Her heart pounded furiously and she gulped in fear. Neither can she move nor did she have the strength to struggle. The wound she had… her strength. She couldn’t help but to tremble like a leaf. Tears began shedding in her eyelids, and nevertheless, she was overly paranoid.

The guy slowly ed her blouse and lowered his head to her neck. Was it over for her?

“Selina!” A voice came abruptly. The guy turned behind to find two enraged guys floating in the air.

“Hebe…” Arron whispered, wide-eyed as he saw the injured Hebe in another guy’s arms.

“Let them go, you brutes." Arron said, somewhat feeling confident. He believed that he and Jiro could easily take the two guys down.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look who’s here… Arron Yan.” A voice came. A figure appeared from the between the clump of trees. Arron saw it. His heart started to pound vigorously while he stared at the figure in horror. He was indeed afraid.

“What do you want from me?”

“Do I have to repeat myself? Let me make this clear for you. You, boy, aren’t a human being, as you think you are. You’re an experiment and I’m your creator. Now, come with me, or I’ll have to kill you.” It was none other than, Dr. Alan with his mocking accent.

Arron groaned in anger. “I don’t care! I want to be free! WE want to be free!”

“Free? Please, I can’t let some creatures who bound to destroy the world in loose, especially you, boy.”

“What do you mean? … I… destroy… ”

“Arron , don’t listen to him! He’s lying! Quick, let’s get the hell out of here!” Jiro abruptly shouted from a corner, to avoid Arron to drown in his thoughts.

Arron finally decided to make a move as he got rid of the unnecessary thoughts in his mind. He sprinted toward the guy who as holding Hebe and shoved him to the ground and carried Hebe, bridal-style. Selina shoved the guy beside him and limped at fast as possible to Jiro, in pain.

Arron stretched out his wings and soared as high as he can, followed by Jiro with Selina. He looked down at the mighty Dr. Alan standing on the ground and staring furiously. Only then, he could hope that he would never get caught by that heartless being again, for ever.

-

“Ouch.”

Hebe winced as Arron put her on the rock hard ground. They were a thousand meters high on a deserted mountain. Thick vast clouds were surrounding the area, which makes it easier for them to get unspotted for the time being. As save and secure it looked, they’ve decided to spend a night there.

“Jiro, I’m going to look for food. Stay here with the girls.” Arron said, bearing all the responsibility.

“Arron, are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself? It’s dangerous out there.” Jiro warned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” Arron uttered, giving a convincing smile.

“Alright.”

Not long after Arron went to look for food, Jiro tore small pieces of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around Selina’s wound, and then Hebe’s. Their wounds were somewhat redder and seem to be corroding unusually. Jiro was puzzled. How was that possible?

“Hebe, can I… look at your wound?”

“Erm, sure… But… it hurts.” Hebe whispered, as she had no strength left to speak. The pain was killing her. But somehow, it was slightly better than a few moments ago.

“Just let me take a look for a while.” Jiro slightly pressed Hebe’s wound, to feel something rock-solid underneath it. He stared at Hebe, each thinking the same thing.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” Jiro muttered. Without further ado, Jiro searched around the area for a sharp object. Coincidently, he found a scalpel covered with dust and sand, beneath the rocks.

“Hebe, I’m going to cut through your wound now. Is that okay for you?”

“But, Jiro… I can’t… The pain is already killing me…”

“Hebe, please. It’s the only way to find out what’s going on to you two. It is possible that there’s something destructive, or maybe even deadly, planted underneath your wound. Please, just let me do it.” Jiro explained, his face showing full concern.

Hebe sighed. It’s going to hurt, but she had to do it for the sake of her companions' and her safety. “Alright.” She braced herself, as Jiro slowly pressed the scalpel in her wound.

-

“Why is it this hard to find a single food to eat in this big forest?” Arron released a big sigh as he wondered. After hours of searching, he still hadn’t even found a single piece of fruit to eat. How is he going to get his friends back on track without any energy to consume on?

“Hmm, did I make the right decision… by escaping from The Institution and go on the quest for survival by myself?” He asked himself. Of course, he was fed daily by the authorities in The Institution. Coming into the real world, everything was different. He’s just by himself.

That reminded him.

`Flashback.

“Free? Please, I can’t let some creatures who bound to destroy the world in loose, especially you, boy.”

“What do you mean? … I… destroy… ”

`End of Flashback.

Dr. Alan’s words started echoing in Arron’s mind. ‘What did he meant by me destroying the world? Could it be just a trick to trap me? Or he really wasn’t lying about it? Am I really capable of doing that?’ He looked down at his hand, and couldn’t help but to wonder more and more about it.

All of a sudden, all his thoughts were interrupted by some voices behind the big bush in front of Arron. He thought he heard a familiar voice. As curious as a cat, he went to look on what was up. His head slightly popped out of the bush as he saw the same men he and Jiro fought with, a few moments ago.

“The girls are barely able to move. Looks like the chips are doing their job.”

‘Chip?’ Arron was overly confused.

“Yeah. They have no chance on escaping now. Those Arron and Jiro guys will definitely not leave the girls behind.” Arron’s eyebrows cocked up as he heard his name.

“I think we can go for a second round now. They’re at the mountain top. Let’s go, before they attempt to escape again… Oh wait. Even if they escape, we would still find them. So, we can just sit back and relax. Right?” The men laughed, thinking it was all funny.

‘Oh my god, how did they know? … Wait a minute… Hebe and Selina… Could it be… Oh no!’ Arron’s eyes widened. He needed to get to the other three before the men do. He quickly got up from the bush as ran away as fast as he could.

-

‘Arron, where are you?’ Jiro gazed at the sky, looking intense. Something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure of what. Thought, he needed to tell the one important person, Arron about what he had discovered.

“Jiro! We need to get out of here!” Arron shouted as he landed on the ground, seeming very anxious. He panted heavily to catch his breath. “They are… after us!”

“What do you mean?” Jiro’s eyes widened, in confusion.

“Arron, what’s wrong?” Hebe asked, holding on to a piece of cloth soaked with blood, near her wound.

“Oh my god, what happened to you?” Arron’s awareness got distracted by Hebe’s condition. Hebe looked at her wound, speechless.

“That was what I called you for.” Jiro quickly made a move.

“Look, there’s no time to talk! We’re being tracked down by those brutes just now! We have to move and go as far as possible away from here!”

“Huh? Wha… What do you mean? … Wait… Could it be…” Jiro’s eyes shifted to Hebe’s wound. “Could it be…”

“Hey, we cannot waste any time! I’ll explain everything later! We need to go, NOW! They’re already on their way here! Let’s go!” Without wasting any more time, Arron and Jiro carried the girls and soar as high as they can to escape.

-

They had traveled for miles, and still didn’t land anywhere. In fact, they had no idea where they were. Were they to continue flying without stopping, until they’re worn out? Or…

“Arron, why do I feel drowsy all of a sudden?...” Jiro suddenly asked, his speech slurring off.

“Jiro… Are you okay?”

“I don’t think so…” Jiro’s voice trailed off. He was dropping off the sky.

“Jiro, no!” Selina shouted, but there was no avail. She tried to loosen herself from Jiro’s grip and fly to avoid Jiro from falling. Except, she couldn’t move at all. Was it the end for her and Jiro?

“Jiro!” Arron swooped down to catch up with Jiro, as Hebe held on to him tighter. He had to save his buddy. Jiro has been a very good companion to him. He can’t lose the one and only family-like member to him.

‘First, Selina and Hebe, and now Jiro? It couldn’t be any worse, right?’ He wondered. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

He felt himself losing conscious. It was too late to realize, that he was falling off the sky. His eyes slowly closed as he lastly saw a girl’s face full of worry and sorrow. Everything was going to be over.