As midnight arrived, a strange rustling sound kept disturbing my sleep. I rolled across my bed, trying to ignore it, even pulling the folded blankets that served as my pillow over my ears.
The sound only grew louder.
With a frustrated sigh, I finally sat up at the edge of the bed.
I looked around the room, Cassandra slept soundly on the woven bamboo frame beside me, without any mattress beneath her. I couldn't help but feel impressed by how she easily she adapted, as if she had lived like this her entire life.
I stretched my back, trying to ease the lingering cramps before stepping off the bed, making sure not to step on Shin Hayato.
The floor creaked slightly as I proceed to walk. I pushed aside the curtains that served as a door between rooms. As I finally got out, I saw Sheng Yue who was also sneaking out. We both stared at each other before pointing.
She asked me in a hush tone, making sure her voice isn't loud,
"Why the heck are you awake ?"
I looked around before mumbling back,
"No, I'm supposed to ask you that."
Shw crossed her arm and scratched the back of her head,
"Well there is this weird rustling sound that's bothering me. It sound like shrik shrik or clank clank or something."
I sighed and nodded,
"Same thing I guess. How about we try to see where's that sound came from ?"
Sheng Yue and I headed outside to search the sound's source. We walked slowly on the dirt path, heading toward where the sound came. The sound abruptly appeared again but this time it was closer.
Both of us looked around and saw nothing. Sheng Yue walked to a bush that was rustling. I followed behind her in case anything happens. As she parted the thick bushes, we saw nothing but pitch black.
She groaned while stomping on the ground,
"I swear I just saw something over there ! Why is it gone now !?"
She turned towards me and widen her eyes in horror, stuttering and pointing at me,
"B-behind you..."
I turned. Without warning, a Noctryix lunged at me. Sheng Yue immediately grabbed me by the collar, just in time to avoid the Noctryix's bite.
Sheng Yue pushed me away while distracting the Noctryix,
"Call the others ! I'll distract the Noctryix !"
I barged into the house, desperately waking Varelius and Skov. Skov rubbed his eyes and groaned before looking around. Varelius woke up in an instant and noticed the front door being opened. With worry, he ran outside.
Skov stood beside him, looking at me,
"What the heck happened Aléssio !?"
Sheng Yue rushed to Skov, pushing him towards the Noctryix before running to the house. And in an instant, the Noctryix's eyes returned to normal.
Varelius raised a brow, confused while holding the Noctryix's reign,
"Skov, isn't this your Noctryix ?"
Skov shrugged as he took the reigns from Varelius' hand,
"You think I know why it became so feral ? This is like the middle of the night right now. Who could planned on attacking any time !?"
He walked to a nearby wooden rail and tied the reign up. He yawns as he went back into the house, followed by Varelius. Sheng Yue and I looked on disbelief.
She shook her head, looking at the Noctryix who is now asleep,
"I don't trust them anymore. Especially that Noctryix. Who knows their so called 'lost' members are around and they're actually controlling the Noctryix."
I nodded, crossing both of my arms,
"Yeah, maybe we should sleep now. I'll see you again later."
As both of us head to our room, I couldn't help wondered why I felt a sense of unease creeping inside me. But once I lay my back on the bed, the world slowly darkens as I fell asleep.
◇ ◇ ◇
As the sunlight entered from the window, my ChronoLume suddenly buzzed. Panicked, I woke up and immediately checked my pocket. Turns out the ChronoLume had set an alarm on its own. I sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed with something little like this.
Arlo walked in, handing two bowls of food. He set the bowls beside me and left without saying a word.
I took the bowl and stared at it for a moment. The scent was strong and earthy, filled with nostalgia. Steam rose from the mustard oil and spices, blending into the golden curry until my stomach growled in response.
A bowl of soft rice waited beside it, warm enough to make a fog in the air. I took a bite of the fish. It melted apart instantly, warm and comforting as it settled in my stomach. It had a gentle chilli flavor and a buttery kind of taste.
Underneath the bowl of rice, a small note was tapped onto it,
"Dear daughter, this is my homemade hilsa fish curry. Your favorite food. Hope you had fun in your new job :)"
I couldn't help but felt guilty for eating someone's food without any permission. But as I peek from the curtains, everyone was eating without a care of where this food even came from.
Arlo walked inside, holding his bowl and sat beside me. He grabbed the spoon and stuff it in his mouth, chewing the food. As he kept chewing, a faint glow appeared on his shirt.
I pointed at him. He looked at me before setting the bowl beside. He turned away as he took whatever is underneath his shirt. Of course, with a human sense, I closed my eyes to respect his privacy.
He raised his hand high, pressing the object close to my cheek,
"Open your eyes."
I hesitated to open, thinking it was a monster or something worse. But as a small beep was heard, I quickly opened my eyes to realize it was just IRIS.
I pinched the bridge of my nose,
"Oh right... IRIS exists..."
Arlo started shouting to embarrass me further,
"Booo ! You can't even take care of your own robot."
Varelius walked in, bowing slightly as if it was some sort of habit,
"So, how's the meal ? I think we should put that topic aside for now but I just wanted to say that you should eat faster since our journey will be long. I'll leave now to give you a moment of peace."
As he left, Arlo mumbled,
"He must have something in mind if he is telling us to hurry up."
I sighed and patted his back,
"For now we couldn't do much but watch. Come on now, let's enjoy the meal as we start the day."
◇ ◇ ◇
After the breakfast, all of us went to the TerraRider as Skov mounted the Noctryix. Cassandra and Varelius switched places, making me more uncomfortable as he sat beside me. As much as I hate the tension between me and Cassandra, it was way worse with Varelius.
I fidgeted my finger,
"So... Uhh... How did you make like an illusion of bunch of people ? Since... Uhh... You made it look like a bunch of people were chasing us down."
Sweats ran down, my feet were tapping rapidly. My eyes kept darting around, worried that he might think of me as a weirdo who kept analyzing everything. In an instant, he grabbed my shoulder and beamed up, a reaction I didn't expected.
Varelius with a cheerful tone gripped my shoulder harder,
"You noticed that !?"
I nod while trying my best to hold a smile.
Varelius withdrew his hand, brushing it to his pants,
"My apologies, it seems I had gotten to excited. But in case you're wondering why I could do that is because I got a special item called Replica Shard. It's a special item from Hugo, of course everyone has a special item right ?"
I nodded again, a bit unexpected with his sudden urge to kept talking.
Varelius took out the item from his pocket, waving it,
"This item is a shard from a mirror that was cut in half. The other half is with my little brother, Skov, of course. You can see how it has a silver frame with roses and the corner being curved outwards like a frozen lightning, both of them are my favorite stuffs. But be careful of course, since it's a shattered piece of mirror, there is this long diagonal fracture."
I stared at him, exhausted. My body felt like it was sucked dryly by a vampire. Despite that, I kept nodding, making sure not to make any awkward tension or something that is unpleasing.
Varelius smiled, pressing the Replica Shard harder and showing it right in front of my face,
"You wanna see what will happe—"
I cut his sentence and waved my hand desperately,
"No need, no need. It is a... very interesting item but let's not make any troubles for now. And also... uhh... where are we going ?"
Varelius put the Replica Shard on his pocket,
"Alright alright, I'll keep it. And as for what we're doing now is, helping me retrieve my teammates back. It's going to be a long journey but don't worry, everything is always possible !"
I nodded, all of his joy is like a vampire draining my energy all over again. As I laid back on the seat, Skov suddenly shouted. Sheng Yue slammed the breaks as Skov was suddenly thrown off by his own Noctryix.
He walked over to the Noctryix, pulling its reign with full force,
"What is your problem huh !? I already charged you and now you're throwing me off as if I did something wrong !?"
In an instant, the Noctryix vanished without a trace. Cassandra, who rode Varelius' Noctryix was also stunned as to why the Noctryix disappeared without a trace.
Skov grabbed a nearby rock from the dusty grounds and clenched his fist tight, throwing it far away. He took out a box of cigarettes and a lighter, turning his back against us.
He shoved the cigarette between his lips, flicking the lighter. The lighter clicked uselessly in his hand. He tried again, jaw tightening as the lighter refused to spark. After its fourth time, Skov threw it to the ground.
Dust burst upward as the lighter struck the ground, swirling higher than how it should've been. The air stilled. More dust kept appearing without any warning.
Then a silhouette appeared behind him. Cold air brushed across his skin. Goosebumps prickled along his arm. He nervously turned, cold sweat dropped across his face.
Nothing.
He sighed in relief,
"Geez... Whoever is doing that, get the heck out and show yourse—"
Cassandra immediately grabbed his collar,
"Watch out !"
Without any hesitation, a Noctryix appeared biting a piece of cloth. Its eyes changed color, indicating its system was being controlled. Shin Hayato jumped to the cargo racks to find a weapon.
Varelius jumped out off the TerraRider, planning to help Shin Hayato. Arlo hid under the seats, covering his ears and shed a tear. Sheng Yue kept comforting him, singing lullabies and covering his eyes to keep his innocence.
I was stunned. This isn't what I thought would happened. What should I do ? I had done nothing but sit in silence. Even a robot like IRIS is comforting Arlo. Every time something like this happened, I stood still, never making a choice.
Shin Hayato shouted, breaking me from my thought,
"Aléssio ! We need your help ! Find the cure and the problem of the Noctryix's system !"
I blinked. A solution for a problem in my hands ? I know I did helped them with the TerraRider, but this... I never experienced it before.
The ChronoLume buzzed loudly. I held it tightly, its interface changed completely leaving only one button there.
'Reset'
I hesitated. If I needed to be useful, I had to experienced the terror first.After all, I was nothing but a piece that was always commanded to do things.
As I was about to press it, Cassandra shouted at me,
"Aléssio ! Get out of your thoughts ! Use that damn thing to scan the Noctryix !"
I looked at Cassandra, then to the ChronoLume. Its interface changed to a camera, as if urging me to make father my courage and finally do something that doesn't rely solely on a button.