Chương 172: B3. 16.1 - Gabe's Plan

Amber Deen Leska Amber Deen froze as another vision of a bad future came. A future of death. She had reached the surface with Erind, but it wasn't time to celebrate. Four-legged creatures, larger than tigers and seemingly made out of stone, blocked their path. The creatures had large humanoid heads with glowing purple eyes, short bodies, and stubby legs. Deen shielded Erind from the oversized monster babies. But before the fight started, something burst out of her chest. A pole? It had a blade at the end. A spear!

Parts of the triangular blade not covered by blood glinted under the streetlight. Deen hadn't even reacted to the pain when the spear receded into her body. She fell on her knees and clutched her burning chest. Though it was a mere vision, she could feel the warmth of her blood seeping between her fingers. A cry from Erind made her look left. The spear grew out of Erind's body. Deen reached out for Erind, but the stone creatures pounced on them. Deen jerked as if suddenly awoken, the vision fading.

What was going on? Were those creatures connected to the metal man with four arms? Coming down here was a huge mistake, and they should leave! (Erind?) Deen sent out thought-feelers to make sure that Erind was still alive. In return, she sensed intense worry and alertness from Erind. Something was happening on Erind's end, and Deen wasn't there to protect her. Another wave of visions. They were layered on top of each other.

Deen couldn't make sense of what was happening because each was a different scene and played very quickly. One thing they all had in common was that they abruptly ended in darkness, contrasting with the earlier dead end of the bright flash of explosion. (Danger?) Erind asked. She was alive but experiencing some problems. (What's the threat?) (I-I'm not sure,) Deen replied. How would she explain her vision? She didn't know what attacked them. Adumbrae, probably. But there was something more concerning.

(I think the booster is running out.) She guessed that was the meaning of all the visions ending abruptly. Gabe continued to give her visions, making it difficult to concentrate on talking with Erind. But the visions didn't extend past a certain point, shortly after leaving the tunnel. Which meant that the booster would run out while they were still down here. (We have to leave,) Deen added as headaches squeezed her temples. Erind didn't immediately respond.

Erind's body that stood next to Deen remained an empty husk; it swayed on its feet, about to fall flat on the ground if Deen didn't hold it up. Why the delay? What was happening with Pino? Could Erind not remove her mask? Anxiety closed its cold grip around Deen's neck. What to do? Her mind was a whirling mess. She had to take control! Deen ran her fingers along Erind's chin. Was there a way to remove the Pino mask from here? Probably not because she didn't find anything that could be the mask's end.

What about the Core? She tucked her flashlight into her pocket. It pointed upward, its light hitting the curved ceiling of the tunnel, illuminating the surroundings. Deen then pulled up Erind's shirt and placed her hand on Erind's chest. She felt the roughness and subtle heat of Erind's artificial Core. But there was no sudden connection that Deen expected. She thought she could activate the Core somehow, cancelling Erind's Adumbrae power and immediately returning her to her body.

"It needs physical contact," Deen muttered, tearing open Erind's sports bra. The ripping noise disturbing the quiet of the tunnel knocked some sense into Deen's panicking mind. There was no need to do this.

"I should've just carried Erind's body away!" Deen dumbly stood there with her best friend's bare chest.

"I'm back!" Erind gave Deen a big wave.

"Why are you so close to—?" Erind looked down and saw Deen gripping the torn parts of her sports bra.

"Wah! What are you doing to me?" She pushed Deen back. Deen let go of Erind's clothes, stammering an explanation as she retreated a few steps.

"I-it's not what it lo-looks like! I was trying to touch your Core!"

"What? Why?" Erind asked, pulling her shirt down.

"I thought I could use the Core to remove the mask—" Erind's hand flew to Deen's mouth.

"I-I can't remember what happened to me…" Erind said in a frail voice, contrasting with her furious glare.

"Did my Core… do something? Ugh, my brain hurts." Deen nodded. No one should know that Pino and Erind were one. They had to be careful about getting overheard; Everett may have dropped devices here that they weren't aware of. Deen almost forgot the lesson they had learned when they first met the PCM scientist. How stupid that she was about to make the same mistake? She had whispered to Kelsey to continue pretending to be knocked out earlier, but her caution immediately disappeared when worrying about Erind.

Stress had its way of lowering her intelligence.

"The Adumbrae we met earlier knocked you out," Deen grabbed Erind's wrist and pulled her along.

"It's gone now."

"Whe-where did the Adumbrae go?"

"I don't know. It's a long story. We have to get out of here first."

"Where's everyone else?"

"They have already left. I stayed behind because… uh…" The fake excuse that Deen had told Myra, for any bugging devices to pick up, was that she wanted to look for Pino to cure Erind.

"Later. We'll talk later." Deen checked her best friend. She was met with a blistering glare.

"Ye-yes… I trust you." Erind continued to pretend to be confused while radiating anger.

"But what's going on now? Tell me what we'll be up against."

"The booster's effect is starting to—" Deen turned to Gabe. Her Guardian Angel had returned to its original shape.

"Has run out. Gabe wasn't able to give me a clear view of what'll happen, but expect enemies outside. I don't know who or what they are." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"BID agents? Eh, no. You wouldn't have said 'or what' if they looked human."

"Adumbrae, probably. Monsters. I couldn't understand their powers." Erind tugged her hand free of Deen's grasp. Continuing to run, she said, "I bet they're friends of that robot-looking Adumbrae we met. What did she say her name was? Pino?"

"Yes, Pino. The Adumbrae who'll attack us are probably with her." But there were no such 'friends of Pino', begging the question as to the identity of the monsters? Did the PCM set a trap for them? What was the spear that magically skewered them?

"Maybe Pino set a trap for us," Erind said, echoing Deen's thoughts. By 'Pino', Erind was referring to the PCM.

"I think so, too." They truly were best friends; Deen could sincerely feel it in her heart. This was Erind, not influenced by the Adumbrae inside her.

"The booster may be gone, but Gabe is still here. We can survive this."

"You'll survive. You know why. As for me, I—""I'll put myself in front of you." A worm of annoyance gnawed at Deen's mind. This wasn't the time for Erind to separate from her. Erind had been mostly in charge of the 4Bs during this mission, but she should listen to Deen now. There was danger, and only Deen's power could save them. Erind shouldn't get too cocky after a string of successes. Deen was here to rein in her best friend and make sure she was safe. Erind slowed down her run.

Deen grabbed her arm, but Erind pulled back.

"I just realized…" Erind said.

"If the danger is out there, then why are we heading that way? We should find some other exit."

"Gabe isn't telling me to go elsewhere. We should continue our way. Let's go before the monsters block our path." Deen pointed the flashlight at the signage painted on the walls.

"We're near the exit."

"There's something I don't understand about your vision. Isn't it better to go deeper into the tunnels and avoid the Adumbrae waiting for us out there? What if Gabe will use me as some sort of distraction to save you?" Deen exasperatedly exhaled. Why is Erind being so difficult now? Deen admitted that Gabe might use Erind that way, but she wouldn't let it happen. Several times, she had forced Gabe to follow her way. This was no different. And Erind should follow her, too. Gabe unexpectedly spoke.

[Take Erind with you.] Those words chilled Deen's heart. Gabe had never mentioned Erind before. His advice always pertained only to Deen. Why include Erind now? It couldn't be that Erind's hunch was true? This couldn't be! Gabe had never instructed Deen to use others as a shield before.

"What's up with that look?" Erind asked.

"Is your Guardian Angel telling you something?"

"N-no." Deen resolved that the booster affected Gabe, making him care for Erind as well. Gabe knew that she'd never abandon Erind, so Gabe must've decided to include Erind's safety in his calculations.

"Is it saying something against my plan to use a different way? Route C."

"We have to escape as fast as possible. Gabe gave me a vision of monsters attacking for us to leave before they arrive." Deen pulled Erind.

"This way!" Erind didn't budge.

"The others—""I didn't see Merge or Emcee or anyone else. If the monsters were already in place, they would've attacked the others. Don't delay us!" Deen pulled again. Erind finally followed her. This is the work of the Adumbrae inside my best friend, Deen thought, her shoulder starting to tense with worry. Erind always listened to her. But the Adumbrae was trying to drive a wedge between their friendship. Once Erind no longer trusted Deen, the Adumbrae would convince her to listen to it.

Did Erind take the pills from Dario? It was what Erind claimed, but Deen didn't see it for herself. She should've made sure that Erind did it. What if the Adumbrae took over for a moment and threw the pills away? Deen blamed herself for being too complacent. She already knew that Erind's Adumbrae wasn't as dormant as Erind claimed. Erind's newfound penchant for lying was proof of this—the old Erind would've probably gotten a heart attack at the thought of fabricating stories to trick enemies.

What was Erind doing as Pino? Talking with the four-armed metal man? He was another BID agent, wasn't he? Instead of nervousness, Deen occasionally felt excitement from Erind. As if she was having fun… It wasn't a normal reaction for any human in a high-pressure situation, much less for the diminutive Erind. Something was very wrong.

"Should I use my power?" Erind asked.

"I think I've already developed it after taking the pill." Deen turned to Erind with a questioning look. Erind gestured at her face. Then, Erind bit the air while making clawing motions at Deen—she wanted to transform into Blanchette.

"No!" Deen exclaimed.

"No, we'll test your power later. Not now." Blanchette could definitely handle the stone monsters. The magical spears? Maybe they wouldn't affect her. But Deen didn't want Erind to turn into Blanchette, even if it'd make the situation safer for both of them. If Everett or Reo had left a camera along the way, they'd see Blanchette where she wasn't supposed to be, while Erind would be missing.

"Trust me, we're safe," Deen said.

"Let me handle the situation."

"I think that's the exit," Erind said.

"Any problem?"

"Nothing. I told you this was the right move." They flew up the stairs and passed a metal door, greeting the dark sky with hardly any visible stars. Looking around, Deen saw no monsters. Barricades and yellow police lines cordoned off the area of the bunker entrance. Beyond roughly hacked bushes that used to hide this area behind a small park.

"There are no—" Deen started to say. [Separate from Erind.]"Why did you stop talking?" Erind asked.

"What's going on?" I'm not going to do that! Deen internally yelled at Gabe before replying to Erind, "I can't make sense of Gabe's instructions." [Danger. Separate. Now.]"Follow me," Deen said, ignoring Gabe. She placed herself in front of Erind as promised. If she'd get injured, that would be Gabe's fault. Rather than head straight out of the park, she led Erind off the path and into the tall grass, unmaintained by the city. She recalled her visions.

The stone monsters would show up where there was pavement and a streetlight. If they avoided the street, they'd be safe from the attack. [Touch me to save Erind.] Deen suddenly stopped. Erind crashed into her back. Both of them tumbled through the musty grass.

"What was that?" Erind complained, rolling back up.

"Shush! Gabe is giving instructions." Deen sat up, brushing away the grass around her. [To save Erind. Touch me.] You had told me not to touch you, Deen thought to Gabe. But she had started to reach out to her feathery guardian. This would probably unlock a stronger power that might be uncontrollable, like Erind's giant werewolf form going berserk. If this was the way to save Erind, so be it.

"What are you doing?" Erind asked.

"Stand up already and—Wah!" Deen touched Gabe. A flood of visions entered her mind. The most intense migraine attacked her. She clutched at her head as tears flowed out of her eyes. No longer visions. She lived in an infinite wave of possibilities for the next few minutes. She took every path possible out of the park. Each one of them led to their deaths. Staying inside wouldn't do much either because the stone creatures would enter the park to search for them. For who? Deen.

Erind had told her that her Core was constantly on because of Gabe. The way to be safe was to knockout Deen so that her Core would also turn off. Not safe. Rather, Gabe gave the monsters another target—Erind. I'm sorry Erind… Was Deen's last thought before everything turned black.