119 CHAPTER 118 SECRETS
"Oh, no, no." Nimrod sobbed, "If that is true, then sending him to the Snake mountains was all part of the scheme. It had always been. The Snake mountains was not someplace where he could find solace and protection. You wanted him there all along, didn't you?"
"Nim, you must understand—
"Didn't you?" Nimrod shouted. "This had been your plan. You sent him there to kill him, didn't you?"
The scowl on Anabel's face was all the proof he needed, and it made the pain in his heart intensify. He felt sorry that he ever wished for his mother to be alive. It pained him that somehow, it might have been his wish that had reformed every event. The woman was a monster. What kind of mother would go through all these evil plans just to get to one person?
The kind that is ready to pay the price to keep her children alive. A mother whose love is genuine and who would walk through fire to make sure the life of her children was not by any means jeopardized.
No. Nimrod bit his lower lips, keeping back the agony that was welling up inside his stomach. This was not what he wanted. If his mother was ready to kill to keep him alive, then he should be better off dead. He wouldn't want such heartless creature as a mother. He should be cast six feet to the ground if that was the kind of heart mothers were given.
"I would have been surprised if you acted differently," Anabel maintained her distance. She had tried to touch him, but he had moved away as if she was suffering from some deadly disease.
"I know how you feel, realizing that I had woven my life around yours," She continued, not minding his attitude, "The Snake mountain was not planned by the general. It is a dangerous place for Jeff, but I needed the money. The general had not paid enough, and he was not the only one searching for the Blaze of Anadan. So you see now, Nim. Everything I did, I did to protect you"
"To protect me?" Nimrod snapped, "You've hunted my friends and have put my life and everybody else's life in danger and yet you call that protecting? What on earth were you thinking? Oh, I should pat your back and congratulate you for destroying half of the people in the world just to save me? Hell no. Not happening. Not while the life of my friends is hanging on a string. A string you created"
"I did what I had to do," The woman said weakly, looking away from him. The worries in her face seemed to be igniting, but Nimrod's reluctance to leave the place to safety made the line on her face deepened.
"We are family," she continued, "And family means togetherness. I know you will hate me after this, but at least you will be alive. I will not justify my actions as right but believe me Nimrod. If I had the chance and the opportunity to do it again, I will do it a million times, because you and your sister are the pride and the only treasure I have on this planet."
Nimrod scoffed. He wiped his eyes, letting his ears listen to the screams of people all over the stone. It was getting louder with every minute they stood there and the sound of the Shocker Gun was also sufficing. It all seemed similar. It reminded him of the time when the General had attacked the Heroes city. Same screams of helplessness had covered the entire place that night. Same anguish. The smell of smoke and the collapsing building. The hurrying feet and the beeping sounds of the Keeper's motherboard. It was all the same. Nothing seemed to be amiss. All of it.
"This attack," Nimrod closed his eyes, hoping his fears were not true. But the inevitable was just staring at his face, "you led the general here, didn't you?" he opened his eyes, looking directly at the woman, who stood folding her hands over her breast.
She did not look away nor did she answered his question immediately. Instead, she mumbled something under her throat and held the gaze with him, staring into his eyes as if she knew all the evil he had committed and was about to report him to the authorities.
"The people here are fools, Nim, can't you see that already? They are trying to beat the system which the general is working so hard to create. They are the force that is slagging the development of Anadan. Someone has to do something. If life continues like this, then the system the government was trying to create will fail"
"No" Nimrod shook his head, not believing his ears. What other thing was the woman hiding? What other secrets is still under her sleeves?
"I can't believe this?" He stepped back, holding his hands on his ears, praying silently that the words which she had spoken were all false. It was a wish of illusion and he knew it, but the little part of him was in denial. It was hoping against all odds and facts that none of this was happening and that he had met the mother he had always wished for. The kind woman that had the heart of a child and the goodness of the creator. Not some imp clothed in flesh and bones.
"Nim," Anabel said, stepping forward.
She placed her hands on his shoulders reluctantly, and was glad when he did not flinch or backed away,
"I know this is hard for you, but I want you to understand. For good to be placed in the land, the bad has to be shredded out of the way. For Anadan to attain a perfect virtue and moral standard, the system which the general is trying to adapt must come into play. However bad it may sound to your hearing, you must try to understand. This Is for the betterment of the people. It is for our own good. You just need to trust me in this okay?"
"No!!" Nimrod jerked her hands away, "I hate you, I hate you."
"Nim… Nimrod" Anabel's eyes narrowed, "I am still your mother and you will treat me with respect."
"I have no respect for a creature like you," He said, backing away, keeping enough distance between them as much as he could.
"My mother is dead. She died in Heroes city and was buried there. Whoever you are, you are a monster."
"This is your last chance, Gabriel. Join the general or perish like the others." Anabel said. The anger in her eyes was already flashing, burning dangerously like the face of a brimstone.
"It is better to fall honorably than to live like a king in the palace of cowards. Let me die with them. I don't care. I will rather die than have one of those bugs inserted into my spine."
"Be careful what you wish for, child," Anabel paused her lips as the threat flared of without her giving it a thought.
"You are in no position to tell me what I want." Nimrod turned and ran out of her sight. He had no destination in mind, but he wanted to get away from the woman, as far as he could.
She was calling out his name, yelling through the falling evening sun, but Nimrod did not hear again. He had trotted to the other side of the hallway, and the voice of the wind was the only thing that was whispering in his ear at the moment. His feet were swift. It was as if they were afraid that a second more with Anabel, might make Nimrod change his mind and followed the sweet tongues of her flattery.
Shouldering the door open, Nimrod wiped the cloud of tears that blurred his vision. Just as he had imagined it. People were running helter-skelter, calling out the names of their families. Women were screaming and the voice of children could be heard over the fizzle and sizzle of the straws which were at the mercy of the grazing fire. The voice of the Shocker Gun could also be heard as they realized balls of electricity at the people. White and black trailed the atmosphere, its stench could be sensed, even the smell of fear and terror could also be sensed
"Help,"
Nimrod turned sharply at the far end of the stone. His stomach tightened however when he saw the woman he had saved initially. She was still cuddling her baby to herself, but this time, she was dragging the wrapped child with the metallic hands of the Keepers. Do something. A voice in Nimrod's head said.
He searched himself, but the horror overwhelms him when he realized that he had left his Candor in the hallway. There was nothing he could do for the woman, even if he wanted to. At least five Keepers surrounded the woman, raining balls of electricity on her and her child.
"Nim, you must understand—
"Didn't you?" Nimrod shouted. "This had been your plan. You sent him there to kill him, didn't you?"
The scowl on Anabel's face was all the proof he needed, and it made the pain in his heart intensify. He felt sorry that he ever wished for his mother to be alive. It pained him that somehow, it might have been his wish that had reformed every event. The woman was a monster. What kind of mother would go through all these evil plans just to get to one person?
The kind that is ready to pay the price to keep her children alive. A mother whose love is genuine and who would walk through fire to make sure the life of her children was not by any means jeopardized.
No. Nimrod bit his lower lips, keeping back the agony that was welling up inside his stomach. This was not what he wanted. If his mother was ready to kill to keep him alive, then he should be better off dead. He wouldn't want such heartless creature as a mother. He should be cast six feet to the ground if that was the kind of heart mothers were given.
"I would have been surprised if you acted differently," Anabel maintained her distance. She had tried to touch him, but he had moved away as if she was suffering from some deadly disease.
"I know how you feel, realizing that I had woven my life around yours," She continued, not minding his attitude, "The Snake mountain was not planned by the general. It is a dangerous place for Jeff, but I needed the money. The general had not paid enough, and he was not the only one searching for the Blaze of Anadan. So you see now, Nim. Everything I did, I did to protect you"
"To protect me?" Nimrod snapped, "You've hunted my friends and have put my life and everybody else's life in danger and yet you call that protecting? What on earth were you thinking? Oh, I should pat your back and congratulate you for destroying half of the people in the world just to save me? Hell no. Not happening. Not while the life of my friends is hanging on a string. A string you created"
"I did what I had to do," The woman said weakly, looking away from him. The worries in her face seemed to be igniting, but Nimrod's reluctance to leave the place to safety made the line on her face deepened.
"We are family," she continued, "And family means togetherness. I know you will hate me after this, but at least you will be alive. I will not justify my actions as right but believe me Nimrod. If I had the chance and the opportunity to do it again, I will do it a million times, because you and your sister are the pride and the only treasure I have on this planet."
Nimrod scoffed. He wiped his eyes, letting his ears listen to the screams of people all over the stone. It was getting louder with every minute they stood there and the sound of the Shocker Gun was also sufficing. It all seemed similar. It reminded him of the time when the General had attacked the Heroes city. Same screams of helplessness had covered the entire place that night. Same anguish. The smell of smoke and the collapsing building. The hurrying feet and the beeping sounds of the Keeper's motherboard. It was all the same. Nothing seemed to be amiss. All of it.
"This attack," Nimrod closed his eyes, hoping his fears were not true. But the inevitable was just staring at his face, "you led the general here, didn't you?" he opened his eyes, looking directly at the woman, who stood folding her hands over her breast.
She did not look away nor did she answered his question immediately. Instead, she mumbled something under her throat and held the gaze with him, staring into his eyes as if she knew all the evil he had committed and was about to report him to the authorities.
"The people here are fools, Nim, can't you see that already? They are trying to beat the system which the general is working so hard to create. They are the force that is slagging the development of Anadan. Someone has to do something. If life continues like this, then the system the government was trying to create will fail"
"No" Nimrod shook his head, not believing his ears. What other thing was the woman hiding? What other secrets is still under her sleeves?
"I can't believe this?" He stepped back, holding his hands on his ears, praying silently that the words which she had spoken were all false. It was a wish of illusion and he knew it, but the little part of him was in denial. It was hoping against all odds and facts that none of this was happening and that he had met the mother he had always wished for. The kind woman that had the heart of a child and the goodness of the creator. Not some imp clothed in flesh and bones.
"Nim," Anabel said, stepping forward.
She placed her hands on his shoulders reluctantly, and was glad when he did not flinch or backed away,
"I know this is hard for you, but I want you to understand. For good to be placed in the land, the bad has to be shredded out of the way. For Anadan to attain a perfect virtue and moral standard, the system which the general is trying to adapt must come into play. However bad it may sound to your hearing, you must try to understand. This Is for the betterment of the people. It is for our own good. You just need to trust me in this okay?"
"No!!" Nimrod jerked her hands away, "I hate you, I hate you."
"Nim… Nimrod" Anabel's eyes narrowed, "I am still your mother and you will treat me with respect."
"I have no respect for a creature like you," He said, backing away, keeping enough distance between them as much as he could.
"My mother is dead. She died in Heroes city and was buried there. Whoever you are, you are a monster."
"This is your last chance, Gabriel. Join the general or perish like the others." Anabel said. The anger in her eyes was already flashing, burning dangerously like the face of a brimstone.
"It is better to fall honorably than to live like a king in the palace of cowards. Let me die with them. I don't care. I will rather die than have one of those bugs inserted into my spine."
"Be careful what you wish for, child," Anabel paused her lips as the threat flared of without her giving it a thought.
"You are in no position to tell me what I want." Nimrod turned and ran out of her sight. He had no destination in mind, but he wanted to get away from the woman, as far as he could.
She was calling out his name, yelling through the falling evening sun, but Nimrod did not hear again. He had trotted to the other side of the hallway, and the voice of the wind was the only thing that was whispering in his ear at the moment. His feet were swift. It was as if they were afraid that a second more with Anabel, might make Nimrod change his mind and followed the sweet tongues of her flattery.
Shouldering the door open, Nimrod wiped the cloud of tears that blurred his vision. Just as he had imagined it. People were running helter-skelter, calling out the names of their families. Women were screaming and the voice of children could be heard over the fizzle and sizzle of the straws which were at the mercy of the grazing fire. The voice of the Shocker Gun could also be heard as they realized balls of electricity at the people. White and black trailed the atmosphere, its stench could be sensed, even the smell of fear and terror could also be sensed
"Help,"
Nimrod turned sharply at the far end of the stone. His stomach tightened however when he saw the woman he had saved initially. She was still cuddling her baby to herself, but this time, she was dragging the wrapped child with the metallic hands of the Keepers. Do something. A voice in Nimrod's head said.
He searched himself, but the horror overwhelms him when he realized that he had left his Candor in the hallway. There was nothing he could do for the woman, even if he wanted to. At least five Keepers surrounded the woman, raining balls of electricity on her and her child.
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