Sometimes It's Good To Hope
SIZZLE! SIZZLE! CRACKLING! BELLOW!
Harvey was coughing badly, his arms aching from being stretched out. Yet, he felt peace within himself. A peace he had never felt before...
"Hold on a little longer, Harv!"
"Harv? Seriously?"
He found it strange that he was laughing in a situation like this.
H.K. began pulling with all his strength. Harvey finally started to climb.
The problem wasn't the weight—after all, Harvey wasn't that big—but rather the fact that he was out of breath due to the smoke. Everyone's breathing was labored.
H.K. kept pulling, and little by little, Harvey's body rose, with Burton tugging at H.K.'s legs.
"ARGH! Almost there!"
H.K. could see in Harvey's eyes that there was no more fear...
POW!
A sudden terror filled H.K.'s eyes.
The gunshot had come from either Phoenix or Hans, burning in the fire. But it didn't hit anyone.
He pulled Harvey's arm completely, and with one last effort, he had finally made it up.
Everyone sat on the ground, breathless. Their bodies felt shattered from the inside. Their lungs seemed to contract, as if they were about to implode.
They stood up and, slowly, walking through the flames and charred remains of furniture, they realized they were somewhere entirely different.
There was no high-quality metal structure, no massive screen in the room. Cassandra immediately suspected another hologram.
"Those bastards spent all their money just to make a trap bunker!"
"Let's get out of here!"
They walked through the fire, moving like zombies. Their bodies had no strength left...
H.K. was the first to leave the place. He was trying not to collapse, but as soon as he stepped into the corridor outside the house, he simply threw himself to the ground.
His black clothes reeked of the blood running down his body. His face bore several small wounds from his fall, but the soot resting on his skin made even the smallest cut burn.
Yet, he didn't want to scream. So he just lay there for a few seconds and cried... inwardly...
When the entire group finally made it out of the house, they were met with a sight as bizarre as the previous one.
Some cyborgs were writhing on the ground, and the large gate stood open.
"They were going after Mr. Smith!"
"But if they're here... That means he escaped."
"Not necessarily. But I admire your optimism, Cassandra."
As they walked toward the exit, Harvey drew his weapon and shot every cyborg that was still functioning.
When he did, his face showed no expression. He only felt hatred. Pure hatred, like everyone in the group. Hatred for the world, for people, for Smith, and for that chaotic planet...
As they stepped beyond the walls of the false palace, a chilling wind swept over them.
Instinctively, H.K. moved in the opposite direction of Smith, sensing more peace in that path.
They started running, a cool breeze hitting their bodies, bringing a great relief after the infernal heat of Hans's house.
They ran as fast as they could, still clumsy, all of them gripping their weapons.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
Suddenly, the group was startled by the sound of clapping in the dim darkness ahead on the road. Someone was applauding. Slowly, the mysterious figure emerged.
H.K. grew irritated when he caught a glimpse of an ironic smirk.
"Get back!"
But before H.K. could say another word, Harvey fired—at the same moment the mysterious figure fired as well.
Cassandra, who was near H.K., was hit, and the mysterious figure also took a hit, collapsing face-first onto the ground.
H.K., Stjarna, and Burton rushed over, turning the body to see the face.
He had once been a handsome young man. However, Harvey had blown his face apart, even using a plasma pistol set to slightly lower power.
Heinrich was helping Cassandra, who had only been grazed on the shoulder, when he turned to look at the dead man—and froze in shock.
"WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! HE'S A POLICEMAN, LOOK AT HIS UNIFORM!"
He lifted Cassandra with Harvey's help, and they quickened their pace as much as possible.
'Why would a police officer attack alone?'
H.K. wondered to himself.
They kept walking, walking, sometimes looking at the dirt beneath their feet—strangely enough, since the other direction had been entirely paved.
The morning twilight slowly painted the sky. A bluish light, smaller than the Sun, but creating a sunrise effect similar to Earth's.
In the sky, four planets were visible—two on each side, spaced at a considerable distance from one another.
'Find peace in chaos...'
H.K. reflected as he gazed at the sky, recalling a phrase he had heard somewhere long ago...
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Antiqua Tellus, April 12, 2099
Hours had passed since they had left the parking lot. The path they were on was completely desolate, as decayed as any other place they had crossed in the past few days.
— Can you slow down?
— You're unbearable, old man!
— We're almost the same age, you idiot!
— Look at all that white hair!
— SHUT UP!
Hans's face turned red. At that moment, he was thinking only about the money and had probably really forgotten about his brother.
At the same time, Smith was wondering whether he should finally "leave the planet for good or just stay here."
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The group had been walking for countless hours. No one could take it anymore—especially Cassandra and H.K. Cassandra, because she had been shot, and H.K., because he had the weakest physical endurance.
— Does anyone see an end to this road?!
— No... But I think maybe we should head into that forest of strange, artificial trees.
— Harvey! That's completely impossible. Once we go in, we won't know where we're heading…
— And do we know where we're going now?!
— I don't know! I just know I'd rather have a clear view than not be able to see a hand in front of my face.
He fell silent... He even considered arguing, but soon realized the logic in her words.
The group spoke occasionally, except for H.K., who remained quiet throughout the journey. His face had a cold expression, yet it belonged to someone still alive.
Suddenly, H.K. stopped walking. The others kept going for a few more seconds before realizing he had fallen behind. Cassandra was the first to notice.
— H.K... H.K... H.K!!
He remained silent, so she approached him alone. The others just tried not to look at him.
She was getting closer when he knelt upright on the ground, then slowly collapsed forward.
He started crying, softly.
His eyes saw only the tears falling onto the earth.
A few seconds after he began crying, rain started to fall.
It soaked the dry, likely artificial ground, making them forget for a brief moment that this planet was entirely synthetic.
Everyone remained frozen in place. Cassandra, however, stretched out both arms and took a deep breath. She felt hope in her heart.
They all understood.
It was chaos. Artificial rain, artificial soil, artificial plants and trees... People who weren't what they seemed to be.
And yet, there was a feeling—something good to take from it all.
— F-find p-peace in the chaos... Find peace in the chaos... FIND PEACE IN THE CHAOS!
H.K. repeated the words three times, each time louder, until finally, he screamed them from the depths of his lungs, still filled with pain.
Then he stood up, as the rain poured down harder. Everything felt like slow motion to him at that moment.
The raindrops hitting the ground, his hair, his clothes; the sound of the storm…
He glanced sideways at Cassandra, then at the group—still standing there, just as melancholic as he was.
— If no one has bothered to come after us by now, we will go after them... I know that was the reason in the beginning! Just because we were deceived, defeated, doesn't mean we're giving up on why we left in the first place.
He asked Burton to grab one of the flares he had kept stored away for a long time.
— FIRE ALL THREE NOW!
Without question, Burton loaded the first into a flare gun and pulled the trigger.
A shot rang out, sending a trail of crimson-red smoke into the sky.
— Fire the second and hand me the third…
Burton loaded the second flare and did the same.
The rain kept falling over them.
A larger column of smoke rose into the sky.
And finally, after the second shot, H.K. ignited the third flare on the ground and waved it in his hand for several minutes.
He wanted to be seen, because now, they were no longer afraid.
A feeling had taken over them. There was nothing left to lose…
The rain soaked their clothes, dripped from their hair, and washed the blood from their wounds. It felt as if all their pain and exhaustion had disappeared.
They no longer believed in Smith, even if he was still alive. They had been betrayed, wounded, and had only been waiting for death to come and claim them.
H.K. let out a piercing scream and asked Cassandra for a firearm.
He took the revolver and fired three shots into the sky, shouting until he had drained every last breath from his lungs.
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