Moonbound: Reincarnated as a Moon Elf
Chapter 34: Sanctum

Chapter 34: Sanctum

Bright lights illuminated a steel enforced room on top of a tall building.

Many kids in their mid teens sat in the room on chairs spaced a little apart in the room.

They only had a hospital gown on and their hands bound behind the chair.

On top of that their eyes were shut with a black helmet looking object with several wires ejecting on top of them as well as a large headphone on their ears.

Every now and then the kids shouted at irregular intervals and intensity as if living through a nightmare.

42 similarly went through the somewhat familiar but just as dreadful process.

In his eyes was being played a series of clips, again and again. It was the information about the ’institution’ and its noble goals for the world order.

Despite going through this strange kind lecture plenty of times, to the point that he could transcribe the whole 3 hours worth of content with his memory.

Yet they had to go through this, and with the full attention as the machine somehow knew when he stopped concentrating on the clips and the content, and zapped his brain with a current.

Gritting his teeths, Noctis kept his mind focused as the more he delayed the longer the session would stretch.

[The world is too big, too complex for you to know anything properly. Everything that you see is crafted for you to betray order and feed into chaos.]

[Even with all your teachings, setting you above the civilians, many fall; for they overestimate their capabilities and invite unfathomable consequences.]

[Look for the break. Among the enemies as well as your allies. Report. Repeat. Reset.]

[All you need to understand is to obey what you’re given. To accept what you have been assigned, thoughtfully, tailored to your obligations to the greater good and faith.]

[You’ve been given this opportunity for a great purpose. Accept it. Train properly.]

[The institution is the only one standing between you and the brutal meandering of chaos.]

[We help you keep it at bay. We allow you to learn the rules and machinations of it.]

[We help you accept your role in this fight against disorder.]

[Acceptance is the only way to gain in this fight for good. In this great game of life.]

[Accept that you are nothing without the harbour of the institution.]

42 repeated it again and again as the glob of fire ball on the position of the large bulb in the room burned on his retina.

***

Sounds of blasts and large debris falling off sounded in the distance.

The staccato of gunfire broke the night open like fireworks gone wrong, loud and screeching on the ears of the students hiding under the desks of the classroom.

A dry hiss crackle to life, gzz, that momentary stutter of static just before someone speaks. Then, 42 heard from the piece in his ears.

[Confirm your positions.]

"Hawk at the peak. Target locked." 42 said in a low voice so that the kids beside him would hear.

[Commence on three. One... two...]

42 turned towards the direction of a girl hiding similarly under the desks some distance from him.

He took a deep breath before launching himself towards just as the count reached three.

Standing up, he felt some kind of look towards him between panic and confusion when he kicked a desk, flinging it back before grabbing the girl up.

Before she could process anything, 42 planted his thighs into her stomach before injecting a needle into her arms.

As he picked the girl up on his shoulders, another student came into his room, him a little older.

The older kid brought out a gun before opening fire towards the boys and the teacher hiding spot as 42 made his way out.

Making their way towards the stairs they came across some more individuals, some disguised as students and some as workers.

They made their way out of the building towards a certain place covered in thick black smoke.

The girl had been escorted by an older man while 42 and a few others stayed behind as they opened fire towards the armored individuals stationed at various places.

Soon the firing stopped as every armoured personnel made their way back when suddenly they noticed a missile coming towards where they stood.

The earpiece whirred again before a short message came.

[Objective achieved. Protocol E1]

The disguised students immediately ran towards various directions.

42 similarly started running towards the position where the others had gone as heard a loud bang up in the sky.

From the corner of his eyes he could only see a bright concentrated light amidst the whirlwind of black smoke.

***

The gate to a dark and stinky dungeon-esque room opened as a mid teens kid was thrown into it with some force as he crashed into the opposite wall.

The gate closed with force as sounds of locking came out from outside.

The lock looked unsecure, an old mechanical type, however looking at the state of the boy it didn’t seem like it even needed to be locked as he struggled to move altogether.

42 groaned as he tried to sit up with his bruised body and suspected broken bones.

He had failed in making his escape, and worse he had failed in even killing himself.

’Rebels have no place in order.’

42 coughed out blood as he thought back to words of his superior as he thrashed. He didn’t know what would happen to him next.

From his experience of the institution, definitely something worse than death.

Couple days passed as 42 stayed locked in the dark damp room with only a slit on the ceiling to let natural light in, with no food or water.

His broken bones in his legs and hands ensured he couldn’t move as the chronic pain kept adulating his body.

Every once in a while some superiors and other personnel came to look at him, only saying institutional bullshit over and over.

He expected he would be left to rot here until his death from lack of water or infections.

Better than what he initially thought but no less humiliating.

He sat with a frustrated anger on his face as he looked towards the bright point of silver in the sky from the slit in the pitch black ceiling.