The Shadow Clan

Voice and Woman

Aji could no longer feel his body when one of the hooligans, who was holding a knife, stuck a knife to his neck. Aji's whole body felt like numbness. Aji thought that he would really die right now. 

"Hopefully in the next life, you will be born a cockroach! Because all I know is that cockroaches have a better life than you do now!" said the thug, followed by laughter from other thugs 

Interrupted by the laughter of other hooligans. And interrupted by himself who has chosen to surrender to fate that will soon take his life. Aji had thought that what the thugs said was true. The life of cockroaches that always fill the trash can, does look better than him. They can still eat full, wandering to and fro freely. And there is nothing oppressive of their kind. 

"Let's hope it's like that," Aji said softly. 

In order not to die while looking at the faces he hated most, Aji closed his eyes. 

The thug who pointed the knife smiled broadly when he saw Aji surrendered.

"Good! Close your sickening eyes! Take it easy, the pain, you will feel it until the afterlife!" 

However, before the thugs slit Aji's throat. There was a voice that came from nowhere. And the voice was only heard by Aji.

"Who told you to surrender?" a voice suddenly sounded as Aji closed his eyes. The voice he believed did not come from the thugs who still surrounded him. Instead, the voice seemed to echo in his head.

"It's time for us to rise up," the voice reappeared. And at the same time, Aji felt his feelings overflow. Sadness, anger, spitefulness and also pleasure. He felt it at the same time. And before Aji found out what happened to him. There was a voice like a person tumbling.

Aji opened his eyes immediately. And at that moment, he saw a dozen thugs who had beaten him earlier. Collapsed with blood pouring on their stomachs. Aji doesn't know what really happened to them. But certainly, Aji felt very grateful. Because the people who bullied him viciously, have been lying lifeless. 

Not wanting to think too long, Aji immediately left there. He didn't want to care what really happened just now. He just wanted to go and save himself before the thugs' friends caught up.

*** 

In the middle of a rundown town, Aji limped over. No one cared about his battered condition. Only cats make a sound when they pass by. As if asking, "When are you going to die?". 

The brown bread he had eaten, had also come out of the stomach after the thugs had landed several kicks in his stomach. Until now, Aji felt his stomach hungry again.

When passing by a fairly large hospital building. Aji suddenly heard a voice calling his name. The voice sounded like a female voice. And the voice sounded like it was nearby. But the voice also sounded like from a distance.

Aji turned his head right and left to find who called his name. However, Aji did not manage to find it. All he saw, were people passing by while ignoring his existence.

"Maybe I heard it wrong!" thought Aji. He thought that he had just heard it wrong. 

Aji tried to ignore. He walked again. But not until 2 steps he walked. Again someone called his name. And the voice still sounds the same. Female voice with unchanged voice intonation.

Spontaneously, Aji turned his head to the left. Because the voice sounded like it was from that direction. But again, he did not find the figure of the woman who called his name. All he saw was an old man walking slowly with a cane in hand. Aji thought it was impossible for the old man to call his name. What's more, who knew his name even as long as he was a slave, none of them were willing to call his name. The average of them always calls by the name of the animal.

"Who is it?" Aji asked whom. He just voiced so that the figure who had called his name would show his form. 

But after a few seconds of waiting, the voice did not appear. Again, Aji thought that he had just heard it wrong. And once again he walked away. But just a few steps away from the hospital, the voice sounded again

"Who is that?!" asked Aji again in a higher tone of voice.

"Come here!" the voice came back with the same intonation. Soft. 

"Where are you going?! Come out!" exclaimed Aji couldn't bear it.

But the voice no longer responded. Instead, the voice hummed softly. 

Annoyed, Aji tried to hear the voice carefully. And after a few seconds of listening, Aji believed that the voice was coming from the direction of the hospital. 

Out of curiosity and also annoyed because the sound did not stop buzzing in his ears. Aji steps into the hospital to find out who has played tricks on him. However, just now he took a step through the hospital gate. He was immediately blocked by a big security man with a fierce face. 

"Where are you going?! Go there!" exclaimed the security while pushing Aji's body until Aji fell backwards. 

Aji whimpered in pain. 

"This place is only for people who have money. Get out of the way!" said the security. 

With an annoyed face, Aji got up.

"I heard someone calling my name repeatedly. And I'm very sure that the voice came from inside this hospital," Aji told the security. 

The security smiled disdainfully. 

"Don't digress! It's just your imagination! What you hear, may be the voice of the angel of death ready to take your useless life! Either go there or I've hit it!" the security said with a glare.

Finding such a very uncomfortable treatment made Aji eager to throw a hard punch to the security's face. But he realized he wouldn't be able to do that. There is, he will be the one who will feel the blow again. 

Don't want to get involved in obscure issues. Aji ignored the voice again and left. However, the more his steps away from the sound of the hospital, his inner feeling was tormented. His heart seemed to feel a very heavy dilemma. And it made his steps heavy and his breathing became tight. 

"Damn it! How could that voice echo in my ears?!" grumbled Aji who couldn't stand it anymore.

Aji then looks for another way to find the source of the sound that continues to disturb his ears. And before long he looked for a way, his eyes saw a narrow alley on the west side of the hospital building.

"I think I can go through there," Aji thought and then stepped towards the alley.

Aji walked slowly in the alley while his ears kept listening to the humming sound that still echoed in his ears. The more Aji walked forward, the more the echoing voice became clearer. Until 20 meters Aji had walked into the alley, he stopped. He turned to look at the wall fence that divides the hospital area.

"It seems that the voice came from nearby. But how can I climb over the fence of this wall? This fence is so high! It seems impossible–" Aji said, suddenly his eyes darkened to the point that he couldn't see anything. And a second later he felt his body seem to float. 

"W-what's this?" said Aji feeling terrified.

In his ignorance. Aji became very panicked. He thought that he was dead. But in the next second, his vision returned to normal. And when his eyes returned to normal. Aji found himself already on one of the branches of a tree growing inside the hospital area. 

"W-how did I get here?!" 

Aji looked around in a panic. Then looked down. And instantly his eyes became fireflying. Aji immediately hugged the branch of the tree he was walking on for fear of falling.

"Damn.... why is my fate always bad like this!" complained Aji and then tried to get down. 

But just now he was about to try to get down from a tree that was up to two stories high. His eyes inadvertently saw a beautiful-looking woman sitting alone on the patient's bed.  

"She, so beautiful," Aji said subconsciously.

The woman turned to look at Aji after Aji chirped.

Seeing the woman turned to look at him, Aji immediately twitched. 

"So-sorry, I saw that there was a bird upstairs just now. So I went up. Take it easy, don't shout. I'll go down right away. Please don't shout," Aji pleaded in panic. He was really afraid if she screamed.

The woman looked at Aji. Then his lips moved like saying a word. Aji didn't hear what the woman said. Because the distance is quite far, of course it makes the woman's voice not heard by Aji. But strangely, Aji could figure out what the woman was saying. Although Aji didn't hear the woman's voice at all.

"Jump?" Aji repeated what the woman said.

The woman moved her lips back. And the same thing, Aji understands. 

'Who is he? Is she the woman who called me?' wondered Aji. 

The woman still looked at Aji with a deep look. As if expecting something from Aji

But Aji, who felt that he didn't know the woman, immediately refused. Aji said that the branch he was walking on and the balcony of the room where the woman was, were quite far away. So it is impossible for Aji to jump safely. 

But again the woman said silently. Only his lips moved. And the word Aji caught this time was different.

"Oh clan that is always shrouded in deep darkness. Who has always been lonely. Jump up, and fulfill my call!" 

Immediately, Aji's body jumped by itself. Aji, who saw his body moving on his own without his control, felt very surprised and confused.

"What the hell?!"