(Salemonath 26, 59 / 8:24PM)

  (???) Do you have to go alone? I could go with you if you want.

  (???) No thanks Jerry, I want to put in a good word with my parents first. I just hope they accept you being an elf in the first pce…

  A couple stood near the train tracks as the darkness of the night blocked their view of everything around them.

  With only the station mp lights shining down onto the dimly lit area where the couple was, the two of them saw each other in their reflections.

  The smaller figure was a ginger woman with freckles pstered on her cheeks and nose, followed by erratic curly hair with small circle gsses. The other figure was much taller, his long sharp ears and messy short hair making him seem as if he had woken up out of bed, his jacket unbuttoned and undone.

  With one of his eyes being covered up in an eyepatch.

  (Jerry) I just think it’s better if I show them that I’m good, rather than telling them that I’m good.

  (???) From the way you look, sometimes I wonder if you’re good enough to do a decent deed…

  (Jerry) Hey just because I look scary, doesn’t make me mean or rude. The old saying goes “Never judge a book by its cover”.

  (???) Yeah … tell that to your eye patch.

  (Jerry) Hey, I got it because of you.

  (???) Hmm … listen Jerry.

  The ginger-haired woman then grabbed both of Jerry’s hands, rubbing his rough and coarse palms and knuckles with her pale and frail fingers.

  His face slightly reddening, he made eye contact with her light brown eyes, his hands slowly trembling from the way she started to pin down his knuckles. Letting out a huge gulp from his throat, he straightened his neck as he tightened the grip on her hands.

  (???) How much do you love me?

  Jerry brought her body towards him, her chest and stomach making contact with his as he pulled her hands onto his lower back. Her eyes sparkling at the affectionate behavior, the woman then cusped her hands to make a bear hug around him, encapsuting him within her grasp.

  His throat jumped up and down, his vocals pushed forth the words that he always said, his cheeks reddening evermore.

  (Jerry) I love you. I want to make you proud and your parents proud. I want to earn your respect and your parent's respect. I just want to make you happy even at the cost of my happiness.

  The ginger-haired woman then nuzzled her head into Jerry’s tall and slim muscur chest, feeling the warmth of his body heat alone. Her left ear starting to melt like an ice cream on a Haxouburg summer day, she tightened her hug with all her strength, causing Jerry to only wrap her in his arms as well.

  As the two held onto each other in their arms, the howling of a mechanical locomotive could be heard, the tracks near them vibrating.

  Turning their heads towards the roaring train coming near, as they saw the single headlight a few feet from them, both of them let go of each other.

  (???) Why do you love me so much … Out of all the girls, you chose me …

  (Jerry) Hey, you’re nice, shy, a bit geeky, and most of all, pretty motherly. That immediately makes you my soulmate.

  (???) But—

  Putting his pointer finger onto the center of her lips, his face gleamed with a gentle look as his eyes began to push down with his smile arching upward. His hands were calm and composed, the edge of his fingertip slightly arched, his fingernail slightly caressing the area in between her lips and nose.

  (Jerry) I’m also into gingers, they have a sense of mystery to them you know…

  The ginger-haired woman looked down as she had her hands motionless to her thighs, her hands clenched into hard fists as her eyes began to let out a couple of tears. Some of the teardrops hitting the cold brick floor that y upon them, the woman’s hands began to shake as her eyes peered into the cracks of the brick floor.

  Staring into those cracks, her breathing fastened, the words that were caught inside of her throat not wanting to come out.

  (???) I …

  (Jerry) What’s wrong Sidney?

  The woman continued to look down onto the ground, causing Jerry to put his hands onto the edges of her shoulders, caressing her long bare shoulders as she wore a long sundress.

  His fingers feeling the paleness and smoothness of her honeydew skin, caused his fingers to tremble from within his nails.

  (Jerry) Sidney?

  Looking up almost instantly toward the sound of the elf’s voice, Sidney’s eyes widened as she was brought back to reality, her legs on the verge of buckling as her legs started to shiver. Her mouth slightly opened, and the voice that was trapped in her throat soon began to come out as she stood up straight.

  (Sidney) Jerry I—

  The passing train managed to plow through near where the couple was standing, the two of them feeling the hard heavy wind that brought with it.

  Taking a couple steps back from the heavy locomotive, the two of them stood together as they saw a sign in front of the entrance, the sign saying …

  Cstine, Ticia.

  (Jerry) I guess this is goodbye for now.

  Upon seeing the location of where the train was heading, Jerry cleared his throat as he continued to eye the heavy machinery in front of him.

  Continuing to look at the locomotive, Jerry’s breath was caught in his throat, his hands continuing to grip her bare shoulders as his face started to darken. Feeling his fingers not wanting to let go, Sidney put her hands onto his knuckles, feeling the rough edges of his bones with her tender touch.

  Letting go, Jerry lit up a cheerful smile, not knowing it would be the st cheerful smile he’d ever do.

  (Jerry) Take care.

  Without saying a word, Sidney only nodded with water in her eyes, grabbing her bag to the left of her with her left hand. Noticing that the train was about to depart, she gave him a Cstine bow and went her way towards one of the passenger cars.

  Looking back one more time before she entered, Jerry waived his right hand up high, his cheerful face still lingering on.

  (Sidney’s thoughts) That dummy…

  Taking a seat near the window on the train, her butt felt the bck old leather fabric of the seat, the cushion being old and stale. Her luggage was on the seat next to her, she looked over to the window to see Jerry walking out of the old train station, looking downward as he pced his hands in his pockets.

  Seeing him leave as the train started to move, the motion of the train startled Sidney, her body flinching upward as the train started to speed up fast.

  Leaving the train station, she continued to look outward out the window, her right hand going through her luggage as she tried to find a particur object.

  (Sidney’s thoughts) I wanted to tell you something…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:22AM)

  (Lazaros) I think that’s enough. He won’t be leaving or fighting us anytime soon.

  In the cold dark industrial building on one of the hills on the outskirts of the city, on the floor lies a viciously beaten elf. The old man’s eyes stared into the barely conscious body, he arched his head up as he pulled down his brow, taking a step back as the smell of blood ruminated the area.

  Jerry barely let a soft audible moan escape his throat, his face looked up toward the ceiling, and his entire body y ft on the floor.

  His stomach region and abdomen were littered with squishy bruises, the skin around it turning into a devilish purple.

  Half of his ribs were broken, with the other half being on the verge of cracking. The ribs stabbing the outer yers of his lungs, made breathing as if he was being stabbed every second he withdrew or deposited breath.

  His legs remained normal, but his arms were shattered and twisted beyond repair, even a simple touch would feel like someone was burning him.

  And his face…

  His nose was altered like a work from an art piece, with blood pouring out of his disorganized nostrils.

  His cheekbones were broken, with some of the bone piercing through the inside of his mouth.

  Half of his teeth were shattered beyond repair, as many teeth littered all over his mouth as the ground pieces of tooth pinched the innards of his mouth.

  His eyes were drenched in hot blood, and his forehead letting out a gushing wound.

  (Lazaros) Good work Jason! I think you did a bit too much, but it’ll do.

  As for Jason, he only just looked downward onto the ground, the cold stone floor filling his every vision as his hands were gently pushed down into his pocket.

  Taking a step back away from the cruelly beaten Jerry, Jason wiped away a load of sweat from his forehead with his right sleeve. Pcing his right arm down, the area where he wiped away was drenched and watered, and not bothering to look at it as he continued to look at the ground.

  (Lazaros) What’s the matter, Jason? Feeling regret?

  (Jason) N-No sir …

  (Lazaros) Good, now for the final part.

  Lazaros then turned his head toward the bck hooded feminine figure, his wrinkles unmoving as he extended his right hand towards her. Doing a hand gesture, the figure slowly walked toward him, her eyes peeled to the ground.

  Reaching right in front of him, Lazaros then put his left arm around the figure’s neck and shoulder, his height towering as he lit up a carefree smile.

  (Lazaros) You’re going to be a dear and help him up. You could do that, right?

  The bck hooded figure remained silent, her hands trembling inside her pockets as she couldn’t look directly into his eyes.

  Seeing this, Lazaros tightened the grip on the fabric of her neck. Feeling his rigid fingertips, his fingernails slightly digging into her skin, the only thing that she could do was remain still as if an apex predator was pying with its prey.

  (Lazaros) I said … Go be a dear and help him up. You do know what happens if you say no.

  The bck hooded figure slowly nodded her head at the command of her leader, as she started to slowly walk toward the injured elf that y bare on the cold ground stone floor. Since she had her right hand in her pocket, she quickly pulled out a syringe filled with a purple liquid that she didn’t dare to look at.

  Crouching down onto where Jerry y, he put her knees on the cold stone ground, her hands pcing themselves onto the elf figure.

  Jerry, unable to see what y beyond the hood, only let out a mutter from the innards of his throat, his vocals raspy and drier than a camel’s back in the desert.

  (Jerry) W … W … What …

  His voice tried to reach towards the hooded woman, his legs not even having the strength and will to stand up. With his head bashed onto the floor, his vision blurred from the amount of blood that stained both of his eyes, the only thing that he could do was groan.

  Using the syringe in her right hand, she put the needle right into the area where the veins were exposed, the purple liquid quickly going inside his arm.

  And then.

  (Jerry’s thoughts) Ah … Ah!

  His left arm twitched as it started to ignore all the pain that his body received.

  Unable to even move his eyeballs, his left arm convoluted and expanded as his left arm started to fight back his body.

  Slowly, the liquid managed to spread throughout his body, reaching towards his neck, chest, and stomach. Because of this, these areas started to expand and twitch erratically, making him seem like he was a fish out of water.

  (Jerry’s thoughts) I wanna die! I wanna die! I wanna die! I wanna die! I wanna die!

  The liquid also reached towards the rest of his face, his cheekbones and nose muscles and fat expanding and tearing apart each other.

  But he then arched his body up.

  His hands started to return to their regur motion, he pced both of his hands towards his face. With his fingertips, he felt the changing muscles that started to tear and grow from inside of his face, even though his vision blurred red and his nose was still in its hideous shape.

  (Jerry’s thoughts) What is this? What am I feeling?

  With his blurred vision, he noticed both of his hands were fine, and upon moving them, both his hands cracked as he pced them onto his face.

  Feeling his face with both his cracked yet normal hands, his bloodied palms felt his face continuing to swell and bruise, but it felt as if he was fine.

  Looking upward towards the bck hooded woman that towered over him, he pced both of his palms downward onto the stone floor, his bloodied and swollen eyes letting out salty tears that pinched his eyelids.

  (Jerry) What did you do …

  He widened his eyes straight at the bck-hooded woman, catching a glimpse of her pale face under her hoodie. Using both of his shattered yet moving hands, he pressed his palms against his eyes, clearing away an abundance of blood from his eyelids.

  While the woman merely just put her hands inside her jacket, her face continued to look downward at the man.

  (???) I gave you The Syringe. It’ll merely give you a stamina and defense boost, but it’ll only st for a few hours—

  (Jerry) Wait…

  Jerry then pushed his body back up, his heels digging themselves onto the stone floor as he put both of his hands motionless to gravity. His knuckles were broken, and he cracked the joints and marrow as he gred crimson red eyes at the woman, a stream of blood tearing up from one of his eyeballs.

  Picking up his sword, he held it tightly as he pointed it right toward the bck-hooded woman, the tip of the sword gleaming with the reflection of him.

  (Jerry) Just who are you!?

  A bead of sweat dripped down onto the floor, the woman let out a huge gulp as she put her hand on the back of her hoodie. Her hand trembling, she tightened her hand as she slowly pulled back the hoodie that covered her eyes, forehead, nose, and hair.

  At long st, the hoodie that hid the woman’s identity fully revealed her pale—

  —

  —

  The woman had a freckled face with ginger hair.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  His world was frozen in a heap of time.

  Unable to even draw back a step, unable to muster a quiver from his throat, he remained still as if he were inside a Kepputhan gcier.

  His hands unclenching, he dropped his sword again as his mouth opened agape, his body arched forward as his eyes continued to see the unholy sight that was id in front of him. Not even bothering to pick up the sword that was dropped right on his right foot, the eye that was still covered in blood…

  Let out a river of blood-filled tears.

  (Jerry) Sidney…

  The ginger-haired girl slowly walked towards the fbbergasted elf, her palms pced in front of her as she steadily walked toward him. Her eyes softened at the eyepatch in front of her, she let out a slight frown that caused Jerry to sway his head back and forth, her body in the same position as she was in front of the train station six years ago.

  The red tears dripping onto his old leather boot and sword grip below him, he slowly moved his hands towards the yers of her cheeks, his palms trying to feel the ghostly pale face that he remembered on that day.

  (Jerry) Sidney.

  Rubbing his fingers on her honey-dew skin, his right hand continued to caress her right cheek, his breathing slowing down with his lungs creating rasped breaths. With his left hand, he pced it toward the area where his eyepatch covered the dead eye he never used, his fingernails etched into pce.

  Feeling his fingers already in pce, he withdrew his eye patch, his left hand having the bck fabric as the ginger-haired woman saw…

  Two unscarred eyes.

  Widening her eyes, Jerry quickly wrapped both of his hands around her waist, holding her tightly as he pced his head on her right shoulder.

  (Jerry) You came back…

  Sidney only just stood still as she also wrapped her arms around his waist, her hands cupping his lower back tightly as if she never wanted him to let go…

  Having her head pced near his ear, her mouth was right beside it as she leaned her entire skinny body right toward it. Her hot breath reaching the edges of his ear, Jerry started to sniffle as his nose let out mucus from his fring nostrils.

  (Sidney) Jerry …

  Jerry pushed his head back as both of his eyes continued to let out many hot tears, the tears stinging across his face despite his entire body feeling normal. Even if his body seemed normal, his exterior form was not.

  Looking towards Sidney’s light brown eyes, eyes that he longed to see for god knows how many years, he held onto her more.

  (Sidney) Jerry I …

  Those two words hit close to home for Jerry’s soul, as he longed to hear what y beyond those two words.

  Puckering his lips into his mouth, his cheeks puffed up as the corner of his lips that were not in his mouth started to quiver from the words he rarely heard. His vocals holding the words that he wanted to say, he straightened his neck as he ignored the two men who folded their arms at the sight of them.

  Because after all, she was his goal, his motive, his reason for keeping on living.

  (Lazaros) I’ll leave you lovebirds to do your business. Come on Jason, let’s dip.

  As both Jason and Lazaros turned their head toward the city skyline that was vastly far from them, Jason only looked down as his body shivered. Both he and Lazaros soon sprinted out of the rusted building, he turned his head one st time to see both Jerry and Sidney having their small moment, his lips making an upside-down U-shaped frown.

  Noticing that the two men left, Sidney—

  Let out a soulless look, her voice cold and monotone, a contrast to her previous tone.

  (Sidney) I’m sorry.

  An orange light started to emit out of her. The orange light radiating around the dimly lit building, Jerry only just stared straight at her eyes, his face swaying back and forth.

  (Sidney) I don’t have any parents. I don’t have a sibling to take care of, and I don’t have anyone that cares for me, except for you …

  His vocals couldn’t conjure up a single question or statement from out of his throat. His hands pced themselves tightly around her back, he never wanted to let her go, his hands emitting sweat as his eyes enclosed to the sounds of light traversing around him.

  More blood-filled tears gently flowed along both of his eyes, he didn’t dare to pay the rising temperature any mind.

  (Sidney) I wanted to let you down subtly, but you continued to pursue me, so … just let me…

  Sidney then broke off the hug, staring at Jerry as she let out a couple of tears from her eyes. Looking her face upward, Jerry felt the heat of her body radiating out of her as his entire body slowly started to sweat.

  As if his jacket and clothes were melting against the heat, his skin started to burn up and swell as his white pigment started to burn a hideous reddish color.

  (Sidney) Be brighter than the sun.

  Then came the explosion that enveloped the entire building.

  Along with Jerry.