friends because we had unmatched wavelengths that moved in sync. "I don't know. It could be. Whoever they are, they aren't scared of the law. That could only mean that…"
"There's a spy," Avery concluded. "They have a mole at school too. Because no one other than the people at school knew we were going out to the square yesterday. This was all too organized to be a random attack. It was pre-planned. Someone at school leaked the information about us."
"How do you know that?"
"Know what?"
"How did you know that no one knew about us going to the city?"
Wiping dry tears off her face, she shrugged. "Venea told me about it in passing. Who, by the way, is perfectly fine. She has some scraps and bruises on her arms, but she's fine."
I shoved my hand in my pocket when I felt the note by 'Z'. I contemplated whether I should tell Avery about Z or not. On one hand, it would be helpful to have some help rather than me going alone and getting lost, or worse. Yet, on the other, I would have to explain to her why this anonymous writer was calling me Nyla Jennings instead of Nyla Richards. There was a reason why it was kept a secret from everyone. Eybosnians and Earthlings alike.
The paper crumbled under my grasp. "Considering they seemed to have been hit as well, we can keep the suspicion off of them for now."
"Maybe." Avery put down her legs and stretched them in front of her. "I saw Zerakh on the way here. He had a bandage around his eye and his arm. The nurses were fixing some kind of a metal box around him. Just like this one." She pointed to the metal box that previously had my foot in. "But, you know, bigger."
"It's called a Mendex Box. It helps in repairing almost every wound or injury, apparently." I wiggled my leg. Avery's mouth dropped.
"Holy frak! That's insane. Do you think that's why I don't have any injuries on me?"
I shrugged. "Could be. Or maybe you're just special."
Avery grinned. "That would be a more logical explanation." We began to chuckle. "I'm guessing we won't be going home or anywhere else any time soon."
Pursing my lips, I threw a soft smile. "I guess not."
After Avery left a while before the nurses came to my room, at last and checked my vitals. After clearing me, I was told to wait in the waiting room. I quickly changed out of the hospital gown, stuffing the note in my half-burned jeans, I treaded down the hall. The lingering curiosity tingled my brain. I had to find out about Penumbra.
Who were they? Why did they do all this? Why had they antagonized us? The only place I knew that would hold some clue would be… the scene of the crime. However, it wasn't easy to maneuver around Astral City. As the capital of Eybosnia, it was highly guarded and the patrolmen always shadowed the streets. Which made the bombing more of an inside job than just some terrorist attack.
For the first time, surprisingly, I couldn't wait to go back to school. I needed answers. And that was the first place that held some.
~*~*~*~
The attack had been more severe than what had been explained to me. After I was cleared from any further injuries, I was discharged. I headed to the room where Daxton and Bella were. As I walked across the hallways, I overheard the nurses talking about the situation outside.
There were countless deaths and an abounding number of injured people. Other than Zerakh, Hyrad had also been severely injured, but not as much as Zerakh. Daxton and Annabella were luckily safe. They were saved by Lexin, who used her powers to cut through the falling debris. Sumi and Meryam were the only Earthlings that went unscathed. They were right at the back of the group with Sumi's buddy, Opilion Talaq and Erik's buddy, Mufaro Talaq.
Yes, they were brothers. Twins, actually.
Erik and Hayden were at the front of the group with Zerakh and Hyrad when the incident happened, incurring the most damage. As I sat outside Hayden's room, Daxton came and sat beside me.
"How are you holding up?" he asked.
"I need to tell you something."
Daxton looked at me with a perplexed expression. We trotted away from the crowd and from anyone's earshot. "What's wrong?"
I pulled out the paper from my pocket and handed it to him. I know I should've kept it to myself and I knew what Daxton would tell me. He would be angry and disappointed. He would tell me not to get involved and we should tell someone about this. I knew his every reaction. However, I needed to tell this to someone. I couldn't keep it in.
Yes, I sucked at keeping secrets.
But not all. There were some that no one knew about, however, this was something that felt like I had to tell him. Daxton was the most stable minded person I knew. And he would know exactly what to do with this. It's not like I wasn't planning to check out the yellow door anymore. I just wanted some backup. Especially after last time. It was best to go in groups of two.
"Where did you find this?" Daxton asked after a couple of minutes.
"On the side table," I replied.
"This was not the first note, was it?"
I shook my head.
"Do you have the other notes?"
"Back in the room." Daxton nodded slowly. "You're acting weird. Are you not mad?" I asked.
"Do you want me to be?"
"No. It's just that… you know…"
Daxton breathed in a long inhale. "I don't know. I know I should be mad at you for not telling me about this before. Or you, thinking of finding our father's killer all by yourself, knowing how dangerous this is." He shifted his weight from one leg to another and ran his fingers through his curly mess of hair. "But this is no longer about Dad, Nyla. This is about us. And every other human out there. They're targeting us. All of us. This group… Penumbra… they want to wipe us out. And I think Dad was the first. Like a warning sign."
I pursed my lips and fiddled with my fingers. "You think we should pursue this. You want to find what's behind the yellow door, don't you?"
"A rational mind would say we should let the higher ups handle this. But as an older brother who saw one of his younger siblings trembling like a leaf in his arms, crying uncontrollably, and the other passed out in a hospital bed looking, like death, hell, with rationality. Let's get these sons of a gun." It was the first time I had ever seen Daxton mad. Like really mad. His jaw clenched and the paper in his hand crinkled beyond repair in his grasp.
~*~*~*~*~
Daxton left to check up on Annabella and her friends and I headed back to Hayden's room. Time ticked slower than before. Avery had gone to the cafeteria to buy us some drinks. From my peripheral, I noticed Shade walking towards me. Well, not exactly towards me, but he was, definitely, walking my way. He had almost passed by me when I called out his name.
"Thank you," I said. "I heard you were the one who got me to the hospital and helped everyone else too."
He raised a brow, amused. "You heard?"
"Yea? Avery told me that. Why?"
Shade nodded slowly, crossing his hands against his broad chest. "So, you don't remember our conversation?"
Frown lines etched on my forehead. "We spoke to one another? What did I say?"
He looked at me for a minute before clicking his tongue. "It doesn't matter. Glad you're okay. Your blonde bimbo will get discharged soon. After that, we're heading back to the dormitories."
I clenched my jaw tight and my lips pressed in a thin line. Just when I thought Shade was not as bad as he seemed, he goes ahead and ruins it. I rolled my eyes and exhaled sharply. "Thanks for the update." A sarcastic smile stretched across my face.
However, it went over his head as he smirked and nodded once before marching away. My fist clenched in frustration as my mind played various versions of me beating him to pulp. Just as he rounded the corner, a chuckle slipped from his lips, deepening my frown.