Chapter 24

The shot was deafening.

My eyes were closed.

When I opened them, I saw that the bullet had only grazed his shoulder, causing him to stumble. However, he moved forward in no time and lunged at me readily.

Words won't get through to him, I knew so I rolled sideways.

Despite the blurry vision caused by thick layers of tears, I aimed and pulled the trigger twice.

BANG! BANG!

He fell to the ground. Blood gushed from each of his legs, the holes where the bullets nested. He dragged his inanimated legs, spurting out a zombie-like groan and producing a creek of blood trailing behind him.

Exhaustion consumed me. I lay still as I gave into the pleasure of a bad-timed break.

"Haa!!!" Persephone appeared suddenly, lifting a new syringe filled with light pink liquid and stabbing it into Aidan's back.

Aidan's slow movement gradually came to a complete stop.

Only then that time slowed down for me. My breathing precipitated as tears streamed more freely.

"Uh..." I wailed, staring at the blood-soaked, unconscious Aidan with possible fatal wounds on his legs.

Persephone pulled me into her embrace and patted my back reassuringly.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Nadia running out of Persephone's work chamber, calling Aidan's name.

***

"Why didn't you kill me, dammit!" Aidan smashed the table into two pieces with his fist, his breath accelerated, pupils dilated.

After the day of the incident, Aidan remained unconscious for three straight days. Persephone administered food and water to his body through injection while allowing him to rest.

Occasionally, Aidan would wake up, but only for a few seconds before slipping back into a deep slumber.

Once he fully regained consciousness, Nadia told him the entire story of that day, despite my attempts to keep her from revealing certain details.

He finally learned how I got the bruises on my neck, as well as other wounds on my body.

That's how we arrived at this moment. Aidan wasn't particularly pleased with my actions during his violent episode. I was also unsatisfied but for a different reason.

"What were you thinking, Tes? Do you want to die in my hands?" His tone of voice was high-pitched, each word and breath contained displeasure.

"I'm sorry about your legs," I muttered, avoiding looking at the consequences of my actions.

Aidan's eyes widened in disbelief, and his face contorted with rage. He shook his head as he tried to process my words as they were, but he seemed to fail at that.

He took a deep breath. Judging from his various expressions, it appeared that he had diverse responses in his mind, but ultimately, he chose this:

"Well, if you had killed me, then I wouldn't have to live with this disability for the rest of my life."

It was an effective scorn that hit me where it hurt the most.

"Aid!" Nadia shot him a piercing glare.

Aidan, frustrated enough to slight anyone at all, shrugged with an aggressive face. He pointed at his unmoved legs and said while locking eyes with me, "Thank you for this, I guess?"

"Aidan Bathory! She saved your life!!" Nadia stood up, both hands on her hips.

I jumped up, grabbed the gas mask, and stormed out of the house with mixed feelings.

***

Throughout the history of our friendships, I rarely had a fight with any of the twins. I did get into an argument with Aidan from time to time, but nothing that couldn't be resolved easily.

The Bathory twins were among the few people that I cherished. Being in a disagreement with one of them felt dreadful.

This water source in Copper Zone proved to be the best hideout. It was relatively unknown to the general population, thus guaranteeing my privacy when I needed it.

Other than wanting to clear my mind somewhere I could be alone, this was also where Park came to me. I wanted to talk to him again about Ad Maiora. I was sure that he mentioned medicine and advanced technology.

He might have the solution to treat Aidan. Both the new HRD effect and his legs.

But Park was nowhere to be found. I sighed. Well, I couldn't expect him to appear every time I wanted him to. Besides, the last time we met, he was arrested by the NSS. Who knew if he were still alive?

So I returned to the biggest concern weighing my mind.

"I mean, is he being serious? Who in the right mind would even suggest that preposterous idea? Why would a normal person kill her best friend when he's possessed?" I whined as I kicked the pebbles around my feet. One of them jumped into the mud and was swallowed by it in a matter of seconds.

I crouched down and stared at the ground. The dark mud was mostly half-dried with some spots moister than other parts of the surface. For years, I had collected tons of this disgusting, sticky thing.

Staring at this familiar sight, my mind started to relax, and I began to question everything and wonder about a lot of things.

Before Persephone's revelation, I had been content with my life, however bleak it might be. I thought that it was enough for me to live with my mom and my friends, doing routine tasks.

I didn't mind the struggle to make ends meet, to ensure our survival through my muscles.

But things had totally flipped. My world was turned upside down with the flood of new information. How was I supposed to take them?

I didn't find the immediate inclination to continue my parents' wish of saving Genesis. To be honest, I could care less about this country. Unlike Aidan, who always dreamed of the greater good, I only wanted the safety of my loved ones.

I was angry at the Parliament, that was for sure. They were the ones with the devious plan to turn civilians into their puppets. Aidan wouldn't have had to suffer like that if HRD didn't exist. In a way, I also blamed my parents for creating the drug in the first place.

But regardless, I was the one pulling the trigger. Whoever put the first brick into building this whole mess, I was the one who put the final touch. I was the one responsible for taking Aidan's legs.

That train of thought built up deeper disgruntlement. My eyebrows creased, and my chest thumped loudly. I got up, huffing and puffing, and started screaming.

I punched the ruins near me, and bits of the broken wall rained down. Blood drips from the scratch wounds on my knuckles.

I kicked a weathered, wooden chair. It creaked as it flew high, thin splinters scattered in every direction in the air.

"AAARRGGHH!!!!" I stomped as hard as could on the edge of the mud area, creating aggravating squelching noises. The bottom half of my heels were covered in the icky wet dirt.

A pang of burning sensation afflicted my abdomen due to the sudden outburst, reminding me of the barely recovered internal injury.

I knelt, pressing the location of the agony, feeling even more enraged because this frustration had no way to go.

Resolute in finding relief, I delivered short punches to the ground, hurting my hand even more. More loud screams didn't seem to help. I whacked my chest several times, and eventually removed my gas mask roughly.

I felt time paused, then everything moved very slowly. I glanced around, noticing my rapid heartbeat, and loud breathing. Aside from them, I could only hear the particles of dust in the air.

Then, I got up. The coarse dust in the air hurt my eyes so I closed them. Once again, I felt my lungs functioning well, with no hint of interference from the toxic air.

"It's the same," I mumbled, glad to find this one fact unexpectedly. The new HRD had the same effect on me as the old one did.

Along with the realization, came ominous silence.

This water source had long been abandoned, hence the void of any human activity. However, normally I would still hear movements from faraway places, as well as vehicles roaring nearby. This stillness was suspicious.

Something popped into my head. I disconnected the gas valve from the mask, put the mask on to protect my vision, and ran to my automobile.

I gathered all the recent events in my mind and connected the dots. If the Public Store and Zone A had been deserted, there was a good chance that the wall was also unguarded. If the Parliament had given up on us, there would be no reason for them to protect us anymore.

I hit the pedal and accelerated until I reached the wall.

The huge, tall wall that used to be fenced by rows of NSS soldiers was now vacated.

Jumping off my automobile and running to the wall, it was the first time I had seen the wall from up close.

As I touched the bumpy surface of the wall, I muttered, "So this is what the wall is made of."

I tried to claw up, testing if I could leave Genesis by climbing. Despite the uneven surface of the wall, there was nothing to grip on.

"Urgh!" I pounded on the wall.

"What are you doing, Miss Iota?"

Wait, this voice...

To be continued...