If I recall correctly, proton packs worked like vacuum cleaners that sucked those that couldn’t pass on to the afterlife. I don’t quite remember it being able to blast holes through a person’s chest like an alien weapon from some B-rated sci-fi movie. Well, the fight was clearly over before it even began and the people didn’t even get to enjoy what they’d paid for.

I knelt on the ground with a look of utter shock as I saw my open chest. The loss of strength when your heart disappears into oblivion was definitely a new experience. In terms of unpleasantness, I think it’s in the same category as going into an overly cramped elevator full of sweating people with ridiculously bad body odor mixed with everyone else’s to create a horrid concoction that could be classified as a biological weapon in today’s standards. How horrible would that be? A lot. Trust me on this. Once you enter, you’ll never smell the same again.

“Secure the body and bring it in for—”

But as I’ve said before, I’ve had worse.

The hole on my chest slowly closed up, but I couldn’t say the same for my top.

“Look at what you did to my shirt!” I clicked my tongue.

My shirt was already ragged and torn from the brief meeting with the behemoth of a bull, and the blast from a while ago created a very big and noticeable hole on it. I need to buy a new shirt after this. Preferably, something more durable that could withstand most of my problematic encounters with the hostile unknown. Save up for a good brand, like, I don’t know, Supreme? But I think it’s such a substantial waste of consumer money when there’s a much cheaper alternative with almost the same, if not, better quality. The hype and exclusivity that it carries with the brand, though. Makes wearing one feel like your body’s covered in gold. And who doesn’t want to be a walking bank ready to get robbed? Definitely not this guy.

I got up and patted my chest to see that it was fine without a mark to be seen.

“Neutralize the target”

“Woah, woah, woah. Wait. Hold on a sec—” I frantically waved my hands to stop them.

That didn’t sound pleasing. If I understood correctly from my meager knowledge of playing CoD campaigns a few months prior, ‘Neutralize’ is a euphemism that’s often used by the military. Basically, it’s a polite term for getting rid of someone because they’re a big headache to the government. Less people that protest on the streets, the better.

They were synchronized with their execution and fired without mercy. If my body was truly going to be tested for its undying characteristic, then it has to be under this dire circumstance which could eliminate me from the face of the Earth without even leaving a speck of dust.

Everything went by in a blinding flash of green light. I couldn’t tell if I was awake through the whole ordeal or if I was dreaming. The moment felt so surreal.

Once it was over, I stood still in a daze. Everything was the same. No missing limbs or disintegrated flesh. Just a prickly feeling that something else was wrong.

“Instruct HQ of an urgency to order those who are on stand-by to—”

I heard a sinister and maniacal laugh that could rival that of the Joker’s. It eerily rang with an echo in my ears as I looked for the source among the people present. Maybe it was Heath Ledger. With everything that I’ve seen so far, you never know if someone from the grave could come back to life.

“—all personnel from every branch and district to arm themselves and converge at Gate-A”

The voice sounded familiar. Like I’ve heard of it before. Recently, too. I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

“Relay a message to our Lady Ruth for permission to release Her verses”

I then found who it was. He stood before the crowd of men with his back turned towards me.

“Seal off the Gate until reinforcement arrives!”

With his command, the gate slowly shut, leaving everyone else outside from the safety of its walls.

Something clicked inside my head and then I noticed who he was. That average stature, natural jet black hair and overall plain appearance. I couldn't mistake it for anyone else's.

It was me.