Chapter 193 - Days DXXVIII - DLXI, Part II

In the room there was Hatta, sitting behind his desk, William with a glass of something alcoholic in his hand, Nobuo, just standing, and Amit sitting in front of his leader.

- Peter-san.

- Hi.

Amit just looked at me and shook his head. I was still in the torn rags, with the new clothes in my hand.

- So? What did you want to talk about?

- There is something, that has been rising up to our attention lately. I believe - He peaked at Hatta, who confirmed with a nod - that is the reason. We have some kind of religion that is picked up by more, and more people.

- Religion? Seriously? - I sighed. - We have a device that can change people, heals wounds, and they want to... 

I just realized what religion was about.

- They call themselves the Followers of Divine Tree - said Hatta. - And they are insisting on upgrading the device.

- They believe that The Great One is a god, and he brought us here. The chosen people. His new family - said Will. - And it's our duty to upgrade the device because the dreams say so.

- But are they aggressive, or something?

- No. They just demand upgrades of the device before anything else, and they want to go hunting out there when they are not ready. We are trying to prepare them, but some just don't care, and want to go - explained Amit. - They believe that The Great One will protect them.

- Then let them go, and get killed if they really want to.

- The problem is, that's actually beneficial to us - said Hatta. - All of them want to hunt and provide crystals for upgrading the device. Most of them are actually reasonable. They work hard, and everything. We have never been so united because of what they do and represent. Others just fall in line even if they don't believe. It's crazy.

- Yeah, but that can end very badly - Will pointed out.

- Ok, I get it. You want me to decide, because you can't decide among yourselves, yes?

They all nodded.

- Seriously guys? Fine. I believe that everybody should be able to believe in whatever the heck they want to, as long as they are not hurting anybody. If they want to contribute, let them contribute. Just make sure they stick to their fields and don't force others.

- Blue said the same thing, and I disagree - said Will. - If we let them have a finger, they will take the whole hand, and it will spiral out of control.

I just shook my head and started heading to the door.

- Peter! Wait! - Will shouted after me.

I didn't stop, so he followed me outside of the room.

- Wait you asshole. I wanted to talk about something else with you...

- Then talk - I replied, without stopping.

He moved quickly to grab my shoulder forcing me to stop and turn around.

- Seriously, Will?

- Seriously. I want to know what happened out there, in the canyon. I mean... You look like shit. Was it that hard alone?

I sighed again, and my free hand unconsciously moved to the forehead. I started scratching and rubbing it.

- No. It wasn't that hard. I just... I just got lost in my emotions few times and made a couple of bad moves, that ended up with injuries.

- You should have never go there...

- Oh come on! Stop it.

- No! I care about you, you little shit! - He poked me with his index finger. - And I'm not letting you do this again! You will get yourself killed!

- Calm down. I'm alive. I'll get stronger, and that will never happen again.

- Bullshit! You will get stronger, and go straight to that fucking cave! I know you!

I slapped his hand as he tried to poke me again.

- Fuck off. I know what I'm doing.

- I know you are in pain. Nadia was an amazing girl. Maybe it didn't start in the best way, but she for sure brought you a lot of happiness, and I was very thankful to her for that.

- Just say what you want to say Will, and let's get this over with.

- It's not your fault, Peter. It's not.

- No. It fucking is! - I just snapped.

To be honest, I don't even know why.

- I'm the strongest around here! I was supposed to protect her! And that was not even the first fucking time I put her in danger! It's all my fault!

He just punched me straight to the face. It was not the wishy-washy, halfhearted jab, but a full-force swing. I was thrown at the corridor wall. The clothes went flying. I could taste the blood coming out of my broken lip, and nose.

- Everybody is at fault! We all fucking failed! ALL OF US DID!! - he yelled. - So don't get yourself killed because of the mistake, that's only partially yours.

He finished with a calm voice and just left, heading back to Hatta's office. I stood there, leaning on the wall for a solid moment, tasking my own blood. There was a lot of truth to his words. I knew it, but the guilt was still there. I set up my nose in place, then used all the heals I had to fix myself at least partially.

Then I picked up my stuff from the ground and left. I went straight to the bathhouse to wash myself up, and change attire to a fresh one. I still had the punch on my mind. I knew he was right. There was no way for me to be prepared for that fucking invasion. On the other hand, I had visions before. I could do something about them, not just ignore them, as I did.

Still, with all the shit going on around there was no way of figuring out what it was about. I knew that. I knew so many things and yet felt responsible. It was killing me.

I ended up walking to my room and thinking.

That day came to an end with 5 083 140 points remaining on my account, and three class points.