Chapter 4

Maya woke up and sat up, heavily breathing and sweating as if she was running for her life. To her surprise, Kharkov was there beside her in the tent. With his right hand at her shoulder, the man tries to calm the Siren down. He shushed her and looked straight to her eyes with seriousness written across his face.

"Shh…" Kharkov said. "Calm down Maya, calm down."

"Khar.." Maya panted. "Kharkov?"

"Yes, it's me." Kharkov said. "Follow my instruction Siren, I want you to breathe in slowly. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." Maya nodded. "I'll do it."

Her heart was beating fast, her Siren marks glowing mad and her mind could not focus to one thing. Even as simple as breathing slowly. She tried and tried but failed, the sweat on her forehead fell to the blanket that she covered herself and she shook her head. Maya was not in control for the first time and she felt that death was near to take her soul. Seeing the problem still not solved, Kharkov then put his other hand on her chest and said slowly.

"I know it's painful but I want to you to listen." Kharkov said. "Don't think of anything and look at me, then slowly breathe in. One breath at a time."

With the orders given, Maya looked at Kharkov and forgets about anything. Forgets about the dream that she had faced with Alesia. Forgets about where she was. Eventually, she forgets about the pain that was currently harbouring her chest. Her mind was clear and Maya followed the next step, she took one breath at a time. Kharkov did it to make an example and she followed him. For some reason, the hand on her chest was helping her easing the pain.

"Alright my friend?" Kharkov assured. "Just look at me and then a breath, forget about anything else and breathe."

Taking a few moments, she finally drew the final breath where her heart was no longer beating fast. Long and deep, air entered her lungs and so with it stability. Maya's heart became stable, the Siren glow weakened and the pain fleeted away. With the aid of Kharkov and few simple instructions, the pain was no more. Kharkov moved his hand away from her chest then pat Maya's back with the other. He gave an assuring smile to Maya to which she answered with a nod.

"Thank you." Maya wiped the sweat on her forehead. "I thought I was going to die there."

"Everyone panic time to time, it is understandable Maya." Kharkov said. "Something happened?"

"Yeah, something awful. Terribly awful."

"You might want to tell me about it for your own safety."

"I dreamed of Alesia." Maya looked at Kharkov. "I was in a dark world, I was alone and was guided by these footsteps, white footsteps to be precise. They guided me and show me these apparitions' of Alesia.

"I heard this crowd and it seemed that they were cheering at Alesia, and then she was shot. She disappeared and another apparition appears, a group of doctors desperately try to save her. Then they were gone and another apparitions and this time it was her and…" Maya stopped.

"Maya, continue." Said Kharkov.

"I saw Axton with Alesia, he almost shot her but then Ax gave the gun to Alesia." Maya looked down as she was confused at the same time trying to tell what had happened. "They disappear again and the last apparition was Alesia nude with blood all over her body. She was surrounded by Psychos and was badly injured. For some reason I felt the need to do something Kharkov. So I used my powers and tried to punch her."

"But you failed?" Kharkov gave a worrying look. "Am I right?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Maya looked at Kharkov being more confused.

"Continue your story first Maya."

"I tried to punch and she evaded, after that Alesia choked me till I passed out." Maya stammered. "Kharkov, I saw a lot of things, was it a dream or did I just went into her mind? Why did the people didn't know I was there? What I just saw, did it happened or not? Is Alesia a Siren? Please tell me something."

"Calm down Maya, I know this is overwhelming and I do not expect you to accept this like it was nothing." Kharkov put his hand on her shoulder. "But I will answer your questions. It was not a dream, you were in her mind. Those apparitions, they were memories and a simulation what had happened. And yes, Alesia is a Siren."

"But if I was in her mind, how could she choke me? How can I enter her mind so easily compare to Lilith? How many people know about Alesia being a Siren?" Maya was desperate for an explanation.

"That's enough Maya, I want you to calm down and empty your thoughts." Kharkov commanded. "It does not matter how much you know, it's what you do with it that matters. As far as worries goes, Alesia's dead. She's no longer a threat to your friends and to you too."

"She's dead… when?" Maya was shocked hearing the news.

"The whole planet has heard the story, the fall of Alesia and the victory of The Resistance. Just this morning; a few hours ago." Kharkov moved his hand away from her. "Take as little time you need to get a footing to yourself, then pack your things and go straight to the vehicle. It's already afternoon and we need to get moving."

Kharkov then exited the tent and Maya was left alone, she looked at her Siren hand and so many things were on her mind. So Alesia was really Angel's mother, she was a Siren all along. But as long as she could remember, Maya did not felt the presence that she was a Siren. Like Angel, she did not realized until it was too late.

...

Kharkov exited from Maya's tent and went to the campfire; Red stood near to the pot and put some hot water on his steel cup. He heard the footsteps and looked back, noticing it was Kharkov, he gave a holler and continued back to his business. Red then moved towards the vehicle and went to the trunk where there some supplies of food. Kharkov joined beside Red and walked with him.

"She already woken up?" Red asked.

"She did." Kharkov nodded. "Not without problems."

"Problems?" Red glanced at Kharkov and sighed. "It's not a coincidence that it happened today at this very moment."

"Well it happened." Kharkov put his hands on his pockets. "When she woke up, she couldn't even breathe properly and was sweating like a madman."

Both of them arrived at the vehicle trunk and Kharkov leaned at the vehicle, looking at Maya's tent. Red went on to get a tin compartment, he opened it and it was coffee powder. Inside it had a spoon and used it to put some coffee on his mug. Having the desired amount, Red then stirred the powder with the hot water and it mixed together very well. Red then took another tin compartment and it was sugar inside it, he then put it into his coffee.

"You heard the news?" Kharkov glanced at Red.

"About her, yeah, she's dead." Red stirred his coffee again. "You could feel her presence missing today; show's how powerful she could be at times."

"So sudden eh? I never thought that she would die that way. With the ways of things, I was confident that she would win compare to these Resistance fighters. Not that I'm picking sides, I'm just looking at a militaristic perspective."

Red sipped his coffee and gave a breath of satisfaction. "She was a talker more than a killer. Even though her reputation is quite infamous."

"So much for killing all the Vault Hunters. For now, the news said the killer was someone from The Resistance. Chances are it was Axton, the man did encounter Alesia and lived. But I doubt it, my friend. My bet is on internal affairs, you know how those corporate animals do their work."

"Governments or corporate, it doesn't matter, there will always be some guy that wants more power" Red turned to look at Maya's tent. "Whether she's alive or dead, it doesn't change the plan. We need to do what must be done. We finish what we start."

"Da. Maya's safe with us." Kharkov nodded. "With Alesia dead, I guess it's safe to say that she's guaranteed safe."

"Hopefully." Red sipped his coffee again. "But one problem solved, another one take its place. Hopefully it won't be as big as Alesia."

"Then better we deal this Siren thing as quickly as we can." Kharkov moved away from the vehicle and went to pack the tents that he'd pitched last night. "Red; check on Maya. I don't want anything weird happening to her."

"On my way." Red started to move towards Maya's tent. "I'll talk to her once she got out her tent."