Recording 3
‘Are you alright?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine thank you.’ I replied as I tried to bring myself back together.
‘Oh, thank goodness. I’m sorry about my hair. It makes me look old…really old.’
‘But your face looks perfectly healthy. I can’t tell your age really. Your face and body are in conflict with your hair.’ Her hair was white, luciferous white I should say. Her hair brightness was no different than when basking under daylight and it went all the way down to her chest. Despite her hair though, she looked really youthful. No wrinkles, no saggy eyes, no signs of skin deterioration. She looked like someone in their mid-twenties.
‘I know.’ She nodded. ‘That’s pretty much what everyone said when they first see me.’ Her eyes were of a sapphire or pacific blue, a striking facial feature. It was the most striking facial feature of hers. Her lips are of a mix between burgundy and crimson and her nose is relatively pointed. Her skin is of a light peach colour and a slim figured body. This combination of features and colours gives an immediate impression of intuitiveness, gracefulness, friendliness, trustworthiness, nimbleness, cleverness and other-positive-ness-es.
‘Ok. You don’t seem alright to me.’ She looked at me with concern, in a positive way of course.
‘No. No. I’m fine, really. I’m just…I just need to adjust. I’ve never seen…’
‘Ok, I get it.’ She smiled.
‘So…um.’ I made a slight cough. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Looking at the vespertinal scenery. Beautiful isn’t it?’
‘Um…what’s vespertinal?’
‘Oh, pardon me. I meant the evening view. Vespertinal means pertaining to the evening. Sorry about that.’
‘No, its okay.’ Yup she does seem intellectual alright.
‘Well, what are you doing here then?’
‘Same reason.’
‘Huh.’ She remarked. ‘What a coincidence. It’s as if fate wanted us to meet each other.’ Unconsciously, I immediately replied with exuberance.
‘That was what I was thinking exactly!’
‘Oh, really?’
‘Yeah. I saw this luminous white thing when I was in a field of yellow moving to Varvara. I thought it…you were an object or a glowing sphere of some kind. I didn’t expect you were actually a human.’ I felt my heart palpitate and a sudden surge of excitement.
‘Oh, wow. I was in Varvara, actually. You’re correct.’
‘Doing what?’
‘Looking for a possession of mine. I spent years on end looking for it.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that. What was it?’
‘It’s ok, really. It was a medallion, gold-plated, with a bit of rust on the edges.’
‘This may sound strange, but now I know why fate wanted us to meet together.’
‘Huh?’
‘Is this yours?’ I took the medallion out of my pocket.
‘Oh my gosh!’ Her eyes widened. ‘Thank you so much! I thought I would never see it again!’ As she was taking it from my hand, she hugged me tightly. I don’t get about hugs. It feels weird but yet euphoric at the same time. I dislike these feelings mixed together.
‘Well, I’m glad you found it.’
‘Thanks to you, really.’ She could not stop smiling. I guess that was the friendly aspect of her.
‘I found it in Zakynthos. An island of western Greece.’
‘Ahhh…’ She shook her head a bit. ‘I remember being there around twenty years ago. I was sightseeing the old churches and monasteries there.’ My jaws dropped.
‘Twenty years ago!? But you look like your mid-twenties! Does that mean you have been searching everywhere since you were like…five!?’
‘Looks can be deceiving right?’
‘How old are you exactly?’
‘Nah, you would not believe.’
‘Try me.’
‘Fine.’ She seemed hesitant wanting to reply my answer. ‘Two.’
‘Two years old?’ I was confused.
‘No…two thousand.’
‘Um…ok. I guess that explains your white hair.’ Everything just seemed to defy logic at that moment. Is she an immortal?
‘I have seen empires rise and fall. I have seen kings and queens take their thrones. I have seen the Western World being colonised. I have seen the birth and the end of dictators. I have seen The Father rise to power.’ She managed to explain it so poetically.
‘I don’t know why. But it seems like what you’re telling me is the truth.’
‘Because it is.’ She seemed so confident with her reply.
‘Ok. Well then.’ I raised my arms up in the air. ‘How could you live for so long?’
‘A gift of Gaia.’
‘So you must be happy then? Being able to live forever?’
‘Some say it is a blessing, some say it is a curse. You can’t really say there is an absolute positive or negative to this.’
‘Well, other than your white hair, Gaia has seemed to bless you not only immortality, but eternal youth as well. I don’t see the problem with that. I want that.’
‘And to see the people you love die and unable to get rid of those memories? To see the world constantly evolve and the constant pressure and effort to adapt to it? To see desired traditional values to vanish right in front of your eyes?’
‘Well, I guess you do have a point…’ I replied. ‘Oh! I have been really wanting to know about the philosophy behind the medallion. Could you explain it to me?’
‘Maybe next time we meet. Your time for chats are up. I sense a rebel coming. Thank you once again for helping me find it!’
She got up and as she was about to leave, I inadvertently grabbed her hand. She turned around to face me. ‘Hmmm?’
‘When will I see you again?’
‘I don’t know. When fate allows us to I guess.’ She quickly ran behind a pine tree and she was gone.
‘Your time is up. Master wants you back.’ Said the rebel who was walking towards me.
‘Yeah, I know.’ I slowly got myself up together.
‘I heard mumbling.’
‘I like talking to myself.’
‘You’re weird. Let’s go.’ My heart was pounding. When will I ever see her again, the white haired girl? Ok, maybe she is not a girl since she has been living for two thousand years. But then yet again she could be lying about that. Uhhh, never mind, she looks like a girl, I’ll call her that.
I was continuing thinking about meeting her again when I suddenly smelled smoke. I wasn’t really paying much attention to it until I realised that the closer I approached our warden, the stronger the scent. The rebel who was assigned to bring me back was feeling it to. I could see him close his eyes and gave a cough or two. The rebel and I instinctively wanted to know the source of the smoke and quickly ran back to the war…den. No. More of like a warzone I should say. The entire place was in ruins, with the main building lit up in flames. The rest of the building lay lifelessly on the grassy beds. It seemed that even the grass was starting to catch fire. I immediately felt a grab by my shirt.
‘What did you do!?’ The rebel sneered at me. ‘Is this some sort of your plan?’
‘No! No! I swear! I didn’t…’ I was clubbed to the ground.
‘Say that one more time motherfucker! I dare you! Don’t act all innocent and baby like! You’re going to pay with your life!’ Shots were fired. It wasn’t me that got shot though, but the rebel.
‘Are you okay!?’ Thank goodness. Shaun arrived.
‘I’m alright, thanks to you.’ Shaun helped me get up. ‘I’d be dead if it weren’t for you.’ I was still a bit stunned by all of the quick movements.
‘No problem. Take his rifle and let’s get out of here!’ I quickly followed as Shaun instructed, grabbing the blood-painted rifle from the dead rebel, his eyes staring into nothingness.
‘What happened!?’ I didn’t know whether to yelp or whisper. All I know is that we have to get out of here! Fast! I felt like I was running aimlessly with Shaun.
‘Mack…Mack…he…’ Shaun started to look down.
‘Mack what!?’
‘He…he…he sacrificed himself. He burned the building. Late enough for us to escape, but too early for him.’
‘Mack…’ I sighed. ‘I know you’re an asshole sometimes, but you never had to…’ I sighed some more. ‘Let’s just get moving. Where are we heading?’
‘We’re planning to rendezvous with each other the place where the lights were yesterday.’ We were running when gunshots were heard in the distance. We had better catch up with the others before rebels would overwhelm us. More gunshots were heard. ‘You know what Marcus? You go ahead. I’ll go back to that burning building in case the others are in or nearby there.’
‘But…’
‘No buts. Go!’
‘B-’
‘I said go!’
‘O-ok.’ I whimpered a bit. I continued to run to the destination. I was running with all of my strength when I encountered a familiar figure. Augustus, crawling around with tattered clothes and messed up hair.
‘Please!’ He pleaded me as soon as he caught my sight. He coughed for quite a while after that. I feel so conflicted. As it was my duty as a Pacifier to eliminate all revolutionaries and also he kind of pissed me off making me stay at some shithole for one day. If it weren’t for…Mack…Mack…we might have ended up much worse. At the same time, this goes back to the days when I mercilessly killed people because I imposed my fury due to past experience. Gunshots were mere whispers during my deep moment of contemplation.
‘Look…it’s not a trap. I have nothing left of me. I just hope you’ll be the chosen one that Venitu…’
‘…has chosen.’ I finished the sentence.
‘Yea…’
‘If you want to amend…this is the least you could do.’
‘Ok…provided-’
‘Yes?’
‘One. I get my equipment back. Two. You’re disbanding your battalion. And three, I’m coming with you.’
‘Done, done and done.’ Augustus nonchalantly replied and coughed. I offered him a hand to get himself back on his feet.
‘Come this way.’ Augustus raised his hand. I pointed the rifle at him at all times were he to betray me. We cut off from the road we were in into a pavement of shrubs and short trees, making sounds like waves hitting off the peripheries of coasts and beaches. We were shocked when we got out off the pavement. Shaun, John, Alex and Vinnie were all outside, facing us, each grabbing a rebel by their throat.
‘What did I tell you about waiting outside near the lights?’ Shaun glared at me.
‘How did you-’
‘When I raised you to your feet, I placed a locator at your back. You have been acting very strange ever since we got fucking stuck here, Marcus.’
‘Alright…’
‘What happened to you? Are you a betrayer? A traitor? Of the all powerful Father?’
‘No. Venitu is all powerful! Not The Father!’ I could immediately hear acute gasps from my peers. Augustus raised an eyebrow.
‘You know, Marcus. If you weren’t my friend I would’ve killed you on the spot.’ John said.
‘It’s a long story.’ I replied. I told them about my constant feeling of vengeance and how I wanted to make amends.
‘Ya know.’ Shaun gave a sigh. ‘I don’t know why on earth I’m doing this, but I’m coming with you.’ My eyes opened. ‘I guess after being in this profession for seven years, I want to get out of this shithole. Explore the world. Pacify rebels outside of stupid Iberkan. I mean Trevorum’s a start, but as of now, things pretty much still seem the same.’
‘T-thanks.’ I felt a tear from my left eye. Damn ninjas cutting onions.
‘Also, if you’re going with this asshole Augustus, in case he wants to play, we’ll play with him back.’ He lifts his rifle to show a sign of affirmation.
‘Yeah. It’ll be fun. I’ll join. I’ll finally be able to pacify revolutionaries outside of here.’ John said. Alex and Vinnie nodded.
‘You owe us, kid.’ Alex pointed a finger at me.
‘T-th..thank you all! Really!’ I finally felt relieved, seeing that my friends would always be with me no matter the circumstance…and consequence.
‘Augustus, if you even dare mess with any one of them. I swear by Veni-’
‘Woah. Relax. I won’t.’ He raised both hands. ‘In fact, seeing how you would spare my life, I think not all Pacifiers are bad after all. Come, let’s go.’
‘Yo, Mr. Augustus.’ Shaun said as he turned around. ‘We can let you go, but not the ones we got right here.’ Before Augustus even had time to respond, they all shot the rebels that they grabbed, splattering their clothing with blood.
‘I take that back…’ He was a bit angry, but he had no choice. ‘Let’s go. I’ve got a van nearby.’ We all ran as fast as we could. But things turned for the worse. We heard more gunshots in the distance.
‘Crap.’ Shaun halted for a second.
‘What?’ I asked.
‘Mack did it. He…did it.’
‘What!?’
‘He managed to call in three divisions to ransack the place. If any of them catches us running with Augustus…’
‘Shit!’ Alex shouted. ‘Let’s hurry then!’ We all ran faster than we ever could, hoping we would not get caught.
‘There it is!’ Augustus pointed at a van facing towards the coast. As we got into the van, I was surprised to see Johann. It turned out he was going to be our driver out of this place.
‘Everyone get in quickly!’ Johann signalled with his two hands. As everyone got in and the door closed, Johann sharply steered left.
‘So, where are we going?’ Alex asked, pointing the rifle at Johann.
‘Calm down! Calm down!’ Augustus remarked. ‘I don’t really know, to be honest. All I know is that we have to get out of here!’ Johann was already perspiring, hitting the pedal to the metal.
‘Hold on!’ Johann screamed. The van was going real fast, zooming past through all obstacles. Every plant became blurry shades of green.
‘Fuck!’ I needed to grab onto something so I wouldn’t fall off my seat. Gunshots. Firing…at us!
‘Johann! Gunshots! Aiming at us!’
‘Shit!’ Johann quickly steered a sharp right, facing a downward slope. The gunshots were getting louder and louder by the second. They must’ve been faster than us.
‘Let me drive it! I can drive really fast!’ Alex panicked.
‘No!’ I replied. ‘ What happened yesterday night huh!?’
‘Then what are we going to do?’
‘Let’s hope for the best. Venitu guide our way.’ I felt very weak in saying that. Johann was panicking, trying to steer left and right down the slope. He may not be as fast as Alex, but he certainly could control the vehicle much better.
‘I remember this place…’ Augustus said. ‘Wait! Johann! Keep driving north!’
‘Yes sir!’ Johann replied.
‘I got another battalion in Tsarevo, around ten to fifteen minutes from here. If we can make it there before those damn pacifiers get here, we could be safe and eliminate the threat. I need to make a call.’ He got out his flip phone and started to call the rebels there. I haven’t seen a flip phone in ages. I don’t even remember the time I actually saw one of these.
‘I can’t believe it.’ Shaun said. ‘We’re supposed to kill these two people in the front seats, but now we need them for our survival.’ He paused a bit. ‘After this is over, I’m never going to follow your decisions, Marky.’
‘Hehehe…’ I gave a cold laugh. ‘I’m sorry, I know.’ My ears screeched as bullets pierced through the glass of the back window, blurring my vision with glass crystals.
‘Shit! This damn van won’t go any faster!’ Johann cursed. We have gotten down the slope. We were facing a white sandy beach on the left and a forest to the right. But it doesn’t mean the route is any less twisted. Johann tries to maintain concentration on driving, while trying to ignore the bullets firing at us.
‘Crap!’ Vinnie shouted. Two hummers were visible on sight now. I could see a couple of pacifiers aiming their rifles at us, firing continuously. We could hear bullets hitting the back of the van. Johann tries to swirl a bit left and right to avoid the van being hit.
‘C’mon! You damn van! Hurry up!’ He ranted. ‘Alright, here is one big turn. Hold on guys!’ He steered the van very sharply to the right, causing all of us at the back to lose grip and fall off our seats. As I got back up, I could see it. A small barricade composed of wooden boards and barbed wire. This could be it.
‘Ahhhh!’ Johann’s right arm has been shot. ‘Agghhhh! I’m going to lose control!’ Crap. It seems we’re going to crash in the barricade.
‘No you fucking don’t!’ Alex pounced at him and took over the wheel. ‘Press the brake now!’ Johann pressed the brake as hardly as he could, despite his pain. It was hard steering as Alex was not in the driver’s seat, but he managed it in the end. The van drove between the barricades on both ends. Johann immediately pressed the brakes and the van came into a halt. Rebels could be seen surrounding the area. Many of them wore shemaghs and two layers of clothing with rifles in their hands. What they lack in armour, they make up in numbers. There seemed to be around fifty, sixty, seventy…..I’m not surprised if there was even a hundred. We quickly opened the van door. Augustus came out first. He was greeted by another man wearing similar clothing to him but without Augustus’s facial features, and shorter.
‘Sorry we have to wake you up last minute, Andrej.’ Augustus said as he gave a pat on his shoulder.
‘It’s okay. Your prisoners?’ Andrej said as he pointed at us.
‘They…are special.’ Gunshots have been heard at the distance. ‘Now is not the time to talk! Get into action! You lot! Come with me!’ We followed Augustus behind some more barricades. Shaun and I helped Johann due to his injured arm. ‘I want you all to stay here. I do not want The Father to know that you are against him.’
‘We never said we’re against him…’ Shaun said.
‘Fine, whatever. Just don’t come out yet! Come out when they leave! I do not want The Father to know we have you guys otherwise he’d bulldoze us right through with his army. There is a first aid kit right here. Help bandage Johann…please.’ And then he went off.
‘Alright…’ Vinnie gave a sigh. ‘Let’s get you bandaged up.’
‘Thanks.’ Johann replied. ‘Name’s Johann.’
‘Vinnie. They are John, Alex and Shaun.’ The rest gave a slight wave or hello to greet him. Gunshots intensified. While we had to stay here for cover and bandaging Johann, I couldn’t help but notice the rebels and pacifiers that are wounded or killed.
‘So…why are you helping us?’ Johann asked. ‘Isn’t it your duty to get rid of us?’
‘Yeah…but our friend Marcus here has a different story. While it is my responsibility to kill you right on the spot, but being friends for a long time, I’m…sorry, we…are now stuck in this position with him.’
‘Oh…’ Johann replied. ‘But Marcus seems to be a decent guy. I can trust him despite our political affiliations.’ More rebels were wounded or shot dead. Due to explosions, two of them were even blasted past our barricaded vicinity. After many more gunshots and explosions, the fight finally came to cease. The rebels have won, but not without consequence or gain. While all pacifiers and silencers were killed, twice as many rebels died due to the lack of armour, military equipment and technology. Around twenty of the surviving rebels were injured and needed medical attention immediately.
‘Are you alright?’ Augustus came back to meet us alongside Andrej. ‘I’ve already told Andrej about your situation, so he went to send a message stating you five have a special status and are allowed to be here.’ I immediately sighed as a sign of relief. ‘However…’ We all paid attention. ‘We cannot stay here for long. The Father must’ve known about their defeat by now and it would not be long before they would pacify this area. Have a good rest. We’ll leave by tomorrow.’
‘To where?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know yet.’ He replied. ‘I’ll need to scour through the books, documents and other forms of literature. I’ll also need to discuss with Andrej about our other rebel headquarters…well, not headquarters. More of like outposts or camps, you get the idea. It’s most likely we’ll go to one of those camps for safety and to plan our next move. I’ll let you all know where we’re heading as soon as possible.’
The way Augustus said about his books and literature…I wonder where he could’ve had access to all of those things. Books contained knowledge that only trusted people like me could access. The Father said that books, computers, electronic devices and knowledge are dangerous to the citizens, therefore, only trusted and selected people could have access to them as they could run the world with little or no consequence at all. But after all of this pacifying, I’m starting to doubt if this were truly the case.
It is near midnight by now and all of us were asleep. Well…except for me. We used metal scraps with wood to start our fire. Surprisingly, the barrels near the barricades are full of oil, and we use spoonsful of them to let the fire continue to burn. But as I was the only one awake, I guess I had to do it all by myself. I remember the fire we had two days ago. Just as bright and just as warm. I had been wondering where Augustus and Andrej were and what they were planning to do. Augustus said about moving out of this place, but exactly where still remained a mystery.
I felt tears coming out of my eyes. My…peers…would do so much as to even risk their lives for me. Due to my…ruthless actions, selfish…actions. I lowered my head and covered my face with my tears. My outpour of tears worsened when I realised that I may never see the white haired girl again. I have so many questions to ask her. Damn you, fate! You made us meet together and now you’re disbanding us! I…didn’t even know her…h-her…name…dammit! The only way to alleviate this internal pain is to sing a song…a song that I learnt since childhood, a song that was my life blood.
“Do not be afraid of the darkness. For Venitu will guide you. Let the violins play the music of burning fire, and let the winds spread the blessing-”
“…to the whole world.” Shaun interrupted my monologue of lamentation. I just lowered my head even further and continued shedding tears. “Now, now. Marky. Don’t do that. You’re making me feel sad too.”
“I-I-j-just…can’t….c-can’t…h-help it.” I didn’t want Shaun to see my face. “Damn it…you ruined my song.”
“There, there. It isn’t YOUR song.”
“Damn it…Shaun.”
“Care to explain why you are crying?”
I immediately turned aside. “I’ve…I’ve…dragged you all into this mess.” Shaun got up, patted me on the shoulder and sat right next to me.
“It’s ok…”
“I mean. You want to kill Augustus didn’t you!?”
“Shhh…” Shaun hit me on the head. “You want me to get in trouble?”
“N-No…”
“Well, truth is…while it is my duty to get rid of him, after all these years of fighting…it just drains your spirit you know. I guess everything has to come to an end, or at least a resting point. I feel like not pacifying for once.”
“Oh…” I took another spoonful of oil and fed the fire. The fire was as intense as the previous one but it meant something else. Rather than a material object, I felt Venitu’s wrath energising my soul. I have committed enough in the past. It is time to ameliorate this dire situation. We heard footsteps.
“Oh…you both are still awake.” It was Augustus. The fire made his front face look bright but sharply contrasted by his sides and back. “I would like to show you both something. Come along.” We got up to our feet and followed him. After a few minutes, we arrived at the coast of Tsarevo. The sound of waves hitting the shore was a pleasant sound after having to hear all the bullets, explosions, shouts and screams. However, something caught our eye. A huge pile of clothing, wait…no…a pile of….bodies! “These were the people killed for our sake.” Augustus started to fold his arms. “I’ve counted….seventy two in all….to deal with twenty seven pacifiers and three silencers. More than two deaths per kill. Twenty two more are injured. This leaves only five unscathed, Andrej and I included.”
“I’m…I’m so sorry!” I immediately knelt down, ashamed. I truly thought he was trying to kill me at the moment in time.
“No…no…stand up. It’s not your fault.” Shaun helped me put myself back together. “I just want you to realise that this was what it took to hold back The Father’s forces. Not to mention that he might send even more were he to hear the news about our…..narrow victory. Do you realise if they were to attack civilians, how easily they could steamroll through entire villages, towns…possibly even countries and the world!?”
“Eh…” We both muttered.
“But.” Shaun explained. “You are interfering with the business of The Father. This is what you would get. Payback.”
“How could you-” Augustus was frustrated.
“Who said you are right in the first place. Is The Father really that malevolent to you?”
“Yes he IS! People, regardless being good or bad, have been slain mercilessly by him. We cannot have a living without pain and tragedy. Haven’t you had people you love so dearly but only to realise to have them taken away!?”
“Well…well...no, not really.” Shaun replied.
“Then of course you’ll never understand.” Augustus turned his back towards us. “At least your friend here has some remorse and some sense knocked into him.”
“Vengeance…” Shaun sighed.
“I’m sorry…” I dared not look at him.
“It’s ok. Really.” The three of us stared at the pile of corpses. We didn’t know what to say.
“Y’know…while Andrej and I were in our quarters, I managed to have time to scavenge my collection of books and manuscripts. The Elements of Revolution written by one of our connections. Before the global annexation of The Father, their governments have already been severely oppressing the people. While the citizens are some of the most peaceful and kind, they too have struggled with persistent oppression. With the right equipment and the right people, we can create our first social cataclysm. If there is nothing else, we should be heading there as soon as possible.”
“So…where are we heading?” I asked.
“We’re going to Myanmar.”
