"Mr. President, shoot the gun... please" he slightly grinned, "Fire it at my head." His lips twitched, but it turned into a curved smile. Without hesitation in the president's blood he fingers pulled the trigger and the gun fired, and with a thunderous sound hitting the officer's head knocking on the ground. "Mr. "President, I didn't know you were such a coward!" the officer exclaimed as if in delight. He was the one who shot the man who laughed as the fluid gushed. He wasn't hit, but it was just a scratch beside his forehead. "Using that thing in your hand is cowardice."
Embracing the weighty mantle of responsibility that rested heavily upon his broad shoulders, he deftly positioned his firearm behind him while the warmth of his brow collided intimately with the robust muzzle of his esteemed colleague-an individual who possessed the grave duty of safeguarding the illustrious First Lady.
The man who taunted him walked with his knee slightly bleeding. It wasn't from the President's shot, but it was from something else.
"Mr. President, I know you wouldn't hesitate to kill me." He slightly coughed blood. "But you should be concerned about your wife." Although he had seen a glimpse of the dark ruby red falling from her, his finger brushed the trigger as if contemplating whether to shoot him. However, without hesitation, the guard raised a short blade to the president's neck, slyly gliding it across.
"Officer Babel, what do you even plan on doing with this? Don't you think all of this is unnecessary just for theatrics?" With a flick of the officer's wrist, the blade was sent flying toward the head of the first security officer who turned out to be a traitor, hitting his forehead with the handle and making him lose consciousness. The truth was that he had only been shot in the lobe of the ear and knee. With a little twist of the president's body, he then shot the man behind Officer Babel in the knee. However, a threat hit the president in his lungs with a silent shot coming from more people who were running and chasing them. They weren't visible because of the darkness, yet they hit the president once more in the lungs.
"Warning shot? That's silly of you."
"Is she okay now?" Officer Babel placed the lady on the president's arm as he pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed it on the red fluids around the lady's neck.
"Mr. President, you must run." He grabbed his shoulders, shooting him a firm look.
"You are the most important person in this country." The president looked at his wife as he considered how to survive this perilous situation. He knows everything is at risk, but as much as possible, he doesn't want it to fall any of one side of the coin. He wants to gain both as much as possible. Not only that, but he holds himself as a great country's president as much as being an accommodating husband yet what is he even living for in his entire life? Does he have anything to live for after loosing one of these? To live together with his wife safely, or to bear the burden of the entire country. He has to choose.
"President," the lady's hands reached Helios arms, and as if the warmth of her hands made him lose his trance of thought, he snapped back to reality. "I'll be with you, whatever your decision is." With one hand, she placed it reassuringly on him, smiling, but then looked away as she coughed, spilling a little blood away from him.
"Didn't you patch up her wounds?"
"I did. Unfortunately, I do not know how to cure poisons and even if I only know some-"
The president clenched his fist as if trying not to grab his collar and scold him for not knowing "anything".
"I... I don't know what to do about this." Babel caressed the nape of his, reluctantly acknowledging his defeat. Babel was supposed to know at least something, yet he doesn't know how to solve this.
The president inhaled sharply and relaxed himself, breathing out.
"You can leave me here." The president's wife moved herself toward the side of the tunnel.
"No, you need to be with me. We only have a few-"
"My president," she weeps. "Understand that your country needs you more than your wife! Your country is currently under attack, not just us!" The president's eyes soften in disappointment as she picks up her hand. "Remember what I said to you before? Till death do us part, I will ensure your future is great... that's why..." The grip on their hands tightens. "I need you to forget about me for now. Set your priorities straight." her brows met between her forehead, frowning at him. "Mr. President, I voted for you as a citizen. I didn't vote you as your wife. I did not vote you for being a helpful man inside the house. I didn't vote you because you gave me gifts during our anniversaries. I didn't vote you as a man who love me. I voted you because you're devoted to your country and I know you try your best to accommodate all the needs of the people. Straighten your back! IF YOU DON'T, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU. I myself will kill you for being an undeserving person to be in your seat to reach your fellowmen. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR COUNTRY!" She lets go of his hand, pushing him away, letting him fall on to his bottoms on the ground.
"GO!"
"We will not be at the end of your term." the first lady looked away, placing a hand on her bleeding wound on her torso. Despite the people poisoning her, people have wounded her. And despite the patching Officer Babel did, it still bleeds as if it wasn't fixed.
"We?"
"Our child."
"Wait-"
"Our child..." she cupped where her womb is as crimson fluids gushed from it. "I couldn't save him" She gritted her teeth. "Go now. Take care of your fellowmen." he tried to hold her yet the first lady pushed him away. "Go. Babel. Follow my orders. TAKE THE PRESIDENT TO SAFETY. He's the only way for this country to have a leader to lead and make sure make him responsible for it. Babel, do this for me."
Babel held the president's arms, almost as if dragging him away. "I will... I will take responsibility for you." Helios bit his lip. "I will be back for you." Helios thought he was being a coward. It was a short thought, yet it burned his insides not having his lady go with him.
"Don't turn back," her lips formed into a sorrowful smile. "My beloved president"
He tumbled off his office chair. His sweat trickles down on his forehead and despite the groggy sleep, his attention to his surroundings gradually became clear. The rich smell of old wood, architecturally and masterfully built into the windows, the hues of cream color that complimented it on the cement, and the scent of some eucalyptus oil and lavender oil over the four-cornered walls. Along with it were the manga panels that hung on the wall, carefully secured with medical tape to avoid being ripped by plastic tape. As the long LED light above shines, that slowly loses its purpose, as it is slightly dimmer than when he first bought it to replace the old fluorescent light. The four window panels covered the light and filtered the morning sun, while the green net that helped keep the pesky insects and mosquitoes out kept his house free from intrusion of any harm.
Ah, this is... my room. I dreamt about my work, huh?
Knock
"Sensei, your review of the work is here! Open the door!"
"Ah, it's open." the man exhaled sharply, still having the dizziness taking over his brain slowly. Irritated at the silent noise, he complains as he massages the side of his forehead. "What's with those damn knocks?! That's too silent!" That was his way of telling it was something he could barely hear, and the knock wasn't audible for him to hear from all his thoughts. He rubs the cold back of his neck with his shaking hands. Those clammy hands are the hands of a creator, full of hardened calloused fingers. It wasn't pleasant to touch even to his own opinion, but smoother than the people who work harder outside in the field.
"Say what you want." The door creeks open as the footsteps of them walk on the wooden floor. "Or don't bother me if you can't say anything than a whisper."
"Your review of the work-"
"-Tell me what its contents are."
"But that's unprofessional, Sir! I hold ethics near my heart, and this isn't mine-"
"-you're the assistant here. I ask you to read those contents for me. So I don't have to waste time reading it." He didn't raise his voice, which is the opposite of his patience, silently losing it.
"T-then," the assistant clears her throat.
"Upon further inspection, the contents of your manga proposal were too controversial to be published." He was still. His voice remained on a conversational volume. Yet it remained, contrasting with the burrowing frustration within him that any moment he could lose.