Chapter 3: Recovery

March 24th, 2168

Philadelphia, Earth, Human Systems Alliance

Finch had both congratulated me and chewed me out for killing those Zodiacs. He said he was proud that I had stood up to the Zodiacs, being 13 and all, but what pissed him off was the police investigation that would follow. Now, he had to take time out of his days to make sure that the police never investigated the Reds.

It was the weekend. Finally, I don't have anything to worry about. I can clear my head and relax. I was lying on the couch, trying to do just that, and the news was on the TV. Sometimes, I like having the TV on when I sleep. It's nice white noise for sleeping, you know. Anyway, I'm nearly asleep, when the news begins to play the story of the incident from yesterday.

"Yesterday, two young men were found dead in an alleyway near 17th and 22nd..." Young men? My God, I knew there was bias in the media, but I didn't know that they liked to call criminals "innocent young men". The news continued. "They were both found brutally murdered in the alleyway last night, when a passerby found their bodies while searching the nearby dumpster. 18 year-old Brian Calhoun and 19 year-old Jason Stillwell were..." I drowned out the news in my head. My God. That young? They were only 5 and 6 years older than me, respectfully.

I began seeing images of the scene in my head. Calhoun's eyes rolling back into his head as he dropped to the ground. His blood pooled around his head as he lay still, instantly killed by the shot. Stilwell taking his last breath next to be, as his blood was sprayed onto me.

I shook my head. I wanted to hurl, cry, and just leave existence. I turned off the TV as fast as I could, and stumbled up to my room. None of this felt real at all. If I try hard enough, I might just wake up with a family, a real family, and a life free from crime. As I lay on my bed trying, none of it worked. It was real, alright. I'm a murderer. I cried myself to sleep.

March 25th, 2168

I woke up feeling really tired. It was still dark out. I checked my omnitool. Holy shit, it was 3 in the morning. I better get back to sleep before Finch whoops my ass again. I closed my eyes, and rolled over. I thought I heard footsteps nearing my door, but I didn't know what was real or not any more. The door opened, and Finch whispered to me. "Wake up, Smarts."

I opened my eyes, and rolled over to see him. "What is it man?" I groaned. "I've got somethin' to show ya." I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and raised myself out of bed. I still hadn't changed out of yesterday's clothes, so there was no need to get changed. I went into the corner, and slipped my shoes on.

Finch waved to me to follow him. So I did, and we snuck downstairs, careful not to awake the rest of the gang. He opened the front door quietly, and we left the house to walk in the cold, dark night, with only the lights of the streets to guide us.

As we were walking down the street, Finch began talking. "Smarts, I know how you feel, killing your first couple of guys and all. I've gone through the same things." Of course he has. He's the leader of the Reds, of course he has to have killed some people. But the voice I heard wasn't tough or rough, like he usually is with everyone else. This was a voice I hadn't heard in a long time. It was sympathetic. I didn't know where we were going, or why we were going wherever we were going. "Where are we going?" He looked down at me. "You'll see."

A few minutes later, we were at an abandoned warehouse a few blocks away. I've passed by this place a few times before, but I've never actually seen the place, you know? Finch put his hand on my back. "Come inside."

The interior felt ominous, yet beautiful at the same time. The plants growing over everything gave off this vibe that I can't even begin to describe. Everything was dimly lit by the moonlight shining in through the large windows above us. "See that over there?" Finch pointed to a corner. There were stains all over that corner. Where they blood stains, or something else?

He stared at that corner for a while, before he said, "That's where my first kill was." He slowly walked over to the corner. He stared down at the bloodstain in front of him, bent down, and touched it. He closed his eyes, like he was in some sort of prayer. He stood up again, and opened his eyes. "I still remember," he started. He paused for a moment. "I still remember the day that it happened. It was a nice sunny day, ya know?" His voice sounded weaker. Like he was opening up to me. "I'm with the other boys here, smoking a joint or two, having a good time. I was only 15." He looked down at his feet, and paused for a moment. I heard him sniffling a bit, so I came over and patted him on the back. "All of a sudden, there were screams, and yelling, and I had zero idea what was going on. All of a sudden, a thug tackled me to the ground right..." He pointed to the bloodstain. "...there. I thought I was gonna die, man..." I noticed that he was crying, so I asked him, "You ok, dude?" He wiped his eyes. "Yeah, I'm ok."

He took a deep breath. "I took the knife from my boot, and stabbed him right between the eyes man. I'll never forget the fear in his eyes, the surprise, and all the hurt. He didn't even scream. He just breathed out..." He broke down right in front of me, crying like I'd never seen before. I held him close to me, and he whispered to me. "I almost lost you a couple days ago. Almost the same way I nearly went out, and I'd hate myself forever for it. You're like a brother to me, Smarts. Don't leave. Ever." I noticed that I was tearing up too, and I realized that the Reds were my brothers. They would always have my back, and would help me whenever I needed it.