Chapter 56: Departure (2)
We saw the train we were supposed to ride on its tracks. It was silver-ish, medium length and seems to be used only this once. It looked new. I reckon Sir Apollo was talking with the Captain or whoever will drive the train. Several minutes pa.s.sed before we were told to approach. Silently, the sliding door opened. "It"ll be the last time our feet touches Hesperian grounds," Cain joked, causing me to pause from entering.
Blinking, I smiled slightly at his joke. You"re right, Cain. This is the last time. I immediately went inside and observed the place. The lighting inside the room was in an enough amount. It wasn"t blinding. I also smelled something fragrant. Like the smell on t.i.tan Academy rooms. The smell of fresh flowers and scented oil. Especially on the inside. It looks like a mini hotel! I looked at my comrades. They didn"t seem surprised. This is so different from the trains I know. The trains I know aren’t as beautiful or as clean or as fragrant. I trodded on a carpeted hallway. For f**ks sake, the hallway was carpeted! This is ridiculous.
I followed them until we reached a compartment that looked like a living room. There were chairs, tables, sofas and most of all, miniature chandeliers. My jaw dropped. Moving my sight behind all these, I saw the small kitchen station. I also took a peek at the compartments on the other end, in the direction we came from, it seemed like there were rooms in there. I wanted to laugh. For the last time, I was amazed at the useless economic system of Hesperia.
Miss Aura and Sir Apollo went inside. "The Captain is at the front and will start the train, " Miss Aura said. "There are crews inside the train for whatever we may need like food and necessities in the room and facilities. As much as possible, you need to rest. We have a long day ahead."
My comrades agreed. But no one moved from where they stand. We shared a look. "What are you guys waiting for?" asked Sir Apollo. "It"s only four in the morning. We"ll be there in the afternoon. You should get some sleep. I don"t want us to arrive lacking in rest and sleep."
Cain yawned. "Yeah. If that"s the case, I"ll go ahead guys. Just wake me up when it"s time for breakfast."
He walked to the opposite end of the train to his room. "He"s right," Victoria agreed before going after Cain.
"Oh well," Ethan said before following suit.
Luna and I went as well. I slightly turned to Gin that was behind us. I thought he"d go too. But I heard Sir Apollo call him.
"Wait, Gin."
I couldn"t help but fully turn. Why? Gin also needs to rest. I looked at them but Gin had already obeyed. I sighed. Luna said that we needed to leave so I didn"t have a choice but to go to our rooms. There were five compartments that was directly across each other. Inside each compartment was a small room with a white bed, cabinet and table with a lampshade on it. The other three had already occupied the ones on the front so Luna and I went for the ones on the back.
"Good night Shia. See you later," she said, smiling, before entering her chosen room.
"Good night," I replied while looking at her till she closed the door to her room.
The hallway went quiet. All I felt was the slight tremble of the floor due to the moving of the train. I remained standing there. After a while, I felt the gentle breathing of my friends which signified that some of them were asleep. I sighed and instead of going inside my room, I chose to walk around. I followed the hallway to the oposite side of the train and saw another living room like the one Gin was in. I observed the silence of the place and the expensive objects. I turned my sight to the long curtain that was covering the windows. I approached and opened it slightly. I found out it was a sliding door to a terrace outside.
I glanced at the hallway I came from. I didn"t remember anything that said we were banned from going to the terrace. I turned the doork.n.o.b open but it was locked. I frowned. My gaze wandered to the living room to search for anything I can use. A letter opener was situated on top of the table beside the lamp shade. I grabbed it and tried breaking the lock on the door. It wasn"t sharp but using the correct force I was able to open the keyhole. Oops. I heard the silent click. I slightly pulled the sliding door and it opened. I almost took a step back at the air that rushed at me. So that was why it was locked. The air rushed in and ruffled the curtains. It was like a breath of fresh air because it was the opposite of the humid and silent atmosphere inside.
I stepped outside to the terrace and closed the door behind me. I took in the sight of the surroundings. We were moving fast . Even my hair that was ponytailed went loose because of how strong the wind was. I tried to hold down my hair that was playing with the wind. We were now on a wide field. I didn"t see houses anywhere. The tracks were on an elevated place and I could clearly see the darkness around me. At the side of the tracks, it was full of wild gra.s.ses and trees. I wonder if it was an abyss below. If I jump now, would I live? If I escape now, would I be able to?
I blinked at the thought. No. No I won"t do that. I"ve already decided. I turned to the land before me. I closed my eyes and felt the wind that touched my face and skin. I know we already bypa.s.sed the town proper where the majority of the people are. Only the mountains, forests and hills remain before we get out of Hesperia. I held on the railings and leaned. So this is it, huh? My last day in Hesperia.
"A little push and you"re dead."
My eyes immediately opened when I heard a voice. I don"t know how many minutes I"ve been standing there. I lost track of time the moment I closed my eyes. Blinking, I turned my head to the guy beside me. His arms were leaning on the railings like mine was. My loosened hair hit his face so I tried holding it down.
"Gin." I said out of breath.
"Picking the lock with the letter opener and now leaning on the railing of a fast-moving train. Very typical of you, Shia."
My forehead slightly creased at what he said. Is that supposed to be sarcasm? I looked at him carefully. He was looking at somewhere and didn"t even turn to me. I stared at his features with the low light. His forehead that always creased when he didn"t like what he saw, his eyebrows that slightly rose when you"ve done something wrong or when he"s scolding, his eyes that looked frightening when he felt mad, his nose, his jaws that added to his intimidation, and his lips that sometimes frown, sometimes smile; when he smiles all his features that made him intimidating disappears and I see Gin -not as the Team Captain or the son of the Headmaster -but the Gin that drinks to forget, the Gin from the messy family, the Gin that was second best, the Gin that suffered a pressure from his father and brother since young, the Gin that his father was never proud of.
Gin turned to me and noticed I was staring at his lips. I didn"t remove my gaze. I fully faced him. Raising my hand to touch his face, I felt him stop. The place was quiet save for the cold wind that filled my ears and hit my back. I wanted to memorize every detail of his face, from his forehead, to the tip of his nose, to his brows, to his lips.
I once thought we were so different. That we"d never be on the same page. But we had something similar. We both needed each other in those times we thought no one would be able to accept us. I often wonder, why me? Of all people, why me, Gin? But now I realized the answer. We were seeking home in a place like h.e.l.l and we found it in each other. We made h.e.l.l feel like home. And I think that"s the most important part of what we have. Acceptance. Belonging. Flaws, mistakes, fears and all.
But Gin has a life ahead of him. A life without me. Bowing my head, I felt tears leaking. I was facing his chest and I know he looked down to see me.
"Shia," his comforting voice made my hand, still placed on his face, slightly tremble. It was fortunate that my hair covered my face so he won"t see how hard it is for me to even hear his voice. He touched my chin to look at me. He smiled. "Everything is going to be fine."
I forced a smile at what he said. Gin, it"s not. I slowly lowered my hands that was on his face but he grabbed my palm to stop me. I felt the warmth of his palms on mine. And using the other hand that was on my chin, he parted my hair and held the side of my face. Then he pulled me closer.
Gin, can I ask you something?
I felt the hotness of his lips on my lips. Eventually, light shone somewhere not too far away and gave color to the sky. I responded wih the kiss, cherishing every second of it. Because I know it would be the last. My eyes closed and my tears completely fell.
Can you forgive me after this?
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T/N:
It"ll be the last time our feet touches Hesperian grounds – The exact words were actually “last step on the grounds of Hesperia” but I thought that sounded awkward so I changed it to this.
He"s right – In the original, it translated roughly into something like, “it’s for the best” or “it’s good”. Anyways, it’s hard to translate so I changed it into something that meant the same in how it’s used contextually.
Hope you enjoy the translation.
-camsecret
Chapter 57: Watch Tower (1)
I woke up from the noise I heard from the door of my room. I didn"t move and continued lying on the bed. I covered my face with the blanket and closed my eyes again. But after a while, I heard the knocks again and then Luna"s voice.
"Shia, you need to come out now. We"re almost there."
I opened my eyes when she said that. Lowering my blanket, I gazed at the brightly-lit room where rays from the setting sun shone through the window. I lightly blinked because it didn"t immediately sink in where I was.
I heard the knocks on my door again. "Shia, are you up?"
I sat on the bed and stared at the room, still out of it. I"m not on t.i.tan Academy anymore. "I"m up, Luna", I answered while fixing my messy hair. "You go first."
Silence reigned at the other side of the door momentarily before Luna agreed. "Okay, Shia. Just hurry up." I heard her walking away. I sighed and looked outside the window.
We"re still going fast. I felt the slight shaking of the floor from where I stood. It"s already afternoon. That means we"re almost there. I don"t know how many minutes have pa.s.sed before I walked outside. The hallway was silent. I walked towards the front where I can see the living room in that part of the train. When I was almost there, I immediately saw my comrades. They haven"t noticed my arrival yet so I freely observed them.
Cain, Luna and Ethan were together on one side while discussing. Victoria was holding a cup of tea, seemingly indifferent towards her surroundings. Miss Aura was reading the schedule of the group. Sir Apollo and Gin were seriously talking in the corner.
I silently watched Gin.
I want to approach him. I want to touch him or hug him or even just stay by his side as long as possible. I feel as if it wasn"t enough to only see him in front of me. I want to be together with him even if it"s just until the end of this ride.
Gin looked back at my direction when he felt my arrival. His furrowed expression immediately cleared when he saw me. He smiled faintly.
I"m scared Gin. Can time just stop right now? I don"t want this ride to end.
I forced a smile and did everything I could to avoid his gaze. I walked towards the window and took in the scenery. The pa.s.sing terrain has already changed. If earlier there was only an endless plain, now we"re pa.s.sing by mountains and forests. It looks like we really are almost there.
I looked towards the front of the train and saw something strange which contrasted with the green scenery. Behind the mountain in front of us was a tall silver building and the conspicuous tower that glistened whenever the sun shined on it. My eyebrows scrunched up while looking at the tower that we were approaching.
"We"re almost here."
I lightly paused when I heard Miss Aura. What"s behind those mountains? I heard their soft conversation with Luna about the venue of the Linus Cup but the more we neared the place, the quieter my companions got.
Between the two mountains, a tunnel stood in front of us. Seems like it served as the entrance to wherever the train should be going. Several minutes pa.s.sed and we finally reached the dark entrance, continuing until the surroundings were covered with darkness.
The air inside the tunnel changed. It"s as if we"re being pulled into that darkness. No one wanted to speak. Together with the loss of light, the atmosphere turned tense inside the train. Because we know that the next time this train pa.s.ses this tunnel, we might no longer be a pa.s.senger on its return.
More minutes pa.s.sed in silence before we saw a tiny light ahead. Soon, the light finally overtook the darkness and we were once again bathed in vibrant colors of the setting sun.
"Whoa."
Cain was the first one who boldly broke the silence. He stood up from his chair and walked towards the window to look at the scenery. Luna soon followed suit. I kept silent as I watched the scenes we pa.s.sed by.
In front, was a strange building.
It was the epitome of the word "artificial" when compared to the natural colors in the area. It was made of silver and gla.s.s. It was tall, like a watch tower. The natural road, where soil and plants should be, has disappeared and was replaced with metal train tracks situated on the elevated ground in the middle of… water? What the f***?
I turned around to look at the road once again. The two enormous mountains were still there along with the tunnel between it. From the direction we came from, that tunnel looked like to be the only way inside. Because by the bottom of the mountains laid the metal fields that separate earth and water.
How is this even possible?
I turned my head back to the front. All I saw was water, except for the narrow piece of land from where the train was rushing on and the circular artificial landma.s.s in the middle where that building stood. It felt like we were in the middle of the sea -an artificial sea.
When the train got close to the building, I saw the structure of the place clearly. It was web-like. In the center was the silver building, it was surrounded by narrow pieces of land where trains of the partic.i.p.ating towns, coming from different directions, all pa.s.s through.
Our ride continued as I kept on watching our way. I don"t know if we really are atop the sea. I didn"t see any waves, though. Everything seemed man-made. There were silhouettes of mountains and islands from afar. But one special thing stood out. Force fields are being used. I can see noticeable traces of it. The way the sceneries itself seems to move similarly to the way a curtain steadily sways beneath a lone gust of wind, and the random spots of swirling s.p.a.ces, all creating a weird spectral light in mid-air. I knew it very well because it was one of the things that I avoided running into when I was still living in town—the places with force fields.
We entered what seems like a gate or an arch, a metal arch that stood on opposite sides of the rails. I noticed the green laser that scanned the whole vehicle right when we pa.s.sed through it. The thin light went through the window in front of me. When the train bypa.s.sed the arch, we suddenly heard strange noises. A monotonous mechanical voice of a female resounded through the s.p.a.ce.
"Welcome, Team Hesperia. Please proceed to Station 5."
We all glanced at each other. All of us were still. "I guess we"re here." Luna stated with a hint of uneasiness in her usually calm voice. The familiar feeling of fear a.s.sailed my system. We can only get out of this place using the train of our respective towns. There"s no other way out.
And we weren"t even in the arena yet.
The train slowed down and the surroundings gradually widened up. We"re almost at the front of the silver building. The island where it stood was circular. White, silver, and black colors were prevalent in the place. Everything looked clean and silent, as if there were no people in it. Nothing natural like plants or soil could be seen in the area. The building itself and its outside were covered with white and shiny floors.
Darkness reigned again. The train entered a tunnel. But now there were lights scattered on the corners—lights and security cameras.
"You are now entering Station 5."
The monotonous voice must have been referring to an underground station as we felt the train going downwards. When we exited the tunnel, different sounds greeted us -sounds of metal, the shaking of the ground, the rapid footsteps moving around, irritating noises of wheels on the floor, and people who were talking nonstop. My eyes soon adjusted to look at the place. It was full of synthetic lights from the gigantic lighting above. The flooring beside the rails was pure white as we can almost see the whole reflection of the train.
"The first level of the underground is a work room and a central station where every train stops before one can go to the premises of the building", Miss Aura said as she prepared to stand.
Ethan and Gin didn’t looked surprised. Now that I remember, they were families with the previous partic.i.p.ants of the Linus Cup. They have probably already experienced and seen the things that we were only seeing for the first time.
Sir Apollo coughed to get our attention and stood up. "We"re here."
And sure enough, the train we were riding on slowly stopped. In a smooth, screeching stop, our travel that took almost the whole day has finally come to an end. I turned to the direction of the door when it noisily opened as if a hot burning metal was being doused with water. The female voice on the intercom filled the inside of our train.
"Team Hesperia has arrived."
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T/N:
This was so hard to translate!!!! T_T There were lots of things that sound okay in the Filipino language but awkward when translated into English. Still, I tried my best.
-camsecret