Chapter 24.2
Chapter 24.2
“…It’s okay. You’re safe now. It’s okay.”
Her struggles subsided as my quiet whispers washed over her. Her rigid body slowly relaxed. After a long bout of gasping sobs, she wrapped her slender arms around my waist, clinging to me like a desperate fledgling seeking warmth. Instinctively, I held her close.
“Don’t go. Don’t go.”
“I’ll stay right here. I’m not leaving.”
Two sources of warmth connected in the cold air. Huddled together in the blood, we desperately shared our body heat. From a distance, we would have looked like a single entity, so intertwined were we.
Blood dripped from my mangled arm, but I pretended not to notice. My arm meant nothing.
All that mattered was Adeline. My light in this monochrome world. My savior.
That night was long. Screams and cries echoed from all directions, a symphony of tragedy.
I stayed by Adeline’s side until the chaos subsided, sitting in the pool of blood, covered in its sticky residue. We didn’t speak, but we were together.
The only difference was that Adeline didn’t smile, not even once. And from the wardrobe where she had sought refuge, her sobs echoed throughout the night.
I sat in front of the wardrobe, silently listening to her cries, as if it were my penance.
Looking at my shredded palm and my arm, turning blue-black from the Serpiente’s venom, I thought, ‘I would do anything to stop her tears.’ The fact that all I could do was be there for her was agonizing.
***
Massacre. The killing of a large number of people.
From the 30th floor down to the 20th, ordinary people were slaughtered. Two-thirds of the population of District 13.
The military authorities decided to hold a mass funeral for those whose bodies couldn’t be recovered. Families wailed, and citizens were gripped by terror. Their panic was understandable. The casualties hadn’t occurred outside, but inside, on the lower floors, farthest from the gates.
The newspapers had a field day: “The Mystery of the Massacre,” “Noblesse Oblige: Researchers’ Fundraising Efforts.” The official explanation was a malfunction in the machinery, causing three gates to open simultaneously. But no one knew why the Serpientes had descended to the lower floors instead of going up, or how so many of them had launched a coordinated attack.
It all remained a mystery.
Only one thing resonated with the people: the terror of the “outside.” Any lingering romantic notions of the surface world vanished without a trace.
Why had it happened? Why were only the researchers’ floors spared?
I didn’t know. All I knew was that Adeline no longer spoke of her dreams of the surface.
The funeral was held sector-wide. I attended, even though I didn’t need to. I soon found her, a small figure huddled in a corner.
“Adeline.”
She was crying. I offered her a handkerchief, as much for myself as for her. I couldn’t breathe while she wept.
“…Thank you.”
Adeline sniffled, accepting the white handkerchief.
Her tear-filled eyes met mine, a gaze that seemed to stop time. A warm breeze stirred in the underground funeral hall, and her long hair swayed around her face.
I gazed down at her.
It was the first time I had held someone’s gaze so openly. Mesmerized, I stared at her until a faint smile finally touched her lips.
I knew.
It wasn’t the most romantic moment to acknowledge love.
***
“I, I, I’ve liked you since the first time I saw you!”
“Sorry, but I’m not interested in that sort of thing.”
Fifteen years old. I entered the facility with Adeline. The age of burgeoning romantic interests. After a year, girls started confessing their feelings. After two years, it intensified.
Adeline called me heartless, but I was genuinely exhausted. Being dragged away and having my time wasted was incredibly frustrating.
Today was no different. The same routine, the same response.
“…So, you’re not going out with Adeline, are you…? Wait, are you two together?”
I stopped, my indifference shattered. My throat tightened.
“No.”
The clipped response scraped against my throat. Relief flooded the girl’s face. I didn’t even know her name. I vaguely remembered seeing her talking to Adeline in the hallway.
“Oh, so I guess Adeline and Alex are a thing then.”
The unexpected name made me scowl.
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