The atmosphere was darker and dirtier than she anticipated it to be. She walked as she tightened her double mask, holding her vomit from coming out. Before the entrance of the village, unusual garbage was scattered on the ground. Common wastes mixed with deteriorated bodies of babies and rejected children covered with maggots.
She didn’t know such a place existed. Not even in her imagination. She ambled down the small hill, down the rocky, mossy bridge. She can feel the maggots being squashed by her boots every step she takes.
She stopped when a huge rat quickly ran and jumped under the bridge, carrying a small baby hand on its mouth, as if it was a piece of delicacy it can savor for a few days.
She crumpled her fist before reaching the huge, mountain gate filled with metal thorns with five guards guarding it. They threw her a suspicious glance.
“I’m Siel under Sir Elias.” Siel said with authority as she realized none of the guards motioned to open the gate. “Let me in.”
Despite their hidden facial expression because of their masks, Siel saw their eyes exchanging glances and one of the guards nodded his head, signaling something to the other.
“Remove your mask.” He commanded. Siel’s mouth gave a small twitch.
“What a lame response.” She muttered. “Do you want me to die inhaling this nasty smell? What a rock for a brain you have.”
“Wha-”
They stopped when Siel raised her hand and reached for her phone.
“I’ll just call hi-”
“No!” They all shouted panicky, waving their hands in disapproval, and in just a second, Siel heard something click from the door.
“P-Please enter now… m-ma’am.” He stuttered. Siel smirked. She actually does not have any intention of calling Elias. Why would she anyway if she can enter on her own?
“Good.”
She walked past them and the five guards felt something they never felt before. It was as if Siel was covered by the authority they could never disobey. Something that made them feel sudden fear, and as soon as she was far enough, their body slumped.
“W-What was that?”
“I have no idea.” One of the guards answered. “Let’s just hope the Athertons will not go here.” He added, closing the massive door. He scratched the red rashes that were covering his hand. He scratched and scratched until it bled. “Dang it.”
The smell of the place was nastier than the smell outside. It was the dirtiest place Siel ever saw throughout her whole existence. She can see maggots and flies everywhere her eyes land.
At the corner of her eyes, she can see something big and Siel’s face darkened upon seeing a huge statue a few meters away from her spot. It was Edom, holding a scale like Lady Justice. But what made her blood boil was the huge mocking grin plastered on the statue’s lips.
“Justice is given by a rebel who despises justice? What a vagrant, pathetic fool.” She seethed, having every urge to destroy the statue.
“Mom? Whose that?”
Siel’s attention was transferred from the pathetic statue to the small kid that spoke behind her.
She looked back but stopped upon seeing reddish-yellowish sores around the two kids’ noses and mouths. She looked at the mother and saw a honey-colored crust covering almost half of her hands.
“Are you new here?” The little kid asked.
“Probably not. She is covered.” Another kid blurted out with a weak voice, hiding behind the mother’s arm.
“Covered?” Siel frowns. “Why are you dressed like that? Aren’t you a girl?” She asked with a low voice.
Realizing her words, the mother stepped back, pulling her two kids away from Siel.
“W-We’re sorry, ma’am. W-We’ll go no-”
“No, wait.” Siel stopped them. She stepped closer but the mother flinched. Siel clearly saw the fear covering their eyes.
“I’m sorry to frighten you. I am not here to hurt you, ma’am. Please.” Siel assured, slowly waving her hand. But the mother shook her head in disapproval.
“W-We’re so, so sorry to disturb your roundings, ma’am. Please excuse us.”
Before Siel could even respond, the woman grabbed her two kids and dashed as fast as she could. But before they could completely disappear from her sight, Siel saw the little boy looking back with sad eyes, muttering something she couldn't understand.
“Covered? Rounding? What do they mean?”
Suddenly, the wind blew and the dried leaves rained with maggots everywhere. The dreadful smell became more suffocating.
“Where on earth do these maggots come from? How can people live in a place like this?!”
Siel walked away but stopped upon spotting a huge mountain of garbage. Her jaw dropped and the hairs of her body stood up. It was not an ordinary mountain of wastes.
Her urge to throw up was no longer there because of how her heart sank for the wasted life, purpose, and potentials of every rejected child. Yes. Rejected children.
“God…” She whispered. "This is awful."
Siel felt her inside trembling and her knees turning jelly. Fortunately, a huge tube was standing beside her but,
“Ahh!” She flinched when black rats, as big as ordinary cats, ran out of the tube with the motion she made.
She flinched for a second time when a group of ravens flew away with the sudden disturbance and there, Siel’s eyes locked with the young girl’s lifeless eyes who seemed to beg. Siel’s tears escaped.
“Mommy!”
Siel came back to her senses with the shout of agony not far away from her spot. Siel’s head tilted. Is she hallucinating?
“NO! Please!”
“Hahahaha!”
No. She’s not hallucinating. Siel turned right and ran, following the faint hint of the sound. Where is it?
After running a few blocks, she stopped and looked to her left.
“Ahhh!” The small plaza was jam-packed with people with mixed emotions. Some were cheering while some were sobbing.
“What’s happening?” Siel asked one of the guards.
“Execution.” The guard answered without looking at her. But then he stopped. “Why on earth are you aski- huh? Where did she go?” He looked back and looked on his side but Siel was nowhere to be found because of the swarm of people.
“Excuse me, let me through. Let me through.” Siel forcefully pushed herself inside the mob, pushing some people away.
“Hey what the-” the man stopped with Siel’s piercing look. “A-Ah, yeah, please go. Take my position.” He stuttered, throwing his hands in the air.
Siel only nod her head and settled herself - she thought.
“Mommy! Mommy!”
Siel’s eyes widened. It was the two kids that she met at the statue just a while ago. They were tightly tied with thick rope. She quickly averted her gaze and looked at the reason for their tears.
At the middle of the plaza was an iron cabinet with a hinged front and spike-covered interior, tall enough to enclose a human inside. And the woman inside was the children's mother.
Siel gasped. It was an iron maiden and they have three but with larger spikes at Eurus hall.
“Shut up!” One of the Quislings slapped the kid, causing them to stagger down. Siel motioned to run but someone stopped her.
“Don’t. You’ll worsen the situation.” The man said. It was the man who gave his spot to Siel a moment ago. Siel grinned her teeth.
“Why is the woman being executed?”
“You’re new here?”
“I’m not from here. Just rounding.”
“I see. That woman hid her sickly daughter. You know, it was strictly forbidden to hide sick people here.” He started. “I bet you saw the piles of dead bodies. Sick people are being killed.”
“Wha-”
“Ahh!”
Siel stopped when the woman shouted in agony as the iron maiden closed with a screeching sound. The woman shouted again as Siel crumpled her fist in anger.
“Mommy! Please, no! Don’t leave us! Mommy! Ahh!”
Siel felt as if her heart was the one being crushed inside the torture device. The woman shouted in suffering until a loud crashing and squashing sound was heard and red fluid spilled out from some parts of the device. The Quisling laughed like madmen as if they only squashed huge pumpkins.
The crowd became silent, pitying the kids whose faces cannot be drawn. They knew their mommy was gone.
“You’re monsters!” The little girl shouted as her tears and snot flows. “You killed our mommy! You’re evil!”
“Hey!”
The crowd started to panic when a bulky man shouted. The little boy flinched in terror.
“The reason why your pathetic mommy was executed was that you are a sickly, weakling duckling. You understand?” He mocked with a grin and slapped the little girl with his palm twice the size of the little girl’s cheeks.
The girl shouted in pain and the bulky man took out his gun. “I said shut u-”
“Stop that.”
The people gasped with Siel’s sudden interruption. “Miss!” The man behind her tried to stop her but Siel shoved his hand away and walked inside the square.
“Put your gun down,” Siel commanded with a stern voice. The bulky man grinned.
“Who the hell are you?” He asked arrogantly. “I won’t take orders from a weak woman like you, bitch. Get your butt off here.”
The bulky man shoved his gun down the girl’s throat and pulled the trigger multiple times happily, causing the rope to snap. Every shot was like a shot directly hitting Siel’s heart. She saw the blood oozing out of each huge holes from the kid’s small neck, fueling her anger.
“Sister!” The young kid shouted dreadfully, and the man pointed his gun at the kid.
“I said shut-”
The man stopped when Siel grabbed his collar and shook it. He was tall, but Siel’s strength made him shake like a leaf. She then stole the gun and shove it under the man's stomach.
“What the fu- Argh!” He shouted as soon as Siel punched his stomach with the gun, followed by her spiked knuckles.
“You shut up.” She spat.
“Captain!”
Siel saw the other guards move so she quickly swayed right, shoved the snapped rope, and tied it at the man’s neck like a collar.
“Move and your so-called-Captain is dead.” She warned, tightening the rope on the man’s neck.
“A-Ack! D-Don’t move! Shit!”
Siel’s eyes transferred from the man to the other guards surrounding them. There are more or less than thirty and for sure, there are more hiding from somewhere. In that case, she’ll be in huge trouble.
“W-Who the hell are you?!” One of the guards shouted and pointed his gun at the little boy who seemed to go berserk any moment from now. “Release our Captain or I’ll kill-”
“ACKK!” Siel did not let the guard finish his sentence and garrotted the bulky man’s neck with the rope, causing the man’s neck to snap and the rope digs deep into his flesh as she let him fall on the ground.
“Captain!”
“How dare you!”
“Go on. Shoot if you can.” Siel said, showing two M67 grenades. “Shoot me or shoot the kid and you’re doomed.”
Everyone froze in shock and terror. A 64 mm grenade can produce casualties up to 15 meters.
“Hold your freaking fire!” The vice-captain shouted, trying to hide his nervousness. Siel grinned.
She tossed one of the grenades to her other hand and fetched for her ID, causing the people to take a step away from her. Even the guards embarrassingly did the same. Siel shook her head silently then raised her ID.
“How dare you disobey me.”
Gasps and gulps filled the whole crowd as the other’s eyeballs almost popped out. Some even cursed loudly. They knew it was not a normal ID.
“I am Sir Elias Atherton’s secretary.”
With her words, the people fell on their knees, trembling in fear. Her eyes pierced the vice-captain’s eyes, making him flinch and fall on his knees.
“M-Ma’am. P-Pardon us all but, may I ask… W-What is your business here?”
“You don’t have to know.” Siel answered plainly, hiding the grenades and her ID in her inside pocket. “I know you can’t bring yourself up to take your Captain’s life. So I did it for you, no need to thank me.” She added, walking towards the little boy whose eyes were filled with grief and terror. He was shaking hard as if he was having a seizure.
The vice-captain was taken aback by her words. Siel reached for the trembling boy’s head and patted it, causing the boy to flinch. Siel smiled faintly and removed the snapped rope, releasing him.
“Are they your remaining family?” Siel asked and the boy nodded, still trembling. “Okay then. You’ll come with me.”
The boy’s eyes widened but Siel shushed him. “It’s okay. I won't hurt you. Let’s go.” Siel grabbed the boy’s bony hand but stopped when he tried to take it from her. “What’s wrong?”
The boy pointed something from the ground, beside his dead sister. It was an old-looking, dirty teddy bear. “Mommy's gift.” He whispered with a cracked voice, slowly kneeling and picking his bear up. But then he stopped and started to sob.
“Sister…” He whispered, closing his sister’s eyelids. His eyes then transferred to the Iron Maiden with dripping blood. “Mommy…” He whispered again. “I’m sorry.”
Siel felt as if her heart was shattered to pieces. No words can express her current.
“Attention.”
Everyone’s attention transferred from the kid to Siel who spoke.
“All the guards must dig a twenty-four meters deep hole and collect all the corpses. They will be burned in that hole afterward, their ashes will be buried. The villagers must clean the surroundings. The children will be left inside their houses and are not allowed to go out until the ashes are buried. That will prevent them from catching any possible disease. Am I clear?”
“Y-Yes. Ma’am!”
“Go.”
The vice-captain looked at Siel in amazement. How can a woman like her make people follow her wish? He shook his head. Something about her is amazing.
Siel’s eyes fell on the kid that pulled the hem of her jacket. The kid then pointed his finger to his sister and mother, as if asking if they too will be burned to ashes. Siel smiled.
“You.” She said, looking at the vice-captain. “Collect their bodies and dig two six meters holes near their house and give them a proper burial.”
“Y-Yes, Ma’am.” The vice-captain signaled his men to move.
“What’s your name?” Siel asked the kid.
“M-Mikhail” He whispered and Siel gave him a soft smile despite her mask.
“Mikhail. It means a gift from God. Indeed, you are a gift from God.” Siel whispered, causing Mikhail to tilt his head quizzically. “Soon, you’ll understand.”
“E-Excuse me, Ma’am.”
“Yes?”
“Regarding your words. How did you know we want the captain dead?”
Siel’s smile disappeared in an instant and her eyes turned cold. “Your eyes will show what’s inside you.”
Siel took Mikhail’s little hand and started to walk, following the guards that carried Mikhail’s mother and sister.
That time, Siel realized something. This world was unfair. While the children at Aparctias and Thrascias were greatly pampered, the children at Seiron were tortured and traumatized.