The Great Invasion | 2023

A Critical Decision

Word Count: 1685 (completed, May 17, 2019, re-edited, May 18, 2019)

[[6:20 PM - Coit Tower | San Francisco, CA | August 19, 2021]]

(Kirigaya): "March 11, 2023"

(Rick): "Wh-wh-what?"

(Kirigaya): "Rick, you have 2 years to make a decision. Fight or flee..."

(Rick): "No way... This cant be..."

Rick didn't know what to say. He only had potentially 2 years before the catastrophic event will happen. Rick finally found the answer, while discovering the history of the long-lasting "Shadowy Figures incident" and the information of the dark, devious organization called "The Black Withers", which, by March 11, 2023, will be the main belligerent participant of the invasion.

(Kirigaya): "I told you... And looks like you were not prepared for this. Doesn't matter. You've already aware and judging that reaction of yours, I guess that I should have told you or find out when will the invasion began sooner. You only have a couple of years to live"

(Rick): "I thought it's 2026. I guess I was wrong. Kirito... What should I do?"

(Kirigaya): "I don't know. But you will have to answer the decision. Fight against the darkness, or flee from the darkness. You only have 2 years to decide. But remember. Whatever you do in 2023, there is no point in turning back. Every decision you made will affect you and will put the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians into your hands."

Rick bends his head down and begins to think about what to do in 2 years... If he makes the wrong decision, it's over... Rick, his friends, his uncle and relatives, and thousands of citizens will all either die, become slaves, or become evil puppets... Kirigaya slowly walks away towards downstairs and as he does, Rick suddenly gets a glimpse of his memories, from his childhood to his present years, along with a voice that he recognized that it was his uncle...

"Always fight to the ..... end! .... our city, .... our nation!"

"Wait a minute!" said Rick.

"What?" said Kirigaya as he stopped by the stairs when he heard Rick.

"There is only 2 years remaining, so there is still plenty of time for the military to prepare for the worst. Our authorities will continue to patrol the streets to make sure if there are any signs of potential invasion coming up and I still have to make the most of it. So, I will choose later."

"Okay... After all, it's only 2 years. But there's something I need to tell you before you go." said Kirigaya as he heads down the stairs.

"What now?" asked Rick a bit frustratingly.

"The Black Wither comes, the spirit shall rise, that's the code." said Kirigaya sinisterly while winking his left eye, and he walked away.

"Wait! What code!?" said Rick loudly but Kirigaya had already left. By the time Rick went back to ground level and got outside, Kirigaya Kazuto has seemingly vanished.

"What the hell!?" he thought in shock. "Where is he? Does he has some sort of magic trick? What the f--king hell?"

As he looks around, he sees a woman behind the concrete fence of the parking lot in front of him, with lavender hair looking at him like a kuudere, and she is wearing a black hood and he can see her holding a video camera with its lens pointing at him. Before Rick yelled at her for questions, she scurried off and disappeared by the time Rick went there to find her. He was confused and concerned.

"Oh no, what did she do?" he asked himself. "She must be spying on me...

He suspected that she must have been eavesdropping, or he thought that he's being stalked by her. He had never being stalked by a suspicious lavender-haired girl who appeared to be 15 years old of age, and during his time as a Police Officer, in his position as Lieutenant. After a short while, he can't shake off his feeling and decided to get back to the police station. So he quickly walked back to the police car and drove away.