Chapter 5: Indecision part 3

July 2, 2011, 6:56 PM

Philip opened his eyes forcefully.

Just a moment ago, he was at the shooting range with James, and now he found himself in the middle of a crowded street with people and cars passing by. He was clean and wearing different clothes. Apparently, he had gone to his apartment, but he couldn't remember it.

He looked at his watch; he was running late for his meeting with Clara. He tried to orient himself and succeeded easily. He was standing in front of the parish, near the financial center, where she would be waiting for him.

Philip crossed the street towards the Victorian architecture building. There, under a huge tree at the entrance, was Clara.

"I was about to leave. Why did you take so long? Standing up a girl is not cool, you know. Didn't your parents teach you that?" Clara placed her hands on her hips and pouted.

Philip, trying to escape the confusion caused by what just happened and charmed by how cute Clara looked, covered his mouth with his hand and pretended to yawn.

"I'm sorry. I overslept. You know my schedule is upside down."

"Hmph." Clara crossed her arms over her chest and puffed her cheeks, but after a few seconds, she smiled and relaxed her expression. "I know, that's why I waited for you."

It felt strange to Philip to see her in casual clothes. They rarely met during vacations or outside of classes.

"What are we going to do today?"

"A truck with clothes and food will arrive soon. You'll help me bring them inside the parish."

"At your service," said Philip, saluting in a military manner, which annoyed Clara.

"You know, we're not in the mood for jokes. Since the incident on June 21st, many people lost things, especially psychics."

"I know."

Philip's expression became serious, surprising Clara with the sudden change. He looked down at the ground.

"I know, but..."

Philip was interrupted by a honk. It was the truck they were waiting for.

The driver stepped down and opened the compartment for them to unload the non-perishable food and clothes donated to the people residing in the parish.

"Shall we start?"

"Yes..."

Clara went to call some priests, and together they carried the items to the back of the parish where dozens of people were staying. Many of them lost their homes or jobs at that time and were left stranded. One could also say they were fortunate not to be in that place during the incident.

Most of those who lost their jobs had found new ones, but they didn't have enough money to rent a new place.

By around 7:30 PM, they had finished helping to bring everything inside. The priests invited both of them to stay for dinner, but they had to decline the offer as the curfew would begin a few hours later. Philip decided to accompany Clara home, since the trams didn't run after 6:00 PM.

"We didn't even have time to get coffee in the end."

"It's my fault for being late. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, laughing softly.

Clara not only helped with carrying the donations; she also managed the foundation responsible for managing them. Philip deeply admired her work, but could never think of a reason why she dedicated her life to it. As they walked in silence, he couldn't shake off this feeling from his mind.

"When did you start doing this?" he asked, almost unconsciously.

"Do you mean the foundation? It was an idea from my grandmother and mother; I just carried it out."

"Isn't there another reason? Whenever I help you with these things, I see it in your expression, something strange."

Clara let out a small laugh. Philip tilted his head, not understanding.

"So, there are times when you can be perceptive, huh?" Clara looked at Philip with a smile mixed with melancholy. "If I had to give another reason, it's because I feel guilty."

"Guilty? Why?"

Clara winked at him.

"It's a secret."

For the rest of the walk, Philip couldn't think of anything else. To him, Clara was a very good person. He couldn't imagine anything she could feel guilty about. Then she said something else.

"Putting aside my personal reasons, I don't think there has to be a reason to do what you consider right. It's just going with the flow."

Yes... She is excellent. I can't stay behind, I can't run away.

July 2, 2011, 10:52 PM

The curfew had begun. The curfew had started a while ago. Since the Dark Energy Containment Department was dissolved, the police took charge of enforcing the curfew, although it would only work with humans. They didn't have enough training or equipment to deal with any Psychi.

Philip decided to search for more clues about the Eyre stones, and the only place he could imagine was among the rubble of the D.C.E.O. headquarters.

When he flew there with his thrusters, he saw that they had erected a tall fence, but there was no security guarding it.

Since his "suit" was heavily damaged, Philip changed into an identical one, but navy blue in color, and included a black belt that held grenades, the weapons James had given him, and ammunition.

He quickly passed over the fence, and on the other side, a woman with a ghostly appearance was waiting for him. She was dressed in a white robe that covered her limbs, and the only visible feature of her face were her fleshy lips painted the same color as her long blood-red hair. He remembered her; she called herself "The Redhead."

Philip, astonished, couldn't utter a word.

"Good evening, Mr. Zero."

"Aren't you dead? Last night, you took a direct hit from that crazy woman."

He ignored the fact that she knew him, as the name Zero had been circulating in the media lately.

"So, you were the one hiding last night. Killing me isn't an easy task, just so you know," she said before letting out a small laugh.

Philip just stared at The Redhead suspiciously. She maintained a slight smile. He decided to avoid the topic of the seal because revealing a weakness to a potential enemy would be unwise.

"I thought more people would come to investigate what happened last night," said The Redhead.

"Am I the first?"

"Yes, after me. As a reward, I'll tell you that you won't find anything inside."

"But didn't that girl take that stone out of here?" Philip asked.

"I know asking you to trust me might sound presumptuous on my part, but I'm serious, I've already investigated everything."

Philip was suspicious of the woman in the robe, but he assumed that if she had been here before, she was likely telling the truth.

"Nevertheless, there's no need for you to leave empty-handed."

"Huh?"

The Redhead momentarily shocked Philip. She stretched her palm toward him, and it started emitting light. Bright purple particles emerged, shaping into an irregular, oval-shaped stone.

"This... is it?!"

"Yes, an Eyre stone. This one emerged today. I want to give it to you."

"Why?!"

"I already told that girl. My objective is to investigate what happens when someone desires something with these stones. I'm not interested in the wish itself."

"... It seems like you offer the same thing to anyone who crosses your path."

"To us, the Eternal Darkness, we truly don't care who makes that wish, but I'll help you by giving you this stone because you seem to be well-liked in this city, 'hero.'"

"I'm not a hero yet."

Philip sighed.

"But you plan to become one, right?" She managed to grab his attention. "One of the requirements to earn the honor of being a local hero is to have committed some heroic act."

Philip pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow.

"Think about it. If you gather the three stones and wish for something that saves many people, like undoing the incident that happened on June 21st, you would be eligible to apply to the World Heroes Organization."

Philip fixed his gaze on The Redhead, and she tilted her head with curiosity.

That's not my ultimate goal, but if I lose track of the stones, not only will I be unable to uncover what really happened on June 21st, but something similar might happen again. If that happens, I won't forgive myself.

He slowly raised his hand toward the floating stone above her palm.

"I don't trust you, but if you're not going to interfere, I can accept that. If I feel like you're planning something..."

"I have no reason to interfere beyond this."

Philip's hand continued cautiously toward the stone.

A loud noise.

His reaction was slow because he was lost in his thoughts. He looked to his side and saw someone, a tall man dressed in black, running towards him from less than a meter away. The boy could only protect his face, but he was knocked down by that man.

The Redhead heard something from above and looked up.

A small missile.

She didn't have time to move, she could only witness the moment the device exploded. Both she and Philip, as well as the man who knocked him down, were caught in the blast that shook the entire place.