I walk down the hall and to the left, no, right, there lies a hallway. The fifth door on the right, that's the radio room. First door left, nothing, second door right, nothing, fourth door left, the armory. There lies guns, clips , and dust bullets. I take the dust magazines and the bullets, but something catches my attention. Vials of pure powdered dust, glistening under the light. I take all of the vials, putting as many as I can in my pocket. I look in the corner, the axe is there. I put it over my shoulder. I can still carry it. Good.
I quickly walk out the theater, where my comrades are waiting for me. They look at the bullets and rounds I carry, glad that I took since the others are also holding magazines, as much as they can carry.
Rylie looks at me. "You dealt with Mary?"
I nod. I don't feel like saying much. "Let's go back to the apartment."
All six of us walk in silence to our home, tired feet pressing onto the lifeless ground, footsteps echoing in the still air.
I open the door first and see the black night through the windows in front of me. It's rather soothing to see such a sight. I walk into the living room to drop off the axe and the magazines. I rush to the bathroom to wash the blood off my face, just a splash of water, no need to look at the mirror. Once finished, I walk to my room. The others look at me. "Don't talk to me, I'm going to sleep now." I tell them all.
The door shuts and I sit on my bed, staring at the demons on the wall. Should I do it? Yes they all tell me. You've done it before, one more time won't hurt. But I quit for a reason. You're hurt right now, you need to feel better and this makes you feel really good. This is pure, it's stronger. So it's better. They see the doubt in me. It's okay, just one more time and never again.
I pull out the vials. Eight. Two red, two green, one white, one yellow, two orange. I pour the pairs in little lines on my nightstand. I pull out my pipe from my backpack and pour the white dust into it. I snort the red and green. My vision blurs, but then everything blooms. The red and yellow. Everything sounds beautiful. A tear emerges from the edge of my eye. Red and red, even better. Yellow and red, so much better. It's all gone. I reach for my lighter in my backpack and light the pipe. I can smell it, the fresh scent of berries from mom's fruit pie slithering up my nose.
My body is light, I feel like I could fly. The colors around be shift about. Everything blends together, red and blue to make purple, green and orange to make pink. It might be wrong, I don't even care, it's beautiful. A tree comes up from the floor, tall, seeds falling from its branches. The tree spins and red grass grows from beneath. The walls fall and what lies behind are ledges that drop onto beaches. The sky is blue as it can ever be in this damn grey neighborhood.
I'm farther away from the tree. I walk closer to it, there appears to be a swing on its branch and two people are sitting on it. I walk closer. It is Malcolm and a faunus woman accompanies him, smiling and laughing. This would be him if he were alive. My mind is playing with me, it's telling me the truth.
"Goddammit, I know it's my fault!" I yell at the sky, where the source of it all lies.
"Vanya?" I hear Malcolm saying to me.
"Stop, don't say anything to me! I know you're dead, I know I killed you! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
"What are you saying, I was killed by Mary."
"I should've choked her while we were waiting for the bus. She was so frail and tender back then, I never would've known what she would've become!"
"Vanya, you loved Mary there was no way you would have killed her."
"You were leading a revolution, Malcolm. You were changing the world and I have always supported you, but Mary ended it! She was one person, you could've saved so many lives if you lived on."
"I ended my rebellion five years ago, Mary had nothing to do with it. Why are you speaking such nonsense?"
"Stop it, shut up! Oh god, I can't live with this. I killed such a kind man. I deserve to die." I look around. I see my axe on the floor. If I am to die, I will die with honor. I pick up my axe and run down the hill.
"Vanya!" He calls. I don't turn around, I keep running down.
I run into a forest. It is dark and tight. I can barely breathe, my lungs feel thin. I see something. A wolf I run to it and swing. It splits in half. Its brethren com and lunge at me, I swing again, they all fall.
A bird flies in the air, its saliva escaping its beak. It flies toward me with great speed. I point the axe at it, I feel a trigger and I pull it three times. The eyes fall out and it falls closer. I chop down as the head comes near me, the head splits open and it's still.
Two snakes the side of the trees they slither by I lunge toward them and I swing near the necks of both to slit the neck of the white, but the black remains standing. I land behind it and run to it, inserting the blade into its belly before it can move, then I fire on the ground and run straight up to split the beast. Once past the lip, I fall toward the ground again and land on my feet, staggering a bit. The chest opens wide as double doors and the beast falls.
A scorpion comes from the side, it's tail falling straight down on me. I swing the axe, the pointed tip of the tail falling off. I readjust and swing the axe down one last time. I scream, I let my soul yell to the top of its lungs as I think of the many families, apprentice hunters that would be saved once I slaughter this bastard. The axe pierces the mask and cuts open the head. I raise and drop it once more. Once again, another, more, more. It lies down, still as the trees around us, its blood surrounding it, mourning their master.
I back away, looking deeper into the forest, waiting to no avail. "C'mon you bastards, come and get me!" Silence reigns above the forest as its king. "You bitches scared or something? C'mon, you're not supposed to feel anything, just come and fight me!" No eyes peek at me, no figures come to take my challenge, I can live another day. I laugh. "Too hot". This was the zone, this was the place where ten good people died and one insane human garbage easily breezes through the challenges.
"There's gotta more, Stop hiding, I know you're there! If you're gonna laugh, do it in front of my damn face!" No one speaks, no one else breathes but me. "Atlas said this place was dangerous, they said there were lots of you! I know you're all there. Ten of our group members died in the beginning! Joseph's friends were slaughtered by you all! You killed a huntress! Where the hell are you now?" I can't hear them laughing, but I know they are. "Come out and kill me goddammit!" I cry. My eyes water and my vision grows blurry. My legs grow weak, I drop the axe and I fall onto the floor. The river floods onto my face and I screech through my lungs. I yell at the top of my lungs as I cry. I hear the trees shake as I yell, the grass shifting. I stay there, whimpering, wailing, pathetic, lonely, sorry. Everything turns black, but the sounds remain. I still hear it, my heart bleeding out of my eyes, my soul escaping my lungs. I should have died. I should have died a long time ago.
