Standing up was a Herculean effort; her kick was dead center and quite forceful, and the distance-altering technique the man used wore me out a lot. I was starting to feel like it was more of a hypnotic or illusionary effect rather than his actual power, or it was most likely this realm I was in that was the problem.
Neither of those hypotheses could be verified, certainly not in this condition, so I had to settle for questioning.
"He's calmed considerably," the woman said, her tone sounding half-amused even though her facial expression didn't betray any emotions. "This one is..."
"Not much different from the rest of his race," the man scoffed, eyeing me with disdain. "Although it is commendable that he was able to act rationally and choose a better option after that experience."
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS?!" I interjected loudly.
"The mouth on this one... you're right, Kade, this one is no different from his race. Another loudmouth who acts like he owns the place. Where the f**k do you think you are? You somehow managed to get in here... not an ordinary feat, I must add. Jonathan Krest, how did you get here?"
"That's some of the sh** I don't understand here. How the hell do you know my name?"
"We have records of everyone who has ever walked this earth - every human being that has been born enters our records. We know all about your movements, your actions... your death..." the woman said cockily, smirking.
Jonathan sprang again, but this time he was tactical. As soon as the man raised his hands to perform the technique again, he closed his eyes. He didn't feel the rapid movement, so he knew it had to be the man taking advantage of his perceptive weaknesses and the strange space-time conditions in this realm.
As soon as he was within range, he opened his eyes and threw a punch, but the woman stepped in and caught it. She did not expect the second attack, however, and the kick to her face sent her to the ground with ease.
"Underestimating the ability of humans to analyze a loss and work out a solution shows how little you know of us beneath all your conceit. I know that she is a physical type, but has not the brains to accompany it. You, on the other hand, are well knowledgeable in the technical tricks required to pull off your combo, but you're physically weak."
"You know about the secrets of this room, don't you?" the woman said, getting up, the smirk no longer on her face.
"Not at all. I still don't understand what the hell is going on here, and I'm pretty sure that Albert Einstein would have a pretty hard time here too. But all I know is that it's all in my sense of sight."
"It's a lot more than that, you know..." the man said, getting up and folding his fists.
"Kade, calm..."
"Estelle, leave me and this runt!"
Kade and Estelle. Strange bames for strange serial killers.
"I have no reason to want to know what else you have in store for me, Kade. And I'm duly sorry if you're angry, but I came here for answers."
"Which you will get when you tell us how you got here."
I looked at them, smiling. They weren't gonna let me get the answers, at least not without getting theirs. "I stuck my hand into the warp when a bullet popped out."
The look on their faces was priceless, and I could imagine their thoughts on the human race. Probably; these people are sick! Who the hell would do such a thing?
"Oh, so this is what you humans call 'A Geronimo Moment', hmm?"
"No one calls it that, but whatever rocks your boat," I said, sitting on the ground. "Who are you guys anyway?"
"We are nobody. Just call us Maintenance."
"Gee, that answers all my questions..."
"We're here to address the overpopulation problem on the earth. Before we stepped in, you guys had finally become more careful, and less accident-prone. That increased the population multiple folds - your kind approached numbers that the present resources could not sustain," the man said, not even trying to hide the contempt in his voice.
"And you also refused anti-natality - that is, abstaining from childbearing activities," the woman added with even more contempt. "Someone had to do it, and then 150 years ago, we stepped in and began/. Who are we? An order that seeks to maintain equilibrium for your greater good. Nothing can be achieved without a little discipline and force, and since humans are so terrible at laying down the rules, we had to do that for them."
I struggled to comprehend the fact that they were justifying their actions. "You're killing innocent people, for nothing!"
"Innocent, schminnocent. We do not decide when someone dies. It's like a raffle draw - it's quite random. All we do is execute. The fact you're alive today is a testament to the fact that we were not afraid to put our foot down and do what had to be done. We do not require any gratitude or understanding from you - your kind will never grasp the scope of this. All we did now is to break this down for you."
"And you think I'll just let you continue now I know all this?" I asked, getting ready for another attack. This time, I would tear the book or something - anything!
"You cannot do anything now. All we did was grant you your unspoken dying wish..."
"What?" I asked, confused for a second.
"You were scheduled to die... just about now."
As the Gatling Gun turned to face me, I began to think about how not-so-random these deaths were scheduled.
******
@Leo_kitti, @Hanzell, @gertu13, @Gwenie I'm finally done with this 🥺🥺
Haha. I was beginning to wonder how he would get out of there, and you had to give him the death escape 😏