They Called Me FIVE

LANCE

"What are you doing?" I demanded. She picked up another thing at the ground. I step back. Readied myself for whatever thing she'll throw in my way again. 

It seems like a tiny white stone. Instead of hurling to me, she flick it to the side. That was not a stone, I noted. No pebbles, however small, can be as flat and thin like that. I watch with anticipation. 

We all did. The ground shook slightly. Originating at the area where she threw something. A small green sprout came out from the ground. A leaf. Then it grows into a small plant, until it towers over all of us. 

Producing red fruits at its stem. Apples. Seven approached it and took one. She throw us each and we take a bite. The outside is crispy in out tongue and the glucose tasted sweeter than any apples I ate before. 

Preservatives must've ruined it all.

"Five," Seven called in my head. "Two. Ever since the Mark came, are you having visions and strange dreams recently?" I look at her and she tilted her head at me. 

"Uhh," I recalled the dreams I have with a humanoid who killed my Mom. The dreams I have of Efta, the visions I saw at the afterlife and my brief talk with Pente. 

"Yes, I have." Sam and I answered at the same time. She nods, satisfied and walk ahead of us. The apple she grew shrink back into a seed. We watch in astonishment. I know we shouldn't be surprised. But damn, her tree growing blessing is more cooler than mine.

"I keep having them too." She said quietly. "For years now. Meira murdered my grandma who took care of me and imprison me in that crystal sphere for years. I see someone who looks like me, same hair, same eyes, flooding her white gown in bags of tears. Always crying for her lost loved one, Lancelot. She said her name is Efta. And she's the deity who chose me."

Magnus and I stop in our tracks. Sam detect us not moving. He turned to us, casting us glances. I looked at Magnus.

"We were wrong," I whispered. His neck is stiff on his back. He barely whirred it to look at Seven taking her path a few feet from us. Careful not to trip on roots and twigs. 

"She told me a lot of things about the other Eklektos, their powers, and the golden bracelet of the Seeker to use as navigator to find everyone. Bit of annoying really. The way she brags about her lover Lancelot. How sickeningly sweet he is and kind and gentle and…" she shake her head.

"I thought she was just bragging about him. When she told me he died, that's when I felt sorry for her. She just miss him. And I feel guilty for thinking it's annoying."

I quickened my pace to catch up to her and ask, "This Lancelot guy, does he look like me Seven?" 

She turned her head to face me. Studied me for a whole minute and nods. 

"Yes, I think she might have mention it. She told me if given another chance, she would have chosen you too. Then she'll spend all day showering you with kisses and hug in her private room." 

I cringed. A weird image of Seven's grownup counterpart and me kissing put a bad taste of my mouth. I shove it aside.

"So when you sent Alpha Beast to me…" 

"Per her instructions." She said. I stand beside her as we sloshed through the mushy ground and twisted roots that smells like human pee to me. 

"She said it took a lot of her power to take you from the clutches of the Netherworld Demon." 

I grabbed her arm to make her stop. Grabbing her shoulders in order to face me.

"Netherworld demon… you don't mean." 

There it is again. Her blank eyes that shows no bottom. The crimson color deeply reminds me of that skully bull monster behind the gates of the other world. The fire constantly blazing at his eyeless bones…

"Seems like you've met the demon." She nudge me with her chin. "Did your deity take you there?" 

"Yes," I admitted. She nods again. She was silent for a few more steps. Magnus and Sam took the chance to fall behind us. Matching her small careful steps. Proven to be effective to avoid getting dirty under the mud. The dead branches intensified before us. More muddy ground and poodles.

"I know what the duties of Eklektos are." She huffed. "But when Efta showed me the gruesome fate those souls meet in the hands of the Netherworld Demon, I couldn't take it out of my head. That's why I swear to her.  I'll find a way. To save them. When we find the others, we'll grow in strength. We will march in there and save them. But first, we need to stop the soul slaving spree of Faeries in this land."

"Agreed." I murmured. The word 'in this land' keeps echoing in my head. I don't know why she referred Earth which is her own world as 'this land'. But my mind has a lot of thoughts to process.

The shadow back in the other world told me Efta has joined forces with me in the past to stop the Gifted people. I want to ask more information about them to Magnus. But it appears Magnus is as clueless as me with what the shadow is trying to hint me.

For another mile or so, we continued walking. The sun has set behind our backs. Seven pluck an insect from the clean small lake we pass. She slid her finger at its wings and it started to glow. 

"A firefly?" I asked. Trying to keep my hands off from touching the insect.

"As polluted as this city, I can't believe there's a firefly in here." Sam said behind me. I agree. 

Up ahead, I see a small store with neon dislodged signs. I pointed it to others. 

"Should we spend the night there?" I suggested. It was Alpha beast who shook his parrot head. 

"No, that place smells funny. Don't like it."