EVERGREEN RESIDENCE A

VIRTUM, GRATA - 11:38 PM

Rain patters against Zack’s bedroom window, creating a rhythmic yet soothing sound with the absence of thunder. Zack lays down on his bed, but withdraws himself from sleeping. Instead, he picks up a small box, its written content unreadable due to the darkness of Zack’s room. Opening it up, Zack retrieves a curious-looking device from the inside. Shaped like a headset yet with glasses attached, Zack decides to wear the unknown gear.

Pressing a button situated near the left earpiece, the device lights up with the ocular portion displaying a startup screen, almost like a computer. When the device finishes loading, it proceeds to display four options.

Link to MEMORIA

Unlink from MEMORIA

Choose memory

Shut down

Zack chooses the first option by directing his pupils toward it and blinking. Several blue lights dance around his head, performing a scan of his brain. The scan finishes, and the device greets Zack with a message followed by a timeline ranging from September 21, 1973 to June 28, 2017.

Thank you for linking to MEMORIA. Please choose a memory:

Zack scrolls to August 5, 1992.

25 YEARS AGO

ETERNAL TOWER - 16TH FLOOR

EVERNIGHT, NAZENDEL- 2:06 PM

Several Eternal Drive scientists pace back and forth in a facility focused on demon research. Only two scientists remain calm in this ordeal: Zack Evergreen and Raymond Altair. The two continue with their experiments while the rest continue to panic.

“What the hell are we gonna do? If my wife finds out, I’m so fucked!” one scientist exclaims.

“I can’t breathe- I can’t breathe- I can’t breathe-” another says, panicking in the corner.

“Fuck that! What’s Damon gonna do to us when he learns that it went public!?”

Raymond loudly claps his hands, drawing the attention of his dismayed colleagues.

“Leave this facility if none of you plan on working today. Your noise is a nuisance to our work,” he says as the scientists all walk out of the room. Raymond resumes his business as Zack looks towards him.

“Were you the one who leaked it, boss?” Zack asks Raymond.

“...What if I was?” Raymond replies, pouring a solution into a beaker.

“I respect it,” says Zack as he assists Raymond in sorting different chemical mixtures.

“Why? Do you disagree with Estreval’s methods?”

“Not exactly, in fact I think it could lead to a scientific breakthrough at some point. But I’m not fond of Estreval, and I’ll respect anyone willing to stand up to him,” Zack replies.

“Do you respect me, Zack?” Raymond asks, as the two continue working.

“I do, boss.”

“So what if I told you it was me?”

“I’d respect you even more, boss,” replies Zack as Raymond puts away several cylinders.

“...Was it you?”

“...Tell me, Zack. Have you ever loved someone?” Raymond suddenly asks, only for Zack to return silence.

“...”

“You have a mother, right? Why is it you never visit her?”

“She made life growing up a living hell,” Zack answers, still holding disdain for his mother.

“So you don’t love anyone, then.”

“What’s your point?” Zack asks, growing frustrated with Raymond’s prying.

“Estreval’s experimentation on humans… You’ve seen the horrors of it.”

“They’re prisoners. At least this way they can contribute to society instead of taking part in destroying it,” Zack confidently retorts. Raymond looks at him with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

“They’re humans, Zack. I would have asked you to imagine someone you love going through the experimentation, but…” Raymond replies, letting his words trail off. Though Zack had no love for his family, it was not as if he was incapable of loving. His mind wandered as memories of Jason started flooding in. The laughs they shared, the times they cried; their friendship was a rare instance of humanity in the dystopian metropolis they lived in. Zack shifts in his chair as he continues reflecting on Raymond’s words.

“The only thing that separates us from them is that they lived life misguidedly. Had we grown up under the same circumstances, lived in the same conditions… Would we have not turned out the same?” Raymond continues as Zack reflects even further.

“No one is born evil. No one. How society treats them… how they see the world… That is how people become evil.”

“What if society itself was evil?” Zack asks Raymond.

“Society is evil. Look around you, Zack. The extrajudicial killings against those who speak up, vile experiments being performed on human beings, the loss of livelihood due to constant monopolization…” answers Raymond, listing few of several Eternal Drive transgressions. Curiosity mingled with skepticism in Zack’s eyes.

“If you despise them so much, why do you continue to work for them?”

“The system is damaged, but not irreparable. I work with the hopes of creating a better future. For my daughter, for my grandchildren, for the future generations, for you,” states Raymond, pointing to Zack. With their conversation wrapped up the two resume their work, but not for long as three loud knocks on the metal doors get their attention.

“Dr. Altair?” exclaims a young woman wearing formal attire who walks in nonchalantly.

“Yes, Lily?” asks Raymond as Lily approaches him, the two whispering things inaudible to Zack. Zack continues to work while slowly approaching the two, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. Raymond notices him, calling him out.

“Zack!” shouts Raymond as Zack flinches.

“You haven’t met Lily yet, have you?”

“No, boss,” Zack meekly replies.

“Lily, this is my apprentice, Zack Evergreen. Zack, this is Lily Winchester, Damon’s personal secretary,” states Raymond, introducing the two to each other. Upon closer inspection, Zack takes notice of Lily’s beauty - her flowing blonde hair, her glimmering blue eyes…

“Hi! Wow, your eyes are beautiful,” says Lily, reaching her hand out to Zack as she compliments him.

“Thanks, uh. You too.” Zack awkwardly replies as he shakes Lily’s hand, caught off guard by her compliment. Unbeknownst to him, Lily had been secretly admiring him from afar which Raymond had noticed, thus the sudden introduction. It does not stop there, however, as…

“Wellll, I’ll be taking a break, so keep doing what you do, Zack. Don’t worry Lily, he’s a professional,” states Raymond, leaving the facility. The two inside are left to awkwardly stand in silence, before Zack breaks it.

“I know it’s not any of my business, but what’d you tell him?” he asks the young secretary.

“Just stuff about the leaked documents,” Lily replies as Zack goes to work.

“...You know who did it, don’t you?” asks Lily as Zack briefly stops.

“No.”

“Ooh, Doc Altair was right. You are trustworthy,” Lily states, confusing Zack.

“What do you mean?” Zack asks as Lily approaches him, whispering in his ear, her cold breath tickling Zack’s right lobe.

“I know Raymond did it. I helped him,” Lily replies, stunning Zack.

“Why?” asks Zack as Lily signals him to follow her outside. The two step out of the facility, walk through an automatic sliding door and stop at a balcony with artificial plants. Raymond can be seen smoking in the balcony as he nods his head towards Lily, giving her the go. Lily and Zack sit on a black rubber bench as Raymond continues smoking.

“I received a job offer from Eternal Drive at seventeen, same as you. My family and I were so excited about it since Roscher had little to offer,” states Lily as Zack listens.

“I was expecting to meet some HR guy, but waiting for me was Damon Estreval himself. I didn’t expect him at all so my nerves ramped up to a hundred. I was shaking from anxiety since one wrong move and I could have lost the opportunity of a lifetime,” Lily continues.

“We talked about the job which was being his personal secretary. Starting pay was 12,000 dies per month. I was ecstatic about it since my family never had a real breadwinner.”

“...But there was a catch, of course. There always is. This fucker told me that in order to get the job I had to…” states Lily, gritting her teeth in anger.

“I was SEVENTEEN. Call me naive, stupid and ungrateful but from that moment on I despised Estreval. Being his secretary makes it even worse since I see his face everyday. A constant reminder that I was violated with no justice,” Lily passionately explains, her hatred for Damon only fueled since that day.

“I got the job but also lost a part of myself. I never bothered telling my family about the incident because of the look on their faces when I broke the news… But I was dying inside. I wanted to get Estreval out of my head. I wanted him gone,” Lily says, ending her story.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that but why… Why are you telling me this?” asks Zack.

“I need allies. If I can’t get Damon to bite the dust, then causing his downfall is good enough for me. Doc Altair told me you could be trusted, so please, Zack. Help me,” pleads Lily. Zack looks towards Raymond who stares back, signalling that Zack needed to make his own decision. Zack reflects on his days in Terminus, how Eternal Drive handled the playground attack, how his community suffered at the megacorp’s corruption, how even in Nazendel people continue to suffer…

“Show ‘em what you’re made of.”

Jason’s words ring in Zack’s head. Is his peak staying a subservient employee? Or can he achieve something bigger?

“What do you want me to do?”

“I know that these leaked documents won’t come far. President Rivers is doing damage control as we speak. Estreval’s inevitably going to continue those experiments; I need you to take part in them so we could learn his motives,” Lily tells Zack.

“Me? Why not boss over there?” Zack asks, his head turned towards Raymond who finishes smoking.

“Estreval does not trust Doc Altair. You on the other hand…”

“...Alright. I’ll sign up for Estreval’s next project when the opportunity arises,” Zack replies as Lily sighs a breath of relief.

“Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me,” Lily says, grinning at Zack who smiles back, before reverting to his stoic face when he notices Raymond looking proudly in the background.

To Be Continued...