Scarred Hearts

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The Rebel

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I gripped onto the locket tightly, the cracked heart pressing an imprint into my palm. Not that it mattered, she was gone- and I was all alone. My throat was sore and burning as I held her limp body. I had stopped trying to save her ages ago. I had only been causing her pain anyways. This was all my fault. I let them follow us. I hadn't watched my back and I had paid the ultimate price. Something even worse than death. Losing the one person I cared about most, the one person I trusted in this hellhole of a city, my older sister, Ellie.

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A few hours later, he drops the body leaning against a ruined wall, tears rushing down his face, the rain trickling down his scarred cheeks as he looks up to the sky.

“You know, we always took care of each other; even before our parents were taken, even before They took over the city.” His voice is hoarse and he pauses often, choking on his own words. “Every time I came home crying because some kids picked on me or beat me up, we would go down to the docks and get ice cream and talk about everything and nothing for hours. It was the best feeling in the world. But that’s all gone now, my parents are gone, Ellie’s gone. Hell, it's basically the end of the world so that's gone too!” They pause after that last sentence letting the reality of it sink in. His sister had been the only person he had here in this living hell, but now she was dead. What was he even supposed to do now?

He sighs. It wasn't the time to think about that and after a moment he decides to continue, “Our parents were taken within the first week of the Corruption. They didn't even give us a warning, they just broke down the door. Me and my sister barely made it out with our lives. I remember that's the first time I heard an explosion in person, and by the time I looked back there really wasn’t anything to look for anymore.” He shrugs. That probably wasn't completely true. His memory had always been a bit fuzzy surrounding that event.

“I wonder who I’m talking to anyway. I'm probably just going crazy.'' He chuckles lightly although it seemed hollow and joyless. “But hey! What the hell does that even matter anymore!” At this point, he was convinced he was going mad with grief, his mind overflowing with thoughts that back in the normal world would probably get him sent to a mental hospital. “The point is we don't know who They are but They've been killing for years, recruiting people secretly right underneath the government’s nose until they had enough little minions for their sick, twisted little scheme to-” He’s interrupted by debris crashing down from a pile of rubble and ruined cars and he turns to see the blood red and silver uniform of the Conformity.

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The Soldier

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Shit- he saw me- this isn’t good. My hand flies to where my gun is holstered, I didn't want to hurt him, but he was a Rebel. If the pod knew I let a Rebel get away… let's just say it would be really bad for both of us. I mean- he looks innocent enough, but the way he had just talked about the Conformity…

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The boy on the hill draws his weapon pointing it at the other person ”You there! Rebel! Freeze and prepare to comply!” He yells his tone about as sharp as a butter knife.

The Rebel boy almost laughs at this “like hell I will you loyalist scum!” Their voice cracks mid-sentence but he keeps his composure diving for his gun pointing it right back at the other boy.

“You don't want to do this,” the Conformity soldier warns, taking a few steps forward keeping his weapon trained on his target, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

The Rebel boy actually ends up laughing at this, his voice tightening as he speaks. “Like I would ever think someone like you wouldn’t want to hurt me.”

“I'm serious!” He exclaims. “Just let me take you in and no one has to get hurt!” He almost sounds like he's pleading for this strange Rebel to cooperate which is an… unorthodox tactic to say the least.

He scoffs. “No one has to get hurt, ey? What about the millions of people you've already hurt?! Already killed?!” He walks towards the boy cocking his weapon, getting close enough that the barrel of the gun is pressed against the soldier's skull “You know nothing of all the pain you've caused to people like me! Or maybe you do and you. Just. Don't. Care. You-” There's a sound of metal clanging against hollow bone and the world goes black as the Rebel collapses to the ground

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The Rebel

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Ugh- where the hell am I? Everything hurts. Am I dead? Or worse, captured- the metal floor is cold and I don't have any of my gear on me either. WAIT! Where’s Ellie's locket?! I search through my pockets, looking around desperately, and that's when I see it. Right in the hands of that filthy little-

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“Looking for this?” the soldier boy asks fiddling with the chain of the locket between his fingers. “It really is beautiful craftsmanship. Something like this may go for millions in the new world.”

“That's not yours, give it back!” he protests weakly lunging towards the bars of the cell failing miserably to retrieve the locket from the boy’s grip.

The soldier snatches the locket away quickly “Nope, not happening.” He dangles the locket outside of the bars just out of the Rebel’s reach.

“Just- please it was my sister’s. It's the only thing I have left,” he chokes out, “of anyone.”

The soldier's expression softens slightly. They had always been taught to believe these Rebels were nothing but an obstacle to their road to becoming a greater society as a whole. But, this Rebel, he seemed too human for that to be true. “Fine but only if you answer this one question.” He whispers.

“Fine fine I’ll answer your stupid question!” he exclaims desperately wanting nothing more than to get the last remnant of his old life back.

The soldier boy leans forwards towards the bar and whispers like a small child telling a secret “What's your name?”

The Rebel’s eyes widen in surprise for a moment before he bursts out laughing. “That's it?!” they end up choking on air due to him laughing so hard. “I thought it was gonna be something actually important like ‘where's the Rebel base?’ or even ‘whats the super-secret plan to take down our stupid government?’” He cackles wildly at the absurdity of the question.

“Hey! First of all the Conformity isn’t stupid! We’re trying to stop you Rebels from destroying everything you touch! And second of all, so what if I want to know your name. I'll find it out anyway,” he huffs, annoyed, “Now do you want your locket or not?”

“Fine! Fine!” He takes a deep breath regaining their composure, “My name's Beckett ok? Now hand over the locket.” He quickly snatches it away from the boy through the bars before he could pull any tricks to try and keep it.

The soldier boy allows the locket to be taken from him. “Ok then Beckett, it’s nice to meet you, I'm Renold but most everyone calls me Ren anyways”

Becket’s mood almost immediately sours. “What makes you think I would even want to know who you are?” He scoffs lightly “You're just some brainwashed soldier who kidnapped me after an overall already horrible day and to be honest, I wish you had shot me right then and there!” he snaps angrily.

The hostility in Beckett’s voice struck Ren like a dagger through the chest. “Oh- I just thought that- I would- I mean- you-”

“Well, you're obviously no good at thinking, are you? Although, that was pretty obvious from the beginning, since you've been working for the lot that destroyed society!” They laugh bitterly.

“They didn’t destroy society!” He protests. Although, his voice wavers slightly “We’re rebuilding society better than you Rebels could even imagine!” He stands up about to leave when he feels the Rebel grab his arm through the bars. “Let go of me.” His voice was tense and frustrated.

“Is this really what you want?” Beckett questions, his voice soft. He had heard the uncertainty in the boy’s voice and deep down inside himself, they felt a flicker of hope that this would be his way out. And if he could take even one of the Conformity’s loyal soldiers with him in the process, it was worth a shot. “Do you really want to harm people for the simple promise of rebuilding an unfixable system? Are you sure you want to be a mindless soldier for them to use as they please for their twisted agenda?”

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The Soldier

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What? No one’s said that before, well at least dared to. Thinking about it, he actually might have a point- it's been years, and all I’ve done is take out Rebels and go out on patrols... The outside is always in ruins too- am I really just a mindless soldier? None of this seems right anymore, has it ever felt right? All I wanted to do was help people, but now… it seems like all I've done is hurt them.

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Ren looks down for a moment before looking up at Beckett. “Fine,” he whispers as the door clicks open, “You better be right.” He grabs their hand pulling him down the hallway as alarms blared around them.

After what seems like hours of running, they find themselves on a half collapsed rooftop as the sun casts a fiery light across the scene as it sinks below the horizon. The two boys stand there breathing heavily, and slowly Beckett begins to laugh beginning with a hushed giggle developing into almost maniacal laughter.

Ren looks at them in disbelief. “Why are you laughing? We barely made it out with our lives!”

“Look at us!” He exclaims, flinging his arms out in a dramatic gesture. “The Rebel and The Soldier, two opposite sides of a bloody war. Standing here in the ruins of society.” He chuckles. “Ironic isn't it?” He grins at Ren with a strange glint in his eyes.

He didn't quite get what Becket was but he laughed a bit shaking his head “You're insane.” He states bluntly.

“Aren't we all?” he questions with a chuckle. “But I'm being serious, here we are total opposites, but I can't help thinking that we’re meant to be here in this moment… together.” He thinks for a moment before he pulls the locket out of his pocket and hands it over to Ren, “I want you to keep it.”

“No way!” Ren exclaims, looking almost offended. “It obviously means loads to you, it belongs with you.”

“If I'm being honest. I think it always belonged to the person I trust the most, which definitely isn’t me,” he says lightheartedly, “now come on take the damn thing before I change my mind.”

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The Rebel

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I let go of the locket and it almost felt like a weight coming off my shoulders. I had lost so much within the past year. I had forgotten how good it felt to have something, no, someone. And to be honest, it's the best feeling ever to exist in this pandemonium of an experience we call life.