Adam Mason

For a long time, I knew I wanted to die. Most days, I didn’t know what really kept me from throwing myself into the East River. Maybe it was the little things that kept me from going insane—like occasionally having a cheeseburger. But no, that wasn’t quite it. I knew I was waiting for something, holding out hope, I guess. I think I was waiting for when things finally got better. I don’t know, maybe I would catch a lucky break or something. But I was also waiting for when the world was going to get better. It had to at some point. Everything can’t get worse and worse forever. Can it?

Even when I was crawling through the mud, I wanted to see the light at the end of the tunnel. When all the suffering and heartbreak and bitterness finally came to an end, maybe then I would get to see what it was all for. Sure, we lost everything, but it still had to be for something, right? We lost our lives, but someday the world was going to fix itself, right?

I hoped so.

But now I knew I wasn’t going to see that world. I thought I was different from those washed-up bodies in the East River. You could say that deep down, I thought I was special. The world was going to make itself clear to me and me alone. And for a time, I believed that lie. I really believed that lie after I got my powers.

But no, the world doesn’t have to justify itself to anyone. It exists regardless of what you say or think or do about it. The world doesn’t owe you shit. You can whine about that, sure. You can complain and groan and grit your teeth, but that won’t change anything. You are no different from those bodies in the East River and don’t you ever forget that.

I could feel it now. There was a weakness in my bones that hadn’t been there. There was a vague discomfort in my head, not quite what you would call a headache, but just before the onset of one. Daniel said I was dying, and it was a good thing he did too. The symptoms were just starting, and if he hadn’t told me, I didn’t know how long I would’ve spent in denial. At least this way, I still had some time left.

I looked up at the sky. The day had started nice, but the evening was getting overcast now. Storm was coming in.

I had been mulling on the rooftop of an abandoned building for a few hours. It was strange. I spent so much time on rooftops now. I never really looked at the city. I was always peering up at the sky, kind of vaguely accepting the brown and grey landscape existed as well. But now, as I gazed over the dirt and the trash and the ruin, I realized that I was going to die here. I don’t mean necessarily in City 57, but I mean I was going to become a part of all of this. I was going to join this festering world, just another decaying thing amongst all the others. For some reason, that made me sick to my stomach.

I wanted to be taken and swallowed by the sky. It might’ve been empty up there, but at least it was clean. At least it was free. The thought of my rotting corpse being part of this ugly world made my skin crawl. Maybe before I die, I would throw myself into space. Yeah, that might be the best way to go out. It was quiet up there, and after everything, I just wanted silence.

Daniel appeared beside me. I could always tell because the air displaced created a slight breeze. Old me wouldn’t have noticed it, but I could sense nearly everything in a several mile radius now.

“Wanted to check in, see how you’re doing,” he said, sitting next to me.

“Fine enough, I guess,” I mumbled. “What are you supposed to do when someone tells you that you’re dying?”

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin… It seems we both got shit hands.” Daniel peered over the city, occasionally glancing my way.

I picked up a piece of debris and casually tossed it off the side of the building. “I keep wondering whether I should regret it—all of this, I mean. Would it have been better if I never got injected? Would it have been better to keep on living as I was?” I threw my head back so I could only see the sky. I didn’t want to look at City 57 anymore. “Maybe I should regret it, but man, these have been the best few days of my life. I can’t decide which was better. What do you think?”

Daniel considered the question. “I don’t think it matters what we think about it. Won’t change anything, anyway. All you can do is spend whatever time you have left… and make the most of it.”

“Hm, you’re right about that.” I chuckled. “Still, I can’t help but think it’s all pointless. What does it matter what I do? It will be all the same soon.”

“Nah, I think it matters. A few days aren’t that big a difference to a few years. We all gotta die at some point. Not everyone gets to see and do the things we have. At least there’s that, right?” Daniel sounded like he was trying to justify it to himself more than me.

“I suppose that’s true. I just wish I could do something lasting, make my life matter. You know, I’ve realized you start thinking strange thoughts right before you die. Do you know what I’ve been wanting for a while now?”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Daniel looked at me. “What?”

I stared up at that grey, overcast sky. “If I could push a button and fix the world, I would. I know things aren’t that easy. But I keep thinking, since I’m a dead man anyway, it doesn’t really matter what price I have to pay. Even if I had to suffer for every wrong thing people have ever done, I would do it in a heartbeat. At least then, my life would mean something.”

“Yeah, that is strange. If only people thought like that all the time,” Daniel muttered, “maybe the world wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Maybe.” I relaxed and rested my back on the concrete. “I just wish I knew what to do.”

Almost in answer to that question, I heard a soft buzzing sound about a mile off. From previous experience, I knew it was a drone immediately. Apparently, I hadn’t done a thorough enough job destroying those in the city. I sat up and looked over towards it. It was just a tiny speck from a normal perspective—if a regular person could see it at all—but I could focus in on the details. Things didn’t get blurry at a distance. If anything, all I saw was more clarity.

It seemed to be a custom setup, not one of those city drones. And it wasn’t trying to hide either. It was coming right towards us. Given that it wasn’t much bigger than a small bike, I knew it wasn’t packing any serious firepower. What was most interesting, however, was that there was a cellphone attached to the top. It seemed like someone wanted a chat.

“Heads up.” I elbowed Daniel and pointed to where the drone was coming from. “Looks like we got company. A drone with a cellphone is coming.”

Daniel furrowed his brow in confusion. “Why? The ASA don’t negotiate.”

“I don’t think it’s from the ASA. Listen, you should teleport out of here, but stay close. Find someplace hidden where you can keep tabs on things. They can’t harm me, but they can definitely still get you.”

Daniel nodded and suddenly disappeared. I could detect him in a nearby building, hiding behind some grime-covered windows. I stood up and crossed my arms, waiting for the drone to approach. It was all on its lonesome. Nothing else moved in the sky, at least not related to us.

A few minutes later, and it was hovering right beside me. The phone was kept in a plastic case anchored with steel bolts to the drone. Suddenly, the phone started buzzing, lighting up with an error message instead of a number. Shrugging my shoulders, I opened the case and answered the call.

“Adam Mason! It’s been a while!” The voice of the Ghost spoke from the other side.

I can’t say I was altogether surprised. I knew we had some unfinished business, but I was still quite shocked that he found us. He must’ve had good connections.

“Ghost,” I replied curtly. “Last time I saw you, I had a needle full of super serum stabbed into my neck. What do you want now?” I knelt down to look into the drone’s camera. I knew someone was watching on the other end.

“Yeah, you looked like you were having a bad day. Thought you might appreciate a little boost.”

“We all made mistakes. How about we chat about this in person? Catch up on old times?” I said, with not a little sarcasm in my voice.

I heard a burst of laughter on the other side of the phone. “As much as I would like that, I have a feeling you would kill me.”

“I might.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Depending on my mood. And I did just receive some very bad news.” I placed my hand on the plastic container atop the drone and crushed it with my bare hand.

“You sore about that? But I do have some good news. I do have a way of extending your deadline, buying you more time if you will. I’m thinking we can help each other out.”

“You want me to attack the ASA?” I asked, still recalling our previous conversation. “I’m sorry, but I stopped being an errand boy when you gave me superpowers. How about I find you and rip it out of your dead corpse?”

“And I said before, we can definitely go down that road. There is not a thing in this world that I could do to stop you. But you are going to have a bitch of a time trying to find me, especially with the B-Ranks who have recently arrived in town. And if those don’t scare you, I’ll give you a tip that others are on your trail too. You don’t have free rein of the city anymore. We can either work together, or you waste time trying to find me and drop dead in the next few days.”

He didn’t say it smugly or mockingly or anything of the sort. He laid it out as it all was without a hint of emotion. And the problem was, I knew he was right. This time the Democratic Union had brought in the big guns. I could probably take them, sure, but I would be wasting valuable time. And I still would have no idea where to look for the Ghost. He could be outside of the city for all I knew.

“I want proof,” I finally said, turning to look at the city. I knew he was far off, but something must have tipped him to my location. “I haven’t heard of any cure. If there was one, people wouldn’t drop dead from the enzyme.”

“Did I say it was a cure?” Ghost asked. “No, you’re on the clock, and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it.”

Those words hurt a lot more than I expected. “Then what—”

“There’s a serum that’ll give your body a boost. Slow down the deterioration. It’ll buy you a few months. And since your body won’t hold out much longer, I think a few months is a very good deal.”

I didn’t know whether he was lying, but I honestly didn’t see any other choice but to trust him. A chance at a few months more of life? Yeah, I’ll take that deal any day.

“All right, I accept. But if you even think about double-crossing me, remember, I can do this.” I walked over to the drone and kicked it with my foot.

There was a very loud crack as the machine disintegrated apart into a thousand pieces, scattering and hitting a nearby building with the speed of bullets. Glass windows shattered as a thousand miniature puffs of dirt and smoke exploded out of the side of the skyscraper. It was as if someone had shot a cannon full of flak into the building.

“If I don’t get my hands on that serum, that drone is going to be your skull. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Ghost responded. He didn’t seem annoyed that I turned his drone into bits of small debris, but I could tell even he jumped a little when he heard the explosion on the other side of the phone.

“So what’s next?”

“Hole up and wait for tomorrow. I’ll contact you for the when and where. Until then, don’t drop dead.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” I told him. “I’m ready to take on this whole city.”