Chapter 2
2 days later…
It had
been twelve years that Rae had been living in the orphanage because it’s the
only place she can rely on while finding for the man her father had stated
before he died. Well, not really rely on but because she just love the place.
She loved the kids and she had formed a bond with them.
More than that, she had two promises to fulfil. One was her father’s
promise and the second was her promise to Neal Norewood.
On that faithful night, he’d saved her from near-death situation; he’d
brought her to this orphanage in which he got the owner, Aemilia Paxon to allow
her to stay. Rae had promised to the chores during her stay and it had
prolonged up till now, saying that she would leave the moment she accomplish
her mission.
Neal was her saviour and in return, she’d promised to protect him no
matter what happen. Neal is a bounty who is wanted by the Militia because
apparently he held important secrets that he had not reveal it to her once. Rae
supposed the secret is private and confidential, only involved parties may know
about it. However, part of her wanted to know what the secret was.
Rae suddenly woke up, feeling light-headed and weak all over her body.
Her eyes fluttered before she realised she was back in the orphanage, lying on
her bed with the sunlight blazing into her room. She turned to look at her
alarm clock and it was already late morning.
Sighing, she sat up as she rubbed the sides of her head. She paced
around the room to get a sense of familiarity before she focused onto her
memories during the time before she blacked out. She remembered the officer,
Zachery Xaver Bishop, the man who was her childhood friend and the man whom she
once loved.
She couldn’t believe it at first when he couldn’t recognise her when they
first met at the City Square, when they’re out searching for Neal. Their
encounter two days ago was their third encounter and it nearly shattered her
whole heart when he actually shot her at her leg.
‘He doesn’t recognise me at all or he has lost his memories…?’
Just by the thought of it, she had this
weird feeling swelling within her, a feeling she couldn’t identify. She had
heard a lot about Zachery from the news and she often saw him on broadcasting
televisions, announcing certain announcements. She thought how he’d become such
a scary person as he’d torment anyone mercilessly just to get his missions
fulfilled. She doesn’t remember the boy she once loved to be someone like him.
Rae
quickly brushed away those thoughts and turned in her bed so that she could
place her feet onto the marbled floor. She could still feel the electrifying
pain at her wound but she tried to refrain from the pain.
She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes, reminiscing her days
with her family and then with Zachery and then…on the day she disclosed her
biological identity and took on the current identity as Rae Rolite.
A
week after the incident, Rae had finally regained conscious only to find Neal
sitting next to her bed side and he explained the whole situation to her. The
next day, Rae decided to disclose her identity in order to protect herself and
those around her. She feared that the Militia might come looking for her
knowing that one of the members of the Shawcross family survived. She was
certain the Militia wanted her dead and that was why she cut opened her flesh
where the ID Chip was, burnt it and replace it with a new ID Chip Aemilia had
found for her. Where did Aemilia found it, she had no idea.
From that day onwards, she was no longer Penelope Shawcross but Rae
Rolite but, she will savour the name deep down in her heart. Until she finds
out the truth and reason for her father’s death, she will not back away from
the Militia.
Just by thinking about the Militia, it disgusts her for Rae hated the
Militia with a passion, especially the General, General Eastham. The man who
treats the society as he liked and his ruling knows no limit.
Clueless to what is happening below her and wondering if Neal was
alright, she stood up from her bed while fighting the electrifying pain. She
gripped the side metallic pole of the bed and balanced herself straight.
Ignoring the pain, she strode across the room slowly to the automated
plastic-steel white door. The wound has closed by itself but the pain still
lingers. Despite the fact she’s an Asper, Rae had healing abilities and it
thanks to her ‘blood of miracles’.
Aspers
are beings with supernatural abilities differing from each individual and they
ceased to co-exist with the human beings after the war five decades ago due to
political issues. The humans had abused their powers and they hated it, finally
living in a different world away from the human beings which Rae herself had no
idea where.
Her parents were Aspers themselves and she inherited her ability from
her parents, her father had the ‘blood of miracles’ running in him and her
mother had the healing ability. Her parents were one of the few members of the
Aspers living in the human society and the reason was they believe they could
change the current political system and make the Aspers and human beings to
co-exist together. However, the dream was shattered on that faithful night.
Rae
made her way to the wooden stairs as she walked along the wide corridors. The
Orphanage was not particularly large but large enough to house the twenty kids.
Rae didn’t care where she will sleep as long the kids have their own room,
their own place to sleep but Aemilia was generous enough to give her and Neal a
room each.
In
Neal’s case, according to him, he had been living in the orphanage even before
he brought her in. She wondered was Neal the same like these kids too, no one
to guide them in their lives when they’re still so young. Rae dared not to dig
into his past because it was deemed sensitive and private to dig into someone’s
past without their ‘inviting’ permission unless they are willing to talk it out
to others. In Neal’s case, he never hinted her about his past once.
Rae started down the spiral stairs slowly, grabbing onto its railings
tightly so that she would trip and fall. Even going down the stairs was a
challenge for her wounded left leg.
‘What a day to start…’ Rae sighed
heavily and showed a tired expression with her eyes squinted.
The moment she reached the
ground, she congratulated herself silently after the almost ten minutes tour
down from the top. She literally threw her right arm high in the air with a
victorious expression shown all over her face.
‘I did it!’
She walked over to the drawing
room, making a turn-around from the stairs and walked along the hallway as she
limped all the way. Somewhere deep in her had wished that she had woken up a
week later where the pain would be completely gone.
As she made her way closer to the
drawing room, she could hear the children cheery voices which she found it very
soothing to her mind.
When she finally reached the
doorway and was about to call out to Neal who was sitting on the couch,
watching the news, she heard the shocking news from the television.
‘It worries the nation that the
XX-2 Virus is spreading and it has increased to a dangerous level.’
--------------------------------------------------------------
0 comments:
Post a Comment