The last things Ash heard were the sweet chirping of the birds and the light breeze of the wind cooling his body as the last remnants of his sleep left. When he opened his eyes he was greeted by the warm rays of the sun piercing through the window curtain that made him close his eyes again from the pain of the light. After a few seconds he slowly opened his eyes once again as he adjusted his eyes to the light around him. The first thing he saw was white.
Weird.
As far as Ash could remember, there were no shades of white on the night of their fight. Everything was covered with darkness, deep crimson coming from the large amount of blood that had been spilled on the ship, and the deep orange hue that symbolized the true terror of the Black Wolf plan. It was—
Ash eyes widened as if the fog had been lifted and suddenly, all he could see was the scene that made his blood run cold, and the terror and fear shook him throu
Ash had somehow calmed down when he knew that his friends would never put all the blame on him. And when he recovered, he proceeded to ask the thought that's been bothering his mind."Wha—what about you Team? How did you survive and get off the ship? What happened?" This time, Seth and Simon stood nervously as they pulled some chairs and walked closer to Ash bed."I—I am afraid Team can't answer your question, seeing as Team doesn't have a clue as to what happened, so from here on, we will explain to you what happened that night, as well as these past days." Simon said as he put him hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze. He tilted his head to see the boy, and nodded. Signaling her to start her story."So, the moment you guys left us and went to the ship, Seth and I had been fighting against the Black Clan. A series of gunshots were exchanged on the battlefield and we were forced to have some light hand t
"You bastards are indeed lucky, you know that? All I ever wanted was to bathe myself in a pool of your blood. But I'd figured that suffering is just . . . boring. So dull and cliché. What I want, though, is to watch you all suffer in pain and agony. So, yes, I will tell you the whole plan of the Fair Folk faction for tonight, in a plain and simple manner. With no cryptic words and shits." He gave them a sinister smile that made Seth and Simon's stomachs scrunch up and shiver. A shiver that signifies things are going to get bad."The whole note basically just instructed you to be here on this ship, keeping you away from targeting our real goal. Our mission is to babysit you and keep you preoccupied, while our big bosses do the preparation of the attacks. Long story short, the battle on the ship was just a diversion. It's not the real thing, you know. I pity you guys, though. You put too much effort in fighting already, only to find out you're just fighting
"Who—who's this?" Ash voice loomed in on the other line and Seth can't help but feel a pang of pity for his friend. Ash must have already seen the horrible pile of dead bodies on the ship. But they shouldn't stop now, Ash has yet to realize it was just the start of the Black Clan wicked plan."Ash! It's Seth! You need to listen!—""Seth! I—I can't! This—this is too cruel! They—they!""Ash! I know it's hard, but—but you need to listen to me! This is all wrong! We've been deceived! It was just a diversion! It's not a fairy! It's a—"He was interrupted when they heard a series of loud explosions coming from the airport. Seth and Simon stumbled back in their boat at the strong impact of the explosions. Both of them clasped their hands over their mouth as they took in the horrible scene before them.The whole municipal airport were on fire. The airplanes around the
Ash sighed as he ran his hand through his hair and entered Alexander room in the private ward. It's been two weeks since the incident, and he still wasn't done with the amount of paperwork he needed to do. For the past two weeks all of them were working nonstop on the post-investigation, naming the victims, examining their bodies and sending them back to their families, and they needed to write testimonials on that night over and over again and submit it to the authorities. Team and Rose were often throwing a bitch fit whenever the authorities cornered and bombarded them with all the unnecessary work when they should be preparing and hunting down the Black Wolf Clan before their next move.And for the first time, he couldn't help but agree with them.But he knew beforehand that what he wanted right now wouldn't matter. No matter how much he wanted to follow the Black Clan and track them once more, he couldn't do anything.
Team and Rose knew how much the guilt was eating Ash alive. The night he finally woke up in the hospital, only then the realization of the incident sunk into Ash mind and he didn't sleep for a long time. He indulged himself in crying, taking all the blame on himself for what happened. The nurses had to give him some sedative to calm him down. Team couldn't afford to let Ash break down like that again.At least . . . for now.He knew his bestfriend is strong. He knew Ash could overcome this. But he felt like Ash is in his most vulnerable state right now. Not only did he carry the burden of the lives of the victims in the tragedy, but Alexander was still out there, fighting for his own life. Right now, he wanted to protect Ash until he gathered himself back. He wanted to keep him from recollecting horrible thoughts from what happened that night."The Wausau base only specifically called me and Rose to go. Since they have y
Ash widened his eyes as he took a step in the Wausau Municipal Airport for the first time. He felt his whole world freeze as he took in the whole surrounding. The horrible vestiges the Black Clan left. The whole airport was covered by black smoke and a hole. As if there had been an asteroid that fell from the heaven and landed in this very same place, erasing its whole existence from the earth.The once beautiful airplanes parked at the runway like toys had turned into a mountain pile of garbage. All of its mechanical parts were burned until it was beyond repair and unrecognizable. Ash got out from his reverie when several men approached him. Judging from the white lab gowns they wore, Ash suspected it was the medical team who will take care of the dead bodies and put them into a coffin. He learned from Rose and Team that the immediate families, as well as the victims agreed to have a general funeral and burial ceremony for all the victims of the tragedy.
Ash kneeled just as the child gazed at him. The child couldn't take it anymore as her face scrunched up and big tears started to fall from her already beet red eyes. She threw little punches on Ash as the latter finally gave in and allowed himself to cry as he hugged her in an attempt to provide some comfort."Why? Why did they have to die? Big man, please tell me they are lying. Momma—Momma and Pappa can't be dead yet! We still need to play! Momma—momma is supposed to watch me grow up like a fine woman as her. Pappa—pappa still needs to give me a teddy bear on my birthday. Why? Why did you take them away from me? I want them back! Please give them back!" The child continued to rant but Ash just held his grip on the child tight, in hopes that somehow the horrible pain and scar he inflicted on the child would disappear.But who was he kidding? He knew he just left a permanent damage on the child's life . . . and soul.
"Ash! Earth to Ash! Are you alright?!" Ash eyes blinked as he lifted his head and came face to face with Team. To be honest he was not quite sure if he was still in a haze of a dream or if he's back in the reality. Or maybe he was still hallucinating. But in order to make sure that this wasn't a dream anymore, he brought up his hand and gave Team cheek a harsh squeeze. In which the latter man hissed in pain and annoyance as he pushed his hand off of him."Man if you wanted to pinch my cheeks just say so! You don't need to give us such a scare and have us rush to the airport!" Team replied as he glared at his bestfriend in annoyance while Rose was trying to stifle her laugh."I am sorry. I am just making sure I am not dreaming right now.""Well, it was clear you were in your own world for a moment you know. You just gave the child a scare as you held her in an iron grip. The authorities tried to stop you but you wouldn't