HA\\LF: Dead nor Alive

“We don’t have time and equipment for this, we need to run, now!” Faye said.

Everyone ran as fast as they could and Faye was the one who led them deeper into the forest. Unfortunately, they were immediately welcomed by the parasites and had to deal with them while they were running against the time.

Although the King-type parasite decided to show itself, it didn’t chase them into the forest. Archie and Eve knew that, but they didn’t say anything about it because it wouldn’t change anything since the King-type parasites made all the parasites in FalCon-1 run toward them.

“Is everyone alive?” Faye asked as she caught her breath.

They looked at each other and everyone was there with her.

“Alright, it seems that we are safe now,” Faye said as she looked around. “Let’s rest here for a moment while I’m going to decide where we are going to stay for the night,” Faye continued as she put down her backpack and grabbed the map in it.

Faye opened the map of FalCon-1 and she already left marks on it. She was checking the route that Iohann took or so she believed.

“Archie, can you come here for a second?” Faye looked at Archie who was drinking water from the bottle.

Archie sat in front of Faye and listened to her request which was the place where Iohann and his team went to. He pointed at the map, and he remembered exactly where Iohann pointed back then because he was there with him and the other leaders.

“I see, so this is where he was planning to go,” Faye nodded her head with understanding. “That’s the landing site, right?” Faye asked Aster who sat next to her.

“Yes, that’s the landing site,” Aster nodded his head as he opened a bottle of water. “If that’s where he died, then the Ex-Human should be there as well,”

“Archie, do you remember where he died?” Faye asked.

“It’s somewhere around here,” Archie pointed at the cliff.

“On top of the cliff? How did you guys manage to go up there?” Faye asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

“Not up there, it’s underneath the cliff. There’s a cave that leads to the other side of the hill, and we encountered two Ex-Axis Humans. Everyone died and Iohann was the only one left back then. He fought one of them but in the end, he died,” Archie answered.

“By himself? Where were you then?” Faye asked.

“I was with…” Archie paused as he closed his eyes to remember the lesbian couple’s name. “I forgot their names, but the three of us were going all the way here to find the Ex-Humans. We encountered them there, and I was the only one left,” Archie continued as he dragged his index finger a few centimeters away from the cliff.

“How do they look like?” Aster asked.

“Two of them were beautiful women, they both were naked. One can control fire, and the other one can control water, but there are four in total. The last two have no body, the third one has become one with the wind, and the fourth one has become one with the earth,” Archie answered with a straight face while Faye and Aster were shocked by it.

“What? How’s that even possible? Are you sure about that?” Faye asked.

“Yes, because I saw it with my own two eyes that a tree moved on its own and decapitate the woman that was with me. The Ex-Human that could control fire told me about them, they called themselves the witches,” Archie answered with a serious expression.

“The witches, that’s interesting,” Faye said as she stared at the landing site on the map.

“Ah, I almost forgot,” Archie said as he pulled his sleeve and removed the watch. “This watch belongs to Iohann, I took it from the grave that he made for himself,” Archie showed the watch to Faye and Aster.

“This is Iohann’s watch, I’m sure of it,” Aster said as he took the watch from Archie’s hand.

Archie had Iohann’s letter, but he threw it away after it served no more purpose after knowing Flavius was dead as well.

“So, what happened to him in the end?” Faye asked.

“He turned into Ex-Axis Human. I’m not sure if he was infected by the parasite or because of the serum that he brought with him,” Archie said as he stared blankly at the map.

“Serum? What serum?” Ruby asked as she walked toward them after eavesdropping on the conversation.

“Something that made him stronger, I’m not sure what it was, but I think Professor Larse was the one who gave it to him. If you want an answer, he’s the only one who knows what it was,” Archie answered. “In the end, I had to kill him and blew his body with a grenade. There’s a letter that he buried on the ground as well as his famous black sword, but I used it and broke it to keep myself alive,” Archie continued.

“There are so many questions that I want to ask, but we should start moving and find a safe place to stay for the night,” Faye said as she looked at Archie. “Let’s go over here because there’s a river and there’s a cliff that at least can reduce the risk of getting ambushed by the parasite,”

They all nodded with understanding and then Faye told the others to move.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination, and they immediately made their own tents. Some of them were already hitting the bed and falling asleep while the rest were preparing dinner for themselves or going to the river to wash themselves.

The night came, and everyone was staring blankly at the campfire of their own. They were barely talking because they didn’t want to distract themselves since they were in the middle of the most dangerous place on earth. The sound of the leaf falling was enough to make them on guard and grab their weapon on their backs.

“I never thought there’s peace in the most dangerous place on earth,” Faye said as she sat down with a cup of hot milk in her hand.

“You would be surprised that these kinds of places are actually safe to live in if you know what to do,” Archie replied with a smile on his face as he stared at the embers that got carried away by the wind.

“Are you really from the Western Nation, Archie?’ Faye asked.

“Yes, I’m born and raised there. I know every spot of the Sky Station there, but I used to live down on the ground for a few years before I decided to move to the Sky Station,” Archie answered as he nodded his head. “Sometimes, it’s better to not dwell on the past, you know? Whether it was good memories or bad memories, it happened and I would rather not to be reminded of them,”

Faye glanced at Archie while she took a sip of the hot milk.

“I have seen a lot of people dwelling on the past, they either died or life in fear. I don’t want to be like them, and right now I don’t like being here at all,” Archie continued as he fed the fire with twigs.

“I see, I’m sorry if you feel this way but this is what we do here and you know it already,” Faye replied.

“I know, and that’s why I don’t talk much about my past because it only makes me look kind of suspicious since I hide my past,” Archie said as he stared at Faye who kept glancing at him.

Faye couldn’t say anything and just enjoyed her hot milk even though she was planning to dig into something more about Archie’s past. In the end, she didn’t say anything and left to get some rest in her tent with Aster.

The morning came, and they all entered the cave that Archie told Faye about. It smelled so bad and they could see the dried blood had become one with the stone walls and ceiling. Faye was imagining how the fight ended when Iohann’s team fought the Ex-Axis Human.

Archie was looking around after they exited the cave, he was looking for Iohann’s sword, or at least the handle or the pieces of the swords. It didn’t take him long enough to find the handle and a piece of the blade, he then walked toward Faye and showed it to her.

“Iohann’s sword…” Faye said as she grabbed the handle.

“Yeah,” Archie nodded his head.

Faye didn’t ask anything and kept walking because of the conversation she had with Archie.

Archie led Faye to where he met the witches, he could feel the presence of the earth witch, but she didn’t want to show herself to them. They continued walking toward the landing site, and it shocked them when they saw marks and symbols on the ground.

“What are those symbols?” Faye asked.

“That’s something that you don’t want to know,” Ruby said.