Hiroshima Crystal Crier, Page 3

  Chapter Two

  Soul sat in the dining car with a small glass of tea. She had gotten it for free. Tea, water, and coffee were free, but everything else had to be purchased. It sounded fair. Soul just wondered if Hiro had any money for her to get food. Unlike him she still had a digestive system and needed food. She sat by a window, watching the blue sky and the clouds that would gradually change from one shape to another. Soul heaved a sigh and lifted her head when someone entered the dining car. She smiled when she saw it was Hiro.

  He had changed into dark blue jeans and wore his black jacket, which he had finally decided to zip up, even though it was only half way.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving the room?” Hiro asked tiredly, dropping into the seat across from Soul and rubbing his head. “I about died of fear when I saw you were gone.”

  “I didn’t want to wake you,” said Soul, frowning at Hiro who leaned his elbows on the table and held his head.

  “This train may not be safe,” muttered Hiro to the table. “You can’t go running off without telling me.”

  Soul smiled sadly. “Are you still tired?” She asked. “You’ve only been asleep for three hours.”

  Hiro shook his head. “I’m fine,” he muttered.

  “You’re falling asleep,” said Soul.

  Hiro shook his head without a word.

  Soul sighed and finished her tea. She then stood up and tapped Hiro on the shoulder. He looked up at her, blinking in confusion. “Come on,” said Soul, taking his arm. “We’re going back to the room. I won’t leave this time so you can get sleep.”

  Hiro rolled his eyes tiredly. “I’m not sleepy,” he said.

  “I just woke you up,” said Soul with a laugh. “If you fell asleep at the table then I’m pretty sure you’re tired.”

  Hiro didn’t argue. They went back to the room and Soul opened the door. Hiro waved her away and went to the duffle bag. He pulled out his laptop and sat down. “Sit by me for a moment, Soul,” he said as he opened the laptop. “I need to show you something.”

  Soul was confused as she sat beside him and looked at the computer screen. “What is it?” She asked as Hiro brought up two windows and began typing.

  “A file I think you should read,” replied Hiro as one screen blinked and then a wave of words spilled through it. Soul got dizzy just looking at it.

  “What’s the file about?” She asked, realizing the whole thing was code.

  “Hang on a moment,” said Hiro. He was typing away like it was second nature to type seven hundred words a minute. “I’m breaking into the file. It’s confidential data that was collected before I destroyed the lab.”

  “Oh.” Soul now watched with interest as the words came together and suddenly a third screen appeared with the words “Access Granted” crossing the screen in bright green letters. It then showed multiple files against a black and green background. Most of what she read were a complicated series of numbers and Soul felt her head spin as she tried to understand what they were.

  Hiro picked one and it popped open. “Here are the notes on a subject I thought you would find interesting,” said Hiro, showing Soul the window. He pointed at the top name and Soul looked at it.

  “Deceased Symphony,” she read quietly. The name made a shiver go up her spine. “Wait… what is this?” She looked up at Hiro who shook his head. He looked very tired and Soul was half tempted to make him shut the laptop so he could sleep.

  “It’s a report on a side experiment,” said Hiro. “An experiment that was done around the same time Enimito and I were made. I thought about it before I fell asleep and wanted to show you it.” He motioned to the text beneath. “If you can understand this scientific gabber then you’ll see they’re talking about a little girl who was dying. The parents wanted her to live so they gave her away to see if the scientists could revive her. They don’t mention the girl’s name or the parents and there’s nothing that says if the experiment worked or not, but I have a feeling it did and that it was you.” Hiro looked at Soul who met his gaze.

  “So I was an experiment?” She asked.

  “I’m thinking you must have been,” replied Hiro. “You have no pulse, but you say you can feel your heart beating inside you. That’s similar to me. I have a pulse, but there is no beat in my chest. Also, when my machinery is injured I’m the only one that can hear what’s wrong.”

  “Why is that?” Soul asked.

  “It’s because I am the machine,” explained Hiro, looking at the laptop. “I could almost call this laptop my brother more than I can call my parents Mom and Dad, if I had any.” Hiro read the report, trying to ignore Soul who was still watching him.

  “You’re still human to me,” said Soul.

  Hiro lifted his gaze to the wall before looking at Soul. “I told you to act your age,” he said. “Not start talking like you’ve actually grown up.”

  Soul gave him a bewildered look, but Hiro simply snapped the laptop shut. “I’m going to rest,” he said as he slid the laptop back into the bag. “Don’t go anywhere until you’ve told me first, understand?” He gave Soul a hard stare.

  “I understand,” said Soul as she got to her feet. “Do you want a pillow?” She reached up to the rack to get one, but the pillow was a little beyond her reach.

  “I can get my own pillow,” said Hiro as he got up. He stood behind Soul and reached past her. In that moment he didn’t see Soul’s face blush. He took the pillow and placed it in Soul’s hands. She took it, pulling it down and looking up at Hiro who held onto the luggage rack while looking down at her.

  “It might be my imagination,” he said slowly, his expression becoming distant. “But I think you’ve grown up since I first met you.”

  Soul wasn’t sure how to reply. She hunched her shoulders and put the pillow on the bench, hurrying away and sitting on the other bench by the window. She stared hard out the window, ignoring Hiro who watched her a moment longer before lying on the bench and kicking off his boots. He pulled on the blanket and placed the pillow under his head. In a few seconds he was asleep.

  Tightly shutting her eyes, Soul bowed her head and placed her hand over her face. She didn’t want Hiro to die. If he was gaining emotions then his system was crashing and she didn’t want that. She had to find a way to save him.

  Soul looked towards him, narrowing her eyes sadly. She had to save him.

  From the speakers on the train came a chime like a bell. Soul lifted her head and listened as a mechanical voice sounded through the speakers.

  “We will be arriving at our first destination, Ristinwall, in fifteen minutes,” said the female voice.

  “That’s not our stop,” said Soul to herself, but her words died in her mouth and she gasped. “We have other stops on the way to the ocean.” Soul stood up, but quickly looked at Hiro. He was still asleep and Soul bit her lip, looking towards the door. She didn’t want to worry Hiro, but she had an idea and hopefully Hiro wouldn’t intervene.

  She went to the door and slid it open, peeking her head out. After looking up and down the hall she stepped out and slid the door shut behind her.

  “Sorry, Hiro,” she whispered over her shoulder, setting her hand on the door. “I can’t stand by and do nothing when your enemy is on this train.” She turned and walked away down the narrow hall. She was heading to the dining car with her plan swirling in her mind. There were fifteen minutes until they approached the station. The passengers would be allowed a break, and in that time Soul knew she had only one chance to get Geicko off the train.

  Soul went to the dining car and took a seat, looking out the window and waiting. Her heart was racing, even though as she checked her wrist she felt no pulse. Sadness filled her, but she pushed it away. Time passed and the train squealed as it slowed and pulled into the station. Soul got up at once and hurried to the doors that slid open. Steam from the engine spilled in and Soul waved it away. She saw other people getting off the train so she hurried to them and joined the group. As soo
n as she was inside she laughed out loud over the murmuring of conversation and stood near an unfamiliar man who had black hair. She knew from a distance it would look like she were with Hiro, and that’s all she needed. The man gave her a weird look and she smiled at him before walking off in the other direction and passing into the station.

  The long hallway was filled with people getting ready for their train ride, or finding their luggage so they could leave. Soul passed through the crowd and glanced over her shoulder. From the corner of her eye she spotted the familiar brunette following. Soul smirked and turned away, hurrying aside to a separate doorway where there were lockers for storage. She moved into the room that had white walls and gray lockers. She stood by the lockers, looking them up and down with a confused look. There was a chair at the back and Soul saw an old bike chain hung off it. She wondered who had lost it, but then her thoughts went to the footsteps that stopped behind her.

  She spun on the spot, gasping in surprise when she found Geicko standing behind her with her arms crossed.

  “Why did Hiro let you wander off?” He asked, his copper eyes holding suspicion.

  Soul pretended to look caught. “I told him I was going to the bathroom,” she said hastily.

  “And he believed you?” Geicko asked, arching an eyebrow. “If that’s not why you left him then why did you?”

  “That’s none of your business,” said Soul bluntly.

  Geicko laughed, stepping towards Soul who moved back. “You’re such a bad liar,” he said, grinning down at her. “You act like a child, but I can see you’re more than that. I pity Hiro. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

  “And you do?” Soul questioned, moving back cautiously. She hit the chair and glanced back at it quickly before looking back at Geicko who stood before her.

  “Of course I do,” he said, holding her gaze. “I’m fully human, unlike Enimito and Hiroshima. If you want anyone in your life, Soul, you should pick someone who is just like you.” He reached out towards Soul to take her arm, but before he knew it Soul had his arm and slammed his head into the lockers. He jerked back in shock and pain, but then Soul hit him over the head with the chair and Geicko collapsed. Soul grabbed the bike chain in his dazed moment and wrapped it tightly around his arm, then slid it through a lock on the lockers, and clicked it shut. She spun the numbers on the lock and then stepped back.

  “I know what’s best for me,” said Soul as Geicko tugged on his arm. It didn’t budge no matter how hard he pulled and Geicko scowled. He looked sharply at Soul who grinned at him cleverly.

  “And, by the way,” she said going to the doorway and glancing back at him. “Hiro is like me.” She flipped her blond hair off her shoulder and then hurried away, leaving Geicko chained to the wall with a dark scowl on his face.

 

  The Beginning - 3

  My first mission... I was fully prepared for what lay ahead. At least that’s what I thought. As soon as the scientists came to get me I was ready to fight and discover what I could do. My tests up to that point had been simple. Mostly changing from one form to the other. Once they told me to destroy a building. I managed with nothing more than the flick of my hand. My powers seemed to keep growing and as I was escorted down the white corridor I knew my mission would be nothing more than a cakewalk… Whatever that was.

  I was brought down long white hallways to the room where I had first been made. I was pricked with a needle then I blacked out. When I awoke I could hear the rattle of gunfire and the screams of normal humans. I sat up at once and looked around frantically. I was in some kind of tent and there were wires and large electric boxes around me. As I looked to the entrance I saw three people entering. One was a man in a hooded jacket with jeans and black gloves. I sensed an ominous presence coming from him that made my throat dry. At his feet the shadows shifted like dancing flames and I inched back, watching him suspiciously. With him were two scientists wearing bulletproof jackets and helmets that covered their faces.

  “Here is where your first mission begins,” said one. Since I couldn’t see their faces I tried to recognize their voices. The one who had spoken was the older man. I looked at the other who stepped back and motioned to the hooded man.

  “This is Enimito,” the scientist said. It was the female scientist speaking. “As we promised, he will escort you on your first mission.”

  I looked at the man before me. He was watching me. I knew that even though I could only see below his nose because of the hood. His jaw was made of metal and was plated up to his ear. I could see now how it was that he couldn’t change back as easily as I could. Clearly the metal jaw was part of that problem.

  “Hiroshima, is it?” Enimito said in a deep voice, moving past the scientists and looking down at me. He held out a gloved hand. “I look forward to seeing what you can do, little brother.”

  I had never been called such a thing. I stared at Enimito in surprise before reaching out and accepting his hand. At once a knife shot out of his other hand and he sliced the wires off me, wrenching me to my feet. I staggered, but then spun to look at him. He kicked over the electric boxes, ignoring both scientists who shouted at him.

  “What are you doing?” The older man demanded.

  Enimito turned and looked at them. “He doesn’t need help from useless chargers,” he said in an icy voice. Then he turned to me. “Let’s see your other form.”

  I figured I had nothing to lose. I shifted forms, the bright white light filling the tent and making the scientists cover their eyes so not to go blind. When it vanished I stood facing Enimito in my black and silver armor. I saw Enimito smirk, but it was clearly hard to made expressions with a metal jaw.

  “You hear that war?” Enimito said, nodding his head to the tent entrance.

  “Yes,” I replied, shivering for some reason when a cry of agony rose over the gunfire and tore at the other shouts in the distance.

  “End it.” Enimito’s words dropped like a stone.

  “What?” I gave Enimito a confused look. “How am I supposed to end a battle?”

  “Kill them all,” replied Enimito.

  I felt a gnawing pain of sorrow and fear. “I can’t kill innocent people,” I said. I was terrified. I didn’t want to kill anyone.

  “This is what you were made for,” said Enimito icily, his voice turning to a deep growl. “Not one human out there is innocent. Finish them off and end the war or you’ll be dismantled and thrown away!”

  Even that frightened me. I stood a moment in consideration then looked at myself. I was powerful. Strong. Immortal. With gritted teeth, I shook my head. “I can’t,” I whispered.

  “DO IT!” Enimito roared, making me flinch back. “It is why you’re alive! Why you were made! You will do as you’re told, Hiroshima!”

  I gritted my teeth then turned and left the tent. This mission was my obligation... but I hated it. I entered the war ground, letting my gaze wander over the dead bodies that separated me from the living humans in the distance. I could see hundreds of men at war with one another. I ran forward like a streak of lightning, shooting into the center of the war. People jerked away in alarm and watched as I leapt straight into the air and threw my arms out to either side.

  The force of power from within me erupted like an explosion. It shot into the air and the ground. From the sky came fire raining down upon the battlefield. The ground broke open like a shattered plate and flames swept over the earth. I can still feel the chill of every life lost. They screamed as the flames consumed them in seconds and took their lives. No, not the explosion... I had taken their lives. I felt it in my soul. Their lives were now mine, and it made me sick.

  As the falling sky fire died down I sank through the air, landing on the broken ground. Flames crackled around me, snapping and stinking of burning flesh and scorched dirt. By my foot lay a rifle and I looked down to see the charred bones that had once been a hand holding it. I shut my eyes, feeling the tears racing down my face. I couldn’t stop them, and I didn
’t bother trying. They had begun to fall as soon as I left the tent, which is why I had run away. I was in pain and sorrow consumed me, but the mission was complete.

  I knew then that whatever hope I had had of becoming human again was lost in the fiery massacre I had created. I was an eraser now. A weapon used to end battles in the worst way possible.