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A week went by.
I sat, crossed legged, in the center of the floor, surrounded by dust and foot prints, holding in one hand, the pistol clip, in the other, the seven bullets. I pushed the first one down.
�Today we�ll talk about a topic that is still non-existent.�
The second.
�Can any one tell me what a Cyborg is?�
The third.
Jene shifted positions in his chair, next to the wall and leaned against it. �No,� the teacher�s voice held the question he asked. �A Cyborg,� he wrote on the board. �Is a Human or animal with machined parts.�
The forth.
Blake looked at Jene. �Won�t this be cool?� Jene swallowed�hard.
The fifth.
�Yeah, just grand Blake.� He sunk back in his seat. �I don�t want to do this.�
The sixth.
�Why not?�
�Boys, is there a problem?�
�Not at all.�
The seventh. I slammed the clip into the weapon and stood up.
I turned to see Blake. He looked upset. Eyebrows lowered against his eyes, mouth set in a straight line. His voice seemed harsh. �What the fuck is wrong with you?! Ever since we found those fucking pistols, all you�ve done is grown colder Petri. I don�t know what the hell�s happened to you, but none of us really appreciate it. You�ve grown quiet. You barely even acknowledge that we�re here too! You sit and fuck around with the clips to those damn pistols! I was Jene�s friend too; Petri, but god damn it! Snap outta it. He�s gone, there�s nothing you can do to bring his back!�
I looked up then. Head tilted to one side and I spoke calmly. �Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get away from this dreaded place we call life?�
�What?!� he was almost yelling as he pulled back and punched me. It shocked the hell outta me more then anything and I landed hard on my ass. I stared at him blankly, and he looked down at me, a satisfied look in his eyes. �What are you talking about?�
�Just what I said.� I stood up and ran the back of my hand across my lip. A smear of blood covered my hand. �Don�t you? A world where peace prevails? Calm and quiet.�
�Petri,� Blake shook his head. �Of course I do! But we live in a time of war. Have you lost your mind?!�
�I think I�ve found it.� I looked at the pistol in my hand.
�Give me a break!� Blake lunged again, but I ducked and tripped him.
He landed on his hands and knees and stayed there. Head down, fists clenched loosely. �What�s happened to us? All of us? We�re fighting, not as friends, but as broth-ers. Me and John fight like this all the time, or we used to. I just don�t understand how a material item could change you so much. It�s a fucking pistol for crying out loud!�
And he was. I could hear his voice shake and see the tears fall to the dust covered cement.
I know I sounded cold. �Blake, brothers fight. Friends fight. It�s in the Human na-ture to fight. And that�s what I plan to do. Those men died at the hands of this Bronze character, who, my guess would be, is controlled by the Special Forces. I�m going to kill him if it kills me and it probably will.�
�You�re insane.� He swallowed and the harsh tone met mine. �Why?� he turned to me. �Don�t you think enough people have died already?!� he went to stand up, but I leveled the pistol against his forehead.
�I�m not concerned with the people who are already dead. As you said, I can�t bring them back. The only thing I can do is move forward and attack what�s coming at me.�
�Like what?� he glared back at me. Eyes cold and harsh like mine.
�Exactly.� I cocked the hammer back and pressed my pointer finger against the trigger.
Blake never flinched. His eyes stared at mine and dared me to do it. To pull the trigger and put him out of his misery. The horror of this world and he welcomed Death with a stony glare.
I squeezed my finger against the warming metal. I could feel it start to move and suddenly there was the echo of a gun shot�