The Fall of Power

Nice to meet you

Two years.

Today marks the second year since my brother's death.

I had woken up in the hospital a few weeks after the trial. Dad had broken the news to me the next day. My whole time in recovery is just a blurry spot in my memory. What did I have to recover for?

I had lost eyesight in my right eye, my chest had been torn to shreds, and there had been permanent nerve damage in my right hand. Good thing I'm left-handed, small victories I guess. I couldn't grip things like normal in that hand and my control had become limited. It didn't help that it looked like I stuck my hand in a meat shredder.

With my eye gone, my perspective of distance was completely messed up. I was supposed to graduate last year, but I had to go through all of the advanced flight training again. The teachers made sure to use my injury to show all the other trainees 'how bad the Tainted were' and 'this is why we are training you to remove them'.

The others were all in my face the first few weeks of being back; either to ask for details or to congratulate me for not only surviving but successfully persecuting a Tainted. Bullshit. I hated it. Did any of them care it was my own brother?

Well, one did.

"Graduating without me? I thought you were nice."

Speak of the devil.

"Hey Germs." I stopped walking to let him catch up.

"Don't call me that." Once he caught up I fell into his stepping pattern.

Germany was a year younger than me, but smart as hell. He used to be in the same flight group as me but the teachers felt he'd do better training to be a judge or someone along those lines. And he was. He much preferred picking someone to pieces with words than with violence.

"Well, it's not my fault you went into a new training group." I bumped his shoulder.

He grumbled something I couldn't catch.

Germany's brother had been killed in the crossfire of an attack. A Tainted had set fire to a building while trying to escape a group of Cleansers. He and his brother had been stuck in there until a Cleanser got them out. Germany's brother died later in the hospital from smoke inhalation and burns. Germany nearly joined him.

"If it makes it any better, I promise to switch to you once you graduate!"

"You better."

We were good friends. Before and after the trial. Germany helped fend off people there to bother me and I would joke that he'd be the judge I'd have handle all my cases. I plan on keeping that promise. He's good with people, even if he always looks grumpy. I trust him to make the right decisions. Of course, I can't have him assigned to me until he graduates.

"You only have a year left. It won't be long."

"I know, just promise to drop by with some cases I can solve. Keep things interesting."

"You know it won't count towards training right? It'll just be more work."

"I know that. But the things they've been giving recently are all the same. 'Person attacks another' or 'civilian claims to have been attacked, it's boring." he crosses his arms.

"Well, I can see how you'd be bored. I had to redo a whole year's worth of work." I waved my hands around in emphasis.

"I don't know how you put up with that. I would have probably yelled at everyone and been kicked out."

"I don't think you realize how close I was to doing that," I pinch my fingers together, "this close, Germany. This close."

"Let me guess, the obstacle course area was the one to overhear your wrath?"