"Having fun are we Turner?"
He raised an eyebrow as he stared at me with a questionable and slightly disturbed look. And in that moment, I was brought back. Back to the hell I called reality.
I blinked, no longer in my own little world and was now standing still. Thomas stared expectantly and I returned his stare with a salute.
This shocked him but I didn't care. I was already in an uncomfortable situation.
"Just doing my work, sir," I told him. I had forced out the word 'sir' and it felt weird as it left my tongue. I dropped the salute and immediately wanted to take back the unnecessary suffix I added.
He stared down at the mess of Demolishers with a thoughtful expression. "Uh huh."
I watched his actions carefully and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "So what are you doing here? Where are your troops?"
He turned his attention back to me again. "I actually left to find you. Quite fortunate actually that it didn't take me that long. I saw you and your...little activity from afar."
I didn't say anything and merely waited for him to continue his explanation.
"You see, there's a level three demolisher lurking around this very place and well, I couldn't let my troops know so I made a decision to deal with it myself. That's where you now come in."
I raised an eyebrow. "You want me to fight a level three Demolisher?"
Thomas shook his head. "No. I need you to also lead my troops once you see them. They're quite busy at the moment but you'll be able to find them."
He did it again.
He actually did it again.
Thomas didn't even say anything else and just took off straight ahead. I glared at him while watching him run.
Every. Single. Damn. Time. He treated me like a child and I was expected to abide to his every command. He thought I would just do whatever he said because of authority.
Oh how I hated authority.
I hated how authority limited freedom to those who deserved it more than they did. And what I hated most of all is being treated as an inferior.
All our life, we lived listening to different people giving orders. Whether it was your parent, teacher, boss or whoever it may have been, we were forced to always follow their orders because that's right: authority.
Well I was sick of it. Someone needed to teach tell that guy to get his head out of his ass or dealing with a level three Demolisher would be the least of his problems.
"Sucks doesn't it?"
I jumped up in surprise and sharply turned around, readily holding my gun. The voice shocked me enough to forget about my rant.
When I saw who it was, I actually calmed down rather than pulling the trigger. It had been some time since I saw those auburn eyes so to meet them again, made me curious.
Mari's smile never seemed to fade. She was so relaxed and I noticed that her auburn eyes changed to her Demolisher eyes. She also let some of her claws come out.
I frowned, not used to seeing her in her Demolisher-like state. "Why aren't you using your human form?" I questioned.
"Why bother? I'm in the middle of a war so I might as support my kind," she answered.
"But you might get killed," I argued.
"And you care." It wasn't a question but a statement.
I scoffed. "I don't."
Her smile expanded. "Keep telling yourself that. Nice suit by the way. Doesn't quite match your personality though."
I rolled my eyes. "Why are you here besides stalking my every movement?"
"I'm kind of in a sticky situation," she answered, the smile still on her face.
I huffed. "What? Got caught?"
She nodded and I blinked, raising my eyebrows.
"Your friend who just left has been on my tail ever since," she explained.
"He's not my friend," I snapped.
Mari gave me a nod. "Good. He's annoying me so I need you to take him out."
I gave her a strange look. "Take him out? As in...?"
"Kill him. Get rid of his presence altogether," was her answer.
I stared in awe at what she had just requested I should do, causing me to stare at her as if she just exploded in front of my face.
"I know you have psychological problems but isn't that too far?" I questioned.
"I have psychological problems?" she mused.
"Alright I get it but I'm not going to kill a human being," I told her.
"Why not? It's so easy for you to kill a Demolisher but not a human? Why is that? Oh don't tell me, we're obviously just a bunch of soulless beasts am I correct?" she countered.
I didn't answer because I couldn't. She was right in that sense. I did find it easier to harm a Demolisher than a human. And why? Because I still had a moral conscience that told me it was okay because I was saving my country.
I widened my eyes. At my new discovery. That was what had been holding me back this entire time.
The difference between Mari and I was that she didn't have a morale. That was it. Besides that, we were practically the same.
Just because she looked differently didn't change the fact that she was once human. She was just like me before. She was born a human and grew up a human. After her transformation, she lost the moral that made her human.
With no moral, she could do anything she wanted without having to worry about consequences and how it would affect people. No wonder she was so bold.
I then envied her right there and then.
I, on the other hand, had been trying to balance my newfound madness with my moral code just so that people wouldn't see me differently. I didn't want to be viewed the same way as Demolishers. But as I stood in front of the very same Demolisher, I realised that how people saw me didn't matter anymore.
It was because nobody was perfect.
I wasn't perfect, TSN sure weren't perfect and even those close to me weren't perfect.
Thomas showed me that even if you try to do everything right and work for the right side, the way they treat you will never change because of their incompetence and selfishness.
"Sebastian! Hold her still!"
My head snapped in the far direction and saw a figure running towards us.
Thomas.
Mari sent a quick glare towards him and I stood, not knowing what to do.
This was the first time I was in a situation where Mari had been discovered by another human other than myself.
It all happened so fast.
Thomas grew nearer and started firing bullets at Mari. She dodged them successfully and stood behind me.
"This is your chance Sebastian," she spoke. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was in desperate need.
I have never heard her use such a tone. She was always so calm and collected, with a plan every step of the way. But now...Now she didn't know what to do.
I stared at Thomas with no emotion as he came closer.
"Don't look at us any differently, please," she pleaded. She actually said please.
"Don't hold back who you really are anymore. He's a bad guy isn't he? Killing him is better than killing my people who did nothing after all."
I gasped, my mind going haywire and my breathing had increased.
This was it. I only had two options: Kill Thomas or sacrifice Mari.
She was wrong about him being a bad guy. He really wasn't. Sure, he may have been bossy and deceptive but that was only because he had to be. He was the first in command after all. He was just doing his job and following orders because...
He was just human.
Thomas stood just a few feet away from me and gave me a smile of appreciation.
I raised my gun. "No need. I'll deal with the issue."
Thomas, for once, actually listened to me. He lowered his gun.
"Great job Sebastian. You found the-"