Chapter 2: A Hypocrite
The table bathed in awkward silence. The sounds of utensils slightly scraping the plates was the only sound that could be heard. The maids were lined up, like statues awaiting orders. At the end of the table was my father, David Taylor. Beside him was my mother, Jessica Taylor. My brother, Kevin Taylor, was the one digging into the food like it was the last day of his life.
"Isabel, why don't you eat?" My mother piped up while gesturing to my plate. I gritted my teeth. "Mother, I already ate stew earlier while I was in bed. Thank you for worrying about me." I forced out. Mother realized my annoyance and became quiet again. "Are you okay?" My father's gruff voice filled the dining room. Rather than one of caring, it sounded monotone, like he was being forced to care about. "I am fine, father. It was just a one-time thing, no need for anything more." I brushed him aside.
"At least I don't faint." Kevin blurted with his mouth full. "Silence, Kevin, your sister is still recovering!" Mother tried to defend me. "It's fine." I gazed at her. She sat back down quietly. "Father, may I know about your travels?" Kevin asked excitedly. Father sighed and rubbed his head. "It's... classified. We can talk about it later. What is more important is, what was Isabel doing on the Surface with no guardian?" He turned his stare to me. "Uーuh..." I stuttered, trying to find a reason. "Perhaps, Remmie might know?" "Nーno! Remmie has nothing to do with this!"
Father pulled out a small white box.
"Play."
...〔and no going to the surface! Knowing you, you won't listen to me, just don't hurt yourself〕...
Remmie's voice played through the speaker. I turned to Remmie to see her frightened expression. "Looks like she is aware." He stored the speaker back into his pocket.
"Yーyou tapped into my Neurolink!?" I cried out. "And for you to be participating in illegal surface groups... what a crisis." Father continued. Tears drenched my cheeks as my ears burned crimson. "How dare you! Youー" "You said you wanted to take over the business!" His voice boomed, silencing me. My hands morphed into quivering fists. "Let me correct you..." My voice trembled. "YOU FORCED A ROLE ONTO ME! FOR ME TO TAKE OVER THE BUSINESS? I NEVER WANTED TO DO THAT!" I yelled out. "And for you? Of all people I expected YOU to understand!"
He was taken aback by my retort. "What does that mean?" His forehead wrinkled with rage. "I'm pretty sure you understand how I feel. You were forced into marriage with that WHORE!" I raised my chin and raised my third finger at him. "You're a FUCKING HYPOCRITE!" I shouted at him. I felt the temperature lower as the room chilled. The maids were slightly out of line, each bearing a fearful expression.
"How dare you use that language against your father!" Mother scolded me. "Shut it, you bloody golddigger." I sneered at her. She raised her hand to slap me but father caught her wrist. "Jessica. Let it be." I turned my heel and walked into the elevator. The door closed on a completely shaken dinner table. I tapped the elevator screen again. "Ground Floor."
< Floor 10 - Dining Rooms to Ground Floor >
The shitty music began playing again. I threw my phone at the speaker, I heard the speaker crack and music stop playing. The phone fell to the floor, its screen perfectly fine. "Fuck..." I picked the device back up and shoved it into my pocket. Tears trickled out of my eyes as I rushed out of the elevator as soon as it opened. I angrily scanned my biometrics and the sealed door opened.
< Confirming Identity... >
< Confirmed. Isabel Taylor, thank you for your stay at Hilton Sui... >
"Shut up!" My scream drowned the robotic voice.
< Confirming Toxicity Gear... >
< Toxicity Gear not equipped, please equip... >
I pressed the button once again and the voice canceled and the door slid open. I ran outside and coughed as the toxic air filled my lungs. I ran as fast as I could, tears flying in the wind. I tripped and fell into a dusty cloth. I looked up to see the same man from earlier who had sneered at me. Shit! I forgot my gun! I reached my arm up to cover my face in defense.
His face contorted into anger but relaxed as soon as he examined my messy face. He slowly stepped aside, ignoring me. My vision blurred as more tears flooded my sight. Him? Pitying me? How the times have changed. I stumbled across the empty roads, only filled with small tents and illegal stalls selling different assortments of items. I tripped over a box of apples and tumbled onto the sidewalk.
I winced in pain and looked at my scraped elbows. I could see raw skin and drops of blood. Damn it! Where the hell am I even running to? Tears flowed out of my eyes, trickling on the concrete below. "Oi, are you okay?" My hair was tossed around as my gaze flew to a boy in a green coat standing over me with his arm extended... "Zane?" My eyes grew. "Hell..." I dug into my temple and ripped the Neurolink out. Blood spurted out as I covered it. "Ow! That hurt like hell!" I cursed as Zane retracted his arm. "What the heck did you do that for?"
Zane ruffled his pockets, looking for some sort of first aid. "Fーmy dad was tapping into my Neurolink and he found out about the group. He's probably going to arrest all of you or something." I reached for Zane and he took me into a hug. "It's fine... it's not your fault..." He comforted me while stroking my hair. My tears dripped onto his coat, fueled by the fact that I brought it up again.
Zane reached up and ripped his Neurolink out. I yelped at his sudden movement. His blood spilled onto my shoulder. "Whーwhy did you?" "Huh... you're right that does hurt like hell." He smiled. I laughed at his situation but quickly covered my mouth. "You do look better when you smile." He brushed my hair to the side. My cheeks burned up at his sudden comment.
He took my hand and quickly dragged me towards the hideout. He knocked on the dumpster and the door opened to a surprised Elda. "You're bleeding! Come in! Hurry!"
❈
I lightly massaged the bandaid on my temple as Elda tended to Zane's injury. "So that's what happened." I looked away as Elda finished aiding Zane. "You're father's a real fuckwad, isn't he." Elda tried to lighten the mood. Huh, interesting way to go about doing that. "Of course you have the fun nicknames." Zane patted Elda's arm before standing up. "Isabel, where's your weapon?" Zane questioned me. "Iーuhhー" I looked at his worried face. "I left it at home... it's not that big of a deal." "Of course it's a big deal! Someone could have abducted you! Or worse..." Zane lightly shook me.
Elda gave a slight smile. "Zane's right. Make sure not to do that next time." "There won't be a 'next time.'" I said aloud. "Huh?" Both of them raised an eyebrow simultaneously. "I'm not planning on going back." I declared as I stood to my feet. "You what?" Elda was startled. "I'm planning on staying here. If my dad sends anyone after me, we shoot them. Got that?" Zane's eyes shimmered in delight. "I like what you're saying there."
"No! That's dangerous!" Elda snapped. "If I return, my father will most likely send people to silence you guys and old man John." I sighed, "It's our only choice." Zane patted my back. "She's right. I'll call the others, we'll need to inform them of this." He holstered the rifle over his shoulder and slipped a knife under his belt. "We better start getting ready." He tossed me a handgun. "A Federation-issued pistol, are you kidding me?" I wrinkled my nose. "Well, you didn't like the UN-issued pistol." He joked sarcastically.
KABOOM!
An explosion rocked the floor. "Wーwhat!" We yelled as we jumped outside of the hideout. A skyscraper was tumbling to the ground and fires were spreading on the rooftops. "Get down!" Zane shouted and we hid behind the dumpster. A deep rumbling noise stabbed our ears before a cloud of dust rushed over us, clouding our vision. Screaming filled the air and a baby's wail could be made out in the distance.
"Shit, we forgot our masks!" Elda rushed inside the hideout. "Elda, no!" Zane reached out. We could hear a sharp whistle. It nearly made our ears bleed, before. "Get out of the way!" Zane pushed both of us into the road as a bomb flew over our heads and hit the dumpster. A large explosion threw both of us into a wall as rubble covered the hideout. My mouth opened to make a sound.
"ELDA!"
"She's gone! We have to hurry!" I could make out streaks of tears in Zane's eyes. Elda was his sister, for him to just abandon her...
We weaved in and out of the crowd and jumped over burning rubble. I could hear loud whistles followed by more explosions. You could make out fighter jets zooming past, bearing the Globe, the symbol of the UN. Accompanying them were other fighters, there you could just barely make out the red fist.
It was the Federation.
Zane saw it too. "Those bloody Feds!" He cursed at the sky. Suddenly, my ears rang. Why were they ringing? I looked behind me. A jet was skidding across the road. A broken plate landed in front of me. It was metal, and on it was a UN logo with the paint wearing off. It lightly touched my boot and I could feel the heat of the piece of metal as it soaked through the leather. "Shit!"
Zane was moving his mouth. I could see what he was saying. "Go" and "look over there". I looked in the direction he was pointing in. Soldiers in all black with Chinese and Russian lettering on their uniform. Federation soldiers! I held up my pistol and fired a round instinctively.
A trooper was knocked back but regained his balance. He was not visibly affected by the shot. I felt a tug on my sleeve as Zane threw me into an alley. I looked to the east to see troops in all black with the words 『United Nations』 imprinted on their vests. They held up their rifles and began firing. I looked back to the Federation soldiers and saw a flurry of blood and explosions until it stopped. The UN soldiers ran over to us and looked between me and Zane.
"Just take them both, we don't have time."
My vision dimmed as they pulled me onto their back. I could barely hear anything and the smoke wasn't helping. I couldn't scrape together the energy to check if Zane was okay. I looked down and what I saw scared me. Red hair... Scarlett! I saw Scarlett's bloody face, smashed in by stray concrete. "Sc-" I tried to make a sound. I wasn't sure if I could be heard, but the way the soldiers turned their heads away from me told me enough.
This was hell.
The adrenaline faded away and my hearing slowly returned. I could finally feel the scrape from earlier on my elbow, and my knee hurt intensely. It was definitely broken. I finally mustered up the strength to look back at Zane... he was bleeding from the head, debris probably hit him when he was trying to protect me. Damn it! I'm so useless, and I'm just watching my friends die around me.
We finally reached a small group of UN soldiers who formed a barricade around a few escape vehicles. There was my father. My brother and mother were nowhere to be seen. The trooper let me down in front of my father. His face was grim. "You're brother has already evacuated. You must evacuate too. I shall await your mother's return." "Mother? Where did she go? Where is Remmie?" He clicked his tongue.
"Your mother is trying to recover her precious jewel." I gritted my teeth. She really did care more about that jewel than me. "And Remmie?" "She went after your mother." "SHE WHAT!" I limped away but a UN guard halted me. I shot an irritated expression at my father. He turned away from me. "You may go."
"Thank you. Dad."
I limped in the direction of the suite. Slowly stepping over the bodies of dead people. People who lived just a moment ago. Debris tumbled from above. The battle in the sky had still not let up and planes were crashing left and right. I could only imagine what was going on in other parts of the world.
I turned the corner to see a fallen building. "Remmie!" I cried out in despair. I searched throughout the rubble. I tossed rock after rock away. A shoe? A maid shoe? It still has a foot inside of it. Ripped from its body. I kept digging and digging. A torn torso? I threw aside the final rock to see Remmie's face. Not one of laughter and joy, but of immense sadness. "REMMIE!" I screamed in pain.
Pain. Pain! All I felt was pain. Just that damned emotion.
"God!" I screeched into the sky, laughing. I'm going insane, aren't I? "God! If I ever meet you! After I punch you in that divine face of yours! I will say one thing, 'You're humor is quite cruel, isn't it!'" I punched into the sky. Futilely. What was I doing? I laughed at my pitiful act. "If there is a God, he wouldn't care much anyway."
I punched the ground. Crack. My hand was broken now, yet I felt no pain. Perhaps the pain I'm enduring was so much I couldn't even feel it anymore. No more tears came, my cheeks just felt dry. I've run out of tears to shed. What kind... of joke is this?
"Isabel!" I felt my hand being dragged to another dark alley. I looked up to see Ava's worried face. She tossed me into the alley and loaded a bullet into her pistol. It was another UN-issued pistol. She gave me a ferocious grin. "You said this gun was shit taste didn't ya?" She peeked around the corner and gave a few shots. I looked to see a fallen Federation soldier, followed by a response of rifles booming. My ears rang at every shot.
Ava pointed to UN soldiers turning the corner and beginning their firefight with the Federation soldiers. "They're looking for you. I'll cover you, make sure you get to them." I looked back at her and she nodded. "Don't you get it! You need to survive! Zane needs you!" "Zane?" "Zane likes you, no he loves you! Don't you dare die, alright!" She extended her hand to me.
"Fine. Don't die on me either." I used her hand to get back on my feet. "I say that again to you. Good luck." I didn't hesitate to begin running.
I began running towards the soldiers. I looked back to see Ava in the open, returning fire. Then I realized it. I'm the hypocrite. I ask for people to care for me, care for my opinion, yet I don't even care for other people? I didn't even hesitate to leave Ava to fend for herself to save my sorry ass. I turned back just in time to see a bullet pierce her head, as she fell. My body summoned its last tear as I ran as fast as my broken bones would take me.
A loud shot was fired and I felt a bullet pierce my back as I fell to the ground. It was... peaceful. I didn't want to get back up. I'm tired... I'll just... rest for... a bit.
"Aimer."
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