People in The Shadow - Part 2 & The Kids

#Zilan International Airport

Zilan City. A city a few hundred miles away from Port Emerald. It was the third-largest city in the Kingdom and had the second-largest international airport. Busy morning. Airbuses entering and leaving the airport, huge traffic all day long—the usual sight. A tomboyish girl of eighteen entered the customs area. She went to baggage and body checks, then arrived at a counter.

"Identification, please!" said the lady officer in a monotonous voice.

The girl handed over her passport.

"Purpose of your visit, ma'am?"

"Tourist!" said the girl in a confident voice.

"Welcome to Nordurljos Kingdom, ma'am! Have a nice stay!"

The girl came out of the airport, and the rain began. The rain was so heavy! She looked left and right for something or someone. A black Bentley pulled in. Someone from the back seat opened the door. She put her baggage in the trunk and got in, closing the door.

"The assignment?" asked the girl.

A man handed her a folio.

"Extraction? Interrogation? Observation?" Her every word meant business and exuded professionalism.

"Observation! For now! Don't make any unnecessary moves!"

"Okay!"

The car smoothly moved toward Ayodale, cutting through the thick veil of mist created by the heavy rain.

#Nordurljos and Arkistan Kingdom Border

The rain messed up everything. The border guards on both sides were busy doing checks. The rain was not helping at all.

"What a mess!" A guard said, "Damn it! Everything is wet now!" He knocked on the window of a black Toyota HiAce with tinted windows.

The windows rolled down, and the guard peeked inside. "Identifications, please!" He looked at the tough-looking men inside.

"What is the purpose of your visit?" He was going through the documents. There was no answer. He looked through the window.

"The purpose of your visit, sir!" He was getting suspicious.

"Sorry, sorry officer!" A guy by the window peeked outside and said, "The rain was suppressing your voice. We are here for official business. As you can see, we have been coming to the kingdom for many years."

The guard looked at him and the rest of his crew. Only he spoke, and the rest of them were relaxed and gave him forced smiles.

"Why bother in this rain? Just let them go!" said another guard from behind the first guard.

"Okay, sir! You may go! Welcome to Nordurljos!" He handed them the documents and stepped away.

The van crossed the border.

The guard watched the van with anxious eyes as it disappeared behind the curtain of heavy rainfall.

#Ayodale City Hospital

Right after the incident regarding the ULCC Liquid Gold, the female recruits, and the group of dangerous people had entered the national territory, the girl who survived the incident opened her eyes for the first time.

She still did not know what had happened to her. She had no memory of her past. She was a completely blank canvas.

The little girl woke up in the middle of the night. She was in a confused state. She looked at the ceiling. Then at the front, a curtain? She could not see anything beyond the curtain.

On her right, there was a plastic bag hanging from a stand, and a long, thin pipe came all the way down to her arm—an IV drip—but she didn't know that.

She tried to get free, but she didn't have the strength to move. She felt like she was swimming in an ocean of pain. She could not think of anything, and her brain was foggy.

"Where am I?"

"Why am I here?"

"Is it morning? Night?"

Suddenly, she felt really tired from the effort she made just to look around. On the left side of the bed, there was a machine. She did not know what it was doing.

She saw some numbers on the monitor and some waves going up and down. She gave up and fell asleep—or at least she thought she should. The room was dark, and the only thing shining dimly was a little light over and at the back of the headboard.

#Somewhere deep in Akunomori

A little boy opened his eyes in a very bizarre atmosphere. He was lying on the grass by a big, fat tree. It was cold.

"Where am I?"

The little boy shivered in cold and fear. He was lying on the ground. In a muffled voice, he called out.

"Hello! Anyone there?"

Jungle did not seem to be new to this boy. But what scared him was that he could not remember anything.

"Where am I?" He did not know who to call for help. He was a lost boy in a jungle without any memory. The weather felt like winter. He curled up his body and tried to make it warm for himself, but to no effect.

"Hello!" he called out to someone who might help him, but there was nobody to answer his distress call.

He felt hungry as if he had not eaten anything for many days. He was exhausted. He realized it was no use calling for help. The only thing he could see was the pitch-black darkness and the ghostly silhouettes of tall, towering trees.

The jungle was so thick that the sky remained invisible. The boy could not stay still. The cold weather was unbearable. His survival instinct told him to stand up and look for shelter.

The boy was weak on his feet. He focused on moving from one tree to the next, not knowing where exactly he was going. He fumbled and stumbled, but kept moving slowly.

He could hear the roars and howls of beasts far away from him from somewhere inside the jungle. He would immediately freeze in his place in fear and hug the tree by him. The scared little boy would forget to breathe; what if it gave away his presence?

Night creatures kept making sounds around him, and he chose to follow the path that seemed more silent than the rest.

"Hssss." A hissing sound made his heart jump in fear—snake? His eyes were getting a bit clearer with time. Somewhere in the woods, an owl hooted. He tried to listen closely.

Some nocturnal birds flapped their wings as they moved from one tree to another. With every little sound, the boy's heart would jump, and he would freeze in his place and wait.

He sobbed and whined in a low voice as he slowly wandered deeper into the woods. The fear, anxiety, and loneliness were straining the heart of the frail-looking boy. His body wanted to give out and drop to the ground from exhaustion, but he kept slowly moving in search of shelter.