INTEGATES (Original Story)

CHAPTER 13 - HELP

One shall succeed, others shall fail.

One would make it and the others won't. Succeed and fail on what? And who, exactly? Mitchell said that the images I see and most likely my nightmares too, probably carry messages. As to what, I didn't know. Yet. But the first line made me think of our team. We had a mission. It was a make or break situation.

If that line meant us, one would only flourish. One would only reach the end. And I couldn't take the idea. It drove me insane, turned my throat dry and my stomach on the verge of throwing up. There wouldn't be any risking of life. Not on my watch. I would make sure we all survive.

The answers lie within the female

What answers? I had a gut feeling that they were for me. Because I was the one who needed those. I seek for the end to my questions. But what kind of answers? Would it afford the antiquity I yearned for? Would it build the unfiltered nature my lost soul hankered? The line also said that someone else was involved. Who is it? Who is the female? Where do I find her?

Vengeance shall come, all memories too

It was the most obvious and clear stanza in the verse. Other than justice, my mission was about revenge. In the end, it would come, just like how I planned. Though the next three words made me feel a little torn because there was a high chance that I would get back the memories I've lost. I wanted them so bad, but at the same time, I didn't know if I could handle everything that I would remember. Or even if I would be delighted with what I would discover about myself. About my past.

When hunting ends, truth is few

Hunting, presumably, meant our quest to Riley's camp. Or just Riley, herself. The whole thing was only revolving around her. The search was our needed finality. It has to end. One way or another. But the scary part was the last. Truth. Few. Those two words in one phrase didn't sound appealing at all. They signaled bad news.

Yet that last line somehow contradicted the previous one. Or maybe more of clearing it? Does it mean that vengeance has a corresponding compromise? That if the mission comes to a close, I would realize that everything was a lie? Which story was true? Who were the only ones telling me the complete truth?

Those thoughts kept rampaging inside my head as we continued on with our pacing. I ordered the three teenage girls to not mention what we just found out to Raiden and Wyren, and to not speak of it again until I figure it out. It was already a matter that I have to take care of my own. I refused to make them part of it because all four sentences only sounded trouble. They were in my dreams. They were for me. And it should stay that way.

I wanted to think that maybe the verse didn't mean anything. But it was likely impossible because it appeared countless times. Over and over. The message was always specific. It couldn't be nothing. And I had to uncover it before it was too late. Before things could get worse.

Being distracted and not completely focusing on the task at hand, my team had to keep me intact. When Raiden and Wyren came back with their captured animals, skin-removed and ready to be roasted, I couldn't process anything else afterwards. I hardly paid attention to their conversation during the entire lunch. Their voices were muffled as if my ears were voluntarily blocking them. Alianna had to call me out when I was unconsciously just playing with my food. No one dared to ask if I was okay because, obviously, I wasn't. And they just let me rest my eyes as I leaned my back on a rock surface.

The only time my head drifted off from decoding the four sentences was when they ask where the compass points at. It was just a split second of sanity. Then I get back to burying myself into my own created zone. Frustrated was such an understatement. It was driving me utterly insane.