Genesis : Knights of Salvation Series

Luckily, the next morning after the incident neither Enyo nor Orion said anything about what happened, and I felt thankful to them for that. I have no doubt they have questions but having her hit me... I honestly wasn’t sure what I was going to do. If it was anyone else I probably would hit them back but Dr. Beya haunts me still from the things she put me through.

By the end of the week, I fell into a kind of rhythm each day getting to know the team a little more. The week set into a normal that blocked out the thoughts running rampant through my mind. Instead, I focused on each of my tasks avoiding any thoughts of what we will find on the mission.

I’ve noticed little things, learning that Foxglove is from a family of ten. Her whole family was born into a D-status. She didn’t tell me this but I noticed the way she seemed to resent anyone of higher status. I didn’t know she was the youngest of ten until she had accidentally spilled it when she was explaining why she is s good at hand-to-hand combat. The rest of the group all have outer wall statuses except Orion and Enyo. Orion hails from a smaller family with A-status, although he didn’t tell me that. I could tell just by the way he speaks when he does speak; like gentlemen. It’s also his knowledge, it’s sad to say that the outer wall barely has an education system while the inner wall community has the best possible.

I place my fork into my now empty bowl of stew. The rest of the team has finished leaving to finish getting ready for our leave tomorrow morning. The night has grown dark as I sit at the dinner table quietly alone. More and more often I’m finding moments like this where I don’t have people scrutinizing me. A small hope seems to pop up every time, that in a few week’s this would be my real life. I know it’s an absurd hope, but my practical side continues to tell me that I probably won’t even survive this trip. So many things can go wrong for me, for the team. They have spent most of the days getting ready for the mission. Every day they work in the forest, sneaking around in the trees and practicing taking out any threat. I spend my days looking at maps and Clare looking at me, and the afternoons I spent training with Clare and Foxglove. Most of the time Foxglove yelled at me to be more aggressive and yet the whole time I was scared too. The fear of seeing red and hurting her scared me completely. I haven’t experienced anything, since then and yet I couldn’t help but fear losing it and giving her more than a bloody nose.

I lean back in the chair my long sleeve shirt placed on the back of my chair allowing for the colder air to touch my skin. The whole team was asleep giving me this private time to no longer hide my scars. The room was barely lit with candles as most of the candles in the house has been dosed as the house is quiet. Clare has been more lenient about me being by her side and for once it felt like she wasn’t hounding me or watching some experiment. I know it’s because there’s not really anywhere for me to wander off to here.

Tomorrow we will rise at daybreak and head out to the wall, we will travel through the wall to a heavily guarded door hidden for entering and leaving the walls. “I see that your still up.” I hear Enyo. His quiet voice still seems to echo in the large room. I look at him, he is still in his uniform but his button-up shirt is slightly unbuttoned showing the latex shirt under it. He walks down the stairs, sitting a crossed from me in a chair leaning back as he places his undone boots on the table relaxing.

“I thought I was the only one still awake,” I say growing self-conscious about the scars I’m sure are easily showing. The scar’s from the attack span from just at the base of my neck over my shoulder, showing over five bite marks along my shoulder down to the top of my arm. These are the ones that stand out the most while the others from the infected nail’s left others on my sides.

" I assumed just as you did, I hope you don’t mind me crashing your alone time?” He says shrugging, half-heartedly. This time it’s my turn to shrug. Grabbing the bottle of rum in the middle of the table, then grab my mug. Enyo grabs an empty one just sitting on the table near him placing it next to mine. I open the bottle pouring some into both cups. When I’m done I set the bottle down slightly behind his feet at the end of the table.

“Thinking about tomorrow?” He mutters sipping his drink. I sip mine slightly nodding and I look at my drink.

“And you?” I ask him looking up. Enyo looks over me and drinks his rum again. “The night before a mission, I don’t ever get much sleep. Nerves.” He supplies. I look over him, I hadn’t noticed before but now with the closeness, he sits, his usually lazy hair seems a bit ruffled and he seems exhausted.

We sit in silence both of us sipping our drinks. For once I felt comfort in someone’s presence. I didn’t even have this with Clare, she’s always watching.

“I wanted to ask, before-” He slightly trails off. He seems different for the slightly arrogant and bossy captain he usually parades around as. I look at him urging him to continue. “That day, a few days when we first started hand-to-hand combat.” he slowed to sip his drink. That’s when I realize exactly what he was going to ask me. “The way you fought was like a cornered wolf like you suddenly fell to a memory?” He says. A memory, I hadn’t thought of it like that. Could I have fallen back to that night scared and fighting to survive?

I place my cup on the table curling my legs to my chest waiting, and thinking for a moment. I didn’t expect it myself but a pang of truthfulness bit me.

“I was attacked as a child..... I guess I remembered a day I didn’t win. I forgot who I was fighting.” I shrug, slightly more truthful than I should have been.

“Is that from the attack?” He gestures with his cup to my shoulder. Without thinking my hand pulls my hair from behind my shoulder covering the scars.

“As I said, I didn’t win that fight.” I reflect on him. I know he’s watching my movements and I’m sure he knows I’m lying at least a little. But I’m thankful that he lets it go.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask grabbing my cup again and changing the question.

“What?” He asks shifting his head slightly.

“Why would someone of your Status, join the Knight Division or at least the military?” The question slightly nagged me when I realized he was from the inner wall. He seemed a little taken aback by my question. For the past week, we haven’t spoken much to one another, I’ve spent my days with Clare, Foxglove, or Harrison. Actually, this is the only time we have seen one another in the past week. He moves his feet off the table and leans forward, his arms crossing and resting on the table instead.

“There’s a lot of reasons I chose the military, my status was one. I don’t like that so many people believe they are better than others because their ancestors had a name in the old lands. I wanted to make a name for myself by myself.” He says sipping his almost empty cup.

“Then why the military for that?” I push further. I can’t help but be genuinely curious.

“In the military, I can help our people, in the Knight Division I can have the chance to find ways to save our people. That’s why I chose it.” He finishes explaining. It seemed odd for me to envision Enyo, the arrogant boss, who chose to sign his death warrant because of a sense of duty to his people.

“Is that why you agreed to the mission?” I asked furrowing my brow. Enyo thinks for a moment his eyes sitting on his hand.

“A good portion of it, yes. The fact it’s an order helped too.” He chuckles lightly.

“And you?” He asks.

“Me?” Unsure what he’s asking.

“Why are you choosing to go on this mission? Of all the people why you?” He asks. I wasn’t sure how to answer it. Choice? I don’t think I ever really had a choice to go through with this. Even if I didn’t want to risk my life like this then I’ll be dead in a few months anyway. So choice, there was no choice... It’s possible death or certain death.

“I guess you could say I was fated to do it. So, the choice was made for me, not by me. I’m the only one that knows what to look for. You and your team, are the only ones given any resemblance of a choice. For me, this is the only path I can take.” I try my best to explain without being forthright about the real reasons. How can I explain to him that this mission was the only thing to save me from myself?

I learned a year ago, that I only had about two years left to live if I didn’t find a cure. Not a complete cure, From what the doctors said I’m a walking cure myself. The attack left me with a body partially immune to the mutated strain. Over the years my body has been slowly breaking down and in a year, it’ll finally win. To live, I needed the primordial strain, it will in a sense attack and fight the mutation. Breaking them both down for my body to fight. The mutated strain should alter the original virus, and my genes will alter with it. In doing so I would be the ultimate cure to all of this. My body will have allowed the two viruses to battle, my body is already resistant to the mutated virus, and with the original, it would be the ultimate immune system.

If the virus isn’t there, I’m dead. In return, I become a bomb. Mixed perfectly with the mutated virus I would be a walking talking monster spreading the virus, my blood could infect everyone... turning them into monsters.

In all, I need the original to mix into my already resistant body to keep the mutated one from taking over. I would be immune to both.

I’m a bomb and the salvation.

“That seems like a hard way to look at life,” Enyo speaks up watching me. His eyes don’t leave mine.

“So does yours believing you can change the world.” I retort. He gives a subtle laugh and a smile.

“Your eyes?” He suddenly asks. shocking me. He’s the first to say anything That’s one thing I’ve noticed, they all ignore the color of my eyes, I’m unsure if it’s because they don’t want to be rude or if they were unsure they wanted the answer but now here Enyo is asking me. When I don’t reply immediately he sits up slightly.

“I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.” He races out. I don’t think I’ve seen him get nervous like that.

“You’re good.” I shrug with a smile. Enyo relaxes and I place my cup down. “I think it’s time I turn in, probably should get a few hours of rest before the big day.” I excuse myself from walking up the stairs, my shirt in one hand. I stop at the bottom of the stars and turn to look behind me. “Good night Captain.”

“Good night Aspen.”

I can feel his eyes follow me for a moment and the next leave.

I fall onto my bed exhaustion beginning to take over, what an odd night. As I fall to slumber my mind thinks about tomorrow’s adventure.