Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

The drive back home was quiet.

Night had come.

Arrow had taken off his cracked spectacles and kept his squinted eyes glued to the road.

The city soon disappeared behind them.

Yesu hadn't moved an inch since she got into the car. The paper lay folded in her tightly closed hand.

Her eyes drifted to Arrow.

Behind the coolness, his face was hard.

She noticed his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.

Too tightly.

She realized he was angry.

***

The estate was quiet as usual.

Arrow parked the car in the driveway, turned off the engine, unhooked his seatbelt and exited the vehicle.

He began walking towards the house without looking back.

Yesu took her time getting out.

The main door opened immediately Arrow stepped onto the porch.

Greta stood wide-eyed at Arrow's blood stained shirt.

Then her gaze drifted to Yesu who was within the light of the porch as well and her eyes grew even wider.

She let out a gasp.

"Oh my."

Arrow paused and looked back as well, following her eyes.

To Yesu's feet.

Yesu looked down.

Shards of broken glass had pierced through the oversized flip-flops Daryl had given her straight into her flesh.

There were so many.

And visible.

The slippers were completely covered in her blood.

Yesu blinked.

So she had walked out of the tavern with this.

Arrow silently observed Yesu. The anger in his eyes softened a little.

Yesu averted her gaze from them and stared at the mowed lawn instead.

Arrow faced Greta.

"Get her cleaned up and bring her to my office."

His anger was back.

Before Greta could respond, he breezed past her and went inside.

She stood still for a moment, shaken. Then she blinked.

"Come in, child. You'll catch a cold."

Yesu began moving.

***

Yesu sat on the edge of her bed.

Greta was bent in front of her with a bowl of hot water, bandages and medication.

She reached for Yesu's feet to pull out the broken pieces but stopped on seeing the torn flesh.

Her face grew red.

Yesu noticed.

"Don't worry, I'll do it."

She reached for one foot.

Greta held her hand.

"Are you sure?" she asked softly. "It's going to hurt."

Yesu stared into the woman's eyes.

The genuine care she saw was foreign to her, but she appreciated it nevertheless.

She smiled.

"It's okay."

Then, swiftly, she began removing the pieces one by one without a qualm.

Greta looked faint.

Some of the pieces were embedded deep into Yesu's skin.

She dug her fingers in and brought them out without any strain. Like she was picking seeds out of a fruit.

Greta was shocked. She stared at Yesu like she had suddenly sprouted an extra head.

Yesu was soon finished.

All the pieces now lay inside the hot water.

She looked up to find Greta watching her.

Terrified.

Yesu then realized she had done something wrong.

She should have pretended. Acted natural. But as usual, the thought never occurred to her.

"How..." Greta began with a stutter.

"I'm Pain Resistant." Yesu said quickly.

Greta looked relieved. She laughed nervously.

"Of course."

Then she added,

"I used to have a cousin with that Ability." Her voice dropped. "But he died fighting in the war."

She looked sad.

The moment stretched on.

Then she coughed gently to brush off the feeling and brought a small towel from the bathroom.

She held it over the bowl of hot water. Heat rose with the steam.

She hesitated.

Yesu smiled again.

"I'll do it."

***

Yesu stood outside the door of Arrow's office.

Her hair was still wet from the hot shower Greta had drawn for her. The pajamas Greta had chosen for her were fluffy.

"For the cold." She had said.

Yesu let out a breath and knocked once.

She waited for a few seconds before turning the handle and going in.

She hadn't been in Arrow's office since the first day she had arrived.

It was just as she remembered it.

Cozy.

Lived in.

Books still lined the shelves. The fireplace in the corner still gave light to the dark room.

Yesu looked around.

And just as before, Arrow stood by the wall on the dark side of the room.

Yesu waited for him to call her name, just as before.

He didn't.

The room remained quiet.

The silence slowly became suffocating. Not the usual kind they usually shared in their brief moments so far.

Then Arrow took a step forward. Then another and another. Till he was out of the shadows.

He remained at a distance.

Yesu stared at her sock-covered feet. Greta had insisted she apply medicine and cover the wounds.

Remembering it gave her comfort.

"Kaelitha."

Yesu's head snapped up.

Arrow's eyes were unreadable.She couldn't even tell if he was angry now.

"What were my orders?" he asked. He sounded strangely flat.

Yesu let out a breath, thinking of possible ways to bypass this one.

Then she remembered.

"Doctor Heckman pushed me off the building." She said. "I couldn't go back."

At the mention of that, Arrow rubbed a hand across his forehead.

"So I have been informed." He said quietly.

Then he looked at her again.

"And it shall be addressed in due time."

Yesu wasn't pleased with the response. It meant he was back to questioning her.

"I almost died." She blurted.

Maybe Arrow would wear out if she dragged the issue.

"And I am sorry."

Yesu was taken aback.

Arrow had not only apologized. He meant it.

"But you disobeyed me." He continued. "I told you not to go anywhere without my permission. And you left."

He was back to being angry.

"To a tavern in Ellsworth of all places."

A brief pause.

When he spoke again, his voice was strained.

Concerned.

"I shudder to think of all the possible harm that could have come to you."

Yesu thought of telling him about her mystery caller. But then she would also have to reveal he had been murdered.

Being at a crime scene…

Arrow wouldn't condone that.

"Henceforth," Arrow continued, "you are forbidden from receiving calls. And you shall make no contact with anyone beyond the walls of Echelon and this estate."

Yesu frowned.

"And I shall be driving you to and from school myself." He concluded.

Yesu glared at him.

"Aren't you being too quick to dish out punishments?" she asked. "You haven't even asked why I went there in the first place."

Arrow folded his arms, meeting her glare evenly.

"The State knows all about your little rendezvous. And they're not too pleased about it."

Yesu's eyes widened.

"When you first came here, I told you not to do anything to change the mind of the State." Arrow said. "I am reminding you of it again."

Yesu's breathing became uneven. The implications slowly came together.

"Did they… kill him?" she asked.

Arrow said nothing.

Yesu blinked.

It was then the full meaning of her situation dawned on her.

She was trapped.

Her life no longer belonged to her.

She took a step back.

That man had been killed. Whatever his motives were for contacting her...

He had been killed for it.

Then what about Aunt Mei...

Yesu met Arrow's eyes. She saw nothing there.

She turned and sprinted out of the office.

***

Yesu shut the bedroom door the moment she got inside.

She locked it with the key as well.

Then rushed over to the trousers she had taken off earlier.

Her hands immediately searched the pockets.

The folded note.

It wasn't there.

She searched the other pocket. Then the back pockets.

Nothing.

Yesu stopped. Her heartbeat quickened.

The note was gone.

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