I slowly opened my eyes, adjusting to the sun ray passing through the window. I groaned, feeling pain in my head, and sat up.
My memory was blank. I had a feeling something had happened, but I couldn't remember. The last thing I remembered was taking a shower, but how did I get to the bed?
"Maki?" I called, looking around, trying to find something to help me remember that piece of memory that was missing.
"Yes, master?" He answered.
"What happened last night?"
"What happened last night?" He repeated and appeared before me. "I was shut out. I couldn't reach out to you."
I narrowed my eyes and rubbed my neck. "This is strange. I went to take a bath and that was it." My phone beeped and when I read the message, I growled and climbed down the bed. "I've got a mission and I have a few minutes to get there."
I picked up my towel which was neatly folded on the chair. Strange. I never leave my towel on the chair, bed or anywhere else except the closet. I tsked and rushed to the bathroom, having little time to get ready.
…
I arrived at Grand Deck Town, where the team was already waiting. Everyone turned as I walked up. "Sorry I'm late," I said, realizing I was the last to arrive.
"Yes, but only a few minutes," Hero replied and turned to face us all. "Our mission today is to stop a protest in the Milky Line region. The report says the protesters are causing public disturbances and growing violent. They're commoners," he read from his tablet. "We are to calm the situation and hand them over to the region's mayor."
"They're probably protesting injustice," Samara said with her voice trembling and her eyes glassy. "Why is the government always so cruel to them?"
"Samara, now's not the time for emotions," Hero responded calmly but firmly. "We don't even know what the protest is about. For all we know, they could be causing more harm than good."
He put the tablet away and straightened. "Let's go there, do as commanded, make it out first success, and leave." After a moment of silence, he barked, "Let's move!"
We got into our van and drove away. The drive to Milky Line took just thirty minutes, but arriving felt like stepping into a different world. The region was collapsing. Commoners sat along the roadsides, begging for alms. The air reeked of poverty and abandonment, obviously no care from the officials.
The buildings were nothing more than broken shelters and crumbling houses. The only tall structure which stood polished and proud in the center of the city was the mayor's mansion.
"This place is the worst," Maya muttered.
"It's one of the lowest regions," Dennis said with a sigh. "No jobs, no healthcare, no help from the government. Even their mayor doesn't care."
They did nothing. Because they were commoners? They are all humans too.
I knew this pain. I'd lived in a place just like this. My fists clenched, and a low growl escaped my mouth as a memory cut through me like a knife.
"There they are," Hero announced. A crowd had gathered near the mayor's office, holding wooden weapons and shouting. "They are twenty of them. We can handle them," he added as we stepped out of the van. "Maya, your calming flowers."
Maya nodded and stepped forward. She raised her hands and with her eyes shut, chanted, "SWEET ROSE: Fill them up with your sweet goodness and bring peace to their hearts."
Pink roses bloomed into the air above their heads, releasing a delicate, sweet fragrance.
"Cover your noses! Do not inhale it," Hero ordered.
Those who inhaled it began to relax. Anger drained from their faces, replaced by gentle smiles, like an angel had passed through their midst and gave them hope. One by one, their weapons dropped. A magical peace swept over them.
Is this Maya's power? I wondered. I never expected someone so tough and arrogant to have such peaceful power. It doesn't match her attitude.
"That's not all she can do," Carson said beside me, as if reading my thoughts. "Her roses manipulate emotions. She can turn on your emotions and turn it off. You can be calm one minute and the next, you are angry or sorrowful. She can make you feel rage, betrayal and pain. The black rose is the worst. It carries her personal emotions. Never let her use it."
I nodded, still baffled by her powerful ability but yet, the team haven't succeeded in a mission.
Hero stepped forward. "People of Milky Line," he began with his voice steady, "we understand your anger. You're being treated unfairly and everyone sees that. But violence isn't the answer."
An old man stepped forward and gently took his hand. "We know, child. We didn't start the violence. The mayor's thugs did. They tried to drive us off with force, but we stayed. We're tired of being stepped on and that's why we decided to face them head on."
The flowers were definitely messing with his emotion because I could see how sorrowful he was, even though he was smiling and calm. He had so much pain inside.
"They must've called you here to shut us down," he chuckled.
"We are not asking for much," a calm man added. "We just want the government aid we are suppose to receive. It's barely enough to feed us, but it's something."
"The mayor takes 65% of our crops," another said. "He takes the aid too and leaves us with nothing. We have families to feed."
I clenched my fists with rage boiling in my chest. Darn the supremes! The high officials! All of them! They should be punished for this, but no one would be able to face them. The high officials are people who have reached the levels of an Alpha or Supreme. They are powerful and evil.
Hero sighed and answered, "I know what they did is terrible, but please, stop this protest at once and I will see how to bring your situation to the government," It was just a promise. Hero doesn't have much power to speak for them. Infact, he is the captain of the weakest squad.
"I will-" Before he could finish, flaming arrows began to rain down from above, cutting people down like animals.
It was sudden and none of us prepared for it. Deafening screams filled the air. There was chaos with people trying to run and soon after, the smell of blood wafted the air.
I stood rooted to the ground, watching the scene with horror. I was in a safe spot and luckily didn't get hit by the arrows.
I stood still with my eyes and mouth wide open, until it ended. My heart skipped a beat seeing the protesters on the floor, covered in their own blood.
"That was easy." I heard laughter and when I looked up, the world stood still for a minute. Eight men dressed in the CSS regulation gear were watching in amusement.
Hero's face twisted in fury. "Captain Morgan, what the hell have you done?" He asked the leader of the squad, with anger spitting from his voice. "I was taking care of the situation!"
"It doesn't seem like it," Morgan replied coldly. "You were just standing around, failing again. We got a call from the mayor and handled it."
"You killed innocent people!" Samara cried.
"People?" Morgan scoffed. "They're commoners and believe me, their lives doesn't matter."
I snapped. My hands clenched again as memories poured in. Years ago, my mother was slain under a government order. Just like this, and they were all smiles and proud.
"Clean this mess up," Morgan said, waving us off. "You might earn a point for your labor." They got into their van and drove away.
"Squad 8 should be wiped off," Maya hissed, watching the van drive away.
I looked at the people laying lifelessly on the floor and my heart sank. They don't deserve this. None of them does. Hero tried to gather himself. "Alright guys, let keep our feelings aside and get to work. There is nothing we can do except take the bodies to the morgue," he said, his voice barely holding together.
We began collecting the dead bodies, broken and angry. Seeing them on the floor only brought back the memories I hated.
While they were all busy, I wandered off, not able to stand the sight.
In a corner behind the wreckage, I heard crying. I curiously followed the sound and found a young lady kneeling beside a woman.
When she saw me, she shifted in fright. "Please don't hurt me," she cried.
I swallowed and lowered my head. "I won't hurt you," I said gently. "I apologize for what happened to her."
Her shoulders relaxed a bit and she looked at the dead woman beside her. "She… she protected me from the arrows," the girl sobbed. "They killed her! They killed my mother!"
I looked at the woman, her body still, and mouth agape. Her final tears had dried on her cheeks. "I can't live without her," the girl whispered. "You are an agent. Just... take my life too."
I stared into her hollow eyes, knowing the pain she was to go through for being a commoner. The same pain I had passed through, watching my mother die while trying to save me. I looked at her bloodied soaked shirt and clenched my jaw.
She wasn't saved. The blood staining her shirt was hers. She was overwhelmed by her mother's death that she didn't notice she was dying too. From the looks of it, she has lost a lot of blood and wouldn't survive.
"You want to be with her?" I asked and she nodded without hesitation. "Then I'll take you to her," I said softly, inching closer. "But let me carry your pain. Let me be the one to fight for her. I'll make sure those responsible suffer tenfold." She watched me silently with her lips trembling.
"All I need is your soul. Give it to me and rest peacefully. You wouldn't have to be a commoner again. You won't have to pass through this pain. You will finally know peace."
That was the only thing I could think of. She would be able to die peacefully knowing her mother would be avenged than to die with so much grudge in her heart.
She hesitated and I thought she would back off, but she suddenly placed her hand on mine. Her fingers were cold.
"You promise?" I could see a little ray of hope and relief in her eyes. Just what I wanted to see. I nodded without hesitation. "Then I give you my soul."