Chapter 38: Chapter 34 (Vol. 2): A lonesome Journey

Edited by: Waning_Crescents

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After Cal had left the Conciliators’ apartment complex, his heart felt heavy and his chest tight. He had left the only place that gave him a sense of security—a person he truly cared about, and yet he just walked out, leaving only a letter behind to explain his motive.

I’m truly sorry, Sigal. Cal strolled around the city, watching the people pass by, as his eyes fell upon two people who seemed to be a couple. They laughed and teased each other as they chatted about what they would make for dinner later that day. Cal stopped in his tracks and watched them for a little while; a soft smile formed on his lips.

I wonder if he is mad at me, detests me for leaving like that after all he had done for me… His expression changed into a saddened one. I really wanted to stay with him…but He bit his lower lip. I can’t, not like this.

He continued on his way, letting his mind wander to what really mattered right now: getting his memories back. He cupped his chin with his index finger and thumb, contemplating where to start. As much as I try, I won’t recall anything about my past, but… He stopped and narrowed his eyes as he looked ahead. This place might give me some clues to what happened.

 

A cab ride later, Cal found himself at the entrance of Shuri Town. The bits he still remembered fell into accordance with the circumstances presented in front of him: the poor living conditions, the rundown buildings, and the desperate people begging for money and food. Amongst all this, he spotted the small orphanage, the last place he recalled before everything went dark in his mind.

When he walked up, a little familiar boy came running towards him. It was the boy he encountered the last time he was here with Sigal. At that time, he was surprised by his partner’s actions, something which seemed completely out of character for him, but at the same time, it warmed Cal’s heart as he watched him.

“Hey, mister! You are back! You are back!” The little boy jumped happily up and down beside him with a bright smile on his lips.

Cal glanced at him with a kind expression and nodded. “Mn.”

“Are you delivering the money this time for Mr. Sigal?”

Cal tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“He has not come himself lately, but he sent people to deliver the things to us.” The boy stopped his hyperactive movements, and his expression became somewhat worried. “Is he alright?”

He didn’t even come in person because of me, it seems. Cal crouched down to the boy and smiled at him. “Yes, he is. He has just been busy. Don’t worry, ok?” He ruffled the boy’s messy brown hair, who nodded in return.

“Can we play?” the little boy suddenly asked. “My name is Matt. What’s your name?”

The boy appeared as uncaring and happy as Cal remembered him and just then he noticed that he never asked the boy for his name. “Nice to meet you, Matt. My name is Cal.”

“Let’s play, Cal. Let's play!” Matt ran around, encircling him.

“Another time, ok? I actually wanted to ask your guardian something.”

“Ok…” The boy stopped in his tracks and let his head droop down in disappointment.

“Next time, I promise.” Cal patted him on the head to cheer him up a little.

Afterwards, Matt led him to the small shack where all the orphans lived. “Mrs. Shayla!! Mrs. Shayla!!” The boy ran in, calling for the woman’s name. “Someone wants to see you!”

A minute later, a woman with long black hair walked out of the shack. Now that Cal took a closer look at her, she still must be quite young, maybe in her late twenties or early thirties, but the conditions she lived in made her appear older. Her cheeks were slightly sunken in from exhaustion, along with faint dark circles visible under her eyes.

“Sorry to bother you. I am sure you are very busy,” Cal said while bowing his head slightly.

“It’s you.” She smiled at him. “You were with Mr. Crawford the other day, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I introduced myself last time. My name is Cal Vaughn.”

“You can call me Shayla, nice to meet you.” Quite curious about why only this young man had come today, she couldn’t help but add, “I heard there was some trouble last time. Is Mr. Crawford alright?”

“Yes, he is fine. Don’t worry.”

“I am glad to hear that.” Then she took a step forward and glanced at him in silence, scrutinizing his expression for a little while. There were signs of discomfort she could discern on his face that gave her a reason for concern; thus, she asked, “What about you? You seem as if something is weighing on you.”

This question took him by surprise, not expecting that it had been so obvious.

“I have seen a lot here, as you probably can tell. I got pretty good at reading people’s expressions.” She explained as the young man fell into silence.

“Oh.” Cal let out, but then came around. “Actually, I do want to ask you something.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“The last time we were here, do you remember what happened? You mentioned some trouble. Do you maybe recall what kind of trouble?”

While the woman didn’t know why Cal asked these questions, she only needed to take a glance at his face to understand that there seemed to be a reason behind this; she refrained from asking any questions, but instead tried to recall the little pieces she heard on the streets. “The word is that an investigator had been shot on the west side of Shuri Town, but the shooter remained unknown.”

“Anything else? A possible motive or something?”

Mrs. Shayla shook her head. “No, to be honest, I try to stay away from people here as much as possible, especially for the children’s sake. I don’t want to draw too much attention to us.” She paused for a moment before she continued. “The investigator…was it Mr. Crawford? Is that the reason why we haven’t seen him anymore?”

“No, no. I mean, yeah, he got shot, but it wasn’t too serious. I was honest when I said he was fine…just a lot had happened and…” said Cal with his eyes slightly downcast. “Circumstances prevented him from coming…”

“I see. I am truly relieved then.”

“But!” Cal rummaged through his pockets and fished some money out. “I don’t have a lot on me right now, but please take it.”

The woman blinked, staring at the banknotes in his hands, hesitating.

“Please, I want to help out as well.” He gave a small smile, yet in his eyes, sadness shimmered through.

“Mn.” She nodded and took the money out of his hands. “Thank you very much. We really appreciate it.”

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“You are welcome.”

“I don’t know what happened or what is eating away at you, but…” She gently placed her hand on his left cheek, smiling as she did so. “You are a good person. Don’t force yourself too hard, ok?”

Cal’s eyes widened a bit; voices and expressions overlapped with one another. A female with long, light hair came into view, carrying a tender smile on her lips. A warm feeling erupted inside of him, stirring up emotions of love and sadness, yet the face of this person was shrouded in darkness, indiscernible.

He stumbled a few steps back as a piercing pain coursed through his head. He clutched it with one hand and squinted one eye shut while beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

“Hey, are you alright?” Mrs. Shayla called out in worry, but when she received no answer she added, “Mr. Vaughn, what’s wrong?”

Cal panted some, his head thumping wildly while the concerned calls from the woman mixed into it. He slowly shook his head, faking a smile. “N-Nothing. I am fine. If you would excuse me.” Without waiting for a reply, he tottered away in the direction of the west side of Shuri Town.

 

As soon as Cal was out of sight of the orphanage, he pressed his back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position, clutching his head tightly. The pain grew steadily while pictures flashed through his mind one after another: A woman smiling kindly, a hand stretching out, touching his cheek, a loving embrace, a soft touch on his head. This stirred up a warm familiarity inside of Cal.

Sweat rolled down from his temples and he panted heavily as a voice accompanied these images.

‘You are a good son, so kind and caring.’

‘You don’t need to worry about me.’

‘I’ll be with you forever.’

‘I love you, Rhys.’

 

Rhys? The pain slowly subsided and the images, along with the voice, grew further away until they disappeared. What…?

That short excursion into the past left Cal exhausted, but also confused. He stared in front of him, uncertain what to think about all of this. On one hand, he finally learned something about his past, his mother no less and that even quicker than he had imagined, but on the other hand, he discovered something that he had not expected at all. Does that mean Cal is not my real name?

 

***

 

It had been in the afternoon when Sigal returned to his apartment from the interrogation and found the letter written by Cal. What he had read left him in deep shock and anxiety, afraid that this time he would lose him forever, terrified that Axis already had gotten his hands on him and continued what he had started.

Without wasting any time, he had contacted Vince and briefed him on the situation while also requesting backup in his search.

 

***

 

When Vince hung up, his expression changed into a complicated one. They still didn’t know who leaked information to the enemy, so who should he involve in this search without turning this into an even more dangerous situation?

He glanced at Lucien, who sat in front of his desk. “What do you think I should do?”

“The situation is dire. I also couldn’t find any wires around your room, nor any other. This leaves us with the same problem as before.”

“Yeah…” Vince frowned. “I can’t let Sigal look alone, he himself is exposed to danger that way, even more so, when he is like that. We need to find Cal as soon as possible before the enemy strikes.”

Lucien nodded. “I will go and take my most trusted men with me.”

“Thank you.”

 

***

 

All kinds of scenarios ran through Sigal’s head as he hastily drove through the city, but where was he even supposed to start? He had been away for a few hours, and who knows when Cal decided to leave. He could be close by but also already somewhere far away. Cal even left his phone behind; he had no way to tell in which direction or area he went to.

Where are you? Sigal glanced through the windshield, trying to spot him, hoping that he would turn up in the next second somewhere on the streets. Please, be safe. The thought of Axis pursuing him right now wouldn’t let him go; the fear gripped him tightly.

After around an hour of driving around, he came to a halt and took a deep breath. He grabbed his phone and unlocked it to check if he had any messages from his colleagues, but there was nothing, which meant that they hadn’t found him yet either. “Just where could he have wandered off to?”

Sigal contemplated for a few minutes, trying to think of places where Cal could have started his search regarding his memories. On the top of his head, he couldn’t think of any places Cal could have gone to. Even though they lived together for a few weeks, he had to admit that he barely knew Cal’s likes or dislikes. The circumstances were complicated after all, and Cal himself, most likely, didn’t even have a clue what his preferences were right now. This made this even harder; if Cal had no clue, how was he supposed to know?

“Dammit!” He cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth in frustration. “I have to find him, I can’t—” A sudden realization hit him: there was only one location Cal would go to right now, only one area where it would make sense for him to look for his memories.

Sigal started the car, and with squealing tires, he rushed off.

 

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