CH #10 - As the Flames are Put to Rest

In that empty corridor, no other sign of life was present besides the one caused by the sounds of footsteps generated by the two people who walked there. One of them had more difficulty – his steps faltering and threatening to make him fall. This first person was supported by the second, who was in much better condition, taking firm and assured steps.

Grabbing the corners of the walls from time to time, he tried to show that the second person didn't need to worry. He was fine – well, at least he thought he was. The boy, amid painful heavy breathing, crawled around the lenghts of those walls, his vision making little interpretation of what the eyes didn't care to see, in the mere intention of conserving his energy.

"Oh...!" He tripped over a piece of wood, possibly coming from one of the destroyed doors in the immense hallway.

"Geez, Ryan! You're in no condition to walk around by yourself like that! Just accept the fact that I'm here to help you, all right?" The girl at his side scolded him, preventing Ryan from falling and his face from hitting the floor.

"Sorry, sorry…" He leaned back against the window. "But now it's pretty good. I have to learn to see better where I'm going to step from now on."

"No!" She once again criticized his way of looking at the situation. "You have to stop being stubborn and recognize that you need help! Don't you realize you are in no position to be left to your own luck?"

He was left speechless. Ryan knew Ann was right, so he felt it unnecessary to provide an answer. He just didn't want to worry the people around him. He could try a little harder, and he certainly would.

Yes. There were bigger issues at stake at the moment – ​​things far more important than helping someone who could do a task alone, even if with great difficulty.

In the end, he just assumed he was someone stubborn in the extreme.

"Why are you smiling?! Ugh... You're one of the weirdest people I've ever met, you know? Getting involved in lethal danger only to find the reason behind all this... Looking at it right, you two are nuts!"

Knowing that she meant Lira, Ryan allowed himself to take on a slightly more serious expression. No longer able to resist Ann's help, he could only allow her to guide him to the proper place.

"You know what? I was a bit surprised to learn that Lira was interacting with someone else besides Cast… Certain things manage to surprise us, I think." He said.

That speech by Ryan managed to get the attention of the young girl with slightly wavy brown hair. Lira's topic made her question a lot of things and several more questions just seemed to pop up as the minutes passed.

The girl with the scary eyes that glowed pink was one of the most mysterious topics even for Ryan. The boy noticed and was able to feel that Lira didn't trust him, especially when it came to the aspect of physical contact.

She always kept herself somewhat apart from him, at a safe distance. Lira was always alert to his every move, and always made sure that this "safe distance" never diminished. She also always treated him in the same cold way, and didn't seem to have a positive opinion of him.

In short, the Suzuki girl didn't consider him an ally, and Ryan knew it. She merely tolerated him, but like someone who sleeps with one eye open – she was always suspicious of his actions, as if preparing for some kind of retaliation or betrayal on his part, even though the boy himself knew he would never do such a thing, if not for a very applicable and justifiable reason.

It was this shaky and fragile relationship between the two that forbade the formation of a solid group. Those three weren't a trio – they never were – they were Cast and Lira acting as a duo, plus Ryan, who was treated as no more than an extra weight somewhat worth carrying, a tool to be used by them when the going gets tough.

Ryan was fully aware of this. She didn't consider him trustworthy on any level, and that wasn't going to change any time soon. The Savoia guy just accepted that reality. Someday, however, he would prove her wrong.

The point is, that day didn't have to be today, and not even tomorrow. That wasn't a concern for him. Let her keep thinking like that, after all...

"Lira is a troublesome and confusing person, Ann." He started. "I don't know much more than the superficial about her, but just a quick glance at her person tells me everything I need to know."

Breathing had actually gotten better after surrendering to Ann's support. Ryan sucked in a breath, thinking about his next sentence.

"But what reveals the most details about her are her attitudes." He said, bringing even more curiosity to the observant figure of the girl who manipulated insects. "I know that underneath all that – all that rigid shell of logic and pragmatism – there is a soft, caring and loyal girl inside to those who are tucked away inside her heart."

"What makes you think that about her? You didn't seem to hold a THAT positive opinion on her!" Ann was forced to question, engrossed in what Ryan had just said.

The two crossed a corridor. Just one more, and they would be in the place indicated by the Suzuki so coldly. The ambience was the same – dark and lifeless – but there was a difference. There were sounds and lights radiating from the windows.

They were the sound of orders, of conversations, and of emotional people. Looking outside, one could see that, behind the still closed gates and iron railings, the fire in the school library was gradually being put to rest.

That was the sign that this would all be over at last... if only for the present moment.

"Hah...! You could guess it like that!" Ryan chuckled a little, prompting a confused reaction from Ann. "That's easy to see...! Nobody can be that strict all the time! After all, if you were with her, it's because Lira saw something special in you, Ann."

"Something special...?" Even more curious, the girl felt the muscles in her face tense. "What would she see of special about someone like me?!"

Ryan licked his lips, noticing what appeared to be a subtle taste of blood. "I hope this blood isn't his..." He thought.

"One word: Potential." He quickly spat out the answer. "Lira is someone who likes good promises, no matter how hard she does everything to make others think that she doesn't. The truth is, she cares like no one else for people who mean something to her in that regard."

He just seemed to become more enigmatic with each sentence... Ann could feel her head boiling as she listened to Ryan talking. None of it seemed to make sense, but somehow, it was as if it was all coming together at the same time...!

"She doesn't have any inhibitions about kicking people out of her life… Look at the way she treats me! In that girl's opinion, I only exist when I'm needed, and I don't doubt that she only asked you to accompany me because she didn't think it would be advantageous for me to die, given the strategic advantage I guarantee to her plans!"

"Hey, don't you think you're being a little too harsh with this judgment…? Maybe she really does care about you, you know?"

"Yeah, maybe. But as long as I'm not sure, I'll keep thinking it's for convenience. If she really cares about me, that's something I want to hear her very mouth saying, and to my very face...!"

Seeing Ryan's laugh, Ann involuntarily raised an eyebrow, witnessing how this guy really was a unique kind of madman, the kind you don't find even among the most insane. It was an ironically good kind of madness.

"You are cruel, you know? Hoping for the girl to be the part that will confess…" Ann chuckled out of the corner of her mouth, enjoying Ryan's somewhat questionable sense of humor.

"Yeah! I know that!" He confirmed. "But back to the point, all this time, I haven't seen her interacting with anyone other than Cast. Looking at that dynamic between the two of them, it's easy to see that she sees something special in that guy – something that neither I nor the many others in this school have – something that you have, Ann."

Looking straight ahead as if there was something there to look at beyond the void, Ryan continued to speak. Somehow, that guy's words just seemed to capture her more, and they seemed to be the most controversial of all truths.

"I don't know much about her relationship with Cast, and I don't even think it's in my competence to talk about it like I do, but one thing is certain – those two have a special kind of connection. Lira saw something in Cast that she can't help but admire, and I can bet the opposite holds true."

Before they turned the hall to the left, Ryan stared straight into Ann's face, breaking the girl's awed expression into something a little closer to natural.

"And the same should be true for you. Lira saw a promise in you, Ann – a gamble, you might say. She saw something that caught her attention, something she wants to see grow and change, a factor that can help her in whatever mission that girl has. She saw value in you, Ann."

... ... ...

Ryan's speech left her unable to respond in any way. Ann's mind could only return to that moment; that bit of time when she melted into herself, into the pure mixture of pain and bubbling anger.

Ann's head snapped back to the way Lira looked at her at that moment. As incredible as it might seem, thinking back now, she realized that that stare held no force of judgment.

Lira didn't want to evaluate her or determine whether or not she was "worthy" enough to be helped. She was just watching, seeing it all happen, letting her say it all and get rid of all that gnawing pain inside, supporting her in letting go of those notions she was in no position or condition to share with anyone.

Lira welcomed and believed in her, and above all, nurtured in Ann's heart the hope that one day, with the right methods being put to work, that whole nightmare would come to an end. She didn't supply her with empty idealistic words or excessive feelings – Lira was cold but blunt in her absolute certainty that the enemy will be defeated.

That was called "hope" in its purest form of representation. Lira handed her a light, a sign that should be followed, pulling her out of her private darkness in the process.

In the end, given that realization, she saw it all, and Ryan's words were no longer ambiguous, but now full truths, certainties like the ones she'd provided for the broken girl that was Ann Young.

It was true. Lira was a soft person who hid in a tough armor of harshness. The girl was controversial, convoluted, but that somehow made sense.

Ann laughed a little, as when thinking about it, the first thing that came to her mind was the image of a chestnut... Thinking of Lira as one was the most perfect comic comparison.

"And Ann...I know this may seem like a rather strange request that could be mistaken for a feeling of pity, but..."

Ryan coughed a little, proving he hadn't recovered, as much as it might seem. He painfully swallowed a mouthful of saliva, slightly adjusting the position of his arm around the girl's neck.

"...Be Lira's friend, yes? I know – like I said, it's a weird thing to ask, but… she really needs it." He said, applying a little more sincerity. "She has Cast, but that's the problem. Lira doesn't trust anyone else but him, so if anything ever happens to that guy... I think you've got what I'm getting at."

Lira's inability to trust other people could lead to problems in the future. As much as thinking negatively about it wasn't the right way, Ryan couldn't pretend it would be always and forever alright. Their reality was a cruel new world in which anything could happen.

What if someday Cast were to die? The way Lira clung to him was visibly unhealthy, as if she trusted her very existence into the hands of the boy with eyes that glowed the color of boiling blood.

Ryan wasn't sure, but a huge portion of his mind told him that such a scenario would only bring the worst for the Suzuki. He couldn't picture Lira ever recovering from that forced separation, so having Ann's friendship might help with that. It wasn't right for a relationship of such a high level of dependency to be allowed progress to that level.

Thinking to himself, Ryan realized that, in fact, he was intruding far more than he should have, even though he'd said himself that he didn't have the right or the authority to do so.

Ann thought about Ryan's request again, thinking about how it all made sense. She didn't know this Cast guy, but she knew that a relationship like this was like walking a tightrope in this chaotic reality they found themselves in.

"I can't promise anything, but…" She swallowed a mouthful of saliva, which came down dryly. "I am going to try."

"Excellent. That's more than enough- Ghk...!"

Their walk was interrupted by a severe pain that affected the right side of Ryan's back. His face contorted in pain for about five seconds, until it slowly started to become more peaceful.

"Ryan?!" Concerned, Ann stopped.

"I… Ah… This hurts like nothing I've ever experienced…! Even the arm hurt much less when I got these burns...!" He said, pulling in high amounts of air to ease the pain.

"And to think you wanted to come here all by youself..." She commented. "Do you think you can take ten more steps? It's okay if you can't. I can carry you there."

"I think I can. If it's one at a time, maybe…" He spoke, clearly having a hard time in dealing with the pain. "Who knew that guy would give so much trouble..."

"The one that is all beaten up in the classroom?"

"Yeah… At least I hope he is still down!" Ryan spoke, responding to her affirmation. "Do you know him, by any chance?"

"I think everyone in this school has seen each other a time or two, but...I can't say I know him." She put a hand to her chin. "I never interacted with that guy, and I also didn't know they planned to burn down the library. I was just aware of, uh… My part in this whole thing."

"I see…" Ryan caught that information. "So... I think it's two light knocks, one stronger and last one lighter."

It was left unsaid, but Ann deeply appreciated the fact that he didn't question her role in it any further. Ryan was well aware of the fact that she wasn't just some girl Lira had randomly picked.

Looking at the door to the infirmary, she allowed the focus of her mind to shift.

"Is this some kind of code or something? Like one of those phrases that guys in movies say to get into some super secret place that only a certain group can occupy?" She asked, leading a hand to her forehead.

"That was strangely specific, and the answer is yes." Ryan replied. "This must be Morse code. It wouldn't surprise me if it's an 'L' or something."

"Of course… L for Lira…!" Ann rolled her eyes. "In the end, that girl is way more obvious than she seems."

"She tried to leave a mark, I think." Ryan complemented.

***

Knock Knock KNOCK Knock. The sound reverberated inside that room. Brought together, the students talked to each other, whether it was about the current situation or some other more mundane topic. Anyway, it was nice to see that everyone was a little more comfortable, or at least as far as it was possible.

But upon hearing that characteristic sound, several heads were startled, soon processing what it meant. She had returned.

"Must be her..." Michael muttered, appearing to be in a slightly better state than his previous condition. He could threaten to move a few fingers and even slowly raise his arms. "It must be Lira."

In the sign of that acknowledgment, Lindsey reached for the doorknob, keeping the shiny aluminum baseball bat in a firm grip with her other hand. The young woman, in a swift movement, opened the door, to then-

"...!" She immediately closed the door… or at least tried to, as a significant force pushed the wood surface back.

"It was Lira who sent us here! Please let us in! There is a person who needs appropriate rest here." Ann's voice echoed inside.

The mention of Lira took away a portion of Lindsey's hesitation. If that girl knew both Lira and her pattern of knocking on the door, that sure meant something.

"Thanks for letting us in." She briefly nodded with her head. "Now... Is there somewhere he can lie down?"

"No need to ask for it, Ann... I can just rest somewhere on the floor." Ryan tried to undo that request.

"Of course not! You need to keep a straight spine on an appropriate surface!"

"…Ann…? Is… Is it you… Ann?"

That voice so characteristic and a little shaky in anticipation caught the attention of the girl with brown eyes and hair, and with lightning speed, she let her vision guide her in that direction.

A certain blonde head perked up amid the conglomerate; one Ann knew all so well. Seeing that person caused her very soul to brighten up.

"Ann... It's you..." That person had the look of a stargazer, keeping a face full of happiness. "I… I missed you so much…!"

Ryan was switched support, being helped by Lindsey instead. Without hesitation, Ann sprinted towards that person.

"Mary Jo… Oh God…! Me too... I missed you so much too...!"

The two hugged each other in a calming embrace in front of everyone's eyes, counting with tears of pure happiness that flowed in a show of contentment for the reunion.

Ryan smiled a little at that moment, as did everyone else, whether overtly or not. The very conceptualization of it was beautiful, and that was indisputable.

"Here. Let me help you, will you? No being stubborn!" Picking up on the brief dialogue from before, Lindsey thought about how to initially interact with Ryan. "What is your name, tough guy?"

Ryan quickly caught up to the adaptive nature of Lindsey. That kind of person could befriend essentially anyone, and it strongly reminded him of Hannah's behavior.

"Ryan." He said, quickly. "How long have you been hiding here?"

"Well... Ever since a weird guy sent us flying somehow..." She said in concern. "See those two?"

Lindsey indicated the gurneys where a boy and girl were resting. Only the boy was conscious, however.

"That weird guy... He did something to those two... It was all really weird, you know...? He moved his arm and… did this to them. I don't know… I don't know how it happened. I couldn't see at all..."

Ryan readily associated that account with Jacob Egan. Knowing that such a massive number of students had directly encountered and fell as first degree victims of a skill user's powers made him uncomfortable.

After all, without Lira's help, he wouldn't be able to clear or at least suppress the memories of that part of the incident, and having people aware of these "superpowers" will make things difficult in the future.

They will start thinking too much, and that will lead to theories. Theories will turn into whispers, and the whispers into rumours. Rumors become even stronger rumors, and then rumors are put to test. This is the information cycle.

The point is, Ryan couldn't afford to let that happen.

And it was with that in mind that his gaze shifted to another point in the room, allowing him to see another stretcher.

"...Emily?!"

"Oh, I see you know her too... She's got this weird fever... We don't know if it's contagious or not, but we're taking care of her to the best of our ability and limited resources." Lindsey's voice seemed to lose steadiness with each sentence. "...But it doesn't seem to be working... The fever doesn't go down, no matter how many towels with literally freezing water we use... We're covering her whole body, but we have to change these towels every two minutes since the water in them heats up too fast... We don't know what to do...!"

Ryan swallowed his saliva audibly. He knew what that meant.

The girl, although conscious, seemed to balance on the top of a cliff in this regard. Emily was clearly in pain, moaning in pain amid the paradoxical breaths that lifted her shoulders so intensely that the difficult of merely sucking the air in could felt by any observer, as if they were in her situation. She exhaled heavily, in an discomfort that only seemed to grow.

The grass-green dress with white polka dots—the same one he'd seen her wear earlier that morning—was hanging from an IV pole, which acted as a temporary hanger.

The girl herself was half-naked, in multiple white towels, all soaked with water to the point where it formed a huge puddle on the floor below with just the collective dripping, covering most of the Caucasian skin.

He approached with some difficulty. Lindsey allowed it, as she could see that Ryan's intentions weren't inappropriate – the girl had a certain sensitivity to this sort of subject, one might say. Ryan's gaze told her it was safe to let him take a closer look.

He caught some of the excess moisture from the towels on his left. The moment the small group of drops touched her palm, her flesh almost screamed – the water was incredibly hot.

"I'll have to change the towels once again already… I… I don't know what to do… I...!"

The blonde-haired young woman took note that Ryan was watching, and decided to resume a more serious posture, even if that was a lie. The group needed emotionally stable leadership, and that's what she was on a mission to demonstrate. 

"You are doing well, you know?" Ryan said, trying to put himself more straight. "Just keep doing what you already do. That's enough."

The two exchanged a look, and Lindsey didn't know how to respond to that. Ryan then, holding on to the makeshift dress hanger, pointed to a metal basin that could easily be carried in two hands, even when full.

"Why don't you try to change your strategy a little? Maybe giving periodic baths is better and less work than squeezing and re-wetting towel by towel, don't you think? The icy water will cool the heated towels, so you won't have to remove them, not to mention the water covering her entire body will wash away a huge amount of heat in a single go."

Looking at the floor, Ryan continued his answer.

"No one will mind you wetting the whole floor – there are bigger problems out there, not to mention that it would be much more effective and faster."

"That... might work." She thought. "How did not I think of this before...? Thank you, Ryan."

"No problem… but I would start doing it quickly if I were in your shoes."

"Oh, of course…!"

Quickly, she ran to the faucet, filling up the aluminum basin with the coldest water she could get.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Ryan brought his hand to something that caught his eye on Emily's dress. Barely poking out from one of the pockets, he saw something that looked quite suspicious.

"A white envelope…" He thought. "It's a good thing I found this before anyone else did."

He, as quickly as he could, put the small envelope away, keeping it in the left pocket of his pants, well-hidden from the outside world.

"Oh, what a pain... At least it seems to have gotten a little better than before." Once again in thought, he allowed himself to complain.

Walking towards the far wall where the water would hit, he leaned back, letting the air in his lungs escape.

"Looks like I'll be stuck here for a while."

***

"This motherfucker… Thinking he can demand stuff from me…!" He muttered, just so maybe someone else could hear.

Looking to all sides, there was no other person to be seen in that sea of ​​darkness. Cast walked a few steps inside the abandoned place left to rot. The bleachers had holes and the wood was rotten beyond use. Puddles of rainwater from the past few days were dotted around the place in heaps, one on the northeast side being big enough to sink your feet completely. It was in this place that the trio used to meet during lunch hours.

As silent as the place was, he was able to sense that there was something there, waiting.

"Show up, you damned bastard! I know you're out there!"

For a couple of seconds, any observer would say Cast spoke to himself, letting his voice fade into the darkness. However, he knew that notion was flawed... or rather, they both knew.

From the thick shadows, something took shape, revealing its human colors. He was a boy, pale as snow, and endowed with black hair that covered the left half of his face. Blue eyes glowed with intensity, cutting through the absence of light.

"Well, well, well… If it isn't the very Cast Cravache! I am flattered that you accepted my friendly invitation!"

"After that friendly little invitation of yours, how could I refuse?" Cast said, letting out a laugh amidst his sarcasm. "'Friendly' my ass. If that's friendly, my mother is the very Virgin Mary!"

He laughed a bit, considering Cast's sense of humor to be quite amusing.

"I see, I see! Cunningly humorous as always!" He clapped, as someone enjoying a show. "But, since we're both here, how about we discuss a little bit about all this? I'm sure my call here caught your interest."

"Oh, sure it did...! If you call threatening Sophia's life 'interest', I agree...!"

Cast clenched his fists tightly. Along with an "invitation" note, he had sent photos of himself tormenting a girl in his class that Cast knew well. That was the point that forced him to attend.

She was crying… for real! The look on the face of that innocent girl was so full of dread… Cast simply couldn't leave it be. He would never.

The note that was sent along ordered him to come unaccompanied, disguising as "invitation" the full-blown threat.

He would for sure get Ryan to wipe out that trauma from her mind, and that dirty son of a bitch would suffer through and through with the consequences.

"Right now, not even ten billion dollars would stop me from hitting your face."

"I appreciate your sincerity! You are a man of integrity, Cast Cravache. I like that."

Cast blinked, and he was magically gone. The boy assumed a combative stance, bracing himself for the worst.

"I believe we will have a fruitful debate!"

He had appeared behind the Cravache, who, prepared for that, immediately directed a spinning kick backwards.

"Come on, you discount Hentai Protagonist...!"

A fight for the sake of many broke out in the abandoned sports court. Cast wouldn't leave that offense unaswered.