Api Biru Pt. 3

(Edwin)

Bane began to march toward the elevator’s control panel. It was hard to understand what was going through his mind. To say I’ve betrayed him is an understatement, but that’s only because he doesn’t understand how hard everyone has worked and how much we’ve all sacrificed for the beauty of this world.

I rushed to him and grabbed his shoulder. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Bane slapped my hand off of him. “It doesn’t matter if you strip away my status as a scavenger or even have me put in prison, word will get out somehow. You’re not going to get away with deceiving everyone.”

Deceiving everyone? I was saving them. Bane, I know you’re hurt but you’re not stupid. How could you say that I’m hurting anybody? I’m the sole reason humanity is still alive! No matter what, I can’t let him do this.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards me. He took a clean fist to my face. “Get the hell off of me and stay put on your damn bunk.”

“Bane, if you don’t want to understand everything I’ve done for you and this world, then so be it. But I won’t let anyone else suffer for your incompetence. I still have a promise to fulfill towards your mother…”

He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head. “You have a promise to fulfill? What the hell does that mean?”

I sighed, “I wanted to make it look like an accident. Something that I didn’t have to take responsibility for. Telling you to run right instead of left when the skyscraper fell, missing the shot when the Jack had you in its hand… It was supposed to be clean and simple… But if you won’t die in an accident, that must be your mother telling me to handle you myself.”

Bane turned around completely and his face was full of rage. Even without the embers, I could see the fire in his soul.

Clarine and Fence seemed uneasy about all of this as they watched. Clarine sat up from her bunk. I was unsure of what was about to happen but in a worst-case scenario, I’d be fighting off everyone here. That didn’t seem impossible, but damn that wouldn’t make any of this easy…

No, no, I’m underthinking it. Sure, they’ve known Bane for a while now, but Clarine has been a Scavenger Lord for years. She’s known about and accepted our mission ages ago. She will side with me, and in turn, her lackey will follow.

Rocco was no use in his state. Not that it mattered since he was asleep.

The only concern was Lars. It’s hard to tell what he’d do during all of this. Chances are, he’ll be content watching all of this unfold but if he did decide to join the battle for any reason… He would side with me as well. He’s known me for many years and our relationship, while complicated, has a lot more to it than his with Bane. There’s no reason for him to side with Bane.

Bane turned around and looked me straight in the eyes. “My own father wants to kill me?” He asked plainly.

I scoffed, “Of course not, but the lives of humanity easily outweigh yours… And after all, I made a promise.”

Bane roared and charged at me. I charged towards him as well. This fight would decide the future of humanity.

(Lars)

Oh man, those two are really going at it… And by going at it, I mean Bane is getting absolutely pummeled by Eddie. No matter how angry he is, he never stood a chance against someone who’s been fighting for decades. What a pathetic ending. It almost seemed boring…

Bane has cool ideas but absolutely nothing to back them up with. Being fire-resistant honestly isn’t that impressive. Knowing how to fight would at least prove useful underground.

Ah, I couldn’t help but remember when I met Ed during training… I wanted to train alone at first. None of the guys in basic seemed all that interesting, Edwin included.

My lunches and free time would be spent all on my lonesome. The barracks of Milona consisted of nothing but older men. It was a rough time for someone like me. The guys would tease me for being a loner.

They were right, I was a loner and I should’ve been made fun of for it. To be someone like me is a disgrace to humanity. They’re the lucky ones that get to rightfully judge someone of my caliber. It felt awful but that’s how it should be.

Then Edwin came along and sat next to me during lunch one day.

He scooted from a few seats over next to mine. “Hey, the name’s Edwin. You’re Lars, right?”

“I don’t want to talk, man.”

Edwin leaned into the table and laughed. “Come on, dude, it can’t hurt. We’re both training for the same thing, right? I’m sure there’s some silver lining we can find between us.”

At the time, I felt like punching him. “Didn’t you read my report? You know what I’ve done in the old world. If the guys put you up to this as some sort of prank, I won’t entertain it with the reaction any of you are looking for.”

Edwin sighed and held his face in his hand. “Yeah, that’s some pretty messed up stuff. I didn’t even know it was possible to do that to a child… This isn’t a prank of any sort though. Nobody put me up to this. I’m here because I want to talk to you.”

“What the hell would you want to talk to me about?”

He laughed, “Isn’t it obvious? Anything! All these other guys come from the same background with similar stories. They’re so boring… You, though, you’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met, period. If someone like you is training to become a scavenger, I’d like to at least know why.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that moment. “Edwin, was it? That’s an insanely stupid answer. What if I was a demented insane person that would kill you in your sleep?”

Edwin rubbed his chin and shook his head around a few times. “Well, you’re right. That wouldn’t be any good, but that’d also be extremely boring, and you don’t seem like the boring type. You see something bigger, don’t you?”

“What does that mean?”

“You know, like something more than becoming a scavenger and putting in years of service just to hang up the coat at an old age… All that junk. Your report made it clear that you have a vision for the world. I wanna know what it is, that’s all.”

I scoffed, “A vision for the world? Yeah, right. I couldn’t care less about this world or the people in it, it’s more or less the same as the old world anyway-”

“See, that’s the thing! You said this world is the same as the old world. Who says that?! It’s clear that you’re not like anyone else in more ways than just being a creep. I don’t care about that. I want to know why you see the world the way you do.”

My mind couldn’t fathom this line of thinking. “Why? What’s so important about knowing how I see the world?”

Edwin leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. “If you see the world with your own eyes, it’ll become stale after a while. Doing things your way will only take you so far when it comes to enjoying the finer things in life. Understanding those who interest you, and how they see the world, opens the door to opportunity. An opportunity that can make things fun again. In a world like this, don’t you think we need that?”

I thought that Edwin was a boring guy. That he was just like the other idiots in here who wanted nothing more than to become a soldier for humanity. I was wrong.

“Edwin, do you have any family?”

“Well, I have a wife and son. No offense, but I’m never leaving you in the same room with him, haha. They’re the center of my world though. Everything I do is for them.”

Some of the other trainees started to notice we were talking, but I couldn’t care less. I started to enjoy it.

“If you have a family, then don’t you already have your life purpose?”

He slapped my back and almost made me choke. “You’re a funny guy, man! Life isn’t over once you find purpose in something. That’s only the beginning. Sticking to one thing for the entirety of your life is so boring. My family is my purpose, but who knows if that’ll be the case twenty years from now? People should have the freedom to change and seek out their new potential. Even someone like you can do that…”

From that day onward, Edwin and I would spend everyday training together. He was my brother.

… But dammit, why was I remembering that, now?

He continued to wham his fists straight into Bane’s face. Bane was all bloodied and clearly didn’t stand a chance against him. At some point, Bane could no longer get up. He was marinating in his own blood. Edwin was breathing heavily as he looked down on his son. His entire face and body were covered in red as well.

He began to walk over to me. “Lars, where is your gun?”

“What, my gun? What do you need that for?”

Edwin grabbed me by the collar. “I’m not in the mood for your games, right now. Give me the gun so I can finish this.”

Of course, I knew what he needed my gun for. I guess I’ll give it to him. It’s not like there’s anything else to be done. I must admit though, for all this build-up, this ending was unexpectedly disappointing…