by E. Mendell
~ Six~
Hiro left Soul on a patch of soft ground when he went to the train to retrieve the bag. The train car had been cleared out and Hiro hoped his duffle bag had remained unfound. He discovered the train at the far back of the train yard. The long train was still smoking and only the wheels and metal frame remained of the caboose Red Assassin had blown up. Hiro looked at it and shook his head. It was lucky he and Soul had survived. He found the other ruined car and climbed in. The car had a large burned hole in the wall that was charred. Hiro moved the rubble aside from the back of the compartment. He then lifted the seat of the far bench by the door.
There was his duffle bag. Unharmed. Hiro pulled it out and opened it. Inside were his laptop, their clothes, and the other devises he had packed. Hiro released a sigh of relief and slung the bag over his shoulder. Luck was on their side. Hiro went to the opening and looked around before dropping out and hurrying back to Soul. When he returned to her he found her lying on her back, blinking up at the sky.
“Awake?” Hiro asked, standing over her. He looked down at her and she met his gaze. By his distrusting expression, Soul knew he was upset.
“What happened?” Soul asked, sitting up and looking around. “Did Shadow Eater go away?”
Hiro shut his eyes, but then shook his head. “How did you know his name was Shadow Eater?” He asked grimly.
Soul sat still. She didn’t answer and Hiro looked at her. Her hands were gripping the ground and her face had become pale. Hiro moved around beside her and looked at her face. She was crying.
“How much exactly have you not told me?” Hiro asked gently. His voice made Soul flinch.
“A lot,” she said, looking up at him. Her silver eyes were glistening with tears. “I didn’t want you to hate me, Hiro. I was afraid you would abandon me to die. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
“So, you really are dying?” Hiro asked.
Soul nodded hard and wiped away her tears, even though more came. She shut her eyes tightly when Hiro knelt by her, placing the duffle bag aside.
“Look at me,” said Hiro quietly.
Soul hesitated, but then turned and met Hiro’s gaze. When he took her head in his hands her face burned, but Hiro simply held her gaze. His golden eyes narrowed.
“How old are you?” He asked, examining her face as he spoke.
Soul swallowed hard. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I can remember being eighteen, but that’s as far as my memory goes before it resets.”
“Resets?” Hiro arched an eyebrow. “How does it reset?”
“Well,” said Soul in a shaky voice. “I have a memory of my parents taking me to a museum, I think. Then suddenly my memories go back to years before when we went to the hospital and a doctor tells me I’m dying.”
Hiro waited a moment, still holding Soul’s gaze. He could see he was beginning to intimidate Soul, but he didn’t look away, and neither did she. “So you don’t know how old you are,” he said slowly. “Your memories are screwed up, and you have no pulse.”
Soul’s eyes grew wide. “I don’t have a pulse?” She whispered, her voice catching and more tears coming to her eyes. “How?”
“I thought you would tell me,” replied Hiro coldly. He lowered his hands and Soul breathed in hard, feeling as if she had been holding her breath.
“But I didn’t know,” said Soul in a small voice. “I can feel a heart beat in my chest, and I know when it’s acting up.”
Hiro turned his head away. His mind was spinning through possibilities, but he had no clue what to think or say. He decided to start over so he turned back to Soul. “How do you know Enimito’s Massacre Title?”
Soul chewed her lip a moment before meeting Hiro’s gaze. “I met him before,” she explained. “A long time ago, before I had even seen you.”
“Were your parents with you?” Hiro asked.
Soul shook her head. “That and I didn’t know Enimito was Shadow Eater,” she told him hastily. “I know Shadow Eater, he’s the one I met. Enimito I only knew from when he kidnapped me. The metal jaw looked familiar, but I was too frightened to realize they were the same.” Soul faded to silence, looking at the ground. More tears were coming to her eyes.
Hiro sat down, crossing his legs and arms and letting out a hard sigh. Somewhere in the distance another train started up, whistling as it’s wheels began to turn. Hiro and Soul listened to the clacking. It took a while before the train’s sound faded into the distance. Once gone, Hiro bowed his head.
“I don’t know what you are, Soul,” he said quietly. “But it makes sense to me now why you’re waiting for them.”
Soul ducked her head in shame. “The scientists,” she murmured sadly. “I’m sorry, Hiro. I would have told you that too. They’re in my memory, just like Shadow Eater. I don’t know how I know them. I only have brief images of them. But they’re there and I can’t figure out why. That’s why I’ve been waiting for the scientists to show up in Castroph City. I thought they would come there to find me.”
“And then you met me,” said Hiro, looking at the sky. “How much did you know about me?”
Soul shifted uneasily. “Not much,” she murmured. “I had heard of you. My mother talked about you often. She told me you were a brave, kindhearted spirit with no friends or family. She felt sorry for you, and that’s why I was so angry when you killed them.”
“But I didn’t kill them,” said Hiro, rubbing his face. “I couldn’t have. I don’t have any memory of it.”
Soul was quiet. She chewed on her lip and folded her fingers. Hiro didn’t see how squirmy she was. He simply got to his feet and looked around the train yard.
“We need to go,” he said.
Soul looked up at him as he picked up the duffle bag. “Go where?” She asked.
Hiro shrugged. “I don’t know,” he muttered. “I would almost suggest returning to the lab where I was made so you can find your scientists, but that would be a waste of time.”
“Why?” Soul asked as she stood up and dusted herself off.
“Because I destroyed that place when I left,” he said, slinging the bag over his shoulder.
“What?” Soul stared at him in alarm. “Did you kill the scientists?”
“I killed most of them,” replied Hiro emotionlessly. “But there’s a lot of them and they’re all over the world. I destroyed one of their bases and that’s it. Hardly any damage done.”
Soul let out a relieved sigh, then moved forward and wrapped her arms around Hiro, resting her head on his shoulder. “Thanks for staying with me, Hiro,” she whispered into his shoulder. “I don’t know what I would have done if you had gone off and vanished without me.”
Hiro stared over her head, his jaw clenched. “I don’t have much reason not to help you,” he told her.
Soul looked up at him, hearing the strained tone in his voice. “Are you okay?” She asked, seeing that there were tears in his eyes.
Hiro shook his head, blinking a few times. “I’m just fine,” he said, swiftly moving Soul away from him and wiping the tears off his face. He turned and walked away without a word. Soul stared at him, but then followed.
Hiro climbed onto an empty train car that had some straw like the last one.
“Get some sleep,” he said to Soul. That was all he said. He went into the dark corner and sat down where Soul couldn’t see him well. She watched his silhouette for a while before going to the opposite side of the car and curling up in the straw. She buried her head in her arms, tightly shutting her eyes. In her ribs she felt her heart beating, so why didn’t she have a pulse? All that Hiro had talked about made her fearful. Would the scientists help her? Was there any way for her to find out what had happened to her and why her memories were messed up?
She rolled onto her back and fetched the weird key from her pocket. Turning her back to Hiro, she held the key in front of her and gazed at it. She wondered what it was and slid her fingers over it slowly. With a sad sigh, she returned it to her pocket
and laid her head on a pile of straw.
“If you knew who you are would you tell me?” said Hiro suddenly, making Soul roll over to look at him. He was still hidden though.
“I would tell you,” said Soul. “Even if it means I would die from you learning my real name. I don’t see why you won’t use my name.”
“There’s a difference between dying of heart failure and dying when I learn your name,” said Hiro gravely. “Everyone whose name I learn dies in a painful way. Some ways I don’t ever want to think about.”
Soul frowned. “So what about Anna?” She asked.
Hiro stiffened. “Anna,” he said slowly. He had forgotten he’d told Soul about Anna and admitted that her death had been his fault. “Well… I was the one who told her to tell me her name.”
Soul was confused. “What?” She said slowly.
Hiro shook his head. “I thought she was a scientist spying on me,” he said. “I told her to tell me her name one day when we were in the city. She told me it was Anna and I thought that was a lie so I didn’t believe her.”
“But it wasn’t?” Soul asked.
Hiro shook his head. “I was with her,” he said quietly. “We went to a museum because Anna wanted me to learn about the stars. I didn’t know anything about them and there was this large room where they would be displayed all around. It was like sitting in the middle of the universe.”
“What happened?” Soul could already think of many ways such a trip could go wrong.
Hiro shook his head. “There was an accident,” he said quietly. “Something was wrong with the equipment. It was malfunctioning and things were starting to break and fall from the ceiling. Everyone was told to get out quickly and I was one of the last out, but I stopped because Anna was still inside. I went back for her, but a large wall of glass that had been on the ceiling to display the stars fell so I couldn’t get to her. I could see Anna in the middle of the floor. There was a display of stars filling the room as more devises fell from the ceiling. Anna was lying on the floor and there was a puddle of blood surrounding her. She had a large piece of glass impaling her, and more were falling, hitting and cutting her. When she saw me she was crying and screamed at me not to come. That’s all she could say, ‘don’t come’ over and over. She covered her face with her hands as she shouted and I… I could only stand and watch.”
Soul was sitting up, staring into the darkness where she knew Hiro sat. She shook her head, not knowing what to say.
“And then,” whispered Hiro. “The medics came and broke through the glass to help her. She was already dead. I didn’t do anything.” Hiro shifted and Soul wondered if he was in tears again. “I think back on it and all I can do is apologize,” he whispered. “In my dreams I try to save her, but the reality is that I left her there. I didn’t even try…”
Soul quickly got up and crossed the train car. She saw Hiro look up as she dropped into the straw beside him and took his arm.
“It’s not your fault if you didn’t chuck the glass at her,” she said in a hard voice.
Hiro stared at her. “What?” He said, his voice shaky.
“You didn’t trust her anyway,” said Soul pointedly. “For all you know she was a scientist and she told you not to come to her because she didn’t want you getting crushed and ruined.”
Hiro gawked at Soul in confusion. “Are you trying to cheer me up?” He asked blankly.
Soul pouted. “Is that all you’re getting from this?” She asked bluntly.
Hiro shook his head, but then looked away. “I’m gaining emotions,” he muttered. “I think I almost laughed just then.”
Soul tilted her head, but then smiled brightly. “Well, if I can help you learn happiness before I die then my life was worth it,” she said lightly. She hugged Hiro’s arm and then, to his shock, placed a kiss on his cheek. She then got up and went back to the other side of the car.
Hiro sat in silence for hours. He touched his cheek and felt his face burn.
New emotions were dangerous…
~ To Be Continued ~
Thank you for coming back for thirds! I hope you enjoyed it. As always, if you liked this story I hope you will take a few minutes to leave a review at your favorite retailer. The fourth book is the last. Hang on for the full-length novel!
Thanks again for your support!
E. L. Mendell
About the Author
E. Mendell was raised in a large family of nine. Being one of seven siblings she found inspiration all around. As soon as she could put words together she began writing stories. Starting with tales of her imaginary adventures, Mendell’s future was beginning to unfold. She started writing more and more. At the age of fourteen she was given an old computer on which she began over thirty stories, and completed more than fifteen. She also took an interest in art, using her gifts to create her own cover art and designs in her stories. However, writing remains her first love.
“I write to escape reality,” says E. Mendell, “and I hope everyone who reads my stories will see them as an escape as well.”
E. Mendell published her first book in 2012, at the age of 21, through Fifth Estate in Alabama. The Eysheus Saga, Book One, Blood River. Mendell reports that most of the series is complete and she is anxious to publish the next book before 2014.
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