Slave: Zero Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Read chapter 13 of Slave: Zero by HEAVENLYLARPER on NovelPedia.

The cold air immediately stung Eric’s skin as he and Arop exited the mall. Nyangdeng was sitting on the ground, hugging her legs as she steered off into the distance, shivering uncontrollably, but that all stopped when she turned around, snot coming down her nose as she laid her puffy eyes on her brother. For a moment her eyes were lit with joy, but she remembered her and her brother weren’t on the best of terms at the moment. She quickly got up and wiped the snot on the sleeve of her orange sweat shirt, trying her best not to take another glance at the 2 boys behind her. “Please tell me you remembered where they are.” Arop said hopefully. “I remember.” Arop smiled. “Well I thank your lady nature.” He said, mockingly. Eric did not respond. He reminisced about what he said to Arop, trying with his entire will for Arop to see the light, his light. But just as usual when he wants to do something heroic, it always ends in failure. But this time it’s different, Eric didn’t feel like he was close whatsoever in eliminating Arop’s philosophy, but he did feel like held his ground and defended his views with the entire force of his will. And because of that Eric felt proud of himself for once in a long time. Eric’s face cracked into a light smile. “Eric, when do you think it might be a good time to apologize?” Arop said, whispering. “Right now.” “Why now.” “Because later you won’t have a chance to apologise. Unless you want to apologise in front of everyone.” Arop chuckled. “I’ll see if I can find that chance.” Moments later Nyangdeng finally realised she had no clue where she was going so she stopped and allowed the 2 boys to lead, seeing this Arop withheld a laugh. As they walked past her. “She’s so silly.” He said, whispering right before a chuckle. “Why were you so upset with her?” Arop paused. “I was just annoyed and frustrated with her. She didn’t do anything wrong. I was the one acting immature, and should have handled the situation better. That’s all there is to it….Thinking back on it now, I really shouldn’t have pushed her into that glass cabinet, and I definitely shouldn’t have brought up our father… It wasn’t her fault, nothing was.” Eric’s mind flashed with a memory of a man getting torn apart by bullets. Could it really be him, he thought. “Was your dad a part of the protest?” “How did you know?” “I was there.” Arop looked over at Eric, before returning his gaze forward. “Oh,.... so we’re both witnesses.” They both took a moment of silence before Arop asked. “What exactly happened in that store?” “Store.” Eric said, looking over to him. “Yes, you said that you and Thon were searching for supplies in a store and something happened. I’m curious to know what exactly happened.” Memories flooded Eric’s mind. He had been trying his hardest not to think about what happened inside that store, or rather, he was trying not to think about what he failed to do. Eric knows the decision he made was the right one, benefiting only himself, he knows that any attempts to save the woman and her child were futile, it was impossible and would only have resulted in his early death. But still, he still carries the guilt and shame from the moment he turned his back on them. And not just the woman and her child, but the people that got executed. He remembered their faces as they realised they were all about to die. But something strange within him that he can’t escape, always made him feel guilt towards the people that died right before his eyes. It’s like a curse that always creeps up on him, quietly whispering words of non-existent power to him until he is met over and over again with the realization that he is just a boy, a boy with no power over the world around him. He can be still and stop resisting as the world unfolds before his very eyes, as he is carried along by the flow of time. Sometimes he dreams for the authority to stop time, and live in a heaven of his own, a heaven filled with the things that made him feel the happiest human bein