Chapter 29: Departing Words

“Ferral!” Armin called out.

Ferral turned his head, spotting Armin running over with Anthony in tow. Ferral walked over to the ledge and effortlessly jumped onto the other side. Armin finally stopped, taking a small rest to catch his breath.

He raised the medical kit in his hands and said, “I saw your revival fluid canister might be damaged, so I brought this to patch it up.”

Ferral chuckled. “You act as though I’m going to stay for much longer,” he snorted.

“Why wouldn’t you?” Anthony asked. “You have a chance to be with your kids again, and you’re just going to leave?”

Ferral, smiling, gave a small nod. “That’s right,” he replied. “I shouldn’t even be here to begin with. Besides…” Ferral took a look back at his kids and Cello making their way to the rest of the group. He continued, “You guys are in good hands.”

Anthony was going to say something, but Armin patted his shoulder as he stood beside the young man. Anthony and Armin exchanged glances, Armin shaking his head.

As the trio got closer, the remaining survivors began cheering and clapping for them. Their sudden praise caught the trio off guard; they stood speechless. Laura became filled with overwhelming joy; she nearly started crying. Cello felt embarrassed, lowering her head, blushing. Berus was indifferent, lowering his eye while he held the wound on his stomach. He glanced up, spotting his father standing away from the crowd, Armin, and Anthony. Berus’s blood immediately started to boil, he burst forward and in a split second, socked Ferral across the face. Laura and the others were stunned; some of the crowd even gasped at this sudden attack. Ferral could’ve easily stopped it, but chose not to.

“Berus, what’s your problem?!” Anthony exclaimed.

“My problem?” Berus hissed before grabbing Ferral by the collar. “Where the hell have you been?! Where were you when our village was destroyed? When our mother, your wife, was murdered? Why did you lie to us?!”

Berus violently shook Ferral, once again punching him in the cheek. “Why did you kill so many people?! Answer me!”

In a serious tone, Ferral said, “That wouldn’t change what you think of me now, son.”

Berus sneered, throwing punch after punch, all the while, Ferral simply let it happen. Cello rushed in and hooked her arms under Berus's armpits, dragging the young prince back.

“Berus, stop!” Cello barked

“Why?!” Berus snapped back. “You just expect me to pretend like nothing’s wrong?! That what we heard and saw was bullshit?!”

As Cello dragged Berus away to calm him down, the crowd started to murmur. Mostly, the whispers from human survivors pointing at Ferral. The experiments could hear their words, raising a tension within the air. The dead emperor rolled his eyes, turning and walking off. Laura, who was still stunned by Berus’s outburst, quickly snapped out of it when she saw her father leaving. Laura chased after him.

“Alright, alright,” Armin said to the crowd. “Enough of clamoring, now hurry to this side so any injuries can be treated and we can all go home.”

Laura finally found Ferral sitting in the forest, lying against a tree. His eyes were closed, but she could see his chest and right arm go up and down. Laura moved closer, snapping a twig from under her feet. Ferral opened an eye, then lowered his head, smiling at Laura.

Laura gave a faint smile back. “I’m sorry about Berus,” she said. “He’s been through a lot in these past few days.”

Ferral waved off her apology and said, “It’s alright, let him vent.” He straightened up against the tree. Ferral continued, “As possibly the leading authority on bottling up emotions, I’d rather he take his ire out on me than others. It’s not unwarranted either.”

Laura sat beside her father, the two watching in silence as the sun began to rise. Covering the destroyed complex and forest in warm, reddish orange light. Laura glanced at Ferral as the light hit his face, showing his very peaceful expression.

“Papa,” she said, “will humans and experiments ever like each other?”

“No,” Ferral responded, his voice calm. “But, that’s simply in our nature. Humans don’t even like other humans, and experiments don’t even like other experiments.”

“Oh.”

Ferral continued, “However, when it truly matters, both humans and experiments will come together and help one another. As shown today. I’m more than grateful for that.”

“Papa…”

“Yes?”

“What were my real parents like?”

The sides of Ferral’s lips curled into a light smile. He looked up at the beautiful light blue sky. “Clare and Buck…” he started, a gentle breeze blowing his hair. “Clare was kind. Loving, caring, and brilliant. You remind me so much of her; you two have the same smile, which always brought me back to the days when she and I would have breakfast together. Buck was bold, funny, and was the sole reason our village is in Australia. Oh, you would’ve loved him, such a goof. I couldn’t have asked for better foster parents. Even now, I regret never spending more time with them.”

“They sound like incredible people,” Laura said.

Ferral chuckled, lowering his head and looking at Laura. “Yeah, they were the best.”

There was another silence between the two. Laura still had so many questions, but wasn’t sure how to go about asking them, or even if she should. She glanced at the fact that his right hand had been dug into his chest for the longest time.

“Papa…”

“Yes?”

“You’re going to leave, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Laura lowered her eyes, taking a small sigh of sadness. Ferral used his left hand and patted Laura’s head. She looked up and saw his warm smile.

“I’m proud of you, Laura,” Ferral said softly. “I’m proud of Berus, no matter how much he hates me now. I’m happy to have gotten the chance to see you both once more and just how much stronger the two of you have gotten. I love you both very much.”

Laura smiled, wiping the tears that filmed over her eyes. “Thank you…Papa,” she said, her voice breaking.

“By the way. That Anthony fellow…I like him.” Ferral winked.

Laura let out a laugh and nodded. “I like him too.”

Ferral chuckled and said, “Goodbye, Laura.” He ripped the canister out of his chest and crushed the glass, revival fluid running down his right arm. Ferral’s entire body started going stiff, he dropped his arm, and his head slumped. He was a lifeless corpse once more.

Still trying her hardest to restrain her tears, Laura choked back sobs and said, “Goodbye, Papa.”