Pain of The Lone Spectre

by Adrian P

  Charlotte kept silent.

  “Now we have a psychopath who could, and did, destroy a world with a push of a button. We have an avenue, a chance to stop him once and for all, and yet?” Christina glared at her. “You have to sever our only connection to the military, just because of a tiny quarrel—“

  “Tiny quarrel?” the girl rose her voice in abrupt. “How did you come to such conclusion?”

  Christina flinched.

  “I understand that you sacrificed many to serve the world, but I have my own fight! I have my own struggle against the injustice this world has imposed upon its people!” she continued. “Because of this injustice, my parents are more than willing to poison me! To stop me from chasing my dream! So I could become another lady behind the office desk who lives only to earn salary and die doing so!”

  “Then stopping Konstantin should be your priority, Charley!” Christina yelled. “The Bandana Boy is the only reason the military trusted us! You should’ve put your differences aside and maintain our connection, no matter how much you hate him—“

  “Hate him?”

  Christina paused.

  “The only person in the world willing to listen to my childish rants, you said I hate him?” she marched forward and returned Christina’s glare. “The only person who would take my thoughts, my concerns for the world we live in seriously; you said I hate him?”

  Tears bubbled on her eyes.

  “I’ve lived for twenty years in forced silence. Every time I pointed out how much we need to change our world into a better one, people looked down on me. Laughed at me. Accused me of being lazy, for not accepting reality and for refusing to be pragmatic,” she said. “They told me I’m unrealistic, because I stubbornly try to fight against the flow of the world, the way the world works, and that I will never be happy that way. Happy?” she gritted her teeth. “They told me to stop thinking, to stop worrying about the world, and just obey the way things have always worked, no matter how messed up it is! A life of joyful ignorance! They want me to live like that! They want me to become another automaton who live in the thoughtless moment while saving up for retirement!”

  Christina glanced away.

  “I once gave up on the world and its people, Chrissie. I wanted to kill the princess because I know, if she dies, our entire civilisation will plunge into chaos. There will be death. But this, I believed, will force people to rethink their reality, that they would start taking my concerns seriously.”

  Charlotte brushed her welling tears with an arm.

  “But he stopped me,” the girl continued. “He showed me that plunging the world into chaos will simply inflict suffering. Suffering, the very evil I’m trying to kill,” she sobbed. “He’s willing to understand. He’s listened to the tiny voice between my words, and stopped me before I betrayed myself.”

  Silence.

  “I don’t hate him. I don’t want to part with him. But,” she bit her lips. “I’m afraid of him. That he’s lost his way. That the very cruelties this world embodies have inflicted such a pain that he’s turning into something else. I thought to myself, that I have to leave. I don’t want to lose hope. Because I know that staying with him will corrupt me too. If I witness what he’s seen, I’m afraid that I’ll lose my way too. Again—“

  Rachele pulled Charlotte and hugged her close.

  “Ray…?”

  “Hush Charley,” she patted her head, and turned to Christina. “Have you listened enough, Chrissie?”

  Christina kept silent.

  “Her fear, her decision to leave the boy is not unlike your decision to leave William’s Green. When you discovered what they planned to do.”

  Christina flinched. “Ray! Don’t you—“

  “William’s Green resorted to assassination. Murder. Bombings of places they deemed to be sinful. Factory farms. Fast food chains. Places where ordinary people who simply needs to work and earn money exist,” Rachele paused. “Good people who die as a result of collateral damage.”

  “Shut up—!”

  “Do you remember why William’s Green resorted to such tactic?”

  “Ray!”

  Rachele took a breath.

  “Despair.”

  Christina gritted her teeth.

  “They stopped believing that people can be convinced to stop consuming meat and destroying the environment by simply providing facts and data,” she continued. “That’s why they resorted to violent means so they can save the animals and environment, killing five humans for every animal saved. Because of this, they gained the attention of The Red Berets. Within a flash, the entire William’s Green members disappeared,” she looked at Christina. “Had you not listened to the tiny voice of your conscience and left, you would’ve disappeared too.”

  “That’s the past, and I don’t need you talking about that!” Christina yelled. “Why—“

  “That’s exactly what Charley is going through.”

  She flinched.

  “Charley nearly went on the path of William’s Green, but The Bandana Boy appeared and stopped her. Had she killed the princess, she would’ve been hunted down by The Red Berets as well. By the Knights even. She wouldn’t be able to live a normal life, let alone fight for her just cause.”

  Silence.

  “Understand why she’s hurt. Understand why she’s afraid when she saw The Bandana Boy strayed away. Much like your fear, watching William Chance became consumed by hate.”

  Charlotte tugged Rachele’s arm. “That’s enough, Ray,” she said. “I…don’t want you to hurt Chrissie.”

  Rachele smiled and released her. “Do you love him, Charley?”

  “Eh?”

  “Test yourself. Imagine if he has to fight Konstantin, and the latter’s thunder hit him. He became disfigured and ugly. He lost one arm. He had to live on a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He won’t have any money,” she paused. “Yet despite everything, his personality remains. He is what he is. Think about him in that situation.”

  Charlotte listened.

  “Would you have felt the same way as you did? Or would you be disgusted? Would the absence of looks and money deter you from—“

  “I’m not among those disgusting class of humans.”

  Rachele raised her eyebrows.

  “If you think such calamity would deter my feelings for him, then I’m disappointed in you, Ray,” Charlotte said. “Let the world judge me for being dumb, but it is not his external quality that I fell for, but everything within. His joy. His fears. His passion. His insecurities. Everything that makes him what he is.”

  “Well then,” Rachele stepped back. “What are you doing here?”

  Charlotte paused.

  “If he’s strayed away, then he needs your help,” she pointed back where they came from. “If someone slipped into a valley, grab him. Pull him up.”

  “I…” Charlotte turned to Christina.

  “Whatever,” Christina sighed. “Do what you want, Charley. I’m not your mother.”

  “But what about our plan to escape—?”

  “It’ll take hours to reach the spaceport, let alone queue for available spacecraft,” Christina replied. “Go find him quick and drag him with us. Damn it.”

  “But—“

  “Stop with your buts!” Christina yelled. “Go now!”

  Charlotte turned back and dashed away.

  Christina sighed as she laid her suitcase flat on the ground and sat on it. “She’s all grown-up, isn’t she?”

  Rachele smiled. “It feels like yesterday when the old man brought her to us. She was just a teenager back then. Lost. Depressed. Angry.”

  “The old man, huh?” Christina watched the sky. “It was thanks to him that Charley survived her condition.”

  “Is it really that bad?” Rachele asked. “I’ve never really understood what’s wrong with her body. Her parents drugged her, I know, but what exactly did that do?”

  “The drug messed with her blood’s ability to carry oxygen and multi
ple nutrients, so her body’s energy output is cut down significantly,” Christina replied. “That’s why without her suit, Charley cannot exhaust herself, lest her organs will start failing from not receiving enough energy.”

  Rachele nodded. “Like being choked. Being drowned.”

  “Exactly,” Christina said. “That’s why it’s imperative that we maintain her suit. Her life depended on it,” she sighed again. “We need that old man for spare parts. Have you been able to contact him?”

  Rachele shook her head. “He hasn’t picked up my call since we arrived in this planet.”

  “Damn it,” Christina frowned.

  “Where the hell could he be?”

  Chapter 4 / Part 4

  A small four-rotor aircraft hovered over Kotabaru, patrolling the air over the half-destroyed city. A pilot and his co-pilot sat on the cockpit, navigating their flight path while communicating with orbital air traffic controller in space.

  The passenger cabin fit six people: three chairs lining parallel to the walls, facing each other. Audi sat alone on one row while facing Victoria, who was flanked on both sides by her maids. The princess leaned to a window, watching road traffic on the ground ceased moving.

  ”Strange,” Victoria said. “So far, only one spacecraft has lifted off over the past hour. Is there a problem on the ground?”

  “Most likely,” Audi replied. “The average time for spacecraft boarding plus take off is fifteen minutes. Do you want me to find out what’s happening down there?”

  “I’ll come with you—“

  “Hold on, princess,” Dina interrupted. “We don’t know if Konstantin is still down there somewhere. Letting you out without powerful escorts is not safe—“

  Audi turned to her. “Are you calling me weak, maid?”

  “You lost against Konstantin. Twice.”

  The boy grumbled.

  Victoria sighed and leaned towards the pilot. “Touch down near the spaceport,” she said. “Wait until Audi and I return.”

  The pilot nodded. “As you wish, Your Imperial Highness.”

  The aircraft landed vertically on an empty parking lot. The turbine flipped and fired a burst of hot air onto the ground, blowing massive wind to the plane’s surroundings. Touch down. A steam puffed from the exhaust, and the door opened. Audi jumped out and landed on the ground. He turned back and lent his hand in. Victoria held it gently and landed on the ground softly, holding her purple dress down, resisting the massive wind caused by the turbine.

  “How long will you be out there, Your Imperial Highness?” Ayu peeked out. “Are you sure you don’t want us—?”

  “I shall be fine,” Victoria replied. “Secure the perimeter if you’re that worried about Konstantin and his soldiers potentially setting up an ambush.”

  “Understood,” Ayu turned to Dina. “Let them be.”

  Dina frowned. “But…”

  Ayu closed the hatch in abrupt.

  The boy and the princess walked onto the main street. Audi opened his UFX-PDA and opened a map of the city, finding their current location and the direction to the spaceport. A blue highlight appeared on the map, tracing the way forward. He started walking, and she followed.

  The journey took five minutes, and they reached the spaceport—a half circle terminal building peppered with surveillance cameras and drones. A massive crowd gathered in front of the entrance gate, which was barred close with only a tiny door opened—heavily guarded by armed security units.

  “We want to get out of this world!” a person yelled.

  “Why are you not letting us in?” another followed.

  Victoria turned back and watched a luxury car stopped. A family of five exited, running past the crowd and stopped in front of the tiny door. They showed their UFX-PDAs, and the guard allowed entrance. As soon as they entered, the guard blocked the door again.

  The crowd grew louder, protesting against the selective treatment. A man tried pushing through the guard, but he was thrown down and kicked away.

  Victoria frowned. “Something’s not right.”

  “You don’t say, princess,” Audi marched forward. “Wait here, I’m going to have a little chat.”

  The boy swam through the crowd, pushing people left and right, sneaking up and down to reach the front of the row. He reached the guards, and they aimed their guns at him.

  “Stop,” one said in Indonesian. “Do you have a ticket?”

  “Ticket?” Audi clenched his eyebrows. “What ticket?”

  “If you want to fly, then you need to buy a ticket.”

  “Thanks for teaching me how space travel works, but that’s not my question, genius,” he said. “Why the hell would you charge tickets for them? These are people who want to escape from this planet.”

  “I know, but this is spaceport policy.”

  “Spaceport policy my ass,” the boy frowned. “How much is the ticket?”

  “To where?”

  “I don’t know, the closest colony or whatever.”

  “About 30,000 Weymars.”

  The boy flinched. “What the fuck? That’s worth a year of salary for most people!”

  “We’re just here to do our job,” the guard tightened his grip on his gun. “If you have complaints to express, talk to the spaceport owner.”

  “Owner?” Audi frowned. “Aren’t spaceports supposed to be run by the government?”

  “The government privatised the spaceport and sold it to a local Bandar Primer company. If you want to protest, go talk to the owners in the building over there,” he pointed at a building opposite the spaceport. “Just hope that they’re still there.”

  Audi grumbled and swam back through the loud crowd. Unrest grew, but the guards maintained their position with their gun ready. Yells. Screams. The boy closed his ears as he traversed through the sea of people. He returned to Victoria within a minute.

  “This is bad,” he said. “A private company has assumed spaceport operation, and they started charging price for flight—“

  “What?” Victoria’s voice raised in abrupt. “These people are refugees! Which inhuman bunch are—“

  The boy pointed to a building across the street. It was a modest building with a company sign spelling: AIRLANGGA INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES.

  “Shall we pay a friendly visit?” he said.

  The princess nodded.

  “With upmost politeness.”

  Audi hit a security guard with a heavy metal bar and grabbed his neck, throwing him to the wall and threw a hook punch. The guard fell on the floor unconscious. Another guard charged at him with a baton, but the boy parried him with a sleight of hand and threw him with a judo move. The boy snatched his baton and hit him. He threw the baton away, and grabbed the metal bar again.

  “That’s the last one,” the boy said. “Come out here.”

  A lift door opened, and Victoria exited. She looked around. “You fought ten guards on your own?”

  “Was it ten?” the boy replied in monotone. “My bad. Didn’t keep a tally.”

  The princess sighed. “You didn’t kill anyone, did you?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Better not, because murder is punishable by death.”

  “Can’t you cover me should that happen?”

  “I’m a member of The Royal Family, of course I can. But I’d rather prevent such a complication.”

  “Aye aye, princess,” the boy walked forward.

  They traversed through the 28th floor of the building. The floor design featured transparent rooms filled with screens and projectors, designed as separate open-plan workspaces that people in the corridor can monitor. The floors were messy, and some parts of the ceilings lied flat on the ground. Office equipment and screens were still powered on, seemingly abandoned mid-work.

  Audi stopped in front of a double wooden door with golden handles. The sign on the side read: EXECUTIVE MEETING ROOM. Small voices echoed from within. He pushed the door, but it won’t budge. He pushed and pulled it once,
twice, thrice. The boy grumbled.

  He kicked the door open.

  Five people stood inside: four men and one woman. They wore formal office suit and luxurious accessories: advanced wrist UFX-PDA, golden earrings, necklace, and expensive pins. Aged at most 30, the five executives stepped back with pouring sweats as the boy entered.

  “What are you?” Audi’s voice was monotone.

  A man in black suit stepped forward. “I am Arif Panggabean, the CEO of Airlangga Infrastructure,” he said with his chin raised. “Don’t you know you’ve broken the law?”

  “Break law how?” the boy asked. “By beating up security guards, or just trespassing in general?”

  Arif frowned. “State your business.”

  “I’m not the one with the business,” he pointed his thumb to the back. “She is.”

  Victoria entered the room.

  The princess maintained her regal demeanour as she walked, but her expression was sour. She glared at the five young executives whose expression turned to shock.

  “Kneel,” she commanded.

  The five executives kneeled.

  “To business, as you wish,” the princess stiffened her tone. “The people of this city wish to escape from this gradually self-destructing planet. They have their loved ones whom they cherished. They have their own future to fight for and protect,” she paused. “But you dare charge them ticket fees as high as 30,000 Weymars.”

  Silence.

  “How dare you,” she frowned. “Can’t you see that this is a humanitarian crisis? Can’t you see that these people are not flying off for leisure, but for their own survival? Why are you charging them such a steep fare—“