by BRANDON WOO
17
The Illusion
Hector:
I woke up with a huge headache, its like a huge truck smacked me in the face. Must have been quite a ride last night.
Okay. What happened?
The waves were wild, constantly splashing against the rocks.
Several shipwrecks and plane wrecks were seen out at sea.
Our ship must have been wrecked. I woke up with a splash of salted water in my face. I woke up, still in blur. I adjusted my sight to this new view of all this lush green forest ahead of me and the white soft sand on the ground. I slowly stood up and pulled myself together.
I picked pulled out my skate sword from the sand that was a few meters away from me and placed it on my back. My head swoons to keep it together from all tossing and turning from that big tidal wave last night or was it a few nights ago. I tried to remember how I got here but it was all a blur, but I would suggest that I swam here.
I looked around, no sign of The HARDY, Rudy, Tony or Hanna.
Looks like I’m on my own.
3.00 pm.
I’m not really sure what’s the time but based on the sunlight, its the afternoon. I was hungry and thirsty.
The sun scotched the sky and the land. It feels like forever.
I walked into the forest, not far from the beach because I don’t want to get lost. Sheltering myself from the sun. I rested below a smooth gray tree trunk. It was rough outer bark peels readily. Revealing a smooth-surfaced inner bark. On their branches, The leaves created a shade that still has gaps in between them. This wood appears to be dense and highly rot-resistant so it is excellent for construction and firewood.
There were many trees like the one I was resting under.
The mud was slightly dry. Raindrops fell from the leaves, creating a small shower, drip by drip. What’s odd about the forest is that has oddly grown big thick vines lying all over the muddy ground. I could also find some bamboo trees oddly planted around the forest, reaching to great heights from the ground.
This is strange.
These bamboo trees are not supposed to be here.
“Hector! Hector!” a voice called.
It was Rudy with his shield and Tony.
“you okay bro?” he asked.
“yeah.” I replied.
“where’s Hanna?” Tony asked. “I thought she’s with you.” I said.
Tony ran straight into the forest.
“Hanna! Hanna!” Tony called out.
“Tony wait!” Rudy caught up.
I followed them in. Rudy got his crossbow ready.
“Hanna! Hanna!” Tony repeated.
Nothing. I looked around this odd forest thinking this is the oddest forest I’ve been in. I’ve been into only one forest but this is odd.
I sensed a strong energy around the place. In fairy tales, the forest is one of these great symbols which have been ever-present in myth, legend, literature, film and others. But this is no fairy tale. We just some how winded up in a beach with a big forest.
If you followed us on this adventure, you would strike it as odd too. Its like a bad mix of anything that you’ll never expected to ever see together.
Wet tropical rain drops fell, dripping on the ground. The life here in the forest can make you oblivious to the life outside. For a second, I thought I was in vacation. If I recall, the forest constitutes a big collection of living plants and animal species in the world. “watch your step!” Tony warned. “you never know what lurks in here.”
We walked deeper into the forest. The further we walked in, the odder we find this forest to be.
I found some sunflowers, a few coconut trees and even some oak trees.
“there you are!” a voice called out.
It was Hanna, still holding the wired sword bag, revealing the handle of the sword. In her hands.
“Hanna!” Rudy exclaimed.
“wired forest huh?’ Hanna asked.
She was standing on a oak tree in between a ring of bamboo trees.
You can barely see the sun from here. She is still holding on her
“yeah. Wired.” I agreed.
We gathered around back at the beach, bringing all the supplies that we can salvage. A box with some tools, a bag with some blankets and a cargo with some change of clothes. Who leaves these items together like this? But we were grateful.
We got changing. Unlucky enough, there was only shirts and coats. Warm and dry but no pants. I only managed to get a worm green shirt that fits to replace other wet white and gray shirt.
Tony got a big brown coat while Hanna got a long sleeved black shirt.
Rudy had the most relaxing shirt of all, a colorful red, yellow to orange collar shirt. Rudy added the feel when he tore his long blue jeans short.
Suits him just fine.
Hanna hid somewhere and changed into a white long sleeved shirt and wore a big red coat.
We sat back in the beach, trying to figure out what we need to do next.
Hanna brought some chopped bamboos back after she changed, she went in again and pulled out some rocks as created a circle. Hanna’s sword is revealed to be a silver gun-sword with a handle that has a gun cock on. Its sword length is short but bulky. At the base of the blade, there is a dug opened hole that can fit a bullet inside.
She then took the bamboos and constructed a pyramid and added some leaves and small tree branches. We sat around the campfire with no fire.
Waiting for someone to say something.
“so, I’m guessing we’ve been here for about half a day.” Tony began.
“no sign of HARDY?” Rudy asked.
“she’s gone.” Tony said quietly.
“well that leaves us helpless.” Hanna said.
“what about the map?” she asked. “gone” Rudy said. “all for nothing.”
“alright then, lets find a way to get out.” Tony said. Trying to make light of the situation“use those fire powers of yours to start a fire.”I powered up and flung my last remaining flame at the pyramid of bamboos began to caught fire. Hanna’s eyes widen when she saw the blazing flame ignite.
“cool!” she smirked.
“that’s why we need him.” Rudy said.
The sky was beginning to turn dark and we must have not eaten for quite some time. Using my powers, I was able to cut some coconuts down and blast some fishes out.
Tony used his tree climbing skills and the cargo bits to create a tree top scouting spot.
Rudy used his crossbow to catch some fishes.
Before dark we happily ate roasted fishes and drank coconut drinks.
A minute ago we were upset with the map lost, now it seemed to have left us. “you know this is the best fun I had after so long.” Rudy said.
“me too Rudy.” Tony added.
Rudy and Tony went off to sleep early while Hanna and I took first shift.
There were so many questions I wanted to ask about Hanna.
“its nice out here huh?” she asked.
“yeah.” I answered.
“so you’re a Convict.” she declared.
“yeah, all my life.” I said.
I told her everything. I told her how I met Rudy. I told her about The Lab and everything I said. Thinking back, The Lab has done good than bad to me. They’ve taught us how to control and use our powers, how to get out of situations I was in.
Maybe their motives were bad but their actions, some seemed well.
There was no one here but just the four of us.
What was there to fear?
“must have been hard.” Hanna finally said after hearing my story.
“well, its okay.” I said.
“you must have missed her.” she gave me a pat on the back and stared at me with sympathy.
“yeah.” I admitted. “there’s never a day I forget about Alice.
Even when I escaped, I told myself that I need to look for her again. My hope was that she is okay.”
I thought I w
as going to cry. Mentioning about Alice made me tear up sometimes.
“what about you?” I asked her.
“well,” Hanna began.
“lets just say I had a rough start as a kid. Things became sour, then came the first generation of Convicts.”
“you were there when it happened?” I asked.
“yes.” she answered. “then I moved to Seattle and met Rudy and The Guys.” she added “I’ve seen things.”
That I can relate. I believe when you in a middle of a civil war, you’ll see things that will turn you literally white. Heck! You can even die.
“a Convict is still a human, I don’t understand why must the world look at people you so differently. You have my respect Hector.”
I was beginning to think people don’t hate us at all. Mel, Rudy now Hanna. My faith in humanity might have returned.
“after this, lets go and destroy The Lab. What do you say?” she asked.
“if we live that is.” I said.
“don’t be such a downer Hector.”
Hanna looked out to the sea. The camp fire revealed little of her face but I could see her fine.
“life as a human or Convict will have one thing in common.” she said.
“which is?” I asked.
“hardships.”
Maybe she’s right. Maybe for some people. Life is hard but for Convicts, it will always be hard. I vowed to myself never to go back to the city. If I did, I’m not only going to get caught. I’ll be dead.
The way it works is this, the Lab takes escaping or attempts to escape a huge no. Which is why you won’t see a Convict around to attack the Lab and eventually dig their own graves and get themselves caught and killed. When Jake mentioned a change, I pictured more guards, more patrol and more of anything from the Lab. Going back there is better but we are here for answers, not on a trip.
“your a good man, Hector.” Hanna said.
“well, I guess you can say that.” I replied.
“maybe when you discover the truth, you can go back and you know, show them what Convicts are really made of.”
We both rested late that night. What she said might sound like what an Anti-Lab protester would say. I closed my eyes, decoding not to think so much about all that I’ve heard and slept on my cloth protected bed.
It felt like forever. We woke up the next morning, spending most of our day exploring the island.
With some fur coats, and the remaining cargo wood, we’ve manage to create shelter.
Tony was hoping to find more food and other resources. Rudy brought her crossbow shield and Hanna with her gun-sword. Working with these few humans was great. Feels like how I used to camp out with Alice and my family. I wonder how are they and if they missed me.
We decided to journey into the jungle again, finding out exactly where we were.
Bamboo trees, big vines, same way how we met Hanna.
“I’m guessing Japan” Rudy said.
“maybe Korea.” Hanna pointed out.
“I’m no scientist but I doubt its either of those two.” Tony said.
“maybe Tony is right.” I agreed.
I looked at one of the leaves from the bamboo tree.
why would bamboo trees and big vines be in an island like this?
I gave a good look at the leave in hand.
Its not odd just strange. There was something I couldn’t get my finger on.While the others were trying to out wit each other, I sensed the oddness of this forest.I looked at the leave again.
It is odd. A small detail is missing.
The leaf veins are missing!
This forest is not natural!
So the forest is not natural.
Now what? What caused my concern is who did this.
“so its not natural.” Tony said.
“what about it?” Rudy asked.
I was putting in my thoughts about what is going on. If these are not trees, then what are they?
Rudy began to dodge every single tree he sees.
“they’re not poison Rudy!” Hanna defended.
“how should you know?” Rudy asked.
A second after that, the whole forest began to grow even taller.
“look!” Tony called.
I looked towards where Tony is pointing and noticed something strange that shouldn’t be in a forest. A big block of a wall.
“hey yeah, why is it there?” Rudy asked.
“only one way to find out.” I said.
We walked nearer towards the wall but it was empty.
It was a huge red brick wall. Unpainted. Cemented but unpainted.
What is going on?
“you did this?” Rudy asked facing me.
“I can burn stuff not build walls, Rudy.” I snapped.
“then how the heck did it appeared in the middle of a forest?” the forest got weirder for the four of us.
A loud rustle of trees started falling to the ground.
It was coming right for us!
We ran as it falls and breaks fall its way on us.
“come on man!” Rudy said. “do your fire thing!”
“fire at the leaves.” I ordered.
Without a question, Rudy fired. Beams of red sticks landed on the nearby leaves.
The leaves started to burn up. Creating smoke around us.
Good. “keep shooting.” I said.
He Fired more.
I absorbed the fire when I felt it was charged, I powered my hands and threw my fist against the wall.
The red wall began to rumble and crack. I punched again.
CRACK!
The wall begins to break. Rubbles of red breaks cracked from my punch and obliterated the whole wall.
“whoa” Tony Exclaimed.
Followed by the rest of us. Even I was surprised.
I didn’t know I had this strength in me.
The wall reveled an all too familiar. Another Lab!
This brings back bad memories.
The cold and lifeless place. The smells of medicine. The halls echoes with the voices of despair and broken lives.
The Experiments.
The dark and scary nights.
Just remembering it gives me the chills.
The cells was the hard one to forget.
“wait, so this place is a Lab?” Rudy asked.
“yeah and has a really strange name.” Tony added. The whole thing must have been kept hidden.
We entered the Lab and looked around.
The place was surrounded with vines.
The cells were different from the one I was in.
The Convicts in it was free to move. There is a bed for all.
But the walls and even the door is concrete.
There’s only a small hole for oxygen.
“Sawflies.” Hanna said.“they are called Sawflies.”
Then I realized.
Hanna is a Convict.
“I’m sorry Hector.” Hanna said.
Rudy and Tony turned and turned wide eyed at Hanna.
Hanna had two Bamboo trees facing at us like snakes.
Hanna signaled the bamboos.
The bamboos smacked Rudy and Tony off to the ground.
“Hanna! What are you doing?” I asked.
“I need you to collect you Hector! The Dragonfly that has escaped the hands of The Lab.” her expression became berserk like.
I looked at the cells and realized they are kid.
Shouting, calling me to set them free.
“ Hanna?” I asked.
“what is this place, did you kidnap these kids?”
Hanna chuckled. “Sawflies stick together right?”
More bamboos showed up. She laughed loudly like a crazy maniac.
“if you don’t stay, I’ll force you!”She begun to attack.
I dodged the attack and threw some fireballs at her.
FLUM! FLUM!
Hanna’s bamboos blocked the fire.
The forest was a t
rick!
I leaped and threw another fireball.
Nothing.
One of Hanna’s bamboos crept up at me and wrangled itself at me.
I struggled to pull out. “come now Hector!”
She taunted. Then a person appeared. Bursting out from one of the cells. One cell was secretly broken out. The girl appeared to be very young.
She appears to be brown skinned. she wore a short jeans at knee length and a white singlet with a jeans crop top unbuttoned
She wore a large green scarf that clearly super sized her.
She reached her hands out to the air, aiming at me.
In a flash a long cubed sized piece of cedar wood appeared from her palm and swiped across the bamboo on me.
I freed myself. And jumped off to save Rudy and Tony.
“Cassie!” Hanna yelled.
The girl, Cassie did it again.
She opened her palm and fired multiple long cubed sized piece of cedar wood all over the area.
The cubes gave a loud thud every time it hits something.
“we gotta go!” I said.
I pulled Rudy and Tony closer to the hole.
“kid! Come on!” I said.
“get out! Its too dangerous.” said Cassie.
“are you nuts?” Rudy asked finally standing up on his feet.
Tony was still unconscious.
I threw him out of the window and joined Rudy.
Without a question, Rudy opened his crossbow released more red arrows at Hanna aimlessly while she blocks each and every one of it.
“oh Hector~” Hanna sang.
We gotta go.
The longer we stay, the more nastier it’ll get.
“come on kid!” Rudy demanded.
Cassie was still fighting Hanna.
I jumped and caught her in my arms.
“what are you doing?” she asked.
I turned to Hanna and said “till the next time!”
I flamed up and flung to the hole, grabbing Rudy along.
