INSIGNIAS: THE ABECEDARIANS
CHAPTER XVIII: LEI

Four hours passed and they were still hunting. Lei could still feel them. The two didn’t say a word for hours. The hunters were near and a peep might alert the Mortemians. Lei sat on the bed watching Skhy as he read a book in the corner. He had pulled the chair near the small door. He also removed his hat and coat so Lei had the view of his dishevelled chestnut hair. She noticed how he licked his lips before flipping the page and how his brows furrowed when he doesn’t understand anything.

Lei silently groaned. Why am I noticing these things?

“Hey.” Her eyes widened when he spoke. Did he see me staring at him?

“Yes?” she replied and raised her brow. I hope not.

He put the book on the table and adjusted his seat so he was facing her. He appeared like he was going to say something serious.

“Mrs. Emmy told me what she told you”, he started. “About your parents and Carol.” Then he paused. She waited for him to continue but he just stared back at her.

“Yes. That’s right. And?” Skhy pursed his lips and Lei frowned.

“I’m sorry about everything”, he finally said after a moment of silence. Lei didn’t like apologies when it concerned her family. Pity was evident in his eyes but she didn’t say anything about it.

“We can’t control the past.” Skhy just nodded at her statement.

“I am not a little kid”, she said before he could say anything. “If you want to say something, say it.”

Skhy was treating her like she was a fragile vase and he was afraid that he might break her anytime. The thought made her angry.

She saw Skhy panicked, stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans.

“I’m sorry. It’s not that”, he pointed. “I just want to be careful with my words. That’s all.”

Her anger subsided a little after his explanation. She admitted that she was being sensitive but she was just frustrated about leaving her aunt and going someplace where she might lose her life.

“Okay”, she whispered. Skhy sat back on the chair and offered a small smile.

“This mission was started by my parents two years ago.” He looked lost for a moment but regained his composure. Did he lose them?

“Mrs. Emmy and some Concordians in the Academy helped”, he continued. “Mrs. Emmy sent me a coded message so I came here.”

“When did you receive the message?” she asked. She remembered her aunt writing letters at night but she didn’t explain the contents.

“About a week ago. It was addressed to the Premier of the Academy but the coded message was for me,” he explained. Lei thought about the nights her aunt spent writing in the kitchen. Sometimes, she could hear her sobbing.

“I think the letter was months ago”, she told him. Skhy frowned at her.

“She kept sending letters since three years ago. The last one was three months ago,” she explained. Skhy stood up and walked back and forth in front of her for few minutes then he sat back again.

“I was told that the letter just arrived”, he declared. It was her turn to frown.

“Maybe someone was trying to decode the letter”, she offered. “And sent it to you when no one was able to solve it?”

“Maybe. Maybe”, he replied. He put his elbows on his knees and face on his hands. He brushed his hair with a hand before he spoke again. He looked troubled.

“But why didn’t Mrs. Emmy tell it directly to the Premier?” he asked, more to himself than to her.

“The Premier, Mr. Knightwood, supports this mission,” he explained. He must have seen how confused she was. She nodded, letting his words sink in.

“Maybe she doesn’t trust him”, she blurted. The words came out unexpectedly.

“But he saved me several times. He defended me from the Consortium”, he pointed out. Now she wasn’t sure about her answer earlier.

“Or she don’t trust the people around him”, she added, looking directly to his eyes. He didn’t reply at first. He must be thinking about other possibilities. He knew the Academy more than her.

“Secrets. Trust”, she heard him say. She looked at him for an explanation but he just stared at the wall.

“Secrets?” This time Skhy turned to her and his blue eyes darkened.

“The Academy has its own share of secrets so we can’t trust just anyone inside”, he said.

“Why do you say that?” she asked. She noticed as he clenched his fist.

“The Eschaton war left more than just the dead”, he replied. Lei remembered what he said in the tree house. There were students missing and no one knew if they were alive or not. How the war ended was also a mystery.

“That is why I must gather the Seven.” A lump formed in her throat after his statement. The Seven. The unconvincing prophecy.

“I must remind you that I didn’t come with you with the belief of a successful gathering of the, what you called, Seven”, she affirmed, looking directly into his eyes. He must have expected the conversation because he sighed and sat back on the chair facing her.

“I know that it’s hard to convince you- ”

“So don’t even try”, she cut him off. He frowned but didn’t back down.

“I will still try”, he said. Lei didn’t know what to feel. Would she feel impressed or irritated? How about both?

“Good luck with that.” She turned to open her bag and to avoid further conversation. She rummaged inside her bag and found two lunch boxes. Her aunt packed them last night. She must have known that she would eventually change her mind.

“Here.” She gave it to Skhy who questioningly looked at it.

“My aunt prepared it.” He nodded and said thank you. They ate in silence. Because there was only one chair, Skhy offered her to seat while he contended on the floor beside the bed.

After eating, Lei stood up to look for the oil lamp she left before. She found it behind the book self with a lighter attached to it through a yellow ribbon. She looked at her wrist watch and found that it was already three in the afternoon.

She lighted the oil lamp and moved to sit on the bed while Skhy silently returned to the chair. She closed her eyes and focused on the energies around her. They were gone. There was no trace of the hunters. Strange. I didn’t even notice when they left.

“I also didn’t notice. But we have to make sure”, Skhy spoke up. She just nodded. She was not in the mood to talk about anything. The silence continued. Lei just stared at shadow of the flame dancing on the wall.

“You should sleep”, he said. Lei was already lying on the bed with a blanket draped on her lower body but her eyes wouldn’t close. She was tired but still conscious of Skhy’s presence. She could hear him breathing or the tapping of his fingers on the table.

“Pull the mat under the bed,” she replied without looking at him. She felt him moved towards her. Oh God. The next thing she knew, his face was, once again, a few centimetres from hers. His crystal blue eyes widened and his mouth opened but no words came out. She just stared back.

It was Skhy who pulled away first after a few seconds. Still, she didn’t move.

I had a heart attack.

Shut up, Lei.

“I’m sorry. I bent to get the mat under the bed but I tripped”, he explained quickly. Lei cleared her throat and said, “It’s okay.” She closed her eyes to avoid any confrontation.

She heard him moving around for 10 minutes before settling on the warm mat. She heard an ‘omp’ after she tossed a pillow towards him. She chucked lightly.

“Thanks”, he muttered. Then she felt herself drift off to sleep.

A heavy shaking woke her from her deep sleep. Her eyes adjusted to the surrounding. A bright light peeked from a hole above her. She blinked several times and saw Skhy standing beside the bed. Her eyes widened and swiftly turned to the other side.

He must have saw her morning face. Urgh. It doesn’t matter.

“We must hurry. They are back”, he said.

“What?” Lei stood up and fixed herself. She looked at Skhy as he adjusted the straps of his bag. His hair stood up everywhere but he had changed his shirt.

“I need to change my shirt”, she said at his back.

“Oh. Okay.” He slipped his bag on his shoulders and walked outside. Awkward.

She was about to open the door after changing clothes and fixing her hair when Skhy shouted.

“LEI!” Everything happened so fast. She shoved open the door, Skhy grabbed her forearm and started to run. They looked up when a large moving shadow passed them. A large rock was thrown towards them but they were able to dodge it. Skhy used his wind to direct the speed and direction. It shattered a nearby tree. Lei gulped a sob.

Large men with muscles like they play football jumped from the trees around them. They were surrounded.

Lei counted 13 men.

Will we survive?