Chapter 73: Unveiling the Past

Irena gazed at Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie standing before her looking ready and on high alert. "Sigh," she sighed, knowing full well the kind of situation she was in.

"Alright, let me start from the beginning to make my true purpose clear," Irena said.

Without wasting any time, Irena recounted everything from the start, sharing who she was and her reasons for seeking them out, exactly as she had told Mary and Selma, leaving nothing out. Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie were shocked upon hearing Irena’s story, especially the part about Heindrich mentioning that he had met the five of them when he was a child. Once she finished speaking,

"Do you understand now?" Irena asked.

Mary and Selma turned to look at Clyde, Craig, Casca, and Corie, whose faces had grown pale after listening to Irena’s account. Meanwhile, Celes looked calm and thoughtful. Then Celes stepped forward, stopping right in front of Irena.

"So you mean that man named Heindrich is little Harry, the one who used to play at our orphanage back then?" Celes asked.

Hearing Celes’s words, Clyde, Craig, Casca, and Corie naturally turned to look at Celes, as they could not remember anything at all. Meanwhile, Mary and Selma exchanged glances because they had no idea what Celes was talking about. Irena stared at Celes, then retrieved a tablet from inside her long coat and began tapping her fingers across the screen before handing the device to Celes, who accepted it.

Clyde, Craig, Casca, and Corie stepped closer to look at the tablet screen held by Celes. The display showed an old, yellowed photograph of six young children posing together. Clyde, Craig, Casca, and Corie were startled to see themselves as small children wearing white uniforms with their identification code numbers stamped across their chests. It was clear that Clyde and Celes were probably only around eight years old, Craig seven, and the twins Casca and Corie six. Beside them stood a little blond boy, likely around six years old, smiling broadly in the center of the group.

Celes did not look surprised; instead, she smiled, raised a hand to touch the screen, and then looked up at Irena.

"I remember... we used to call him little Harry... so he’s the one named Heindrich?" Celes asked.

"That’s right. He is now sixty-three years old and has served as the head of GDAB for the past five years. That’s why he asked me to secure you all at Safe Haven and make Safe Haven the starting point for a new world, because war is bound to break out again, and this time, everything will be wiped out. He is doing all of this outside of his official duties as the leader of GDAB," Irena answered with a serious expression.

"In other words, he is acting entirely on his own accord," Selma added by way of explanation.

Silence settled over them again as Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie fell deep in thought, desperately trying to recover their memories. Finally, Corie broke the quiet,

"But I don’t remember a thing," Corie blurted out.

"Same here... I don’t remember either," Casca chimed in.

"I don’t know... I only have a vague memory of three boys, though it was only for a short while," Craig added thoughtfully.

"Hmm... I remember a little bit... but I’m not sure yet," Clyde said, deep in thought.

"Little Harry was only with us for a month because his father was stationed at a base right next to our orphanage. Of course you don’t remember him, since you’ve spent the last fifty years trapped inside a simulation, your memories are bound to be scrambled. I wasn’t in the simulation, so I remember," Celes explained to the others.

"Hmm... makes sense. Alright then... I trust you, Celes, but... I still don’t trust Colonel Irena one hundred percent," Clyde said, sparing a sideways glance at Irena.

"Hey... I’m not a colonel anymore. I officially resigned from the military... or more accurately, I deserted the military to join forces with you," Irena replied casually.

"Wa... wait a minute... I have a question," Mary interrupted, raising her hand. Her face wore a deeply confused expression.

Everyone immediately turned to look at Mary, including Selma beside her. Mary then studied the faces of Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie one by one before shifting her gaze back to Irena.

"Colonel... ah... sorry, I mean, Irena... you said General Heindrich is sixty-three years old, and according to Celes, he met them when he was six. If that’s the case... how old are they really?" Mary asked, pointing toward Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie, who currently looked like fifteen-year-old teenagers and were undeniably much younger than her.

"Ah, as for that, you’d better figure it out yourself. I’ll lend you the photo, and you can study it on your own... the point is, the five of them are already far beyond you, and even far beyond me," Irena answered with an amused smile.

"Let’s not discuss our ages, Sister Mary. We’re still your younger siblings," Clyde asserted firmly.

"Oh... okay... sorry... I was just curious," Mary replied, still looking somewhat shaken.

"If that’s the case, why is the Utopian military hunting you down, Irena?" Selma asked, steering the conversation back on track.

"Like I said, I leaked Neo Ark project data to New Leviathan. Naturally my actions were discovered, and as I mentioned before, they dispatched two people here to track down these five. Since it’s obvious those two were tipped off by Neo Ark, it’s only natural that I’m a target now," Irena explained.

An awkward silence fell once more. Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie exchanged glances before turning their attention back to the increasingly serious discussion.

"Who was sent here by Neo Ark?" Mary asked.

"You know them very well... First Lieutenant Ryker and Sergeant Janet," Irena answered.

Hearing those two names, it wasn’t just Mary who went into shock. Clyde and Casca immediately tensed up, their jaws tightening. Corie glanced between the two of them before looking back at Irena.

"Janet, huh... I know her. She’s a good person," Corie remarked.

"Hah... you have no idea... me and Brother Clyde were once framed by her husband at the mercenary guild alongside a guy named Ryker... Sister Mary surely hasn’t forgotten that incident," Casca said, turning her gaze toward Mary.

"That’s true. We can’t get involved with those people again, even though Janet is actually a good person and a friend of mine," Mary agreed.

"So what’s the plan, Colonel Irena... ah sorry... I’ll just call you Sister Irena," Clyde said, looking at Irena.

"The bottom line is that going back to Safe Haven by train is out of the question. I’ve been compromised. It looks like we’ll need to move to another city outside the capital," Irena stated.

"I have an idea," Selma spoke up.

Everyone turned to look at Selma, waiting for what she had to say. Selma lit a fresh cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke.

"How about we head straight into the capital or another major city? To hide from our enemies, the best strategy is to infiltrate right into their own backyard, because they’d never expect us to search right under their noses, plus, they already know we’re around here," Selma suggested.

"But how do we even get there? And if we get caught, we’re done for, right?" Mary pointed out.

Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie exchanged glances once more, appearing to confer privately inside their minds. After a moment, they all nodded in unison. Clyde turned his gaze toward Irena, Selma, and Mary, who were all watching him.

"We have a plan, but it’s a bit dangerous," Clyde said with a smile.

***

Meanwhile back at the inn, Walter lowered his smartphone, turning to look at Ellie, who was staring at him with deep anxiety. They were inside their room at the inn. Ellie reached out, taking Walter’s hand in hers.

"What did the governor say, my husband?" Ellie asked.

"Orders have come down... we’re required to hold the five of them here until reinforcements from the center arrive," Walter answered.

Ellie looked slightly startled, squeezing Walter’s hand as he squeezed hers back in reassurance. The two stood in total silence without uttering another word. Then Walter pulled his hand away from his wife’s and walked over to their wardrobe. He opened the cabinet doors, revealing two neatly hung military service uniforms bearing officer insignia. Seeing her husband standing before the wardrobe, Ellie stepped up beside him.

"Are you planning to follow the governor’s orders, honey?" Ellie asked.

"I know what the governor’s real agenda is... we were originally sent to this city to keep tabs on Silas, even though it ultimately dragged Dad into this. They helped us out; Silas’s men came after us because our identities were exposed and he wanted to make you his kept pet. That’s why we couldn’t help Dad earlier, and if it weren’t for them, we’d already be dead," Walter reasoned.

"But what if we defy the governor’s orders? We’ll instantly be branded as fugitives, won’t we?" Ellie pressed.

Walter didn’t answer. He knew full well that everything his wife said was true; orders from the governor were absolute for military personnel, and disobedience meant being branded a traitor followed by severe punishment. Walter could only look into his wife’s eyes and grip her hand tightly.