Chapter 13. The Eruption (II)
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-On the seventh day after birth-

An immense explosion was heard in the hospital which shook the entire floor. The alarms started going off as smoke enveloped the floor of the maternity ward. People fled out in panic when the nurses were called to the scene and realized that the smoke was coming from the eruption room.

"The babies..." thought the female nurse standing at the beginning of the stairs to the lower floor.

Despite the danger that there might be a second explosion, she decided to go in. Working her way through the smoke by palpating with one hand and covering her airway with her shirt with the other, she approached the room.

Standing at its entrance, it was all dark. Shards of broken ceiling lamps were scattered on the floor along with the electronic components that were spread out everywhere. Although it was a newborns room, it was quiet. Completely quiet.

From the little light coming from the corridor, she could see that the cots were broken and smashed against the wall.

Crashed into pieces.

With her heart beating at a speed she had never felt before, she tried to take a closer look at the scene from the outside. She tried to examined every detail with a focused narrowing of her eyes but the thick smoke made it difficult to keep them open. Despite the struggle, one detail was easy to notice.

On the ceiling, on the walls, on the ground, on the door frame and everywhere around, there was blood.

"A terrorist attack?" she asked herself, terrified.

"Deliberate assassination... but, babies? What kind of heartless scum would do such a thing?" she asked herself in horror.

Petrified, the look on her face obscured it well. But, despite the chilling fear in her heart, she took a deep, long breath and stepped one step inside.

Trying to find a clue, she walked slowly through the pools of blood spilled on the floor. Two steps alone were enough for her to step on soft material. She raised her leg and looked.

It was difficult to identify if it was a hand or a leg, but she immediately understood those to whom it belonged. Although she was used to being around those who pass away every day, it was too much for her. She closed her eyes in terror.

"I owe it to them... I owe it to the parents..." she repeated in her head. Another deep breath. With eyes closed shut, a tear fell down. Unclear if from the mental struggle or from the burning smoke. With one last brave look, she looked around.

The bodies of the babies were scattered all around the floor of the room. Massive amounts of blood, wood, metal and flesh were scattered all around, and that quick look was enough for her to make sure that they were all dead.

She turned hastily to escape the room, when suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes opened wide in surprise as shivers went down from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet, at the sound of her ear.

Behind her, she heard crying.

A baby. Lying on the floor in the demolished room, unharmed.

---------

"It was me." Loy said looking at Lin. she looked back with a surprised look. "The nurse picked me up. She checked me quickly. Despite being covered in blood, I was not injured. She didn't understand why only I wasn't hurt, until she saw explosion after explosion, the Energia flowing from my body.

Then she understood.

I was the only one who wasn't harmed because, it was me who caused the explosion.” Loy said as he took a deep breath.

"I never wanted to hurt anyone, I don't know if this story is even true. As surprising as it is, it wasn't my parents who told me it, but people on the street. The famous testimony of the nurse who found me was made public. Her picture in the newspaper, with the white uniform covered in blood spread like wildfire.

Right after the event, my parents picked me up from the hospital and took me home. Soon, the story was heard everywhere.

There was chaos in the public. 40 babies died in an instant and all the frustration and pain of the parents were directed at me and my family.

They called me a monster. They argued that I should be executed before anything else happened. The public pressure was enormous. But, in the end, due to lack of evidence, I stayed alive. They could not prove that I was the one who caused it, and not a planned attack by an extremist terrorist organization.

Nevertheless, since that day, I have been known as the boy who killed the other 40 babies. A monster…” Loy said. Lin looked at Loy, trying to find the right words.

"You're not a monster.." she said. "It couldn't have been you... you were just a baby. And even if it was… Can you really blame a newborn?" Lin said sadly.

"It doesn't matter. Parents who have lost their child, only feel the pain of the loss. Justice doesn't interest them, and they are looking for where they can vent the pain that is inside." Loy said.

"But, the way they did it... they acted as if I chose it… as if I wanted to do it! I would rather not have been born to prevent it!" he yelled with angry frustration filled with sadness. Lin looked at him with pitiful eyes.

He took a deep breath. "After what happened, there was no way I could have a normal life.

Most of my earliest memories are of strangers with various devices in dark rooms.

Even though Energia research is forbidden, they did tests and experiments on me. Some hurt.

A lot.

They tried to understand why. Why am I like this? And maybe, how to replicate it.

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