Chapter 20
It's been two weeks since Dawn was discharged from the hospital and a week since she went back to work behind the counter of Hearthome Generic Pharmacy. With a total of a month and a half of under quarantine, she still couldn't get used to the city's state of emergency.
Being the second largest city in Sinnoh, only second to Jubilife City, Hearthome has always been the heart of commerce in Sinnoh with amenities such as contest halls, trading centers and the famous Amity Square. Hearthome is the only city in Sinnoh that catered to people of a variety of culture and background, even to citizens both old and the young.
Due to the Hearthome Academy incident that preceded the lockdown, the once friendly and bustling city now seemed like a ghost town with only just a few people mainly outside running for basic necessities and GAS personnel patrolling the city every now and then in groups in their signature grey overcoats. Most of the shops and stalls were closed, except for a few businesses like pharmacies and a few stalls. Even restaurants were only offering take outs.
Dawn calmly trudged through the side walk. She zipped up her yellow stripped sweater and dug her hands in its pockets, the wintry weather brewing up packets of frigid air. The December chill making her shiver. She passed by a few people cycling and walking through the emptiness of the city road. She made sure her work ID was hanging properly outside her sweater so she wouldn't have to be questioned by a patrolling GAS personnel like what had happened a few days ago.
She huffed, the news had said it was going to snow tonight. She felt her backpack trying to reassure herself that she had not forgotten to bring her umbrella. Feeling the thing inside her bag, she sighed in relief.
A lot of things went through her mind the past few days. Needless to say, nothing has gone normal, or at least what she herself considered to be normal.
For one thing, after Solidad visited her last week and the mention of Maylene, she immediately went back to work the Monday that followed. Maylene was indeed there, and she was just fine aside from a few bandages she saw on her fingers and wrists. Maylene had mentioned that it was just cuts from practicing cooking, so Dawn hadn't bothered prodding for more inquiries. She tried remembering back to the days she spent in the hospital and honestly never once did Maylene pop in her head. After knowing that Zoey and Paul died, Dawn didn't bother looking up Volkner's notes about who else survived. She no longer cared about anything else. Initially she guessed that Maylene was one of the few survivors of that incident. So when Dawn talked about it to her, Maylene said that she wasn't at school at that time because she got sick with her illness.
'That's a relief Maylene!' Dawn remembered replying to her. The memory made her guilt snake up her body again.
Now that Dawn has gone back to work, Maylene has been acting strangely. Maylene's been seeing her more often, even bothering to walk Dawn home together with Kenny. Dawn thought that maybe the reason why Maylene was acting like this is because of Zoey's death. Dawn has never confronted nor talked to her about it, but she guessed that maybe Maylene was also devastated with what happened to Zoey. Dawn remembered Maylene talking about her little crush with Zoey way back two months ago. And as expected, Dawn was scared of talking about Zoey with Maylene. Maybe soon when she can be strong enough for her, maybe even for the both of them. For now she was more than just scared, she was also not ready.
When Dawn introduced Kenny to her, Maylene immediately assumed that Kenny was her boyfriend to which she quickly dismissed remembering her failed confession attempt back at the Ferris wheel in Amity Square. But of course this didn't stop her from teasing them, much to Dawn's dismay. Thinking back, Dawn was honestly surprised that Kenny turned her down. He has yet to give her a proper explanation as to why they can't be together. And as for now, Dawn was just thankful they still stayed friends. Asking for more seemed not worth considering.
Dawn also noticed him building up some muscles. She asked him about this and he said that he wanted to just build his body up, as something to do while the city is still under quarantine. Dawn feared that maybe she must have triggered him to do this because of what she has said back at the hospital about going back to the school and finding out the truth about what really happened to Paul. She was fully aware of his hesitation with her absurd request, but there was nothing she could really do about her nightmares. Of course this didn't excuse her from feeling horrible into pulling him in with her.
If Dawn wanted to rid herself of these nightly nightmares, she has to do something about it. And for some reason she knew that her answer lies back at the school grounds. She has dreamed of Paul before back when he still stayed at her apartment room, but it was never that frequent unlike now, not to mention crippling as well. One dream of hers was that time during the school incident where Paul killed everyone, another dream was about his childhood where he was chained, blindfolded and locked behind a steel rusted door, and another was about him and how he easily killed those two devils that chased after her one night of searching for him. Everytime she dreams of him, she would either find herself crying or running to the bathroom to vomit.
Paul was this coalescence of pain, malevolence and melancholy that Dawn could never comprehend.
Dawn walked past a closed jewelry story next to the alley where she and Kenny met Paul for the first time. She checked her wrist watch and saw that it was already ten minutes before one in the afternoon. She paused and stared at the long and empty corridor. Unlike that fateful night, despite the overcast sky the afternoon sun was bright enough that Dawn could see the little vandals written on the grimy walls and scattered plastics and papers on the damp and cold grounds.
She felt the diamond shaped scar on her neck and her first encounter here with Paul filled her head like waterfall. It was so sudden that she staggered and almost fell back. She felt and shook her head , trying to forget the two dead bodies she saw that night in this alley.
Paul's unearthly scent wafted through the frigid air coming from no specific direction. Dawn didn't bother to look around. It seems that wherever she goes, she could smell him as if he was everywhere, eyeing her, waiting for her. And for that, she knew that something was definitely off.
"Halt! Unit 1 cover the left side of the square!" Dawn heard a marching group of GAS personnel. "Unit 2 follow me!"
Realizing the time, she hastened her pace going to the pharmacy. She soon saw the red roofing of the store starting to resurface in her field of vision a couple of meters ahead.
"After this lockdown, I'll go back to that school with Kenny. As long as I can still smell him, he can't be dead. This is the only way to make sense of everything."
The bell of the drugstore chimed as Dawn opened the door. And what caught her eyes immediately chased away whatever her mind was occupied with earlier.
"Hey Dawn I discovered something cool! Check this out!"
Maylene was on a handstand with only her one hand and the other was holding on a partially bitten chocolate bar. Dawn's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"Holy!" Dawn cupped her mouth. "Why are you doing handstand again?! And on the counter table?!"
Maylene ignored the bluenette's alarm call. "Don't you know that even if you are upside down you can still eat normally?" And as to prove her point, she slowly and wobbly delivered the chocolate bar to her own mouth, chewing it then swallowing. "See? Isn't it amazing?!"
Maylene then jumped with her hands and stood up. "Whew, didn't know doing it for more than twenty minutes would make me this dizzy."
"Twenty minutes?! What is wrong with you?!" Dawn exasperated, almost dropping her backpack. "Everytime I come here to cover your shift you are always on this crazy stunt."
"I know right?!" She replied and did a reverse somersault placing herself behind the counter, her feet almost touching the low-lying ceiling of the store as she flipped. "I should be a circus performer." She swayed a bit trying to regain balance after landing on her two feet. "But I don't think it makes enough money though."
Dawn rolled her eyes and hang her bonnet on the coat racket beside the door. She finger combed her hair in an attempt to straighten some curls that had formed because of the head wear.
"Well, with your skill you can be a one girl circus. I'm sure that'll make more than twice the money we both make." Dawn retorted. "And you totally missed my point by the way."
"And where's Solidad?" Dawn added, coming over and placing her backpack behind the counter.
"She's in the storage room doing the inventory." Maylene replied, almost unintelligible with the chocolate bar hanging by her mouth.
"I see." Dawn nodded and clipped her hips. "Well, I'm ready for my shift! You can go home now Maylene."
Maylene replied with a dry chuckle. "We're not doing this again Dawn."
"But why? I'm already totally fine! I mean I know I can't do those crazy handstand or somersault that you usually do with ease but I am good as new." She grinned, arranging the nurse cap on her head.
"Nope!" Maylene crossed her arms. "Even if you're well already I don't have any plans of going back home and seeing stupid stingy Roark's face."
"Speaking of." Dawn took a small stool and sat down. She also grabbed another one for Maylene. They both sat together. "Who is this Roark you keep on mentioning?"
"He is my personal guardian." Maylene answered. She looked up trying to recall how she met Roark the first time. "My mother was a sickly woman. I was supposed to have an older brother but he was stillborn. So that heavily affected my mom, emotionally, mentally and physically." Both Dawn and Maylene looked at the door and seeing how the street outside was empty, Maylene decided to continue her story.
"So yah my mom gave it another try then boom I was bought to this world." She sheepishly chuckled. "But yeah she died giving birth to me. I don't know why or understand, if she was that sick then why go through something like that right? Even twice." Maylene shrugged her shoulders, considering it was a legitimate questions of hers.
Dawn thought for a second. "Maybe she did it for herself, like she was trying to prove that she could do something despite having a weak body." She replied thoughtfully. "Or actually maybe she did it for your father because she loved him."
"Ya think so?" Maylene gave her a hopeful looked, reconsidering her earlier view. "My father did say that mom was so overwhelmed with giving birth to me successfully that it caused her undoing." She sighed. "Anyway, my father was depressed when my mom died and he was finding it hard to take care of me while also taking care of the family business so by the time I was five dad adopted Roark from an orphanage in his hometown. Back then Roark was fifteen."
"If your father adopted him how did he end up being your guardian?" Dawn asked. "Wouldn't that make him your adopted older brother?"
Maylene started fiddling with her pink locks. "I grew up believing he was really my older brother until when I was ten and my father slipped up that night. I was apparently very upset that he lied about Roark not being my real older brother." She scratched the back of her head apologetically, realizing how embarrassing it actually was to be mad about such thing. "So ever since that day we just developed into this relationship."
Dawn curved her lips slightly downwards. "That's kinda sad don't you think?""
"What do you mean?" She asked. "And now that I think about he used to call me 'Maymay' before but now he just calls me 'Lady Maylene'. He just became this boring person." She rolled her eyes and leaned her head on the counter table.
"I'm not sure if you realize it Maylene.." Dawn started. "But doesn't it look like you brought that to yourself? I mean it sounds like you kinda pushed him off and he just responded." She shrugged her shoulders too. "I guess he acted like your guardian since you started seeing him as your guardian."
The coldness of the counter table slowly invaded the warmness of Maylene's cheeks. "I guess I can't argue with that. So you think I should change the way I act towards him? How?"
"Easy!" Dawn grinned. "You should act like how you acted before when you found out that he wasn't your real older brother."
She unintentionally slammed her hands on the table, surprised by Dawn's remark. Maylene's cheek slowly turned red. "I..Imp..impossible! Totally impossible! I can not!" She stuttered, looking somewhere far and fanning herself. "Impossible impossible impossible!"
"What are you so embarrassed about it?" Dawn inquired.
"A..anywaaaay!" She chuckled nervously. "Enough of me though how is that scar on your neck? Is it still bothering you?"
Dawn raised her an eyebrow. "You have to tell me that at some point."
Maylene frowned and crossed her arms. "Nope nope nope nope." To which Dawn answered with a playful snicker.
"I'll make you if I have to." Dawn said.
She then tried feeling the scar on her neck, she could almost feel static vibrate through her body as her fingers touched the area. "Yeah, I guess it's bothering me a bit." She answered unsurely. "Sleeping has been difficult ever since I got out of the hospital. I've been having weird dreams." She sighed. "I feel like I'm not myself anymore. Does that make sense?"
"Yah can't really blame yourself Dawn. If I were in your shoes, maybe I would have gone crazy a long time ago." Maylene replied, nodding with empathy.
Judging that it'll be another day with only a few costumers, Dawn and Maylene continued just chatting and playing some card games. Maylene had talked to Solidad about extending her work shift from morning til late afternoon to accompany Dawn as well as to keep herself busy than just staying inside her home. And with Solidad seeing it as a thoughtful gesture of hers for Dawn, she agreed and thanked Maylene for that.
And this routine continued for the rest of the week with just the two of them idle chatting and attending a few costumers from time to time. Sometime Solidad would join their talk sharing her experiences as well depending on their topic.
The week that followed, as they ran out of topics to talk about, Maylene started to ask Dawn about those weird dreams she had mentioned the past week.
"I don't know if I have ever talked to you about this or mentioned him to you before." Dawn started as she arranged some supplement boxes on the leftmost aisle of the store. "I've been dreaming about this guy. 'Paul' is his name. Oh wait, I wouldn't really call it a dream too, it was more of a nightmare."
Maylene squatted on her stool behind the counter. "It's the first time you actually mentioned him to me. What kind of nightmares? And why him?"
"See that's the thing that's bothering me the most. Why him?" Dawn followed. "And the weird thing about it is that he was also in the school incident last month."
"A school mate? Classmate?" Maylene asked. "Never heard of his name."
"That's the weirdest part, he was not." Dawn replied, standing up after finishing placing the supplement boxes neatly on the shelves. "But apparently he was there when it happened and he died there."
"I'm sorry." Maylene shot her an empathetic look. "But why would he be there in the first place?" She asked.
A few minutes of silence passed before Dawn gave Maylene an answer, she was contemplating whether what she would be saying here would be something that Maylene would not believe or it'll be a proof that Dawn had just lost her mind. Regardless, Dawn spoke.
"He was not exactly human Maylene." Dawn started, that got her a startled and shocked colleague. "He saved me before when I was about to be attacked by two devils." She gulped, feeling that familiar tingle of anxiety ran over her body like electric current.
"You mean this Paul guy is a devil?" Maylene asked, the sudden silence between them making the heater sound like a passing car.
"Maybe? I'm not totally sure myself." She replied honestly. "And with all these dreams of him I'm having, it seems like it was my fault why he was there at the school in the first place." Dawn bit her tongue.
Maylene anxiously drummed the counter with her fingers. "So ya think he was there at the school because he looked for you?"
Dawn tried opening her mouth, but no words came out.
"I guess..." Was all she could utter.
"But Dawn." Maylene sat up, quite alarmed by this sudden confession. "You said he was not exactly human right and you're not sure? Devils have red eyes so if he has them then it's certain he is a devil."
"I know I know." Dawn followed immediately. "But it was only his right eye that was red. So he can't be a devil right?"
Maylene was lost for words.
...
"Maylene fall back!" Volkner commanded. "Take the wounded ones and retreat!"
"But but.." Maylene tried protesting.
She looked around and saw piles of bodies littered around the gymnasium both devils and GAS alike. And right stood before her and Volkner was a devil towering over five meter tall. Its lanky body was oozing with black purplish liquid with bony inkish branches growing out of its sides and the back like horrendous appendages of an arthropod. It had two protruding horns on its head that grew all the way to its back twisting themselves into one grotesque organ. Its visage showing only a black face with an inhuman mouth full of rows of jagged teeth so wide that it almost cut its own face in half crosswise, a body was hanging on its lips like a piece of meat. And what caused Maylene to almost lose her wits was the fact that the devil in front of them had only the right of his eyes red, the other was glowing hollow white like spotlight. Seeing the thing made her curse a lot. It was something she have never seen before.
"What about you?!" Maylene asked. She was already limping from fighting the thing but it seemed that her attacks almost had no effect. She barely gave the it a scratch, she believed it was indestructible. If anything, all she did was make the thing more angry.
Maylene controlled her labored breathing, her right hand was clamping her left shoulder as support. Her body ached with so much pain and fatigue.
"Don't worry about me." She saw him removing his navy jacket, revealing the diamond shaped scar on his shoulder blade. "Call squadron one. I need them to defeat this thing." He bent his knee, clenched his fist and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Volkner took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Maylene limped backwards and dialed into her radio. "They're coming!" She yelled at Volkner as she tried to gather up some barely breathing GAS personnel nearby and bringing them away from the fray.
Maylene dragged two bodies when she noticed the lights on the roofing above them sparked on and off until it broke. She could hear electricity cackle in the air as she looked back at Volkner. His body outline was now glowing blue, sparks of electricity was coming out of its body. The diamond shaped scar he had on his shoulder glowed and expanded like roots growing all over his body even up to his face covering it like tattoo - a glowing blue tattoo.
Maylene huffed. She could barely see Volkner transform through her bruised and bloodshot eyes, but she knew what was happening. If Volkner has to resort to this then she was right, the devil right in front of them was indeed something they had never encountered before.
Squadron one then rushed through the door of the gymnasium door led by Dr. Blaine Thornton.
"Pillar Volkner is there! Assist him!" Blaine ordered as they stayed behind Volkner's flashing body.
Maylene stayed behind and saw Volkner evolve his reverse scourging to the next level. It was the first time she ever saw him do it.
Volkner calmly relaxed himself and straightened himself up, his breath heating up the air around him with electricity. Once he opened his eyes, his right eye was glowing blue.
"Enlightenment: Lightning Beacon."
He whispered, disappearing in a blink of an eye like lightning strike.
...
"Hey Maylene." Dawn knocked her out of her stupor. "You okay?"
Maylene didn't realize that Dawn was already right in front of her tapping her shoulders. She was about to answer when the city cathedral rang its bell signalling curfew.
With the cue, Solidad came out from the storage room with her notepad.
"Well girls." She closed the door behind her. "Guess that ends our day today. Thank you again for your hard work!"
Maylene gave her a definitive nod. "Yah I'm fine."
As usual, when Dawn and Maylene exited and locked the pharmacy, Kenny had already been waiting outside in his red sweater and blue jeans. He raised his cap and waved at them.
"How's work?" He asked and walked closer.
"Just fine." Dawn replied, putting on her bonnet. "Thanks for waiting."
The three of them walked the barely populated streets of Hearthome with Maylene feeling like a third wheel to Dawn and Kenny's seemingly platonic relationship, as they both have claimed. Their inanimate banter didn't bother her like the usual, but especially right after that talk she had with Dawn at the pharmacy.
There was no way that the Paul she was talking about was Reaper. She have to confirm it with Volkner later tonight. If plans remain unchanged, Volkner should have arrived this morning.
But it was only his right eye that was red. So he can't be a devil right?
Maylene wanted to ask Dawn more about this Paul guy, like how she met him and how they became friends. She also wanted to ask if it also meant that Kenny knew about Paul too. Her mind was so occupied that she failed to notice that they were already in the apartment where Dawn and Kenny resides.
"Are you really fine Maylene?" Dawn asked her for a second time coming to her. Her genuine concern bubbling up guilt and curiosity inside of Maylene.
Maylene looked at Kenny, despite being friends with him just last week, he also eyed her with worry. "You okay Maylene?" He asked too. "You were quiet all the way, very unlikely of you. You can rest for a while here with us if you're not feeling well."
They've just been friends last week yet he knew her that well already. Inside her head she debated whether she was too easy going or Kenny was just being a real concerned friend. For someone who never had any friends to begin with, it was a debate she held no answer to. At least not for now.
She inhaled deeply, the sky above looking like it'll snow in a few hours. "Uh no." She replied, a bit hesitant. "No thanks, I'm fine." She gave them both a smile and unwrapped a chocolate bar. "Might be the stupid hypoglycemia, this bar will surely do the trick." She winked, reviving back her playful attitude. Her voice however slightly cracked, almost giving away her worry.
Dawn stared at her incisively.
"Kenny you can go ahead, I'll just need a few words with Maylene." Dawn grabbed Maylene by her sleeves pulling her aside as Kenny gave Dawn a nod and went up stairs to his apartment room.
"Uhm to finish what we talked about earlier back at the pharmacy." Dawn started. "I'm planning to go back to the school once this quarantine is over."
Maylene almost wanted to slap herself when she heard what Dawn said. She almost didn't believe what her ears have perceived. "But why?" She followed.
"There's something about that school that is calling me. A big part of me believes that Paul is still alive and he's there." Dawn breathed in deeply. Judging from her expression, Maylene knew how dead serious she was.
She has never seen this determination of hers before.
"I'm going with Kenny, do you want to go with us?"
Chapter 20 End: New Bonds