unStopabble | unOrdinary Fan-fic

Chapter 10

"Leilah?!" Benji was surprised to see his old colleague, it's been a while.

"Hey." She walked closer, "Can I sit with you?" She asked, gesturing to the seat opposite him.

"Yeah, sure!" He said and while the woman sat down, he asked, "We haven't talked in months, so I suppose meeting you here isn't a coincidence."

She grinned, "With me? It never is."

"So, what do you want?" He asked, sipping his coffee.

"I want you to tell me everything about Asset 004." Leilah stated, quickly growing serious, "I know you were going to be his guard."

"What do you want to know, exactly?" He asked, lowering his glance and trying to block out his intrusive memories of almost being killed by the boy.

"How is he doing? What's happening to him?" She asked

The man sighed, "Pretty badly. He's, almost completely, lost touch with reality. Keon is pushing him past his limits."

Leilah clenched her fist. She knew she would get bad news, but she hoped that she'd be wrong. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about him anymore." Benji said, "The past few days were a bit rough."

"Oh? Is that so?"

" Yeah, he almost decapitated me, after going completely mental in the cell." He muttered, "I only wanted to help him..."

Thinking for a moment, Leilah asked him, "Does that mean you care about him? At all? Since you tried to help him. "

The man hesitated, but finally answered, "I mean, of course. It's obvious that what John is forced to go through is cruel and disgusting. I always tried to be there for him, but," he paused, "I lost hope. After what happened... I don't think it's possible for him to ever make a full recovery. Even if, by some miracle he does get better. He's been through too much and," he creased his brow, "I'm not fit to guide or support him. I can't handle it. I want to step away."

His grip tightened around the cup. He couldn't navigate the mix of emotions that overcame him. He felt angry at the boy for lashing out, but also at himself for feeling that way. Maybe if he had stepped in sooner, John would have been in better shape. But he couldn't fix that mistake now.

"Why so pessimistic?" Leilah asked, "Are you really certain that there's no going back?"

He chuckled somberly, "This kid has been regularly tortured and brainwashed since his capture. He was forced to kill people, thinking it was the only way to prove his worth." He shook his head, "He hasn't naturally slept in months and can barely hold down any food. Often, I would see him just blanky staring at nothing, until he would come back to his trembling, sobbing reality."

Inhaling deeply, Leilah could feel the pit in her stomach grow. Then the man continued, "John doesn't know I saw him like that, whenever I'd make my attention on him obvious, he'd shift his manner and pretend to be someone he wasn't. Like he wanted to hide from me. But, he's barely holding on and slips up, letting me see what I'm dealing with." He shook his head, "Poor kid didn't deserve it. Not this kind of suffering."

Although she struggled to contain her guilt, Leilah managed to hold a steady tone, "Agreed. But, for reference, how strong is 004 now?"

"Without dampeners, he's invincible." He stated flatly, but then shook his head again. "Listen, Leilah, I really don't want to think about him. I just want to focus on something else."

"I get it." She replied, rising to her feet, "I have to go. I have a phone call to make. If you get any updates on him, let me know. K?"

Nodding, Benji waved her off. He had no idea why she would need that all information. However, the way he saw it, the more people know about John's situation, the more chance there was of him getting help.