chapter 9

I always had a feeling the universe or god or fate, whatever, or whoever, hated me. I wasn't supposed to be born, I wasn't supposed to exist, so every opportunity it had to make me suffer, it took to punish me for being here without its permission. Or... Maybe it was just the result of my own choices. If I had done more, if I had tried harder, if I had made different choices. Would things have turned out differently? Who or what did I blame for all this? Whoever it was... I hated them.

The guards made sure the straps were tight before leaving the room. Now it was just the Doctor, me, and one of his nurses. I would be stuck here while the others got out. Maybe they would have a better chance without me anyway. And if they got out, maybe they would rescue me in the future. Was it ok to have that kind of hope?

The Doctor looked down at me with a smile.

"I have so much good news for you. Let's start with your new classification. Artifact 0 is what I've decided to call you. Originally you were to be Artifact 32, but I figured it wouldn't be significant enough since you will be a source of many new artifacts. Artifact 0 works perfectly because you don't technically exist and no one will think to look for an artifact 0. What do you think?"

He paused and stared down at me with a big smile. Was he really asking me?

"I don't care what you call me. I don't want to be of use to any of you at all."

"Ah, don't say that. I was told you were the most enthusiastic of the summoned heroes to arrive here. Extremely eager to be useful, and even desperate to be of service in your final moments. Eh, your... original final moments I mean. You should rejoice at this opportunity. You're going to become the most important hero ever summoned. Probably the most important asset this country has ever had! Isn't that exciting?"

"No."

He acted like he didn't hear me and kept going.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot. I was too selfish and hasty. I know that now. I want to do things properly going forward. Think of me more as a colleague."

"If you're trying to make me vomit to death, you're doing a really good job."

"Hahaha! Good one, my friend! But no. No, today is a special day. Ever since the first time I saw you, I wondered, how do I remove his heart before he can die and heal everything? It was quite the dilemma. But, a very fun one to find a solution to."

He moved over to a tall, wide structure covered in a sheet like the cart usually was.

"I was at a loss. I even asked the other heroes for advice under the guise of medical treatment. They said that back in your world, removing the heart while the patient is alive is not only possible, but that hearts can even be swapped! Amazing! However, not even the magic of this world is capable of such a thing so that was a dead end. No pun intended. Then I realized that I was thinking about it all wrong. There was no point in trying to be careful and slow. What I needed was a swift, and powerful, blow!"

He pulled the sheet off the device as the last word left his mouth. It looked like a giant hydraulic press with a horseshoe shaped blade at the bottom of it. Above the blade was a pile of weights stacked up. Holding the blade from crashing down was a mechanism tied to a lever on the side of the machine's base. A crank was on the opposite side, probably to reset the device.

"What do you think? Quick and painless for you. Maximum efficiency for me. The blades are heavy and sharp. The weights will carve it through your chest like it’s a section of pie and cleave out the part that contains your heart. Your body will regrow it because our tests determined you revive from the largest portion, regardless of what's in it. Maybe you can't appreciate it right now, but I hope that one day you'll be able to understand just how incredible I am."

Maybe it was better if I gave up. Accepted that this would be the rest of my life. If I was cooperative, would things be easier for me? Maybe I would have some sort of freedom in the future if I just gave in. Maybe I could even learn to appreciate this, like he said. If I just stopped clinging to life and holding out hope, things would get better. They had too because they couldn't get worse. If I looked forward to simple meals, sleep, talking to the doctor, discussing things with him...

…

The machine slammed down again, clean through my chest, removing the section with my heart. Painless for me, my ass! It hurt like hell! Every time it slammed down, I stayed awake for a few seconds before blacking out and waking up to the doctor and nurse resetting the machine. I had lost count of how many times we had done this. The cart didn't have tools on it like it usually did, instead it had jars, and they were filing with my hearts. I wondered if the jars would fill first, or if the doctor and nurse would get too exhausted to reset the machine. Over and over and over. I died today more times than any other day so far. He was right about one thing. It was very efficient.

…

I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. I hate this doctor that treats me like a slaughter animal. I hate the nurses that couldn't care less about anyone but themselves. I hate the guards that treat me like crap and act so great for it. I hate the other prisoners that are leaving without me. I HATE the damn princess for lying this whole time and sending me here. I HATE Lawrence for being a garbage teacher! I HATE the other heroes for abandoning me and trash talking me behind my back! I HATE THIS COUNTRY! I HATE THE GODS OF THIS WORLD! I HATE THIS DAMN POWER THAT EXISTS ONLY TO MAKE ME SUFFER IN EVERY WAY IMAGINABLE!!! And I HATE MYSELF for being so pathetic, stupid, powerless, gullible, worthless, and everything else. Mom was right. I should've never been born.

The ground started shaking. At first, it was a low rumble, but it quickly became violent until the doctor and nurse had to brace themselves. The jars on the cart rattled, and the machine shook so bad it nearly toppled. It reduced in intensity quickly until it stopped after a few minutes. Dust and loose stones fell from the roof.

The doctor stood up confused.

"What the hells was that? Nurse, stay here I'll be right back."

He opened the door, looked down both hallways, then left the room and closed the door behind him.

A few moments later, there was shouting and the sound of a lot of guards running past. I guess that was the distraction?

Minutes passed of nothing. The nurse refused to even look at me. They were all like that. Too ashamed to face their choices. Pathetic. She paced nervously waiting for the doctor. Eventually there was the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Not the metal of a guard. The doctor then. It was at least a nice break, I suppose. Maybe they would call it off for the day due to the events... Even though I hated them for leaving me here... I still hoped they made it out ok. if nothing else it would piss off the guards.

The door opened.

"W-who are you?" The nurse stammered.

Betty closed the distance in the blink of an eye and crushed the nurses' throat between her foot and the wall behind her. She looked down at me briefly, then at the machine and the jars. Her hands went up to her mouth in astonishment as the realization that I had been telling the truth all this time sank in.

"Hey. If you untie me, I'll forgive you for doubting me. Deal?"

Her hands moved quickly to free me. As soon as I was up, she grabbed my hand, pulled me towards the door. I pulled her back to stop before leaving the room. She looked back at me confused. I turned and kicked the cart over with all my heart's on it. It was disgusting. I didn't know what they wanted them for, but I didn't want any part of me to be useful to them.

"Ok, lead the way."

She pointed to them and then to me and signed something I didn't know. I assumed it was something like asking if they were mine.

"Yeah. So let's get the hell out of here, please."

She grabbed my hand again and dragged me along. We went down hallway after hallway without running into any guards. Eventually we came to one of a hundred doors. She opened it and pulled me in before closing it behind us.

"Holy shit! You really did know where he was. Bestkin senses are something else." Daniel said.

"Stupid girl! You should've let me come with you. What if you ran into guards?" Simon scolded her.

Betty rolled her eyes.

I was surprised to see everyone. "You... you guys were waiting for me?"

“Oh they insisted! Even if it brought our chances down to 0% they were going to wait for you if it killed them! RIGHT!? Idiots." Scott complained.

Anna argued, "I just... couldn't live with myself if I left someone behind to that kind of world."

Daniel stepped forward, "Same. Now, let's get out of here quick. We're not free yet."