The Versatile
Chapter 30's

“Daddy will I someday be like you?” the voice of Hazel, who was five years younger than her current age, sounded like a child whining something at her father.

“Of course you're not like me. You will still be Hazel, the most beautiful father girl.” His father rubbed the head of his little girl who was now growing up.

Hazel smiled a little. “That's not what I mean Dad. But, am I going to grow up to be a great person like you? Work for the government and have a lot of money?” ask Hazel again to her father.

This time, her father smiled. “Having a lot of money doesn't mean you're going to be a great person. Likewise, if you work for the government, serving for our country is true, but there are limits where we know what is right and what is wrong.”

“So Dad means, we don't need to have a lot of money and don't need to work for the government we're going to be great people?” the little girl was getting curious.

“Yes, being a great person is just enough to be fair, honest, and be able to sort and choose the good and right things,” explained his father. Although maybe the little girl does not know the real meaning, but her father is sure someday her little girl will grow into someone great, as he said.

Tears flowed through Hazel's cheeks. She has just woken up from her dream, and it feels like meeting her father in a dream makes Hazel forget the fact that her father is gone. The dream feels real. Indeed, most of the dreams we experience while sleeping are small pieces of memory of our lives, even those hidden in our subconscious.

Hazel scrunched her forehead. The pain ran all over his body from the tip of his foot to the end of his hair. His hands were tied, I don't know what. His last memory was when he saw Hamish groaning.

The air around him felt stuffy. Her clothes got wet for what. Perhaps it was his sweat that he had not noticed. This room was not much different from the room when he was first locked up. The air is less friendly. Hazel must find air that can enter her lungs.

The dream he had just had was a dream for the first time since his father died. The deep sorrow within him could not be eliminated, but he had to rise from the slump.

Two double doors opened. The figure that he had been unable to believe all along, became his enemy. Haikal entered the room. “You know what you've done?” haikal's voice echoed in this room.

Hazel was silent. But he did not bow down, as if he was the guilty one and was being judged. Hazel looks into Haikal's eyes with a glare that proves his innocence.

“First, you've made the mistake of trying to escape. Secondly, you have made your friend, or my former partner, Hamish get caught and have to accept punishment for what he did.” His tone began to rise.

Of course Hazel doesn't like the tone, let alone this concerns Hamish ― at least her friend who she can trust right now. “That's you!” shout Hazel.

Haikal just smiled slylyly. He turned around and disappeared from behind the door. Hazel heaved a sigh of relief, she did not need to vent her emotions for now. With the rest of his strength, he had to save it for something more useful.

There was a screen in the room that lit up. A man tied up exactly the same as Hazel. It's just that the room looks more awful than Hazel's. From his eyes he could see it was Hamish. I don't know what they want to do with him, which Hazel obviously doesn't want to see.

Hamish groaned suddenly. Hazel doesn't know what's going on. There must be something torturing her, but from behind the scenes Hazel can't see clearly what's tormenting Hamish.

Faintly he saw, a stream of electricity flowing from the bonds in Hamish's hands. Yeah, that's the only thing that touches Hamish right now. The bond burned Hamish's skin and spread to his body. Maybe even to his heart. Hamish groaned, Hazel shouted in her room and could not bear to see this torture.

Until Hamish fell on the floor and his face was filled with the heaviest torture he had ever experienced. “ARGGGHHH!!! Release him!” Hazel screamed loudly and tried to pull the knot in her hand. But the electric shock that flowed through made his newly growing energy start to weaken again.

Hazel could only resign and rest on the floor she stood on. Energies depleted. His face was full of tears. He didn't want to see torture. So much torture and sadness in him now.

Crying will not solve the problem, but calm and clear thinking will solve the problem. So Hazel tried to pull herself up and get herself swept away in her stuffy air and sweat.

***

"Hey, yesterday I heard from my dad. Said he'd seen a big wall made of iron." Nissa was very serious. It was as if it was the greatest thing he had ever talked about.

"Oh yeah? Great wall? I've seen it too. Around here it seems like a lot," Spencer said. He has shattered everyone's hopes.

"You don't understand what I'm talking about, do you?" ask Nissa.

Spencer looked into Nissa's eyes, her eyes blue, as blue as the ocean. However, it glittered like gold. Therefore Nissa never wanted to look him in the eye, or he would stop to look into her beautiful eyes. "Hey of course I know."

"That's not what I mean. There was a huge iron wall blocking something. According to my father the wall was high. It is almost as tall as the tallest building in Dubai, maybe even more. Because when he looked up, it looked like it was piercing through the sky. You can imagine, right?” ask Nissa.

“I understand so according to you. There is a big wall that borders us, but no one ever goes past that wall.” Spencer summed up Nissa's words.

“Quickly!”

“You sure?” ask Spencer to convince Nissa.

“So, I can't believe I haven't seen it myself. He said the walls were hidden and we couldn't find him.”

“Whatever smart someone is hiding something, it will definitely get caught too. Even if it takes years to find it. And usually those hiders will keep us away from the hiding place.”

***

Josh let out a long sigh, his face filled with wrinkles that he could not get rid of. Someone screamed faintly, Josh was not sure it was a screaming voice, as it sounded more like people were suffocating.

Josh looked for the source of the sound and approached it. People started staring in the same direction, but they only looked from afar, unlike Josh who approached the crowd. Even the people who had originally gazed towards the crowd, were now staring at Josh in surprise.

"What's this?" Josh asked the crowd. They look the same age as Josh.

Then they opened the door and looked at Josh.

Josh's body trembled a little, but he was already involved. He saw a fat boy in the middle. His face was bruised and swollen everywhere. Even his eyes were barely visible due to his swollen cheeks.

Not because of a blow or hit by someone but because of a liquid they carry. Josh saw one of the men holding a blue liquid. It is almost similar to the liquid injected every month by the government. The difference given by the government does not have this effect. Josh didn't know what it was, but he reacted quickly.

"There's a hero of bad luck here." One of them scoffed.

"Whoa, whoa. I'm not a hero here. I just want to know what's going on?"

"You'd better go, if you don't want to be like him, too." The boy pointed at the fat boy.

"Calm down, I just want to know." His words have become the key.

They looked at each other, then looked at Josh at the same time. One of them spoke. "Nobody wants to know anymore since―" his sentence was interrupted.

Josh knows what they mean. He was ready to run, but one of the children held his hand firmly. Then the other friends took hold of Josh. Josh rebelled, kicking his leg. Trying to get away from them, but Josh is clearly outnumbered.

But there is one thing he cannot forget, which is the fighting lessons Hazel teaches. Josh lifted his elbow, then drilled it backwards until it hit the face of the person holding his hand.

He did it quickly the second time to the person holding the other hand. The two people retreated and knelt in pain. His other friend tried to knock him down, but his feet that had been resting on this ground had been firmly stuck.

Josh was getting excited to beat them up. But he had to run, if he didn't want to get caught. One of them has called security. From the end of the street Josh sees the same uniformed officer when his father Hazel's house is blown up. They carry flazz with different shapes.

It is like a gun but it runs on electricity and can be fired from a long distance. Josh ran and kept dodging the electricity that kept firing. He should have known he didn't have to get involved. But it was over, now he had to face reality. Running or getting caught? That's the only choice.