The raging fire is trying to push me back.
Residents are evacuating towards the metropolis, some remained outside the hazard zone because of missing loved ones, children weeping, and the crowd huddling; these are the situations. Men are pouring snow scooped from the bucket they have and working together to diminish the fire. The cold weather helps, too.
The different kinds of smells are swirling around me but I'm only looking for Cormelio. Bewildering. When I failed to find him I undoubtedly rushed through the fire until I heard a scream, "HESSUEL! OVER HERE!" I look back to where the voice came from—in the crowd—then I heave a sigh of relief when I found him with Amos under a tree. His right leg is injured but doesn't have any sign of burnt. Meanwhile, Acro is resting on his lap.
"What were you trying to do!?"
"I thought you were in there!" I pointed at the fire. Rescuers from the metropolis responded immediately to the case. The crowd gave way to the firefighters. "What happened?"
Amos replies, "Apparently, someone unchained rabid dogs and attacked the people. One neighbor tried to drive away those dogs by fire but the situation deteriorated."
I look at the dying fire in the village, of how firefighters use both water and snow. None was reported dead yet, however, the casualties are innumerable, most cases are dog bites including Cormelio. He wraps his wound using his upper cloth. I gave him my coat even though it reveals my real image.
"Additionally," Amos recounts, "Cormelio saved a girl from the dogs and he got that bite consequently."
Cormelio brags, "What can you say? I will always be a knight."
"..." It's infectious. He may not die by fire but probably by rabies. I knelt down in front of him. "Hop on me. You need immediate assistance," I said.
"What, you'll take me to the clinic like that? It's too awkward!"
"You still care about that!?" An outburst that neither I expected. Both of them became steady and silent. I lift him like a bride since he doesn't want to be lifted the other way. He's complaining again but I ignore it. Shifting into a wolf may elevate commotion to a dangerous height, especially since dogs attacked the people.
Amos came with us. Along the way to the metropolis, a racing wagon meets us, and volunteers from the residents there lend rides to take us to the clinic quickly. Cormelio and Amos are the first patients among the villagers. Amos has a few bruises on his arms while Cormelio has to be laid down on the bed for stitching the open wound.
Few of the nurses assist the doctor but later their roles disintegrate when patients from the Small Vil are arriving consecutively. The doctor requested my assistance and he points out, "We only have but one speculation about the effects of rabies on humans: it'll make them run wild until death. I'm afraid to say that this is highly infectious. Your patient has to stay here for observation."
I nod with a silent hum. The doctor left after he stitched Cormelio's wound to assist the other patients. They're lacking personnel. I'm standing beside the bed while watching the other patients, some are weeping from pain, commonly are children. Just the sight of this pricks me. Cormelio stretches his arms and lies down on his back.
"I just woke up from comatose," he complains, "then now I have to stay here for observation! Little Devil, while you're still young, go wherever you want to go because when you get older, your most visited place will be the hospital!" he's waggling his finger while counseling me.
"You dared to rescue someone. That's what you get."
"Being a dedicated knight doesn't end when you retire. I bet not even you can resist watching a kid being bitten by rabid dogs."
"You're a senior citizen. You're one of the top priorities to be rescued."
"Oh, I can save myself. How weak do you think I am!? I overcame a coma!" He's poking my stomach. "I can't just wail there while waiting for someone to come for me because I'm a 'top priority!' Just admit it, you're worried." He's brushing upwards his eyelashes due to frustration. "I'm more worried about you. I noticed you've changed ever since you came back. Is there something else in your travels that you never mentioned to me?"
I lick my lips and avoid his glance. I don’t understand what's happening to me. Cormelio might faint in blood pressure when he heard that kind of justification. I was immobilized when he throws an assumption,
"Or was it because of the memories that you shouldn't remember?" His lady-to-brawny voice adds to the intensity of the suspense. I don't want him to discover my deepest grudge as much as possible. "You can't handle the emotions of that tragedy until now? Some truths, indeed, may make you dull when taken harshly. I'm not saying you don't deserve those memories but your emotions do."
"... It's not that. I'm over it."
"Then why are you secretly plotting to slaughter their Alpha?"
“...”
His narrowing eyes are directed to mine. The noisy clinic is supposed to be disturbing but Cormelio's voice is dominating my ears and chilling my skin. "Have you thought about the possible outcome when you kill the Alpha of their pack? Do you think it can affect none else and cease the war? Or you only think about your own cravings for vengeance?"
I answer without thinking, "What makes me different from not thinking about that? Justice for my pack is on my claws. Even the werewolves in Asfara are relying on me. Killing Alpha Biaco will not only suffice my wrath but the wrath of all werewolves and humans who suffered under his regime as well! I don't know if this will fix the future but I know this can fix what was broken in the past!"
"..." He points at the steel ventilation in the corner of the room. It's spinning yet covered at the moment to filter the snow. "Look at that. There isn't any way to stop it. The endless circulation of it spreads coldness to all people around it. Hessuel, figuratively speaking, the prevalent coldness is because of the endless circulation of war. Even the sweetest child can absorb that coldness. The only way to make everyone warm... is to stop it from rolling."
I cast my look upon him after.
"I am worried about how this realization changed you. I know I can't keep you inside my shelter forever... that someday will be this day. And I can't leave the world while you are like that."
"What now?" I protest. "Do you want me to forget about those souls relying on me? Do you want me to postpone my plan? and let those werewolves in Asfara hide for the rest of the life of this planet while being deemed as the real enemies? I've changed because I learned. And I learned to not forsake my past! I belong there... And I'm doing this for them! This is the only way to change the cycle!!"
"... You aren't telling me your whole plan, aren't you?"
"..." I walked away to the upstairs before I could spill another word that might stab him. The empty rooftop is perfect for my contemplation.
I lean my hands on the fence, head down, and wincing my eyes. How could I talk back to him like that!? Everyone is right. There's something wrong with me. And he is right. I can't tell him everything. Two packs, two Alphas. To change the cold cycle, the old precepts must be removed. To remove it is to raise another Alphas from those two packs that will influence their werewolves to change.
And to open that opportunity, the two Alphas proclaiming the old precepts must be annihilated... and that includes me.
Acro came from below this building and she perches on my shoulder. ["Tell this to Little Devil,"] she's delivering a message. ["You may talk to me anytime after your tantrums. The Hessuel I know is teachable. Don't let yourself become a cold-blooded werewolf as you've always seen in dramas. Protect yourself from it... because I observed that I can't do it for you anymore. I love you."]
I grip the fence tighter along with the gnashing of my teeth only to pull back the tears of my guilt. The fence was dented. Then I recline my back there, exhaling upward. "I love you, too. But I love my fallen pack, too," I whisper to her.
I gaze upon the cuff bracelet. The next step will depend on whom I will choose.
But for now, there is something that must be done. I look afar at the smoke coming from Small Vil. The fire is finally defeated. The only one that is not is the root of the incident.