"We already know what we have to do. Wipe out those volunteering assholes and ensure the Hybrids still have a hope they can undoubtedly depend on!" Katie declared loudly.
"And what message does that send? That as long as someone's bothering a Hybrid, they can just burn them to shreds, no matter if it's something as simple as an eye roll?" Kima threw her argument back at her face with closed eyes.
"Oh, give me a break! It doesn't matter how many people die as long those oppressed thrive as they should and the oppressors are dealt with properly!" Katie scowled.
Somehow, she noticed Dark Determination's burning passion blazing in her dark blue eyes. Kim started sweating.
"A little biased, there, aren't you, Kate?" asked Kima.
"Huh? What's that s'posed to fuckin' mean...?" growled Katie through clenched teeth.
Ace's voice interrupted them, purple and blue eyes locking onto his ginger features as he started with, "Nothing. It means nothing. Both of you are getting a little too heated for a civil discussion. Katie, sit down."
As she heard her cousin's order, she scoffed, slipping into her seat with a puff and crossed arms. There was only Kima before him... her eyes were sparkling--she seemed hopeful.
"Do you think I agree with you?" asked Wilder.
All happiness and light within her expression suddenly expelled. She was only left with the cruel truth of a person's individuality, the capability to formulate free opinions, regardless of whoever it benefitted or didn't.
"Katie's right. Extinguish the stupid bastards who fall outta line and see what their followers do, then."
"But that's stupid!" challenged June from the end of the table.
Everyone's eyes deemed her their target. Had she not thought that? No, they'd all been looking at her because she dared to speak her mind. Her lips started to part further... but as she started to speak again, one look at Katie's expression sent her stuttering. It was like she were a child presenting in class, unable to utter what she truly believed. They'd hate her no matter what, they'd abandon her because she was herself. They'd hate her for being free.
'They'd... hate me for being free...?'
It all came pouring in. Her ambition, her unforgettable mistakes. There was blood on her hands she could never wash away. Whether Katie was mad or not didn't matter! As long as she stood up for what she believed in--that's all that mattered!
Katie gasped. Somehow, it transferred to her. An unsurpassable inferno made incarnate by that raging flame in emerald eyes. Whether it was the desire to slaughter or an overwhelming impulse for the opposite, none of them thought any further. That look garnered their attention, no matter its true meaning.
"I want to help people! I don't want to take any more lives for the sake of some flimsy sense of justice, that's GARBAGE! We should formulate a democratic solution for the Evolutionary and Hybrid debacle, we owe it to not only the Hybrid soldiers' families who laid down their lives on the battlefield of the Remnant World Extermination Operation but to the Evolutionary families who know nothing of their relatives' cruelty!"
June's clamorous declaration was different from the others' resolve. Katie and Ace who resembled the unavoidable violence of the confrontation, Kima's peaceful opinion the Wilder sister agreed with--even that differed from the usual.
'Dad said something about August being the selfless one, while he was self-absorbant. June must be the one who inherited that trait of her father's. I don't know why, but right now, though she's disagreeing with me, I can't help but admire her,' thought Katie.
Kima scoffed, "Well, it doesn't matter. We all have different opinions but the same thoughts. The Hybrids are the victims here. The Evolutionaries, volunteers or otherwise, ignorant or not, are the source. But it's as June said. We can't just kill every single Evolutionary just because a select group, however, the majority, is causing problems. Some remain normal, some remain... innocent."
"In my experience, in this cruel world--" Katie remembered the disfigured corpses littering Riverton's deserted roads, "--nobody is innocent."
"Well, you're right there!"
That familiar voice announced his arrival. August had appeared from outside the meeting room with everyone in tow. Natalia, Hana, Azazel, Jefferson.
"But you kids are a little too young for that," said the Reaper, walking further within with pocketed hands.
"I'm assuming you assholes heard all of that?" asked Ace.
"Yes, we did. And while I feel prideful every time you act like me, every time you open your mouth and say something impudent, I start realizing why Azazel hates me," replied August.
Katie covered her mouth. Both Kima and June left stunned. Just one comeback and the infamous Scarlet King they all loved was defeated; completely and utterly speechless.
"Now that all you brats are quiet, bring it up, Nat," demanded Azazel of his follower.
"Yessir," Smith mocked with a salute.
Swiping away the remote from the table, she clicked the power, and suddenly, ongoing images blasted from a projector onto the blank wall. The pictures lacked color, only including muted shades of grey and black.
'This is security footage from the mall incident,' thought Katie.
"Does anyone else have this?" Ace asked the elders.
"As of now, no. However, the people at the mall still have the original copy, so it should've leaked by now," stated Detective Karlo.
"Oh shit."
Natalia covered her mouth. Hana couldn't avert her eyes. The same things happening for eternity, as old as she was, the strength to act surprised had diminished; all that remained were ashes.
The Hybrid did indeed have dragon scales. He was checking out from the food court on the upper floor, aiming to settle his tray on a targeted table his eyes had sought. But while he was walking, someone shoulder-checked him and ran down the escalator. All his food wobbling out his hands, as he collapsed to the floor, the hood over his head revealed his scales spread over his neck.
In due time, the Volunteering Evolutionary officers stationed at the mall found their 'suspect.' As they baselessly escorted him down the escalator, the Hybrid found himself, victim, to a barrage of harmful slurs blasting out the officers' mouths. What more could he do? Incite an incident, attempt to rebel? The Reaper was just, if he explained everything, especially with his case against the untrustworthy volunteers, everything would go his way.
He could feel his skin burning. Melting away with every passing second, chunks of flesh tearing apart with flames singing tearing apart his limbs, reverting them to mere blackened replicas of what once laid bare. The inferno extinguished the familiarity from his face, diminishing the hoodie's build until only rips remained at the ends. He didn't even get the time to scream, but he felt everything, from the ends of flames bubbling his insides to resemble stew, to the peaceful journey of Heaven some distance away as he was finally released from this mortal coil.
"Jesus..." Natalia whispered.
"Forever and always, this has happened. No matter what World, New or Old, there will remain the principle of 'injustice'. However many monsters we destroy or villains we fight back, it's undeniable that humanity's biggest enemy is itself," affirmed Hana.
"Once this footage releases, the activists of the Hybrid community are gonna start moving, and not kindly. They may be peaceful, but they're not cowards. They won't take this standing down," Azazel said.
As the Detective mentioned this, the group reminisced on when August stood atop that stage, utilizing his otherworldly influence to manipulate the Hybrid subjects into his orders.
"Don't you have a political relationship with one of the Hybrids? What was his name again?" Jeff asked, pounding his temples as he tried to remember.
"Judas," the Reaper reminded.
"Maybe you should try and talk to him about it. Get things figured out. They don't make a move until you say so, doing anything further would only fan the flames, something along those lines," suggested June to her father.
But what came next shocked them all. From the mouth of the Reaper, what spat out was a thunderous, "No."
A rejection of his daughter's advice, so blatant and rude, even Azazel was confused. However, this was the Reaper they were talking about. Their puzzled faces gradually returned to normalcy, but their quiet suspicions continuously raged as he started speaking.
"We won't do anything until I say so. It's useless to do anything until that promised time arrives."
August's voice spewed words without explanation- the group collectively asked themselves if he was being purposefully vague for some ulterior motive. His eyes turned to the Master, and with his gaze shifting, as did everyone else's.
"You feel it, too, don't you, Hana?"
She nodded--her head hung.
"Judgment... nears."
To Be Continued.