“ But, why do you have…”
“ Your towns diving suit. Yes. “
I stare at him with frustration, but also with awe. He knew of my town, and he had on our suits, so…
“ Pablo! Pablo who died from drowning!” I choked out with a ruff cough.
“ Yes, I was like you. I had earned freedom. I wanted to choose, and not be another machine.” He said.
Before I knew it, he had launched into what had happened when he left, when, and how. I listened intently, and my friends gradually came and listened too. The story he told us was both interesting and horrifying. He had been injured by my beast, and had to tend to himself, and find his own nourishment.
“How were you here in time to save us?” Andrew asked.
“ Well, I stay around the ocean bank as much as I can, incase more feel my freedom. I myself barely made it to land in time.” Pablo said.
“ Thank you Pablo, I would have dies, we all would have.” I said with gratitude.
“ It was the least I could do. Come, we must get to shelter. The night is approaching.”
“ But it was just night at the town!” Maria wailed rougher than I.
“ The town, is always dark. They mixed up night and day, so I wake, when you go to sleep.” He said, leading us down the beach.
We followed Pablo quietly, and he lead us to a wonderfully crafted hut.
“ Did you craft this?!” Angel asked.
“ Yes.” He said as we entered.
It was a lovely hut. It had several cots, and a cleaning area. It had a dresser, and a sitting area. It wasn’t a large hut, yet not a small hut. He pulled a few more cots out, gave us all one, and sat on his.
“Have you all received three feelings?”
“ Yes. I have freedom, joy, and anger.” I said.
My friends listed off the feelings they had, and Pablo listened carefully.
“ Okay, come here.” He said standing up.
Pablo took us to the dresser, and opened the top door like thing. I peered into it, and saw all kinds of colorful vials, ones I had never seen before. He had all of the feelings, and ten of each. Pablo, he was phenomenal!
“ Please, take them, use them, earn the feelings you do not have.
“ But… the rule is three.” I said.
“The rules create sameness and I don’t want sameness.” He said handing me several bottles.
As he handed my friends vials, I drank mine, and gave back the vials.
“I heard the announcer and the head scientist talking about not perfecting yet.” I said as weird feelings flooded over me.
The vials Pablo were holding, crashed to the ground, spraying shards all over. His face showing over ten emotions, presumably the ones I felt now. He had sorrow, anger, and… stress?
“What is it?” I asked and an oddly infuriated voice.
“Yeah.” Angel said with a sad voice.
“What’s wrong?” Andrew asked lazily.
“It’s…”
“What?” Demitri asked.
“Answer the question!” Maria spat out.
With our new emotions filling every ounce of our words, Pablo looked at all of us. He had tears touching his eyes, threatening to spill over. I don’t know why, but I felt his sorrow, even though I don’t know what it is for.
“What is it?” I asked, with sorrow.
“I didn’t tell you why I left, fully.” He said, brushing the glass shards into a small pan, and putting them in a waste receptacle.
“Why?” Maria spat out again, angry from getting the feeling, well anger a few minutes ago.
“It didn’t concern or affect you at the time. But now… you need to know of it.” He said.
“So, tell us.” I said simply.
“Come, you should all sit down, as should I.” so, we sat down on our cots.
“Okay, what did you look over?” Andrew asked immediately.
“When I left the town, I was leaving with a friend. Her name was Linsey. We were supposed to be… test experiments for the extraction process of larger beings. We tried to leave the testing facilities. We successfully left the facilities, but as we snuck into the diving suit warehouse, the announcer and... head scientist was already there. They had anticipated our attempt.” He started.
“But I never heard of a Linsey.” Andrew stated.
“They got her, but I was in the water by the time they had her restrained. We had made an agreement before we snuck into the warehouse. We leave the other if caught. So they used Linsey as there test subject, and started constructing the worst thing imaginable. They started to make a prototype of a larger being feeling extractor, and used the other machine they had created. They used a mine control device, and removed the memories of Linsey, and made you think I had drowned, and had a proper burial. But their own calculations, Linsey only lived for a year after my departure.” He said as tears trickled down his cheeks.
“But, the laws states…”
“The laws, to the scientists of purpose death, don’t apply! They killed my best friend!” he wailed at us.
“I’m so sorry.” I said between sobs.
“Don’t be.” He said getting up, and storming out of the hut.
Immediately, I was up, and fallowing Pablo out into the moon light night. Under other circumstances, this would be a lovely night. The moon was full, the sea silent, and the moon light the night sky, and the sea reflected the bright glow. Our bare feet left tracks, and all I cared about was helping Pablo.
“Wait!” I yelled as a light breeze tossed my hair.
“My life is dead!” he screamed at me.
“But you, are alive!” I yelled.
“I might as well be dead.” He whispered.
“Don’t you say that! You don’t need to take the blame for the death of Linsey. You could have tried to help, and die yourself, or done what was right. As you live, so does her spirit. You need to live for the both of you.” I said with a quiver of my lips.
“I-I’m sorry.” He said.
Before I could react, his arms were spread out wide, and he was falling back into the wide open sea. Everything went in slow motion. I dove forward, landing in the sand. The water splashed over his body, and as I scrambled forward to help him, his body went down, and fell farther into the ocean.
“ No!” rang through the sandy land, as I lay in the sand weeping, my friends soon came out to grieve with me. The one and only person who had survived being caught by the law enforcers, had ended up being so depressed, that he ended up killing himself. He survived, and made his life worth living, for nothing. One thing I am sure, is that I will not blame myself for his choice. I will not die as he did. And I will make my life worth living. The wind tossed my hair, and I knew I would live. I must live. And I will make that, my mission. To save those who take our road to freedom, and do it with a smile.