The book.

Immediately, he opened his wooden trunk and started searching for it.

She had her eye on the book. What if she stole it?

As soon as he thought this, he saw the old worn cover resting under his pile of clothes. He took out the book and sat on his bed. His lack of compassion for the dead girl worried him, but not too much.

He opened the book and went through the pages he had read once before. The book was in a critical condition and he had no idea how to take care of it. As he skimmed through the words, something caught his eye that he had casually let escape before. This time, his eyes widened with astonishment.

Even though the rebels put up a good fight, it was Abiel who had finally won the war for the women-kind and suppressed all men once and for all. Abiel was succeeded by Amos, Adriel, Amiel, Ari, Arielle who took his mission into their lives and passed it on further to their future generations.

Arielle was Ariel’s family name. This meant that she was a descendant of Abiel. Abiel, the savior. Abiel, the one whom everyone worships.

But it was something else that mattered at the moment. Adriel. No spelling errors or his mind playing games. This was real and it was written here.

Am I, Michael Adriel, a descendant of Abiel? Me? He felt odd even thinking it.

He realized that this meant that he possessed Abiel’s genes in his body, his blood in his veins. Though it has been centuries, but there was no denying the truth. But instead of feeling excited, as he thought over his life so far, he however felt anger.

He thought of his life back home. He and grandpa lived as if they were poor. No one took care of their family. No one took care of him.

He thought of grandpa, and how he was treated since his childhood. He thought about his mother and how she abandoned him. What was the point in being the great Abiel’s successor if this is how he had to live? Blood boiled in his veins, as he grabbed his jacket, the book, and left the dorm.

**

It was around 7pm. The campus would have been empty at a time like this on any normal day. But after the lock down, students had nowhere else to be. They roamed around the college to spend time until it was quite late.

It took Anya close to half an hour to find Thomas alone, resting behind a tree, hidden due to its girth. She sat down discreetly and patted his shoulder. He opened his eyes at the sudden touch and looked at her. She could see relief in his eyes to find that it's her.

“Were you avoiding someone?” she asked.
“No one in particular. I just wanted to be alone,” he said looking away.
They watched a few students walk around, some spending time in their own circles, some romancing under the trees and a few just studying. The campus was so cozy, it felt like home.

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Anya said after a few minutes. Thomas just kept quiet as if he knew what was to come. She said, “I know you were pretty close to Michael. What do you know about his life back home?”

“I don’t want to talk about him, Anya.”
“I know you two have some problems right now, but this is important. I think he has been hiding a lot from all of us. So please tell me, how is his family to him?”

Thomas just sighed. Anya waited for a few seconds, but Thomas didn’t budge. Thinking of giving up, she grabbed her bag.

“I don’t understand. Aren’t you two together? After your date night I figured he must have told you everything,” Thomas said looking at her.
Anya fidgeted with the hem of her top and said, “Our date night didn’t go like everyone thinks it did.”

“What do you mean? Both of you spent the whole night in the room, didn’t you?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
“Yes, but it's a little different from what you think had happened,” she replied.

He put her finger in his mouth and sucked the tiny drops of blood, all the while maintaining eye contact with her. Soon he felt her tugging on his t-shirt collar as she pulled him towards her. He gave in to the pull and leaned in, as he felt her other hand slip inside his t-shirt to feel his bare back.

And then, she felt something. The skin on his back was a little rough and rugged. Her eyebrows furrowed at the unexpected feeling.

Suddenly, Michael cried in pain. “Get off!” he yelled as he slapped her hand away, trying to get away from her. Eyes wide in horror, Anya watched him fall off her, onto the floor.

“What happened?” she asked as her hands tried to grab his body that was writhing on the floor.

“My chest, it hurts,” he said amidst his tried to calm himself down. But the pain he felt was evident on his face. Anya raised his head and kept it on her lap, while he clutched his chest, eyes tightly shut and took deep breaths. She ran her fingers through his hair and patted his chest to calm him down.

After a few minutes, he as calm and was slowly drifting off to sleep.

She watched his chest rise and fall gradually, and his face relax as it regained its handsome features. She wondered if she should call medical help. But the way Michael had reacted, scared her. However, she was curious.

Making sure that he was asleep, she scooted a little to the side. Michael lay on his side, with his head on her lap. This made it easy for her. She slowly raised his t-shirt to put a rest to her inquisitiveness.


“What did you see?” Thomas asked, himself feeling curious. Anya shook her head as she looked away.

She said, “There were marks; marks and scars that you get after being hit by something really hard. And it was all over his back.”

“You mean he was physically abused as a child?” asked Thomas in disbelief.
“I don’t think this was just as a child.”

**

Michael stood in front of an old wooden door. He knocked twice, knowing how much the man inside hated when he was disturbed.

It was dark and most of the streetlights were off. People had resided into their own houses, spending time with their families. Michael could hear a baby crying at a distance. Or was it a cat? He couldn’t tell.

Soon the door opened, and grandpa stood on the other side. He was surprised to see Michael at the door.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, “I thought your school was under lockdown.”
He stood at the door as he spoke.
“Aren’t you going to let me in?” asked Michael.

Staring down at him for a few seconds, grandpa stepped aside to let him walk in. He closed the door behind him.