White Eyes

Chapter 9 - SAH

— Ayra —

It was so good to see the world and to gaze upon nature. I wasn't tired; my excitement from this new vision, which had been taken from me for so long, didn't allow me to feel sleepy. I wanted to explore the unknown and see everything I had never been able to see. However, I noticed that the others were tired. Darkness had taken over the forest, and the little that could be seen was illuminated by the moonlight. If we were lucky, some fireflies appeared.

"We should stop for a while," Eyder said before I could speak. I nodded. I didn't want to close my eyes; I was afraid that if I did, when I opened them again, everything would be dark, and I would discover that it had all been a good dream. It was terrifying to think of that possibility, so I preferred not to sleep. Besides, I had rested more than enough for a long time, having been imprisoned for so long.

"But you'll stay awake all night. Won't you get tired?" Eyder asked with a concerned expression.

"You can rest assured, I won't." I tried to sound convincing; I was not sure if I did, but I hoped it was enough.

"If you insist, but wake me up if anything happens; I don't mind."

He smiled at me kindly, and I found him cute. It was a different experience to keep my eyes open for so long and to see the landscape around me instead of feeling it. I didn't want to stop seeing; I was dreaming as I once had, dreaming of a freedom I didn't have in that place, dreaming of a family that loved me. I smiled, even though I wasn't yet safe; now I was free, even though there was still a chance they could capture me again. This was a moment of freedom. I smiled at the moon while everyone else slept, wondering what other beautiful things I would see.

The next day was similar to the day before, but this time, we passed by a city that seemed larger than the previous one. Eyder went there once again, probably to check on the developments in the dome. Lina sometimes walked ahead of us, and she filled me in on things I didn't know, like SAH, the Special Abilities Hunters, and how they were separate from the police. As someone who had just started to understand everything so far, I had my own impressions of SAH. In my view, what they wanted was more the abilities than the people themselves; if they could rip the abilities from us even if we died, I had a feeling they would.

After learning about the existence of this organization or police force called SAH, I realized that Eyder was keeping an eye on them. Lina acted as my news source, but instead of daily news, she told me what had happened in the entire world. For example, she told me that SAHs were all over the world, and the dome we were in was one of many worldwide. The world had become something else; she told me that before a boy blew up a factory containing nitrogen, it wasn't that bad. But after that incident, things had gone from bad to worse because it was reported worldwide, and people with SA, or special abilities, were painted as villains. Before that, there were still minor persecutions.

She told me what was reported in the news about the incident:

"What they showed in the news had nothing to do with what actually happened. How do you know what happened?"

"Well, I lived on the same street as the factory, and on that day, I was going to buy bread. My father worked at the factory, and luckily, it was a Sunday, so he wasn't there. Recapping, they were starting to crack down on SA people and the whole government thing. The propaganda about the government facility had been around for a long time before I became aware of it."

"It seems like they've been acting for a long time."

"I don't know exactly how long, but I do know that these facilities, the domes, have existed for over three decades. During that time, they wanted anything they could use to paint our Special Abilities, a name coined by the scientist who began identifying them, as curses that were doomed to destroy the whole world."