OBLIVIOUS

Chapter 20

Our past.

Of all the answers to our questions that I wanted to hear, this one was the one I was the most curious about. And I am sure Baron feels the same way too, that's why he stopped threatening Bridgette as soon as she told us that what she will tell us is about our past.

"What about it?" Baron asked impatiently. "Tell us what you know about us. Right now."

"Okay, okay," Bridgette was fidgeting, so I had to butt in to make her go on.

"Just to remind you, Bridgette," I started, "that we are not dumb. We can sense if you are telling the truth or not, so you don't need to lie. I could already tell that you are trying to formulate your story already."

"I am not," she said, but she looked away. "Fine! I was just scared that even if I survived from you too, I might still get punished if I tell you what I know about your past. It's supposed to be very confidential."

"Then why do you know about it?" Baron asked and that totally made sense. "You already said it, you are just a nutritionist here. So how the hell do you know this kind of information?"

If Bridgette was blushing a while ago, this time she was already flustered. "I--- I know someone in the higher-ups!" she exclaimed, and I had no choice but to believe that, because that's the only logical reason her situation would have. "One of the lead scientists is my childhood friend!" Baron did not looked convinced at that, but he did not stop her from talking. "And this type of sensitive information, this is the kind of knowledge that we gossip about during our free time. That's how curious we are when it comes to it."

"But what is it?" Baron's voice was already just a cry away from shouting. "Just tell us already!"

"It's the fact that you are from Laxus!" she yelled, maybe because she was also tired of being forced to speak out. "Now you know! Happy?"

"Not quite," I said. Baron did not reply, so I went on. "But I guess I would if I know what exactly Laxus is."

"It's a place. A city. The capital of the World Government Incorporated to be exact."

I stared at Baron. He was confused like me, so I continued asking. "The capital? We're from there? It's like the center of the current civilization, right?"

Bridgette nodded. "That's a good way to put it. Laxus is the only remaining mega-city in the world right now. That's a big deal, because a hundred years ago there were a lot of these mega-cities where millions of people lived scattered around the world. Laxus is the only city that was able to fend off the mutated animals and plants around it totally. It became a safe haven, a coven, a paradise. You get what I mean. That's why a lot of people wanted to go there and get refuge."

"Laxus huh... Does that mean we are citizens there?"

"That's correct," she said. "The people that live there usually don't leave that place anymore. Who would, when you have everything there? They even found a solution to the dilemma of farming animals and crops. We call it the last frontier of the human civilization."

"How does that work? How did they manage to survive and how did they deal with the mutated animals and plants? Did they build a wall as a border?" I asked because the idea of a successful city excited me. I could also see in Baron's eyes that he is intrigued too. I will not be surprised if he'll ask me to go there.

"It's a complicated story," Bridgette said. "I can't really tell you much about Laxus' history. I did not come from there."

"What? So where did you come from?"

"I was born in the Northern Isles."

"Where's that?"

"It's a winter island in the most northern part of the planet," said Bridgette who now relaxed. Maybe she felt that it was okay to divulge this type of knowledge to us since she believed that we'll be going to be caught anyway. "That place was an isolated place even before the Invasion, which meant that the people there had a higher chance of survival. My ancestors survived by making a fortress high in the mountains. As there was not much wildlife there, they had ample of time to build their defenses before the mutation arrived."

"So small and isolated civilizations had a higher chance of surviving the Invasion because of the lesser wildlife that is present on the place."

"Yes, because the danger started with the wildlife ingesting the bacteria we call us Halos. This was before the Halosphere was born."

I was getting the whole picture now. So when the Invasion started, it didn't really spread as fast as I thought it would, since it spread with the animals and plants that have ingested it and mutated. Of course, the spread was fast in places where there were rich flora and fauna, but in places like in the northernmost region where wildlife is scarce, it took a while for the Halos bacteria to reach them. This is probably why a lot of humans still survived. They are probably descendants of people in those regions. Maybe they even thought that the Invasion will not reach them, but then the Halosphere happened.

When the Halosphere was formed, everything changed. As it was formed by the continuous release of toxic gases into the air, the atmosphere may have been contaminated and thus forming the new deadly weather system. This evened the survival game, as even the farthest places could now be reached by the Halosphere. This is where the brilliance of Laxus comes into the spotlight. Being able to withstand all of the catastrophes caused by these Halos bacteria is impressive. Not to mention that it is now the capital of the world, which means it must be the one overseeing the other surviving communities.

"Do you know by any chance who brought us here? Or what exactly was the process of us getting shipped here?" I asked too, as this was important.

"What I know is this: you are infected by the disease we call Delirion. Normally, people like you don't survive. Once you are infected you are separated from the rest and are dropped somewhere isolated. Probably outside the city."

"And then?"

"And then this is where guesswork will apply, as I don't personally know how these things work as I am not a resident there. My guess is that someone checked how you were after getting infected. Maybe your family hoped that you'll miraculously survive, and so they noticed that you are still alive."

"And then the Wold Government Incorporated got wind of that, I'll bet," said Baron. "That's why we are here. They are studying about the mutation that occurred to us."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you from the start," said Bridgette, who was now relaxing. "Your mutations had saved you. And with the help of this facility, you had woken up. It's not that bad, compared to not waking up at all."

"But we don't remember anything. That's the part that sucks, and you appeared not to be keen on telling us who we are, so you can't really blame us."

"Baron's right," I added. "If you just told us everything from the start, we wouldn't have run away in the first place. If we were just given the information we needed personally, then we would not have escaped."

"I don't make the decisions here," snapped Bridgette. "Besides, not everyone tried to escape. It was only you who took this too far---"

"How dare you mock us like that---!"

I stopped Baron again because he was ready to hit Bridgette, who now had turned white from the look Baron was giving her. "Calm down."

"She started it. She's trying to make it look like it's our fault that we want to escape, after all that has happened."

"Alright, I'm sorry!" Bridgette yelled. "I didn't mean it that way. You have to understand that this is an ongoing research. Madame Robertha is still not finished with her findings---"

"That's why our next destination is the Red Veil? Is that it? Do you want to test us out further? What for? I discovered that the death rate there is way higher. Do you think we'll just agree willingly to go there after knowing that?"

Bridgette was caught off guard by that. "How did you know about that?"

"It doesn't matter where did I get that little piece of information," Baron hissed. "What's important is that you're sending us to that place even if there's a huge chance we'll not survive that place anymore. Now tell us why do we have to go there. I want a clear answer."

"As I said, it's part of the research!"

"Which will risk our lives!"

"You were already half-dead from the beginning!"

There was a loud gasp, because Baron had just slapped Bridgette. I also was shocked, and I was not able to react immediately. Bridgette's face was red, but she did not look like she took it personally. "I don't like how you see us. To you, we are just test subjects, isn't it? Why does it matter to you, right? If two young men are sent to another island which might be the place they'll die? As long as you are fine, right? If our death meant new discoveries, you'll be okay. because it is not you."

"Baron..."

"Don't you feel the same way too, Axis?" he asked. Anger was clearly etched on his face now. "Surely you know how this woman thinks of us right? All of them... They treat us as lesser humans. Disposable. Not worthy of living, all in the name of discovering ways on how to survive this hell---"

I nodded. "I understand what you feel, Baron. Because I feel that way too. Really. But this woman... she's just an employee too... It's not her fault entirely. And she has a point, we already are dying from the start, maybe that Red Veil is a place to test our abilities---"

"You believe her?" There was a sign of disappointment in his voice, and I immediately felt horrible.

"No, no, you got it wrong. I just get what she's trying to say!"

"You accept how they think of us as disposable---?"

"Of course not! I despise what they are doing with us! But please remember, you are poisoned! We need them, Baron! Maybe they know how to cure you! Maybe this research can cure you!"

Baron sighed at that. It was clear that he already forgot about that, because he seemed guilty for not thinking of his won wellness. "Poisoned? What do you mean?" Bridgette looked confused too.

"Baron, show him your bite marks," I said. Baron hesitated, but then moved closer to Bridgette to show the bite marks on his chest, together with his infected skin and veins."

"Good Lord, what is that?" Bridgette exclaimed, with her mouth open as she stared at the bite marks. "How did you get that?" It was me who told her the full story, since Baron was still angry with her. "This is bad. If that's from a mutated animal, it's highly toxic!"

"I'm surprised that you don't know about this," said Baron to her. "I thought that you can monitor us."

"Yes, you are monitored, but not the animals here."

"The toxin is spreading to his body," I told her. "And we fear that it will spread even faster."

"Madame Robertha needs to know about this," Bridgette said thoughtfully. "This is the first time that I saw someone got bitten by the animals in here. I know of past colleagues getting bitten before but they all died, according to what I heard. That's why you need to come back to the facility. This might be serious!"

Silence enveloped the whole cave before I spoke again. "What do you think, Baron? If you ask me, I think it might be wiser to just go back. Maybe they'll treat you once they see your condition."

"Or they could just kill me, like Celeste."

I understand why Baron was thinking this way, because it's not a joke, what he's in. It's a big problem, and his choice will dictate what will happen to him. We still can't trust these White Shadows but they are the only ones that might know about how to cure Baron's condition.

I personally think that it's better to just come back despite the risk, because our plan to escape from here needs to be considered again, from the updates we got from Bridgette.

"Let us talk about this first. Alone."

I nodded, and we left Bridgette where she was. We walked into the mouth of the quicksand that nearly got us. The place still gave me goosebumps as the picture of that giant mud crab came into my mind. "What are thinking?" I asked him. "I know why you don't like the idea of coming back to them. I share your sentiments, Baron. What just scares me is that every other option we got has more uncertainties than that prospect."

"Yeah. I also think that way. If we could just get an assurance, that they're not going to shoot me as soon as they see me..."

"What if we make a plan?" I suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"What if we'll tell them first that we want to come back, through her? Then let's see how they respond. If they can promise us some kind of a truce, then maybe we should come back? But if we feel that they still treat us like how they have been treating us, maybe we can choose just proceeding to our original plan."

"Our plan of escaping from here?"

"Yes. The plan you had made. But now we have to rethink about it. Like our goal destination."

"What about it?"

"Baron, I'm interested about Laxus. I think we should go there, and find our families."

"Yeah. That's what I'm thinking about too."

I nodded. "Okay, so our plan now is either to go back to the facility or to escape here and go to Laxus?" Baron nodded, but then we heard footsteps coming.

"Help me!" Bridgette was yelling. "They tied me! They are here, catch them!"