I walk to the edge of the platform and look down at the tracks, shiny and clean. "Sir." One of the workers calls to me.
I look over, "What?"
He holds up an arm blade, "It is from the poison breed."
"Put it in a sealed container and get it to the lab." I rub my forehead, "Is that the only sign of the poison breed here?"
"As far as we can tell, the creature corroded the tracks causing the train to lose control. A suicide mission." The man kneels down and places the blade in a container one of the other workers brought him. "Take it to the lab." He orders the other worker. The woman disappears into the portal.
"Is everything else finished?" I ask as the last flood light is put away.
"As I informed the commander, yes. A few of my men will stay behind and help with the cover up."

"Sounds good." What a fucking mess. I go back up the stairs and over to the body bags where Soya was helping to load the trucks. It is an unsightly thing, the way we all can work without the slightest show of remorse. I silently help her pick up one of the dead; only that silence told anyone around that we hated it. One by one the dead are loaded into the trucks and hauled off to the morgue. One by one families are torn apart. Nine, nine dead and how many of us? None. Just civilians, nine unknown people who were just wanting to relax in the park or go to work. And here I am, alive and well.
I wonder if I could ever die. I put my head in my hands as I sat on the bench. "Hey, you okay?" Soya asks standing in front of me. I look up at her, my face red. She smiles and sits down next to me. "It'll be okay." She puts her arm around me and holds me close, "I know what you're thinking, that I'm used to it because I've gone through worse." She closes her eyes, "To tell you the truth, it never gets easy. Whether it is one or one hundred who die, it still hurts. I was just so pig headed that I never realized it till after all was lost and brought back." She pauses and holds back a cry, "It may seem cold but telling yourself that it could have been worse, can help. In its own way."
I smile and look at her, "I'll be fine, I just need some time alone to think things through. But thanks though."
Soya stands up, "Me and Wonder Girl will get the rest, just head back to the apartment and clean up. You look like hell."
"Good night, Doll."

"Night, Salvo." I watch as Soya walks off towards Lilith. I slowly stand up and look at the sky; the night sky was spotted with stars and the moon seems to be tainted with blood. 'A red moon rises, blood has been spilled this night' (Legolas). A dark joke for a dark night. What a fucking mess. I step through a portal and enter the apartment near the front door. The light from the laptops lit the room with a colorful hue. I walk over and stand in the middle of the crescent of screens. In one screen I can see the path Alice is taking to replace the memories. In another, a map of the affected area and where Persona has placed markers. In the last, the area of the brain being rewritten. They are lucky, they can forget. It never happened for them, but for us it is as real as the dry blood on my face.

I sit down to look at the screens better. “Navi,” I am speaking to the computer, “What’s the final cover plan’s layout?”
A soft female voice answers, “Alice’s plan is to make the deaths related to the subway accident. The workers are ordered to recreate the scene of a severe crash. The train derailed and crashed full speed into the wall of the platform; killing the conductor and passengers in the first car.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Have any better ideas?”
I shake my head, “No.”
“Go get cleaned up. You look like hell.”
“That’s the plan.” I stand up. The joints in my spine crack as I stretch. I feel light headed. Leaving the computers, I go around the couch and into the bedroom. It was useless, trying to save everyone. I throw my shirt and pants by the trash can and open the door to the bathroom. At once, I feel I no longer like the white of the tiles when I turn the light on. Nothing is pure in the world. The water from the shower will become the same as the water in the tunnel, tainted. I step into the hot water not caring to cool it any. I want all the death to be burned away by the water; to rid myself of the stench of the enemy. The rusty water circled the drain bubbling with red soap. Steam blocks my view to the outside, not like I want to see there anyway. Whether it is my fault or not, I still hate this day and myself.

I turn off the shower and stand silently, head bowed. The water from my face and limbs drip clear and clean; the smell of the air around is flowery and white. Clutching my towel around my waist, I leave the bathroom and go to the balcony. The door slid open letting the cool air outside hit my naked, wet skin. I want it gone, into the wind, away. With my free hand I pinch myself, it isn’t some nightmare. I have to keep reminding myself that; I am wide awake. The remaining cuts and bruises are barely visible in the light of the moon. It looks like I was one of the ones in the ‘subway accident.’ They will be gone in a matter of days and my body will have then forgotten this day as well.

I hear the door to the apartment open and turn to see Lilith flip the lights on. Shinji helps Soya through the door, her limp is worse. He sets her on the couch and Lilith kneels to look at it. Shinji looks up to see me entering the room, “She okay?” I ask as I reach the couch.
Lilith looks up at me, “Nothing I can’t fix.” She sticks her hand into Soya’s leg, Soya flinches as Lilith runs her hand up and down the leg, “If you had said something earlier, it wouldn’t be so bad.”
Soya’s face loosens as Lilith removes her hand, “You were busy, didn’t want to bother you.”
“You and Alex are stubborn when it comes to injuries.”
“Thank you Lt. Obvious.”
Lilith rolls her eyes and stands, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a shower.”
“You sure?” I ask with a smile.
“About what?” Lilith asks in a dead pan tone.
“I think blood looks good on you.” Lilith rolls her eyes at me and sighs as she walks off into the bedroom.
“Sexy.” Shinji says eyeing me over.
“I’ll put something on in a minute.” I crack my neck, “Just not right now.”
"Make it soon, my eyes are burning."
"You're just jealous."
Shinji shakes his head and goes out to the balcony. I sit down on the couch, Soya puts her feet in my lap, "Thanks for earlier."
She smiles, "No problem."
"For someone who had lots of mental problems, you've turned out quite good."
"Lets just say that the instramentality helped me flesh out a few things. The years with Alice helped as well." Soya laughes, "That's not to say I still don't have any baggage."
"We all have baggage, you are just able to pack it better."
"It takes practice." She kicks my leg, "Now get up and get changed, I'm starving."
"And I guess I'm paying." I crack my neck, "The shit hits the fan and all you can think about is food."
"Nothing will get done if we aren't taking care of ourselves."
I push off her feet, "Fine, I'll just be a second." I get off the couch and make my way into the bedroom. I can hear the shower door open slightly, the water still running. "Who ever is out there, I need a wash rag." Lilith calls from the bathroom. I sigh and look around the room, none. I move into the bathroom, there was one folded by the clothes hamper. I pick it up and tap on the shower door; it cracks and Lilith's hand slithers out to grab the rag, "Thanks." She says as she closes the door, "What's the plan now?"
"Soya wants to eat, Shinji wants me to change, and you should have stayed bloody." I slowly back away as I say the last part..
"I'll get you later." Lilith says having noticed I'm not at arms length.
"Whatever." I leave the bathroom and move back to the bed. Letting the towel fall, I unzip my travel bag and pull out a pair of underwear and pants. I put them on, go to the closet and grab the only shirt left hanging; the rest lay in a heap on the ground. As I leave the bedroom I hear the gentle hiss of air entering the tight, almost spandex like amp suit Soya wore; she let out a sigh, "God I'm all sweaty." she rests her head against the back of the couch and turns it to look at me, "I just want food, I don't care what it is."
"I want a burger." Shinji announces as he reenters the living room.
The sound of running water stops and there was a moment of silence as the shower door closes. The floor creeks as Lilith rounds the corner into the living room wrapped in a towel, "Just remember, no meat." It appears I am the "gofor."
"Where's a 7-Eleven when you need one?" I sigh as I head to the door, "Be back in a bit." I close the door and head down the hall to the elevator. The woman next door is also leaving; she looks at me and smiles, "Glad to see you weren't on that train."
"Train?" I ask, trying to sound like I haven't a clue.
"They just said on the news that a subway train derailed killing nine and injuring ten."
I push the button to go down, "Do they know the cause?"
"If they do, they haven't announced it yet."
We step onto the elevator and the woman pushes the button for the first floor, "What are you doing out so late?"
"I'm on the night shift this week. You?" The elevator stops on the second and a young couple gets on.
I scratch me chin, "Munchy run. No one else wanted to go."
"I see." The elevator reachs the destination and we get off, "There's a small shop about a block east, they have a bit of a variety."
"Thanks." I wave as the lady heads off opposite my current direction. I open the door and step out into the cool night.