System Nullification

Chapter 16

 The disk floated up a few inches above the bench, and the edges and designs on the disk glowed purple. A small screen popped up, and Will tapped the second audio file. "Pfft," a guy's voice said. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

 Will gasped for a bit, and it looked like he was about to cry. This was the first time in two years he had heard Anderson's voice. "So Will said to use this when I was doing something different with my life by myself, and, well, that's exactly what I'm doing right now. I've been assigned to kill a person that has apparently hurt others, and I don't even know why, but whatever, at least I brought everything I need," Anderson's voice played, and the sound of leaves crunching was heard. "Okay, here I go. Gotta get into position..."

 We heard a gunshot, and Anderson's voice continued speaking, and we could hear more crunching leaves. "Damn, did that not hit his foot? Okay, hold on... shit, he saw me. Okay, I'm good now. I'll have to try to stab him. Or shoot him up close. He seems to have really sharp instincts. Before I do this... thanks Will."

 Anderson went silent for a moment, then the crunching leaves sound got faster. We heard a gunshot, a gasp, and then panting. "I just did that..." Cameron's voice whispered, then there were some tapping background noises and the recording stopped.

 I felt a sharp lump in my throat and a very upsetting feeling in myself. I believed that this emotion is known as "sympathy." Sympathy for Cameron's actions, sympathy for the fact that Will lost his best friend, and especially sympathy for Anderson. Sympathy for Anderson because the moment he got something good in his life, he died. Sympathy for Will because the moment he got something good in his life, he lost it and wasn't able to do anything about it. "It's all my fault," Will said. "I shouldn't feel like it's my fault but I feel like it is my fault."

 "Will," I said. "It's NOT your fault. I don't even understand why you think it's your fault. It was nobody's fault. Life is a bitch. It made Anderson struggle for life, and he struggled so much that he grabbed one last resort and it killed him."

 "But..." Will choked. "I feel like... I feel like I should've stopped him that night. Or maybe I should've told him straight up to leave London. Or maybe I should've ignored the sight of him. Or maybe I should've ignored him when he told me to stop. Why did I even stop? It's not like I trusted him the moment I met him. I don't understand... I don't understand any of this."

 "Will, Iris is right," Jackson said, hugging Will. "Life's just being a bitch. None of this is your fault. Everyone loses something at one point."

 I joined the hug, then Zephyr did. When Zephyr joined into the hug, he said, "Life is really unfair. Here's exactly the kind of thing it expects from us. We have to gain things in this world, only to lose what you gain."

 "You know..." I began. "The important thing in life is knowing that once you lose things, everything will be okay as long as you don't lose yourself. To lose things in this world, but not to lose to the world. Because if you don't lose yourself, you'll always know that even though you've gained a lot and lost a lot, it will never mean you've lost everything."

 I had no idea how I was able to say these things. Maybe it's because I lost freedom at a pretty young age, and now all I've been doing is the same thing everyday, because it makes me feel like I'm doing something in life. "Thanks guys," Will sniffled. "It's horrible knowing that this is the last time I'll hear Anderson's voice... unless I have the guts to play all of the recording disks we had."

 Will turned off the recording disk, and we all sat in the dark, silent. We didn't notice Cameron appearing behind us until he said, "Hey."

 We were all still silent until Cameron said, "I'm an idiot. I should have just run away."