We lost another soldier today. He became one of those despicable creatures of damnation. I remember the face of terror & agony on his face when he lost his humanity & became a damned soul. My comrades hesitated a few seconds too many to kill him on the spot. So I took it upon my own hands to save us from the demon he was and fired my gun at him, watching him limp down to the ground. A once kind family man now a worthless monster. I would feel pitiful but it's easier to overindulge in your sin than it seems. I have seen many people combust into damned souls, my parents included. He would've killed us all if I didn't shoot. He lost all of his humanity and became a bloodthirsty fiend. The blood stained ground that was beneath his body is engraved into my brain, as a reminder of what could happen to me.
I felt a tap on my shoulder that jerked me out of my tragic day dream. It was my comrade trying to get my attention. I stare directly at his casket as his parents weep. It's a closed casket service of course, his family didn't need to see the monster he became. I see that his son is confused, lost like a dog without an owner. Abandoned by his father through his acts of self-greed. He didn't last long out on the field. His selfishness & greed for life was his tragic end. His son began to tug on his mother's sleeve as she cries for us all. Her tears flooding the room. His casket starts to be lowered into the ground as our commander throws our fallen soldier's hat into the hole with his casket. "My sin please spare my soul, and guide him through death" I mumble to myself throwing a flower and a casino chip with his casket. I never learned how to read and write so I pray that his final written goodbyes are pleasant ones.
We all are walking to the room next door for a meal to honor him. Everyone was silent, it was deafening with how quiet it was. His father had a look of anger while his mothers was a look of disbelief. His father kept giving me a look of hatred, it's not surprising though, I am the one who did technically kill his son. Me killing him was the least painful end he could've experienced. I take a deep breath to hide my feelings of sorrow. I see his wife taking steps near me hesitantly. I rub my cybernetic eye when she approaches me. Her lips quiver when she tries to speak. "Why did you shoot.?" She asks me in a voice desperate for answers. "You could've saved him!" she yells at me, her voice only getting louder. Everyone around us stares at her, "Has she gone mad?"someone in the crowd asks themself. Muffled whispers spread like wildfire in the room. Her tears fall off her face like a tortured waterfall.
She gives me a look of anger, "How can you be so stoic!?" she shouts at me. "You killed him, you killed my husband!" she finishes. I sigh as I give her a quick prayer "I'm truly sorry, may our sin guide you through this loss." as I walk away. I take a cigarette out of my uniform pocket, holding it between my lips to light it. The cold breeze hits me in the face when I exit the building. I take a puff inhaling the smoke to take my mind off of this death. Even the strongest of people can lose touch of themselves and become damned.
I always think back to the day I almost died. I was only a child, and I saw my parents get murdered to save my life. With what I have seen on the field, death was the most peaceful outcome that we all could have experienced. I want to love them in my memories but they were never around in my life. Throwing away their cash for a quick rush in a gamble, drowning in debt towards the end of their lives. I joined the project as a thanks to the soldier that saved me from my own death. I was only a child when I gave up my life to fight for this world, saving it from the demons that walk it.
The cigarette smoke enters my nose, watching the neon lights here in the Greed district. The lit cigarette in my hand is the only thing keeping me warm, a tear rolls down my human eye. I joined the project at the age of 18 when I saw myself as human. Now I don't know my age, and left behind everything from my life before this ongoing war.
Looking up at the sky, watching the stars to find comfort in my actions. I will continue to fight for this world, even if it's the death of me.
YOU ARE READING
The Hell We Call Home
General Fiction"The Hell we call home" is a series of short stories told by many different characters perspectives, that take place in a cyberpunk post-apocalyptic world where sin is your God. Tyrant overlords, cults, killers, and demons run loose. The apocalypse...
