Shattering Humanity-Chapter 82: Chicken & Rice

The connection sound of a fist to a jaw can be heard.

Nephilim, his face bloody comes to consciousness and is no longer blacking out from rage.

The room that had cream color walls, a multi-access metal door, with porcelain tiles, is now splashed and splattered red in blood. Blood drips from the ceiling onto the desk. Skin and inner organs are strewn over the desk and on the floor.

Everyone in the room is also covered in blood and human organ bits.

The man who was known as a "Sister" owner of the mountains they live in, is not seen or heard in the room.

Nephilim realizes his jaw hurts, a piece of lower intestine on his shoulder, and sees Silpheed looking at him. Silpheed gets on all fours and they put their face in the blood on the floor.

Silpheed: "Aii- ahball- oh- jaiis, Neff-ah-rim, Zir! Ooo- bahg-douoot, ahnd-"

Nephilim removes the inner organ from his shoulder and tosses it to the floor with a *PLOP*.

Nephilim: "It’s fine Silph. Don’t worry about it. As one of His children, the one real God takes over my body when I witness unspeakable sin, my judgement, is his judgement. But..."

He notices Persephone uncontrollably shaking and wide eyed in horror, looking at the scene in front of her. The General makes his way to the sexually abused young woman, but as soon as he comes within 5 feet of her, she begins flailing and screaming in horror, tears pouring from her pink eyes.

Persephone: "Please, don’t make me explode too! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’ll do better! Please don’t hurt me!"

Nephilim backs away and then looks at the young secretary’s desk. Her open notebooks are soaked and saturated in the blood of her rapist. Nephilim puts his head down in defeat. He turns and makes his way out of the Information Building, still covered in blood.

Nephilim: "Silph, take her to the Medical District and tell them she’s part of my family. She should get premium care and she won’t have to pay a dime for mental treatment."

Silpheed, still with their forehead on the bloody floor.

Silpheed: "Rii- uh- waee, Neff-eh-um, Zrr!"

Nephilim shuffles out of the building. Stephanie puts her hands over her mouth and then over her eyes and turns away. Tristan has his back to the building but when he sees the look of horror on the face of his fiancee, he quickly turns around to see Nephilim’s new all red outfit. He walks past them, directly back to his office.

Tristan: "General Nephilim! What... why are you covered in blood?"

The man doesn’t answer the question and only gives a sad response.

Nephilim: "Tristan, take Stephanie home safely and then come back to my office tonight, after you’ve eaten dinner with her and taken a shower. I want to talk to you about something important."

The young man looks at his wife-to-be and she’s shaken to the core from the gore. He looks down at his polaroid camera around his neck. Tristan pops off his IceEye to its 2nd Stage, with a sad blue aura.

Tristan: "Wait here, Steph. I’ll be right back."He walks into the Information Building and is just as shocked as he was seeing his General covered in human blood. Silpheed has a blanket around Persephone, both with blood on them, and helping the victim out of the building.

Tristan: "Silpheed, was it? Do you mind if I-"

He holds up his camera. Silpheed notices his IceEye and nods. Tristan takes the picture with the polaroid camera up to the alien eye. The flash goes off and the single photo pops from the bottom. Tristan takes it and relaxes his eye back to the base-kit. Before he leaves, he looks around the room at the gore and guts.

Tristan: "I guess it’s not the best idea to make General Nephilim extremely angry."

Within a single family condo under the protection of Mount Decima’s Residential District. The sounds of cooking, boiling water, wooden spoons stirring rice, and the light taps on the corner of the pot can be heard.

Twin 12 year old girls with black hair, and lime green eyes, are hiding next to a tall heavy bureau that has a box of cookies on top. They whisper under the noise in the kitchen.

Pauline: "Are you sure about this Jamie? I’m fine with being ’the ladder’, but what if we get caught?"

The other twin, Jamie smiles.

Jamie: "Don’t be a scaredy-cat, Pauline. Trust me..."

She points towards the cookies, just out of their reach.

Jamie: "...and together we will reach ultimate happiness."

One gets on all fours and the other steps on her back. The young girl reaches for the box but as soon as she touches the sky blue box with clouds and cookies...

Stephanie: "Jamie! Pauline! Dinner is almost ready, you can have cookies after!"

The girl tumbles off and falls to the ground.

Stephanie: "Petra, can you grab the forks for me?"

Another young girl with black hair and lime green eyes, the same as Jamie and Pauline, is laying out forks on a large table...with another little girl with black hair and lime green eyes but she is slightly chubbier than the other 3 and drooling at the smell of food, is waiting at the table.

Petra: "Waaay ahead of ya, Stephanie! It would be done quicker if Timothea would help. And I told you two, stop trying to sneak around! Tristan and Sis work hard for us, and you trying to screw up the food rations isn’t helping!"

Inside the condo is a clean and tidy bedroom, no bed, but 6 sleeping bags, all different colors, rolled into a pyramid in the corner. A child-like crown chandelier around the ceiling light. Suitcases, also the same colors as the sleeping bags, are lined up along one wall with an empty laundry hamper, empty until a towel is tossed and lands, hanging off the side of the hamper.

Tristan, fresh out the shower wearing basketball shorts and a tank top, pulls out a chair and sits at an empty metal desk in the opposite corner of the sleeping bag tower. His IceEye is popped off, a lime green aura, looking at the polaroid picture of the "crime scene".

The perspective of the actual picture is an empty, blood splattered room, with inner organs visibly on the edge of the desk.

Tristan’s ability begins "rewinding" the events in the picture. Starting at the sad and defeated Nephilim walking backwards into the picture, with Silpheed’s forehead still on the ground. He turns around at the desk, and at Persephone in the corner, next to the multi access door.

The eye user is unable to hear her reversed horrified screams at him.

Tristan looks closer as Nephilim backs away from her and watches Silpheed get up and eventually the punch happens in reverse. After Silpheed backward runs out of the frame, there is a flash of light, as if lightning was in the building, and the room is no longer painted in blood. Now, the "inflated" body of Decima can be seen from behind the desk. It "deflates" and then there is a knock on the door of the bedroom.

Tristan takes his focus from the picture and turns around.

Petra: "Tristan! Dinner is ready!"

Tristan relaxes his eye and the aura fades.

Tristan: "Thanks Petra, I’ll be there in a second!"

Petra joins the others from the set of quadruplets at the table. Stephanie is busy cooking on the stove. Her hair up in a bun, with an apron on. She moves gracefully, holding two full pots in one hand and 6 plates in the other. Tristan grabs the plates from her.

Stephanie: "Thanks, Love."

He hands out the plates and each girl says thank you. Stephanie gives each plate rice and sauced chicken on top. The "adults" sit down last and make their plates.

Stephanie: "Now, what do we say to Momma and PaPa in Heaven?"

Everyone: "Thank you for the meal!"

From the head of the table, Tristan stares at the sight of his love at the other end and two of her quadruplet sisters on each side. He smiles and Stephanie notices it.

Stephanie: "What are you smiling at, Hun? It’s just chicken and rice?"

Tristan: "It’s just, I think I know what my third treasure is."

Stephanie knows what he’s talking about, but the younger girls don’t.

Jamie: "What treasure? Chicken and Rice?"

She takes a bite.