REDEMPTION

21. HIDDEN.

A smile momentarily flashed on one of their faces, excitement made their heart race but it was concealed so fast that no one notice. Even Midnight’s ears could not pick up any abnormal heart rates. Half of the people in room did not know what was being said.

One was scared to death, his face as pale as death. Scanning the area behind his human shield, he searched for an exit to this nightmare. The other two had mixed reactions while Midnight just stood there waiting. One of them was contemplating while the other had a distorted face that could not be read.

Midnight looked up expecting an answer or at least the reaction he was hoping for but he could not pick up anything. He tried calming himself down. He could not hear his own heartbeat due to the pounding thoughts of revenge that blew out of proportion in his head. He took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds and finally let it go. He had shut his eyes. But as soon as he did this, he heard it, though it was faint, it was still there.

The faint heartbeat that palpitated rapidly in a pattern that showed excitement. The aura around it was malicious enough to make the devil jealous. And it’s intensity was beyond terrifying. Midnight immediately opened his eyes and scanned the room one more time. He did this slowly, trying to pick out the culprit of this behavior. Alas! No one showed such an intense expression. They were either confused or did not know how to react. Only one could be seen pondering.

Midnight’s instincts told him that something was amiss. He decided to count them again. He knew they were seven in total but when he did a rain check, he noticed that they were eight. He counted one more time and the number remained constant. That’s when he noticed a figure behind one of them.

“The sky in red,” he began.

“The ground in blood.” His teaser picked up from where he left.

“The air all round.” One at the back said.

“The waters be gone.” The one beside him continued.

“Till the end of time.” He, stood beside Midnight, picked up.

“We shall forever stand proud.” The one behind a human shield murmured.

“Whether friend of foe.” The human shield said.

“Justice we uphold.” One who sat beside the human shield replied.

“Right not wrong, we shall stand tall.” They all said in unison.

The young lad behind the human shield shuddered in utter surprise as he tried figuring out where those words flew out of. His subconscious told him he knew of them, knew of their origin but he could not remember where he had heard or said them. His hands shook as his feet buckled. His face turned a shade paler. Apart from his pink colored lips, no one could tell if he was really alive. Having voiced his doubts unknowingly he heard someone reply.

“Like I said, you are part of us.”

Benedict froze immediately he heard Edgar’s’ voice. The constant thought that ran through his mind was, “You should be dead.” He tried backing away him but he was interrupted by the wall. He had searched again and again but to his disappointment, this room had no doors at all. Only windows, and they were tightly shut from the looks of it. He wondered how the six guys before him came into the room. Plus, he was sure that they had come through one as well. But now it was not there. The rest in the room looked like they wanted to ask some questions but held back, they realized it was not the right time to meddle. At least, not now.

Edgar stared at his elder brother. He was wondering how he was going to explain everything to him. It had been years since the incident happened. And he could tell why Benedict reacted like he was at the moment. If their roles were switched, he was sure he could have reacted worse. Edgar pushed his thoughts aside because what Midnight had said, held more importance than the past. And if what he said was true then, it meant that everything could change, for better or for worse. And if the balance tilted against their favor, they had to prepare or the reputations of it would be far greater than it was last time.

Sighing, Edgar turned his attention back to Midnight. As he was about to ask something he felt a cold chill run up his spine. His instincts told him to run and hide but his heart screamed for him to protect the last family member he had, his brother. Picking the latter, he turned and was about to hold his brother’s hand to pull him out of whatever was giving his senses a scare, when someone held onto him and hoped back quite a distance.

Midnight’s teaser had come to his rescue. Black claws had replaced his fingernails. His eyes glowed while his hair grew into a messier mess than it was before, making him look more attractive. Edgar was angry and tried struggling out of the firm grip around his arms.

“Let me go, Harvey.”

However, Harvey did not budge, instead he held him tighter. His attention was not fixed in him but in what was behind him. Edgar dared to look what he was staring at. His heart pounded vigorously inside his ribcage. Benedict’s hair had completely turned red, it gave off a light glow. His eyes hard turned from green to silver. Benedict’s aura was all over the place, everyone in the room could tell what he was feeling. He was also struggling to fight whatever was happening to him.

“Don’t fight it.” Edgar erupted. “Let it flow.”

Taking his advice half heartedly, he did as he was told and a few words flew right out his mouth. The voice that said those words was not his. It held power and was sophisticated. It was not forced nor was it pushy either. It gave those in the room a sense of authority. The voice was that if a woman. She sounded sad, angry and disappointed. Benedict’s body faced one of them before looking around and then said them.

“Why did you betray me?”