Silence hung over the jail like a morning fog. No one dared to speak up against the massive and ugly guard that watched over me like an angry gorilla.
"I don't care." I gripped the cold, iron bars tightly. "I honestly don't care. Just let me out!"
"No can do." The guard said, icing his words over with apathy. "Your little riots have caused enough trouble. It's high time you paid the price."
"Riots? They weren't riots! They were peaceful gatherings!" I could feel the anger rising with every passing second. "We weren't doing anything wrong and you killed them! You killed them all!"
"Killed? Son, killed is a term of the past. You know that as well as I do.”
He was right. No one dies anymore. No one can. Because of the stupid Infinity Serum and various body-enhancing implants like it, your body becomes incapable of dying.
”That doesn’t change a thing! You destroyed their lives! You beat them, shot at them – just because they can’t die doesn’t mean they couldn’t feel the pain of their lovfed ones being taken and imprisoned forcibly right in front of their eyes! How… How can you do something like that and not care?!”
“Because they were becoming a problem, as were you. You know the penalty for breaking the law: Eternal Prisonment. Meaning that so long as you breathe, you will stay back there. It was about time too; you’ve done enough damage.”
“SCREW YOU!” I shouted, slamming my fist into the concrete wall that were reminiscent of an age long past. Yeah, it hurt like hell. But it was nothing compared to the agony that my comrades must have felt before they were taken. “Screw you AND your stupid implants!”
“Yell all you want. It won’t change a thing. Your precious friends are gone. You’re in prison. All you’ve worked for is worthless. You can’t change a thing. And I bet you know why.” A wicked smile covered his scarred face. “Because you are weak. Powerless. Just a little boy with a crushed dream. You should’ve stayed home, gotten the Serum like a good child, and you could have been happy.”
“Happy?!” Passionate flames flew up in my soul. “There’s no such thing as happiness anymore! When we died, we knew we only had a short amount of time, so we were happy while we could be. But now that we can’t die, what is there to live for?! Nothing! Because we aren’t living anymore. All we are are corpses. Living corpses. And in this world, if there’s nothing to live for, I don’t want to live.” That was the philosophy I lived my meager life by. If there’s nothing to live for; don’t live. Simple as that. “I don’t want to live,” I added. “But I sure as hell don’t want to die.”
“So you fight.” He calmly said, affirming what I just got done with saying.
“Exactly.”
Silence.
“Still not letting you out.”
“GOD DAMMIT!”
Pause. “You really are naïve, aren’t you, boy?”
“My name is Adam, Scarface.” I blew my black hair out of my face. It was against the law to keep it long, but I felt that a long ponytail and bangs was just the rebellious style I needed.
“Adam, huh? Well, Adam, since we are on the topic of introducing ourselves, I’m not Scarface. I’m Daniel.”’
I can’t believe I’m stuck with this guy while I slowly go insane. I thought, letting go of the bars and sliding down the wall with a sigh. No matter how you look at it, there’s no way I’m getting out of this.
Daniel noticed my silence. “You’re giving up?”
“I guess...”
“After all you just said, you’re going to quit.”
I nodded and fiddled with my ponytail. “I don’t have much of a choice. We lost, and there’s not way to win at this point. Why should I bother fighting a fight I have no hope of winning?”
He didn’t say anything. We sat there, quiet as corpses, contemplating what the other just said.
So this is it. I stared intensely at the gray walls. I’m sorry, everyone. I’m sorry that I can’t do anything anymore. At least we tried.
Clanging of iron interrupted my thoughts. I jolted out of my reverie to see that Daniel was...
Unlocking and opening the door?
“What are you doing?!” I jumped up and ran to him. “You’re going to get fired or worse!”
“Out.” He said simply.
“What?”
“I said GET OUT. You can’t be stuck in here forever.” His steely eyes no longer held hatred or pompous scorn, but sparked with a glimmer of respect. “After all, don’t you have something to fight for?”
I was shocked, in plain words. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that my enemy and imprisoner would turn around and let me free. NEVER.
“Well, get going!” He ordered, throwing the bars out. “You can get out the back door. If anyone asks, I’ll say you disappeared. Happens more often than you think. Now hurry.” A respectful smile and he dragged me out. “The Great Uniter is going to be at a meeting later today at the Capital for the grand opening of the new wing of the Digiseum. That’ll be your one chance.” He shoved me a pack filled with something long and bulky.
A sniper rifle.
