Marissa took in breath as she stood on one of the beds in the room, rocking herself back and forth. Her mind was frantic, her heart was threatening to pound out of her chest, and she could barely keep a hold of her grip on reality.
She felt intense waves of emotions crash through her body as she gripped her arms painfully, humming to herself an old hum that her Dad used to always sing. This is what helped her stay somewhat aware of what was happening.
Hannah tittered on the frame of the bed, happily skipping along while she sang a song that she had once heard on TV. She was mostly oblivious to the two suffering eighteen year olds around her. She was a kid, after all.
Axel was more calm than Marissa, but not by much. He kept himself, and by association his mind, busy by observing and cataloguing everything in the room. This served as a much needed distraction.
Each one of them were given new clothes. Hannah a full body onesie type thing, with white parts jutting out while the black fabric underneath seemed to move with her breathing. It looked oddly cute on her, and it even prevented her from hurting that much when she inevitably fell off the bed.
Marissa was given much more free suiting clothes: a white and black mesh shirt with black superimposed over the white, and with the jutting out parts much more oval like in appearance, and not sharp at all. Her pants were the opposite, pointy with white on top and black fabric.
Axel was much in the same boat, though he still was different. Short white and black shorts, and a jacket looking shirt that was rather bulky, but very cold and fit him like a glove.
Marissa felt more and more uneasy as the time continued to tick on. She had close to no idea on what the Protogens were going to do to them, and the question weighing heavily on both their minds was simple.
Where was Mason and B-64?
Hannah didn't care, though she did notice that her brother wasn't there. Axel proposed that maybe they had escaped, but Marissa quickly shot that idea down. They were the first to jump into the beam of light. Whatever it was.
But they continued to stay in silence, with only the small squeals and occasional huffs of pain from Hannah as she jumped about. Marissa wished she had the same level of obliviousness that Hannah had, that child-like innocence.
In all honesty, she wished she could forget everything. She always loved to read and watch those space and sci-fi movies and books, wanting to be a part of some grand adventure. Come out on top and be alive at the end, a perfect happy ending.
Now? She wished that she had never joined in on this. She wished this had never happened. She just wants to go home. To see her dad again, her mom. She just wants to enjoy food and only worry about when the latest video game is coming.
It was here that Marissa finally broke down. Tears streamed down her face as she slid onto her side, hugging herself with the course and rough blankets and staring blankly at the grey walls.
She wished that everything was back to normal. That she hadn't witnessed all the things she had: The massacres, the bodies and the blood. The fear and anguish, the dread that laced through her very being.
She just wanted to forget. She wanted to be happy again. Why did this have to happen to her? Hadn't she been through enough, getting bullied every single day of her life, afraid that anyone remembered her old self, that judged her?
Couldn't she have just dealt with that? Why was she chosen to have to go through with this. She...
She bit her lip, not wanting to wail or sob. Tears flowed down her face, her sniffling barely snuffled out by the sheets.
She wanted to not be there anymore. She wished that she had gone home with her parents. Be with them and not have to be here. To... To no longer be a part of the universe anymore.
She cried harder than she had ever. Not like her coming out to her parents, not the first day of school when she transitioned, not the feeling of dread and crying in the locker room, having to face her two friends.
Her mind kept drifting, showing horror after horror on what she witnessed. She remembered the eyes flowing in the blood-like soup, the monstrous abominations she saw when she first jumped through the beam of light.
"Hey..." A tender hand touched her shoulder, causing Marissa to cry even harder into the blankets, now soaked in her tears. The hand came from Axel, course and rough from tinkering with machines, but gentle and warm, "Are you okay?"
'She's crying." The astute wisdom of Hannah said, plopping herself down right next to her, her tiny hands rubbing her side. Axel frowned, moving around the bed and setting in the little divot where Marissa's legs curved.
Axel placed a hesitant hand against her side, gently rubbing it as she cried her heart out. Axel had no knowledge on how to comfort people, or really what to say, but he was a friend. If she needed a shoulder to cry on, he was going to be there.
"I.. I just..." Marissa choked out, blinking rapidly in an attempt to get the tears out of her face, to no avail. Axel just kept rubbing her side, silent yet comforting, letting her decide when to talk.
Hannah knew, even at her age, that she shouldn't interfere, quickly retreating to the other bed to continue whatever child-like game she had been playing. Marissa kept crying though, letting her emotions run until there were no longer tears.
The tear stains had long since dried when she finally spoke, and even then her voice was just a rough and hoarse whisper, "I-I can't do this... I..." She hid her face with her hands, Axel patiently waiting for her.
She slowly got up to a sitting position, sniffling and crying. She dabbed her eyes with the rough sleeve of her new shirt, attempting to get rid of non-existent tears, "I wish I wasn't here. I wish that I had just... just been with my parents when all this happened."
Axel knew what she meant. He was pretty sure most people would know what she meant. He had no words to say, nor could he think of anything to say. So, he quickly enveloped Marissa in a hug, rubbing and patting her back.
She sniffled again, wiping a stray tear from her eyes, threatening to let loose another stream, "Everything's just been so crazy. All I can remember now is just... Death. The blood, the body parts, the..." She stopped, her face scrunching up as she threw herself against Axel, sobbing once again.
"I don't know why I'm here... Why did this happen? Why is everything just... Why do I have to..." she cried some more, Axel rubbing her back.
Axel sighed, resting his head against her shoulder, "I don't know. I won't lie and say everything is alright, because it isn't." He paused for a second, not knowing how to continue, "We were not chosen for anything. It's not like we signed a raffle or anything."
That brief attempt at humor got a small, hiccup-like laugh from Marissa. Maybe that would work.
"But don't feel like you're alone, because you aren't. I didn't want to see the things either. Hell, I wish I wasn't here either. But, we can only stay strong and persevere. We can't do anything about what happens, but we can do something about what will happen."
Marissa whimpered, clutching onto Axel for support, "How can you be so... sure of yourself? Aren't you sad, angry?" She sniffed again, remembering her parents and how she couldn't get a hold of them, "I... I don't know what to do."
"Neither do I. But what I do know is that we have to stay strong. It doesn't do us any good to cry over what we could have done, it doesn't do us any good to be mad at the universe just because something happened to us that was horrible, or that made us dread living."
Axel slowly helped Marissa off of him, slipping her onto the bed as she sniffled again, "What does us good is to try to look for a brighter and better future. That doesn't mean it won't get darker, because it will, but it does mean that we can be the flashlight that will, eventually, drive the darkness away."
"Just look forward. Look at the good things and remember them. If we bottle these emotions, these thoughts inside of us, it'll cause us doubt. It'll make the light dimmer, it'll make what we can do, into what we won't do."
Marissa sniffed again. She wasn't sure how to feel anymore.
Axel gave her another hug, "We've had a grim time, to be fair. We haven't had the best of starts, but you can't walk forward towards the light without casting a shadow. Neither can we walk towards a better future without having our grievances grow numerous"
Marissa looked at Axel, and found his smile. He was a hyena, and his smile was the brightest, purest thing she had seen. It filled her with a feeling of bliss, joy, and determination. Although she wasn't sure what to think about what he had said, or if it did have any meaning, it did make her feel better, even if she did not fully understand it.
She cried once more, but this time of joy. That talk sparked something inside her, and although she could feel the thoughts rushing in again as she had nothing holding him back, she looked through them and tried to find the happy things. The fun things.
And the few things she did find, they made her laugh. When they first met B-64, Mason was talking with him, how B-64 devoured the corn and had small little chunks hanging on his visor. How little Hannah stared in amazement.
How Lied acted, how Axel did a funny dance trying to pat the flames on his clothing out. She smiled once more, a small tear drop slowly making its way down her face. She chuckled, removing herself from his hug and smiled warmly at him, "How much of that did you pull out of you ass?"
Axel smiled again, happy that it managed to work and that he wasn't damaging her psyche further. He breathed a gusty sigh, clapping his hands together, "Only about a third of it, I think."
She smiled, punching him playfully.
But the warmness didn't last much longer, as they heard the door to their room unlocking.
|_|_|_|_|_|_|
B-04 slowly paced his command module, shifting between anxious and dread-filled expressions. The numerous Protogen around him also fidgeted in their seats nervously, and if they could sweat, the room would've had a humidity drop.
Finally, the call came through. A large and imposing protogen, one colored a maroon red with dark blue highlights answered. They wore no expression, as their visor and the facial construction structure was deactivated.
They spoke in a hushed whisper, the voice distorted and horrid, "Speak."
"We have captured B-64 and the group associated with him. Tell B-01 that we have completed the mission, and that we are going to return."
The Protogen nodded, "I shall notify him. Ion will be most pleased to hear that you have captured them alive, no?"
B-04 nodded, somehow gulping. The Protogen nodded again, it's neck cracking in the process as if it were held in that singular position for much too long, "That is good. You are cleared to return to AI-956 in the Varna System."
"Why so far from The Forge?" B-04 asked, hoping that he received far more than a cryptic answer.
"For a reason you are not permitted to understand. Ion will meet you on Platform 9, accompanied by Cypher. B-01 will be awaiting your report on AI-195."
B-04 gave an anxious and slow nod. The video feed cut off, and the room was bathed in darkness once more, the only light illuminated by B-04's visor.
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Hello!
So, yeah. This chapter is here, sorry for the long wait.
I hope I did this justice, because I don't want to seem insensitive to these types of things. If it does seem like that, please tell me because that's not what I intended, and I'm more than willing to rewrite things in order to actually show what it does feel like.
Because although this might be uncomfortable to write, and possibly read, it would happen to me and most of the people I knew if they were thrusted into this situation. Can you imagine seeing rooms bathed in blood, with organs and limbs just floating? With the knowledge that the earth is getting decimated, that your parents and family are most likely dead?
I feel like this chapter is important to the story, and that I do need to include it. And again, if I did do anything wrong and insensitive, please tell me so I can rectify it.
But, yeah... I hope that you've enjoyed the story so far, and sorry for the ling wait.
Thanks for reading!
~ Candle