Free Web NovelChapter 157: [Bonus Chapter] Heading Back (2)
The skin on the young mutant’s arm looked slimy and see-through, not like something people would want to eat. But hearing his sad cry made Kestrel’s heart feel super heavy.
This was why Kestrel didn’t really like kids, whether they were human or mutant. Young ones had such strong feelings that were super hard for her to handle.
Kestrel, not showing any emotion, stared for a bit, then started to take the piece of meat. But right then, Ren grabbed her hand to stop her.
"Hey..." Ren said with a sigh. "Don’t eat weird stuff."
Suddenly, a black orca appeared behind him. In the tight space, the giant whale squeezed itself into the gap under the big rock. It made a chirping sound, and as it grew bigger and bigger, it pushed the heavy rocks away, making a way out.
The young mutant, still crying a bit, wiggled free from the rocks. Realizing he might actually be okay, he quickly swallowed the piece of meat he had offered earlier and seemed to get a bit stronger.
As they kept going, the floor started feeling shaky, and dirt started dropping from above. It looked like everything was about to crash again. The mutant got super scared, took off super fast, and stayed close to the walls.
The black orca came out, gently tapped Kestrel’s hand with its head, and then vanished.
"Is Ren feeling sad? I can tell that from Big Fish," Kestrel wondered out loud as they hurried along.
Her tendrils started chatting:
"It kinda looked like it didn’t have energy." ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"It seemed kinda down."
"Do you think it wants us to give it some attention, maybe some rub?"
While Kestrel was dodging falling rocks, she kept thinking about the orca that had nudged her earlier.
Kestrel’s tendrils started buzzing with voices:
"Stay sharp!"
"We need to get out of here!"
"You’re not paying attention."
"You always scold us."
"Let’s worry about the orca when we’re safe."
"I want to go first, let me lead!"
Only when they finally got out of the crazy twisty underground tunnels did things stop falling apart so much around them.
The thick dust covered everything below, making the old temple a place where spirits might rest. The spot where Kestrel and Ren were now used to be an entrance to some kind of mutant home. All the mutants that used to live here had run away when things started to get bad. Now, only a group of confused alphas were left — they were puppets being moved around by Taja.
These puppets, who looked like they had lost their minds, just sat there on the ground, looking up at the tiny piece of sky, super lost. Some of them didn’t even have eyes to look with.
They seemed alive but also like they were missing something inside. They looked like creepy statues that you’d find in a spooky graveyard. When tiny rocks or dust landed on their faces, they didn’t react at all.
Kestrel sent her tendrils down into the ground, trying to connect with the minds of these alphas. After some time, she pulled them back.
"Did you find out anything?" Ren wondered.
Kestrel shook her head. Inside, it was like a big empty room with nothing in it. While the alphas looked alive and warm, inside their heads, it was all blank.
Whatever used to be inside them was gone. They were like robots without any thoughts, just sitting there. They might get eaten by mutants or simply starve.
But Kestrel didn’t want to give up. She tried again, focusing really hard. This time, she felt something tiny from one of them.
She pulled this one alpha out from the group. She touched his forehead and his eyes.
After what felt like forever, Kestrel pulled back. The alpha stared, and slowly, it looked like he was waking up a bit.
Leaning on Ren for support, Kestrel stood up and backed away, feeling really sick. She felt like throwing up.
"You okay?" Ren asked, patting her gently. He was surprised because he had never seen her like this. Even when she was given the weird piece of meat by the mutant or during big scary battles, she always seemed tough.
He wondered what she had seen inside the alpha’s mind that made her feel this way. freёwebnovel.com
Kestrel just waved him off, not wanting to talk.
She had seen small memories in that alpha’s mind. And for the first time, she understood how far some people might go when they have too much power.
Taja loved messing with the minds of the alphas. She would go deep into their thoughts and feelings, magnifying their senses and hurting them where they felt it most. She played with their feelings like turning up the volume on a TV super loud and then suddenly muting it, just for fun. She loved controlling them so much that she’d push them almost to the point of breaking, making them devastated and confused.
Kestrel got back on her feet, trying to find someone else who still seemed a little awake.
Just then, the alpha she had just helped wake up weakly grabbed her arm.
When Kestrel looked at him, he was holding her arm and looking confused. "Why... why did she do this to me? I didn’t do anything bad."
Even though he just got out of that horrible experience and was still trying to understand what had happened, he was holding onto Kestrel like she was his anchor, trying to figure out why he was treated so badly.
Kestrel didn’t know what to say. Sometimes, mean actions didn’t happen because someone did something bad. They happened because of who was in charge. And when someone had too much power, they could get lost in it and started acting really mean.
Kestrel looked everywhere, and from the huge number of alphas scattered around, she could only save one.
Ren put the alpha on his back, and they both left the underground place without saying anything.
When they came out into the open, Kestrel looked at the sky. The morning sun was just coming up, making everything bright and fresh after the dark night. The Eyehole, which had so many sad memories, was gone now.
