It was the fourth day in the morning, everyone woke up early to pack their things and take turns at the ticket office to board the boat.
The price wasn't cheap, although not excessively expensive either, each ticket cost 400,000 Colombian pesos, taking into account that the minimum salary is around 7 million pesos, it was just a slightly higher price than what the boat trip offered.
Lunch, dinner and breakfast were provided, apart from staying in small rooms with just one bed to rest and a table to put their belongings. The trip would last a day and a half to Puerto Asís, after that they could look for transportation to Florencia, so they would stay a day waiting.
"…."
Cloe looked over the side of the ship, alternating between the river and the jungle, from time to time she saw fish come out of the water and the occasional exotic bird with striking colors, also some caimans could be glimpsed on the water's surface.
'How humiliating'
That's what she thought about the encounter she had yesterday against Heiss.
She hadn't felt such a bitter defeat since she fought against the first order of the Inquisitors of Elend, in fact, not even against him, maybe only against lady Kalika.
At that moment her hand had a slight tremor, only the cold and soulless gaze that he showed them left her with her hair on end, in a word, she felt fear, fear that she could die without being able to do anything.
She knows people well, it was a gift she had obtained from her life before joining Kalika, those whitish blue eyes were special, so special that they allowed her to show the true intentions of a person.
It was a mixture of facial analysis, body analysis, intuition and dazzling peripheral vision, which allowed her to see everything without omitting anything. If someone sweated, looked away, the breathing, the tone of skin, the movements, everything possible that could happen in a conversation, as long as she was attentive, she would detect it.
'We couldn't even do anything'
It wasn't just respect for her opponent, it was beyond fear, each of her companions gave their opinion when they had time to discuss it in private, and there were no exceptions, if he had wanted to, he would have killed them without them noticing.
Everything was a mystery to her, his abilities, his past, even his personality.
They could have used real weapons and the result would have been almost the same, since he didn't use a weapon either.
'After all this…what is Heiss's weapon'
"Are you thinking about yesterday's fight?"
Without warning, a tall figure with Castilian hair and brown eyes spoke to her beside her, observing the inhospitable jungle, his eyes maintained the strange coloration of having withered long ago, as if tragedy had taken the light from his face, it was Rudolf, or well, Alexander as Ethan told him, he didn't like being called by the other name.
"….That can't be called a fight, it was like a child crushing toy stuffed animals"
"Jaja, that might be true"
Then he fell silent, an uncomfortable one.
'Did he come to mock me?....no'
"What do you want to tell me?"
"Oh, what gives you that idea?"
"…You know Heiss, you want me to give you my opinion, I suppose"
At that instant he stopped looking outward and turned to look at her, she barely measured 1.68 meters, compared to his 1.80.
"…You have good intuition girl…no, good eyes really"
"Is that a compliment or a flirtation?"
"Humm, although you lack experience, haa"
He let out a slight sigh while pulling something from his pocket, it was his navy blue wallet. A photo appeared from one of the compartments, there was a dark-skinned boy in it, on the right side was him, and on the left was a young and beautiful woman, with Afro-descendant features, she had a bun of hair pulled back where a blue flower rested, brown eyes and a smile that was contagious, she was laughing, everyone was, coincidentally they were eating ice cream and playing on the beach.
'It's a beautiful photo'
"It's your wife and son"
"Yes", he answered with a hint of sadness.
"You're right in what you said, I came to check if you saw the same thing I did, although on the contrary you also got it wrong, I don't know anything about that maniac"
"What do you want to prove?, didn't you say I lack experience?, you won't be…"
However, before she continued, he interrupted her.
"Let's stop the nonsense, I want you to tell me what changes you noticed in Heiss, what terrified you about him when you fought, and don't deny it, I know you're terrified, because it's the same thing that happens to me"
"...I don't understand, what do you want to gain knowing this"
Although she provided what she knew, she couldn't understand what he wanted to gain with this abstract information.
"If it weren't for him, I probably would have collapsed at the idea of my son's death, but for some strange reason, he was concerned that someone like me would fall into desperation without any purpose. Beyond the point of using me in the escape and his false death attempt, he could have just left with the other 3 and escaped, even at this moment, he could disappear and not fulfill his promise to help me find my son, he doesn't care if he's dead, he made a promise and says he hopes to be able to keep it. That's why I'm curious, or rather intrigued if you feel that closeness towards someone like him, like someone who saved you and your team"
'How much does he know?', she wondered.
"I only know what the guys told me, about how he risked himself for you and your companion so they could escape at the moment reinforcements arrived, and they had no way to escape"
As if he read what she was thinking, he responded without any emotion.
"…", the two fell silent for a moment, then she decided to share what she believed with him.
"If I had to say my perspective….the truth is I know nothing, I thought I had identified the emotions he transmitted and had an idea of his personality, except that nothing was further from reality, in the fight I felt like it was another person, his iris changed color, not just at that moment, but also when Emily fought against Marcus. Each facet showed a completely different personality"
'…Also in the tunnel when we were escaping'
"I can't tell you what I saw, because I really don't understand anything, when he has those green eyes he's a little egocentric and crazy, he has a little attachment towards you all, and in general it could be said that he cares about you all without showing it. But when he changed to ruby-colored iris it was different, I felt that I had no right to be breathing the same air as him, I felt flustered, breathless, his actions were just, cold and calculated, even more my eyes didn't see any hint of doubt, his manner was of a king who knows everything just by seeing it… I don't know maybe I'm going too far"
"And what did you feel when you saw that his pupils took on a black color?"
"Glup", she swallowed without realizing it.
"That thing had no life, it looked at us without any emotion in its eyes, it was like being in front of a body without a soul….and yet I could feel, that we were nothing to him. It was different from the previous one, if with the ruby-colored eyes it saw us as ants, with the black eyes it's the same as if we didn't exist, as if our lives weren't relevant to him; when it humiliated us that way, I didn't feel that he was giving it his all, just the minimum possible to eliminate us without killing us…"
"As if he was holding back on purpose, right?"
"Exactly!"
'In the tunnel it was the same, for some reason he didn't kill me and decided to trust me?, I don't understand'
"So like me, you feel the same, although you still don't realize the difference"
Cloe turned to look at him, not knowing what he meant.
"In the beginning he didn't have different colors, no, when he was torturing me he was always sarcastic and taciturn, at times I saw him as if he was remembering something sad, his eyes weren't green, ruby or black, they were gray"
"I'm not entirely sure, but at least I think that's his true personality, or well, not an adapted one. This is my hypothesis, I think he has more than one personality and contrary to what you believe, he doesn't feel them as absolute, I think he keeps them at bay and they keep him at bay, that's why in some circumstances he changes in favor of the circumstance, plus sometimes I notice him talking to himself, they're partial, as far as I understand"
Cloe remained looking at the river, trying to remember every matter with him, only at this point did she realize, after having heard Alexander, she understood some things that she didn't understand before.
From this arose a main doubt, why was he like that?, it was very abnormal, so much so that not even a psychiatrist would come up with his situation.
'Did something make him like this?, is he under control, right?'
Personality #4: "It seems like you're having fun"
Turning in a blink they saw a young man with black hair and slightly green eyes, he was wearing resting clothes, but for some reason he looked pale and had dark circles under his eyes, resembling a bad night of little sleep.
"Are you okay?, you seem a little…sick"
Rudolf asked, after examining his condition, it was like a sheet of paper that the wind could carry away.
Personality #4: "Do I seem weak to you?, well let's forget appearances, I heard a topic of conversation quite interesting, don't you want to share it with me?"
The two fell silent without being able to say a single word, it was fear of saying something stupid and making the situation worse.
Personality #4: "Oh"
An expression of slight surprise formed on his face, he approached them slowly, step by step, his body seemed fatigued, but for some reason it made them become more alert. Once in front of them, he carefully moved them aside and rested on the ship's railing, he let the slight warm breeze surround him, closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
'Is this a good idea?'
{Trust me, female intuition is something you won't be able to understand} expressed #3
'Okay'
At that moment, his iris turned and took on a purplish color.
Personality #3: "The truth is that there couldn't be anyone more disturbed than Heiss, our past wasn't something 'simple', if I had to talk about him, I would say that he is a simple person who cares about the people he loves, but who never knew how to value how well he did things for the situation he was in. He tortured himself a lot after our death, so much so that his personality split into several copies of ourselves"
Both were stunned by the words coming out of Heiss's mouth, it was a softer tone, more delicate, almost like that of a woman. His actions also changed, they became more detailed and refined, it was like talking to someone who knew how to move with propriety and although he was a man, that didn't make him look unpleasant or effeminate, it was simply like a delicate leaf.
Personality #3: "The abilities that Heiss had allowed him to copy our personalities, it was an unconscious way of defending his psychological state, a self-defense for his survival. You, those who lived outside the districts, have no idea what it's like to survive there inside, that place that governments try to hide information from, do you even know what and who they try to eliminate?"
His violet eyes became darker and his hands tightened on the railing, in the same way, Rudolf and Cloe perceived the change, it was like an anvil that was suffocating them, hatred could be felt in the air.
Personality #3: "You never asked him because you never cared, that simple, and that's how the district thinks about you. Think, serve, adapt, you're welcome, but you don't contribute anything, you die; each of you believes that you're worth something to someone or to society, but for the district the useful people have already been selected, the rest will only serve as a lesson"
"Wait!, what are you trying to say?"
Not paying attention to his words, he continued.
Personality #3: "It's up to you to know what to do before it's too late, once we meet with Kalika you will have to face the next blows. We already talked about it with Heiss, and we agreed to tell you a part taking into account the risk, it's your decision what to do from here on out, both for you Alexander and the boys, as for you Cloe and your team"
Neither could assimilate the words that he or she was transmitting to them.
Personality #3: "I hope you find the path you wish to follow and can be with those you want. I wish you the strength to withstand the wave that will come when the districts fall upon the world"
Without more, he stopped.
"clck..clck.."
Abruptly, his teeth began to chatter, his body trembled, blood started coming out from one of his nostrils, his feet lost strength and he fell backwards. Fortunately, Rudolf and Cloe caught him before he fell.
"He's in bad shape!, he has a fever", touching his forehead, they knew he was having a reaction from his high temperature, it was so high that they couldn't understand how he could be alive.
"I'll go get water!", Cloe ran in search of a cloth and water to bring down his temperature.
Rudolf understood and took him to the room, where they treated him so as not to draw attention, luckily he would only need rest to recover.
Meanwhile, Cloe wetted a cloth in water while carrying a bucket full.
Her thoughts were chaos.
'What am I supposed to do?'