After the pop went off and the squish of the flesh was over. I opened my eyes and saw the guy peeled over on his back with a puddle of blood around his head. The hole of the bullet was visible, straight square on the forehead. I was horrified and repulsed back in shock and fell to the ground. Even though I was expecting to see that sight, I still wasn’t close to prepared for the follow up after my action.
“There you go!” Yurinami said, clapping his hands together. “See? It wasn’t that hard now was it?” Yurinami helped me to my feet and patted me on the back. “This is an essential experience needed to grow up in this world.” Yurinami was now ranting on and I didn’t even hear half of it. I was just peeled over and looking at the ground.
Once I didn’t hear the sound of Yurinami’s voice, I began to walk towards the back where Penny was to lean against a wall and slope down. Then a thought hit me. What is mom gonna think if she checks the kill history? After what she said in the hall, I'll follow the footsteps of my brother. This is proving her right. I kept denying that over and over but in the end, it’s the absolute truth of the situation. If i keep doing this, I’m gonna end up like Eric.
I clenched my fists and punched the wall in anger, realizing I’m beginning to become the person I once feared in the alleyway last night. My punch hurt my fists but I didn’t care. I needed to get that out of my body instead of acting that anger onto another person.
“You alright?” Jesse asked me now standing up.
“What do you think?” I responded. I didn’t want to sound like an asshole, but I really wasn’t in the right frame of mind at that moment.
“Look, don’t need to get mad at me, I know what you’re going through.” Jesse said, in a calming voice like talking to a child. “You may not be used to it yet, but this is something you have to get used to.”
“The situation is different!”
“How?”
“Those people didn't deserve to go out like that!”
“Maybe or maybe not. It’s not up to us who decides that.”
“Still! It’s fucked up!”
I didn’t realize our little argument got the attention of everyone else in the room.
“I know I’m supposed to grow with the environment around me! But this is just too much for me to handle. This whole world is fucked up and is exactly what people wrote about all the way back in the 2000’s! Where a dystopia where people just go around killing each other! Welp they were fucking right!”
“Stop that insane rambling now!” Slinca came over to me and slapped me in my face. “Stop saying that stuff right now! You think you’re the only person that thinks that? You think none of us feel that? Then you are as ignorant as ever.”
“I’m ignorant!?’
“Yes! Everyone is like how you are but they never show it! Because if they did, they’ll be the number one target. It shows their weakness! So if you want to be stronger! Then shut the fuck up and suck it up!”
A pop was heard that broke the argument, the pop was from Ian shooting the last guy that was still alive. Ian looked emotionless as he dropped the gun on the ground, walked over to Penny to comfort her.
“Looks like everyone is done here. I know everyone’s emotions are high right now, so i’ll call today early. You guys can go home.” Yurinami said as the guards were getting ready to clean up the bodies. “I’ll go and grade your performances for today, and I'll give you your reports tomorrow.” Yurinami said walking off.
I left really soon after that, taking my backpack and leaving the building ready to go back into the sewers when Slinca came out and cut me off.
“Lee!” She shouted running towards me. “We still need to talk!”
“What do we even need to talk about more? You won, you were right. I’m just being weak.” I responded, continuing to lift up the manhole cover.
“No you’re wrong! I wasn’t right. The only reason I said those things was because I was just angry like you were.”
I couldn’t even bother to listen to her. She was just saying that to make me feel better, it’s not genuine.
“Come on, just listen to me please!”
“Oh, I've listened to you alright. I get your message. Maybe Eric was right, I am just weak and I'll always stay that way. Might as well kill myself so i don’t have to worry about who would kill me later in life.”
“No Lee! You don’t need to do that! You’re strong!”
“Then what did you say back there then!? Huh!? I’m ignorant and weak! That’s all there is to me!”
“I didn’t mean that-”
“What did you mean by that!?
“I was just-”
“You were just what!?
“I was just angry at you because you’re the only one that gave me purpose to keep on going!”
Slinca yelled that and it went silent, like the whole world went on pause.
“Remember in that alleyway when you told me that, if everyone was scared of you then i wouldn’t be your friend.”
I remembered it clear as day, it’s honestly one of the only good memories i have during my time at school.
“Those words touched me like nothing else in my life. It reassured me that I do have a purpose in this world. To be your friend. That’s why I got so angry, because you started becoming the person that I was.”
This is the moment I broke down. I lost the strength in my arms and dropped the manhole cover. My legs and neck went numb, all because of the fact my existence brought somebody a purpose in life. For the first time in my life, I started full on crying, whaling, as Slinca held me in her arms as I ranted about what has happened these past two days. It was basically an incoherent sentence of sniffles and mumbles. I let out all of the pain and sadness I've accumulated and dropped the whole package onto Slinca. She was crying too, hearing my story of my brother and family issues. It took me about a full five minutes after my rant to calm down, and settle back into reality. The first time ever I talked to somebody that actually cared about my problems.
“Holy shit Lee, if only I knew I could've helped you.” Slinca said, holding onto me tighter.
“I never told you because of the same reason you didn’t tell me about your problems. It’s because I didn't want to burden you with them.” I responded back still sniffing.
“Yeah, it’s also very hard to bring up. I’m so glad you told me this.”
“Back there, I just let my emotions get the best of me. Just yesterday I saw my brother brutally kill two people before my eyes. A side I've never seen from him before. Just this morning he wanted to fight Runasi Haruhiko, and I stopped him. It just angered me the way I heard him being so delusional about killing him. He was ready to throw his life away like that over a dream of being protected by a government”
“I get it, it’s hard growing up especially now. I also said some stuff back there I really regret. Like how I said you were weak, I didn't really mean that. I just wanted to say something that’ll stick home with you.”
“Well you picked the right way.”
“Heh, guess I did.”
The conversation went silent for a straight minute as me and Slinca hugged as tight as she could. Soon, she let me go and I stood up, trembling at the knees.
“Look, you may not be strong in a physical way, but through your spirit, you are stronger than any person I have ever met. So please, stay strong for me and everyone in your family.”
I nodded my head.
“I need you to say it.”
“Yes I will! I’ll stay strong!”
I said with much confidence. As much as i don’t want to admit right now, she is also the reason i keep pushing on. But today has been filled with so much emotional stuff, I need to calm down from it. Slinca and I said our goodbyes as I watched her walk away and into some back alleyways. I lifted up the manhole cover and went down and headed my way back home.
I lifted the manhole cover, and I slipped into my apartment complex and I didn't even need to go upstairs to hear the commotion that was going on upstairs. Please don’t let that be my family! Please! It’s already been too much today! I ran upstairs and the commotion only got louder and louder to the point where I recognized the voices of my family yelling and screaming. Oh god what happened!?
I ran into the apartment and my mom was freaking out as my dad was on the floor with a bloody nose and my sister crying.
“What happened!?” I asked, freaking out.
“Eric punched dad!” Alice yelled back.
Eric punched dad? Why would he do that? Then, the sinking feeling in my stomach as I felt the puzzle pieces click in my head as I didn't see Eric in the room. The bathroom also was open and it seemed like nobody was inside.
“Don’t tell me he-”
My sentence got cut off as mom yelled.
“He went to go fight Runasi!” She yelled at the top of my lungs.
I fell back in shock. Does he not remember the argument we had earlier today? The point I made to him? His delusion had to have gotten the better of him.
“When did he leave?” I frantically asked.
“He left two minutes ago!” Alice hastily responded back.
I know what I need to do. I have to get him to come back! As soon as I heard that he left two minutes ago, I sprinted out of the room and down the stairs the fastest my legs could carry me. I bolted through the complex’s door and ran down the street to where I heard Runasi Haruhiko’s portable arena was at. I heard it a week ago, it was not too far from here. It all depended on how fast I could make it there before Eric made the biggest mistake of his life. I’m hoping and praying to god, please stop him this is the only time i ever ask for your help. I’ve never ran so fast in my life, everything felt like a blur today. Let everything be ok. God, let me get there in time! Please! The fate of Eric is all up to me now142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHj6jLB49kq
