Endy- Reaching for the Missing Moon

by Jiny Lee

  I tried to do my part. Why didn't I took the serum? That was a meaningless regret. What's done is done. There was no use. All I could do was to stop them as long as I could stand on my own feet.

  Steve died first. He got his legs slashed by a soldier with a chain saw. As soon as he was down, they pushed the line even harder. Then I got tackled from the blind side. I thought I was going to die. I closed my eyes tight, but suddenly, someone removed the soldier away from me.

  'Are you alright?'

  It was Diane. She was wearing Fox's armor. I said, 'What the heck are you doing here?' She said 'Sorry I'm late. Maybe it's time I say I don't owe you anymore.'

  She helped me up with a smile.

  'Where did you learn how to fight?' I asked. She said, 'I didn't. Maybe I'm natural.' But I could see from the way she moved that the armor was helping Diane to fight like Fox.

  'What happened to Fox? Is she alright?' I asked Diane. She said, 'She's alright but she's not in a condition to fight.'

  'It's danger here, Diane. Go back inside!' I shouted. She said 'Oh yeah? So it's safe inside, huh?'

  I laughed. She was right. It wasn't safe to be inside the Sum either. And to be honest, she was moving much faster than me thanks to the serum. And I thought maybe, it'd be a better way to face the end together with Diane.

  But maybe, the goddess didn't like the way it was going to end. We heard Kimmy shouted through the radio.

  'I got a call from Nergui! He said there was another secret way to the basement in Sarny Sum! He just came out from a closet!'

  I remembered when I visited to see the Abbess Selene. I shouted on the radio, 'That fossil was hiding another passage for all that time? Wait, where had the abbess Selene gone, then?'

  'Really? Is that important now? Let the unarmed people go down first!' shouted Purple. Kimmy said she was already doing that. I told Diane that she should go, too. She said she wouldn't unless I did.

  'No! you have to hurry up! We don't have much time!' I shouted.

  'No, son. I'll stop them. Tell everyone to go.'

  It was Nergui talking to us to our heads. I looked back to the door of the Sarny Sum and I could see him slowly walking out of the building. I saw a soldier trying to shoot him but when Nergui swayed his hand, the soldier suddenly shot himself. Our feet were frozen on the ground by what we just saw. He swayed his hands a few more times and the soldiers started to shoot themselves one by one.

  'I can't hold them back like this forever. Get inside!'

  His voice filled up our heads. Everyone began to move in to the building. I told Diane to go inside and told her I'd follow her. And I looked for Purple. I shouted his name but he didn't answer. I found him lying on the floor. He wasn't moving. I ran inside the Sarny Sum after I checked everyone got in.

  The soldiers weren't moving any further. I don't know what Nergui was doing, but it looked like he was stopping their bodies with his power. I could see his hands crumbling slowly as if they were turning into ashes. He bought us enough time to get away.

  There was fireplace in the Abbess's chamber and that was the secret passage leading directly to the basement. The remaining people all went into it. Inside the fireplace was a huge slide tunnel straight down to the basement.

  When everyone else safely went down, only Diane and me were left in the room. I told her to go down first. She said 'Let's get in together.' So I held her hand and was about to step inside the closet together. But then I heard Nergui's last shout.

  'Conceal the passage!'

  And I heard a multiple gun fire right after that. I instinctively pushed Diane into the closet and pulled every safety pin of the grenades hanging on my jacket.

  36

  The next time I woke up, I found myself tied up in a small room. I heard some people talking in front of me but I couldn't fully open my eyes to see them.

  'He's negative, sir. He doesn't show any symptoms of the reported genetic mutation in his body.'

  'You mean he's not taken that serum?'

  'Unfortunately, yes, sir.'

  'He's waking up. Put more anesthetics and call me when the procedure is done.'

  What procedure? What the hell are you trying to do with my body? Who the fuck are you? None of these words came out from my mouth. Feeling my conscious falling deeply into an abyss, I fell asleep again.

  I had a dream again. It had been a while since I last saw Diane in a dream. I don't know what I said in the dream. Everything is so blur and unclear. Maybe it was the drug. But one thing was clear. She told me we'd meet again. We'd meet again. We'd meet again... She kept telling me that over and over.

  'Wake up.'

  I woke up to a cold water poured on my face. I could see Jacques and Berite with a man who looked like someone in charge of all the soldiers.

  'Jacques, you son of a bitch. You betrayed us!' I shouted. He laughed and said, 'Betrayed? I? No, that's not it. You betrayed us. You knew everything but you chose to move us out of the building, didn't you?'

  'No I didn't. I was ...'

  'Oh please, speak no further. You knew what the serum would do to us but you only chose to save your people. What did you think our respond would be? Getting killed or exiled without a single complaint?' said Jacques.

  'How can you say that! You said you wanted to make this building free and equal? Without fear and violence? Wasn't it you who said that?' I shouted.

  'Yes, I said it. But I said I wanted to make this building free and equal for the people! Not the mutants you have become! And you're the ones who brought the inequality to the building first!'

  It wasn't any use talking with him any further. Then the man next to him interrupted him.

  'That's enough. Mr. Endy. I'm Colonel Richard Thomson and I'm in charge of the 2nd Brigade Armored Combat Team. As far as I know, you and your friends have a particular serum that works on your body. Is that correct?'

  He reminded me of Daug, in a way that he looked pretty damn charismatic in leading people. It was not that he looked kind enough to me, though.

  Geez, I surely lack social experiences. Why do I always end up thinking of Daug whenever I see someone with that characteristic?

  I didn't answer to his question. Then he slightly nodded to a soldier beside me. I didn't have to make a guess about what that sign meant. A strong blow from the soldier went right to my face.

  'Actually, you didn't have to answer that question, since I already knew about the serum. Now, I'm going to give you another question and also, you don't have to answer it either. Is it true that the serum works for only you, defected dwellings of the building but it works against us, normal human beings?'

  I didn't answer to that question, either. 'What the heck is this man trying to do with me?' I thought. Then he nodded to the soldier again.

  'For goddess' sake!'

  Another blow came right straight in the middle of my face and I couldn't help but shout it out.

  'So, it was true that you defected ones find goddess when you are in trouble. Interesting. Now, boy, I'm asking you the next question. And this time, you'll have to choose your words very carefully.'

  'I'm not telling you anything,' I said.

  'I didn't ask you the question yet, tough guy. Where are the people who escaped?'

  He leaned toward me and stared at my face quite intensely.

  'I told you I'm not telling you anything,' I repeated myself.

  Then he started to laugh out loud again.

  'Bravo! Excellent! I'm beginning to like you Mr. Endy. You see, I wish I had a man like you in my team. Loyalty. Unquestioning loyalty to the company is what most of the people lack these days. I'm really beginning to like you my friend. But here's the sad news. I already know they are in the basement. How many floors, Mr. Jacques? Yes, thirteen floors beneath the ground floor. But my question is, where is the passage? We've search every place in your tiny temple but we couldn't. And you know why? Obviously, because you blow up the fucking place with yourself!'

  I was r
elieved. It was the right decision to call. If I mindlessly followed Diane through the passage, they would've followed me and killed all of us.

  'Well, I'm tremendously sorry for your inconvenience Colonel Frank Richard Thomson.' I mockingly mimicked his way of speaking.

  'It doesn't matter Mr. Endy, though, because even though we're having a slightly hard time looking for the secret passage from the basement, we know that there's another way. I know there are multiple doors hidden on the walls and the columns of the building,' he said. Then Bertie came forward and whispered in his ear. I couldn't hear what he said, but I could see that it wasn't a good news for him, by the way his face turned red.

  'Well, even though you slyly blew up all the elevators and passages, we could just dig down a new way down. It would take some time, though.'

  I figured out why Nergui took a little time before he came up again. He must have blown up the elevator passages.

  'Good luck with that. It would take ages to dig a hole deep down there,' I said.

  'Well, yes, that would be the last thing I would choose to do. I won't be easy to dig a hole that deep. There's a safety issue to care about, too. I don't want to see this building crumble down and destroy everything nearby. But fortunately, there's no need to. In fact we've found the radio frequency that you were using to communicate. What do you think they will do if I tell them that you're alive?' said Colonel, with a disgusting grin on his face.

  'They won't listen to you. You won't find them,' I said.

  'Oh, Mr. Now you're bluffing. I tremendously regret to inform you this but as a matter of fact, I already did. Your dearly beloved friend, what was her name again? Oh, Diane, what a lovely name. Did you know that Diane was originally the name of the goddess of the moon? She replied on the radio that she'd kill me if I did anything to you, Mr. Endy. My friend! I think you and I have a lot more in common than I'd thought. You see, I also personally dig on a girl that hot. If you know what I'm saying,' he said.

  'What did you say to her! I'm gonna kill you. What did you say to her!' I shouted.

  'Relax, my buddy, relax! I didn't say much. See, we don't care about whether your people escaped, survived, or whether they are going to live the rest of their lives on that filthy dark underground or what so ever! Maybe, that's just where they belonged from the first place. What I am interested in is the serum. The bacteria that makes you a super human being. I saw a few of your soldiers were moving with an incredible speed, and that agility! That monstrous strength! I know that isn't just a product of your so-called Corsac armor. I want that. I want to know how Nergui was able to live this long and how he made that magic potion.'

  'You know him?' I asked.

  'Oh, come on! It feels like I'm having a conversation with a primate! Of course I know him. He's the founder of the city itself! How could a city like this possibly be built in the middle of a barren desert! Didn't you learn anything from your history lesson when you were in school? I'm sorry boy, but the world is much bigger than you've ever imagined it would be,' he said.

  'Then go back to your much bigger world,' I said.

  'So, back to where I was, I told your loving friend that if she turned herself up from the basement, I'll let you go and let all the people live in their happy land down there.'

  'What did she say?' I asked.

  'She said she would. What a silly girl. She implied that there was another hidden passage still intact, not even knowing she just did. There seems to be another way to the roof top directly from where she is. I'd only had unidentified testimonies from the citizens that they have seen an external elevator coming up and down by the side of the building, and she thankfully confirmed it. How can you dwellings be so naive? You have to doubt everything first to live in this tough world! So, We will see her on the roof in ... six hours,' he answered after checking his watch.

  'You're lying. I don't believe you,' I said.

  'It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, my friend. What matters is that she would come up like a knight in a shining armor riding the magic elevator or whatever as if she's riding a charming white horse to save you damsel in distress. Now, soldiers. help this poor limbless man up. He'll need a hand,' He mockingly said. I then realized that I'd lost my arms and legs.

  After that, they threw me on this roof top like throwing away some garbage. If Diane doesn't show up until the sun comes up, I'll soon be dead. I should've been dead by that explosion. The corsac armor didn't save my life, but faced me to a worse death.

  ...

  I can see the dawning light now from the horizon far away from eastern sky. The full moon is slowly fading by the rising of the sun. I've never been a faithful believer of the goddess, but I can't help but pray to her that please, don't let Diane come up to save me. But in some part of my heart, I wish to see her face just one more time before I go.

  You know, when the moon or the sun is touching the horizon to either come in or out, you can actually see how big it is and how fast it is moving. I feel like I'm seeing one right now. I feel like I can see the tiny tip of the sun emerging his way out from the earth like a seed sprouting out of the ground. To some, I think, it would be a promise of a new day and a new life. But to some, it is just nothing but a death sentence. In my case, I think it is the latter. But my feeling keeps telling me that it could be otherwise. A meaningless hope, it must be.

  I've never seen a sun coming out of the earth before. Neither have I seen the sun anywhere it is in my life anyway. So it is the first time for me to see the sun directly with my own eyes. Will it hurt? They say that the eyes are the first to burn since it's the most vulnerable part of our body. After that, you feel like your mouth is full of molten lava. I also heard that you won't be able to go easily because the pain will keep you from passing out.

  I'm feeling an unimaginable amount of fear of the pain ahead but at the same time, I feel pretty relieved by the fact that Diane hasn't come up. I'm not afraid of death itself. I'm just feared how painful it could be and how long it would go on before I die. But none can be compared to my fear of losing Diane.

  Epilogue

  Now the sun is almost up. It's a bit clouded but I can see it's tail is finally coming out from the mountain. I turn my head to see the moon. It almost set on the opposite direction from the coming sun, as if it's running away from it, or just making a way for it.

  Would things have changed if I listened to her when she said let's go down together? or when she told me to join the rebel the night before the Chigan Sar? How can I be sure? So much things have happened. There's no use in regretting while looking back on everything in a hind sight. I just did what I thought was the best at every moment in my life. If this is how it is going to be, I should be happy with this. I'm not happy with this, to be honest, but more or less satisfied with this. At least, I kept one promise that I made with Diane. I saved her. Even though I'm going to die here, she'll still live on.

  It's a pity that I can't see her face forever but that's okay with me. She will remember me. The remaining people will remember me, and who knows? I might become one of the heroes in a myth or a fairy tale. Just like the shepherd boy on that lonely hill top. I'm closing my eyes under my goddess's watch on this lonely roof top. I look at the moon for one last time. My goddess. My Diane.

  The sun finally escaped the hold of the giant mountain. I can feel its merciless rays trying to penetrate my body. I didn't turn my head away from it. I stared at it like I'm staring at my ultimate enemy. My eyes begin to hurt and I feel like it's blinding me. But I don't stop looking at it directly with my naked eyes. It is my final resistance to say, 'I'm not giving in to my destiny. It is my final struggle. I'd go, but I'd not go gentle. Some say that you can't escape your destiny and I'm not saying that they are wrong. I'm facing it rather than trying to escape, and I'll struggle fiercely till the end rather than be subdued quietly. I'm all ready for it.

  I no longer feel any fear. I no longer feel any regret. But there's just one thing, there's just this o
ne thing that is running around in my head. One thing, one question that I'm looking for an answer using all my brain but can't find an answer that is convincing.

  Why the hell am I still alive?

  To be continued in Daphne: Chasing Down the Falling Sun (Endy series book 2)