Re:Birth

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'For as long as I can remember, he was always a.... Quiet child.' 

An image silhouette of a child appears, one adorned in a long sleeved gray sweater, rolled up gray-black shorts, accompanied with gray knee socks and black boots. 

'Quiet, and yet obedient.' 

The person in question then thought to themselves for a moment, as they remembered the eyes of this particular child. 

'Still, there was a pool of resentment hidden in the depths of his eyes.' 

........

'So I stopped looking his way.' 

.........

'...And before I even knew it, that child stopped looking back, leaving everything except what he needed behind.' 

●~~~~~~~~○

Sirens sound, along with the account of multiple footsteps in every direction plausible.

"INTRUDERS!"

All I could do for the moment, is temporarily hide, collect myself.

Hearing the warning tiks of the Health collar, I grasp the front of my shirt, my tie in the process.

I couldn't even care for the blood falling from my lips, or the bloodied bandage falling from my right wrist.

.... I just needed one breath. 

Immediately feeling a rise within my throat, I instinctively raised my left hand over my throat to try to cease the coughing fit that was occurring.

Pulling said hand away, all I saw was red, before seeing a mangled, burned hand grasp my very own and cleaned it with the bandage from his own body before releasing me to place my hand on the wall as a brace of sorts. 

Using my right to wipe the blood from my lips, I glanced at the darkened hallway before this man and I with sorrowful, regret within my very own eyes; his filled with worry, anger, fear.

○~~~~~~~~~~~~~●

'Wouldn't it be great if life had a rewind button.'

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With both the support of the wall, and the mangled, burned, barely bandaged man beside me, we continued until passing an entrance that led us to a cylinder, glass tube, wire protruding from both top, as well bottom, adorned on it a black plaque. 

Stealing a glance to the man on my right, I watched his left fist clench, his burned lips quivering at the sight of the sparking, red luminescent artifact placed overtop of the glass container.

○~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~●

'I made a lot of mistakes, and came to regret many things.'

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...........

"We found you."

Walking closer, the man slowly staggering behind me, I look closer into the container.

Waterlogged, black hair shadowing his eyes, along with the breathing mask that kept him unconscious, a horrid gray body suit with red vials injected into his collarbone, wrist shackles adorned with a chain that connects to the brace around his neck that had wires and tubes attached from the back.

What really made me regret my past decisions was watching a shadow appear with him from behind, wrapping its arms around him, as if it was trying to protect him.

I staggered to the tube and leaned against it, not knowing that the man placed his right palm against the glass, as I placed the side of my left fist against it as well. 

"Hang on, we're getting you both out."

ISN'T IT A BIT TOO LATE?

                       ISN'T IT A BIT TOO LATE?

        ISN'T IT A BIT TOO LATE?

                                                                                       ISN'T IT A BIT TOO LATE?

                                      ISN'T IT A BIT TOO LATE?

            ISN'T IT A BIT TOO LATE?

I heard my necklace give off the warning sound, before I immediately placed my left fist over my mouth to prevent the splatter of blood that came up when I coughed it up.

"NOAH!!" 

Immediately the man was right beside me, assisting in keeping me up right, as I placed my right hand flat upon the glass, hearing the ticks of my collar beep more frantically.

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'But the thing I regret most of all...'

●~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~○

The image of me holding Neo as my son clutching my scarf with a big smile on both of us, with Issac, his wife, daughter and siblings laughing, carrying on, from almost eleven years ago when we were all truly happy.....

....is the last thing I see........

... Before collapsing into Issac's arms from drowning, choking from my very own blood..... and hearing the awful ticks from around my neck..

"Forgive.. me, for my... wrongs, Issac...."