A Reflection: The First Child

The hour went by flying; Rud was quite the quirky guy, if I do say so myself. He spent all the way trying to impress Gabriel with his knowledge about Poker. I’m not entirely sure why he thought a corrupt figure of power would want to hear about a card game, but to each their own. I welcomed the distraction, at least. He seemed very interested in knowing what could’ve possibly happened to such a powerful man to require of his assistance, but Gabriel would just change the topic on him; I highly doubt Rud had the courage to demand the answer he was looking for.

The moment we entered LA, I thought we had traveled back to our world. The city was mostly intact, retaining most (if not all) of its structures. People in business suits were walking around on the phone, and cars were driving around carelessly like always. Los Angeles hadn’t changed much to my knowledge; same crime, same corruption as when I lived there. Hell, I’m pretty sure I saw the same homeless man put his tent up in the same spot as in my dimension. The city was the traditional urban landscape I remembered; from the gray walls that followed one after another, trapping the viewer in a maze of skyscrapers, to the curious shops and restaurants for the more traditional shopper, all of them smothered by giant corporation-owned chains. We drove passed it all to a giant tower that seemed to be erected to stand out in the middle of what I recognized as Downtown Los Angeles.

The tower was isolated by thick walls in which only one car entrance was visible. We drove in without anyone resisting our entry, and parked in the middle of a vast plaza. The place was full of plants: rose bushes and thorns decorated the walls surrounding the building, but they all seemed sad. They looked like they were drying out to be precise, evidence that the person caring for them had not watered them in a long time.

When we arrived, Gabriel instructed Rud to wait outside, an action that was followed by us hasting out of the crammed vehicle. I have to say Aduna Tower (as I imagine it was called knowing me and my healthy fear of Donald Trump) was quite impressive. At least 60 stories, all covered in dark glass and solar panels; I ordered Bruno to remind me of giving myself a pat in the back for the fine work if I wasn’t such a bad guy. Something felt off, though.

“Security out fo’ lunch or somethin’? Oy Lord, if someone’s slacking on the job, maybe you can tell Mr. Aduna to hire me, no? Ol’ Rud is quite handy!” said Rud. Gabriel smiled at him and immediately turned to see me with worry; our new friend had made a very good observation while trying to find someone who could direct him to the parking lot: there was no security outside. Adding to that, the doors to the tower were wide open. Also, the plaza was devoid of any kind of person walking around. Hell, there wasn’t even a piece of trash on the ground. Bruno dismissed the shady emptiness of the place, and walked straight in through the main door. When we followed him in with clumsy steps, we were assaulted by a beautiful lobby full of sparkling televisions that were surrounded by comfy looking, red sofas. The televisions were tuned to what seemed to be an anime channel. “To Hate Lu” was airing, one of my favorite shows. It looked like somewhere where I would like to sit down and relax. It might have well been, had the place not been constantly triggering my inner danger alarms. Bruno laughed out loud and laid on the sofa closest to him. “Sweet!” he said a couple times in relaxation; it’d been too long without a decent resting place. Gabriel, however, quickly pulled me aside as my attention began being stolen away by the TV, then took me to the front desk: empty. I uncovered my face; he gave me a troubled stare.

“I’m not liking this. There’s something wrong” he said. Gabriel pulled the poorly made bow out of his backpack and placed the five or six arrows he had made in range for a quick grab. I walked around a bit looking for clues only to find none, aside from a suspiciously well mopped floor that had a strange reddish tint to it. Now, as someone who sucks at mopping, I can say that the only way a pristine blue floor would have a reddish tint to it would be by failing to mop either a cherry slushy or blood from it.

Bruno was the one who pointed me to the “Tower Map”, a huge digital list being streamed on a 70’ inch television. It said my dimensional counterpart had his office on the last floor; floor 68, to be precise. We walked around for a second until we spotted the elevator, and that’s when the second red flag popped up: the elevator had a maintenance schedule on the inside, but the last cleaning signature had been placed 3 days ago (something strange as the schedule had two signatures per day). I inspected the schedule up close, hoping to find something that could explain why the place was empty. My only discovery, sadly, was an extremely small red dot near the last signature. It was barely noticeable, so I paid little mind to it, though I should have: It was blood.

“I’m not liking this, Bruno. Perhaps it’d be best to leave” I told Bruno. He seemed absorbed, however, being very busy pushing all of the buttons in the elevator like a child. He frowned for a second, as if meditating his answer, once he realized I had meant for him to hear me.

“I’m not liking this either, brah, but come on! Give him a chance! Maybe he can send us back!” His hopefulness made Gabriel and me feel uneasy. My mind drifted away, slowly trying to consider the risks it would entail to press onwards, but by the time I had done my calculations, Gabriel had already conceded and we had begun our ascent. A feeling of unease invaded us with each passing second, making me begin dancing around to control the anxiety being built up in me. The last red flag was raised thanks to Bruno himself. Since he had pressed all the buttons, we were forced to stop in every floor, and despite trying to look in every single one, we never once saw another person. No sign of life at all, yet evidence of struggle was visible: there were papers laying on the ground, trashcans turned over as if thrown, plant pots broken, the whole crime package. A chill ran down my spine as the elevator ascended little by little. By the time we reached floor 67, Gabriel had already placed an arrow in his bow and Bruno was already standing behind us both. A huge sadness suddenly made its way into my body, crushing feelings infected the reaches of my mind with emotions most foul. At the time, I didn’t know the reason for these emotions, but everything became clear at a later point.

“Floor 68: Master Office. Welcome.” A mechanical voice broke our wary silence and signaled we had reached our destination, doors opening.

I stood at front of everyone, ready for the surreal experience of seeing another me somewhere that wasn’t a mirror. Gabriel tightened his aim and Bruno took a deep breath. We took a step forward into an office that had no furniture nor any kind of decoration; it was just a white room. In the middle, a man of my same height, build, and look, but dressed in a business suit that screamed “millionaire”, stood looking at us. He approached slowly, drawing a grin on his face that widened with every step he took. He stopped right in front of me and inspected my face thoroughly. This also gave me a chance to inspect my doppelganger: he was exactly like me, except he seemed a bit older (but not as much as the other companions I had met in this place), and ill; you see dear reader, he had his right hand hidden by a leather glove, along with a bandage that made unsuccessful attempts at hiding what seemed to be swollen veins on his neck. The skin around them seemed to be dark, implying some degree of necrosis. He quickly noticed me looking at them, and covered up.

“No matter how many times I look at one of you, this still amazes me” He said with a happiness that widened his grin yet again. He looked up, pleased. “You did well, love” he whispered to himself. Gabriel lowered his bow, and Bruno took a step forward as if hoping to say hi to my other me; he was not interested, as he quickly dismissed Bruno’s attempt at a handshake. “For a couple of years, I’ve been looking forward to this becoming a reality, and now here you are! You willingly came to give me a new shot at it!” he let a small laugh out and tightened his arms in excitement.

“Uh, sir!” Bruno said, “we came here hoping you could help us! You see, we–” Out of the blue, the Aduna who had been standing in front of me dashed 3 meters to the left, and pierced through Bruno’s gut with his fist at a speed no human could reach. Bruno’s legs went soft and he fell to the ground as blood slowly poured out of his mouth in great quantity. Gabriel shouted in terror at this sight; I raised my guard, ready to fight an impossible enemy. Bruno twitched on the ground, his eyes teary while he tried to comprehend what had just happened. “I don’t want to die” was the only thing I was able to understand from the murmuring he spoke before letting himself become unconscious at the gravity of his wound.

“Help you?” my doppelganger said with a laugh. “No, my dear brother, you’re ALL going to help ME.” The elevator door shut behind us as my other me dashed through my guard to disarm Gabriel. With great speed, he ripped Gabriel’s bow out of his hands and stabbed his left leg with it, showing a face that effortlessly cut through flesh with such a cheap material. Gabriel collapsed to the ground, then hit his face against a floor now wet in a puddle created by his own wound. My other me got on his knee while a sobbing Gabriel struggled to keep the blood on the floor out of his mouth and, with utmost delicacy, proceeded to grab the unarmed victim’s hand. As I stood there paralyzed in fear, I heard my other self-chuckle every time he bent one of Gabriel’s fingers backwards until it snapped. My brother cried out in pain, begging Aduna to stop, but he wouldn’t. Again and again did Aduna snap his fingers with medical precision, laughing out loud at the misfortune that was brought upon my dear friend. It was only until he broke the last finger in his hand that he stood up with a smile.