Children of Elisium
Chapter 16: Her Name

The little girl with obsidian orbs and brown hair woke up to a dull pain that shot up from her arm and scattered to the rest of her body. The first thing she could see was a high ceiling lined with round lights. Then, her dark orbs focused on the big rough hands that were hooking her on the same large machine the adults had used on Zain Amina.

Multiple multicolored wires were attached to her chest and on her arm. 373 could hear the constant humming of the machine that was operating right beside her. Her dark eyes gazed at the small orb inside the machine’s compartment that seemed to glow with life. The light slowly turned into a greenish liquid substance that seeped into a translucent line that was connected to her chest. The girl’s black orbs followed the eerie green fluid until it finally disappeared into her chest. When it did, an unexplainable heat seemed to bloom in her chest before spreading out to each and every vein of her body.

The female shuddered slightly and clamped her eyes shut. A few moments later, the pain subsided to a dull throb. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze met the gaze of a silver-haired man who had glassy blue eyes. His orbs shifted from her to the other researchers who were in a state of disarray. His deep but flat voice was commanding. “Go. Fetch a poison to test if the Talent Implantation was a success.”

Both the silver-haired man and the researcher he had ordered turned to leave. 373 closed here eyes shut as the pain continued to hammer at her skull. Memories flooded her mind. She remembered the line of identical beds, the faces of the children in the class of Aquarius. She saw the blue-eyed boy with a wild untamed mane of gold. She remembered the girl with beautiful dark skin and hair as dark as the night sky. She remembered the events that happened two nights ago and the young man who was trying to save her from Elisium.

373′s eyes were vacant as she stared up at the evenly spaced lights that hung above the ceiling. She felt empty – like someone had taken out the contents of her chest yet forced her to live. Michael Caelum was gone. And she had been unable to save him. She had been unable to fight her way out of Elisium. Was this going to be her life now? Was she going to be just like Leon?

Why didn’t she die?

A loud growl tore through the operating theater. The scent of ash and burning assailed the little female’s senses. A mix of anger and sadness washed into her as an indescribable heat enveloped her body. The girl knew the feelings weren’t hers. 373 turned her head and saw a boy surrounded by fire. His brilliant blue eyes were unfocused and wild – almost like a wild animal had taken control over his body. But they were still clear. His gaze was proud and haughty, resembling that of a champion who didn’t cower at the sight of defeat.

It was a gaze she was familiar with. The flames that burned in Leon’s brilliant eyes were the same as the fire that had always burned in Michael’s multicolored orbs. It was the same gaze Zain Amina had given the small girl a few moments before she died. It was the same as the gazes of her classmates from the class of Aquarius.

It was the gaze of someone who wanted to live.

373′s breath hitched in her throat. A feeling of guilt washed upon her. She closed her eyes shut. Her small hands balled into fists.

She watched Zain Amina die.

She let Michael Caelum die.

For being completely useless, she deserved nothing but death.

But every time Leon’s groans rang in her ears, 373 wanted to break her restraints and help him.

Every time she thought about the children in class Aquarius, she wanted to use her spells and defeat anyone who stood in their way.

Every time she thought about the demon in the underground chamber, she wanted to appear right before him and set them free.

She had let people die.

And yet, she didn’t want to accept her death.

She wanted to live.

‘Life moves on for those who live. But even so, I would do my best to carry on with my life while remembering you… while making your name and your life into a beautiful memory.’

A gentle voice floated in her ears and for a moment she forgot where she was. 373 was wrapped in a familiar masculine scent while a big hand played with her brown locks. A mop of amber hair and multi-colored eyes flashed in her head. His gaze was brimming with kindness and warmth.

His lips moved and said a single name.

Her name.

“373! Come with us!”

Sirens shook the laboratory. As the boy’s flames grew brighter, the more chaotic the hall became. Researchers ran out while Spellcasters and security personnel ran in with their leather combat boots and rifles. The noise made the child’s head hurt so badly she didn’t notice a woman remove the restraints from her limbs. A pair of slender hands set her down on the floor and wrapped her in a small white jacket before an older male offered to take her away.

“Hurry up, 373! We need to go!”

A big heavy hand made a move to grab her. But the girl’s black orbs only stared at the white-coats with a cold gaze as she slowly backed away.

“...Aria.” Her voice was soft and she spoke the syllables slowly, like a girl who just learned to speak for the very first time.

The male researcher stared at her with surprise. “What?”

“My name…,” Static danced on the female’s fingers as bolts of lightning shot in multiple directions. Her lips arched up in a small smile. “-is Aria.”

She avoided the hands that tried to grab her. The girl twisted her body and jumped up on a metallic shelf before sending the metal cabinet tumbling down with her weight. Her deep black orbs scanned the operating theater for a split second and located the blonde-haired boy that had caused the pandemonium in Elisium’s operating theater.

Pillars of flame shot from the ground. Leon was attacking everyone and everything in sight. The girl with brown hair took a step back. 373 swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed her regrets to the back of her head. She extended her hand and scattered her energy on the floor below.

“Mutatio: Terrae.”

Flows of magic wove a net below their feet and as soon as her spell was complete, the ground shook and shot out in multiple directions white the metal floor formed multiple fissures that isolated Leon from the rest of the researchers.

The boy with unkempt blonde hair’s attention moved from the adults to hers. The little girl met the blue orbs which seemed to look right past her. The male stared at her before turning his back on the girl. 373 smiled to herself. It was almost like he was telling her to go.

The eight-year-old girl turned and jumped off her perch while sparks of magic wrapped around her small lithe body. Her figure disappeared way before her feet touched solid ground. The space around her warped and blurred until her surroundings changed to that of the ever-familiar field with an artificial sky where the class of Aquarius was supposed to have their sparring session.

The ground shook as the roaring sirens continued to echo within Elisium’s white walls. Adults frantically ran to and from Elisium’s rooms while taking the children along with them towards hallways the children have never seen before.

The class of Aquarius was currently being ushered out of the artificial football stadium when a special spell unfolded in the middle of the field. The two teachers assigned to the class stiffened. Before they could surround the point where the spell converged, the silhouette of a small brown-haired girl appeared before them and the class of Aquarius.

The faces of the adults paled. While the children behind them looked at their visitor with awe, the white coats stared at the little girl like they had seen a ghost.

“373… what are you doing here?”

The female child didn’t answer. Her body flickered out of sight and reappeared in midair right behind the adult who had asked the question. Her small hand grabbed the man’s neck and pulled him down with her descent. Before the other teacher could react, 373 slammed her foot into the white coat’s crotch and blew him away with a gust of air.

373′s classmates approached her as the girl bent down and put her hand over one of the adults’ eyes. The closer they were to the solitary girl, the more they could see the little girl’s features. In three days, her already petite figure appeared skinnier and the color from her porcelain like skin was almost non-existent. In contrast to her sorry state, her eyes seemed to have aged a decade but contained a domineering aura that didn’t exist the last time they saw her.

When the girl lifted her gaze to look at them, 373′s black orbs seemed to soften. Out of the blue, a series of images flooded in each of their minds. The children felt a peculiar power embracing them as they saw the hallways beneath Elisium’s classrooms and the hidden pathway that the researchers were leading the students to. Dozens of cars and transport vehicles were lined in a wide holding area that was well guarded by ranked Spellcasters. There were gigantic vehicles with mounted containers that housed rows and rows of metallic cages. Inside each cage was a child. As soon as the containers were full, the vehicles would drive out towards a horizon filled with sand.

The images faded, but the children understood. 373 had shown them one of the adults’ memories. Gabriel Fernandez took a step towards her and gave her a glaring look. “What are you trying to do?”

The group of six Spellcasters that arrived at the scene didn’t let 373 answer the question. The handful of adults in gray combat uniforms circled the students of Aquarius like vultures eying their prey. An adult in a white-coat pointed at the girl with black eyes.

“Capture her alive!”

Pillars of energy shot out from the Spellcasters’ fingers and flew towards the children. The six lances pulsated and morphed into a large net. 373 flexed her fingers and the energy inside the large room seemed to respond to her movements. Before she could launch her attack, a gigantic shadow launched itself from the ground and met the net of energy.

Gabriel Fernandez tumbled to the ground and used brute strength to dispel the screen of energy. He cockily dusted off the dirt on his clothes and made a show of glaring at 373. “You’re not the only one who knows how to fight, you know! Show off!”

373′s lips twitched. Just who exactly was showing off between the two of them?

Gabriel Fernandez shot out like a bullet and tackled one of the Spellcasters to the ground. The round male wrestled with the adult before throwing the ranked Spellcaster five feet above their heads. The boy’s single attack started a chain reaction within the class or Aquarius. The once obedient children began chanting incantations and summoning spells on their fingertips.

The small female joined the fray with complex spells and made sure to keep the rest of her classmates safe. Her dark eyes scanned the battlefield and a mischievous glint flashed in her black orbs. She leapt in front of all the children and tugged Gabriel Fernandez back. “Get back.”

The other boy looked at her with an expression of someone that liked being the spotlight. “I don’t want to.”

“Suit yourself,” the girl muttered. She quickly cast a spell and put her hands on the ground. An intricate pattern blossomed from her fingers to the rest of the floor. The ground beneath their feet glowed as magic flowed out from the small girl’s body while she cast her spell.

“Implicata. Mutatio: Terrae.”

The Spellcasters automatically leapt away from the field which had turned into a valley of spikes. The researcher who had led them to the wide hall was livid and red-faced. “Kill that damn brat!”

One of the ranked Spellcasters restrained him. “Sir, she’s the first successful container! We can’t harm her!”

“Dammit! Then what are you waiting for!?” The white-coat rushed towards 373 who remained where she stood.

“Hey! What the hell! Move!” Gabriel Fernandez shouted at the top of his lungs.

The girl smirked. Her hand left the floor and the undulations of energy warped on her command. The sharp pikes that lined the field crumbled before turning into a gigantic wave that threatened to drown the Spellcasters alive. Gabriel Fernandez decided to momentarily stop his stubbornness and slinked right behind the small girl. The men and women in gray clothing tried to move away from 373′s attack. But just when they thought the wave had subsided, spears of earth shot out and formed a cage around the group of adults.

373 shifted the landscape and paved a clear path for the children. “Run towards the vehicles and get out of here.”

Gabriel Fernandez scoffed. “That’s it? That’s the plan?!”

“No time,” the girl replied with a flat tone. “Just try to avoid the adults at all costs and get someone to drive you out.”

“What makes you think an adult would be willing to drive us out of Elisium?” The big plump guy snorted. “What if they stop us? What if they won’t set us free?”

“They taught us to fight so we’ll fight.” Black eyes glimmered as she gave the other male a suggestive smile. “Or do you want me to do all the threatening for you?”

“Ah! Shut up! Shameless! Show-off!” Gabriel Fernandez slapped her arm and faced the other children of Aquarius. “Let’s go!”

A girl who looked younger than 373 tugged Gabriel’s sleeve and pointed at 373. “What about her?”

The female with dark orbs gave them a wistful smile. Her eyes were on the white walls but it seemed she was staring at something that lied beyond the indestructible walls.

“There’s a blonde idiot I still need to save,” she replied. She gestured for them to go first and devoted her attention at the adults who were trying to escape her cage.

The boy with a huge build nudged her. “Hey, do you know how to replace us?”

The girl with brown hair nodded. “Next time, don’t call me ‘hey’. Call me Aria.”

Gabriel Fernandez puffed up his chest and feigned annoyance. “Then make sure you don’t die before we meet again!”

373 tried not to laugh and replied with a nod.

The children went off and ran towards the exits. 373 took a deep breath and used Adicio to go back to the wide operation theater where Leon remained. Blistering heat greeted her the moment she stepped foot in the room. The once pristine operating room had turned into an inferno. Researchers were trying to put out the flames while dozens of high-ranking Spellcasters were trying to subdue the boy with blonde hair with the intent to kill.

The small girl rolled up her sleeves revealing a pair of thin arms that were marked with multiple scars that hadn’t healed. A sigh escaped her lips. Although nonchalance was plastered on her face, she had felt her energy fluctuating ever since the bright green liquid had entered her veins. She ran towards the nearest Spellcaster and summoned a rain of lightning that struck her opponent and the people behind him.

373 maneuvered through the throng of adults while sending spells their way. Two Spellcasters tried to intercept her just as an explosion detonated right between 373 and the two adults. The small female was sent flying and crashed against a metal cabinet sending sterilized knives and other implements falling to the floor.

373 coughed. Blood trickled out of the corner of her lips. Her body was heavy. Her entire world seemed to be shifting on its axis. She paid no mind to how her sight was growing hazy. The child stood up and wiped the ruby red liquid with the back of her hand. She ignored the pain that was gnawing at her skin. She ignored the searing heat that assailed her senses.

Success was a fickle thing. It often relied on the simplest things. Sometimes, it disappeared because of the smallest changes. 373 knew that this was her last chance to save Leon from Elisium. She could still fight. If she was lucky, she could head to where Gabriel Fernandez was and make it out of Elisium alive with Leon in tow. But her success was something as uncertain as the weather. Because even if she had the strength to defeat everyone in Elisium, even if she had the luck to catch up to the class of Aquarius, it all came down to whether her body could hold out until the end.

And right now, that was something 373 didn’t want to know.