Flora swung her arrowed rope, supported by her right arm, towards the concrete buildings to support her weight as she flew above the air. She twirled herself in the middle around it as it went spiraling. Because of what she did, she looked like a girl imprisoned behind those ropes.
"Look what I did, Sophia! It's so amazing, yay!~" She shouted out of pride to perform the skill that our senior taught her for the past few days. That senior officer is a professional in the field of what Flora chose. So it's no longer a question of why she taught her easily for a short period. Besides, I think Flora is a fast learner.
I ran towards her as she landed back to the ground without injuries. "You're doing great every day." I praised in a low tone voice.
She noticed my soft reaction towards her. "Eh? You don't even look like you're proud of me! Pfft!" She stomped her foot while crossing her arms. She pouted and looked away. Ah, I wish I had this girl's attitude.
I tapped her shoulder twice. "Oh, come one, of course, I am. I just don't feel like attending the training the whole day." I reasoned while releasing the stress away from my shoulders. Throughout the days of being in the military, I felt nothing but constantly repeating my tasks all the time. I haven't talked with Hanaele and Cassius ever since the formal training began.
"Huh? Are you sick?" Flora touched my neck, and her eyes were sparkling in worry. I stepped back several times, trying to avoid her hands.
"Hey! No, I am not sick! Stop doing that!" I repined while covering myself.
As she continued teasing me, and I did not stop avoiding her, the ground moved. The houses shook with the sudden commotion and began to produce a cracking sound. The whole squads froze with their eyes wandering to feel the sudden situation. Some cadets lost their balance and bumped towards the nearest object.
Flora hugged me tightly. I can't help but hold her back close to mine as I turned my back away to cover her from any falling objects. Her eyes opened in wide as she looked towards the long, straight crack on the ground. It was weird to see a single breaking like this.
"What kind of creature is that?!"
"A crawling brown branch?!"
"No, I think those are roots!"
These were the dominant words that I heard from our fellow associates. Even though I was unable to see what was happening behind that single split from the ground, by basing on their voices' reaction, I can sense their surprise.
When I glanced at Flora's face, she sightly released her arms. "So, this is history?" She softly muttered while her eyes were still gazing towards that 'thing' they saw.
I was curious about the situation so I stepped away from her, pushed her shoulders a bit away from mine, and turned back to see the hole. However, when I looked back, a giant branch of a tree was approaching my sight. The creature was taller than me. It almost covered my entire view of seeing the sky. I wasn't able to move. I can't believe what I was seeing.
"Miss, look out!" A male comrade shouted as his voice became loud. Even though my eyes became stagnant towards this huge creature in front of me, I can hear the fast pacing of his footsteps. He was running towards me.
"Flora!" At this time, it was an old male voice, running in full hopes of saving Flora.
The moment right now seemed to run slow. I wanted to avoid the danger that this creature might bring to both of us, but it seemed that my body isn't reacting to it. Why is this happening to me? I can't control my thoughts this time.
As the branch went nearer and nearer, ready to crunch my entire body, the man who called my attention finally came. He held me back from my shoulders and pushed me away. We both ended up laying on the ground with our fatigue covered with minimal dirt. The gigantic lifeless branch banged into the houses, smashing all the properties that it ranged.
"Are you fine, miss?" The man who saved me from the violent clack of that creature in upper-cut hairstyle, with gray eyes asked.
On the other hand, Flora laid her face on the ground with a scratch on her knees, bled in red. When I realized that she was saved by an old man, I quickly look for the person within the branch. But, I wasn't able to spot him. Wait, maybe...
I breathed aloud, and I became alive again when I realized something that was surely not acceptable! When the branch moved back underneath the soil, and the cracked slowly disappeared, I stood up with the help of the man's arm. He held my back like he was carrying me upwards.
I felt bad for not acknowledging his help, but it wasn't my primary concern at that time. I rushed towards the collapsed houses with the broken woods fell on the ground to confirm my thought. I have a strong feeling that the old man was hit.
I stopped for a while when I saw some of our squad associates died with their bodies crushed into halves. Some heads were even separated from their bodies.
I stilled, and I felt uncomfortable seeing them died brutally. Surely, that creature we encountered a while ago is dangerous. Imagine killing the lives of many by one stroke.
"Miss! Don't interrupt the scene! Let the Esperers clean the mess!" That man a while ago warned me with his insisting voice. The Esperers? Is he talking about Hanaele and Cassius?
"Those two are not even here," I whispered to myself as I stepped towards the damaged area. I was looking for that old man, who saved Flora a while ago because I have a strong feeling that he is related to her.
I looked around those blood that almost covered the entire surroundings. It was my first time seeing dead people died this way, and it was unbelievable in my sight. I ain't dreaming, right?
A few distances away from me, I finally saw the body of the aged man. But the thing was, half of his body in lengthwise, was smashed. The remaining part of his eyes was still open, and his mouth seemed to look like shouting. I shivered in fear as I felt my skin became cold. I gasped and couldn't utter a word because of what I saw.
And because I can't hold myself looking at these dead bodies for a longer time, I withdrew myself by turning back in my direction. But it startled me when I saw the empty emotion written on that man with gray eyes' face. His eyes were teary. And when I saw a tear that fell from the right side of his eyes with the word that he muttered, I sighed in disbelief.
"Grandpa..."
My head automatically looked back to the dead body of the aged man. It was a surprise for me to encounter things like this. I was wrong. I thought it was Flora's grandfather, after all. But, it does not matter. The concern was,
This man saved me instead of his grandfather.
The feeling of guilt was occupying my entire thoughts, that I could not think properly about how I should react to the things that were happening right now. Flora followed her from his back. She froze when she saw the one who saved her, dead, left only with half of his body. She wanted to speak a word, but she couldn't. Her lips shivered in fright while covering her mouth. Her eyebrows curved.
"I-I a-am so-sorry-" She tried her best to apologize as she could. She can't look at the man who was crying, but I knew that Flora was talking to him.
The man did not reply, but he closed his eyes while tears kept falling on his cheeks. He made a fist on both hands brought by his anger.
Suddenly, Cassius appeared out of nowhere. I mean, I haven't seen him for a long time since then. His breathing was rapid and obviously came from a hurry. When Flora and I noticed him, he stared at both of us first before looking at the man.
"Nover..." He said. And when he found out the situation, including the dead man, he quickly went to the crowd. Now I finally know the name of the guy.
"Everyone, disperse! Give way to the Esperers! Go back to your platoon and continue your training." He instructed while Hanaele and the rest of those Esperers with yellow, red, and blue capes, walking towards us. Our comrades were baffling something with each other. They probably talked about the risk they-we will face when officially serving for Pag-asa.
After which, Cassius turned his back to us. He just stood there in the pile of stones and woods. I wondered what he was thinking this time.
Flora positioned herself in front of me while Nover was kneeling and weeping. "Are we going to face like these in the future?" She asked after looking around with the dead bodies. Her eyes were blinking many times. She was indirectly asking me a question that she knew I couldn't answer.
"I don't know... neither..."