Art Knights Dystopia

Betrayal

We finally arrived at our destination, the Anti-Knight's HQ. This was it. All of our preparation was leading up to this moment. This was the start of our new life. As we began to file out of the vehicle, I looked over at Nat with a smile, "It's crazy how much things can change in the span of two weeks, huh?" He returned my smile, "Yeah, I know right? I guess that proves that there's no telling what the future holds in store for us." We both stared in silence at the HQ, getting lost in the moment until Nat firmly patted me on the back, "Okay enough of this," he chuckled, "let's go meet up with the others."
It looked quite advanced in technology, its modern buildings contrasted with the vibrant lime green hue of the plants surrounding the city. Everyone cheered as we left the car, hurrying over to the wooden gates of the city, the ends were sharpened, preventing anyone from crossing without permission. Choco's high pitched voice called out, "Helllloooo? Is anyone there?" As soon as she said that, a loud sound, similar to that of a car's engine sounded, and then the gates raised, exposing the HQ of the Anti-Knights. A woman's voice called out, "Welcome to the HQ, would you like a tour?" I jumped, startled by the loud booming voice. We accepted the tour, well most of us anyways, Jas and Siri dashed off saying they had to take care of some business, I wonder where? My questions were soon answered as I caught a glimpse of Jas's long flowing white hair in the corner of my eye. Departing from the tour guide, I cautiously followed Jas, careful not to attract any attention towards myself. I halted, almost falling backwards, as Jas came to an abrupt stop in the clearing of a forest a little off from the HQ. I ducked into a prickly bush as the sound of leaves crunching below heavy boots grew closer to me. Identifying the boots as Siri's, I held in my breath, my consciousness getting the best of me. This was so wrong, I should go and respect their privacy. But... something in my gut says that I should stay and eavesdrop, as much as I trusted them, something always seemed a little off concerning those two. I settled into a more comfortable position, cupping my hands around my mouth in attempt to conceal and noises, hoping to hear something. It was silent, completely silent, I was about to give up until I heard Siri's hushed voice, "May I speak with President Arix please?" There was a short pause before I heard a smooth deep voice, "Lady Noire, how is it going? Is Lady Blanche accompanying you? If so please hand over the phone." His voice was elegant and composed, I peeped from the corner of the bush, just in time to witness Siri, or should I say Noire? Chucking the phone in a furious movement, I was almost positive that no ordinary being could've catched that. I was proven wrong when Jas gracefully caught the phone with one swift swipe of the arm. It seems that the voices got lower, to the point where I could no longer identify the words being said. Shock and terror ran through my body, leaving goosebumps along my forearms. I must have heard wrong...there's no way they could possibly be part of the AK... could they? But the Lady Noire and Lady Blanche that Len described were over 50-60 years old. They looked like they were still in their prime, maybe even younger than me! Although now that I think back to it, they have been acting strangely lately now that we arrived at the Anti-Knights HQ, suspicious almost. Especially with Siri's eerie robotic voice, and the way they fought at the cafeteria... Almost like they were built to fight in hand to hand combat, in combination with their inhuman strength. Heck, now that I think about it, Jas is probably short for Jasmine while Siri is just Iris spelled backwards... How did I not make this connection earlier? Perhaps I may have been too trusting to investigate my suspicions. Since I had solid evidence now, I should go confront them before I inform the group of anything, just in case this might have been a huge misunderstanding on my part. My reasoning told me to inform the group and ask for backup, but another part of me wanted to believe them, hoping that everything I heard was a lie, a joke. Siri liked to prank people, didn't she? The sound of rustling leaves interrupted my thoughts, indicating that they were leaving. Getting up from my former squatting position, I began to stand up, almost falling in the process due to my feet falling asleep halfway through their conversation. Ignoring the numbing pain that resided in my feet, I began to trail after Jas and Siri. Eventually stopping at an abandoned, broken down building. By the looks of it, the building seemed to have at least ten floors before it got destroyed. The stairs creaked underneath my careful, delicate footsteps, trying to avoid falling before I even got the chance to confront Siri and Jas. Finally making my way onto the same floor that they had disappeared into, I halted in front of a worn down wooden door. I could hear small whimpers coming from the other side of the door, worried for whomever it was, I decided to storm into the room. Before I even took a step, a pair of slender, dainty hands covered my eyes, a soft, smooth, airy voice cooed into my ear, "Ah! So you're the naughty one who's been following us around, huh?" They giggled, "Guess who?" As those words were uttered, her hands opened, I suddenly found myself on the other side of the wooden door. I shielded my eyes to let them adjust and focus on the scene before me. A hurricane of different emotions churned in my head as I witnessed a young girl with brown hair laying on the hard concrete ground, her right arm and left leg dislocated at the joints, eliminating her ability to fight back. "Choco...?" I stared in disbelief. Laughter erupted from behind as Jas stepped in front of me to make herself visible, a creepy grin spread across her face, "No, silly! It's me, Jas!" Choco looked pitiful, laying in a puddle of her own tears, her mangled body limp, as if she were a rag doll carelessly tossed away by a toddler. Her puffy red eyes met mine and widened in surprise. Making panicked, muffled noises, she flailed about like a fish out of water, struggling to speak behind her taped mouth. Seeing red, I furiously searched the room and locked eyes with the culprit, it didn't surprise me when I locked eyes with the empty and hollow ones of Siri's, after all, she seemed like she was the only one capable of doing such a felony. Unable to sound confident and hold my ground, I stuttered, "Wh-wha.. what... have you...?" Still in the state of shock, I felt my mind go blank from the scene that laid before me. I snapped out of it and focused as a sharp monotone voice echoed throughout the empty building, "Surprise!" The voice taunted me, mocking me and my naivety. Finally finding my voice, I began in a frenzy with a hoarse voice, "WHAT DID YOU DO?! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!" Anger arose in me causing my volume to raise, but as soon as my eyes met those of Jas's, my voice deflated as fast as it rose, "I-I don't understand...I thought...I thought we were friends?...Have you forgotten all the jokes, all the fun times we had together? Even if it was short lived, did you guys care at all? Feel anything? Was it all an act?..." I trailed off into a spiral of realizations, my voice growing quieter each sentence. Unable to meet the gaze of the traitors, I stared down, zoning out as the sounds of loud explosions went off in the distance... "The camp!" I snapped back into reality. Wait that means...
Before I got to finish my thought, a low, hoarse, whimper came from the corner of the room, "Sa...sa...save...m...me..." I shot up immediately, realizing that Choco was still crumpled on the filthy floor. Noire tauntingly stood over her, she had cut the tape over Choco's mouth. "Yes, Noki... You heard her right? Save her." There were too many things occurring at once, a throbbing headache made its way into my skull. Despite the pain I was in, I reached over for Choco, almost within reach before a freezing hand grasped my arm, it didn't feel like the normal warm and smooth texture of human skin against my forearm. Instead, the texture of cold metal wires wrapped around chunks of metal coated in blood greeted me, "Did you think it was going to be that easy?" The grip on my arm tighten as I felt my bones slowly getting crushed under the sheer, mechanical, strength of Siri. Helplessly, I began to call out for help, hoping that maybe Jas will have a change of heart, "Jas, Siri, why are you doing this? Come on, turn around. We'll forgive you, just please save us..." I pleaded desperately. Jas spoke in a chilling, emotionless tone, "You shall refer to me as Lady Blanche!" She demanded, losing the softness and airy tone of her voice from before. Noire snickered in the background before speaking, "Do you really think Blanche, or should I say Jas, will abandon her only family member for 50 years, to help you? Ahahaha! The only person that can help you, is yourself. You're alone in this, so what's your choice? Spare Choco and join us or sacrifice your dear friend to spare yourself?" I sneered at her, "She was your friend too! Or have you already forgotten?" All of the sudden mechanical laughter drowned the silence, "AHAHAHAHAHA, AHAHA! Oh honey, I don't need friends, they are burdens, vulnerabilities, who would ever consider having one?" Her response shocked me, how could someone possibly be so ruthless and hollow. I sighed in defeat, "Fine take me, do anything you want, just don't hurt Choco..." My voice was growing weaker as my energy slowly drained away. As I began to lose consciousness, I felt a strong force bending my knees forward and two snaps were heard, similar to the sound of thick branches snapping in half. Unable to feel, my vision slowly faded into the obsidian abyss.