Thanks for all the lovely long reviews I got for the last chapter! The week has been so hectic and it'll be this way till at least next week. Though I hope I can still have time to get the next chapter out on time. Anyways, here goes!
Iridia Wang Su, 20, Daughter of Apollo
The seven-seater cab was freezing, and her damp clothes only served to ebb away whatever little amount of heat her body produced. Iridia guessed the rest of their group felt the same too. They were all wet, cold, and needed a change of clothes soon, before all of them caught a cold. Presently, however as there was nothing she could do, she decided to make the best out of the situation, and at least make sure her instruments were in good condition.
For more than five years, Iridia has had a special place in her heart for Clinsi, her war fan which could also turn into a guitar if she wanted. It was a gift from Gabriella, her person whom her fourteen year old self thought she once thought could be more than friends. It turned out to be more of a platonic love - an infatuation or puppy love - instead of the real thing. She and Gabriella had ended the relationship then, though they still remained close friends. They both became busy and caught up with their lives as the years went by, but each time she played Clinsi or used it in battle, it brought back memories of those times with her best friend, which helped to keep those terrible flashes at bay.
Red. So much red, she remembered. On her hands, on her clothes. Fingernails caked with blood. That warm, dark red liquid slippery beneath her trembling fingers, as her grip on the gun slacked. The dense, coppery smell of blood. It was everywhere. Such a foreign object in her hands - it didn't belong to her - she'd never used a gun before so how could she have done that?
Iridia has short flashes of those memories, and she wished she could forget all of them. She hoped that all of it had been a dream, because in real life, how could she have been a killer? A murderer?
The sound of rasping breath haunted her even in her dreams. The sound of a man gasping for air, drowning in his own blood as his punctured lung failed to draw in oxygen for him to function.
Snap! "Iridia!"
She jerked, surfacing from her dark thoughts. Ash, who had been sitting beside her in the cab had been trying to catch her attention for the past few minutes.
"Sorry. I zoned out." Iridia blinked, trying to clear her head.
"You didn't look so good." Ash said gently, shaking her shoulders a little, "you're feeling okay?"
Ash's eyebrows had scrunched up in a concerned frown, as he searched her eyes for an answer.
Iridia nodded offering a smile, "I'm fine, thanks Ash."
"Mr Croates said we should be arriving at the airport in about twenty minutes, and Dominca is just about to book our flight tickets for the trip to Phuket International Airport. It's pretty costly for six people." Ash filled her in.
"And that's just for economy class," Ayumu adds with his eyes closed, in such a slurred voice that she barely caught it.
"How much is the total?"
"Slightly over two thousand," Ciara answers from the back seat.
They pooled nearly all the money they had together, to ensure they had enough before buying the tickets when they had reached the airport. It was fortunate that Galen had brought a debit card with enough cash in his bank account to cover whatever was remaining.
The six demigods sat in silence for most of the journey. Iridia looked out of the cab window, watching the bright specks of stars twinkling in the vast cloudless sky, wondering if the tranquility of the hunters of Artemis mirrored that of the stars. She was lost in her thoughts, and only vaguely heard the driver speaking.
"Ash, that's your name, isn't it?" Croates said, looking at Ash in the reflection of the rear view mirror.
"Mmhmm, how did you know?" Ash wondered.
Croates shrugged, glancing at Iridia, "I just heard your friend calling you that earlier."
"Well, yeah, my name's Ash, short for Acheron." Ash explained, "nice to meet you."
"Oh no, no. Please don't be offended," Croates said quickly, licking his lips, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"We're not offended, Mr Croates. I mean, it's hard not to hear the conversations in this small car."
The driver nodded, relaxing a little, then looked at Iridia. "If you don't mind me asking, Miss Wang - I mean, Iridia - what calls you to fly to Phuket?"
It was easy to give a reason, "oh, you know... We need an escape from the cold weather here. And we've heard there are some really beautiful beaches there."
Mr Croates's eyes lit up, "that's true! I happened to travel there with my kids a couple of months ago. The beaches are a sight to behold!" But then his smile faltered, "Though I've heard they are clearing the natural fauna on an uninhabited island far offshore to construct some research laboratory. It's really a pity how mankind would just destroy such a place which was full of life for a facility they could have built anywhere else."
"I heard they were doing that to develop a Cure." Iridia said carefully.
Iridia caught the flicker of irritation on the driver's face, "the Cure," he spat, "yeah, right. It's a wonder how people actually believe their advertising campaign and go for it. Load of bullshit if you ask me."
Their taxi had already reached the airport, and were stuck in a long line of cars waiting to drop their passengers off.
"What makes you think that?" Iridia said.
"What makes you think that?" Croates mimicked in her voice, which was astoundingly accurate. "I'll leave you to find that out on your own. But, girl, think about this: If you were one of those gifted with psychic abilities would you choose to give it away, or use it either for personal gain or even to help others?"
"Unless…" Galen said softly from the back row, "unless these people - the gifted, I mean - wants to be accepted by society."
They finally managed to stop at a drop off point far away from the main section of the airport. Croates turned around in his seat to look at Galen. Their eyes met - Croates's grey eyes against Galen's brown, neither of them looking away.
"Acceptance is a hopeless desire, boy." Croates said, with a sad frown, "humans, and even animals - it's part of our nature though we pretend by saying otherwise. But truth to be told, deep down, we never truly accept people who are different from us."
Galen dropped his gaze, suddenly curious in the two rings - one gold and one silver - which he always wore on the third and fourth finger of his right hand.
Croates seemed to have realised the discomfort he had caused, because he changed the subject. "I'll drop you three girls here to go ahead and book your flight tickets in the airport, while the guys can follow me till we get closer to the main part of the airport before unloading your belongings. At least you can safe time this way."
"We should stick together." Dominca said immediately from the seat just beside the driver, "We'll wait."
"Trust me on this," Croates insisted, "as you wait, there might not be any more seats left on the plane. Then you'll really have to split up. It'll be worse. Besides that's the reason why I suggested you three girls to stick together."
Dominca turned to the rest of them, waiting to hear their opinion.
"He's right." Ciara said, "you, Iridia and I can start queuing first. The guys can join us later."
Dominca looked unsure, but she too, saw the logic in the situation and agreed. "Alright, c'mon girls."
Since she didn't have much bulky items, Iridia thought she might as well just bring the bag containing Clinsi along. Croates put out his hand to stop her.
"Miss, there are baggage trolleys at the drop off point further up. There's not need to burden yourself with your belongings. They are quite safe here. I'm sure Ash and his friends will take good care of your...violin?"
Ayumu stirred from his slumber, rubbing his eyes as he soon became aware of his surroundings. He seemed to have been following the conversation all along, because he turned to Iridia with a yawn, "you should just bring your violin along. Keep safe."
To be honest, she didn't really know Ayumu all that well, but she'd heard from few other campers who knew the guy that though he looked blur and lost in his own world at times, he was smarter than he looked. Even so, had Ayumu not asked her to bring Clinsi along, she would have anyway. Clinsi had always been by her side since she was young, and having it around made her feel secure.
"No worries," she smiled at the driver, "I can manage. My violin isn't too heavy."
Croates looked as though he wanted to insist further, but decided against it. So Iridia just grasped the strap of her violin case and got out of the taxi. Seeing her about to get up, Dominca and Ciara mirrored her, and the three of them marched up the steps, towards the airport gates. Iridia thought she caught a glimpse of silver from Ciara's belt, and was glad that she, too, had decided to keep her weapon within reach.
Dominca turned on the spot to give a little wave at the guys in the taxi as they watch as Croates filtered to the second lane and go past the long line of unloading vehicles.
The screen of the electronic ticket booking machine flashed, prompting for a payment method. Dominca selected the 'debit card' option with a light touch of her index finger.
Please swipe your card, the screen read.
"O - ookay." Dominca said tentatively, not having booked plane tickets before. She turned to Ciara, "are you holding on to Galen's card?"
The girl nodded, whipping the card out of her pocket and swiping it as instructed and pocketing the card again.
Please wait while your boarding passes are being printed.
Interesting. Though this was not the first time Iridia had taken a flight, she had never really booked the tickets on her own. When she needed to return to study another semester of the Bachelor of Fine Arts, her master usually does the pre-booking for her.
She felt a light tap on her shoulder, and spun around only to come face to face with a short and stout man who reached no higher than her waist. Raising her eyebrows in question and trying to kick out the urge to stoop down when he was talking, as it may strike as rude.
"Excuse me, I believe you may have dropped something." The man said. He had a posh way of speaking, and his words were slightly accented.
Iridia dropped her gaze to the floor, searching for anything they might have misplaced.
"That way." The man pointed at a spot about five feet behind them. By now, both Dominca and Ciara had heard their conversation and they too, looked around.
There was indeed something lying on the ground - a small flat and smooth object, which looked like… a card?
The man shrugged, "might have dropped out of your pocket on your way. I just thought it may be something important."
Ciara had her hand in her pocket, double checking that she was still holding on to Galen's debit card, she frowned, "I have Galen's card here, so…"
"Don't worry, I'll get it." Iridia said, and thanked the short man for his kindness before hurrying over to pick up the card.
She was right, it was a card. But flipping it over, she saw three words was stamped on the hard backing of the card in capital letters: YOU WERE FOOLED!
A bubble of irritation flitted through her. Her mind tried to reason with herself. It was just a stupid prank - an immature one for a man this age. Yet some part of her was ruffled. She wanted to do this mission quickly and smoothly with minimal disruption just so that her friend could have a peace of mind after he learns more about the Cure. All these petty pranks were just obstacles in her goal, and she hated it when her plans were sidetracked. She had always been a person of a single thought, fueled by completing one goal at a time.
Looking up at the man, who was laughing to himself so heartily that his round shoulders shook up and down, she handed the card back to him with a controlled and cool voice.
"I don't think it belongs to us. You must have been mistaken. "
He wheezed, gasping to draw air into his lungs and let out another chuckle.
"I got you good!" He said, wiping tears out of the corners of his eyes and slipping the card into his trouser pocket.
"Now if you don't mind," Iridia said, glancing back at the screen of the ticketing machine which read, Please collect your boarding passes, thank you.
Iridia bent down to scoop up the six boarding passes, only to come up empty. Was the machine spoilt or out of order? Why hadn't it printed their boarding pass?
"Perhaps you are looking for this?" came the annoyingly polite voice from behind her again. Iridia forced herself to keep her anger in check and looked around at the plump man.
He stood there, with his chest puffed out in pride that he'd managed to trick all three of them twice in a span of less than a minute. His meaty little face pulled in a proud grin, showing a set of yellow and uneven teeth and his beady little eyes glinted with mischief. Fanned out in his hands he waved the six boarding passes in their face.
Apparently, Dominca too, was starting to lose her patience.
"Please hand them over," she said curtly, "we're in a rush."
The man shook his head, teasing as he held the boarding passes tanganisingly close, "Nah-uh. I hope whatever appointment you have at Phuket can wait because all six of you are going to miss your flight."
What had been controlled irritation threatened to flare, but Iridia barely managed to contain her anger, breathing in deeply like how her master used to teach her.
Detach your heart from your mind, and you will be able to think clearly. Feel the anger drain away like the trickles of water on a rainy day.
"Give them back." Iridia said firmly, making a swipe for the paper in his fist. But the stout man moved with surprising agility, drawing his hand back as she launched hers out.
"I think not." He smirked.
"But you don't even need it!" Dominca shouted.
The man tilted his head, as though he was pondering at what she'd just said, "you're right, I don't need it. But you won't need all of them either."
"What do you mean?" Ciara said.
"Let's just say," the man snickered, "even if I were to give them to you, you'd only need three boarding passes."
Ciara jumped to the point first, having understood the meaning behind his words. "What did you do to the guys?" she growled.
Okay, things are really starting to escalate from this point and I'm planning for a bit of action in the next chapter :D Iridia Wang Su belongs to Yngvarr Frey.
Review:
1) Thoughts on Iridia?
2) Any prediction on Croates? (I know some of you did mention in your previous review that he seems suspicious)
3) Thoughts of this chapter?
Thanks for the reviews! I really really appreciate them. They're like the fuel that gets me to keep writing :D