Song: Breakaway
Extract:
Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Wanted to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I prayed I could break away
Villain mood: Two-Face
Chapter 9
"Another floral lift Pamela? Don't you ever get bored?" Haruko asked acidly.
Pamela rised above the oversized flower, sitting on a greenish mash of leaves and vines.
"On the contrary, I love them. What about you? Still fiddling with knives?" Pamela retorted.
There was tense moment as both women stared at each other, the chill of abhorrence emanating from them.
Pamela sighed and leaned back.
"You know...Now I realise why I have to help Kisho...With the Batman gone...I should be able to promote Mother Nature's floral wonders...But now...I see you meddling fools as a threat that may impede the progress of any future plans...You want to be heroes...It's not as easy as you think...So why not lead normal lives? I'll let you leave in peace if you make sure we don't cross paths in the future." Pamela said ruefully.
Haruko continued her unwavering stare.
"Be that way then." Pamela said with a scowl.
"Masks!" Haruko shouted immediately after as she put on a Japanese traditional white mask that functioned as a gas mask.
Howl started distributing gas masks to the rest of the group as Pamela raised an arm and vines shot up from beneath Kisho, lifting him up towards her. More vines appeared, some bursting out of the floor while others entered through shattering windows or snaking below doors. Haruko wasted no time as she started slicing each plant with her razor-sharp kodachi. The vines moved incredibly fast as they tried to wind around Haruko and the others. Guo Xin was trying to aim at the vines but could not get a proper shot at the slender vines with his pistol. Howl cut the vines easily with his handheld Class 4 laser device but took care not to cut off any body parts of his friends accidentally. Si Heng was wielding a chair in his hands, using it to defend himself from the onslaught of plants.
Pamela grinned sadistically, laughing silently at the stupidity of Haruko. The gas masks would not serve their purpose this time. She did not prepare any gaseous poison of any sort so the gas masks would only impair their senses. It was not long before she noticed Frank frozen on the spot, staring into space.
"Fang! Do something!" Pamela screamed.
*
Recognition. It was the first thing that hit him, hard. He stared. Somehow, his brain had froze over. His heart made a great leap and there was a strange sensation in his stomach and his breathing halted. For a moment, he looked human, all traces of animal lost. He felt passion. He had never felt it for such long time. He felt like, human. His eyes dulled as some white colour returned and the pupils became rounded. His chest constricted. There was a sour taste in his throat. His eyes felt wet.
Guo Xin?
Seeing him again was pain. Pure pain. Unbearable. Heart-wrenching. Sharp. It was a different kind of pain from the kind he disregarded in fights. It was something much worse and he never felt it ever since his genes were altered, never felt it until now. The water in his eyes amassed and a drop fell. Something in his memory stirred.
*
He had to do it. He had to stop running away. And yes, he would do it. He would confess. He strode up to Guo Xin apprehensively.
"Hi Frankie! What's up?" Guo Xin asked as he continued bouncing his basketball.
There he was, forever so cute.
"Oh nothing much. Just wanna tell you something."
"Yeah?"
He took a deep breath, trying not to melt under the pressure.
"I...Um..."
It was hard looking into his eyes. Very hard.
"Uh huh?"
"I...I...like you." He finished with much difficulty, turning away as he blushed.
Guo Xin laughed heartily.
"Glad to know that bro! I like you too! Why do you say it so hesitantly?"
"No...I mean..."
He had to get it straight.
"You mean what? You're acting kinda strange today...Who are you and what have you done to Frank Grey?" Guo Xin joked.
He made an attempt at a weak smile. This was wrong. He had to explain.
"Guo Xin...I...You don't understand..."
Guo Xin snorted as he twirled the basketball on his index finger with an air of complacency.
"Don't understand? Yeah right."
"No...I..."
"What is it Frank?" Guo Xin asked in an exasperated tone.
"I love you."
Guo Xin's face went blank for moment before he started laughing.
"Good one Frank! I thought there for a moment you-"
"Loved you?" He finished as he looked down at his feet. Why was his face so warm?
"Yeah!"
"But I do." He said softly.
"What?" Guo Xin asked in disbelief
"I love you Guo Xin."
Guo Xin looked shocked and then turned and ran, abandoning the basketball.
"Guo Xin!" He shouted. He considered chasing Guo Xin. No, it would only make things worse. He could only stand there and look longingly after him.
The basketball continued bouncing up and down, up and down. Up, down, up, down. It stopped.
Tears started to well up in his eyes, but he blinked them away furiously.
*Three years later*
He was ecstatic. The scholarship to Oxford! It belonged to him! Of course, Howl also got it but that did not matter. He walked to the podium for his speech.
"-And I want to thank my family. My parents who have taught me so much and brought me up. My grandparents who have introduced animals to me. Those friends who have stood by me. Thank you Shawn for all the good times in training! Lester for soccer! Joshua! For treating me I guess haha! G-"
He had almost said his name instinctively.
He dashed down the stage, ignoring all the curious stares and camera flashes as he passed the audience, out of the auditorium.
He was lying on the bed in his room. A photo album was spread open in front him. There were several pictures of Guo Xin and himself having fun, doing schoolwork, performing and about everything they did together. He felt worse with each page he turned.
His parents were banging on his door, asking him what was wrong, begging him to open the door.
But he refused to. He could not. He could not tell anyone. Never, ever.
A teardrop fell on Guo Xin's face in one of the photos, blurring his handsome features.
"I hate you." He whispered, throwing the photo album at the door with all the strength he could muster. He then collapsed on the bed, lying spread-eagled facing the ceiling.
Life never was fair.
But how he wished it was.
*
"Fang! Do something!" Pamela screamed.
And everything came crashing down again. Frank jumped up in shock. Anger started filling him once more. His eyes turned yellow once more and his pupils narrowed to slits. The beast in him awoke.
"Get the girl!" Pamela shouted.
Frank roared and bounded towards Haruko. The vines parted, making way for Frank. Frank had reached Haruko in a second, circling her in a predatory fashion. He snarled and pounced, arms outstretched with unsheathed claws and bared fangs. Haruko barely twisted away in time and managed to give Frank a quick slash at his arm with her kodachi. Frank snarled and pounced again, only to miss Haruko narrowly once more. Haruko took advantage of this and slashed fervently at Frank's back. Warm blood flowed out out but she noticed that the previous gash on Frank's arm was already no more than a faint red mark.
God...This guy is unbeatable...
Frank hissed this time as he collapsed onto the ground, his legs sticking together and making a big sweeping motion as if they were a tail. Haruko gasped as her legs slid under her when Frank's legs made contact with them. She fell to the ground and her kodachi was knocked away. Haruko groaned in pain as Frank moved closer to her slowly, opening his mouth to show his fangs. He leaped and landed, pinning Haruko to the ground, knocking the breath out of her. He bared his fangs once more, ready to to sink them into Haruko's neck.
Frank could only care about blood now. The feeling of warm blood gushing down his throat. Simply tantalising. But then why was he moving backwards. The girl seemed distant to him now. There were two holes in his chest. And some red liquid was flowing out. He was slumped against a wall. Rage coursed through him and he roared, the inhuman sound reverberating through the house. He charged at the assailant, ignoring the subsequent three bullets which planted themselves in his head, arm, and leg. He raised his claws, preparing to strike.
He paused. The beast in him was subsiding. He could think clearer as his mind sharpened.
Isn't that Guo Xin?
He stood there, arms poised, ready to strike. He breathed heavily, massive body rising and falling.
"Frank? Is that you?" Guo Xin asked, the two pistols in his hands still smoking.
Frank did not reply. Haruko was back on her feet, kodachi in her hands.
"Frank? Oh god...Are you ok?" Haruko asked with concern.
Frank stumbled a little.
"I...Do not...Feel pain...I...Felt..Too much of it..." Frank said slowly as he staggered.
"Frank..." Guo Xin started.
"Frank is dead. You killed him. There is only Fang." Frank said.
Two holes in his chest were disappearing as both bullets dropped out. Animal instinct was struggling to take over as he growled.
"Go...Leave...Before I kill you Guo Xin..." Frank muttered, as the two holes in his chest disappeared completely.
He could never hurt Guo Xin. And yet Guo Xin hurt him, far more than anyone else did. He was struggling. One part of him wanted to kill Guo Xin for turning him into a beastly fiend while the other part still coveted Guo Xin. He could not take it anymore. He swayed, blood still flowing out of the hole in his forehead, and crumpled.
"I think we better go." Haruko said as she severed a few more vines that started attacking.
The both of them ran towards Si Heng and Howl, telling them to leave.
Pamela was busy orchestrating the plants' assault when she noticed Frank's body on the ground.
"Urgh. I hate guns." Pamela said with a sigh.
Before she knew it, she started falling. Instinct took over and she executed an aerial somersault. She landed lightly on the ground, looking up wildly. The entire mass of plants she was sitting on had been sliced into two by Howl's laser device. Suddenly, she felt a searing pain on her arm and saw that some of the flesh had been burnt by the laser. She screeched and turned, ready to destroy the one responsible, only to receive a of freezing blast of nitrogen-cooled water. She stood on the spot, rooted to the ground. Si Heng dropped the nozzle of Kisho's gun-like device and bolted with the others. Pamela looked at her frozen legs in horror and anger. She enlisted the help of the remaining vines which started chipping away at the ice.
By the time she was freed from the icy encumbrance, she could only hear faint footsteps and realised that Haruko and the others had escaped. She clenched her fists, seething with anger. She looked outside the window and saw a car turning onto the main road. She then looked back at the unconscious Kisho and Frank. She decided she would attack them later. Besides, all plants were on her side. And she had to get more helpers, both plant and human. She absent-mindedly chose a name on Kisho's list.
"Hmm...Lester Gibe...Should be of quite some use to me..."
*
"You mean that was Frank? He's a monster now?" Si Heng spluttered.
"Technically not. His genes were somehow altered that's all...And pain receptors...Removed...That's incredible..." Howl replied.
"But why is he with Pamela?" Haruko asked.
Guo Xin remained silent throughout.
"No idea. I haven't seen Frank since university. We went separate ways. He was more of a zoologist while I was a physicist." Howl said.
"Hey Guo Xin! Frank was one of your bestest pals wasn't he?" Si Heng asked.
Guo Xin continued to remain silent. How could Frank turn into this? This beast, this animal. It was completely different from the Frank he used to know.
But there was one other thing.
That fateful day. He would never forget it, the end of their friendship. Frank had said he loved him and he ran away, unable to accept the strange fact. And from then, they never communicated. Frank just vanished from his life, as if he never existed. He never saw Frank anywhere in school but the records indicated that he was still enrolled. He never knew Frank loved...Him.
It just seemed wrong. He thought of Frank as a good friend, a very, very good one. He would love to have him as a brother. But a lover? He wasn't gay.
And that always brought him back to the question. What about him? Did he love Frank?
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