OBLIVIOUS

Chapter 6

"No." My reply to him couldn't have been more straight-out. The water will surely kill me. The strong current will obviously kill me. My useless body will definitely kill me. I don't understand why he had to choose swimming on the river under the fence-bridge over the digging if the former was so risky.

"Digging a tunnel under this fence will take us forever," he explained, who now scooped me again and prepared to go to the east side of the fence. "It's as dangerous as crossing the water because the Slackers will easily find us here."

"B-But I will d-drown---"

"Don't worry, I have a plan," he replied before I can even finish my sentence. He proceeded now with his plan by walking along the fence. I could still hear the sound of running water, which probably comes from where we are headed.

"W-What's your n-name?" I asked him because we became silent for a while. The path he was walking on was wild with all the weeds and bushes on our way.

"That's a good question," he replied.

"You c-can't---?"

"Yes, I can't. I think no one does."

"But t-the Mediborg calls us s-something," I said, still stuttering as my tongue still feels stiff and my voice still sounds raspy. "D-Do you remember what it c-called y-you?"

"Yes. It keeps on calling me Baron 1."

"Then you are Baron f-for the meantime," I said. He did not respond to that, so I wondered if that meant that he was okay with him being called by a name our captors are calling us. And then he stopped abruptly again. "W-What---?"

"Shh! I hear something..." He crouched down and hid behind a tall bush with thick, neon green leaves. "It's them..." he whispered, pointing at a distance. He was pointing at total darkness so I had to watch closely at the spot he was referring to. I'm not sure but I thought I saw something moved there and I heard a faint buzzing sound too.

"Are they t-the Slackers?"

Baron nodded. "Most likely. Since they're the only creatures that roam this field, there's no doubt about it. They probably already sensed our presence here."

"B-But what is that b-buzzing sound?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know. The Slackers don't sound like that. They sound more like vehicle metals clanging. This is the first time that I hear something like that."

"But what do you t-think is it? Is it a h-human?"

"Probably not. Whatever it is, I don't think that it's our friend. Everyone and everything here is dangerous so we better hurry."

And so we did. With me still on his right shoulder, he sprinted again with all his might. Of course, I felt guilty that I could not still walk or run on my own, as I am not exactly that light for him to carry but I had to focus on clearing my mind too. The headache that I got from taking that smoke earlier was still affecting me. My head keeps on distracting me because it felt like it's kind of throbbing with pain that goes on and off so it was actually hard for me to maintain my grip on Baron. One careless move and I might fall.

"Hold on tight or I might have to drop you," he said angrily when he felt my grip on him slightly loosening because of his speed that was causing me to move and squirm on my position. "We can't be near them. They'll fire at us."

"B-But y-you have a weapon..." I blurted out because I was again facing his gun-like weapon. "Let's use it..."

"I only use it when I'm cornered," he replied and that disappointed me for some reason. I don't know why but I have this sudden urge to use that cool looking weapon. It was like I have an affinity with these kinds of things. I can even feel the end of my fingers tingling from just thinking of the probability that I can use it. I could already feel the satisfaction I might get if I could only use this weapon the way Baron used it on the Mediborg in my room.

"B-But what if they corner us?"

"That's the time we have to fight," Baron insisted while still running. Once or twice we almost fell to the ground because he will step on rocks or almost trip on plants with sturdy bodies. It was a good thing this man has a good sense of balance and has flexibility. "But right now we should avoid them."

What he was saying may have sense but I still felt like fighting the Slackers was a better option, which was weird if I think about it because I am sure that I can't fight with my current condition.

"Are we not t-there yet?"

"Not yet."

"Y-You can r-rest---"

"I will, but not here," he added and we arrived on a spot that looked like a clearing. There was a tall tree that looked very much alive. I was sure that it's moving on its own. "You see that? That's where the toxic smoke comes from."

"F-From that tree?"

"Yes. I overheard White Shadows talking about it. These trees release this bluish smoke every night. It's the reason the White Shadows wear their protective suits. That gas is very toxic to humans. White Shadows have died in the past because of this smoke."

"But why am I still a-alive?" I said stuttering again. "I inhaled a lot---"

"That's what I want to know too," he said and he finally walked again, away from the mysterious tree that looked like a sleeping animal with arm-like branches and luminous leaves. "Just like you, I inhaled that gas before. It was the very first time I was outside of the facility and my bad timing got me. It was the time when the trees were releasing this poisonous gas and I inhaled a lot of it."

"And you're a-alive," I said the obvious.

"Indeed."

"B-But why?"

"I really don't know why we are still alive. My guess is that its part of whatever they're doing with us back there at the facility."

"Y-You mean they're really experimenting

on us?"

"That's the only logical answer to our question."

I silently agreed. There must be a reason why we seem to resist the poison. Forte and Vista had wondered about this too. If the White Shadows had to wear protective suits that are bothersome and uncomfortable all the time just to avoid this gas then it should have affected us too unless we are different from the White Shadows. Forte already suspected that we are actually being experimented upon. And I will not be surprised if the 'experiment' on us is this; us being immune to this strange gas. And this same experiment might have something to do with the headaches I keep on having too.

"D-Do you have h-headaches too, Baron?"

"Yes. All of us have it."

"And does it get w-worse when you inhale t-the smoke?"

"Yes."

"T-That's interesting," I said still pondering on the possible connection of the two. "W-We could be immune to it then."

"I wouldn't conclude it like that yet," he replied to me with a sarcastic tone.

"W-What do you mean?"

"That's only one of the possibilities. We could also be originally vulnerable to this toxic gas, and these people experimented with us so that we could resist it in a way. The headaches could be the side effect."

"Y-You're right. But t-that w-would mean the W-White Shadows are not our enemies t-then," I said, at least trying to let him know that he's not the only one who could think smartly.

"That could also be true."

"S-So what made you d-decide to escape then if there's a c-chance that the White S-Shadows are not really bad people?"

"That's easy. I want my freedom."

"Understandable," I just said because I feel the same way too. Even if there's a really big chance that we might be people who were susceptible to the smoke that they just tried to help with, I still don't like to be stuck in that room with no one else. It's horrible being left alone like that. Besides, they are not honest with us in the first place. They had lied to Vista and Forte, and that's not a nice thing to do with someone who wakes up completely oblivious to his surroundings. They should've told us the truth if they were actually good people.

I was silent for a while, thinking of what's going to happen to us two after we cross over to the other side of this fence. I just thought that if we are really on an island, then we may need a ship or a boat for us to get away from here. That's going to be a new problem for us, I could already feel it. The White Shadows won't leave a ship on the shore for us Mosses to escape with, that's for sure. Our future away from this place was still bleak. It felt like we are inside a gloomy cave and we could only look at the small faint dot of a light at the distance that serves as our only exit.

I was about to ask Baron about these things that worry me when he stopped again and put me down on the ground. Then without a word, he pulled his weapon from his back and aimed it at the darkness.

"What is it?" I asked nervously. I was sitting on the damp grass while surveying the surroundings. "Did you h-hear something?"

Baron nodded. "I heard movements right there," he said pointing at his left where we could see nothing but shadows of plants and the gloom. "And I think I saw lights. The same lights you can see on Slackers. I'm not sure though."

"They could be animals," I suggested. Of course, I don't know anything about the Slackers other than what Baron had already told me, so my statements are not to be taken seriously. In fact, I only said that to convince myself that we are not about to get killed by those robots. Yet.

"Maybe," he finally agreed, but just as he said that I heard a faint but crisp sound just in front of me. I almost had goosebumps because I felt something brush my shoulders but I could not see a thing near us. "What's the matter?"

"I-I think something's here..."

Baron began moving in a circle around us, trying to feel what I just sensed. He was waving one of his hands while the other still holding his weapon. "Show yourself!" he bellowed at the space around us. "I know you're there! I could feel you!"

"I don't think it's just an animal," I added because I now heard footsteps. Baron must have heard it too because he was caught by surprise and then instinctively at the direction where the sound came from.

The loud explosion from the weapon was so intense that I knew immediately that we had now to leave. We just blew our cover in the dark.

I could feel the ground shaking and I heard Baron cussing. He knew that he shouldn't have used the weapon because now the whole island has heard it. "Come on, we need to run." He was about to scoop me again but I refused by shaking my head. It puzzled him but I did my best to stand on my feet. Holding on to him as my support, I tried standing up.

"What are you doing? You should have known by now that you can still not use your legs properly! Let me just carry you!"

"I want to walk on my own!" I argued because I could feel that I already can.

"The Slackers and White Shadows will catch up to us!" he said indignantly. "There's another time for that!"

"You can leave me here if you like," I replied. I was not going to back down now, especially that I actually made it. I could now stand without my knees shaking and my legs are not feeling like jelly. "I can move on my own now, Baron."

"Your pride will kill you," he snapped back at me angrily. For a moment I thought he was about to point the weapon right at me but then I realized that he was aiming at something behind me. "Duck!" he suddenly yelled.

Baron fired again as soon as I was able to duck. The explosion was deafening again but that was not the thing that scared me. It was the mechanical sound that I was heard that made my hair stand up with fright. The Slackers were here!

"Run! Run! Run!" Baron was yelling while he ran and I followed him instantly. I could hear the Slackers mentioning our 'names' again, and the next thing I know my left side exploded with a loud bang and flames. I almost tripped in surprise but Baron pulled me up just in time.

We're going to die, I thought, as a couple more explosions happened narrowly missing Baron. The last shot at us was so close to death that it made us fall to the ground.

I fell hard on the weeds. It smelled like flowers, and I felt like the plants were moving too just like the tree we passed by earlier. The leaves and vines of this plant were snaking into my body covering me.

I was panicking. I knew this was not good. I don't know what kind of monstrous plant is this but it was trying its best to entangle me with its leaves and snake-like vines.

I tried to fight back, to rip off the vines but they were freaking strong for me to tear apart. My face was slowly started to be covered. I could feel my head being wrapped by vines. The last thing I saw before this plant covered me fully was Baron lying on the ground too and he was not moving. Two Slackers were already behind him with their heads scanning their path. They were about to hit upon Baron's body when a strange thing happened.

The Slackers acted like they could not see Baron. It was weird because they just zoomed past him. I could understand if it was me that they overlooked because I was literally covered in plant appendages, but Baron? He was just lying there.

What on earth happened?

However, I had no time worrying for others myself because at the same time I was being trapped by a seemingly alive plant and I have no idea how to free myself from this. That's when something weird happened. Yellow sparks started appearing on my hands.