Prologue

Stuck in a world well known to man, reliving the stories of numerous fates burdened, marked by solitude and abandonment. 

Living a story where the outcome doesn't determine who is right, but rather decides who possesses the strength to transform reality into falsehood and falsehood into reality.

Is a reality destined to endure the whims of a few individuals against humanity in whole ? 

If the answer is yes, even an army can be weaker than pieces of paper called money.

All this for a life expectancy that is a few years longer and for a volatile, ephemeral enjoyment that makes and will cause infinitely more people to suffer in comparison to who take advantage of the happy word named injustice. 

I detest this guilt, we are guilty, I am guilty. 

The fact that the world is in the grip of this chaos is partly our fault, the corruption of an elite has infiltrated our deeds, our eyes are blind to truth, but our hearts are lucid.

The observation is way too present, impossible not to see it. 

I wonder what you would think if you saw this world ? 

Just out of curiosity, have you ever imagined living in a world like Earth without certain details?

Perhaps you've wished to alter the fate of something or someone, maybe even currently desiring to change a detail as big as a mountain or as small as a fly?

You are surely weak, perhaps do you hope to greatness, dreaming of grandeur in secret?

All your responses, I cannot guess, but what I do know is that you surely don't imagine, even for a second able to dying tomorrow, even for a moment, is not it ?

However, this tragedy did not allow many people to think they could turn to dust in just a few days. 

Ironical, in a way, the expression of horror so vivacious, imprinted on a face frozen in fear that never once thought even for a second that it would be his turn.

Such a price to pay, even my mind refuses to believe it. 

In just two years, 96% of humanity, or perhaps more, vanishes. 

The exceptions who survived are especially those who were near populated towns or rural villages. 

Would you believe it if this kind of situation happened to you tomorrow? 

It's quite difficult, I grant you. 

Perhaps you would believe the testimony of a survivor who truly lived through it, someone who experienced what you probably haven't.

First of all, where in the year 2071, 17 years after the Grim Reaper. 

Today, the country is already in better shape after all these terrible events. 

Of course, as a large part of the remaining population of the United States still feels, renewal will surely take several centuries, if not millennia, given the extent of the damage and the rusticity currently displayed by the remaining population. 

It's still better than nothing, even if I can't really put myself in their shoes.

After all, unlike all those people living in the east of the country, I'm still someone who has nothing to complain about in terms of comfort or access to food. 

That's right, I didn't tell you. 

The truth is, I own a manor house as big as a castle, with a breathtaking view over an entire magnificent forest and the ruins of an ancient city. 

In my manor house, there are also people who I'm sure you'll find strange. 

As you'll can see, it just goes to show how rich this century has been in revolutionary inventions and innovations, both good and bad. 

I'm the guardian in what you might call an orphanage, with lots of children and adults whom I watch over, protect, feed, educate, and keep warm under a secure roof. 

What's special about them is the way they were born, they are children and adults who, for the most part, have been cloned,

i.e. extracted from the dna of another child to increase their natural abilities tenfold and use them for military purposes. 

You may have realized just how far the world has sink, let alone the Grim Reaper, well that's one of the factors that led to their existence. 

Before the Grim Reaper, countries like China, the United States, Russia and Canada tried a lot of things for the control of the world, without success.

Except perhaps China, which temporarily took control of the most influential international medias from 2048 to 2054, following the economic collapse of the United States. 

And following Russia's disastrous change of power, which caused a loss of confidence among Russian citizens and record unemployment. 

As for Canada, India and Japan, for the first time in centuries, Canada abandoned territories it owned in western North America due to frighteningly low temperatures, which greatly curbed Canada's thirst for conquest. 

India failed to manage its sudden population growth and was completely destroyed from within by its own people. 

As for Japan, it has lost its monopoly on taxation by no longer being the new paradise for small and medium-sized businesses in the arts. 

China had managed to achieve this feat by buying up all the world's most influential media outlets at a high price and steering public opinion towards them, thus boosting exports even further, even to the point of reaching indecent heights of revenue. 

Well, that's the impression I was given at that time anyway, I'm not very politically savvy even if I appear to be. 

On the other hand, I know that at least I was better informed about the purpose of each of these governments than most of the inhabitants of this country, go figure. 

If you only knew how astonishing it can be to realize that the truths hidden by these governments were so easy to find, despite all their attempts to avoid exposing the corruption present in the major bodies. 

It makes you wonder whether the propaganda present at that time was very strong, or whether the population at the time was just too busy to search in Internet. 

Honestly, I prefer to think they were just lazy.

And if not, I won't talk about Internet in detail, it's a technology too complex for you to really understand, just think of a global communication network, that'll do. 

At the time, these dictatorships were accepted by most of the population because it suited them. 

The people may on the whole hate injustice, but in the end, they still find it hard to feel the pain, the hatred, the anger that might be felt by someone who sees the corruption with his own eyes, but can't change anything if the people aren't with him. 

When it came to feeling the slightest negative towards another person, almost all of us were unable to do so fully. 

No wonder then that the suffering of minorities and the weak didn't affect the population of the time as much as the drop in the monthly paycheck. 

I'm going off-topic, excuse me. 

I was talking about these children before. 

The thread of the discussion has gone further than I thought, well, take it as a small step into the past that caused your current situation, surely this kind of information is more valuable to you than it is to me. 

As I was saying, before revisiting the past, the ones I'm raising are clones, created in China, in a country where cloning research was less restrictive than in the United States. 

Since China's economic ascent and victory in information warfare by default, cloning has become commonplace, animal cloning in particular. 

Human cloning was reserved for military use only, and all the members of my orphanage who are clones come from this harsh environment, which is supposed to be regulated in theory. 

I say in theory. 

If I say that, it's as you can imagine. 

Because it's far from reality in truth, a black market has been created in the past with scientists placed in the army sneaking back organs from army clones. 

Not a nice way of doing things, I grant you, they were the kind of people who didn't consider clones to be fully-fledged humans. 

The arguments they had for it crystallize with these key words in the idea.

"I created you yesterday, you're growing like your original, but basically you were just contained in a test tube, so why should I consider you human?"

Laughable words, aren't they? 

So what are we, talking sperm in this case? 

A stupid argument for scientists who are supposed to be overqualified and overpaid, the height of stupidity if you ask me. 

Never mind, Instead of boring you with history, I'd rather get straight to the point and teach you as much as I can about this era. 

Clones are divided into two categories, those created shortly after the birth of a baby, and those created at any age. 

In the first case, the clone will behave a little differently from its original version, and in the second, the clone will literally be like a twin to its original version. 

They may be clones, but experience and environment determine the clone's behavior and personality, also time generally has effect. 

In fact, one subtlety that a clone created from a baby doesn't have, but rather one created at any age, is the very rapid acquisition of more advanced cognitive and physical abilities than a normal person. 

In exchange for sterility and a shortened life expectancy, usually no more than fifty years. 

It's a heavy price to pay and to inflict on a human from birth, yet it's not seen as punitive enough for an authority like China, which has not hesitate away from using these clones in its army, in vain at the end. 

The Grim Reaper arrived anyway, razing everything in his path, just like here. 

By the way, I realize I still haven't told you about The Grim Reaper, which is... 

"The door of ?????'s room opens, and a white-skinned woman with greyish-white hair and brown eyes enters the room without even knocking, violently breaking down the door."

????? :

"The woman said to him, looking annoyed." 

Hey, cut the crap and come see the kids for once, Paolo! 

You've made them suffer enough as it is, they need a father figure to guide them, stop avoiding your responsibilities to us. 

Paolo: 

"Turning his back to her, on his desk, he answers her while stopping the recording, contained in a recorder he holds in his hand." 

I warned you, Frida, not to disturb me for any reason whatsoever. 

Do you want me to lock you up again? 

The last time wasn't enough to dissuade you from this kind of behavior as I can see, do you want to die that badly? 

Frida: 

Tss, still in this rotten project of leaving a trace in history to hope that people will think of us after our death. 

Great, you'll explain to them why we're all in this situation, and then hide the fact that you don't even want to go see these kids anymore like a real parent figure would!

Just to feed your desire for superiority and win bits of land!

Yes, you must be really busy to let your responsibilities go so far. 

I guess futile distractions are worth more than the future of little ones you've plunged into the worst sides of this dangerous world, just for your comfort as a tyrannical ruler! 

Paolo: 

Last warning, don't forget that I'm only letting you live thanks to your mother, otherwise you'd have died long ago. 

You can consider yourself lucky that I'm not coming to crush your throat with my bare hands, because of the serious remarks you've made against me, the special favors inherited from your mother are the only reason you're still alive. 

It would be regrettable if I had to remind you this with the hard way.

Frida:

No, you're going to listen to what I have to say. 

"Frida gets closer and closer to Paolo without getting too close to him, Paolo's room is so big that Frida is forced to walk for four seconds to get closer to him." 

Paolo: 

You have nothing to say to me except to beg my forgiveness, that is all I allow you, if you don't want to be the victim of the surge of my wrath on you and your fragile body, you arrogant brat. 

Frida: 

Still as stubborn as ever, I see. 

I don't have to beg for anything at this stage, you rather not listen to me anyway, I've already said what's on my mind, and I'm not going back on it. 

I just deplore the fact that I have to do so much just to hope for some common sense from you, how far do I have to go to finally see you, behave like a human being towards those you keep close to you? 

Tell me, Paolo! 

Paolo: 

"Paolo gets so angry inside that he lets streaks of veins appear on his head." Since when did I allow you to speak to me so familiarly? 

I let it slide because I'm in a good mood today, but you're having fun stretching the rope of my indulgence until it breaks shamelessly, little insolent ! 

This is the last time I'll allow such behavior, I assure you! 

"Paolo rises from his desk chair and turns toward Frida, pointing his hand toward her to use his ????????? ???? on her." 

"Frida in just a few seconds is violently drawn to Paolo's hand without being able to defend herself, Paolo's hand clinging to Frida's neck acting like a magnet unable to release her." 

"Holding Frida's neck with the strength of his hand alone, Paolo compresses her neck to strangle her." 

Frida: 

Nggh, kokk! 

Paolo: 

I warned you Frida, don't joke with me like you can with the others, otherwise I'll have no choice but to get my hands dirty. You know what I mean, don't you? 

"Paolo then throws Frida very violently against the wall of the front door at high speed, creating cracks where she crashed." 

"The crash could be heard throughout the house." 

Frida: 

Kyyahh, ghahh! 

"At the moment of impact, Frida felt immense pain in her back, giving her the impression of having crashed into reinforced metal due to the power of the projection." 

"Still, she remained surprised, she had unconsciously protected herself by using her ????????? ????, allowing her to cover part of her body with a mysterious shield, protecting her from physical damage." 

"Still, it was as if she hadn't protected herself, in her head there was no doubt about it, the master of the place is at a much higher level of power than she is."

"On the ground, Frida struggles to get up."

Frida: 

Grr! 

(Trash, all you know is violence! 

I was stupid to think I could get anything good out of coming to you.

If only you'd never existed.)

Paolo: 

"Paolo, until then rather calm, shows this time a much more marked anger against Frida."

Go away before you regret it! 

Get out of my sight! 

Frida: 

Tss. 

(Cursed be your existence!) 

"Her back still aching, Frida slowly got to her feet as best she could, staggering slightly, she was still quite close to the front door, yet her walk was laborious, slow and painful." 

"That didn't stop her, after twelve seconds of pure pain, from walking out the door she'd opened earlier and staggering away." 

"Frida continued to walk with her back arched toward the garden at the bottom of the mansion, descending all the stairs that led toward Paolo's room with difficulty." 

"Enduring bearable, but very uncomfortable pain for at least a good two minutes, it was only after those two minutes that she was finally able to reach the main garden of the manor house." 

"When she had reached the garden, Frida walked another ten meters or so, before to, unable to bear the pain, sit down on the ground to ease it, her knees bent." 

Frida: 

(Bastard, in your eyes, these children are just manpower for your big project.

I knew it inside, yet I naively thought I could reason you during this one moment of respite I was able to keep from this month.) 

"A young man the same height as Frida appears behind her, with white skin, black hair and red eyes."

"He snuck discreetly behind Frida while she paid no attention to those who might be near her." 

"He kept his head just above Frida's head while keeping his feet behind his back, looking down at Frida."

??? : 

I warned you, nothing can change his mind, not even a request from a high-ranking member of the organization if he considers that his decision is not open to discussion. 

I can see with my own eyes the result of your naivety, he finally knocked you down and here you are waiting for your pain to disappear, am I right? 

Frida: 

"Frida lifts her head up to see the young man." 

Jim, were you waiting for me outside? 

Jim : 

You could say that I'd simply stayed to play out of boredom with the children around me, until they went off to play elsewhere during their only break of the day. 

You weren't even able to feel my presence when I was only a few meters away from you, the chief must have been really fed up with you if he hurt you that much. 

It's not as if I didn't warn you what was coming next. 

You know as well as I do that the children who live here will have to expect the same crappy childhood as ours, nothing will change and so much the better, I honestly don't mind. 

Frida: 

"Frida turns her head horizontally."

You're tiresome Jim, why are you unable to understand my approach to keeping the childhood of all the children here intact? 

Is it really that pleasant to see so many children suffering because their parents are no longer with them? 

All I've done is try to make things better, but it's as if I'm forced to stand by and watch all this suffering. 

Seeing all this doesn't make me laugh at all, every day that goes by, the same injustice is repeated over and over again without anyone giving a damn.

"Frida suddenly starts crying." 

What could be wrong with preventing that, tell me? 

Jim : 

"Jim steps back a little and straightens his head towards the horizon." 

There's nothing wrong with that, your aim is imbued with goodness it's true, but that's all it is, that goodness doesn't create an army of killing machines, for that reason alone, I can't join your camp. 

Frida: 

"Hearing this, Frida cries even more." 

What's the point of doing all this? 

I'm tired Jim, I just want to rest but I can't, my mind won't let me sleep in the face of so much injustice, so much unjustified nastiness. 

Why are the weakest always the ones who have to endure the most? 

Jim : 

"Jim goes to Frida's right and sits next to her." 

You're not allowed to sleep, your mind is condemned to see all this without being able to do anything about it, until you accept and overcome your powerlessness. 

Stay realistic, it's the strongest who makes the law. 

This became the case as soon as it became a question of fighting to survive, and this simple fact condemns us to never understand your point of view and to deny it.

The peace you seek is nothing but a chimera that will never protect us, based on an ideal that no one will share as long as everyone can take advantage of the situation. 

For all these reasons, your voice will never be heard as long as you are what you are now. 

No matter how much you scream, the only thing you'll get in return is a beating, a reality check or a fist bump, your choice. 

Frida: 

"Frida wipes her tears as she talks to Jim." 

It's painful, horribly painful. 

Jim : 

"Jim strokes Frida's head." 

I know. 

This pain is part of you, and it'll come back every time you're unable to accept this place and our final goal, until you forget all that broken childhood bullshit. 

(I'm being a little too hard on her I feel, but if I don't say that, who knows what she's capable of? 

It's not as if this is the first time her opinions have led her straight to more belligerent members abusing her, I should save her for this time.)

"After a few seconds of silence, Jim stops stroking her head and then speaks to Frida again, hoping to soften the harsh words he's spoken." 

Frida, is your pain bearable? 

Frida: 

"With a completely sad face, marked by the tears that are beginning to dry, Frida replies." 

No. 

Jim : 

"Jim looks at Frida's face before looking at the horizon ahead." 

I suspected as much. 

(Once again, I was too hard on her.) 

 While Frida was away 

Paolo: 

"Paolo sighs heavily." 

Haahh, what's with all these snot-nosed kids bothering me just because I'm not interested in them? 

"Paolo leans back as he sits against his desk and lights himself a cigarette using an old lighter he takes out of his pocket, he then smokes, holding his cigarette with his right hand." 

Houum fouu, I feel I'm getting old, yet the problems never stop, no rest. 

(Tss, my recording's ruined because of her, thanks to the good five minutes I spent talking in a vacuum for nothing, I've finally resolved to talk about it all, to no avail in the end.) 

Houum fouu. 

"Paolo stretches his arms." 

(Let's try it tomorrow and see how I can rephrase everything I've already said, I can already see my memory problems coming. 

We'll deal with it in the moment.) 

Early the next morning, in the garden of Paolo's large mansion 

Paolo: 

Badrick, where's Victor? 

Badrick : 

I don't know, boss, he's probably in Anderson, in the region of South Carolina. 

Paolo: 

Okay, tell him to come back as soon as possible, I've got a mission for him.

Badrick : 

Got it, boss. 

Uh, just one question. 

Uh boss, when are you going to allow me to fight infected people around our region? 

I want to test my new skills. 

Paolo:

 This isn't the time, Badrick, Johann just waiting for that, he is waiting us to rush in and disperse our troops, the better to take over our territory and kill us all. 

Badrick : 

Got it, boss. 

Paolo: 

(I need to find the time to finish the recording, but first I'm going to see if Edward is still captive.) 

"Paolo heads to his room to use his personal landline phone that he has kept for so many years, walking to his desk present at the back of his room." 

"As soon as he was able to reach his landline phone, he sat down on his desk chair and typed in the phone number of the person he wished to contact."

"When he finished, he waited with the head of the phone in his hands for five seconds before someone answered and he put the head of the phone over his ears." 

???: 

Yes, hello?

Paolo: 

Where is Edward, always present without a scratch? 

???:

Ah, of course Sir, no problems to report, no signs of leakage, everything's fine. 

Paolo:

Very well, keep him under surveillance until I can use him when I come in three weeks. No failures allowed. 

???: 

Of course, sir, don't worry, we've got everything under control.

Paolo: 

"After this sentence, Paolo hangs up the phone."

(That's what worries me, that such idiots can be so important. 

Unfortunately, I can't afford to run out of troops because of that dirty fox Johann. 

Well, since I'm done, it looks like I only have this recording left to do for today.)

"Paolo picks up a recorder from his desk then starts the recorder, concentrated." 

Still stuck in a world well known to man....