It's just not right, not right at all. I've always thought it silly how it always rains on funerals on movies, how that was not right and the weather would not merely seem bad because the characters felt bad. It's ironic, really, I've always complained it was unrealistic for the world to look sad and ugly on those occasions, and now that it isn't, I feel like the world should actually be. I waked up sad, with the salty smell of dried tears on my face, and then I find out the world is like this.
It should be raining. It would be more appropriate.
I walked along with the rest of them. Of us. I still couldn't believe it would end like this. The past two months were the happiest of my life, after meeting him I was almost another person. If he was still here, he would probably have managed to make me smile again... he always managed. Anywhere, anytime, I couldn't not smile when he was with me. But then again, he was here, just a few steps away from me, on the wood box that would seal his body away from me for the rest of my life.
I don't believe I would be able to smile. Not now. Not in a long time.
The sun mocked me as I walked, reminding me how I always thought the weather shouldn't mourn the death of someone. It sure as hell should. Walking in black, among a crowd of black-suited individuals, this day was not a good day for a funeral. Heck, there were even butterflies flying at our right, this is not how it should be. Then again, this whole event should not be.
We kept walking, a beautiful day all around us, as if trying to say the world simply didn’t care for him, that the world was the same and nothing would change in the big scenario, that his death was meaningless. Well, that it could be, there was no meaning, no reason for his death. I still couldn’t believe in it, a heart attack in his bath... And he wasn’t even thirty yet!
As I mourned, the procession walked. Although he was the love of my life, I didn’t know anyone here, which made it only worse. I was a stranger on my love’s own funeral. I didn’t know the family nor the friends. I was seemingly out of place, and no one would give me a shoulder to cry on, no one would hold my hand, embrace me in my sorrow. At least it was enough to know I was not alone in that sorrow; there were dozens of people here, who, just as me, mourned his passing. I was only the girl who found the body. Nothing but that.
We walked, and I wept.
______________________________________________________________________________
This situation was troublesome. He thought they had managed to fix the problem, but here it was, once again, and it was too late now. They couldn’t let the public know of the truth. Well, what would the truth be, in fact? Sure, every single evidence pointed for the same thing, that the problem repeated itself, but that could be natural causes, right?
Well, they had managed to cover everything perfectly, but if it happened again… there was no telling how long they would be able to cover. The problem seemed to be fixed, they had made several tests, and even had some casualties in order to perfect the system… it had been three years of research and testing after the first time it happened. On the last year, every test and every experiment ended in a complete success. After all that, they still waited a full year on further tests with a reduced group, and for the last two years everything had been fine, perfect, not a single problem. Well, there was one or another problem here or there, but it wasn’t exactly their fault, and they made sure those small things were fixed, but THIS?
Damn, if that has come to happen once again, they would be shut down. The whole world would accuse them, the whole world would refuse them, the whole world would crucify them. Hell, what if someone started to investigate it? What if the world learned of what they did, how they managed it?
This problem had to be dealt with, right now, and that is why he called for the meeting. They were all in the room already, except for one man, the one they were waiting for. It was secure, or at least it should be, as it was totally kept apart from the main world.
At a single flash of light, the a blonde man was there, seated, and they began.
“Well, it seems we are all here.” The blonde man, who had just arrived, later than anyone else, was visibly late, but the eight other figures just nodded their heads without a single complaint as he spoke. All the small talk and the noise of before were gone. “I believe we all know why I called for this meeting. I’ve sent all of you the details of yesterday’s incident, and all the records we found. I think there is no mistake of the problem we’re facing…”
“Are you sure it’s happening again? It could very well be just a coincidence…” The man talking was the youngest of them all, and he seemed to be asking that with only a small, dim slice of hope. He knew it already, but he had to try grasping that slim hope…
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“We both know it’s too much similar to be a coincidence. It’s no coincidence, or at least we should assume that. Too young, too healthy, his death had no place there.” Turning his head to another man on the round table, the blonde man asked what that which everyone was afraid of. “Has anyone had any suspicions? Was it completely covered for?”
“Yes, our guys made sure to get in and out without anyone’s knowledge. He was found by his girlfriend, it seems. Any records of his death were erased, everything points out to a heart attack while he was showering.”
“Good, then we have nothing to fear, there’s no cha-“
“Nothing to fear? What do you mean? If this happened once, it will sure as hell happen again, we have to shut it down, we can’t have anyo-“
“Nothing. To. Fear. You know I don’t like to be interrupted, and you should mind your place. The problem will be cared for just like last time, you will all look into it, find out how the protections were overrun and fix it. Put more restrictions, change it. While you do that, we’ll need to make sure to pick up any other instance of it. If that happens again before we fix it, we must make sure to have someone ready to pick them up and cover things.”
The man who had interrupted the blonde now waited to be sure he was finishing talking. Everyone here knew not to get on his bad side, especially when he was already angry.
“Right, but what do we do about the rest of the public? People got angry yesterday, because we cut them out. We said it was temporary, and even got a good explanation saying we were fixing some things, but that hasn’t happened for a long time, and they will require some explaining…”
“That’s easy. It’s hidden stuff, something we had to do but can’t simply open up for the public, it will just pique their interest there. In a few days we actually do add something and then say it was that. Use one of the ideas for next semester…” The man was done talking, but then just raised his arm and dismissed the idea with his hand. “No, cross that, we’ll need more time than just this, we need teams ready to deal with this situation, so just get one of our best ideas for the next year, a big one, and work hard to get it done as fast as possible, something we can somehow make seem like was actually started now. Get teams ready in case it repeats again, and get everything back to normal as fast as possible, we’ve lost too much already in a single day, we must haste things or else risk to jeopardy all we’ve accomplished in the past two years.”
With that said, the man nodded, and disappeared again, in a single flash of light. The rest of the man sighed and disappeared, one by one, until only one figure remained. He couldn’t leave that place like that, and although only the blonde one knew of that. As he was left there, alone, he mused about what was happening, the only one there who knew the truth of things. He couldn’t have the others knowing the truth, and had managed to hide it everything up to this very moment, but if things continued like this, innocent people would die, not just those animals, conscienceless bodies and vile beings like before.
Sighing, he looked at the table and saw his own image reflected there, as well as the whole world that caused that problem in the first place. He couldn’t let them knowing, and truth be told, if they knew it, that wouldn’t stop them from their evil deeds. He was needed among them, as if not him, there wouldn’t be a single person in both worlds able to control their power. It was sad that, with all the power he had there, he still couldn’t fix the situation, nor could he actually change things. Not a single one of the other eight would side with him – he had tried many scenarios, but there was no way they would help him.
Sighing again, the man went over the file he had received yesterday. There wasn’t much information on the man’s death, more proof that no one on the room but him cared for the guy’s death. Sam Brookwise, 26, male, perfect health records, found dead by his girlfriend on his bathroom. His funeral had happened today. He felt sorry for the lad, he seemed like a good kid, although he probably wasn’t, given the circumstances. His mouth was dry and a single tear crossed his face nonetheless. If for the boy or for himself, one could only guess.
He looked down at the table, at the reflections. There was absolutely nothing he could do but provide cover for the problem itself. As long as the problem remained there, he should be fine.