Chapter 12 – The Fall
The fall was long and boring, his heart heavy with thoughts and his body heavier with injuries.
He continued plunging downward until his body finally broke through the steam. The mist rising from the water below was surprisingly cold and bone-chilling. His vision was swallowed by the fog, and his mind weighed down by Derek's words as Apolo fell headfirst.
At last, Apolo's mind cleared from all the survival instincts that had been screaming inside him. He started thinking about his encounter with the village chief, then the warriors, and finally Derek's team. Time seemed to slow down for him.
"Could I actually have avoided all those conflicts?" he wondered while still falling. "Has my personality really changed after awakening?"
But there was no one to answer him.
Closing his eyes, he replayed the fight with the village warriors.
"If I wanted, I… I could have just put them down temporarily without killing them. But yet I killed them. Why?"
His eyes remained shut as the thought dug deeper.
"Or could it be that I enjoyed killing them?" The question made his chest tighten. "No… I don't think so. If I hadn't killed them and let myself be caught, my fate would've been worse."
The fall was surprisingly higher than Apolo had expected. With his eyes still closed, he let everything that had happened since awakening replay in his mind. He drifted away into his thoughts—only to be pulled back by the furious wind slapping against his face and the pain coming from his loose elbow juggling by the wind.
He chose to ignore it. There was basically no point. He had accepted his fate—that he would die for sure this time.
By the time he finally opened his eyes, the fog was dissipating, no longer obstructing his view.
He watched as silvery water stretching as far as he could see came into view. Floating on top of this shimmering surface were small patches of land glowing green even in the night. Under different circumstances, he might have wondered what they were. Now, he didn't care.
As he plunged headfirst toward the glowing water, the image of his mother flashed past—the woman who used to give him the warmest smile he had ever seen.
Then his father—the man who used to show him the most confident smile he had ever seen.
Part of him hated them for what they'd done. Part of him still wanted to make them proud. He wasn't sure which part hurt more.
And then Derek's words replayed again:
"A kill order was issued by the Queen a few days ago…"
Part of him really didn't want to believe what Derek was saying, but thinking of how the village chief had wanted to kill him—and how he vaguely remembered the chief mentioning it before he was punched into the wilderness by the chief—the pieces fell into place.
Watching as the water grew bigger and bigger in his view, Apolo gave a weary, painful smile.
"I didn't just kill someone's father—I ate him." The thought made his stomach churn. "Now that I think about it, why did I run away from Derek and his group?"
He let out a bitter laugh.
"Of course. I'm a hypocrite. I'll kill to save my own life, but the moment I see the cost—the moment I have to face what I've done—I run. Was that survival instinct? Or cowardice?"
He didn't know. Maybe he'd never know.
Shaking his head, Apolo closed his eyes, prepared for the impact.
"My dad once said, 'Face to face, water is your friend. It is soft, if you are smart enough can use it for protection. But from afar, it is your enemy and can be harder than lathirium, the hardest metal known to man.'"
He exhaled slowly.
"I guess I'm about to find out."
BAAAANG!
The impact felt like he'd just hit a concrete floor. The shockwave rippled through his already battered body. His bones cracked. His lungs seized. Pain exploded across every inch of him.
Water rushed into his nose and mouth, choking him. His vision went white—then black.
His body was submerged into the cool water, sinking deeper into the depths. But the ocean refused to let him rest. The current seized him, dragging him forward, then slamming him back. His body tumbled end over end, arms and legs flailing uselessly.
The ocean played with him like a cat with a broken mouse.
With consciousness slipping away, Apolo was completely oblivious to how his body was being thrown around by the water's merciless grip.
He didn't feel the cold anymore.
He didn't feel the pain.
He didn't feel anything at all.
All he felt was a kind of peace—the one his heart had been yearning for. He stretched out his imaginary hands to reach it, but couldn't. It kept slipping away, running farther and farther from his grasp.
And then, even that faded.