Once More, With Feeling

John Beaumann, you wake up feeling a presence behind you. The room is so dark, you are not sure if your eyes are open or not. Shivers run down your back as dread fills your mind. You hold your breath as if to hide from whatever may be there and strain your ears to pick out the tiniest of sounds.

"John." 

Just a whisper, but may as well be a scream as it echoes in your mind in the otherwise entirely silent room.

"John" 

The sound is definitely coming from behind you. You curse in your mind, knowing that you would have to move to know more. And if you move, whoever is calling you name would know you can hear them.

"John!" 

This is definitely not any of your new companions. Damn it. Who the fuck is this? And, how did they get into my room?

Your mind goes over the layout of the room. You know there is a door in front of you. But your gear is on a seat behind you.

Do i recognize the voice at all? any discernible features? 

To be specific is the voice female?

It's hard to tell as it is a whisper, but the it seems a bit higher pitched than you would imagine yours would be John Beaumann. Something about it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. 

John Beaumann is gonna think to himself "Well, it's probably my imagination again" and turn around.

On the off chance that it is a threat, however, he's gonna scope out where his gear is just in case it's been moved and start making a plan.

As you slowly turn your body, you can feel a chill on the damp side of your body where sweat accumulated. It is pitch black. Or perhaps it is the sensation of eyes watching you. You know that there is a night lamp if you would just pull your arm from under the covers and reach out.

John Beaumann will turn on the lamp. Very quickly might i add.

As you reach out the coolness of the air makes the hair stand up. You fumble for the switch when you feel a hand grasp your arm. The touch feels cool.

FUCK

You continue to fumble, flip the switch and jump back at the horror in front of you.

FUCK ²

The dim light illuminates the face of a woman and as it does she leans into the light revealing that half her face is blown off by a gun blast.

FUCK ³

You stumble back against the door and almost yell out as you see the room filled with children, all riddled with bullet holes.

And they all start whispering 

“John. Why John? Why John?”

As you take a look back at the woman, it is indeed you wife. The hole in her head made it hard to recognize her features. As she whispers blood oozes from her wound. She leans forward, blood drips on your sheets. 

John Beaumann scrambles backwards, because obviously, and tries to calm himself down. He's not sure how or with what. He's going to say, kinda frantically and almost like he doesn't believe himself, "I KNOW I didn't kill any of you. I don't have MEMORIES of that. I have memories of the exact opposite thing. I tried to SAVE you. This isn't real. This didn't happen. Not by my hand."

As you say that you look down at your hands and the are soaked in blood.

John Beaumann's gonna try to wipe it off, and says, "This isn't real. It's just more tricks." He will also ask the ghosts some questions,

"YOU didn't die, Cynthia Schawrz. You shot ME in the head. That's why all my memories are gone. Because a damned BULLET went through my BRAIN. Why are you trying to become what you did to me?"

"I know I didn't do this. The only memories I have after that moment affirm that. You can't gaslight me with your ectoplasm. Why are you here?" and then he's gonna gesture broadly towards the whole group and say "Why are ALL of you here?"

Blood drips from John Beaumann's hands as he tries to wipe it off, but only more appears. 

Cynthia Schawrz responds, 

"You lie John Beaumann. You lie." 

echoed by the children, growing louder and louder.

As John Beaumann talks the taste of copper fills his mouth and blood starts to pour generously out of the opening. He yells 

"Why are ALL of you here?" 

and shuts his eyes to avert them from the scene in front of him...

...and when he opens them back up, he back in bed, sheets soaked in sweat. It is morning and he is tired, but sleep seems like the least favorable option. Even being in the room give him a bad feeling. As he looks down at his hand, where Cynthia Schawrz grabbed him, four parallel scratch marks remain.

John Beaumann's going to do two things. He's going to search the room for any other traces of last night because he very well could have scratched himself during a particularly horrifying nightmare, and he's going to go to the froggy brain doctor to see if this is a normal thing or just him.

As you search the room, you find no visible signs of the events that transpired other than a very messy bed. However you do feel that the area where Cynthia Schawrz stood seems colder than the rest of the room. However this could very well be psychosomatic.

As you examine your hand and body, you notice some blood underneath the fingernails of your other hand.

Somewhat foggy from the poor night’s sleep, John Beaumann makes his way to the Cleaners. Upon entering, you are greeted by the disinterested look of Loretta, who is busily going through a pack of bubble gum.

“What do ya want?”

she asks and proceeds to slowly blow an impressively large bubble, that seems to cover most of her face as she waits for a response.

he's gonna say "I have some questions about side effects and recovery. Who can I direct these to?"

A few seconds pass as the bubble hets bigger then pops. She presses an intercom button, that seems to amplify her words through speakers you assume must be present all around the compound, and says 

”Yo doc. That weird guy with a loaf in his pants is back!” 

She proceeds to roll her eyes and says to you, 

”I’m sure he’ll see you soon.”

then stares into space.

...

Ten minutes later a young woman come out from the patient door, looks at you, and hurriedly walks out, giving you a wide breadth.

Loretta says, 

”Dude, go in.”

As you walk into the office, the doctor waits, scribbling notes. A semi-reclined patient chair is empty. The overhead light seems to buzz and flicker. Dr. Knope asks, 

”Have you been taking the medication as prescribed or are we here to chat again, hmm?”

He's going to incredulously say,

"Medication? It's only been a day. I haven't gotten any yet."

and then shake his head and say,

"We can talk about that later, though. What I wanted to check in about is that I had this incredibly vivid nightmare last night. It's bad to the point of me questioning my sanity. I highly doubt it was real, considering it involved ghosts and something that never happened, but I wanted to know if gaslighting yourself or horrendous nightmares are normal to experience after treatment. Either that or if you saw any repressed memories in my head. I don't know what you did in there, worth a shot to ask."

The doctor motions for you to sin the the chair. Upon sitting he sticks a myriad of wires around your head and body then appears to take a range of measurements, all while murmuring 

"Hmm. Interesting. Most interesting. Hmm."

Which is punctuated by, 

"No, the procedure shouldn't cause any visions, but you have come in a rather severe condition. It takes time to heal. At least a week. You should take it easy in the meantime. Residual effects usually persist in the more extreme cases. Tell me are these visions new? Have you always been irritable and incontinent?"

Followed by more murmuring. It is hard to discern full sentences, but you overhear words such as,

“similar progression”, “others”, “close supervision”, “difficulty”, “aggression”

Then,

"These visions are relatively new. They started around the time I got to this town. As for the irritable and incontinent thing, fuck you too buddy."

Dr. Knope gives you a quick glance and then jots some notes down. 

”So tell me about these visions. When do they occur? Do you recognize anything in them? What significance do they have?” 

Then after a pause, 

”How is your diet?”

John Beaumann takes a deep breath and begins,

"Me and my wife used to work for this security company."

( He is purposely not mentioning Unknown because people around here seem to hold disdain for it, I as a player know full well John Beaumann's impact now)

"We were sent on a mission to go keep some random colony in check, and they got too violent. When I stepped in, well, long story short, she shot me in the head. I lost a lot of memories after that, but I KNOW that they're correct. They're the only ones I have besides being shot and what happened afterwards. Some people from that colony nursed me back to health. They wouldn't have done that if I was a killer. They WOULDN'T have."

John Beaumann, suddenly breaking from his increasing panic and realizing how desperate-sounding he had just become, takes a slight pause to compose himself,

"It occurred last night, when I tried to get a good night's sleep for once in the past few weeks. This nightmare I had involved the children that my wife killed and my wife. They appeared to me in ghostly forms, and blamed me for their murders. It was just generally disturbing after that, you know, like ghosts. Lots of blood and scary whispers and whatnot. In the dream my ghost wife scratched me, and my hands were covered with blood.  When I woke up, the scratches and blood were there, but only under the fingernails of my opposite hand. I'm assuming I did it to myself." 

John Beaumann's going to break from his deep thought once again and remember the diet question, and give the froggy man an odd, incredulous stare, but will comply anyway because he wants to get to the bottom of this.

"I've mainly eaten rations and random scavenged garbage for about a week. I was lost in the desert."

He's also going to say

"What 'others,' by the way? You're not talking about the ones in the asylum, right?"

Dr. Knope sits and listens to your story. His eyes are on you, attentive and focused. As you finish, his glasses rest in his hand and he pokes the tip of one side to his mouth, thinking. A pregnant pause lingers in the air.

"Memory is a funny thing. It is not what most people think. Did you know that every time we remember something, it is as much of an act of creation as it is an act of retrieval? As they get excited, the neurons in our brains actively seek to form new synapses and interleave bits of present and bits of recent thoughts right into the old memories. In some very real ways, the purest memories are the ones we haven't remembered.

Memories are more than some parts of the past. They are as much reflections on ourselves. Memories are parts of our subconscious talking to us."

He pauses again, his eyes focused on your head, but not your eyes.

"You seem to have very strong emotions interleaved with this memory. I think it is interleaved with your sense of self. This make you defensive and unable to discern the pieces. You seem certain of what happened, yet your mind is splitting the story. Whatever actually happened may be less important that your internal struggle for who you are."

He gets up walks up to you, looking at your head carefully.

"How far away did you say your wife was from you when she shot you? I'm no soldier, but I would think that a bullet wound at close range would leave a considerable scar...

...Where is your scar John Beaumann? And if you don't have a scar, where is your wife?"

You don't have a scar. 

He's just going to kinda look not at anything in particular, his eyes glazed over, a dumbfounded yet extremely worried expression on his face. it's extremely obvious that behind his eyes, his head is going a mile a minute trying to reason and re-reason. he won't answer Dr. Knope.

Dr. Knope will let you leave if you choose to do so.

After a really long pause, like uncomfortably long, John Beaumann's going to go,

"......are you sure?"

He's just dumbstruck.

[end scene]

A man's voice sounds from the room as the camera persists on the ceiling,

“I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

Answered by a woman,

“Not even Caprica?”

“Well maybe Caprica. That place was amazing. The beaches were out of this world.”

The woman audibly stretches and says,

“We did honeymoon well.”

The camera moves back down onto a different bed showing a young John Beaumann with his wife, Cynthia Schawrz.

“We’re doing us well.”

With a cocky smile an her face, she looks at him and says,

“Naturally. I am awesome.”

John Beaumann smiles and rolls over onto the young woman.

“Well Mrs. Awesome, maybe we should go there again. It’s been a minute.”

Cynthia Schawrz looks into John Beaumann’s eyes then arches up to kiss him, 

“More like five years worth of minutes. You and I babe should go see places. I could definitely use some sand underneath my feet again.”

A wave of fresh but excitement washes over John Beaumann, 

“We can joint that company that your brother told us about. They go to all sorts of places.”

Cynthia Schawrz,

“It would definitely be a change of pace.”

John Beaumann, 

“But we would always be together. Your brother said they co-locate spouses. And if we join up, I hear we would make a killing with the way they pay.”

Cynthia Schawrz suddenly moves her arm to lock John Beaumann’s knee to the side of her hip, thrusts her hips up, and sweeps over John Beaumann, putting him beneath her. Her hair hangs down cutting off the world so that only their two faces remain, inches apart. She smiles, 

“Well you certainly can’t go without me.”

John Beaumann looks Cynthia Schawrz in the eyes and with a melodramatic face says 

“Babe, I would lose my mind.”

She half smiles with intension, 

“Damn right soldier. Now lose your shirt.”

His face picks up renewed mock seriousness,

“Is that an order?”

Which, Cynthia Schawrz reciprocates,

“Don’t question your superior officer.”

And she proceeds do unbutton his shirt and kiss him.

John Beaumann, you wake up to a sharp pain in your abdomen and the ghastly ripping sensation, as if something is digging its way into your side. Your eyes are closed and you have a hell of a headache that throbs with every motion you are being subjected to.

I sure as hell don't like that. welllll, John Beaumann's going to perform basic pain reaction and move away from the ripping sensation.

You try to move but can’t. You realize you are strapped to a bed. A man is doing something to your body. Once in a while, his hands come into view, covered in blood. He’s not looking at you, seemingly focused on his task.

“Now hand me those clamps”

John Beaumann's gonna yell,

"HEY!! I DON'T REMEMBER HOW I GOT HERE OR WHY THIS IS HAPPENING BUT I'M NOT ANESTHESIA'D RIGHT NOW AND IF THIS IS A ROUTINE SURGERY PERFORMED BY A REPUTABLE SURGEON I'D LIKE TO BE KNOCKED OUT NOW PLEASE"

You try to yell, but as soon as the first word comes out of your mouth, a wave of pain fills your head and you pass out. It must have been a short while as when you come to, the man is still there. But now, there is also a young man, maybe 15 years old, beside him. He’s holding a syringe and looking down at what the man is doing. 

THAT BITCH BABY ENGINEER

No

john will wrestle with the straps on the side that isn't being surgeried on

shame

The man looks at you and says something in a calm voice, but you don’t recognize the words. 

i'm gonna glare at him and try and be like HEY I'M AWAKE DICK with my eyes

He says something again in a language you can’t understand and extends a bloody hand to motion for you lay back down.

fiiine i'll lay down. i'm gonna keep a close eye on what they're doing though

For a long time you go in and out of consciousness as the man and the boy proceed to work on different parts of your body. The burning pain and jarring stretching and pulling on your body turn almost into a meditative sensation.

...

You don't know how long time has passed or how long you were out, but you wake up to bright rays of sun penetrating a gap in the curtains and bleaching a hot line across a wall in your room.

You are no longer strapped in and can move, albeit with pain. But your headache is gone replaced with a comforting feeling of stillness. 

room examination time, what the hell is in here and why the hell am i in here. also look out the window specifically

It's quiet about. The walls show age and deterioration as cracks and fallen plaster decorate the walls. The furniture looks to be cobbled together from obviously different places. But, the room is clean. Whoever lives here must have taken care to make the most of whatever the situation is. There is a small sink and a mirror in a corner of the room. Next to you is a small metal table, with a clean glass of water and a metal straw in it.

You slowly get up, naturally attuning to the pushback from your body and make your way to the window. You pull back the curtain and see dunes of trash stretching far to the west, met by hard cracked red earth to the east. Immediately outside, you see that you are in some sort of building. It is ripped apart and pierced by exposed rebar in most places, but the part you are in seems to be in more generous condition.

There is no movement, no sign of life, not even wind to disturb this stoic dystopia.

i'm going to look in the mirror and see if i'm john or some sort of different person i've been placed in the mind of

What you see looking back at you is a man in a pathetic shape. Your head is covered in bandages as is a good portion of your torso. What you do see, however, does resemble the body you know. However, as you contemplate your visage, you have difficulty remembering how you got here. Flashes of gun fire and running through the streets. A crowd of civilians. And then the image of your wife Cynthia Schawrz firing a gun at your head has your knees buckle and you realize you have fallen to the floor. The nozzle flash and smell of gunpowder rush vividly past your senses. 

i'll try and leave the room to find the doctor who worked on me. very interesting.......

The building very much resemble the room you stayed in, although many of the rooms you pass are full of rubble and clearly uncared for. Slight gusts of wind whistle through cracks in the walls.

You make your way downstair towards the courtyard, or what looks like it used to be one before half the building collapsed. As you walk out, the bright midday sun hurts your eyes forcing you to squint and shade your face with your hand. Ahead of you, the man and boy seem to be working on some sort of vehicle that looks to have seen better days.

The man notices you come down, stops what he was doing, looks at you and says something that sounds like,

Musisz byc jeszcze w luszku.

"musis byc jeszcze w luszku? sprechen sie common?"

and if that doesn't work try and pantomime wanting answers, maybe write something in the sand

What is the message you wish to convey?

the message is "who are you and why am i here?"

You proceed to pantomime something that looks like the chicken dance. Though, you feel proud that you are being extra evocative with your gestures. The man and boy stare at you and blink. Then the man says something to the boy,

Jego glowa jeszsce hora.

The boy responds,

Moze on idiota?

That last word feels familiar. 

The man comes up to you, John Beaumann, points at your bandages and says,

Do luszka, musisz jeszcze odpoczonc.

Then he clasps his hands, puts them under hick cocked head, and then points at you. 

John's going to speak more slowly and loudly, saying

THIS. DOES. NOT. HELP. ME. WHY. AM. I. HERE.

while gesturing wildly.

The man smiles at you. You are unsure whether to take it as kindness or condescension. He motions towards the building and makes the sleeping gesture again. 

John is confused but will comply. He'll look back at the guy with an incredulous expression on his face as he trudges back into the building.

You begrudgingly get back to your simple room, where you are again greeted by a little sink and a mirror opposite of a small bed and nightstand. Perhaps because of all of your walking, your headache grows more intense and the ascetic furnishings become nevertheless welcoming. 

Might as well take a little nappy, headache won't go away by itself. 

You go to sleep. Each time you wake up, you see a fresh glass of water and some simple food at your table, along with some pills. Do you partake in what is offered? 

The water and simple food yes, the pills I will take one time and see what they do. If they're harmless painkillers or something, I'll keep taking them. If it's something that is sedating me, I won't. 

Days pass and you slowly you begin to feel better. Migraines come and go, although less frequently as days pass. As you get time to acclimate, you notice that your headaches are associated with a clicking sound. At first it is barely audible, but as you start to notice it, the sound becomes clearer. Always coming in twos,

click-clock, click-clock

You look about, but can't discern the source,

click-clock

At some point you begin to expect it and don't even bother to open your eyes. The sounds becomes almost more annoying than the headaches. It makes you toss and turn,

click-clock

You change sides in frustration, but this time someone is laying in the bed with you. You feel their warmth on your face. 

Open my eyes IMMEDIATELY, and no use rolling medicine since I'm pretty sure I didn't have that at first level LOL

You open your eyes to Cynthia Schawrz's familiar face. She slowly opens here eyes and smiles a lazy smile.

Hey baby.

Then that sound,

click-clock

"oh my GOD WHY ARE YOU HERE,* LEAVE ME ALONE, DON'T KILL ME" 

I will spring up abruptly from the bed and brandish something at her. Could be anything, I don't care. Just something to swing.

not a fan of this song btw. it sounds good im just scared of the lyrics. what are you IMPLYING

You jump up backwards away from the bead staring at your wife, whose shape fills the sheets. You take two steps back and feel an embrace from behind you and hear Cynthia Schawrz whisper into your ear,

You are fighting too much.

Startled you look back to see your wife's face on your shoulder. Then immediately swerve your head back to the empty bed.

I'm sorry. I love you.

click-clock 

alpha-tango

This was a different voice. And it sent shivers down your spine. You feel yourself freeze up and unable to move. Sweat is pouring down your forehead. Your arm is clenching as if around a grip of a gun. Your index finger twitching as if ready to fire.

You need time,

It is your wife's voice again.

You need time. You are hurt.

Her voice, but now different. A little higher.

Patroshka said your head is confused.

Nope, definitely not her voice. You turn behind you to see a young man, about 15 years old, talking to you. He is blurry. The room is blurry. You feel faint and start to fall to the floor, but he catches you. You feel being led back to the bed. Your arm still stiff. Your hand still clutching a gun that is not there. The boy tries to give you a pill. You almost choke on the water.

Do you take the pill? 

yeah here we go. I will take the pill. Half out of desperation and half out of fear.

You swallow the pill and shake as if part of your body was under a fever. Though, you don't feel hot. Cynthia Schawrz is laying next to you, stroking your face,

Sshhh. It will be ok.

You wake up some time afterwards. You have no idea how much time has passed, but it is sunny outside. Beside you the man you've seen before sits on a metal chair. Next to him stands the young man. The young man speaks as he sees you rousing,

You are sick. We found you out on the trash heaps. You were riddled with bullets and we had to replace your spleen, four lobes in your lungs, and a good two feet of your small intestine. You are lucky that we found you and that Patroshka was a battlefield surgeon.

I am Khashik. What is your name?

"Thank you for saving me. Nice to meet you, Khashik. My name is John Beaumann. Was there a lady in my room? Did you guys see her?"

Khashik translates your response to Patroshka, who frowns and answers in that same language you could not understand, letting Khashik translate,

There is no woman here. Was she someone special to you? I think you have been confused. I was able to heal your flesh, but your mind is another matter. All I can offer is opportunity to rest.

I will say rapidly, but without meaning to, 

"yeah yeah okay yeah insanity sure why wouldn't it be that okay mhm yup yeah sure I'm going to rest now okay thank you"

It's pretty obvious something is wrong. 

Patroshka smiles warmly, but his eyes betray concern,

That is probably best.

You do feel tired, very tired. It doesn't take long before your eyes close and you are in deep sleep again.

...

You are woken by the clicking sound again,

Click-clock,

bravo-foxtrot

You are flying in a troop carrier. The walls are lines with familiar faces. It is your old squad and everyone around has serious faces on.

Bravo-foxtrot, go-go

A man stands at the door. It's Rush McGorry, your lieutenant. His face looks like it has recently gone through a fight.

Go-Go goddamnit!

Everyone, stands up one by one and lounges themselves out the door into the air below. You glimpse ground, far below as you freeze in place.

Click-clock,

bravo-foxtrot

Rush McGorry yells at you and you feel compelled to move out. Mix of fear and adrenaline must be pushing you forward as you see yourself at the door and then flying through the air. Below you are ruins of what one was a city. People like ants are scrambling away from you. In the air are many squads, diving through the air currents. You speed towards the ground fast.

Before you know it, your inertial dampener belt activates and your are suddenly and unceremoniously slowed, then lowered onto the ground with a thud. Your legs ache from the rough landing. Rush McGorry lands behind you and gives you an unpleased look. To your left, Cynthia Schawrz comes to ground. Before you have time to absorb anything you are coming into a formation with your squad and moving further into the city. You hear gunshots around you and civilians fleeing.

A bullet whooshes by your head and you startle awake. You are back in your room. It's the middle of the night.

John will breathe heavily for a bit, like how one does after a nightmare. After a few seconds, he'll groan and go back to sleep. No sense in freaking out over a dream.

(sorry for the über late response btw)

Yeah it will be hard to resolve the thread in time at this point. The other threads are pretty much done atm. I’ll have to think on it.

Cynthia Schawrz smiles at John Beaumann as they move in tight formation through the streets,

Shit’s about to get real babe.

He gives her a glance, but can’t quite muster a smile,

What the fuck are we doing here? This is different.

Rush McGorry, their squad leader barks at the interaction,

Shut the fuck up and keep your eyes on the buildings. These Neanderthals can ambush us any minute. I’ll be pissed if I get shot because of you two fuck-wits.

Cynthia Schawrz gives John Beaumann a mocking glance and rolls her eyes. Rush McGorry's words grate against John’s ears, but he begrudgingly moves forward. The whole squad is visibly on edge.

He's gone all ape with all these new implants.

John Beaumann nods with understanding,

You'd think he would be humbled, bud almost dying has just made him worse.

I think he's developed a complex. I heard a teenage girl whopped his ass.

I can't wait for this shit to be over. After this we're out.

We're out. Time to live on that beach you promised...

Suddenly another squad-mate brings focus to the present with a startled expletive and freezes as a woman unknowingly stumbles into their path,

Shit!

What the fuck is it with you shit-heads?

Rush McGorry reprimands him, points his rifle and shoots the woman in the head,

You see anyone pop out, you fucking shoot them.

The squad exchanges looks. Cynthia Schawrz’s smile is gone. Then a man emerges out of a door, notices the team, and starts to run away, but no one opens fire. Rush McGorry’s face turns visibly red from anger. He pulls out a device out of his pocket and presses a button. A slight nauseating sensation comes over John Beaumann as Rush McGorry makes a clicking sound and says,

I ain’t having this shit! [Click-clock] Delta-Kilo

The squad-mate trembles and grunts as he swivels his arm and unleashes a 3-round burst into the man’s back. His chest burst open and he falls to the ground like a rag doll. 

Tense and uneasy, the team pushes forward. A trickle of blood drips from Cynthia Schawrz’s mouth as she bites her lip. John Beaumann wrestles with his mind to say something, but can’t quite spit it out. Noise of a crowd tumbles in from ahead as smoke bellows from vehicles and buildings on fire.

Shouts and cries permeate the large town square as John Beaumann, Cynthia Schawrz, and the rest of the squad emerge through smoke. Other squads are already on the scene corralling a sizable crowd of locals into the center, as a man in a long brown trench coat, square pointy hat, and small round glasses stands on a makeshift podium and addresses everyone through a handset that is pumped into a loudspeaker,

Listen up everyone. This is important. 

The crowd is loud and cacophonous.

I’m not going to repeat this, so I advise you to listen!

Yells and protests persist, drowning out the speaker. The man looks at Rush McGorry and nods as a spray of bullets penetrate the air, right over peoples heads. Screams ring out, but silence quickly spreads just as Leo Alvi and Unir NaDoldor are pushed into the crowd by two soldiers. Leo Alvi looks at his father,

Dad, I’m scared.

Unir NaDoldor shields his son against the firing soldiers as the man continues,

Now. You are here ordered off of this planet.

Protests break out, but are quickly silenced as the soldiers raise their rifles. The man continues,

This town has been settled illegally and as the new rightful owner of this planet, Radix corporation is giving you two hours to leave.

Protests sound throughout the group and Unir NaDoldor yells out,

But we’ve lived here for two decades, how can you do this? We don’t have anywhere to go nor ships to leave in.

Unfazed the man continues with a sneer,

If you do not have a means of transport, we have provided one.

He motions to a cargo vessel, barely big enough o fit half the crowd. Unir NaDoldor yells back,

This is impossible. That vessel won’t even provide enough air for half of us. You can't...

Ignoring the argument, the man with small round glasses presses the handset close to his mouth and hisses,

The transport will leave in 20 minutes. You have been warned.

He steps down the podium and the crowd seeing the impossible demand starts to rouse. Leo Alvi grabs his fathers jacket,

Dad, what is happening?

Unir NaDoldor turns around and puts two hands on Leo Alvi’s shoulders,

Son, listen to me. You have to run.

Tears streak down the boy’s face,

Dad, what is happening? I don't understand. Run where?

Unir NaDoldor squeezes the boys shoulders,

I love you son. We have no time. You have to just run. Keep this robot close to you. Do you understand?

Around them chaos breaks out as people start to yell at the soldiers.

Dad, no. Dad. You have to come with me.

Someone throws a rock at one of the armed men. The soldiers respond with a valley of bullets aimed at the townspeople. Children start to scream and cry.

I love you. No matter what happens, you have to run.

The boy and his father are pushed around by the force of the panicking crowd. The robot steps in to try to protect them but it too has a hard time.

A man lounges at Rush McGorry who steps back and fires point blank at the man's face,

What the fuck are you all waiting for?

John Beaumann looks at Cynthia Schawrz and then Rush McGorry,

This is fucked up. No! What the fuck are we doing? I don’t want to do this!

Rush McGorry stares daggers at John Beaumann,

God damn it! I don’t give a shit about what you fucking want.

Cynthia Schawrz yells through the noise of the crowd and stray gunfire,

Boss there is no way!

Rush McGorry looks at both of them, and makes a clicking noise,

[Click-clock] delta-kilo

Both Cynthia Schawrz and John Beaumann turn their guns onto the crowd and fire as they scream and strain to stop,

Aaaaaaaa

The bullets pierce flesh and blood sprays as rows of people go down.

Aaaaaaaa

Unir turns to face the gunfire and spreads his hands to cover Leo who shuts his eyes tight and holds onto his dad’s jacket. As the bullets whizz over his head, he can feel his father’s body go limp and both fall to the floor. John Beaumann sees the boys face as he cries out for his father. The robot swiftly stands to shield them both as Rush McGorry utters,

[Click-clock] bravo-foxtrot

Cynthia Schawrz swivels her gun, pointing it straight at John Beaumann as he does the same. Cynthia Schawrz tries to yell through clenched teeth,

Fuck you Rush McGorry. Don’t do this!

Unfazed Rush McGorry responds with that clicking sound and says,

I’m done dealing with your bullshit. [Click-clock] delta-kilo

Tears streak down John Beaumann and Cynthia Schawrz’s faces as they struggle to resist. John Beaumann strains and manages to muster out,

I'm sorry. I, I can’t stop. I can't stop.

With water pooled in her eyes, Cynthia Schawrz strains and responds,

It’s ok. I love you.

John Beaumann’s finger squeezes around the trigger and everything slows. He hears no sound as the round leaves his gun's nuzzle, no sound as his wife manages to resist the command and fire her bullet to the left of John Beaumann’s head, no sound as John Beaumann’s bullet rips through her throat.

John Beaumann falls to his knees and drops the gun. Rush McGorry steps behind him. John Beaumann’s heart feels like it’s on fire as he stares at Cynthia Schawrz choking on her own blood. Her wet eyes never stop looking into John Beaumann’s as her life leaves her body. Then John Beaumann’s chest bursts with pain and the world slowly dims into darkness.

Leo Alvi holds onto his dad,

Dad, you have to come with me. Daddy, get up.

Unir NaDoldor spits blood and tries to talk as he slowly painfully reaches into his jacket and puts something into Leo Alvi’s hand,

Robot you take him. Take my boy far away! I’m sorry son, I never told you. Leo Alvi, you have a sister.

Leo Alvi looks down at a pendant and a photo of a little girl laughing as her mother pokes her tickle spot, which is exposed as her father, Unir NaDoldor holds her up in the air.

By the time Leo Alvi looks back at his dad, the man’s eyes are devoid of life. Bullets clink and tear at the robot’s back. His strong hands pick up the boy as he protests and pushes helplessly towards his father.

Put me down! No Dad! Put me down! Dad, please I love you! Dad!

Leo Alvi cries and fights, but the robot swiftly breaks into a run and whisks the boy off as the chaos behind them rages.