INSIGNIAS: THE ABECEDARIANS

She did not stop. Her breathing was already shallow, her feet throb, her eyes swollen, her throat hurt. But she did not dare stop walking. Where am I going?

The sun was already setting when she felt her knees gave up, her sight became blurry, her breathing ragged. She had no idea where she was. The vast rice field stretched around her but there’s no one around. She blinked several times to focus on a moving object in front of her but failed. A pair of brown boots walking towards her was the last thing she saw before darkness consumed her.

A stream of light woke her from her sleep. But that was not all. As she regained consciousness, she immediately felt the throbbing pain from every part of her body. Groaning, she licked her dried lips as her eyes adjusted from the light flashing on her face.

“You should drink water”, a soft voice said.

Tessa slowly turned her head towards the voice but the pain on her neck stopped her. She felt warm tears on her cheeks. It hurts. She could not move her body without the stabbing soreness.

“Don’t push yourself.” The person stood up and looked down on her. Her short curly blonde hair fell just below her chin. Dark brown eyes stared warmly at her. The petite middle age woman wore a white apron around her light blue long sleeved dress. Tessa felt a hand slowly lift her right arm. She hissed out of pain on her shoulder.

“Oh dear”, the woman exclaimed and slowly put down Tessa’s hand.

“Come and help her, Lois!” The woman turned and shouted behind her. Tessa looked around and found the room warm and cosy. Wall painted in cream, there hanged a small painting of birds, a desk with a few books and a wooden chair on the left side of the room and a brown dresser near the foot of the bed. Sunlight seeped through a window draped with embroidered white curtains.

She did not hear the incoming footsteps when an arm scooped her shoulders and positioned her so that she can sit comfortably with her back on the headboard. The woman put a pillow behind her so the wooden board won’t hit her back.

Similar chocolate eyes stared at her but had brunette hair. He wore a black shirt with No One on it and a pair of faded blue jeans. He was a younger male version of the woman earlier.

Tessa heard the opening of a door and the woman earlier stood holding a tray of bread, milk and water. Water!

The woman placed the tray on the bed and held the glass of water on Tessa’s lips. She gulped down the water and felt her body relaxed and cooled down. Ah that was refreshing... She sighed after drinking but felt herself blushed as two pairs of eyes silently observed her.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Where am I? And who...” she trailed off as the woman smiled at her.

“Welcome to our humble abode. Call me Olive and,” she looked at the young man beside her, “this is Lois, my son.”

“Thank you again.” The memories of what she left at home and the unexpected battle made the pain of her body worse. She closed her eyes for a while, wishing for everything to be a horrible dream.

“Your body suffered from serious wounds. It’s a miracle you’re still alive, miss.” She opened her eyes and met the gaze of Lois. He must be the same age as her.

“I found you unconscious on a local road,” he continued. The look he was giving her told her that he wanted to ask something but Olive tugged the end of his shirt.

“I need to regain my strength first,” Tessa told them. Olive smiled at her while Lois only nodded, but relief was evident on their faces. She needed her strength back. She decided to tell them what happened afterwards.

Four days passed and Tessa sat on a rock beside a river, eyes closed with her hands on her lap. Olive and Lois also used elementals so they taught her a few tricks. Because of her Concordian blood, she was able to recover quickly but she doubted she can fight for weeks. She should focus on controlling her powers first.

As she inhaled slowly, she lifted her arms to her sides. She felt the weight on her shoulder as she released the air in her lungs. As an untrained warrior, the strength of her body was not enough to supply her power. Eyes still closed, sweat rolled on her forehead and her arms shuddered. But she continued to focus on her breathing. If they attacked, she won’t run again. Never.

The pain, the tears and the memories of her family were her strength. Images of her first fight flashed before her closed eyes. Tessa recounted the incident to Olive and Lois yesterday. Olive offered a handkerchief while Lois remained silent.

The bruises on her body were given by the four men with insignias on their neck. According to Olive, they were Sentries, tasked to hunt down criminals and monsters, or eliminate them if necessary. But Olive was confused and suspicious as to why they tried to kill Tessa.

“If you told them who you are, they should have protected you,” Lois argued.

“And escorted you to the Academy,” Olive added. Something was off and Tessa knew it. She tried to recall the uneasiness she felt as she saw the men for the first time.

“They were not Concordians,” Tessa whispered as she remembered the incident.

The last star disappeared from the sky when Tessa found a road. Where it leads, she was not sure. But her compass pointed east so she followed the road. She slept for a few hours on a branch of a tree last night and ate the last of her sandwich before she continued her journey. Her water bottle was only half full and there was no river in sight. If her calculations were correct, she would arrive in the next town before nightfall.

An hour passed when she saw someone walked out of the forest beside the road. He looked back where he came from like he was waiting for someone. Relieved to see another human, she ran towards him to ask for help. It was not until he turned that she stopped and stood frozen on her tracks.

The man stood a foot from her but she felt the cold wind behind her neck making her shiver. Dressed in black t-shirt, jeans and boots, she saw a black mark on the left side of his neck. He strode towards her with his gaze fixed on her and hands clenched on his sides. His eyes full of mischief.

She took a step back but bumped into a hard object. Another creepy pair of eyes stared down at her. His muscular body blocked the sunlight and his face under the shadow.

“So we found her.” She turned towards the voice and found not just one, but four men in front of her. They stood a foot taller but one of them caught Tessa’s attention. He stood behind the three men. He was lean unlike the four well-built men and wore a black hood on his head. A black sun glasses and white mask covered his whole face.

“Now, the fun starts.” Tessa searched for the owner of the voice and saw the man earlier smirked at her. Are they Concordians?

“Wait. I’m a Concordian. Please help me,” she pleaded. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes. They could help her. But the power radiating from the men scared her. Their scent screamed evil. How could I tell? She did not know.

“Of course you are, that’s why we are here,” the man behind her said. Oh my God. What should I do? As if they heard her thoughts, the four men made a spine-chilling laugh. The hair behind her neck stood up as the men glared at her again.

She heard a snapping sound and turned towards the man in black jacket. He was silent the entire time, just observing her. Without saying anything, he placed his hands in the pockets of his jacket and turned around. After few steps, reddish-blue clouds surrounded him and he disappeared with them. Did that really happen? Her eyes widen at what she saw. She was starting to face the other half of her life but she did not know how to live with it.

“Let’s finish this,” one of the men stated. They intended to kill her. Surrounded by the four men, she gasped when different weapons appeared on their hands. Two used battle-ax, the man she saw earlier and the one behind her. One man gripped silver brass knuckles. She recognized the gun of the last man as a musket. She happened to be knowledgeable on weapons. Her father’s library was filled with books about them so she knew that it was impossible to win against them bare handed.

What should I do? There was no use of crying now. Her life just turned upside down yesterday after her father and Steve’s, or Eliot’s, revelations.

“You don’t know how to use your power eh,” the man of her left spouted and whistled.

“That would be boring,” she heard the man behind her blurted.

“At least we can finish early.” The man in front of her could not stop smirking.

This is the only way Tessa. She clutched her bag on her chest, a hand grasping the cold round objects inside.

The men advanced towards her. She pulled out her hand revealing three blue spheres. Her attackers’ questioning look directed towards the globes but they continued to walk towards her.

She threw the first sphere in front of her. As it hit the ground, the globe shattered and white smoke rose, blocking the view of her opponent. She threw another one behind her and the last one on left. She heard the three men coughing. Her eyes also turned watery but she got to leave. The man on her right, the quietest one, stood motionless, looking confused. His eyes searched his friends.

Tessa pulled the dagger out of its pocket, slung the bag on her back and ran towards the last man. In a blink of an eye, the man turned towards her but it was too late. As he lifted his musket, Tessa gripped her dagger and slashed his arm. She did not know where her strength came from. It must be her instinct.

She has no time to inspect the damage but based on the continued coughing and hissing, she did an amazing job. Her feet ushered forward through the forest.

But it was not long before she heard them shout.

“We’re going to kill you, Tessa Morgan!”