Part (III): Final Choice (Noe)

Location: Anumi, Minerva

Date & Time: (10:14) 2018-08-04 

Whenever he closed his eyes and left alone to his own devices, Noe found himself drifting back to memories of the forest. Surrounded by towering trees, the dangerous scent of oleander hung in the air. He could feel the chill of being hundreds of feet above land. 

The worst came at night. Alone in the darkness, a cloak of dread descended upon him. He cowered away, seeking refuge from the horrors, he shrunk into the sheets and curled into a defenseless ball. How could he forget? The faces of his comrades, his promise to protect those children, those damn monsters. 

The darkness brought him back to the night when monsters roamed free, vicious, and insatiable. Noe's mind hung by a thread then, when survival stretched into luck. When each sunrise revealed his fallen comrades, ravaged and desecrated by unseen horrors. 

The morning was his only time of solace. When the doors opened, Noelle was the first to enter. She brought him movies, games, and food, and spent the entire morning with him, being as obnoxious and free-spirited as they pleased. Until she had to leave for work around noon. 

Noelle left the console and games with him. He had no idea where she got all of those games from, but she came with new games every day, sometimes board games. But left to his own devices, Noe didn't have the motivation to play video games by himself. From time to time, he agreed to play board games with Nurse Lily, but that was the extent of it. 

In his time alone, Noe found peace in physical rehabilitation, as daunting as it was. The pain, in the beginning, was unbearable, like noodles under a hydraulic press, he wondered countless times if walking was always this hard. But, he remained unyielding. No matter how many times he fell over or embarrassed himself, it was better than returning to solitude. 

Noe raised out of bed, his head was a mess. It was morning, however, Noelle hadn't visited him yet. He stretched his shoulders, his collarbones ached from resting on his side. The sun peered into the window, the heat seared his back, and his eyes were still groggy. 'Another bad night.'

"Mr. Uzun," a knock at the door, "your ride's almost ready." 

As Nurse Lily swung open the door, Noelle trailed behind her, her demeanor bright as daisies. A cheerful smile decorated her face, today was Noe's departure. Still, a trace of annoyance lingered in Noelle's expression, her brows furrowed as she gestured behind her. 

The M.E.A. loomed over him, a presence almost parasitic in nature, returning again and again with new offers. It seemed as though his decision had little significance in the grand scheme of things like he was nothing more than a cog in the machine. Noe felt the unbearable weight of it all, letting out a weary sigh, his gaze fixed on the agent, who stood an inch shorter than his sister. "No introductions today, please." 

Cracks began to surface, and the agent, with his smug demeanor, stood with his arms crossed and his head held high. Noe experienced a dungeon firsthand, he rejected the man's offer because of that. "Star-1," the man told him when they first met, "A weaker dungeon, most sorcerers could conquer it alone." It's something the you now could handle.

"Cut to the chase," Noe told the agent. 

The agent's voice brimmed with confidence, "A twenty-five percent increase," the agent told him, "M.E.A. insured healthcare and an official Sorcerers license." Proud of himself, his grin spoke a thousand words. The offer hung in the air, tantalizing, the third increase this month. Noe opened his mouth, but before the words came out; the agent raised a finger, brazenly interrupting. 

"This time, I want you to think about it," he continued, "I will stop by your place tomorrow evening."

The agent's eyes shimmered with anticipation. A smug grin played on his lips. "This time I want you to think about it," he loosened his tie and declared these final words, "Consider my offer. I'll stop by your place tomorrow evening," before bowing and taking his leave. 

Tempting, He thought. 

Noe shut his eyes, thoughts drifted to no one in particular, inevitably leading him to haunting memories of the forest. Further than that—however—he remembered the promise he made, and what his brother would have done. Shaking off the recollections, he rose from the bed. "I'll consider it," he murmured to himself. 

•••

Location: Anumi, Minerva (247 Ocean Terrace) 

Date & Time: 2018-08-05

In the four corners of a small house encompassing two mischievous and unruly children, laughter and chaos intertwined, "Give that back!" Noe's voice rang out, accidentally spilling his glass of milk as he reached out. Noelle darted in front of him, clutching a weathered piece of paper, with coffee stains from the years of neglect. "'When I grow up, I'm going to marry Selene Hartenstein'" Noelle read, "'and live in an RV somewhere off-road, where we're gonna have five children and a dog'" Noelle exclaimed. 

Her laugh echoed, and Noe trailed behind her, grimacing in his defeat. "Where the hell did you find that?" he winched. He'd written that letter almost thirteen years ago now when Selene Hartenstein acted. He had forgotten all about that letter, just a silly wish he made on their birthday. 

The two were burned out of energy, no longer small children, they rested on the dining room floor. "You—" she chuckled, "you hid it in Dad's old cigar box. I accidentally knocked it over this morning."

As things simmered down and his thoughts slowed down, Noe got the chance to think for himself. That offer had been on his mind all night, "Consider my offer," was a direct shot. He felt that the agent meant more, "What do you want?" is what he processed it as. 

What did he want? The words of that tall agent still haunted him, "You infected your sister," is what he said, "when you see her, make her do what you just did. You'll see." Noelle was an adult now, she had a driver's license, and she could protect herself. But it didn't sit right with him, to drag his sister into this, to infect her, then drag her into dungeons and put her life on the line.

I can't do it.

But, what did he want? He never gave it a thought. He shut his eyes, he wanted to go back to that forest. He remembered his conversation with Don, "How much longer?" Don took him out back, armed with nothing more than a hatchet and shovel. "I do not know," Don spoke with an accent, thick and heavy, yet—Noe couldn't describe where it came from. 

Don was much like the others, thin, with ribs protruding from flesh, and eyes as hollow as a tree bark. Skin as white as pressing paper, fingernails that dug back into the flesh, and thin pieces of hair barely covered his head. 

"I do not know," he continued, "but we go on." 

Noelle walked past him, scratching her head as she grabbed his phone. "Want some takeout?" she asked. Noe nodded his head, "Pizza," he told her. "Gioia?" he shrugged his shoulders in response, closing his eyes once again. 

"Noelle," he called out to her, "let's talk." 

Cloaking the land in darkness, night fell, as Don and Noe wearily made their way back to the cabin. There was an eerie silence, the once-welcoming embrace, turned to a cold, devoid of any warmth. Don and Noe, the lone survivors, braced themselves for the beasts and demons that lurked in the shadows. 

Noe clenched his blade, the cold steel nestled in its sheath. Ahead, Don's blade was lodged into the wall, a cold reminder that they were alive. "Watch my back," Don instructed, his voice steady and soft. Noe nodded, and Don retrieved his blade from the wall, tearing it from the loose wood. The scraping echoed through the cabin, resonating with the sound on the other side. 

A low growl reverberated from beyond the walls, behind the tear in the wall, numerous green eyes stared back at them. Its arm tore through the wood, snorting, and huffing as he lunged forth. A monstrous silhouette revealed itself behind it, larger and more beastly in nature, with a serpent's tail. Noe reacted swiftly, his blade slicing through the air with a desperate swing, but it missed its mark. 

The beast bolted towards Don, nearly twice his size, running on all fours. Don engaged the beast in a fierce struggle, grappling with it as they crashed to the ground. The smaller, numerous-eyed one scratched at Noe's chest and clutched his wrist. With his free hand, he thrust his blade into the creature's slimy flesh and threw it off of him. 

The beast's gnarled claws dug into Don's chest, overpowering him, it hissed, towering over him. The multi-eyed pest returned to life, forcing its tail around Noe's throat, knocking him to the ground. Noe's focus remained on Don, and his heart sank as he witnessed the beast drive its jagged claws into Don's eyes. 

When he returned to consciousness, there was nothing more than the dawn's silence. Noe was met with the grim reality of Don's lifeless form, and once more, he survived by chance. 

"By chance." Did he really survive by chance? No, surviving what he went through by chance or luck wasn't possible. Not like that. Don once told him, "A man must prove his worth to himself, before proving his worth to others." Sounded straight out of a magazine. 

Even so—those words held meaning. 

"I think we should join," Noelle nonchalantly sipped her tea.

"What?" Noe sat dumbfounded, he thought that she would be against it even more than he was. "I thought that... you hated all that." 

Noelle sat her cup down, "System—open," she said, but nothing happened, "Ever since that day in the hospital, it won't come out for me. All I see is a faint blue glow..." She looked at him with the resolution of a thousand kings. "I want us to do more with our lives. We stay here all day and mess around, or leave for a dead-end job for people to yell and complain at us all day. Did you know that Sorcerers get paid even on days they don't work?"

She sat next to him on the couch, "I want to know—what do you want to do?" Noe thought about it. All he's done was think, think, think. What the hell do I want? He understood what she meant—all of it. That faint blue glow. The desire to become more. A hunger for change. But... I'm scared. He realized. Scared to go back. She knew that. She also knew, how badly he wanted this. 

A knock on the door jolted Noe awake. Noelle was already by the door, money in hand. "Good evening, Ms. Uzun," a familiar voice rang out. "May I come in?" With a slight frown, Noelle moved to the side and motioned for the man to enter.

The agent's attire was in stark contrast to his usual black suit. He wore a white collared shirt, beige khaki pants, and a bag slung over his shoulder. He took a seat on the couch, crossing his legs. Noe and Noelle followed, settled across from him. "Have you considered my offer?"

Their eyes met, Noelle's expression offering silent support. "I'm fine with your decision," her eyes told him. With a determined gaze fixed on the agent, Noe took a deep breath and made his words clear. "You win."