Chapter 18

Nightmare

I have told by my parents to find my brother so we could have our dinner together. By this moment, I already have the idea of where to find him. Where most of the times he was there, just to play around and ease with the life of what we have. I left the house, my Mother was preparing the dish while my Father was bed-ridden, as his terminally ill on his condition. As I have seen the family pushed forward even if the situation is not good, I am still lucky that I grow up with them.

I walked down the hollow, watery road causes by so much rain, gladly it is stopped because it could result in such great flood which we would evacuate hardly enough where there is no much good place to stay. There is no good place to stay anywhere in the Waste Land, you just have to accept that it is your home, will always be and remind yourself that it doesn't matter that you live beyond the possibilities of everything, make yourself feel that it isn't wrong when you know in yourself, you are living right with your family.

At a young age, many people who I have seen teaches me to be brave and conquer my weakness, just like what my parents say, I should not stop believing that I can do one thing when I reached it, but to go further to seek what's more I can do.

When I reached the place where my brother always has been, I searched for him within those people who have around. There are many Null people who were smiling, feeling like there's nothing wrong to their environment and making it their very home. Not for long, when I get to sight my brother whose playing a game called soccer—which were made from a bunch of newspaper formed into a ball.

I shouted, calling his attention but his focus was on the game.

"Brother!" and for the second time, he stopped playing his game and look on the direction where the voice coming from. When he sees me, he bid goodbye to his playmate and to come to my attention. He messes my hair, I jerked his hands away from me and glared at him for doing that. But he just laughed. "The dinner's almost ready, brother."

He nodded, "okay, but before we headed home, we should go to the landfill."

"For what? What are we gonna do there? They are waiting for us."

He sighed and kneel down to compliment with my height, "we won't take long, I'm gonna sure you of that."

"Whatever, I just came to get you."

He smirked and stood up, "c'mon, there's a lot of things we can do on the landfill." He said and by just thinking of it, maybe a lot of things will gonna be interesting when I get to see it.

When we are heading towards the landfill. It seems like my brother has been known by everyone. Every people we bound to see, they greet each other or some who give high fives on him. My brother showered with kindness and that's what I admire him. He is most likely to have a vision for everyone, even if those people really don't have the aspirations.

"Is this the landfill?" I mumbled, confused and trying to understand.

"What do you expect, buddy?" he smirked, "those Licit People put their trash down to our places, for them it is waste but for us, it is something we can use." He said, "just like what I see," he said and pointed the direction where I could describe as just trash.

He picked up a cleared plastic bottle. I scratched my head, still didn't get him.

"What's with an empty bottle, brother?" I asked, trying to get his point. He laughed, comes toward me and handed over the empty bottle. "What am I supposed to do this?"

"Think of anything that an empty bottle can turn into something useful."

"There isn't anything, this is just a recyclable waste."

"That's right," he said, pointed out the word I have said, still confused in the process. "It is a recyclable waste which can be used in many forms—I want to have you think of it, 'cause I have already had hundreds in my head."

My forehead creased on him, did he really just say hundreds? Is it possible or my brother was just making fun out of me?

"I really don't have any idea, brother."

He messes my hair once again, I push his hands away from me and I think he's fond of doing that kind of thing to irritate me.

"You have a long way to go, buddy, you can still learn in a few years before your turn in the rebirth." He said, but I didn't mind it. "You know this empty bottle can turn into many useful forms. For example, a bottle bulb which many of the Null people uses nowadays."

"What exactly is a bottle bulb, brother?" I asked, trying to fill my curiosity.

"A bottle bulb is composed of water and a detergent solution, which creates solar energy."

"How did you know about it?"

He shrugged off his shoulder, "I have heard it before that it was invented by an Asian Licit person which ease the lifestyle of every Null People, and it did. Thanks to his generosity." He said, "but that's not the only thing you can do from it, you can conserve anything through it, make it as a foundation for a structure—of course, filled with soil or cement. And a water bomb for a defense mechanism."

"A water bomb? Would you tell me about that, please brother."

He laughed, shook his head, "now is not the time," he said, "but I will tell you before I go to rebirth."

I took a sighed when he said those words, "are you gonna leave us, brother?"

He smiles, but it is the same as before, "I have too."

He reached out for a tire and we sat on it, "why do we need to go through that rebirth? Why can't we just be part of them?"

He shrugged off his shoulder, "it is their way to know if us—Null people deserve to be on their land. It is their way to eliminate who were defected and who to welcome in their family."

"So what are you gonna do when you become one?"

"A Licit people?" he said, smirked. "I really don't know, but I will do everything I can to be a good people of Noble Land."

"Just don't' forget us, okay?"

"C'mon buddy, why would I do that?" he said, "I would very much love that my family will be there too."

"How can you do that? Our parents failed to do so."

"I will do everything I can, I promise that."

I nodded, still don't understand him. "How we will know if you made it or not?"

"The high council will provide that news," he said. "And so when you reach your legal age of becoming a participant in the rebirth, if I made it there, you should know that I'm helping you, we're family. We should always put ourselves first."

"How can a person be better if they will go through first the pain and trials?"

"It is the sad reality of ours." He sighed, "only the Null people will suffer to have prosperous lives and Licit people will only watch us strive, die and begging. But that's the beautiful thing about being a Null people, we come to strive, fight and learn to accept all the pain. It is what we are... it is what we stood up for."

I may be don't understand all the words that my brother said but I think they are powerful enough that you shouldn't treat yourself a loser or worthless just because you were born with nothing—even your identity is undetermined—we are only a product of the ruthless behavior of Licit People just for them to know that they are in power, influence, and dominance.

"But did you also think, brother, that if our parents give birth to us in Noble Land, what are we now?"

"If they made it through the rebirth, maybe we have a better living now... but the worst part of being one, we don't care about anything."

"What do you mean by that, brother?"

"Licit people only learn to do their job, their responsibilities but they don't care anymore and what they have left..."

"I'm reminding you brother, don't forget us..."

He smiled, "I won't, my family will always gonna be the reason why I keep moving... and why I have to go through this." I couldn't see myself not talking to my brother in the next coming year. It might really be hard for me, I know that... because when he has to go through it, no one will advise me and teach me every moment. He stood up, grunting holding his knee, to support his balance. "We should go now, buddy, they must have been waiting for us."

I nodded, he reaches for his hand on me and I get it to stand up.

"I will tell you one thing, buddy." He said, looking at me, my forehead creased formed. "If you found something, don't just look what it can do, and see further what it can do more. There's a lot of things around us that can be a big help, you just have to think about the possibilities that it can help you and can make anything seem like nothing is impossible."

"Got it, thank you, brother... I will surely miss that."

"You wouldn't," he smirked, messes my hair again. "We'll see again at the Noble Land, right?"

I nodded, "yes, that's an assurance of our fate."

We headed back to our house. Maybe, this is the last time I would walk back down with my brother. I also believe that he'll pass the rebirth and we'll see each other again... and we'll think of another way to get our family back together.

But when we reach the house, it is quiet, lonely and some people are outside of our house.

"What's happening, brother?" I asked, started to feel nervous because it is not we want to see.

"Shit, its father!" he exclaimed.

We hurriedly enter our house, my brother immediately attended my parents. I had to stop at the doorway seeing so much pain in sight. I couldn't take to see my mother crying while our father was on her hands, not breathing.

"Call some help!" my brother shouted at me, but I couldn't move or talked either way. He come into my direction and hold me both my shoulder, "get some help, buddy, we can't let our father die."

And that moment, I still don't know what to do.

I woke up by the sudden sting of the Therefore tracker in my neck. It lasted for a few seconds and it made me realize my dreams—I don't know—but I think it is the nightmare I don't wanna remember anymore. The memories still linger on my head, that many years had passed and all I can still think if my brother remembered his family.

But I do think... he forget us now.

Getting back my senses, I found myself in the four wall metal room. I stood up and search for an opening—a door or something else but it seems like, I was trapped here. And where are Al and Cha? What did they do to us? I thought they killed us but they did something more, and I wanna know what it is.

An alarm echoed and passed through the metal walls. I closed my ears by my hands, blocking the disturbance of the annoying sound. It lasted for a few minutes until a voice speaks.

"Welcome participants to your first of hundreds of test and trial... and this is how it goes."

And the room goes blacked-out.