The heart's voice (Chapter 4)

Flo was already out of sight. Glore knew she would need her friends to help Flo get back to her own quarter. She’d never been to another quarter alone. But at the moment, she had no idea where Sky and Terra were. “Maybe they’re in their cabins… but I don’t have time to go searching for them. Flo will get in trouble if she is caught here. The twins!”

Flo knew that all she had to do was reach the transporter somehow and then she’d be able to get back to her place. She was still bursting with so much energy that it felt like she could run for miles and still be as fresh as ever. “I don’t know why that demon healed my wounds and made me feel so refreshed when he wanted to kill me. This must be a trick of his to confuse me and lead me to him so that he can trap me again. I won’t fall into any of his traps next time.”

The quarter seemed empty. There wasn’t a single demon she’d come across yet. And according to her calculations it had been ten whole minutes since she’d started running. She’d left Glore back at her cabin all alone. She shouldn’t have done that but she was mad. Why hadn’t Glore mentioned this to her earlier. “Maybe she wanted me to eat up and rest first. And she didn’t even know I was close to the dragon until I told her… I shouldn’t have left her like that. Oh, I feel so sick! How could I have been such a jerk? And after all she did for me…”

Then, at a turning, two boys appeared and Flo had to stop dead in her trail. She let out a gasp just when her feet came to a halt. Flo stared from one pair of dark eyes to another, frightened deep within her heart. Silently, she started backing away but the boys smiled and said, “Why, hello there. You must be the human we’re all looking for, right? Our Glore came to us telepathically and asked for our help. Her voice showed such desperation that we just could not refuse,” Ambrose spoke in a strange accent. Flo could recall that few people talked like that back on Earth at the hospital. They stretched their words a little bit more than normal. “Uh… hi?” Flo responded a bit shyly. She noticed that the twins weren’t dark skinned. Their skin had just seemed dark due to the lack of proper lighting near the cave of lungs. It was actually light brown. It made their eyes stand out more.

“Don’t worry, he only talks like that when he’s hyper,” Dro whispered and smiled, placing a hand near his mouth to keep Ambrose from hearing. ‘As if that would work,’ Flo thought and actually smiled back.

“Hey, don’t tell her that.”

“Why not? Don’t worry, she won’t bite you.” And Ambrose actually blushed after that. Flo couldn’t help herself. She laughed openly. She never used to laugh in front of demons or maybe she never laughed at all because there had never been anything to laugh about. Unfortunately, her mind raced ahead of her, reminding her about where she was headed; that the heart needed her. She ceased her laugh and composed her face quickly, “So where’s Glore?”

“Oh, she’ll meet up with you later. She sent us here to get you,” the twins spoke together.

“Why didn’t she come along?” Flo asked, fearing that maybe Glore did not wish to see her anymore.

“Because she wasn’t near. She whispered into our hearts.” Ambrose said, “Don’t know how she does it.”

“Why didn’t she whisper into my heart to stop?”

“Oh, she called out to you. I mean she shouted but you didn’t stop. That’s when she felt our presence nearby and whispered to us to come to you,” Dro explained, “She told us everything so you’ve got nothing to worry about. Now take our hands and we’ll leave.”

“No transporter?”

“Nope.” Dro and Ambrose looked at each other and smiled. Flo felt uncertain about this but if Glore trusted them, then she had to too. She grabbed hold of both their hands and the next thing she knew, she was standing inside her own quarter again. Flo retrieved her hands and looked around. It was the hallway near her room. ‘So this is their special skill. Why do I get the feeling this isn’t the only thing they can do?’

“Thanks for bringing me all the way her. I hope it was no trouble. I’ll be on my way now. The dragon needs me.” Flo waved them goodbye and they nodded. She headed towards the route that led to the heart.

“Let’s go, Dro,” Ambrose said and began to walk away when he noticed that his brother wasn’t moving.

“What? Don’t tell me–”

“I want to see it, Ambrose. The dragon heart. I’ve never gone there before. This could be a great chance for us.”

“No way! We are leaving right now. We’re not even supposed to be in this part of the quarter and yet here you are, already thinking of going further.”

“Oh, come on now. Don’t be such a scaredy cat. Flo’s going to need our help too you know. She can’t do this alone.” Dro turned and started walking in the direction Flo had just ran off to when Ambrose grabbed his shoulder gently and turned him around. “I’m not going.” He stared into his brother’s eyes and Dro sighed. “Fine, don’t go. At least go find Glore and tell her where we are. Then you can get back to class, oh faithful student.” This time, Dro spoke in the unfamiliar accent. Ambrose gave his shoulders a slight squeeze before nodding and disappearing off.

Flo found was frantically running down the steps in the dark. Her lantern was not on the wall. She remembered she’d left it inside her small room. Things always got hectic when she left it there. And without light, she was only depending on her own instincts which weren’t very good. She stopped to catch her breath when she heard it. The slow, silent thumps of the heart. It was still breathing but very weakly.

Flo called out to it and took another step. “Dragon–” Her legs wobbled and her feet slipped. She screamed but was cut off when strong hands grabbed her arms from behind and stopped her fall. She whirled around the instant she was on her feet again, as if she would actually be able to see anything.

“Relax, it’s just me Dro. I came to help you out. Looks like you need help in finding the heart. Any further and you would’ve bumped into a wall.”

Flo backed her hand and touched the smooth, concrete surface of a wall. Dro was right. “You can see in the dark?”

“Yes, now come on. Ambrose has gone to get Glore. We should find a lantern and get to the heart as soon as possible.”

“Thank you,” Flo told him with tear filled eyes. Dro took her hand and led her down the stairs carefully. They found the lantern where she’d last left it. It was still glowing dimly. Flo relit it and they walked down the steps. She placed the lantern in the middle of the room and looked up at the poorly beating heart. “What… happened to you…?” she whispered in horror. The heart was no longer glowing. Blood clots were present at several places, especially at the ends of the veins. “The veins, they’re–” Most of them had turned purple as if lacking blood. The heart was also turning dark grey from the top.

Flo’s hands were covering with mouth, tears falling into them. Dro took a step forward. Even he didn’t like the look of the heart. “Does it talk to you?” he asked in a low voice with his head lowered. He couldn’t stand to look up at the dying heart. Flo gulped hard, trying to hold back her tears and searching for her voice. “D-dragon…” she squeaked.

“I don’t think it heard you. Speak louder.”

Flo nodded and wiped her tears. “Dragon. Listen to me. Who did this to you? Tell me… please,” she implored. The dragon did not speak but it’s heartbeat increased at the sound of her voice. Flo walked closer to it and placed her hand on the soft, pulsating skin of the heart. “I’m right here. Don’t go to sleep yet. I’ll set you free, I promise. But first, you have to answer me. Who did this to you? You and that boy sealed with you. I know the boy’s evil and very strong. And I can’t imagine something even stronger walking around in our quarters and attacking you.”

“No…” the heart whispered in a very weakened and hoarse voice. Dro looked up all of a sudden. Even Flo flinched. The floor shivered slightly. “You have to find… the brain… my brain. It has the answers… that you seek. If I die–”

“Don’t say that!” Flo cried out, placing her warm cheeks to the heart and hugging it.

“If I die,” the heart continued, “all my organs will stop working and they will… rot. You must hurry.”

“Where’s your brain then? I’ll go find it right away. Tell me.”

“I don’t know but I wish I did. I’m just a useless heart.” Flo buried her face deeper into it. “No, you’re not useless. You’re a very kind heart. And I don’t believe that you used to be evil when you were in your true form. I know that the wicked one here is the sealed demon.”

The heart was surprised to hear such sweet things coming from the girl who almost got killed because of him. “I’m sorry, Flo. I shouldn’t have asked you to go into that room. None of this would’ve happened. It’s my fault. Forgive me.”

“No–” Flo was saying when Dro gently shook her shoulder and backed her away. “Hey, what’re you–”

“Shh. Demon’s are approaching. Quick, under the staircase. We’ll hide there for the time being.” Dro sounded serious for the first time. When Flo turned around, Dro could see the tears and dirt, both smeared over her face. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into a dark corner under the staircase. “Stay quiet,” he whispered. They waited for a whole minute when they heard the demons come. They were heading fast. “They must be here to inspect the heart.” Dro told her.

“The lantern!” Flo almost shouted and Dro clapped his hand on her mouth to shush her. “Forget it. There’s no way we can get it now.” Flo tried to push him away but could not escape from his strong grasp. “Relax Flo. They won’t suspect anything. Trust me.” She stopped pushing him and he slowly removed his hand.

The demons came quite fast, running down the steps just like Flo had. When they looked at the heart, gasps and sighs escaped their mouths. “You see this?” Melda asked, pointing at the blood clots. Crayz and Jon both frowned at them. “What about it?” Jon asked.

“They’re clotted which means it has been a while since it was attacked. The attacker might be far away from this quarter by now. Or he could be closer than we think.”

Crayz shivered and started backing away when his foot hit the lantern and it rolled over. The light shone towards the staircase where Dro and Flo had to back away further quickly. “Hey, look at this.” Crayz bent down and picked up the lantern. “The kid must’ve left it here. She’s a trouble maker I tell you, causing trouble wherever she goes. Now why is that?”

Melda stomped toward him and snatched the lantern from his hands, “No, she works here, you goof!” Her face hinted realization as she turned around towards the heart again. “She works here…” Melda repeated, but in a softer tone.

“So?” Jon said.

“So I bet she might have seen or heard something. You two should look for her at once. She might know something that will give us a clue to solving this mystery.”

“Why do we have to look for her,” Crayz complained, making an irritated face. Melda walked over to him again until her nose was just inches away from his. “Because I said so.” She used her most fierce voice this time and Crayz had no choice but to drop his eyes. “Anyway,” she said, looking at a watch on her wrist, “I’ve got a class to teach. The kids have waited long enough and I bet they’re getting noisier by the minute. I’ve already told you what to do no go. Don’t just stand there looking at my face.”

Flo stiffened when she heard that they were going to demand answers from her. She knew that Crayz would just look for ways to blame her for this accident somehow. And Jon wouldn’t say much at all, let alone defend her. And she just realized that Dro had to get back to his class otherwise he’d be in trouble and she would be the one to blame after that. “Dro,” Flo whispered.

“I know,” he replied just as silently. They came out of the shadows once the danger was over for the time being.

“Go.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not leaving you here. Those guys are dangerous. They could hurt you.” Flo looked into his eyes and saw that he wasn’t just saying this. He meant it. She didn’t ever think that Dro would be the kind of person who would worry about things. Ambrose was the one who was always scared.

“No,” Flo spoke boldly, shaking her head as well. “You are going back to your class. I’ll be fine. I know how to take care of myself. You have to get back. And send Glore back too. I don’t want anyone getting in trouble because of me.”

“Don’t worry… we’ll just blame my brother.” Flo wanted to laugh at that but knew that she had to keep her face composed, otherwise Dro would never listen to her.

“Dro, please. Just this one class. You can skip the next one, alright?” she pleaded.

“Fine. As you wish. I’ll leave… be careful.” Dro disappeared in a blink of an eye and Flo suddenly felt like an endangered species that had to fight to survive. She glanced at the heart which was struggling to breathe properly. “I won’t take long…” she said, taking her lantern and running upstairs again.

“Wait!” It was the heart. He was trying to say something. Flo had already reached the second staircase when she heard the shout. She came back, breathing hard, “What? Did you say something?”

“Don’t go that way. The demon scientists will find you.” She was confounded. “What do you mean? That’s the only way to go out.”

“No… there is another… way. Come here.” Flo obeyed. “Closer to my wall. I still have the power to transport you somewhere.”

She went to stand with her back facing the purple, pounding wall. Suddenly, that part of the wall started pumping louder. It started to fatten; as if something was building up inside it and it touched Flo’s skin. She jumped in astonishment but the heart assured her that it would not hurt her. She held her breath and let her body fall limp. The organ grew and started pulling her into it as if it were devouring her. It pulled till only Flo’s head was visible and the rest of her body was floating inside the organ. Very soon, even the head was covered.

Flo tried her best to hold back her screaming and thrashing. And in all the silence she’d created, she could hear her own heart’s beat match with the dragon’s heart. The squishy wobbly surface brought took turns and even stopped at one point. Then it started sloping upwards and then straight forward. All this time, Flo felt like she was on the clouds. Sure it was dark here but the way she was being carried from one place to another, it was something she’d never experienced before. She wanted to capture this moment somehow so she could rewind it and play from the start. Sadly those devices only existed on Earth. Demons never felt the need to record moments.

The organic transporter stopped and a hole appeared right beneath Flo. She hadn’t anticipated this and dropped through it rapidly. She fell down on a soft surface so it didn’t hurt. But a question kept repeating itself inside her head. “Where in the demon quarters am I?” she asked herself. It was an open area, only a small spot was covered with the dragon’s organ. And no one seemed to be around for her to ask for directions. “Wait, I can’t ask anybody. They’ll know I was running away and then they’ll suspect me. They’ll torture me till I’ve told them the truth. I’ve got to think of something…”

Dro met up with Ambrose and Glore. The two were headed towards the heart when Dro stopped them and told them to go back. “Why? I just found Glore and she’s going to go help Flo. Why’re you stopping us?” Ambrose asked.

“Because Teacher Melda’s coming this way. I heard her say that she was heading back to class. If she finds out that we’re not present, she’ll have a fit,” Dro whispered to them, turning them around and urging them to move. “What about Flo? Is she there all by herself? Did someone catch her? Is she in danger?”

“She’s alright, Glore. No need to worry about her. By the way, you guys took all that time just to get here?”

Glore and Ambrose looked at each other and then spoke at the same time, “She was lost–” “I was lost–”

“She got lost in the hallways. She’s never gone anywhere besides her own quarter alone. That’s why she got lost. And then it took me so long just to find her. The two of us were literally going around in circles.”

Dro nodded with a fake smile. “Well, I’m glad you found her, let’s go.”

They met up with Sky and Terra at the door of their classroom. “Where were you guys. We were worried. Sure, Dro is usually out of class but Ambrose?” Terra said in bewilderment.

“Something came up,” Glore replied in a hard voice and hurried past her inside the class.

“What’s she talking about?” Sky frowned. Dro brought his face near Sky’s ear and whispered,

“Listen, teacher’s here. Get inside, right now. There has been a situation and we have to act like we never left the classroom, got it?” Sky just raised his eyebrows but they went inside without another word. The students were wild; shrieking and yelling, playing pranks on each other. One kid pulled another one’s chair when he was about to sit and he fell down. He got up furiously and shoved the naughty kid, sending him to the floor. Then a major fight started.

“You really blame us for leaving a place like this?” Ambrose spoke, addressing to Sky and Terra. Terra bumped her head on the table in front of her with a huge sigh. Sky held his head in annoyance. Glore had her eyes closed and was focused on finding Flo telepathically. It was hard to communicate on long distances, let alone know one’s exact position. Yet she tried her best because she knew that it might be difficult but not impossible. She had the dragon’s blood running through her so she wasn’t going to give up so soon. Ambrose watched the whole scene. He saw the wrinkles forming on Glore’s face and then looked at the rest of the kids behind them. It was as if the five of them were the only sane demons in the entire classroom.

Dro watched as well, all the while planning an escape so that he could go help Flo. He knew that she was bound to fall into the hands of trouble again. “Hey Ambrose,” he called but Ambrose was two rows away from him. He couldn’t possibly have heard him over the noise. Dro crumpled a piece of paper and threw it at him. It hit his head and he jerked it sideways. “What?” Ambrose mouthed when he saw that his brother had thrown the paper.

“Cover for me, okay?” Dro mouthed back.

“Why? Where’re you going?” Ambrose asked, alarmed all of a sudden but Dro ignored that and went over to Glore. “I’m going to go find her and see if she’s okay.” Glore nodded without opening her eyes or breaking her concentration. Ambrose wanted to object to this idea so badly. He didn’t want his brother to get caught again. He remembered what had happened last time. The demon headmaster had beaten both his hands with a metal rod. “And those scars haven’t healed over the years… why does he keep doing things like these when he knows the consequences.”

“Because there is someone else who is more important to him than those consequences,” Glore said. This time her eyes were open and she was looking out the window beside her. Closing her eyes wasn’t helping much so she’d decided to look outside for a change. Maybe that would help improve her concentration. Sky and Ambrose looked at her and then at each other in surprise. Even Terra raised her head a bit just to show that she was also wondering the same thing.