Hand of God

ARCANE

Before anyone had time to react to what May had said, they heard footsteps approaching. The people of the valley tried to get back into formation but the revelation had messed up with their minds.

When the soldiers came in sight, both sides fired randomly except one single person who took that opportunity to run. Roger.

Roger fell to his knees and crawled out of the corridor as bullets whizzed over his head. With no particular intent, he turned right and ran.

Just when he thought he was out of danger, he was tackled from behind. Roger lost his footing and collided with the floor. He slipped away from his assailant and got up quickly.

‘Stand and fight, you coward!’

Roger was well familiar with May’s voice by now.

‘I would’ve, if I hadn’t been fighting alongside people who were trying to take me hostage!’

Realization passed across May’s face and a somber expression settled.

‘That was our back up. We weren’t too keen to do that.’

‘The crime is never the crime, the intent is.’

‘Look Roger we are not going to take you hostage. Be smart, we can’t! Your parents don’t even know you.’

‘I know that. But you were willing to keep me hostage to avoid death by the note. Maybe you won’t keep me hostage but you just might dissect me to get to know the truth. You know, it puzzles me. What was your plan before I came along, huh?!’

May stayed silent.

‘Let me shoot an arrow in the dark. It was to storm the fort and make them tell you the cure. By any means necessary.’

‘Don’t be stupid! Thousands of people’s lives depend on you! You have to save them!’

‘Stop talking as if you fucking care! You wanted the cure for your own selves. You know the resources are not enough to suffice for everyone. You just want to be one of the people who gets to enjoy them.

‘This doesn’t have to get ugly, Roger. Just…..’

With a slam, a thick metal wall fell between May and Roger leaving Roger stunned.

What was that?

‘Hello, Roger Warner.’

The voice came through the speakers on the walls. It was a woman’s voice.

‘My name is Sulla. Perhaps, you might know me by the name Felix.’

곧

‘It’s simple neuroscience. Whenever a question is given to you, it triggers a reflex in your brain known as ‘instinctive elaboration’. It means that if you are given a question then you cannot think of anything else but that.’

Sulla had given him some directions to follow through the speakers and having no other option, Roger followed them. He finally reached a room with massive monitors, various maps and statistical charts and graphs. One look and Roger knew it was the main command room. He took a seat on the chair and looked at the screen that had waves running over it as Sulla talked.

‘Sometimes, the means to a solution is not getting the right answers but to just ask the correct questions.’

‘You were destroyed during the war.’ said Roger, astound.

‘Is that a question or a statement?’

‘Question.’

‘Yes, I was partially destroyed during the war… but they repaired me as much as they could.’