A Good Way To D.A.I

Chapter 5: Lucifer's No-Man Land

I stood there watching as they set Ben's body on fire. The D.A.I. had a room reserved for performing this special cremation for the dead. They call it the "Last Service for Mankind." The walls here are fireproof, to withstand the long ceremony. The roses that were placed in Ben's hands curled and turned black as the fire licked the air. I gripped my elbows, feeling cold all of a sudden. Would this be me when I die? The escapade that me and Ethan pulled had definitely alerted the authorities.

But we had prepared well enough that they couldn't find us. Or that was what my confidence told me. Afterall, with the help of some of our friends, we disabled the cameras in the hospital. Even if one of us had been caught, it wouldn't help them if they tattled on us.

Because all the information they needed lied in my hands. Information about how they could save their loved ones.

The hard metal of my phone pressed against the soft flesh of my thigh in my jeans pocket. I've checked before. It seems that there was no signal in this place. A security measure to safeguard against intruders from leaking information, it seemed. Even when Ethan and I first entered the building, we had to be scanned as a form of security check at the reception.

Suddenly, I felt a warm and strong body behind my back. Ethan gave me a gentle push forward by the shoulders. I glanced back at him and his eyes said it all. Those warm brown eyes urged me to say my last goodbyes to Ben. Before it was too late.

Before I regret again.

The pain in my heart was overwhelming, memories of the three of us replaying in my brain like a track off the reels. Whenever Ethan and I fought over stupid things like the last slice of cake, Ben used to pull our ears and make us apologise to each other. The days where I cried halfway during lessons for no apparent reason after I found out my grandma had left the world for a better place, Ben would always bring extra tissues to classes. Ethan would always offer to buy food for the both of us during lunch break when I would lie on Ben's shoulder and blow my snot all over him. The days when we began to skip school and form our own band of rebels, planning secret riots and stealing from the rich when the first rumours of corruption surfaced.

Those were the good old days. Before things fell apart and the government began to impose strict curfews in response to the rising riots and anger of the citizens. Then came the leak. Someone spotted one or two fresh graves being overturned when the bodies were buried a few days ago. And then suddenly, there were cases of patients disappearing from hospitals without a trace.

The worst of all was the empty morgues. One day, a helper found the morgues to be hanging wide open, the metal boxes empty and gaping. From that day, chaos broke loose.

Hot tears dripped down my cheeks silently. It was different from grandma's. I was a sobbing mess when she left. But Ben was my best friend. Ben was my rock, our silent support. Always there smiling and laughing. The last decent memory I had with Ben laughing was when the three of us were eating thrift-mart sandwiches on his rooftop, talking about what we would do if we survived the next hunt. We had been living off cheap food because we were broke and our supplies from the last hunt were dwindling. We liked to give code names for the next big riot planned, and the unfortunate rich family we would break into during the chaos.

The memory surfaced like a nostalgic warm feeling. Ben was laughing at Ethan and my wishes, chortling that we were both idiotic dreamers. Ethan's face was red with annoyance and embarrassment. Two pinpricks of color were on my cheeks as I hissed at Ben to tell us his. But he stopped laughing and smiled ruefully. "My dream? It's to always be with you guys no matter what."

I'm numb because the world has taken away the very beautiful soul who made it more bearable in the first place.

The next thing I knew, Ben was bedridden because he caught a disease that made his muscles atrophy. I watched his peaceful serene face as the fire engulfed Ben's body. A tangible vessel that once held his beautiful soul.