Who Needs a Hero?

Authors Note: [This chapter was written months ago, before I started working on this romance. So the quality of this here doesn dictate that of the ones thatll follow after ch. 2!]

*****************

Silence is golden, moreover is often the answer.

******************

How sad this meeting of ours is… Muttered a tiny girl, her narrow arms engulfed by the long lab coat she wore.

On her hand, a mark resembling a severe burn was clear, in the bizarre shape of letters that framed the word Justine in her flesh.

It didn seem to be painful, given that she was ignoring the mark on the member, and tried to focus her attention on something she considered of paramount importance at the moment: a person in front of her.

…..

There were no words to describe what she felt. Justine stared straight ahead, more precisely, at her best friend, wondering what it would be like to forget him.

This was an unexpected occasion, one that did not match any of her expectations for the life she intended to lead growing up.

At first, forgetting him seemed like an unreachable task.

Although, honestly, shed already seen the effect of the magical device — by name Roots, given to it by its creator — in dozens, maybe even hundreds, of people who came before Harlan.

The little girl watched him nonstop, without opening her mouth even once; the whistle noises of the apparatus around her taking over the entire room.

She was as still as a stone statue, her bluish eyes fixed on only one thing. She was undoubtedly distressed, and couldn deny it even if she wanted to do so.

Dark brown hair, and solemn, piercing red eyes, static in a constant contemplative gaze whenever she saw him — how could that boy turn into someone unfamiliar to Justine…

Someone who would have no memory of the times they had spent together? Of the adversities they had overcome in those miserable years at the institution?

How, simply how?

In her opinion, it was impossible…

And yet, even with such melancholy thoughts in mind, the final procedure was just three days away. That is, for her, of course. For Harlan, it would only be a matter of a few minutes, and the boy wouldn even notice.

Thy little lad was lying on an operating table, his eyelids closed tightly, his chest rising and falling calmly under the influence of steady, peaceful breathing.

He had already been dressed by the local staff, in the obligatory clothing of those who would make the Crossing to the other side, making him look like an individual in a photo from the past.

He looked just like an ordinary, generic looking boy who was just dozing off after getting tired, returning from his school — before, of course, that event and the Great War had turned the world into anything but ordinary.

That is, before the organizations ethics were cast aside, and destruction made it necessary to steal children from the other side – training them to be anything with the exception of normal and human.

”Almost everything is in order, sir. ” Said a grown woman, dressed in a hospital uniform.

There was a doctor and a nurse, who had prepped Harlan for dispatch and were now putting a bizarre mask over his face.

Clicks and hisses were heard.

Justine watched silently as the long wires and plastic tubes slid over her friends skin and were inserted into every hole in Harlans face; she watched as his body shook, and the boys hands twitched automatically at the sides of the small, squalid body.

Justine imagined that perhaps Harlan was in pain, despite being doped up by various effects of spells and medicines. Luckily, he would never remember that moment.

There was another click, and the machine began its work, extracting fragments of different information from Harlans memory, who was squirming uneasily.

Justine saw the images of the boys father, mother, friends and his entire life being erased in a single second, through the devices monitoring screen.

However, what affected her the most, was… it was when Roots excluded her from his head.

Ugh… Justines heart clenched, & she felt dizzy.

A hot sensation took over her insides, and her subconscious suggested she enraged. To scream loudly, refusing to help the members of the organization even a second longer.

But most of her method of acting and reasoning was as solid as the rocks outside the security facility she was in.

She knew it, was fully aware that most of her heart hardened in the deep certainty of what she would suffer if she went against the organizations plans, as did many others…

Just as Harlan did.

She and Harlan — prior to the boys betrayal got proven by the institutions executive board — used to submit to what had been requested by superiors.

In this way, proving their loyalty and becoming some of Gunnas favorite candidates. And even if they were preferred to that conquest, if they died, so be it.

The main minds behind the organization tended to be cold. Calculating the gains and losses they would have in each action they took along the path they walked, always prioritizing the best actions to be taken.

Thus, the institution would certainly find a solution to the problems caused by the war, then the species would be saved from its inevitable tragic end and life would return to normal.

Justine and the rest of the organization were convinced of this, deep within their souls.

They truly believed the words of the supreme leaders, at least they wanted to.

Urkgh…!

Harlan let out a groan and his body shifted a little to the left. Soon after, he let out a contained sigh, startling some of the auxiliary nurses in the procedure, who quickly grabbed a tranquilizer syringe.

For a second, terrifying to the very depths of her soul, Justine thought he would rise in a rage state at the mix of agony and pain that must have coursed through his body.

However, the boy calmed down in a blink of an eye and began to breathe softly again.

The clicks and metallic clangs continued, as the remaining memories of Harlans life faded off, like echoes in the distance.

…..

The usual jokes that Harlan told Justine still played in her head, leaving the girl slightly breathless.

For some reason, Justine had been really shaken to remember the things Harlan regularly said, making what was happening even more surreal and sad for her.

In his mind, the thought that they might never see each other again filled all his reason.

Its for the greater good. The doctor stated, smiling at Justine, who was shivering slightly. Then don worry, hell definitely be fine, he just won be able to prosper with us on this arduous journey.

She nodded in agreement.

There was no turning back from then on.

And so, those morbid thoughts disappeared, seeming to float in a sea of ​​invisible bubbles that quickly cleared her mind as she waited for Harlans purification procedure to come to an end.

When it was finally over, the operator on the other side of the room pressed several buttons on the control monitor, and the noises of gear picked up an accelerated rhythm.

Harlans ill-structured body shook slightly as the tubes and wires snaked sideways, coming non-stop out of his face and mask theyd put on his face earlier.

Even though, soon after, he was still, immobile, when the mask was also deactivated and all sounds ceased once and for all.

When removing the object from Harlans face, it was noticeable that his skin was red and marked with the support lines of the mask.

The tightness in Justines chest tightened even more, and the mental wall that kept her from trying to escape with her friend felt like it was on the verge of collapsing.

If Harlan got up now, he wouldn remember anything, including her. Justine was scared, almost to the point of panic, but she didn show it on the outside, keeping her weary, cold expression as much as possible.

Its already time, huh. Then, let us take care of the rest, please. A man in dark metallic armor spoke, clearing a space through the team in the vast room.

Of course, take your time. Replied the doctor, leaving the room together with his assistants. After all, our mission here is already completed.

Two men from the ARMY — the main source of power, in the security team —, had come to help move Harlan to the location of the shipment to the other side.

Without a hintch, both of them lifted him off the bed, as if his weight meant nothing to begin with. Then they placed him on a stretcher, without even looking at any member of the team responsible for the procedure for even a second.

Justine followed the two guys and waved at them, even though neither looked at her, as they continued walking down the long, electric-lit hallway.

As seconds ticked by, the three passed through several dimly lit rooms, arriving in front of a huge gleaming metal gate.

Who is it? Asked a voice, through a technological screen mounted on the wall beside the gate.

The tallest security guard rolled his eyes in anger and disinterest.

Opening his mouth to answer, already out of patience: We are the team that was requested to carry out the process of sending the KRL-493 code to the other side.

He huffed, wiggling his fingers to the side.

Yeah, do us a favor, and open the damn gate now Replied the other security guard.

Oh yes. The package we were waiting for today to ship, huh? Make yourself comfortable, the executives said that this mission should be carried out as soon as possible.

The transmission on screen was interrupted the moment the man uttered those words. And in front of the little girl and the two huge angry men, the gate, that appeared to be an immovable wall, emitted smoke as it split into two parts, opening.

Within seconds, the entrance was fully open, and without wasting any more time, the security guards jerked the gurney forward and quickened their pace, making it even more difficult for Justine to keep up with their pace.

That was the decrepit & gross basement.

The lowest part of the organizations facility and a cold, dark, abandoned place that was on the verge of collapse due to the countless mirror breaks scattered throughout its structure — even though there was a team responsible for handling such supernatural phenomena.

They walked unhesitatingly through countless support pillars that looked as if they were about to collapse, dust falling in heaps to the floor and smearing the place even more than before.

Justine looked around, perplexed and dominated by curiosity, even though she was sad about what would happen to her friend.

Beyond the pillars, they passed along a lot of rows of shelves with supplies boxes that were sent out periodically to help the inhabitants on the other side in their strengthening.

It was a filthy place, proving that it was no wonder that the other members of the scientific and medical team — which Justine was a part of, even at a young age — didn even like to hear mention of it.

Justine felt cold; she knew very well where this place was, and chills coursed through her body, making her arms tingle.

Harlan appeared to be suffering, given that his pupils were rolling over and over under the skin of his Caucasian eyelids. At the same instant, the boy was squirming, bumping the gurney as the group neared their final destination.

Weve arrived. The taller man, dressed in that metallic gear, spoke in a gruff tone, gesturing for his companion to help guide Harlan to the right spot. Now we just need to finish the task, and voila.

They had reached the part considered prohibited for everyone in the institution, unless the individual in question had authorization directly given by the organizations board of directors.

There resided the so much described in the books of the public library, Gate of Liberation, through which those who had been purified were sent, taking them to the desolate and barren Other Side.

Frankly, it looked more like a huge, frightening hole.

A cesspool, like an endless well, to be exact.

Fucking quest… Amid some cursing and grumbling, the men hastily led an unconscious Harlan to the edge of the hole.

His body was positioned so that it was facing towards the Liberation Gate, located below the hole.

Justine took the opportunity, the last one she would have, and faced her friend again. Perhaps they would never see each other after that.

It was most likely to happen after he was sent to the Other Side.

We
e doing the right thing, aren we, Harlan?, the scientist child asked inwardly to herself, falling into confusion over what she should believe for a second. At least, I will choose to believe… for myself and especially for you.

The men bent over slightly and lowered Harlan by the arms as far as possible, trying their best not to hurt him; then, they released him, letting the boy plummet in free fall towards the so-called Gate of Liberation.

Justine heard the sound of the air hitting the body violently, and, suddenly, a flash took over her vision for a second as the sound of the body plummeting simply disappeared.

It was over.

That tortuous and cruel process had come to an end.

Her best friend, no, her soulmate had been sent to hell, and there he would continue his life — with no special memories, other than the muscular ones from his intensive physical training and essentials like speaking, writing, and general knowledge.

Thats it… She muttered under her breath, turning around, walking away as fast as she could. Ill live up to our expectations… I will, I swear it.

A phase of Justines life had come to an end in a way she never wanted, yet the girl still had a life to lead with the organization. Harlans fate, on the other hand, was a total unknown, and would surely be sealed by now.

Now onwards, it would be every man for himself.

Nonetheless, not for so long…