Chapter 11

CRACK.

A small body lay motionlessly on the ground.

"ROXY!!!!!!!!!" Varg screamed.

I ran toward the big guy and delivered as many punches as I could, to tame the fury within me. In such a short moment, the idle situation turned chaotic. Screams and sounds of rock-hard things hitting human flesh told me that Aidan had joined me in action.

By the time I came to, Varg was hugging his child. He curled himself, the exact position he took when he shielded her before. Only, now he was protecting a lifeless girl.

Some of the gang members were unconscious on the ground. Either Aidan or I knocked them down. Some more escaped in the midst of the pandemonium. The redness in Aidan's eyes intensified. But this was no time to care for that. There was something more urgent.

"Nad?" Aidan came to his twin sister.

She flopped on the ground, staring blankly at Varg, who was shaking.

I bent down and analyzed her face. I had a feeling that no matter what I said now, she wouldn't be able to process it. Her brain might be frozen now due to the shock. Regardless, I wanted to say the truth, something that she ought to know. "It's not your fault."

Someone, whose heart was as soft as Nadia, would beat herself up with guilt if I let her alone.

"We have to leave, Nad." Aidan slipped his arms into her armpits and pulled her up.

She wobbled. Her legs had no strength yet.

"I'll carry her," Aidan said, taking the petite figure into his arms easily. "Let's go!"

***

The journey home felt farther and longer than it actually was. My heart was heavy. The sole fact that a child had died right in front of us was devastating enough. But also, Nadia had to be in a position where she could misinterpret her role in Roxy's death.

As soon as we arrived at my house, I repeated the same affirmation to her ear. "Don't take it personally, Nad. Deaths happen in fights."

"..." She muttered something in a voice so low that I couldn't catch it.

"Hm?"

"If I wasn't being stubborn... If I didn't proceed to approach him... she'd still be alive."

"Maybe. But also, maybe not. We don't know. You can't say for sure that killing her was not his ultimate intention. If it's revenge he sought after, he'd kill her nonetheless."

"If only I wasn't there..." Nadia kept chanting the 'ifs' as if that would change anything.

"Nad..."

Aidan nudged me and shook his head. "Leave her be for now. It's been a tough day."

I nodded and stayed further from her. "Yeah. Hey, you know what? I'm actually glad that the kid died instead of Varg. If she was left alone without a dad, and with her mom like that, how would she survive? She would die all the same, just later. Do you think I'm heartless?"

"Nah. You're right about that. It's crueler to have her wander the earth with no one to rely on."

"Kids! You're home?" Mom came out of her working chamber. She removed the glasses from her face and untied her hair. Not waiting for our response, she sat down and inspected Aidan's eyes. "How's the headache? Do you still have it?"

Aidan could brush off my concern easily as he didn't have to mind his manners with me. But he couldn't do the same to my mother.

"I'm fine. Your vitamins cured me already, Mrs. Rho."

"My goodness, your eyes!"

"Right? I asked him about that but he disregarded me completely, Mom."

"Tes, don't mope around and help me. Quick, get the band, syringe, and vacutainer!"

"Get what?"

"Just grab the transparent blue box on the second top of the black shelf."

I entered her working chamber and first searched for the black shelf. Mom had four shelves in total, all in different colors, which I was sure contained specific things. Once I found the black one, I scanned the second top shelf. Then I rushed out with a transparent blue box.

She opened the box, took out some kind of band, and tied it around Aidan's arm. She sterilized the needle, tapped on his elbow several times, and inserted the needle into his flesh. Then she connected a tube to the holder.

Crimson liquid was poured into the tube. She closed the tube and pulled out the needle carefully. "You're pale. Do you feel fatigued? Nauseaous?"

"I feel tired," he said.

"I'll do a thorough analysis of your blood. We have to identify the root cause of your headache. It is not normal to experience it three weeks in a row. We need to know the problem to find the right solution." Mom gathered her tools into the box. She gave him three pills of painkillers to help ease the pain for now.

Aidan let out a long breath and looked at me with a tired gaze. "Are we done with my health issue? Now, is it already a good time to discuss the real matter?"

"You said Prime Minister Pachis is locked up. For how long?"

"She is still in custody, no verdict yet. But she is arrested on suspicion of withholding crucial information regarding supplies. President Irwing also thinks Pachis is responsible for the supply shortages."

"But, isn't President Irwing the one in charge of supplies?"

"She's no more than a ceremonial figurehead. Apparently, she came from a prominent family who contributed to the establishment of Genesis, so she was appointed president. But her role is mere de jure. De facto, she exercises no power."

"So, it is true that the Prime Minister has something to do with the shortages?"

Aidan shook his head. "Nothing is definite. We'll just have to wait for the investigation results."

"We should monitor the case and follow any developments," I said.

"Yeah. So far, the Parliament has uncovered news that Prime Minister Pachis had sent out three teams of four on a mission outside Genesis to search for the missing people. My parents said some of the Parliament members knew about this ahead of the plan execution. They were Pachis' faithful followers. Those against the project were furious, but there was nothing they could do. The teams are out now. No way to reach them but to send more troops."

"Why are they angry? Shouldn't the government care about the missing citizens?"

"Right?! They argued that it was a waste of time and resources. It's better to utilize such for more essential problems, like finding the cure to the toxic air or something. But this is not less important than that. I don't get why they insisted on being trapped here, rather than trying to explore the possibilities outside. If people can go missing, then there must be a place they run away to."

"I mean, even people from the richer zones are gone. They are usually sensitive to matters relating to the privileged."

"I took a peek at the RRC report on my dad's desk. It recorded missing people in Zone A and B too. He hasn't submitted it to the Parliament yet for fear of causing an uproar. You know, seeing the paper of the report that is the same exact type that Sanna used to write the note made me think, okay, hear me out and don't call me crazy, what if President Irwing has something to do with this?"

"What do you mean?"

"You see, you can say that she's basically just a mascot despite the massive role of her family in this country's establishment. Anyone in her shoes might harbor ill feelings, don't you think? What if, this whole thing is a scheme to overthrow Pachis' dominion? President Irwing, I don't know, kidnapped or killed people and somehow pointed the finger at Pachis. She led people's opinions against Pachis to secure the throne for herself."

I thought long and hard. Aidan's theory held some weight. It could also explain some mysteries. As for the actuality of it, we had no proof. All we had now was Aidan's hypothesis. If this was true, it would be shameful that all innocent citizens got dragged into a dirty political game.

"Whatever this is about, this is already bigger than us."

To be continued...