Chapter 15:
12:30 pm.
The war room goes quiet.
All personnel stop whatever they're doing and look at the screen projected by the projector. All of them have their mouths agape, unable to believe what they are seeing.
The screen shows a bird's eye view of the city. The heart of the country whose theme is fun and games that caters to both kids and adults. A country that snows all year round with sparkles and glitters coloring the air. A country that sparks the imagination of all that steps foot in it.
However, what the war room sees is nothing like that. There's nothing magical about it at all. There's nothing mystical, imaginative, genuine, fun, about everything they're seeing at all.
The war room is silent, staring at the screen with shock.
Right in the middle of a 4-lane highway is a crater, about 5 kilometers in diameter and 10 meters deep. The crater isn't a natural crater. No, it was made by man and made just a few minutes ago. Made from bombarding it with all the ammunition of war available: guns, grenades, bombs, ballistics, cannons, and everything else in between.
And no, they're not bombarding the street itself. They're bombarding a certain being. A being that was once respected. The right hand of the CPU of the World. Wisdom as deep and mysterious as its form.
But now, it's a being that is the object of hate for many. A being that has taken many, many precious significant others. A being that suddenly raged one day in The Land of Black Regality and scarred many of its inhabitants.
A being that sits on an open book.
The being floats there at the center of the crater, looking at nothing in particular. Not minding the destruction around it. The being's features are the same as it was an hour and a half-ago, telling the men that rained down arms of war that nothing even scratched it. Nothing fazed it. Nothing disturbed it.
The being looks up, staring directly at the camera that's 10,000 kilometers above sea level.
And a second later, the screen shows static. The war room is quiet.
"S…sir?" a young officer disturbs the silence; she walks up to the General.
"It… it got shot down…" she said.
"…"
"…AWACS got shot down…"
12:32 pm.
"So, she escaped huh…" she said, while sitting comfortably on the sofa.
"I only got the report now from the one of the 20 I gave claims to" Kei added, her tone as neutral as she can.
"…You knew about this didn't you?" Kei asked her.
"Whatever are you talking about, Kei Jinjugi?"
"Your predictions have been right so far; it wouldn't be surprising to think that you know she'd wake up and escape…"
"I'm more on evidence-based predictions just like yourself. I'm no fortune teller"
"Don't patronize me" she snaps at her. She merely chuckles as a response.
"Heh… But you're right, it's not like I didn't know. Even with those methods, I knew it was only a matter of , the timing for this is quite troublesome…"
"And why?"
"I needed that book you see, the book that records all history"
"Is it to help you revive them?"
"Why, of course"
"If that's the case then why did you send out Chika? I'm sure you know of her predicament"
"She's the most hardworking one out of everybody. You and Mina all coop yourselves here while she's been doing all the hard work"
"From where I am, there's no need to rush things. Our wishes will eventually come true anyways…"
"Rush? That's a joke coming from you?"
"…?"
"6,000 worth of men, all deployed in Lowee. Are you sure that's not you rushing?"
"…"
3:50 pm.
"That's the last one in the block…"
"Yeah… man, we've been at it for hours…"
"Hey, you two, leave some for us or we'll eat your lunch"
"Touch our lunch, Dan and I swear I'll tell everybody that time with your–!"
"Do you really have to say it on the channel!?"
"Oh boy, another one in the Dan's Evidence book. How much for the scoop, Mike?"
"Sorry Jay, confidential info. Though if you can make Dan screw up, I might reconsider"
"Roger that"
"You're planning on ruining me for life aren't you!?"
"Alright, alright, enough flirting on this channel. By the CPUs, get yourselves a room will ya? Mike and Aki, just get over here and eat your lunch or I'll eat it myself"
"Lead, you should really lay off the whole pirate captain thing. Not worth it for you"
"Fuck you"
"C'mon, Aki let's eat alrea… dy…?"
Mike turns towards his buddy but he is nowhere to be found.
"Aki? Yo? You off somewhere?" he looks around as he raises his voice a bit.
"Hey Aki?" he calls through the channel.
"What, you lost him?" Dan asks.
"Yeah, I swear the man was right behind me"
"Toilet?" Jay said.
"He should've answered though…"
He looks around.
Although there are plenty of others that wear the same gear as him, he had trained his eyes to look for the insignia on their right shoulder. Plus, he knows their unit is in another part of the village. They only got separated from the rest because one other unit needed an extra pair of hands to gather the dead villages out faster.
The wind picks up a bit, bringing with it the cold air of Lowee. As though guiding his head, he turns towards a particular alley between 2 colorful houses. The alley is dark beckoning anyone to turn back and stay away. His gut tells him to move.
Mike walks towards the alley, making sure not to step on the body bags. He readies his rifle. His gut, forged from the countless simulations it's been through, told him to do so. The moment he reaches the alley, he pulls up his weapon and lights up its included flashlight.
"Aki? Hey, man…"
He walks slowly, the rocks and dirt groan underneath his boots. The alley is dark, maybe because of how the sun is positioned up in the sky, or maybe because there's something here that's making it dark. He gulps at the thought but pushes on.
"Aki…?" he calls out, but his friend doesn't respond. Why is he even here? His buddy can't be here. Right? He must've taken a piss somewhere. And his radio is probably interfered with by something, right? Why is he even here?
Reaching the end of the alley, he rounds the corner.
*nom!* *num!* *gulp!* *nom!* *num!*
Something is there, about waist high. Something is there. He shines his flashlight at it.
It's another person, a civilian, crouched down and doing something with his back turned towards him. Even when the photons of light hit his back, he still continues doing whatever he's doing.
He sighs deep in relief. He thought it was something horrible.
"Jay, found a civilian… what should I do?"
"Civilian? Shit. Well, as per orders we gotta take 'em in"
"Gotcha. Hey, sir. Can you please stand up and show me your hands?"
*nom!* *nmg!* *amgh!* *mmmgh!* *aamgh!*
The civilian didn't respond but continues to do whatever he is doing.
"Sir, will you please stand and show me your hands" this time, Mike isn't asking. He walks closer, stomping on the gravel trying to catch the attention of the civilian.
*gulp!* *gulp!*
The civilian stops. His head stopped moving and his arms comes to a standstill.
He stands up with his head looking down and his arms holding carrying level.
"Turn around sir and show me your hands"
He didn't respond.
"Sir, I'm warning you for the last time, turn around. Jay, permission to open fire?"
"Hold on…
...
...
...
...
...
...
Granted. You have permission to shoot. Keep it quiet"
"Sir, I'm telling you if you don't turn around and show me hands, I will shoot!" he shouts, but he doesn't move.
Annoyed, he walks up over to him, grabs his shoulder and turns him fo—!
The moment he forces the civilian to turn towards him, something big, dark, and round catches his eye.
The civilian is holding it, holding it before his diaphragm.
His gut sinks, warning signs begin to siren, telling him not to focus on that thing. Don't look, it says.
Don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look.
But he can't. Something whispered to him from his left shoulder to look.
He shines the flashlight towards it.
It's a head.
A head. A head. A head. A head. A head. A head. A head. A head. A head. A head. A head.
A head with plenty of features that makes it a head. Eyes staring at nothing, a nose with blood dripping from its nostril. Mouth slightly open showing its frontal teeth.
It was a head by all accounts.
But it's not just any ordinary head.
He recognized its other features, that unkempt hair, the scar on his lip that he gave one time in lunch break, that young Loweean like look. A face that's been with him during boot camp. A face that's been assigned to him because of the whims of their lead.
It's his buddy.
It's Aki.
*GUHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!*
3:54 pm.
"Operator, this is bad!"
"Commander? I thought we're radio–!"
"Cancel the operation! Get a damn truck now!"
"Wha–!?"
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
The sound of gunfire rings through the air like the bell toll of a church. IF and Compa look towards the source of the shots. IF's hair on her skin stands up to their ends, goosebumps crawl throughout her body, a cold chill lightly shivers her core, the pits of her stomach sinks to the abyss.
She remembers that day, the day when the place where her heart rests finally shattered into a million pieces. Turned into a place of cries and red. Turned into a place of tears. Turned to a place where she transformed. Turned to a place where she can no longer recognize it.
It was the day that her heart died a third and final time.
"…How bad are we talking about Commander?" the operator speaks softly through her earpiece.
"Very"
Beta Read: TMCraze