Adam dropped his hand and sat back. It trembled with a waning rage. He was relieved for holding himself back on time. Stopping just before he did something irreparable.
"Stupid girl," he thought.
"I hate you," Kitsune hissed.
His lips twitched. The air darkened as he shot a glare at Kitsune. The duo recoiled.
"Tsune," Akira called. "How about you not piss the murder boy."
"Be quiet," Adam's voice cut through the air like a scythe, "unless you want me to reap out your throats."
As those words left his mouth, a noxious feeling grew in his gut. A memory flashed. Vivid and close, he saw several dead bodies lined in a morgue. He looked closer; the strong smell of medicine and dead body was palpable.
It hung in the nose and mouth. The sight was no different, clear as day, with a tweaking light that seared it in his mind. All the bodies had faces that looked exactly like his.
"You haven't forgotten, have you? Adam?" A voice spoke behind him.
He didn't turn his head. He didn't want to.
"I haven't," he said, snapping his mind back to the present.
Eyes colder than before.
The rest of the journey was followed by an eerie silence. Wataru, the driver, made rounds in the shopping district before he followed a road to the mountains.
Kitsune's mind kept sending her to her smartphone in her pocket, but she dropped the thought as Adam was watching them like a hawk. They eventually stopped near a forest.
"Your phones, Ladies," Adam said.
They reluctantly handed them in. They were also instructed to leave any jewellery in their possession in the car. The three then embarked on a hike.
A night had crept in. The wind was cold, carrying the mountain air with it. The sky was cloudy and starless. The only source of light was a yellow flashlight shown by Adam.
After twenty minutes of silently walking, they stopped in front of a tall, metallic, rusted rowed gate. It made a 'cricking' sound as it was pushed open, giving them goosebumps.
They walked through a narrow pathway that led to a church up ahead. The grass around them was suspiciously tall, about eighteen inches, slick, bristly, dry, and complex. Crickets and owls could be heard all over.
The huge wooden church door was slightly open. It had high-relief carvings of a saint in robes holding a baby on the left hand and a flower-like plant on the right. Adam pushed it open and ushered them in.
It was dimly lit with candles and a blinking bulb that drew insects. There were two rows of pew kneelers and a path in the middle leading to the altar. There was a dump, a musky smell of old book mould in the air with a mixture of dust.
The walls were worn out. Bricks exposed and gritty, frayed, and grey paint formed patches on the wall. The ceiling was bare, with piles of dry rot making it a rusted mess. The church was anything but Godly.
"Finally going to church today," Kitsune said, forcing a laugh.
"Adam, you are late," a girl's voice echoed among the rows.
Drawing their attention, the girl rose. She observed the trio silently. Her age was slightly older than Kitsune's and Akira's. Her height, tall, slender and her face was hidden in her cloak. She turned, ignoring her guests and walked to the altar, then opened a huge book.
"I apologise," said Adam.
His earlier harsh tone had shifted as he spoke to her. It was calm now, lower pitched.
"I assume you failed," she said, barely making eye contact.
"There were some... Complications," voice reluctant.
The young lady paused before flipping the page. Thought full. Then she looked up like a judge about to deliver a verdict. A pair of emerald green eyes seemed to flash at the duo.
"Is that so?" Her voice boomed, "We have no choice then. Adam. Kill them both," she said, her voice devoid of hesitation.
The words sent ripples down Akira and Kitsune. Instinctively, they both stepped back. Their eyes watched Adam closely; every move he made prompted a reaction in them.
The was a brief silence from him. His eyes twitched as he looked up at the young woman. Words forming in his throat, but the energy to deliver them was non-existent.
"They are just humans," he spoke at last.
The young lady closed the book, a booming sound echoing. She walked off the altar, and the sound of her boots hitting the ground reverberated.
"Adam, are you disobeying me? Do you doubt me? All this is necessary for the new world."
She stopped just paces from them. Adam's face darkened. He turned to the duo and raised his palm.
"Adam, wait!" said Kitsune, pushing Akira behind her.
Adam hesitated. This drew the attention of the mysterious girl, too.
"You don't have to do this. What kind of world are you going to build on dead bodies? It's... It's not right and you know it."
Silence.
His mind and heart raced. Eyes oscillating between Kitsune and the young woman.
"I... " he muttered.
Fingers twitched. The memory of the morgue flashed again. He held his mouth, holding back the vomit. Then he looked up for the first time.
"I'm sorry," he said.
A red glow emitted. Flame formed. With a flick of his wrist, the flame erupted from his palm. No incantations, no spells. It was like a breath.
Kitsune pushed Akira and ducked in the opposite direction. A scorching pain simmered on her shoulder. She noticed the simmering flesh.
"Bite it down, bite it down!!" Kitsune chanted.
Her body betrayed her. She let out a scream as she threw aside her burning blazer and ducked under the furniture. Akira turned to her friend, heart racing. She was about to rush to her, but Kitsune gestured her to stop.
"Adam..." said Kitsune, "Just, stop now."
"Kitsune, you made your choice. I am making mine," Adam spoke.
"Then wait, Akira is not a part of this. Spare her," pleaded Kitsune.
"Agreed, come to me and I promise I won't kill her."
Taking a deep breath, Kitsune winked at Akira and stood up. She put up her hands and stood in the middle of the rows.
Jaw dropped, eyes wide, Akira watched as she stood there. Across from her, Adam approached menacingly, a stifling air about him. There was no talking to him, a monster on a rampage.
"What the hell, Kitsune?" she thought.
Her lips tightened. Eyes focused and unwavering. Hurriedly, she raced and clung on to Kitsune, much to her shock. Panic-stricken by the audacious act, Kitsune tried to push her away.
"AKI..." she said, "STOP IT."
"NOOO!" Akira snapped.
Breaking the duo apart, a hand grabbed Kitsune by the throat and easily pulled Akira aside. She stumbled back, halted by the broken furniture. Her hand mindlessly clutching onto something as she dashed back to the fray.
Meanwhile.
Adam pushed Kitsune back and pinned her against the wall, her feet suspending just a few centimetres above the ground. The dust and rubble were landing on them.
Choked, then a burning sensation seared on her skin. She screamed out in pain but also out of shock, never imagining it would hurt that much.
Just then.
"Bam!"
Accompanied by Adam's deep and heavy grunt. He turned to face Akira, who was holding a broken wooden rod.
"Sorry," she said, with a flimsy smile.
Adam's hand twitched, fist furiously clenched. This was the last straw.
Smack!
Akira flew back, landing heavily on a pew kneeler, breaking it. She rose dizzy for a moment, a lump-like pain on her jaw, and then the taste and smell of salty iron in her mouth and the smell in her nose.
"I'm fine... I think," she said, getting up dizzily.
"Leave her alone!" shouted Kitsune.
In a fit of rage, Adam shoved Kitsune, with his inhuman strength, across the room, landing on an old piano. The keys made a sound as she broke them.
As her body bombarded against the wood, Kitsune felt a familiar pain. Ringing noises filled her ears, and her vision became blurry. In the distance, she heard the calling of her name.
"Tsune, breathe slowly," came Akira's voice.
She took a deep breath of the air mixed with dust and struggled to stand up straight, but her legs trembled, and she could not.
"Your struggle is futile," said Adam as he walked toward them. "At any rate, since you two won't part, I will kill you both."
He raised his hand again, and a blue flame formed on his palm. This time the biggest, in the form of a ball. It was so hot that they felt the intensity from afar. The candle wax in the room melted as a result.
The massive flame was released. It sped toward them at a ferocious speed. As the heat came closer, Kitsune took Akira, shielding her.
As the second transition between life and death, a memory crossed her mind.
"When in need, just call my name..." she recalled, "In need?"
Then it clicked.
"HELP ME!" she shouted. "CAIN!!"
An explosion followed. So loud it was that the ground shook violently. The wall behind them was obliterated. Smoke, dust particles, and sounds of crumbling noise filled the air, choking their lungs as they inhaled. All saw the silhouette of a tall man standing in the smoke.
"My.... My... My. It seems I arrived in the nick of time," a familiar deep voice spoke.
Crimson pupils that glowed like iron immersed in a flame flashed across the room. The remains of his attack evident on his palms vanished as he clenched his fist.
The smoke cleared.
His long black trench coat swayed with the changing direction of the wind. He took a step, his black pair of boots crushing some stone, and he turned to the young girls behind him.
He said reassuringly, "Sorry, I am late."