Schlik!
The blade cut through the mutated flesh that Miguel and Yuna were commissioned to hunt down on the outskirts of the city.
"That was fairly easy," said Miguel, cleaning the blade he just used to strike down the wolf mutant.
"Why even have enforcers if we're the ones cleaning up the higher-ranking mutants?" Yuna scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Well, they don't want any enforcer blood spilled!" Miguel said, knowing what's to follow.
"Ummm, those enforcers are being paid extra with taxpayers' money because they are 'risking lives' and whatnot... When all they do is sit at their pretty offices and drink away their paychecks."
Yuna was visibly angry, kicking the pebble that was in front of her as she walked.
"You get mad every time we go on a mission. Like, why do you even bother with the mercenaries at this point?" He knew why, but still wanted to point it out.
"It's the only way I feel as if I'm defying my father, but still, when we get commissioned by enforcers to do this, it just feels like we are part of the system too."
She was already at a loss for words, a tear welling in her eye.
"I just wish he were still here with me. Miguel, to this day, I miss him so much, even though it's been 10 years now."
Her eyes welled up, blurring her vision. She barely felt Miguel's arms around her before they tightened.
Tears began to fall one by one, and all he did was tap her shoulder blade in quiet comfort.
The pebble she had been kicking clattered softly to a stop in the stillness.
"It's okay, you have every right to still be hurting."
It wasn't like him to console others, but now, already in his embrace, she became aware of how close they were.
The smell of iron and moss hit her nostrils as she breathed in his scent, allowing her body to relax for a moment.
"I just can't live with the thought of so many others having the same fate as him and no one batting an eyelid, not even his mother for heaven's sake!"
She pulled herself out of his embrace, although the pinch she felt in her chest when their bodies parted was probably a sign she should have stayed there longer.
"You don't know what happens behind closed doors, Yuna.... There must be someone fighting the corruption of this government." He tried consoling even though he had no evidence of this.
"Yes, there is someone, me, us," she exclaims, continuing to walk in silence towards the mercenary base.
Her head was spinning with thoughts about her childhood with Sooha, and she didn't understand why it was happening now, after months of not thinking of him.
She had hoped that the years had healed the wounds and betrayal she felt when they took him away, but no, her anger was ever growing...
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, Sooha was very much alive.
The seemingly higher-ranking man of the two who had approached the vehicle eyed the two pink-haired men and the one he was cradling in his arms behind the shield.
His eyes flared with a certain realization before purple light shone within them.
With a snap of his fingers, he extended a purple-tinted field around himself, and at that moment, Sooha's eyes widened with terror as his body started going limp.
The barrier and the soft glow from his hand flickered.
"Damien, what are you doing?!" Sooha said in disbelief as he watched his childhood friend dismantle the lifeline of the person he loved the most.
The light went out, and the barrier shattered, and with that, Luke started screaming in pain.
Sooha cradled him in his arms as the man hyperventilated and gasped for air in between his winces.
"Don't leave me, Luke, please," He begged, his face buried in Luke's messy hair.
"Don't become a memory now," Sooha whispered, now cupping the man's cheek as Luke's teary eyes looked at him.
"I love you," he said, using the last of his strength to pull Sooha in for a kiss.
"Don't miss me… too much, my tart," Luke whispered in his ear, as his body went limp on Sooha's.
The heavy, iron taste of blood in his mouth was enough of a realization that he was now once again alone in this world.
Then
Silence
Sooha went completely numb.
No thoughts went through his head anymore.
He no longer felt the cold, the pain.
Nor the ringing of the vehicle horn.
Only the absence, spreading like rot.
He wanted to lie still, to follow the warmth that had just left Luke's body.
He didn't care about anything else.
Not anymore.
He felt the last of his energy dissipate under Damien's aura.
He threw him a deadly stare before his body hit the ground, landing on top of Luke's.
...
As he opened his eyes, confused about what was going on, he looked around the room anxiously.
Then his mind started piecing it together one by one.
Whatever the illusion on the road was, the car crash, Luke... Damien.
"DAMIEN!" Sooha yelled in anger and desperation, getting out of bed and banging against the securely locked door.
Moments later, nothing was heard; he slumped down against the door and slowly broke into tears.
It can't be true
He muttered under his breath over and over again.
The knob rattled, and it made Sooha crawl away from the door.
Damien entered the room, stern-looking and with no emotion showing on his face.
"Where did you live once Syntrum fell? he asked, seemingly unfazed by Sooha's current state.
"With the man you killed," Sooha said, anger replacing the sadness he was feeling.
"Based on his uniform, it seems to be Site 76. Elimination was necessary.
"He was... a human..." he uttered in disbelief...
"And he was not... a criminal... he did not deserve that Damien." Tears welled up in his eyes once more.
"Why would you stop me from healing him?" he said, looking at Damien with disappointment.
"It seems you had feelings for that man. In that case, you probably want this back."
He took out Luke's dog tags from his pocket and handed them to Sooha.
"It slipped out when we took the body back..."
Sooha stared in disbelief, breaking into tears as he took the necklace, his fingers grazing Damien's gloved hand.
He pressed the necklace to his lips and snuggled more into his knees, still sitting on the cold floor.
"You took the body back? Can I see it?" he asked softly, still not looking at Damien.
"Not yet," Damien said sternly, retreating from the room.
"Then when!" Yelled Sooha behind him.
Getting no response.