Terminal

Chapter 13

I have a weird taste of music.

I lay on my bed, eyes closed, listening to some classical music streaming through my headphones. I wasn't expecting Ren to be so harsh, nonetheless blame me for Orion's death. Yet I still feel a touch of guilt for some reason. Doubt hovers at the back of my mind, and I shake my head. The past's the past. I can't change anything about it. A knock sounds at the door.

"It's me, Hattori."

"Door's unlocked." He lets himself in, and looks at me.

"I heard you talked to Ren."

"Yeah. Didn't end up as well as I hoped. Ya know, I was expecting some kind of warm welcome thingy but that didn't really happen now did it." I sigh. "Ren blames me for Orion's death. More specifically, not saving him."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Then why does it feel that way?" I can't help but pretend to conduct the orchestra playing in my ears. I partially ignored Hattori too.

"-could had let other people come with him, but he didn't."

"Anyways, I've been wanting to ask this, but have you guys heard of a plague going around?"

"Uh huh. Project Black Saturn."

"What?"

"Yeah. Ren thought in order to show the world how we weren't weak, he would release a thingy to say, 'Hey, we're super powerful and stuff'." I look at Hattori with some shock and disgust.

"Hattori, do you even know what the plague has done?"

"I know what it's supposed to do." He shrugs. I shake my head.

"It's disturbing. People... they've just become animals." The image burns in my mind, still relatively fresh, and I blink a couple times, trying to get it out of my head.

"Well, it's supposed to be done here soon."

"I sure hope so." I sigh. "It's not the same."

"What's not the same?"

"Ren. I thought he would be similar to Orion. He's a madman."

"You know he killed the president, right?" I was speechless.

"...What?"

"Uh huh."

"Holy smokes..." Silence enveloped us. "Hattori..."

"Yeah?"

"Can I just have some time alone, to like... ya know," I wave my hands around, "to think about all this?"

"Oh sure." He waves at me, and leaves the room. I shut my music off and lay in the silence. Ren has assassinated the president, and to make himself more powerful, had released a plague that was affecting millions. As much as I had loved Orion in the past, there was no possible way for me to get used to Ren. He doesn't know when to stop. I clench my hand into a fist, and slowly relaxed my hand. I don't know what to do.