Chapter 2: Chapter 2: A Miraculously Successful Improvising

Not even ten minutes have passed, and the plan was already set in motion. The three hooded men, with their faces now fully covered, disappeared into the darkness of the alleyway. Cherry stood alone with only the cold air accompanying her. Her new round of headaches after their discussion rang in her ears. Nevertheless, she disregarded the pain aside. With their promise to bring her answers and return her lost memories, she grew more determined.

Cherry turned to the other end of the alleyway and started on her part. She took a deep breath and sprinted towards the dim lights of a lifeless street but not before slowing down to catch her breath. Geez, she thought to herself, staring down at her quivering legs. I barely ran for just a few seconds, and I’m already out of breath. What’s wrong with me? She brushed away her thoughts, still heavily panting. Never mind her condition. Cherry was warned to stay alert, even if there was nobody around. The young lost lady continued to run, scanning the empty streets. 

There was no one in sight, but it was reasonable, for no common folk would have any business this late of a night. What Cherry thought was unreasonable was the excessive amount of wanted posters. Portraits of Charlie, Monty, and Solomon were pasted on every building in sight. The posters were even pinned against the evenly lined trees in the streets. Cherry passed through such posters, which were printed in bold words such as “Wanted” and “Dead or Alive.” The bounty rewards, too, were absurdly high.

Could this be why those guys all look so tired and desperate? Cherry thought to herself. Before she could continue thinking further, she spotted a distant figure. She squinted her eyes, outlining the silhouette. She could make out a top hat, a long coat, a walking cane, and…a bird-beaked mask. That must be him, Cherry confirmed. The girl continued to sprint towards the figure, proceeding to shout with her remaining breath.

“Help! I need help!” She cried out desperately. “Someone…someone please help me!”

The bird-beaked man turned towards Cherry’s voice. As she approached him, his profile became more visible. Cherry observed a pure black mask with nothing but a monocle each attached at where the eyes should be and a beak covering the lower half of his face. The stray young woman stopped before him and panted heavily, silently cursing herself for such weak stamina.

“Please calm down, my dear.” The man before her responded. “What’s the matter?”

“I, uh, I was almost attacked!” Cherry replied, still panting heavily.

“What? Truly?” The man raised his hand to where his mouth should be. “Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Oh, no, no, I’m fine!” 

“What exactly happened?”

“Uh, well,” Cherry took a brief moment to catch her breath. “I recently woke up not long ago, and for some reason, I seem to have lost all my memories!”

“Hmm?” Despite his voice of concern, he remained still. “You have amnesia?” 

“It seems that way.” Cherry managed to catch her breath a little more. “I don’t know who I am. I don’t know where I am. I can’t remember anything at all! Next thing I know, three people approached me…and…and, uh…” 

She glimpsed beside him. At a distance, a faint light flickered. There, above a small building, were the three “wanted criminals.” She observed Solomon standing while Charlie and Monty piggy-backed above him in a tall stack of three. Monty, who was above Charlie, waved one of his arms, smiling mischievously. His other arm held a large poster.

“And what?” asked the man in a black suit.

“And…and then they….uh,” Cherry tried to decode the vague images that were drawn on the poster, all the while looking back at the man to avoid suspicion “...And then they tried to take my blood?”

“Really? How horrible!” The man replied. “Were you so terrified that you couldn’t bring to speak those words? I’m truly sorry.” He rested his free hand on his chest and bowed.

“Huh? It’s fine, really sir!” She spoke flusteredly.

The man before her remained still, still bowing silently. Cherry heard the man muttering something to himself. “Sir?”

“My dear,” he spoke again. “If you don’t mind me asking, did the three attackers wear dark green hoods?”

“That’s right.”

“And did one of them appear to be an incredibly tall man, with long black hair and a beard?”

“Yeah…” So he did spy on us after all, Cherry thought to herself. She continued her act. “How did you know?”

“I had figured. You see, the group you have encountered must have been…the nation’s most wanted criminals” The man pulled out a wanted poster of Solomon. “Especially this man, Solomon. He is the most dangerous of the three.”

“The…most dangerous?” Cherry furrowed her eyebrows. “Why is that? What did they do?”

The man rested both hands on his cane. “Violent extremism.” He answered. “Along with two of his accomplices, he had committed horrendous acts against humanity. Terrorism, arson, murder….He was responsible for taking five hundred and twelve lives.”

Cherry was dumbfounded. Well, that explains the high bounties.

“But, to attack a lone, vulnerable lady is unheard of.” He added. “In fact, I have never heard of any reports of assault up until now. Did they tell you why they want your blood?”

“Huh? Well…” She glanced beside him again. Monty noticed her eye contact, and flipped the poster, revealing another set of vague pictures.

“They…they, uh…” She narrowed her eyes, analyzing what the obscure symbols meant. “They said my blood is special! And they want to experiment on them!” Cherry could only narrow her eyes in confusion as Monty gave her a thumbs-up.

The bird-beaked man fell silent. “Oh?” He asked amusedly. “Your blood is ‘special?’ And for experiments?” He chuckled to himself. “I see! How very peculiar indeed. No matter then. In any case, rest assured. I happen to be searching for this group, you see. I will make sure to bring them to justice. As for you, my lady, do you truly not remember anything?”

“The only thing I know is my name.”

“And your name is?”

“Cherry.”

“Cherry…?”

“Yeah, just Cherry.”

“Ah.” He tipped his hat. “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Cherry. I am Horace.” He paused for a moment. “I am Horace…Horace Vamier. For reasons I cannot explain, I cannot send you to my workplace for support. Of course, I cannot look away when you clearly need help, especially if you’re being targeted by those three, my enemies. Therefore-”

“Horace Vamier?!” A thundering voice boomed out behind Horace. Cherry jumped in fright. “What kind of sick joke is that?!” 

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The air around her suddenly became colder. She didn’t have to look behind Horace to see who roared with such fury, for the tall man himself appeared out of nowhere, standing right behind the nonchalant, top-hatted man. Solomon, the gentleman with warm golden eyes, now glowed with crimson red. His hostile glare locked onto Horace.

“Huh?!” Cherry couldn’t help but shout in confusion. Apparently, Monty and Charlie reacted the same. 

“Ooooii?!” Charlie exclaimed at Solomon. “What the **** are you doing?!”

“What the ****?!” Monty followed suit, visibly panicking. “He’s finally lost it!”

Solomon, who was quick to scold the two for their vulgar tongues, ignored them both. “Care to explain what you just called yourself, Horace?” His already husky voice lowered to a near-growling aggression.

Horace began to chuckle. His laughter became louder and more distorted with each second. His right hand slowly reached toward his pockets. “I can’t believe you actually fell for that, you senile fool.” He turned around and sneered at Solomon, “Found you.” He then swiftly pulled something cracking with electricity out of his coat.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down. Solomon snapped out of his moment of weakness, eyes widening in realization. The two men behind him sprung forward from the darkness. “Stop gawking and move!” yelled Charlie, pushing the giant down. 

Bang! Both of them barely missed an electrical bullet that suddenly pierced through the air. 

“What’s happening?!” Cherry shrieked, quickly stepping away from Horace.

“This isn’t part of the script, Solomon!” Monty shouted. While the two were down, Monty leaped in front of them, aimed his crossbow at Horace’s pistol, and fired.

Thunk! Horace clicked his tongue as the arrow knocked his weapon away.

Then, there was a standstill. For a few seconds, no one moved, and no one spoke a word. What’s happening now?! Cherry panicked, unsure if she was shaking from the cold or the sudden suspense. I don’t remember this being part of the plan!

Then, the situation had encountered the unexpected, for before any of the four made a move, a sudden voice made itself own.“Hey!” An unfamiliar, distant voice shouted. “What’s all the ruckus?!”

 

Cherry, Horace, and the three hooded men all turned to face the direction of the voice.

“Shut the hell up!” Hollered an old man from an apartment window. “It’s bloody eleven o’clock! Go fight somewhere else!”

“And who’s that guy?” Monty quickly returned to face Horace, his crossbow still aimed at him.

“To be frank with you…” Horace shrugged. “I have no clue.”

“Stop lying!” Charlie shouted, “He’s one of your damn goons, isn’t he?!”

“No, he is not.” He denied. “I have never seen him before, actually.”

“If you damn troublemakers won’t go,” To everyone else’s surprise, the random stranger pulled out his own firearm. “Then I’ll make you!” 

“You’re just going to make more noise!” Cherry blurted out without thinking. She covered her mouth instantly, regretting her mistake. The old man proceeded to aim in her direction. Her eyes widened in fear.

Monty, seeing this, shifted his target towards the sole street lamp providing light for the scene. 

Smash!

And just like that, the street was now devoid of light. Before she could comprehend the situation, Cherry felt a hand shoving her down in the darkness.

Bang!

Another bullet was fired, and then, it was quiet. Even though the street was already dark, Cherry shut her eyes anyways. Her heart raced, and her body shivered. She felt no pain besides her ringing headache and her rear that landed on the cold, hard cement. Could perhaps the rush of adrenaline cover some other pain? She couldn’t tell. The silence continued, and then there was a sound of a window slamming shut from the apartment building.

“Dear me,” sighed Horace in the dark. “What a night.” Cherry heard some clicks, and then, a pocket-sized lantern shined its presence. The light was barely enough for her to see Horace again. He looked around until he spotted Cherry, who slowly got up.

“Ah, there you are.” He spoke calmly. “Did you get hurt anywhere?”

“I don’t think so,” She replied. “I feel fine.”

“Good.” He threw the ball at the center of the street, and like magic, the pocket-sized lantern now expanded in size, the light blanketing the streets once more. 

The other three had disappeared. Horace sighed in disappointment. “What a shame, I was rather close to capturing them. Well, no matter. I will continue searching. As for you, Miss Cherry.” Horace faced Cherry once more. “As I was saying, my workplace is unavailable, but I shall allow you to temporarily take shelter at a certain house that I own. Will you be fine with that?”

The lost lady nodded, for she was instructed to do so. Her destination, the place where she was told that would aid in her recovery, was Horace’s private residence.

“Very well. In normal circumstances, I wouldn’t send merely anyone to my home, of course. However, considering your interesting situation and what you might possibly be, I’d rather spare the trouble of moral conflict…” He pressed something on his cane and lifted it. The cane suddenly glowed red, and static surged. “...and have those four determine your fate themselves.”

With a forceful slam, the cane made a loud crack. In a matter of seconds, a conspiracy of ravens dived toward Cherry. She yelped as the ravens flocked around her body and grabbed onto her limbs. She tried to bat them away, but it was futile. She grew tired, giving in to the swarm of pitch-black feathers that had covered her vision.

Before she knew it, her legs and lower torso were hoisted up. She screamed as the ravens lifted her towards the sky, forming a massive ball of feathers with bouncing streaks of scarlet-red light.

Not even one hour had passed since Cherry first woke up, and she had tolerated every round of headaches as best she could. Now in this terrifying, stressful predicament, she could no longer endure the burning, ringing pain in her head any further, and passed out.

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