From outside the domes, in the nearly isolated city of Stadweld, none could have guessed the turmoil that boiled within. The city itself was quiet, and almost devastating so; no cars paraded the streets, no people walked the sidewalks, everything had come to a standstill. As if time had stopped, and if it weren't for the subtle shift in the sun's position, it would have seemed as if someone had pressed paused on the remote, and had forgotten they were even watching. This undeniable silence irked a number of the city's citizens, one of them had an idea, an idea to make a move while there was still any sense of time left. Though it wasn't like her to disobey a command, there were things she needed to do to secure not only her future, but the future of the world. A plague had been spreading she felt, and as she stood in the Senba mansion, stripping off her maid clothes to change into a more fitting uniform, Keiko, the young and faithful servant to the Senba company made her move to find a certain employee whom she had taken the liberty of spying on.
Yet even stepping outside of the mansion and into a fairly warm day for the Midwest fall, she felt alone. She had memorized the address of the person she wanted to meet. There were many questions in her mind, but she knew what was happening. In his own willingness to secure the company's safety from usurpers and wrongdoers, the heir of the Senba Company, the young master Toru, had infiltrated their secret base with the intention of exposing it to the authorities back in Japan, and anywhere else he could get them to listen. Keiko was thankful that the heads of the company in Japan knew little about Toru's rash and sometimes childish behavior. If not for his upbringing he may have turned out to be a real juvenile delinquent. She quietly tapped along the sidewalk, staring at the silence faces of the still houses, void of movement or sound, not a single car had passed her since she had left the mansion. She was worried about her masters, both of them in reality. She was too afraid to open the closest to check on the elder Senba, not wanting to risk him escaping, or seeing the man she had vowed loyalty to in such a deranged state.
As Keiko made her way to the house, which belong to the Kasahara family, long time employees of both Senba America, and Senba Japan. She had never personally met anyone from the family, though she had heard they were good people. Ever since Kasahara senior was abducted, and then later found, she had been keeping a closer eye on the family to see what may have caused it to happen. Then again many of the Senba employees were reported missing during a certain event which took place almost two weeks ago. She stopped in front of the quaint suburban home, and with careful steps made her way to the front door. The curtains were pulled, and everything seemed to be clearly closed up. It was a grand mimicry of every other house Keiko had seen. She knocked on the door a couple of times, wondering if that would even bring Miss. Kasahara to the door. "Kasahara-San, are you in?" She called out, speaking in Japanese, as it may have separated her from any thugs who may have wanted break in. "Kasahara-San, I'm a member of Senba, I wish to speak with you on behalf of the Senba family, please if you are in, allow me to speak with you." She very polite in her approach. There was a long pause, and not wanting to have walked all the way over here for nothing, she sat down, leaning against the side of the entryway, waiting for the woman to answer.
It took about fifteen minutes before the door clicked, and slowly opened, revealing a dark and almost formidable entrance. Undaunted by the dark, Keiko stood up, brushed herself off and slowly entered the home with cautious steps. If Miss Kasahara was as cautious as she let off, then Keiko expected the woman to be preparing for an assault. Perhaps that was an improper thing to prepare for, as it did happen just as the servant had expected, when the woman came up from behind her and locked up her arms, holding some kind of steel weapon in her hand. "Who are you?" A voice hissed into Keiko's ear and she did little to resist the other woman. "I am a servant of the Senba mansion, I have come here to inquire about your safety." She said quietly, and the other woman lead her to the door and closed it, and locked it, still keeping her hold on the maid. "How do I know you are telling the truth?" She asked. "Whatever they were planning on doing, Kasahara-San, is obviously failing for some reason." She replied. "The streets are asleep." She added. The other woman released her hold, and backed away. "How do you know what is going on inside there?" She asked, still keeping her posture in a defensive position. "The young heir to the Senba company has penetrated their defenses, and has been sending information out to everyone who knows. There are powerful people already working against these impostors." She said turning to face the woman, despite the darkness of the room. "We shall go then. To these, powerful people." The pieces were in motion outside of the dome.
The power which Keiko was speaking off was positioned near the outskirts of town. They had cut the power supplies numerous times. All dressed in chemical suits, or securely within vehicles, it almost looked like a personal army had arrived at the beck and call of Toru. More were en-route, and they were formulating plans to encircle the entire city if necessary. All had gone to the orders of Toru. "Cut the power, they are using it for illegal purposes, and it is a waste of our resources." He had sent pictures, and a lot of information since his arrival, and it hadn't taken long for the right people to find out what was going on. The pieces fit, the puzzle was complete, and the picture was crystal clear. Though, the heir of Senba had to wonder, what if he had asked them before going on this dangerous mission? What was the likelihood that they were going to believe him? He wasn't sure if they were working for him or against him. He had to separate his pieces.
The young heir to the Senba legacy awoke with his eyes still closed. He opened them slowly, as he looked around the room, and he noticed the same girl there typing away at the computer keyboards, and occasionally she would look over her shoulder at the girl he remembered carrying here, who was awake, and yet awfully quiet and unmoving. If she is still typing away, they must still have power...which means...my effort was not good enough yet. He thought as he stood up rubbing his eyes. He checked to see if his gun was still where it should be he nodded to himself. At least this young lady isn't trying to kill me. He turned to the strange girl who seemed frustrated over what the computer screens were telling her. "God damn it. Was I out long?" He asked the girl, who didn't stop to look at him as she continued her diligent work. "Probably a half hour. It sounds like a lot of things are happening..." She stated offhandedly, continuing her work. "Like hell, things are always happening. Shit...I feel so groggy....I should just finish up what I came here to do..." He mumbled walking over to the girl he had liberated, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. Are you alright?" He asked quietly, feeling sincerely sorry for her, as somewhere within him he felt guilty that he had accidentally freed her too soon. The girl nodded slowly. "Yes..." She could hardly say it, it seemed as if all of her strength had been drained. "Don't worry okay? I'm going to make sure everything turns out just fine, you hear?" He stood up, and was about to walk out of the door when she grabbed his hand. He turned around. "Huh? You want something?" He came close to her and leaned in next to her mouth.
"Save. My. Sister." He nodded, despite not having any idea what the hell she was talking about. "I'll try my best...hey you!" He stepped away from the unconscious Miss Gladrin and approached the girl who had been working hard on her precious computer system. The girl working stopped. "Hey what? You should be thankful I have orders not to do anything icky to you." She said with a cute smile, and he sighed. "Like what does that mean? Are you some kind of child? I need you to do me a favor." He sounded serious for a change, and yet in thinking that only made Toru smile. "Amy. I'm Amy. A-m-y, not 'you'." She retorted, turning back to her work,"Well whatever, what do you want?" She asked. "Does this place have like an off-switch?" He asked, and the girl turned around and got in his face. "Off-switch?! You want to turn off my precious computer system that I slaved over for the past...god knows how many years?" She threw her hands up in the air and turned around. "Like I'm going to tell you that!" She scoffed. "Well okay, okay, if you wont let me turn this place off...can you tell me where the prisoners are?" He asked. It could get me some more evidence, but I have a sinking feeling about what's happening up there...outside of the domes. "Yeah, just go down, you can't miss 'em. All they do is wail and it creeps me out. If I were in charge, I'd have never brought them here." She said sitting down and sliding over to yet another computer screen, tapping away at it. Toru paused. "It's not like I know where I'm going lady."
"It's Amy!"
"Yeah Amy, sure, don't you have a map or something or some concrete instructions I can follow?"
"Here, give me your phone, I'll just save us both some time."
It didn't take the technological genius long to upload simple instructions that Toru could use to get to where he was going. He raced out of the room, hoping that whoever that Amy person was, she would keep that girl safe. She had obviously gotten tangled into this mess looking for her sister, who may or may not exist, depending on the mental state. Either way he had to find a way out, or uncover a bit more evidence just in case they tried to destroy it in a last minute attempt to cover up. Toru reached for his phone, then and began to dial a number. Damn it, who is above that isn't apart of that stupid little army my father put together? I bet that if they came so quickly like that...that they aren't working under my command at all. Like hell, my father probably told them not to trust me. He smiled as he heard someone pick up. "Keiko! Damn it where are you?" He asked stopped in the hall.
"I am escorting a subject of interest to safety. Sorry for ignoring your orders sir, I had to secure her safety before the entire city got invaded." She sounded apologetic which made Toru smile. "Don't worry about it Keiko, hey listen, don't go near my father's army, got it? They'd probably just scoop you up and interrogate you, and waste a lot of time. I need you to get out of the city entirely. You can borrow a car if you'd like. Take the south road, don't go north whatever you do. I'm counting on you." With the conversation at an end he sighed. "I can't have my pieces getting mixed up now can I? I have to build my own army if I expect to take the throne." He closed his phone and laughed as he pocketed it and began to run down the hall in search of the prison Amy had instructed him on.
Do not worry little Maki.
She stopped as the man adjusted his glasses looking down at her with a believably sincere smile. She couldn't help but think of the note she had been given, yet she was unsure. She had been tricked and tossed around so many times. The man turned and continued to move forward and she followed him with some hesitation. They came to a three way split, and the man took her through the right passage, and into a room full of blinking computers, and he offered her a seat, which she denied. "I'll stand thank you." She said bitterly under her breath. The man seated himself just the same, and stretched out his hands behind his head. "You don't need to worry, I my own agenda, and it has nothing to do with you." He said eying the young girl curiously, and she seemed confused by his curiosity. "What do you mean? You brought me here!" She stated, deciding to take the seat after all and he nodded. "I did so because I have no idea what is going on here." He shook his head. "First they tell me we're going to build a couple of high tech structures...next they tell me they're kidnapping middle schoolers, and it seems that Mr. Calvin has taken an interest in you for some reason I can't quite put my finger on..." As he trailed off Maki's eyes narrowed. "You're lying." She stated. "You know full well what I am." She looked away and he leaned forward. "What do you think you are Maki, aside from a little girl?" His question irritated her. She did not have an answer. "You aren't an abomination. You've been under a lot of stress lately it seems. I can tell." He leaned back to his former position, and she felt exposed, he sounded like a father figure almost, someone who cared, but a voice in the back of her mind kept telling her he wasn't, he wasn't. "How can you tell what I've been through?" She asked defensively. "There are bags under your eyes, your posture is a bit slouched, your mannerisms suggest lack of sleep, lack of focus, you probably haven't been eating right either I'm guessing." His analysis was completely scientific, and she began to realize that he was correct on his observations. She hadn't been taking care of herself, and the emotional strain she was experiencing was natural given the circumstances. "I think I can understand, if just a little Maki..." He said with a perplexed sigh. "You believe you are something more than the average human...and so do many others, but I...I'm not convinced..." He stood up, slowly. "Do you want to know why?" He asked, maintaining a concerned expression which seemed to keep Maki at ease, and even still the voice persisted in her head. She nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on him, not willing to drop her guard entirely. "Your body gives obvious signs," he approached her, "May I?" He asked indicating towards her arm, and she nodded again, and slowly he raised it. Her breathing increased, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, Maki, I'm not here to hurt you." The emphasis on the final word made her eyes widen and suddenly something pushed the man back against the wall, and he hardly caught himself as he collided with the chair. His glasses had fallen off, and yet Maki was baffled by the sudden emergence. "She's a bit touchy..." He smiled, slowly dropping down and picking up his glasses and putting them on. Maki was quivering with fear as she had come to realize what had just happened, and what this man was hinting at the entire time became clear inside of her mind she stood up.
"How did you know?" She asked and he coughed a bit rubbing his chest. "I didn't." He admitted. "I'm a scientist sometimes...I had a little hypothesis...and now that I've tested it, I feel very...accomplished." He braced himself against the wall. "It probably, wants to kill me...but I think there is a much better target for your wrath...than a simple scientist like me." He had been weakened by that blow, as it had come without warning. Maki looked at him, feeling something surging within her, asking to be let lose and to rip that man to pieces. "Believe me Maki...I'm on your side...please..." He seemed to be pleading with her, and she nodded. "Very well, I understand..." She said quietly, and the man nodded. "I'm Sen...pleased to meet you, though under such circumstances, I wish I could have met you in better conditions." The man seemed to stabilize. Maki could feel the thing inside of her calm. "Now then...how about you pay a visit to Mr. Calvin?" He said opening his phone with a smile.
Mr. Calvin sat in the room looking up at the ceiling with an impatient glance etched on his face. His fingers rolled on the desk and he checked his watch. “So that little bribe must be hooked up by now, so what’s taking her so long to get down here with my treasure?” He spun around in the swivel chair and decisively stood up, brushing off his suit and letting out a low and long sigh. There was nothing worse than sitting around babysitting a bunch of drugged up little kids. After all it didn’t matter whether or not they were here, it’s not like anyone really cared whether or not they were dead or alive. There was no difference now, especially since the net had been cast, and the beast had been snared. I’m just thankful that I picked the right side. He thought, and then the door on the far left of the room, just out of his sight opened with a pressurized hiss.
“Hey, took you long enough!” He called out slowly turning around, only to find that instead of Sen or Meredith standing there, there was the small and quaint looking Maki who had a very blank stare on her face, which for a moment, made him believe that perhaps she had somehow been drugged. It wasn’t in till he took a step closer and she raised her tiny hand that he started to realize that she was here on her own freewill. “Well, if it isn’t the parent killer?” He asked reaching for the gun at his side. “How would you like to be added to the list?” She asked quietly, slowly raising her head so her hair no longer covered her eyes, and he could see that, held within those dark spheres there was a tangible malice which reflected a reddish tint that made him back away for a moment. I can’t kill her, but I can at least shoot her in the leg. He thought quickly aiming the gun. “Even though I don’t honestly believe it, you just seem so serious!” He chuckled for a moment and then he decided to pull the trigger, and at the same moment the lights in the room went completely out. The shot was heard and yet there was no scream of pain. Impossible, I was almost at blank range with that shot, it would have… He thought backing away in the dark and then the backup power flickered on. “You…” Maki spoke quietly, stepping closer, and he fired another shot at her, and this time in the bright light he saw the bullet deflect off of her body. He fired again and again, in till his clip was empty, and the girl was standing directly in front of him. “Are you frightened…?” She asked suddenly, looking up at him. “You bitch!” He threw his gun aside and reached out to grab her, but instead of his fingers reaching her throat, they simply came off, as if an invisible saw was spinning between him and the young girl. He screamed as the severed fingers dropped to the floor like chopped carrots. He grasped his bleeding stubs and paced back to the wall, anger filled his pain stricken face. “You…brought this upon yourself.” She said quietly. “You are the only one to blame for this.” She added slowly closing the gap between them, and the fake teacher stepped away from her, running away from the wall, and making his way towards the exit. “Like I’d let you escape. I have to kill you first.” She said raising her hand, and as he turned around a strange pain erupted in the back of his leg.
“When they told you…I was a demon, what did you think, Mr. Calvin?” She asked as the man groped his now bleeding leg. “G-get away from me, you wretched creature!” He growled slowly turning around and trying to stand up. “Wretched creature?” She asked standing before him once more, and then she grabbed him by the collar effortlessly pulling up and then with her fist she smashing it into his jaw, and then threw him into the wall he had just run from. “Stay over there for a moment.” She said as the man held onto his jaw, and feeling blood pour from his mouth. “Nobody is watching you know.” She then began to glow, he wasn’t sure if it was because he had been knocked around too much, or if they had gassed him and this was some kind of elaborate illusion, but it was what his eyes were perceiving as a visible darkness erupted from her body, and she began to hover over to where he was. “Damn you! Damn you to--!” He was trying to say hell but something was choking the life out of him. Can you see it? A voice whispered and he slowly began to see something hovering next to the girl. His shocked expression answered the question as the ghastly figure, made of shadows, holding a scythe looking at him with a blank stare. This is your punishment for hurting this girl. The voice was saying. Slowly he began to feel the skin on his arm being peeled away, and a pain he couldn’t even describe, was racking over his entire body. One limb at a time now…one limb…at a time… The voice continued to tantalize him as he started to see the bone under the skin and he was surprised that he was still conscious. Do you think this is a dream? I can read your thoughts, I can control your fate…you will suffer greatly…eventually it was all gone, from the tip of the shoulder down to where his fingers used to be, there was nothing. He began to feel a strange wave of heat come over his body as the room began to change. The walls were replaced with a rocky wall, which steam and mist began to spew from crevices; the floor was a swirling bed of hot coals. He could no longer see Maki anymore, only the shadow, and he began to feel his entire body go suddenly cold, and someone was shouting. "That's enough! I only let you go so far because you're dangerous!" The shadow stalled for a moment, it was approaching Mr. Calvin who was becoming more and more deluded as time passed, and yet it stopped turning around to something the teacher couldn't see. “Enough! Let’s go. This is already far too drawn out…” Maki said and the room returned to normal suddenly, and she was sitting there on the floor alone, shivering, as the body of Mr. Calvin was slumped over, with blood pouring out of his mouth and arms, though they were both still there as if they had never been tortured. His eyes had rolled back into his skull and there was no sign of life. She fell over suddenly, and tears fell down her cheeks as she continued to shudder. Even if…even if he was someone I hated so much…I can’t…keep doing this. Relying on this power…it’s not who I am! Mom...Dad...
Within the confines of the small four walled room, the slightly speckled, but blue dominant carpet, sat the girl who held her hands clasped and her eyes scanning the room with a renewed since of vigor. She was asked by a man she believed to be dead to ask him questions, any question that she wanted. It was in this moment that she began to contemplate the various things that had troubled her, and it was the most recent disturbance which bubbled to the surface first, and so before attempting any form of composure her first question came straight out.
"Who are you?" The slight disbelief that the man who stood before her with a slight grin on his face was not the same person he claimed to be weighed heavily in her question and with a resolute sigh the man pulled back the chair he was leaning on an decided to seat himself folding his hands in a similar fashion as she was."Interesting question, if I may interject--and meander us from that for a brief moment..." He paused looking off into an unseen distance, and as a thought came to his mind he smiled once more. "Of all the questions you could have asked me to begin this interrogation, you chose the most unimportant one, given the entirety of the situation. Why is that?" She frowned at his deviance. "You didn't answer the question." She asserted and he nodded, waving his index finger slightly. "I'm aware Michi Kasahara. But how important is figuring out who I am, compared to, let's say, understanding the motive behind your father's kidnapping." He leaned back and the girl took what he said with some weight as her mind began to run into walls and questions and doubts. The realization that in truth, he had come upon her own interrogation, which he himself had insisted upon, and that there was a possibility that given his mannerisms, he was able to predict exactly what she would ask first. Given that it was her nature to take in what was around her, and analyze it with an unequal scrutiny, it was a given that she would ask either what was most pressing on her mind, or what was there before her. This young man, the way his hair was cut, the way his eyes scanned and searched her own, the way he was dressed, every detail seemed to fit the identity of a boy she knew to be dead, yet he was here standing in front of her, with an entirely different persona. "Now, onto the question. Who am I?" He redirected her rapidly moving mind to the subject at hand, and gesturing at himself he began to offer her an answer. "If you were to ask me, am I Troy Wegner, I would have to answer, no. I am not Troy Wegner, that individual entity is something I created." He gauged her reaction, which was of confusion.
"Don't speak in tongues." She stated offhandedly, feeling the energy being sapped away by his cunning nature. "I will try, Michi, I will admit that your level of observation is far superior to any I've ever seen. I once used the mantle known as Troy Wegner, though it was a dark moment in my long history, I prefer to forget such things. The name was stolen from a different person, someone who committed suicide before I even arrived at that school. Would you care to know more about me?" His mirthful tone irritated Michi to a great extent as she shook her head. "Tell me more about this place." She softly whispered looking around at the room once more to see if there was anything she had missed. "Very well, here is the lowdown. Though it may have been a while since Senba came to this place to make use of an abundant material used in many of their products, the organization which is feeding off the main branch came here about two years ago. These structures which you have decided to infiltrate, whether it is on behalf of your mother who somehow slipped through the radar, or out of your own investigation--whether it be for your father or for your friend, miss Gladrin." Before he could go any further Michi slammed her fists onto the table, her piercing stare found his eyes as a somber note filled the air. "Where is Norie? Is she safe? Why go to such lengths to kidnap a high school girl? She's done nothing at all!" She exclaimed and the boy smiled. "Stop smiling!" She snapped, and he shrugged, frowning. "Fine, fine, let me answer your questions one at a time. First of all, Norie is in a testing room right now. Second, she is probably safe for now, but who can tell what they will do to her when they are done getting what they need. Why go to such lengths to kidnap a girl that you hardly even know? How long have you known this Norie girl anyway? I'd guess less than a month." His tone darkened as he stood up circling around the table, and Michi realized what he was saying to her and once more she felt her mind work into the gray areas she must have repressed. "I guess it can't be helped seeing how you've moved so many times. You sure didn't stay long at that other high school I went to. I'm surprised though, honestly, that you are here--"
"Shut up." She breathed. "Don't speak about me like you know me." She stood up as well. "What the hell do you want from me?" She asked suddenly stepping before him, feeling the blood in her veins throb against her skin and he backed away a step. "I want to expose this place to as many people I can." He stated quietly, feeling the anger and hatred coming from the girl had quieted him slightly. "Oh yeah, how are you going to do that, and why should I trust you?" Her voice was starting to rise. "You don't need to trust me, Michi Kasahara. But because your mother placed a wire on you, somewhere, I'm sure where we wouldn't be likely to pick up." The girl froze in her tracks. My mother? She thought about it for a moment. "How would you know something like that?" She asked, considering the possibility. "Do you remember the night your father got abducted? You found one the dome cameras in your kitchen, I'm sure you remember that happening right?" He asked stepping around to the other side of the table. "I searched the entire house, there were no other cameras, I made sure." She nodded at her own mental confirmation. Every room in her house had been thoroughly scanned. Even with her mother watching the house nonstop, there would be no way for them to have monitored them. "Think it over Michi...where would be a place that we could at least hear what was going on?" It had to have been a place out of sight, and it would have to have been inserted without any overly visible effects. Her eye for detail was keen, extremely keen, but considering the...no, too much interference. It couldn't have been in the walls or anywhere Michi wouldn't have noticed. Trey sighed, and nodded his head. "Human body monitoring. Your mother somehow starting catching onto us. Long before we even could get where we needed to be. We needed leverage, or rather, they needed leverage. They took your father hostage, I remember that night..." He trailed off, circling around again so he was standing behind the girl who turned slightly. "How did he escape?" She asked, realizing that it may be possible that the report that he was okay was false, and then Trey placed a hand on her shoulder, which caused the hair on her arms stand on end.
"It was quite a sight to see, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself...he was taken to the domes to be probed for information, when suddenly, in transit a figure garbed in white stopped the car--." Michi slapped him away. "This isn't some kind of game! I want the truth!" She began to pace around and then stopped. "I don't want to ask you anymore questions. I just want to find Norie and Kaz and get out of here." She snapped and he nodded slowly. "Very well. I'm sure your mommy has heard enough anyway. Of course like you, she has the option to believe it or not...do as you like...I have a certain prisoner to visit anyway." With a wave of his hand, the mysterious boy stepped out of the room and into the lobby, leaving Michi there to contemplate her next move.
As Trey moved from the interrogation room, he began to look disheartened. 'Damn, time's run up. Oh well, it can't be mistaken. That stupid Senba heir probably sped up the process. They're going to trash this place for sure, and now I've got to work my ass off to secure my investments...' He came into an elevator and slowly pressed a button, slowly descending down from the lobby and into the lowest layers of the dome...
A soft smile came to his face as he set the frying pan down and moved over to his friend. "The food should be done soon, you certainly don't look well my friend." He patted Kaz on the shoulder. The other boy's eyes narrowed as he examined his long time friend standing there casually, and the sudden shift in motives and purposes made him stand up quickly, knocking his chair back. Jack noticed. "You seem, surprised..."
"Like hell I'm surprised!" The other grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. "What the hell are you doing? Dragging me into a place like this?! Acting all cool and calm! You had me worried damn it, still am!" Jack maintained his smile and shook his head. "Forgive me Kaz, but...I thought at first that this was a troubling affair...in the end it turned out that my father was wrong, the whole town was wrong...I just needed to be awakened to the truth." He looked off towards a door to his left, and Kaz released his friend suddenly causing him to fall down to the ground. "You shouldn't be so violent Kaz, you know violence only causes pain." He ignored the dull lecture as he looked around the living room. "Where the hell is Kylie?!" He demanded. "She's sleeping in the other room. You best keep your voice down, or she might hear you." Jack turned to the frying pan and then turned off the stove. "Ah the food is ready, come have a seat."
"Like hell. What happened to you? What happened to you Jack?" His body was shaking, his head was downcast. He could tell that something was wrong, something was wrong with his friend. "My question, Kaz, is what happened to you. I've known you for a long time...you know...you attached yourself to me and my sister...knowing full well that you have your own sister and brother waiting for you. All you needed to do was let go of that man tying you down." Kaz did not respond at first, then he placed his hand on the top of the chair, as a way to stop his body from shaking. This is what they want isn't it? They want me to be like this...well who gives a shit. Like hell...I'm not going to let these bastards control my emotions.
"What do you know huh? You're repressed by your father too damn it! I remember those nights you said you just wanted to run away. I was going to help you too. But you stuck with it. you knew Kylie wouldn't make it without you to support her. What happened to that Jack?"
The other laughed.
"I cut my ties with that man....I said he was wrong, he was wrong to challenge the new world." He began to set his plates. "I'm just suggesting that you do the same. Why live in your father's shadow? Why do you insist on letting yourself be punished under him?"
"Because...because he is a good man. He's worked hard his whole life, and for what? To be left by his wife, to almost lose all of his children in court? To work day in and day out while his son will inevitably leave him?" His anger was growing as he began to come to an understanding. He began to feel the guilt of being so negative around his dad. Keep it together..He could feel that guilt slowly turning into anger. "How brave of you...you would rather continue on, fully aware of his suffering...you can't bring them back to him. You can't save someone like that. It's already over Kaz...you should--"
"Like hell!" He hefted the chair with on hand, and with an strength he never knew he had he threw the metal object at his friend as it crashed onto the table shattering the plates and yet before it reached it's mark, the other boy grabbed it and set it aside. "What do you think you are doing? Getting angry? I just wanted to show you..." he said stepping around the table. "That there is a way to escape...Kaz." Yet the other didn't want to listen. "Shut up! Shut up! I'll find my own way damn it!" He reached for a plate shard, and yet his friend moved expertly, more so than Kaz would have ever expected, and with a thrust of his palm, he stuck Kaz back against one of the living room chairs.
"When you resist, it is painful, when you finally submit, it is joyous! Can't you see?" The boy smiled as he walked over to Kaz, who scrambled to his feet and retreated back towards the bathroom. "So what the hell happened to Kylie?!" He shouted with ferocity. "What the hell happened to your sister?!"
"She will be free too, as soon as she makes the choice...the right choice..."
"Damn you...damn you to hell Jack! You've lost it! You've finally cracked. Your own sister...she...she...I'm going to...make you understand!"
"Make me understand what exactly? You treat her as your own blood Kaz. How would Jessica feel if you treated someone else's sister better than his own."
"Don't ever fucking talk about my sister like that!" He roared, and he launched himself at Jack,his vision blurring slightly as he made his move, and his forceful punch was dodged and a sharp pain erupted, as Jack's hand landed at the base of his shoulder and neck causing him to fall down, and then his friend's knee was coming up to smash in his face, and everything was blurry, yet he protected his face with his hand. He felt Jack grab the back of his shirt, and a blow connected to his stomach causing him to double back, yet the more he focused, the more blurry his vision became. Side effects from the gas? "As soon as you submit, everything will become clear." Jack's voice was growing more and more fuzzy. Like hell. Like hell! This is for Jessica, for Kylie! Everyone I care about in the world, this is for them! He could feel the next attack coming, and he jumped back feeling his hand touch the far wall, and like a swimmer launching off the side of a pool, he propelled himself forward, knowing he wouldn't miss. He didn't need to see as long as his body worked. He collided with his friend, and even though his head cascaded into his adversary's head, he still felt an intense adrenaline rush as he slammed Jack into the ground full force. He knew there would be some kind of counter attack,but he would risk it. He just raised his fists and pounded as much as he could, feeling his blows connect a few times before he felt two jabs to his ribs and he rolled over, falling on the table, and yet he could tell his former friend was also slow to get up.
"Submit. Submit to us, it will be easy..." He could hear the words, but not see very clearly at all. He rolled over the table on his back, and Jack quickly came over, picking up his pace, his attacks, he was grabbed again, and thrown on the table, smashing the frame to pieces, and his hands reached out wildly, but to know avail, he was on his back, and his friend was coming upon him. It would soon before over, yet the two names continued to pound inside of his head. Jessica! Kylie! I wont I wont let him taint your names! His mind began to blend, everything felt so fuzzy, yet he couldn't help but put it to strength. I've felt this before...I've felt this before... His mind blanked out suddenly, and all it came down to was action and reaction, despite the fact that his friend had him pinned down to the ground, and there was something he could hardly make out in his hand, he surged.
Jack plunged his hand down, but Kaz caught it, barely. He had suddenly brought up his hand, and even though he felt that whatever it was, it had gone into his palm, it had also been knocked out of his friends hand, without any time for the object to do any more harm. He freed his other hand, and he flailed, and kicked, and eventually he rolled free of his friend once more, coughing and sputtering, and feeling worse and worse by the passing minutes.
He heard Jack say something, and he saw the image bend over to pick up whatever it was Kaz had disarmed, and then he couldn't help it. He had gotten to his feet, and he began to run towards the kitchen area. His friend was close behind him, trying to get whatever it was into his back. He suddenly flailed his arm back, twisting his body, smashing Jack into the cupboard, and he could hear the boy groan. He was saying something, but then Kaz took the offensive, throwing a punch right at his face, smashing him back. He searched the kitchen table frantically. He opened the cupboard and found a large bowl, he picked it up and smashed it onto the student's body, he could hardly see, but he couldn't hear anything else...he staggered for a moment, going across the room, stepping over the debris, he went into the bathroom, and closed the door, he thought he had locked it, but he couldn't be sure of anything anymore. He turned on the water, he began to splash water onto his face. When that did little good he went into the shower and turned it on and with his clothes on he sat there, phasing in and out of reality, watching the door, almost blind, he felt himself slowly sobering up as a dull pain began to grow in his head.
There was a dead man lying on the floor. His eyes were upturned into his skull, and blood was running from his mouth and ears. It looked like he had been abused and tortured in some horribly twisted fashion, and all there was to witness such a thing was the quiet and stoic Maki who looked at the intruders with a faint and distant stare. There was a long pause as Dare looked at her, on the verge of fainting, he raced forward and held her upright. "Maki! Maki!" He shook her slightly, and she reached out and touched his hand, and looked deeply worried within her tired eyes. "Dare...you know...I just can't help it...when I get angry...it's like I'm possessed...by some kind of demon..." She was whispering in his ear, and the other two girls who entered the room were more so focused on the man.
"What exactly happened?" Rey asked, and Lei had reverted back to her quiet and unusually introverted self. Sen hung back at the entrance of the room, looking at the twisted mangled body of Mr. Calvin, knowing full well that the corrupt teacher had brought it upon himself. There were a lot of things Sen knew about the girl who was sitting the room as well, more so than he was willing to admit to her. He wasn't ready to have a reunion with Maki, or rather whatever it was that was living inside of her. Their previous encounter, perhaps a hour before, had not gone over as well as he had hoped. That was what was at the forefront of his mind. Though there weren't only things which were bothering the informant. It was one of his comrades who had done as what was expected of course, and now the final hours seemed eminent...
Trey. The most notorious informant the 'organization' had ever seen. There were things that boy picked up that Sen had no idea of, ideas, thoughts, trends, it was almost uncanny at times how things played out exactly as Trey predicted. Not only that, he was the one who snuffed out his own plans of betraying the organization. He had figured it out almost instantly, it was as if he knew, as if he had come for the sole purpose of explaining to him what was really happening. The "Hive Project" in Stadweld was set to fail the minute Trey appeared. And it wasn't the first time someone had dismantled the plans of Hive in a similar fashion. Sen couldn't be sure, his tenure had only come recently at the organization, but he knew that in a particular school in Wisconsin, the Hive Project was destroyed by the hand of a student named Troy, who had apparently 'come back from the dead'.
Rumors began to spread of a supernatural being who could see beyond the normal human scope of things infiltrating the Hives, and destroying them. Some even went as far to say that, because they were trying to be like gods, the real deities had sent a hit man to prevent it from being complete. But why would a low time project like the one in Stadweld be the target of a known infiltrator? Sen had little idea of that. He knew that there were many things that science could not explain. They had gone to great lengths to find people just like Maki Gladrin, in hopes of discerning the science behind it, to further bolster their armada of breakthroughs to keep an everlasting peace in an unchanging world. If he could help it, Sen would like to disappear without having to encounter Trey at all.
"Everything is going to be okay..." Dare was saying, holding Maki up, and he began to lead her away. "We need to get out of here." He said to Sen who was taken from his thoughts and he nodded. Suddenly the dome began to shake, and there was a strange high pitched hissing sound, and Sen looked around nervously as they five of them froze. "What the hell is that?" Rey asked.
"It's the self destruct mechanism...someone decided that this dome was no longer needed, and they're going to blow it up!" He exclaimed. "Both domes are going to blow up!?" Dare asked suddenly. "It's possible, if they intend to scrap the whole project..." He clenched his fist, and yet a since of exhilaration filled his stomach. The final hour is indeed upon us.
/end
[Scratch the World is a written series by RDS [pen-name]].
The final chapters of the Domes is drawing near as someone has tripped the self destruct system. For those of you who are avid readers of the series, isn't there one character the author has been neglecting? [and don't you find it odd how he's been called the hero of the story when he probably has the least amount of screen time?]. Chapter Nineteen: A Hero's return. [Coming as expected, on Saturday]. [A new schedule will be posted soon as well!]
Keeping reading! And enjoy your holidays~
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