61 Scarlets Mission (1/2)
Chapter 61
As the sun set below the horizon, darkness descended in all its entirely.
Dark clouds raged with thunders clashing like a series of firing guns, while the winds howled along with it, even louder than the hungry alpha wolves. As if it had heard the cries of its brothers, the calm seas joined them and turned into an evil menace, crashing and smashing everything along its vicinity with a blind rage.
Weather channels flooded every single television with a repeated warning, ”There will be another storm! Stay in your houses or in any place you are currently residing in and be safe!”
As soon as they heard the warning, the citizens raged along with the storm as well, leading the city to further chaos.
The city was filled with cars loudly honking and people anxiously running along the streets.
People of all ages rushed towards their homes or to any safe haven without a care for others who were indirectly victimized by their restless actions and survival instinct.
Meanwhile, those who were already luckily inside their own safe havens were not better than those outside. Instead, they fared far worse, since they were even busier running around the small space of their homes, storing anything breakable or of importance inside their cabinets, bags or to any place they deemed safe, calling their loved ones or anyone they were closely related to who had not yet come home, and many other things of importance.
Amidst the street with a sea of people bringing about chaos all around them, one person plainly stood out from the rest.
A pale young girl, who was dressed in a white dress, slowly walked through the center of the restless crowd that was going through all directions. She walked one step at a time, slow enough to seem like a turtle amidst a sea of fishes.
Her long messy hair and white dusty dress gracefully fluttered at her front, making it highly possible for the shorts beneath her dress to be seen and her hair to become a huge tangled mess. However, she never once cared for those possibilities.
Rather, she simply kept her head low and her eyes stuck to the ground, letting others only see a person that was lifeless and dead like a ghost, instead of a person possessing divine beauty like a goddess.
That living yet ghost-like person was exactly Scarlet.
'We are not friends, never once were or ever will be… We are not friends, never….' Her own statement kept echoing inside her mind again and again like an endless whirlpool, swallowing her up whole.
Was she wrong all this time? But, they were clearly there for her through thick and thin, whether she wanted it or not.
She could not think of a proper explanation.
If she were wrong, then was everything up until now only an illusion? Were they never meant to be friends at all?
All this time, was it only her wishful thinking?
As she slowly walked through the crowd and became lost in a sea of thoughts, one angry middle-aged person wearing a business suit yelled out to her, ”Get out of the way!” and forcefully bumped into her shoulder like she was an insignificant piece of trash.
BAM!
That middle-aged man's harsh bump made her stumble along the sidewalk and hit her head against the wall of a building.
Many passersby watched the scene unfold before them, but none of them gave a helping hand towards that pitiful young girl. All they thought about was the storm and the need to be kept safe from harm.
Although several passersby glanced at the girl out of pity, they were too busy running for their lives to even bother with helping her.
Meanwhile, other passersby glanced at the girl out of disdain instead of pity.
Inside, they thought, 'What the hell is wrong with that girl? She looks as dead as a ghost! Is she suicidal or something?! Who's her mother? That girl's mother should go fetch her, because she's wasting our time and blocking the way!'
However, instead of venting out their thoughts towards that pitiful young girl, they simply ran like the rest towards their destination and ignored the girl, for doing so would just be another waste of time.
Right after she was hit, Scarlet gradually stood up from the ground and continued walking at her own pace, totally clueless by the looks of pity and disdain that the crowd was giving her.
Instead of getting even with that rude old man, she walked towards her destination: nowhere.
As she walked, Scarlet felt her head ache with much pain, making her wrinkle her brows and instinctively stop from her tracks.
From her point of view, Scarlet saw the world spinning and spinning.
She instinctively closed her eyes and shook her head sideways, until the world had gradually stopped spinning and until the pain had fully dissipated. Once the pain had fully dissipated in a matter of seconds, Scarlet stopped shaking her head sideways, looked up from the ground and opened her eyes once more.
However, this time, her eyes were not lifeless or dead but filled with conviction, resolution and life.
Again, the winds howled against her direction, making her long, messy and glowing hair and her slightly dusty white dress flutter towards her back.
As soon as the winds blew, her divine beauty was now fully revealed against the crowd, making them gasp from both shock and awe.
At once, their looks of disdain and pity were wiped out of their faces and were replaced by either guilt or enchantment. Some even stopped from their tracks, while others instinctively walked towards her direction, like flies being attracted towards a light bulb.
On the other hand, Scarlet never bothered to care about the crowd and only became focused towards her goal for the day.
Luckily for her, the pain was an eye opener. And an eye opener was precisely what she needed.
'Friends? What friends? When did I start thinking like that?' Scarlet pondered as she brisk walked towards the alley, making those passersby lose track of her and forget what they were supposed to do in the first place.
When did she start thinking of them as friends? When did she open up her heart to them? When did she start trusting them?
When did she lose track of herself?
Once she was in the alley and was now fully away from the public, Scarlet merged into one with the shadows and clenched her fists.
It was pointless to have such feelings.
Her job was to either kill people for a living or avoid being killed. That's it. All she had done was for her mother and her survival, nothing and no one else's.
'I was always alone, ever since the beginning. Aside from my mother, I trust no one.' Scarlet resolutely vowed inside her heart.
Scarlet opened up her bag and got out the black attire that was hidden inside the deepest part of her bag. In just a second, the clothes that she wore became all black. After changing, she folded her dusty white dress and placed it inside her bag before closing its zipper.
As soon as she was done preparing herself, Scarlet leaped above the walls of the alley and rooftops and then dashed towards her destination with a speed as fast as lightning.
Or rather, a speed even faster than lightning, faster than what the naked eye could perceive.
She ran fast enough that not even her shadow could be seen or the sounds of her footsteps could be heard. Fast enough that all her surroundings seemed to blur and slow down. Fast enough until her feet became numb, her mind became clear and her heartbeat became the only sound she could hear.
She ran beyond her limits… All so that the crushing pain in her heart could be lifted or forgotten.