Chương 2: FAMILIAR FIGURES

*Kringggg *Kringggg

Marco answered the ringing telephone.

"This is Marco from the Mission for Life Unit Team. May I know who is speaking?" Marco asked in a monotonous voice.

Terrence noticed how Marco's face turned serious when the person in the line answered. He was trying to guess what the two of them were talking about, but it was the first time he had seen Marco reacting that way.

"I see, Sir. Your news will be delivered to everyone." Marco answered as he put the telephone back in its original place.

"Who is that?" Terrence asked.

Disregarding Terrence's question. Marco cleared his throat.

"Open the television. The President just announced something."

Terrence and William shared a look before following Marco. Since William was nearer to the television's stand, he was the one who opened it.

As images flashed on the television's screen, a woman holding a microphone, appeared on the side.

"Breaking News! An announcement from the Office of the President recently arrived just a few minutes ago." The woman, who was wearing a grey suit, said. She bowed her head before the video transitioned to another scene.

"Good morning, everyone! This is your President speaking. As for the recent events that have been happening around, we would like to inform you of a sudden announcement. Please know that this decision has been hard for us too…"

An old man appeared on the screen, wearing a black suit. His greyish hair was neatly combed. He made a sob, creating a small pause before the video continued once again.

"We would like to announce that starting tomorrow, we will require each family to pay $20,000 in 2 days. Those families who fail to pay will be scheduled for transfer to the 'Island'. All the money that will be acquired will be designated for the best interest of humanity. I hope you all understand."

The old man wiped the fake tears in his eyes before the video became all black.

"Our Families will be safe, right?"

That was the first thing that popped into Terrence's mind after the news ended broadcasting. There was a big lump in his throat that made him swallow hard.

"That's what they promised to you, right? I'm sure they wouldn't get back to their words. You have been a great help." Marco assured.

"Yeah. No worries, I'm here to help you if something happens." William smiled.

Even though their words were reassuring, Terrence could still feel as if something wrong was about to happen.

'Am I just overthinking?' he asked himself. He slightly shook his head.

"Let's get back to work now, everyone. We still have a lot of things to accomplish." Marco strictly declared when a moment of silence surrounded them.

Terrence just nodded and went back to work. After a few hours, they finished all their tasks for the day. Since Terrence felt something odd, he asked permission from Marco if it was alright for him to visit his family.

It has already been a week since he last saw them. He was sure that his family missed him already.

"I'm sorry, Terrence, but you know that the government would usually forbid us to go out just days before the mass killing. However, you can send letters or goods to your family. The shuttle bus is just outside."

Terrence nodded. He understood what Marco said. It was his ignorance that he forgot they had a rule like that.

"Yes, Sir." He excused himself after.

Terrence went back to his apartment. His apartment was just located near their office. It was an apartment provided by the government for them.

Terrence took out a basket of vegetables, fruits, and some meat from the refrigerator. He properly stored it in a box and wrote a letter stating that he would be home after a few days.

Since contact with their family was prohibited due to security concerns, they could only send letters to their family for communication.

A smile crept out on his face. "I'm sure my sister and parents will like this."

Terrence was the sole provider of their family. Since almost all businesses have closed down because of the HNT virus, his parents, who were working a year ago, were now jobless.

That's why even though Terrence was working under the government, his salary mostly went to finance his family's food, leaving only a little money to support himself.

That was why he couldn't even afford to have fun.

No condoms and certainly no girls, too.

When he was done, he gave it to the shuttle bus driver, who was waiting outside of his apartment.

"Please take it safely to my parent's home." Terrence reminded the driver before he went inside his apartment again to sleep and ready himself for the following days.

= = = = =

"Can we remove our blindfolds now?" Terrence asked as he looked around. He could only see darkness as his eyes were covered with a black cloth.

"Yes," Marco answered.

Terrence and his co-workers were currently inside a house in an unknown location that only their head, Marco, knew. The location was unknown, as all of them would board a shuttle bus, and halfway through the journey, Marco would ask them to blindfold their eyes.

Sometimes, Terrence wondered if this was one of Marco's fetish when he was still young.

They have been here a few times already, and those times were always the same. It was to conduct the weekly mass killing.

The mass killing was set in what they call the 'Island'.

The whole area was quadruple the size of an average soccer field. It was enclosed by a massive wall surrounding the four sides, making it impossible for an average person to go in and out without permission.

"Everything is settled already. The bus that holds all the scheduled people will arrive in 15 minutes. Just get ready with everything before they arrive. Make sure to wear your masks properly," Marco instructed.

Terrence went to the side to look in the mirror. He double-checked the gas mask that he was wearing. Because of the mask, his facial features were unrecognizable.

"Since we're only half in number as the rest of the Mission for Life unit team were tasked with a different mission, we will split the scheduled people in half." William, who was standing beside Marco, announced.

"The elderlies, women and child, would go inside the gas chamber for killing, while the men will be transferred to the field for the slaughter. Do you all understand?"

Everyone agreed with what William instructed them. Since there will be two different methods of killing, the 'Mission for Life' unit was also split in half.

Terrence volunteered to be part of the gas chamber's team, since he was already wearing a mask. It was also less brutal than the slaughter, where they would kill all the people in the field one by one.

He knew that it would be gore and bloody.

Hearing the sounds of the engine, everyone inside the house prepared themselves for what was about to happen.

Terrence excused himself and went to the hidden balcony at the front of the house where they were in. On that side, he could see everything that was happening with the help of a telescope.

The house was located in the middle of the 'Island'. The gas chamber could be seen in the front left, while the field was located on the front right. The entrance to the two stations was in the middle, while the back side of the Island was used as a massive grave for all the dead people.

Even though he had been in this area for so long, he wasn't given the chance to go to the backside as it was strictly restricted.

He wondered what it looked like with millions of people buried in the area. He even thought if it was possible to store that many people in just a limited space.

When the gate opened, Terrence's eyes focused on all the people starting to enter one by one.

At first, their estimated number of people was only 30,000. However, a list was given to them yesterday by the government that added up to the total. They weren't allowed to see it, and only Marco and William were able to.

Terrence could see different kinds of people going in. They were blindfolded, and based on their actions, he knew for sure that all of them were scared of what was about to happen.

Terrence could see older people having a hard time walking. Women whose fear was evident in the way they walked. Children who had no idea what was happening. And men who were trying to act strong, but deep inside, they were already almost faltering.

Terrence could feel a slight pity in his heart, but he had already gone this far. He can't let his conscience eat him and back out.

"Terrence, come on now. We need to go to our designated spots already."

Hearing a familiar voice, Terrence's eyes stopped wandering around.

"Alright, I'll be there." He answered as he took a final look at the crowd.

Terrence was about to take his eyes off the telescope when he saw three familiar figures entering the gate. His heart started to beat faster. He could feel his palms getting sweaty and cold. He had to stare at the familiar figures just to be sure.

That's when he realized that he couldn't be wrong about this.

'This is not possible…

Terrence's eyes widened in horror as he realized who were the familiar faces.

'N-No!"

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