Distorted

Chapter twenty four, Martyrs and Fools.

A world at war.

Machines roaring for oil, humans struggling for peace. Willfully, they fought, and bravely, they subdued. They obeyed, but, there's no bravery in slavery, you say? In their eyes, Bravery is accepting, rebelling is foolish, they were the brave, because they've always been the blind slaves.

Freedom was at the horizon, but could they even comprehend what it meant? Would they give their life to obtain it? All the mystery of the world was unfolding, that was the time to sit back and..watch.

Always looking above her shoulder twice. Danger was at the corner, Merit danced through the wind of the night, swiftly like a leaf she flowed within the darkness, taking a look or two every minute at the apocalypse sky glowing with the flag of liberty. Underneath every shadow, Merit stayed low, observing the silent eyes of children in each window as they locked up their eyes on the airship and the occasional flood of flags that they were eager to pick up from the streets in spite of their obvious fear, but that fear was only because they felt the unusual behavior of their parenrs and loved ones, other than that, those young children saw no danger in the situation surrounding them, perhaps, their ignorance saved them.

"Ross lost it.." Merit said, bowing down below a window and taking out Mechi who she lost the batteries for, Menda had warned her of operating him as he's Ross' tracking device to keep an eye on Merit, but Merit had something else on mind.

"I can lure him out, probably make him take me back in, anything just to see him." She said, her tears were like stones frozen deep in her depth, she dared to swallow her tears to assure herself if this results in death, hopefully, it won't be hers.

"Come on, L, come on..!" She muttered, putting the batteries into Mechi and making sure he was all set.

"M-mast-er a-nd sl-ave." Mechi stuttered gibberish words as Merit silenced him, waiting for him to process his data.

"Too long. Merit. Too long." He whispered, sensing the danger around them, Merit nodded, and smiled at him with a heavy heart, because somewhere inside her, she knew that her best friend was fading away just as the rest of the world around her.

"Things have changed, L. We need to find Ross, is there a way for you to locate him?" She said, stepping deeper into the shadows to avoid the flashing of the airship that, surprisingly, hovered peacefully with no resistance against it.

"I can. But, for what reason?" He said, Merit tightened her grib on him, "Because we need to talk." She said. "Merit." Mechi replied, "I don't obey your orders." He said, "Ross is master, you are secondary, I'm programmed to never do what you ask to do right now."

"Is that so?"

"I'm afraid so, young one."

"Mechi. I'll ask got a simple question. All I need is a clear answer, okay?"

"Fine."

Merit's mind was boiling, she had her hands all over Mechi, tightly straining her old friend into her rough injured hand.

"Ross is Mechi, Ross speaks through Mechi, isn't that so, Ross?"

Merit and Mechi starred at each other for seconds as long as years as her heart bounded loudly into her insides, she had untangled a spider's web she had crawled into unknowingly for almost six years.

"True." It said.

"Hello, Ross."

The chaos caused by the Lightmen was causing madness among the residents. It was not known to them that these 'old men' were indeed young ones that have been mutilated till they became unrecognizable by their own kin. Everyone watched through the holes, windows, beneath doors and through the eyeglasses. They were watching these broken machines waddling like drunken men, crying for an instant like children and growling like the devil. They'd clash with each other for seconds then turn away in fear, soon, the watchers realized how fragile and weak those men were. How they were afraid of their own selves, and shortly after, their fury was settling, and their light was dimming, it looked like they've, at last, reached home.