Reality Can Be Changed

The world is unfair. It is unfair and it is cruel. Nothing ever goes your way anymore, and if it does, then prepare for that last sliver of hope to be crushed by reality. This is what reality has come to, and reality is something that you cannot change.

It has been a year since The Virus was unleashed by the chief executive Riyas, he called his world-peace plan the Salvation Project – the goal of his project was for The Virus to eliminate the wretched souls of the current human population, and then to rebuild this world into a loving paradise, where there are no bad humans, and this world can finally achieve peace. Marik and everyone else chosen by Riyas were labelled as humanity’s saviors, they were given the antivirus vaccination, which they had to take once a month in order to maintain healthy and protected from The Virus. Although it was for his own good, the vaccination always gave Marik a horrendous headache and made his head spin – he always dreaded having to take it every month.

For that year, he had been assigned tasks of murdering survivors – people who had somehow managed to avoid the lethal effects of the poison. They were told that they were humanity’s last hope, and what they were doing was right. Marik was known as the head of the soldiers, he was the only one who could defeat a group of survivors by himself, he was merciless and cruel – almost as eager for world salvation as Riyas was.

He gripped a locket that hung loosely on his chest – it was a family heirloom that was passed down from generation to generation, handcrafted by his ancestors, with intricate details and distinct patterns – there was only one in the world, and he owned it. The shape of the locket was a heart, his family always said that it symbolised the love and bond they had for each other, so he used it as a symbol of good luck, he wore it everywhere and also used it as something to keep his sorrow inside, a place to store away any insignificant emotions that got in his way of ultimate salvation. He didn’t like killing all these souls, yet he was convinced it was for their own good – he was saving them from the eternal pain of carrying the underlying guilt of all their past actions. It was to make the world a better place, the survivors were sacrificing their lives for the greater good of humanity, even if they didn’t agree with it at first.

Marik walked towards the barn, on high alert, his eyes piercing through the dust and mist flowing through the air. He was given an order to hunt down a girl hiding in a barn just near the city, as spies had reported her presence. The barn was secluded from the main city, which had been destroyed during the outbreak of The Virus, and it was now slowly being rebuilt by the everyone included in the Salvation Project. The stench of the city and its surroundings was unbearable, it smelt of despair and agony, mixed in with the scent of soil and blood. Marik spat on the ground as an attempt to get rid of the smell. Before grabbing his gun, he gripped his locket and uttered a short prayer. For humanity’s future paradise.

He kicked open the door of the barn, and pushed himself forwards, not losing grip of the gun. Almost immediately, he held his breath as he picked up the sense of another being. The girl. He spun around and was faced with nothing but fog. All he needed was to find the girl, then he would have no problem getting rid of her. He heard a scutter behind him, so he spun around again, only to be left with the same view as before. Nothing. He was getting frustrated by the second, the dense mist put him at a major disadvantage, the girl could be anywhere around him, yet he could only see a couple of metres ahead. Suddenly, a force tackled him to the ground from behind, he grunted and turned around to find a figure covered in dirt and blood, with short hair and a fierce look staring down at him. Immediately, he regained his senses and threw her off him, cursing under his breath as he stepped on her stomach so she could not escape. He grabbed his firearm, pointing at her body and got ready to pull the trigger as she shut her eyes in defeat. She looked terrified and in pain. For humanity’s future paradise… Just before he was about to fire, he noticed something hanging around the girl’s neck.

His body froze, hands trembling and unable to pull the trigger. Right there on the girl’s chest lay a heart-shaped locket, glinting in the light as the sun rose, casting pitiful hues of orange and rustic red against the sombre sky and throughout the barn, giving the illusion of fire. Marik felt like his head was on fire. The image of the second heart shaped locket intruded through his mind. Questions swarmed his brain. He lowered his gun slightly, still staring at the girl’s locket, a perplexed expression plastered on his face. It wasn’t possible – how could there have been a copy of his locket when his ancestors had only created one? His breath hitched in his chest, his stomach felt like it was going to drop, and his vision blurred. He rose a sweaty hand through his hair, trying to clutch at his surging thoughts, he was confused and overwhelmed, none of this made any sense. The locket was identical to his, it had the same family crest and the same details, but how was this possible? The girl on the ground slowly opened her eyes, confused as to why she wasn’t dead yet, she could only see the dark silhouette of the man, before a wisp of light slivered across his face, then over his body, revealing his distressed expression and crumpled state. The girl squinted her eyes at the now unmasked figure, a familiar sense creeping through her body. She had met this man before, but where?

Only seconds went by, when she realised who he was. Her heart leapt in her chest, as she dismissed the gun and sat up. “M-Marik!” She gasped, tears filling her eyes. Marik snapped back to reality after hearing her say his name, eyes widening. The light shined on both of their lockets, enveloping them in a glorifying glow – it almost seemed magical, both their lockets engulfed in a majestic flame, reflecting on their faces. The light seemed to seep through the barn, flooding the desolate streets of the once grand city, and to the elevated building where the Salvation Project was being conducted. It shed light and hope upon the employees, it was a beautiful sight for them to see, since the workers were always inside, clicking away at their keyboards, or working on the production of the next vaccine. Then the spell broke. Memories replaced the questions and thoughts swarming Marik’s mind, memories of his sister, memories of his family, memories of his life before The Virus, before the Salvation Project – these were the memories stolen by Riyas. The girl sitting in front of him was his sister.

Marik dropped to his knees, scattering his firearm. His hands desperately grasped at his hair as pain flooded through his body, he felt the vaccination he took earlier shoot through all his nerves and cells in his body, he felt it shoot up to his brain, yet it couldn’t get past it anymore. “Amaris, i-it’s you! Oh god I’m so…I’m so sorry!” Marik sputtered out, his mind still flooding with recovered memories. He groaned, still grasping at his head. Amaris let out a cry of joy, this all felt too surreal to her. The last time she saw her brother was a year and a half ago, when he left home and never came back. Marik doubled over, his body was unconsciously fighting the vaccine, it reacted as if it was a virus, trying to get it out of his system. Amaris stared at the scene unfolding in front of her, unsure if it was best to talk to him or wait until he stopped shaking.

Rage promptly replaced the agony in Marik’s body as he came to the realization that Riyas was behind this – he stole the freedom of innocent people and corrupted them. Marik felt sick, he felt like to vomit, this was all too much. Riyas had turned him into a mindless monster, he was the cause of so many deaths, it was vile, cruel and disgusting. Marik stood up, grabbing his gun which lay scattered near him. “Amaris, take this dagger and protect yourself for the time being. I know we just reunited, but there is something important I have to deal with, and I don’t have much time. Stay here and hide, I promise I will be back for you.” Marik hurriedly handed his sister his protection blade. He felt bad he had to leave so soon, but if he didn’t sort things out with Riyas then he had no idea what he would do to both of them.

“Marik, stay safe. You promised.” Amaris whispered, she didn’t know what he was up to, but she trusted him. She could see he was capable of defending himself. Marik smiled before hugging her, then he turned away and walked out of the barn. Amaris started longingly as he disappeared once again. She truly hoped he would keep his promise, it was so difficult being alone and having to be on high alert all the time, she just wanted peace, natural peace, not the forced peace Riyas had supposedly promised.

Marik stormed through the building where he was sent from, a furious frown plastered on his face, he was headed straight to the room where Riyas was always sat in. The halls of the building were empty, but he ignored that – he was set on confronting Riyas. Once he had reached the familiar, chilling room, he didn’t even hesitate to burst through it.

To his surprise, the lights were on, and the room was filled with scientists, doctors, soldiers, everyone who took part in the project. It was silent as they all turned to stare at him. He lowered his gun, stunned and bewildered. “You’ve arrived, Marik. Do you…uh, have you realised?” The head of doctors asked, then clearing his throat. Marik nodded, assuming the doctor asked about his memories returning. “A light shone upon us, it truly felt magical, then after that, we remembered, we remembered everything from what happened before The Virus. Everything.” The doctor continued.

“Where’s Riyas?” Marik focused back to his main goal. He decided he would worry about everything else later.

“Ah, about him, we took justice into our own hands. He’s gone.” One of the soldiers stepped forward. Marik didn’t need to be told twice, he understood what they meant. “May I ask, what now?” The same soldier asked him. He though for a minute about what the best plan of action would be, then finally came up with an answer. “We progress as a society, we rebuild this world, and I know just the person who can help.” Marik stated, before spinning on his heel and walking back outside to return to his sister, who was waiting patiently for his arrival. He breathed out a sigh. Riyas was gone.

The world is unfair. It is unfair and it is cruel, but not cruel enough to vanquish the light of hope. Reality can be changed, but it should be changed in the right way by the right people.