Chapter 4 - The Broken

My lover’s gone
Eclipse of sun
What have you done
What have you done

The place of rest
That was your chest
Your kind embrace
Your lovely face

Light of my day
Your voice a play
Spark of my night
Your hold so tight

Why did you run
My heart to gun
What have you done
What have you done

"Harmon, is the sun warm?" said the little girl, staring at him impatiently."

"Of course it is," replied the little boy phlegmatically. "Light generates heat when it touches a surface. That's why the earth is warm under the sun, but the space between the earth and the sun remains freezing."

Harmon felt truly smart for a 10-year-old. The girl, who was about his age, took quite an interest in his knowledge, which he appreciated. He always felt important when he could have the chance to illuminate others with the bit of knowledge he mastered.

"Wow, that's cool!" the girl exclaimed. "Can you teach me the math and physics behind it?"

"I don't know these things myself, but I have a few books on physics in my room; you might want to look."

"Ok, I will," the girl said as she headed to get those books. "Ah, Harmon, one more thing."

"What is it now?" he sighed.

"Harmon, do you remember the sun?" the girl asked with concern.

"I… I think I don't", the boy mumbled with hesitation. He thought the sun was shining above at the very moment. Was it not the case?

"Harmon?" the girl asked again, tears in her eyes. "Harmon, do you remember my name?"

The boy's face turned pale.

"I… I don't remember," he stuttered. "But… we know each other, right?"

"Harmon, wake up!" she cried, tears flowing down her eyes. "Please, wake up! You'll die if you don't!"

***

The grown-up Harmon opened his eyes. His body was aching, and everything around him was dark. He was lying on the floor and made an effort to rise up.

"What happened…" he mumbled in a fading voice.

He touched his back and felt his cloth burnt, his skin sore.

"I've never… never felt something like this before."

This kind of physical pain was new to Harmon's body. His memory could only recall minor painful events, such as hitting against the chair's foot or bumping into a door. But that was a short-lived pain of a much lower intensity. Now the skin on his back and limbs felt sore, mainly from burns and bruises from potentially hitting against something heavy. He couldn't remember how he got into this state.

"Focus, Harmon, focus!" he said to himself, gritting his teeth.

To the best of Harmon's knowledge of biology, the pain was only signals sent from a specific body part. That signal was felt at a certain intensity inside the brain, and more powerful signals would translate into excruciating pain. Yet the signal was fundamentally electric, which meant Harmon could harness it before it would reach his brain.

"It won't heal my wounds, but at least this soreness will go away," he thought as he tried to focus on this new, never-before-attempted task.

Though the pain disappeared, his body felt more numb than before. Rising and making some steps would require more concentration now, as his feeling of touch was temporarily canceled, and he could barely feel his legs.

"I need light," he thought as he focused the energy within his body. The human body has tiny amounts of energy within itself. It was not much, but it would allow him to generate a little light to at least watch his own steps. His hands and feet thus became fluorescent, a dim yellow light covering them like pixie powder in a fairy tale. He could use the light in his palms to see about a meter before him.

He watched around, hoping he would be able to see some more powerful source of light, but darkness dominated his surroundings. Eventually, he noticed a very dim light up in the sky, something resembling a star, not that Harmon had ever seen a star before.

"That's the Grand Tower!" he exclaimed. "That must be the light of my bedroom on the 33rd floor."

Memories came back to him. A while ago, he was in the Grand Tower and was attacked. But what happened next? How did he get here? He was unable to remember. He looked around only to see some Wheelers lying on the ground beside him. The robots must have carried him all the way here, out of harm's way, but their batteries ran out of juice.

"The Red Barbarian!" he exclaimed. "That must be it. I must have got struck during the fight. My body feels like it got a beating. And minor burns all over. Did I lose the fight? I can't be; I had the generator and my special…."

He paused, feeling his sweat falling down his forehead.

"No, it's true; I must have been defeated. And then I must have managed to escape the room somehow and got here, carried by my robots. This must be the eastern outskirts of Nexus."

He checked his pockets and was happy to find a few batteries in his left pocket.

"I'll keep these for later. I don't need that much light right now. If I make too much light, the enemy might see me. But maybe the Teardrops don't even have eyes. Since they live in the darkness, they must rely on other senses such as hearing or heat detection."

He tiptoed toward the tower hoping not to attract too much attention. His main goal was to find a reliable power source and get energy from there. He could counter the enemies even by himself with a good energy source.

"They caught me off guard because they destroyed my primary source, and the generator on my floor was not strong enough. This has to be it. But I don't remember how it happened."

With some concentration, he could mentally recollect the positioning of power sources on the city's eastern side. He found a few lampposts and cables; thanks to them, he could pinpoint his exact location relative to the Nexus. The nearest power supply was less than 200 meters north. He had to get there. At times like these, he felt thankful to be even able to remember these things. Usually, he would have needed to double-check the map before figuring out those things.

He made a plan and prepared.