Monsters
Lucreizia Noin walked down a corridor of prisoners, the reek of fear and poorly cared for bodies assailed her senses. The guards in front of her seemed to take no notice of her discomfort. She'd just observed an interrogation and still tremors ran up and down her spine. From the corners of her eyes she scanned the captives. Women, the weak house-wife kind she so disdained and envied at once, with tiny babes. Mere children, the youngest seen must have been only eight. Seeing it made her heart break even further.
/I've wept for those who suffer long, but how I weep for those who've gone, into rooms of grief and questioned wrong, but keep on killing/
The doors burst open in front of her, giving access to the living world. Noin kept walking, away from all the horrors she had seen and heard only moments before. Holding back the bitter tears pressing at her eyes, she left the controlled society of her base into the reality of the town. A dingy, trash-filled street in which tiny children ran, calling to one another greeted her. Adults that stood and gossiped stared in wonder, wishing they could return to that youth. The daily pain that masked their faces was so obvious to be seen, mixed with the hate in their expressions towards her. Disgraceful whispers followed her as she kept walking.
/It's in the soul to feel such things, but weak to watch without speaking, oh what mercy sadness brings, if God be willing/
Hurt nibbled away at her heart as she realized how they felt. Hearing the word "monster", Noin turned around. A speck of a girl, maybe only three or four, was pointing at her. The mother, a worn and weary woman caught Noin's eye, sneering.
"Yes, Jeanine, that is a monster. Now hurry up before it tries to eat you."
Struck numb by the pure malice in the words, Noin stared dumbly from the spot where she froze.
"I-I'm not." she stammered, more to herself than anyone.
The mother and daughter boarded a filthy bus, the child singing some old nursery rhyme Noin used to know. As the heap of metal rumbled away, she was left alone in the street.
/There's a train that's heading straight to heaven's gate, to haven's gate, and on the way child and man, and woman wait, watch and wait/
A tattered, old and fraying baseball landed at her feet, giving Noin a slight shock. Bending down she picked it up, turning it over in her hand slowly. A small group of assorted children ran up, their faces happy and flushed with the exercise, all of which feel at the sight of her. The eldest, obviously their leader, stepped forwards grinning derisively. He snatched their ball back viciously, spitting at Noin's feet before turning and running the way they'd came.
"You'd think they'd taken so much already they wouldn't need toys!" he called as they ran.
Collapsing onto the bus stop bench, she had to fend off the nagging tears once more.
/Fire rages in the streets, and swallows everything it meets, it's just an image often seen, on television/
A sudden barrage of glass bottles, mud and rocks zipped through the air as she was quickly and unexpectedly surrounded by jeering townspeople.
"Look, the Oz scum have come to filth up our home!"
"Stealing babes from the streets again? Running out of interrogants?!"
"Give me my wife back, you Oz bitch!"
"And my baby! He knows nothing!"
Noin shook her head, trying to deny the accusations. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, a blow was struck or some other unknown voice butted in. Right as consciousness began to escape her battered body, a gunshot sounded. The report seeped through her muffled senses as she saw the riotous crowd disperse.
/Come leaders, come you men of great, let us hear you pontificate, your many virtues laid to waste. And we aren't listening/
A semi-familiar face met her as she came around in the hospital wing of her base.
"Hello beautiful." He chimed.
Like all the others he was buzz-cut. A lower ranking soldier. Auburn hair, what little of it there was, and emerald green eyes. She saw him every day during meal times. Noin groaned as his voice made every cell in her brain hurt.
"Who.Who are you?" she mumbled, her tongue feeling fuzzy in her mouth.
"Private Lucan, Ma'am. And if I may say so, you're lucky I showed up when I did. Those rioters would have killed you."
Noin gave him a blank stare.
"They had good reason for what they did."
/What do you have for us today, throw us a bone but save the plate/
Lucan gave her a strange look.
"No civilian has the right to assault an officer..."
"We aren't talking about rank, Lucan. We're talking about the sheer hate and suffering of being human. Were you in their place, you would have beaten me too. As I would have."
"I would never!" Lucan began, horrified.
"You would." Noin interjected sternly, hauling herself upright despite the dizzying waves it sent through her. "You would have because you are human, and you have emotions. Now, since you seem to like being helpful, get me to my quarters."
/Oh why we waited 'till so late, was there no oil to excavate, no riches in trade for the fate of every person who died in hate, throw us a bone you men of great/
From her window, Noin could see the bus stop as the last one of the night rolled in, depositing the people safely home. No one seemed to mind the blood stains on the ground, or the trash littering the area. Even in the dim light of dusk, she could make out Jeanine and her mother get off. A pang of regret echoed in her soul in the form of longing. If only for a day, she would trade places with that woman. But that little girl had called her a monster. Perhaps she was, she surely felt it. And who could love a monster? The tears held in so long escaped, trickling down her bruised and battered face.
/There is a train that's heading straight to heaven's gate, to heaven's gate, and on the way child and man, and woman wait, watch and wait, for redemption day/
A burst of artillery in the night sky caused her to look up, just in time to see a Gundam attack their base. Grabbing her coat, she evacuated the room. Running through the town, all around her she could hear voices in the darkness. Knowing they'd left the prisoners to die made her feel like a dagger was turning in her stomache. The cry of a baby was silenced in an instant as flaming debris crashed into the innocent town. Noin ran blindly onto the carrier, the sounds of the outside being blocked out. Crawling into her seat, she buried her face in her hands. It was true, she was a monster. A creature working for the demon's army.
/It's buried in the countryside, it's exploding in the shells of night, it's everywhere a baby cries, freedom/
~Review Please~
Lyrics: Sheryl Crow
Lucreizia Noin walked down a corridor of prisoners, the reek of fear and poorly cared for bodies assailed her senses. The guards in front of her seemed to take no notice of her discomfort. She'd just observed an interrogation and still tremors ran up and down her spine. From the corners of her eyes she scanned the captives. Women, the weak house-wife kind she so disdained and envied at once, with tiny babes. Mere children, the youngest seen must have been only eight. Seeing it made her heart break even further.
/I've wept for those who suffer long, but how I weep for those who've gone, into rooms of grief and questioned wrong, but keep on killing/
The doors burst open in front of her, giving access to the living world. Noin kept walking, away from all the horrors she had seen and heard only moments before. Holding back the bitter tears pressing at her eyes, she left the controlled society of her base into the reality of the town. A dingy, trash-filled street in which tiny children ran, calling to one another greeted her. Adults that stood and gossiped stared in wonder, wishing they could return to that youth. The daily pain that masked their faces was so obvious to be seen, mixed with the hate in their expressions towards her. Disgraceful whispers followed her as she kept walking.
/It's in the soul to feel such things, but weak to watch without speaking, oh what mercy sadness brings, if God be willing/
Hurt nibbled away at her heart as she realized how they felt. Hearing the word "monster", Noin turned around. A speck of a girl, maybe only three or four, was pointing at her. The mother, a worn and weary woman caught Noin's eye, sneering.
"Yes, Jeanine, that is a monster. Now hurry up before it tries to eat you."
Struck numb by the pure malice in the words, Noin stared dumbly from the spot where she froze.
"I-I'm not." she stammered, more to herself than anyone.
The mother and daughter boarded a filthy bus, the child singing some old nursery rhyme Noin used to know. As the heap of metal rumbled away, she was left alone in the street.
/There's a train that's heading straight to heaven's gate, to haven's gate, and on the way child and man, and woman wait, watch and wait/
A tattered, old and fraying baseball landed at her feet, giving Noin a slight shock. Bending down she picked it up, turning it over in her hand slowly. A small group of assorted children ran up, their faces happy and flushed with the exercise, all of which feel at the sight of her. The eldest, obviously their leader, stepped forwards grinning derisively. He snatched their ball back viciously, spitting at Noin's feet before turning and running the way they'd came.
"You'd think they'd taken so much already they wouldn't need toys!" he called as they ran.
Collapsing onto the bus stop bench, she had to fend off the nagging tears once more.
/Fire rages in the streets, and swallows everything it meets, it's just an image often seen, on television/
A sudden barrage of glass bottles, mud and rocks zipped through the air as she was quickly and unexpectedly surrounded by jeering townspeople.
"Look, the Oz scum have come to filth up our home!"
"Stealing babes from the streets again? Running out of interrogants?!"
"Give me my wife back, you Oz bitch!"
"And my baby! He knows nothing!"
Noin shook her head, trying to deny the accusations. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, a blow was struck or some other unknown voice butted in. Right as consciousness began to escape her battered body, a gunshot sounded. The report seeped through her muffled senses as she saw the riotous crowd disperse.
/Come leaders, come you men of great, let us hear you pontificate, your many virtues laid to waste. And we aren't listening/
A semi-familiar face met her as she came around in the hospital wing of her base.
"Hello beautiful." He chimed.
Like all the others he was buzz-cut. A lower ranking soldier. Auburn hair, what little of it there was, and emerald green eyes. She saw him every day during meal times. Noin groaned as his voice made every cell in her brain hurt.
"Who.Who are you?" she mumbled, her tongue feeling fuzzy in her mouth.
"Private Lucan, Ma'am. And if I may say so, you're lucky I showed up when I did. Those rioters would have killed you."
Noin gave him a blank stare.
"They had good reason for what they did."
/What do you have for us today, throw us a bone but save the plate/
Lucan gave her a strange look.
"No civilian has the right to assault an officer..."
"We aren't talking about rank, Lucan. We're talking about the sheer hate and suffering of being human. Were you in their place, you would have beaten me too. As I would have."
"I would never!" Lucan began, horrified.
"You would." Noin interjected sternly, hauling herself upright despite the dizzying waves it sent through her. "You would have because you are human, and you have emotions. Now, since you seem to like being helpful, get me to my quarters."
/Oh why we waited 'till so late, was there no oil to excavate, no riches in trade for the fate of every person who died in hate, throw us a bone you men of great/
From her window, Noin could see the bus stop as the last one of the night rolled in, depositing the people safely home. No one seemed to mind the blood stains on the ground, or the trash littering the area. Even in the dim light of dusk, she could make out Jeanine and her mother get off. A pang of regret echoed in her soul in the form of longing. If only for a day, she would trade places with that woman. But that little girl had called her a monster. Perhaps she was, she surely felt it. And who could love a monster? The tears held in so long escaped, trickling down her bruised and battered face.
/There is a train that's heading straight to heaven's gate, to heaven's gate, and on the way child and man, and woman wait, watch and wait, for redemption day/
A burst of artillery in the night sky caused her to look up, just in time to see a Gundam attack their base. Grabbing her coat, she evacuated the room. Running through the town, all around her she could hear voices in the darkness. Knowing they'd left the prisoners to die made her feel like a dagger was turning in her stomache. The cry of a baby was silenced in an instant as flaming debris crashed into the innocent town. Noin ran blindly onto the carrier, the sounds of the outside being blocked out. Crawling into her seat, she buried her face in her hands. It was true, she was a monster. A creature working for the demon's army.
/It's buried in the countryside, it's exploding in the shells of night, it's everywhere a baby cries, freedom/
~Review Please~
Lyrics: Sheryl Crow