Part 1: Dark

Chapter 1

"Adaption is the key to survival. Who knows, it might be your last chance to live."

"In a way, love and hate are similar. The two emotions may be present at the same time if thoughts are not evaluated rationally. Love and hate are the strongest emotions that have ever been felt by anyone. Uncontrolled love or hate could lead to the destruction of many innocent souls," Earl drones on, glancing at his students' faces one by one, including mine. No one in the class speaks; listening to the professor with full attention as do I.

"Take war, as an example of an effect of these feelings. Based on The Hastes and Celia Chronicles by E. Lysis, Hastes and Celia were deeply in love, but their families hated each other due to –"

Earl is being interrupted by three consistent knocks on the door. In comes the principal of the Academy.

"Excuse me, Earl. I would like to speak to one of your students, if it isn't much of a trouble," Robert says politely, staying put by the doorway.

Earl stands still too, but replies, "That is alright, Robert."

The man wearing grey formal suit looks around the small classroom of fifteen teenagers before they are back at Earl's direction. "Marcus?"

I stand out of curtesy and wish the principal, "Good morning, Robert."

"Good morning, Marcus. Pack your belongings and follow me to my office."

I pack my things quickly, which isn't much since I only brought two textbooks and a tablet. With my briefcase in hand, I make my way towards the principal who is waiting for me patiently.

"Have a nice day, Earl," I tell the professor.

"You too, Marcus. Don't forget to read about the chapter about The Hastes and Celia Chronicles involvement in constructing the early idea of the Ban of Emotions Policy and Parent-Child Interaction Law."

I nod and turn towards Robert waits patiently. Without another word being said, I follow him. The school hallways are empty as everyone is currently in class. The walls I passed by are either grey or white and the tiles I step on are black. The lights are bright enough for me to see everything inside despite the dark colours.

The only few people Robert and I encounter are other professors who we exchange small greetings with. It is a custom to respect everyone, including strangers. In Darkness, nobody is a stranger even if you're not close to that person.

Robert sticks the key into the key hole and turns it clockwise with a small click. He let me into the black-walled office with nothing but books in his shelves and a marble desk in the middle. The window behind the desk has curtains that are drawn so I can see the view of the Gloom district.

"Have a seat, Marcus. We have a lot to discuss," Robert tells me, shrugging off his grey coat. "Coffee?"

"No thank you," I decline as I fall into the seat opposite of his and leave my light briefcase on my lap. I wait for Robert to make his coffee and sit in his place.

"You are one of the most excellent students, Marcus. You succeed in maintaining your good grades and behaviour ever since you were little. After all, it isn't every day you can find a five-year-old reading Emotions and Their Existence within Everyone," Robert begins speaking, setting his mug of caffeine on the desk. Small clouds of vapours are forming above the mug.

"It is interesting to learn about something that is forbidden to be felt," I chip in my thoughts.

"And that makes you unique among your acquaintances. Your flawless reputation has also attracted the government's attention," Robert states, making me a little surprised.

"Oh," I say unsurely.

"It is not a bad thing," Robert quickly assures me. "You achieved maturity at a very young age and adapt to the lifestyle of Dark in a short period of time. You also did not cause any trouble to the school or the society. Not to mention you are able to do well in your examinations especially subjects that are related to emotions."

"I appreciate your praise."

"You deserve it, Marcus. I'm puzzled by how you manage to keep your emotions at bay since your interest in the subject is strongly noticeable."

I shrug. "Earl has done a great job at teaching."

"Indeed he did. I am here, as the government's representative, to offer you a task in a classified project," Robert tells me, leaning forward to grab the mug of coffee and take a small sip.

"Project?" I repeat, keeping my voice neutral so he can't hear the curiosity in it. My hands are rested in a small ball on my briefcase. I study my veins visible through my pale skin.

It is an honour to be picked by high authorities to participate in an event. Once chosen, 'no' is never accepted as an answer.

"Yes, project. The government officers will be here in an hour to pick you up and will explain to answer your questions. Would that be enough time for you to have your lunch and pack? If it's not, I can call them to come later rather than sooner..."

"One hour is enough."

Robert's both ends of his mouth curls a little, forming a tight smile. I recognize the pride in his smile before it disappears. It is almost as if it wasn't there in the first place.

He caught himself just in time.

Robert drinks his coffee.

"The project is related to the tragic event of Benjamin's mysterious death four years ago."

I nod. My forehead creased a little in confusion. "I heard of it. The body was found close to the Wall of Equilibrium."

"That's right," Robert confirms, staring at me with dark eyes. It is almost as if he's waiting for me to figure it out on my own. "Except that he didn't die because of a snake bite."

"He didn't?"

I remember this case used to be on headlines when I was fourteen. It was the only time I saw teachers showing emotions in school. Even if it only lasted for a few hours, I saw how panic looked like. Everyone was panicking about something that no one could understand. No one could understand how someone so young can be dead without explainable reasons.

What everyone knew was Benjamin was a thirty-year-old man who had no medical history. Hours before his death, his neighbours had said that they last saw Benjamin looking as healthy as a horse. Another strange event was his body found in the forest near the Wall of Equilibrium and the authorities had found no lead.

Not long later, the government had released word about Benjamin's death, stating that he died bitten by a venomous snake lurking in the forbidden woods.

This case was dated four years ago and it was closed only hours after the event. It is a little too late to launch an investigation now, when all the evidence might have been gone after all these years. Why now?

"The government lied to the people. Why?" I ask softly to myself.

Dark do not lie to each other; we just hide the truth. Lying is considered much worse than concealing the truth. What is the point in lying anyway? Lying brings the worst out of you. They bring out betrayal. The trust everyone has of you will crumble and turn into ashes.

That is why the government closed Benjamin's case four years ago with little explanations to the public. It would be chaotic if the government was found guilty of lying to the three billion population of Dark.

There must be a reason why Benjamin's case is important to the government until they had to tell the untruth. Why would they close the case without solving the mystery? Why did they lie to the people?

Then I realize something. They don't want the people to show emotions. Emotions like panic I witnessed a long time ago. Earl has mentioned countless times about the flaw of emotions.

They bring nothing but trouble.

That's one question down. The only question still standing is: How did Benjamin die?

In Darkness, the common way to die is by terminal illness or old age. There are times that accidents occur. Could Benjamin have died of an accident? If so, why would there be a project on his death in the first place?

It did not make any sense. The only hypothesis I can make out is the most impossible answer.

"Could it be?" I mumble.

Robert raises an eyebrow at me.

"Was he murdered?" I voice out my question, looking at Robert who has a blank face.

Dark respects each other without forming a special relationship with each other. Relationships will have emotions involve and emotions can cloud one's mind. Hence, murder does not exist in Darkness. Why kill a soul that has not done anything upon you? Why kill someone who knows almost nothing about you? Why kill out of hatred or jealousy?

"Yes," he clarifies. "The murderer is not one of us, but one from the other side of the world."

A murderer of a Dark is an enemy of Dark; a Light.

My body tenses instinctively at his words. I breathe in and out slowly like how my Energy Exhaustion teacher taught. Five breaths later, my body loosens up.

"So what does this have to do with me?" I question coolly. "What is the project really about?"

Robert tilts his head upwards as he answers me. "You were chosen to track down Benjamin's murderers and bring them to Darkness where they will face trial and receive the punishment they deserve."

"They?"

The school bell chimes with three synchronized dings. Robert and I are not fazed or surprised at the loudness of the alarm which is just outside of the office.

"Keane was their first victim, but not the last. We found many bodies of our people near the Wall of Equilibrium bearing the same mark as Benjamin. The public does not know of this and it is best to keep it that way. It is also clear that the massacre is not the job of a sole person, but a group. They somehow managed to find a way to get through the Wall and enter Darkness. Our own security forces are unable to find them in Darkness so the authorities have thought that they must have ran back to hide in Light."

"So I will be sent to Light to find for the murderers?"

"Yes."

I think of what I just learnt not more than five seconds ago. Murder is such a strong word that is rarely used in a Dark vocabulary. I have no doubt that what Robert said contains nothing but undeniable truth.

"These murders have been happening for years. Why does the government decide to act only now?" I ask.

"That, I do not know the answer. I was not given the full details. Perhaps you can ask the officer that will arrive to pick you up later."

Robert's phone rings out a simple beat.

While I sit silently, Robert excuses himself to answer the call. I assume that he is talking to the authorities. I do not eavesdrop on the conversation because it is none of my business. Also, it is impolite to eavesdrop.

Instead, I take advantage of the time I have to try to remember what I know about Light.

The knowledge I have about Light is through The Hastes and Celia Chronicles. Light is an opposite of Dark in almost every aspect. Their location is situated at the other side of the Wall of Equilibrium. The people of Light live with emotions. Earl had once said that they are barbarians, doing as they please without even giving a second thought about the consequences. They are capable of murder because of strong feelings like anger, jealousy or even love.

Because of that, I believe that the government did the right thing at banning emotions. Emotions are complicated and uncontrollable even if they are interesting to learn.

Also, Light are unsystematic. Light lives in small packs and in different locations. Sometimes, they fight amongst each other because of small conflicts.

We, Dark, are considered as one huge community who respect one another and obey the laws that were set by our leaders. Because of this, Darkness is in peace.

Based on the book, it is stated that Hastes's parents were arranging his marriage with a Light girl from another Light tribe so both groups would merge and live peacefully. Hastes refused to marry a stranger and told his parents that someone else had captured his heart without revealing Celia's identity. Because he knows his parents hated Dark, he lied to them about her bloodline.

The book involves too many emotions for my taste. At that time, Dark and Light were living together at both sides of the Wall, but there were racial issues occurring often. Dark had emotions at the time this book was written. We lived the way Light do today by expressing feelings daily.

Everything changed over time, making us who we are today.

"Marcus," Robert says, snapping me back to reality. I did not realize that I had been staring at his coffee mug all this while. "The officer is on his way here. You will be staying at a training centre located close to the Wall till further notice. They will provide all essential things. You can go pack your belongings and have your lunch."

I nod. "Okay."

The man glances at his watch before adding, "Be at the lobby before two."

After brief goodbyes were exchanged, I make my way towards the cafeteria. A huge number of students are walking in the same direction as me since it is now lunch period. A few speaks to one another, but many sticks to themselves. When we're close to the entrance, everyone queues up without fuss. It doesn't take long before it is my turn to be right in front of the door.

I roll up my left sleeve so the machine can scan my barcode tattoo. Every Dark has a barcode tattoo ever since they were born. Barcode tattoos contain information about a Dark like birthdates, age, gender, height, weight and so many more. It basically is a microchip that's implanted just underneath the barcode tattoo in the skin.

One of the barcode tattoo's purposes is to pick suitable food to be consumed. That way, no one in Darkness will have health problems based on unhealthy diets like obesity or anorexia.

"Good day, Marcus," the small box-like machine on the wall says. "These are your choices suitable for your meal today."

The screen flashes pictures of different kind of food and its name below. I touch the picture of ham sandwich and orange juice on the screen. Instantly, an opening below the machine chokes out a tray with a sealed sandwich and orange juice.

I eat in my usual spot, by the closed window. While I was eating, I observe my surrounding. Other students are sitting quietly, eating their lunch like me. Those who are bigger in size consume bigger portions. After the queue had ended with the last student, in comes the professors. The professor comes in one by one with their trays of food in hand. The cafeteria is large enough to contain both students and professors to eat in.

Once I've finished my lunch, I make my way to my dorm. My dorm is in the building opposite of the building I'm currently in. I apologize to two people who I bumped into on the way there. Within two minutes, I arrive at my dorm. There aren't many things in my dorm, just a dressing table and a shelf of books at one wall, and a single bed at the other. The wall opposite the door has nothing but a window that is now sealed.

I place my briefcase on my bed and bend down, pulling out my luggage bag. I open the luggage bag to see my clean clothes folded and placed in sections so it is neat. Without wasting any more time, I pack up my essentials and a few of my favourite books including The Hastes and Celia Chronicles. I leave my briefcase behind, but put my tablet in my sling bag instead.

Once everything is set to go, I stare at my reflection through the mirror of the dressing table. The Marcus in the mirror wears an all-black suit with a red tie and gold watch. He has short black hair like every other Dark has. His eyes are full with onyx and thick eyebrows that are in a straight line. His face has hardened after all these years, revealing nothing to anyone he interacts with.

I grab my comb from my sling bag and comb my hair into a smart look. The Marcus in the reflection does the same thing.

I wonder if there is another dimension out there, other than the world of Light and Darkness. Another world that has beings living in an entirely different lifestyles from us.

There is no such thing of heaven or hell, my Philosophy teacher Henry had said once. There's just Light and Darkness. There's just our world, galaxy and universe. Science proves nothing more and nothing less.

I shake my head at my thoughts.

You shouldn't just wonder about things that are nothing but a figment of your imagination, Marcus, I scold myself inwardly.

With one last look at my reflection, I leave my dorm with my luggage in hand.

Author's Note

This is the new version of Equilibrium and the second time I'm joining the Wattys. This is a story that I have been crafting for a long time and I'm once again posting this story on Wattpad. Don't forget to:

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-M.