Peacekeeper's Wrath

"Emergency alert!!!, I need to pop!" I hurriedly dashed into the restroom, seeking justice to be served. My guts brushed into tears as I quickly sat down and waited for that 'thing' to come out. I spent almost 10 minutes, but alas! my shy pop never came out.

"Maybe it's not his time to come out; he's still enjoying his time inside my belly," I thought while walking away from the toilet, assuring that everything was safe.

As I ventured outside, I saw my companion Michael smilingly waiting. He was tall and had a very muscular build; his slightly brown hair added to the appeal of his dark eyes. I wondered what he was doing here while approaching him with a pale and gloomy demeanor.

"Brooo... what happened to you? You look like a dead person," Michael curiously asked.

Unsure how to answer, I quietly looked at him and threw a question back. "Never mind me; what are you doing in this indecent place?"

"Oh, now, now, don't worry! I'm just about to take my piece of time. Calling it an indecent place is really exaggerated, you know."

"Yeah, never mind!" I knew it wasn't really an exaggeration; there were rumors about this place being a nest of lovebirds at night. Not surprisingly, it was quite far from the park.

"Take your time," I said while walking towards the exit. But suddenly, a bomb exploded without warning.

"What are you doing to my virgin pants?" I cursed my stomach while hurriedly flying to the judgment area.

Michael, recovering from the shock, left a grim smile. "Now you can call it an indecent place," he said, but I wished I hadn't heard him.

"Man, that was really embarrassing," I cursed myself while washing my hands. But surprisingly, after that thing was out of my system, my world returned to normal, unlike a few moments before.

I came out and saw that bastard Michael was nowhere to be found. "Witnessing this must have really satisfied him, huh..."

Now, after that incident, I safely returned home. But you couldn't really call it a house. From the outside, it looked like a dirty and uninhabitable place. The walls were worn-out scraps, with some flooring made of hard dirt and plastic wrappers. I had been locked here for more than eight years.

I was once the son of a wealthy family; my father was a former senator, and my mother came from a business lineage. Unfortunately, everything changed when I was celebrating my 10th birthday.

I remember my father, tired and very pale, entering my room. I was really happy when he suddenly brought a present and directly gave it to me. He smiled, but I knew deep inside he was in the depths of sorrow. My mother had just died a week before my birthday; I couldn't even smile a little because of it.

My father hugged me while patting my head and looked at me with serious eyes. "Always fight, my son, whenever the situation arises. Don't let others dictate you, not even your heart." Those were the last words I heard from his gentle face. After that, I saw him on television being convicted and sentenced to death. Of course, it was painful to watch your loved ones being executed, even on television.

From that day on, everything was taken from me: my family, our property, my dreams and goals, and my smile. Our relatives even cut ties with us as if we had never existed in this judgmental world.

From an early age, I experienced how unjust this society can be. I was drowned by the truth, unable to swim and see how beautiful this creation was. I could not breathe because of the chains of weakness and poverty wrapping around my body, pulling me down into the depths of despair.

I had seen what others ignored and had already smelled the aroma of poisonous coffee, drinking every last drop of malicious interpretation.

I fought to live every single year, eating leftovers, collecting junk, and working tirelessly. Of course, I never stopped my studies. Now I was 18 years old, a freshman in college, supported by a scholarship. I was standing on my own two feet.

Throughout those years, I never had a friend. There were people who were close to me, but I never considered them friends; they were merely companions.

I changed my clothes into a school uniform. Don't worry; I had already taken a shower. "I think I still have some time before my class, so I will waste my time in the library."

Reading to pass the time was truly wonderful. I browsed through another book, but someone caught my attention.

"Hey, reading, aren't you?"

"Oh, I was just passing the time, though."

"Hmmm, you really are hard-working, babe," she complimented and hugged me from behind.

"Aggressive as ever, huh..." I teased her. It was almost time, so I patted her head and started to walk.

Shyra immediately walked by my side with a satisfied grin. She was my girlfriend; it had already been a year since I started dating her. She had very comfortable and charming eyes and was popular with both girls and boys. I never thought I could get close to her. She had a complicated personality; sometimes she was very clingy, and other times she was unapproachable. She was the only girl who understood me, but I never fully understood her.

"Oh, I remember! Do you have some time on Sunday?"

"Yeah, I'm free that day. Why?"

"I wanted to look for something. Can we meet in Kinzulo Park at 4 PM?"

"That's a little late; your parents might be worried about you."

"No problem; I already got their approval. Speaking of my parents, they wanted to see you again and asked when you might visit them."

"I don't have plans next week, so I can visit them," I declared.

"Wow, that's perfect timing! We have a little celebration then."

"I see," I calmly nodded as we entered the noisy room.

"Then see you at Kinzulo Park on Sunday. Bye-bye!" She smiled happily, waved her arms, and left.

I sat down at my rusty chair and put my bag down. I scanned my surroundings and found that the annoying man was already by my side.

"Being all lovey-dovey again, huh!" Michael greeted loudly.

"Your voice is as annoying as always," I replied.

"Oh, thank you for your lovely compliment," he smiled while looking out the window.

I just ignored him and waited for the professor to come.

After the weekdays surrendered to the weekend, I prepared my things for my upcoming date. I waited for her, but it took almost an hour, so I tried to contact her through my tiny phone. I texted her to ask where she was or what happened to her, but received a silent reply. I tried to contact her parents, but they never responded either. I thought something important had happened, so I just waited for a few hours. Sensing she wouldn't come, I began to walk home.

As I passed under some tree branches, I began to contemplate what just happened. I remembered my time with her. I didn't really feel in love with her at first; I thought if we dated for a while, I would regain my feelings, but that conclusion never came. I walked further and realized how dark the path was; I felt like I was walking down a road with no end. Every step I took was silent.

I was swallowed by my thoughts. I looked up and saw the bright red ball. A few moments later, I realized I was standing in front of my shabby house. The shadow of the giant ball prevented any light from shining.

Click, Bang, Clang...

An unknown noise came from inside my house. I ran hurriedly, wondering what had happened.

A splash of water on the floor irritated my wandering mind. I touched the liquid; the light from the moon entered the room through the broken window.

I was shocked; I couldn't even move or react to what I saw. I covered my mouth with my right hand.

"Wha... Shi..." Finally, I regained my senses and began to reach for the body lying there. It was a corpse, but not just any corpse the corpse of my girlfriend, lying down silently with her blood scattered around.

Everything went blank; I was completely consumed by the sudden realization. My hands shook rapidly. All I could hear was a familiar voice, the tone clearly happy.

I sat quietly and emotionless, staring at her hopelessly beautiful body. I felt nothing no grief or tears but only shock.

Now, almost 5 minutes had passed, and I had done nothing but stare at her. I could now hear the whistle of the police car. The strike blew away everything. The police officer carefully pinned me down and put handcuffs on me. The officer behind me began to state my Miranda rights. I was taken away from that nightmare. It was just right to do because I had killed my own girlfriend.

Weeks passed, and I was already detained in a solitary room full of beastly, monstrous stares. The news circulated faster than the speed of light. The verdict hadn't even been passed, and the investigation was still ongoing, but I was already convicted as a criminal in the court of public opinion.

The investigation continued, and all the evidence pointed to me as the main suspect. I did everything to counter their claims, but it was completely useless.

"You have a visitor."

I looked and saw familiar faces: the parents of my girlfriend. They looked gloomy and pale. They stared at me, emotionless. I had already guessed what they were thinking, so I just maintained my composure.

"G...od, please forgive me for being a bad parent," her mother began to cry hopelessly.

I stared at them, watching their expressions shift to anger.

"Tell me honestly, what did you do to my precious daughter?"

"I killed her," I quickly answered without wasting time. I didn't want them to feel pity for me because I was the one who caused this. If I had just followed my instincts and gone home, I might have had a chance to help her.

Their angry eyes sparked like a bomb. One of them lunged at me without warning. The police officer ran toward us and took them away from me. I grimaced, mocking their foolish action.

The next day, Michael visited me. He looked the same, standing near me and staring. I never thought this evil guy would come.

"You look healthier than ever, Miku."

"Another sarcastic statement from a guy like you, huh!"

"As expected from a wise guy like you who killed his own dove."

"Don't waste my time; state your purpose."

"Awww... don't be like that. I missed you, you know," he said, pointing his middle finger in front of my face. Although we were separated by transparent glass, he clearly mocked me.

I ignored him and waited for him to leave. He waited for my response for about a minute, but I insisted on staying silent.

"Fine, fine, fine... I know you don't have any means to escape your situation, so I'm offering my help. I will help you escape..."

"Do you know what you just said?" I calmly asked.

"What? What did I just say? Please tell me, Miku-kun..." he pleaded, as if he had forgotten what he just murmured.

"Forget it. I never wanted your help in the first place."

"Ohh, rejecting is not your place, you know!" he retorted, but I just ignored his stupid idea. I didn't think he had a brain at all; why would I waste my time planning to escape if it would only cause more problems? I knew I couldn't solve a problem with another problem.

Whatever he thought, I never cared about anything— not even about myself.

From what happened to my dear life, I was in a disadvantageous position. I desperately tried to build my life, but a single storm destroyed everything.

"How to build everything back?" I knew it was impossible to do now, even in the past. I could always see a hopeless light hindering everything. I could still remember what happened before my eyes. My family collapsed, and I started to build a new foundation, but it was crushed. Now I was in jail, waiting for my own conviction. I rejected the false help offered to me.

Now, after almost five years, my sentence was up and my freedom was finally sought. I remembered every single thing that happened. I had gathered enough evidence and conducted my own investigation with the help of my lawyer.

In the very end, I held onto my late father's advice. Now everything was concluded. I never lost, but I also never won. I achieved what I wanted, but I lost everything, including my life.

Now, some guards were escorting me away from the chains of suffering. For a brief moment, I could breathe in the fresh air. Slowly, some media personnel surged in to capture my release. A lot of military officers were found around, guarding the area.

I was completely mesmerized by everything around me. I felt utterly hopeless, pondering what to do next. As I walked through the corridor, I wondered about the meaning of the word "freedom." From what I could see, there was no true freedom. Life's actions are bound by consequences; whenever you act, the consequences never fade. Just like a clock, they cannot be reversed.

In front of me was a gloomy room; the sides were full of unknown people. Their faces were completely blank, staring at me with cold, solemn expressions. It made me feel warm to know they were all here just to watch me take my piece of freedom.

Upon entering the room, a dark chair welcomed me. The two personnel looked at each other and assisted me in sitting in the dark wooden chair. The chair had a base that was very comfortable; I felt the sensation of warm bars wrapping around my arms, left to right, until I could not resist. Of course, I had never planned to do that. They began to put a metal chain around my neck, preventing me from moving completely.

Everything was now prepared; the garrote process was nearing its climax. Everyone was waiting for the signal, and the camera was focused solely on me. The scene that had played out for my father now passed down to me. I now felt what he must have felt at that time: the fear echoing in my ears was now gone. I had some alternatives, like lethal injection, but this was what I chose to fully achieve my goals.

I had already planted a seed that would shock every single face in this world. This process was essential to make it grow. Of course, I wouldn't leave this world without doing anything; it was a complete trade, a stalemate.

The signal struck clearly. The metal tightened and slowly thrust into my throat, the pain swallowing my entire body. My sight began to blur, as if it were forcing me to sleep.

The end was now beginning; my death would solve the equation of every dirty mathematical paradox. This would prove my innocence and tackle what happened to my girlfriend, but it would not end just like that. It would also destroy the credibility of the justice system. The rotten people who falsely convicted me would be cursed by their guilt.

In the last moments of my life, I had achieved my goal. I had fulfilled my father's will and cracked the foundation of this judgmental society.

All I had to do was rest. No, I didn't even have a choice in the first place.

******

A: see you all in the next chapter....