Chapter 15 – Truth

Aurora sat by Aaron’s side all through the day. When Milada and Valeria had questioned her about it, she’d given them a half-assed excuse. Honestly, she simply didn’t want to give Aaron any chance to sneak his way out of her questions.

With the sun blazing above her, the cabin provided her with a much-needed shade. The warriors had been courteous enough to leave her in peace, and she didn’t know how to repay them. Furthermore, she didn’t know how much time they had left at the camp. The amazon warriors had been a massive help already, but she’d be lying if she tried to pass off this camp as much more than a pit stop.

She glanced at the unconscious Aaron. The warriors had cut away his clothes in order to find any potential wounds. Nothing more than a blanket covered his naked body and Aurora tried hard not to look. Frustrated, she pulled the blanket up to his chin.

“I really hope you have a good explanation,” she muttered. Of course, he couldn’t actually hear her—she knew that much—but it was so tedious to sit and wait.

When she lived with Zachary, before Haw Tech, she’d have given half an arm for these moments. Back then, she was exhausted daily, and she had next to no time for herself. Now it just felt weird to have time on her hands.

“Here, take this.” Milada’s voice shook Aurora out of her thoughts. The redheaded Immortalia was standing in front of her, a field bottle in her hands. Grateful for the thought, Aurora took the bottle and drank. The refreshing liquid soothed her throat.

“You know”—Aurora held up the bottle—“I could have made water on my own if needed. I did it back there when we were trapped.”

“I don’t think that’s smart, though,” Milada muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“The frost has to come from somewhere, right? I don’t know if it’s your surroundings or your own body, but either way, it’s best not to abuse the power before we know some more.”

Aurora stared at her with wide eyes. Shaking her head, a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “When did you get so smart?”

Milada shrugged. “I’m not. Not really, at least.” She nodded to the bottle. “Drink up. It’s no secret that Immortalia—or even humans—need to stay hydrated in order to be at our best.”

Part of Aurora wanted to question Milada’s reasons for acting dumber than she actually was. There was undeniably more to the younger Immortalia than what meets the eyes. But at the same time, Aurora didn’t think Milada would appreciate the curiosity.

“Are you hungry?” Milada held up a small bag. “I have some fruits.”

“You’re really loving those things, huh?” Aurora asked, reaching out for one.

With a shrug, Milada took a seat beside her. “I’ve never tasted anything like it. The food they fed me at Haw Tech was all tasteless.”

Aurora nodded absentmindedly. She’d momentarily forgotten that Milada wasn’t a reincarnated Immortalia—she’d been born into the body she has now.

In truth, Aurora didn’t understand many things about Immortalia history. She’d been around for long, but time had muffled out the little details.

Milada, however, was an experiment. She wasn’t actually an Immortalia, although she had all the characteristics. Aurora glanced to Aaron. Did he have anything to do with that?

“Milada…” Aurora said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Mnn… Go ahead,” she answered with a mouth full of fruit.

“Were there any male Immortalias when you grew up?”

“There was…” Milada used her hand to wipe away some leftover juice on her cheek. “But they all died before turning sixteen. Haw Tech said it was a shame as they had massive strength.”

“Do you know how they created you? Did they have a male Immortalia there?”

Milada shook her head. “It was a breeding program—a downright nasty one at that. Basically, they impregnated a bunch of Immortalias.”

“But humans can’t impregnate an Immortalia, though.”

Milada frowned.

“We’re not born…” Aurora struggled with how to phrase it. “Basically, male Immortalias haven’t been seen since far-far back. They couldn’t be enslaved like females, and while we—the females—depended on the contract to survive, they couldn’t even make it to that point.”

“Why not?”

Aurora shrugged. “Who knows? It’s not in our nature to ask questions. That’s the humans’ job.”

There was a moment of silence where both of them seemed deep in thought.

“What do you think we’ll find in the Sacred Land?” Milada whispered.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think they’ll be like us.” Aurora leaned back. She didn’t want to talk more about it before she got some answers from Aaron. It seemed like he was the only one who would be able to shed some light on their current situation.

Milada left not long after, and Aurora was alone with her thoughts once more. She listened to the sound of Aaron’s breathing. Time passed slowly, and she had no idea how long he’d been sleeping. The rest of the women left her alone. From time to time, she’d hear a conversation in a foreign language, or the occasional laughter. Other than that, there was only silence.

It wasn’t until the dusk that Aaron stirred. Aurora must have dozed slightly, but at the first sign of movement, she jumped up. He groaned as he turned over on the side.

“Are you okay?” she blurted.

Aaron’s eyelids fluttered until they finally met hers and widened. “I—I’m fine.”

“Oh, thank god.” She was about to ask him for answers when it occurred to her that this might not be the best time. Instead, she crawled out from the cabin and gestured to the middle of the camp. “I’ll notify the others that you’re up. You should rest some more.”

She was grateful that the setting sun provided her with shadows to hide inside. She hadn’t forgotten their last conversation, and by the looks of it, neither had Aaron.

Muttering to herself, she turned on her heels and walked towards Zachary’s tent. She knew that was where she could find the other.

True to her thoughts, Valeria’s form greeted her as the first thing when she emerged from the right side of the camp. The shorthaired Immortalia was sitting beside Zachary, who was rambling about something nonsensical.

“Aaron’s awake,” she said when she reached them.

Valeria shot up. “Is he okay?”

Aurora gave a small nod. “I guess he’s sort of groggy, but that’s to be expected when he slept for so long.”

“I’ll go check on him, then.” Valeria waved to Zachary before speeding away, leaving Aurora alone with Zachary.

Awkward… She hadn’t been alone with a conscious Zachary since before Haw Tech.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

His words surprised her, and slowly, she took a seat beside him. Why did he care? She nodded slightly in response.

“Me too.” He cracked his neck. “I gotta hand it to these half-naked pretend soldiers—they know what they’re doing.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Pretend soldiers? I thought you found them scary.”

At her words, Zachary jerked his head around to face her. “You shut your filthy mouth. I’m not afraid of anything.”

Aurora simply snorted. “You haven’t changed at all, have you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know,” she muttered, “There were times where you’d actually act like a friend to me. I liked those times.”

Zachary didn’t say anything for a while. He rubbed his forehead, mumbling something to himself.

Aurora sighed. “But I really hate you with—“

“Me too,” he interrupted her.

Surprised, Aurora glanced at him. “What?”

“I liked those times too,” he said. “I really did.”

With that, he rose from the camping chair and wandered off into the forest. Aurora simply stared at him from behind.

She sat there for a long time, watching the shadows on the ground move. Zachary didn’t make any sense. Flashes of the times he’d finished a spectacular piece and jumped in joy replayed in her mind. She remembered how he’d nursed her back to health after she signed the contract. Of course, her healing had already sat in but she’d been close to dying.

“He’s special.” The voice startled her, and she turned around to find Aaron standing behind her.

“What are you doing up?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I figured it might be a good time to talk—and you already know that I’m healed. Don’t you?”

She nodded.

Aaron cleared his throat and walked closer to her. “Care to go for a walk?”

She couldn’t do anything but to oblige. They headed into the jungle, and together, they walked in silence. The sounds of nature seemed almost deafening, but Aurora had a feeling that it might be because she was tense. She did her best to relax, and finally glanced at Aaron. His brows were furrowed.

“So…” she said.

He chuckled. “This is harder than I’d imagined.” He kicked a rock from the ground.

“I saw you bleed.” She inhaled deeply. “I saw the wound to your head.”

“Yeah. I know.” He bobbed his head. “I should probably thank you for getting rid of the blood. That would have been harder to explain to the others. I’d prefer if my team didn’t know.”

“You’re a male Immortalia…” she muttered.

“In a sense, I suppose that I am.” Aaron stopped abruptly.

Aurora glanced up, realizing they’d arrived at the waterfall once more. She scoffed. “You’re going for a swim?”

He shook his head. “No, but I need your help.”

“And I need some answers.”

They stared at each other, and Aurora vowed not to back down. At last, he sighed.

“What are your questions?”

“How?” She uttered the first thing that came to mind. “How is this possible? And how come nobody knows about it?”

He shrugged. “They didn’t count on males to live past the age of sixteen. By all means, I’m created—not born—Haw Tech just hasn’t connected the dots yet.”

“How did you surpass?”

“Mainly because of Shani, I suppose.” He rubbed his head. “And now I guess you’re the reason.”

“What?”

“Do you know of human genetics?” he asked. “Their chromosomes in particular.”

“Vaguely. There’s a lot of them.”

“Are you familiar with the X and Y chromosomes?”

She nodded. “A human male has both chromosomes while a female has two X-chromosomes.”

“Very good.” He smiled. “Immortalia DNA has a similar concept. Males and females have different kinds of chromosomes. Females have three ÆØÅ chromosomes while males only have ÆØ. It’s the last chromosome that ensures our survival.”

“My head hurts.”

“Just bear with me.” He led her around the lake. “The Å chromosome is what sends out the warnings to other species.” Aaron gave her a skewed smile. “It’s why you couldn’t sense me. And why humans think I’m one of them.”

“But how did you survive, though?”

“Well. I met Shani, and she helped me escape from the private lab where I was created Then I acted as her owner until Haw Tech bought her. Based on my extensive knowledge of Immortalias that I acquired through my creator, Haw Tech decided to give me a job.”

“Sounds like you got lucky, then.”

“Well. If you think, it’s lucky to have the love of your life die in your arms, then yeah. I’m the luckiest around.”

Aurora winced. “Yeah. I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault.” He shrugged. “You do owe me an explanation about that, though.”

“Errh.” Aurora tried to find the best way to tell him. “It’s a bit hard to explain, really.”

“Just tell it to me straight.”

“I think…” Something blinked behind the waterfall, and Aurora trailed off, narrowing her eyes to see what it was. She pointed at the fountain. “Do you see that?”

“What?” Aaron looked at the fountain.

“It looks like there’s something behind it,” Aurora muttered before she skipped over the wet rocks. She didn’t care that her clothes might get soaked; it was as if the shimmer called to her. “Aaron, come on.”

She could hear him move behind her. Looking up, she tried to determine the risk of jumping into the waterfall. There was definitely something behind it, but as she stood here now, she couldn’t see anything.

“What is it?” Aaron asked.

“Aaron. I swear on my soul that I saw something. I think this waterfall is just a cover-up.”

He looked around them before settling on her again. “I believe you.” He reached down to his pocket and pulled down a small device. “In fact, I think this might the entrance to the Sacred Land.”

A/N: Please vote.