ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ᴍʏ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ | ᴀɴ ᴇᴅᴅsᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ғᴀɴғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ (ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇᴅ!)

【26】

That day, Tord took a stroll through the base. He didn't say anything. All he did was think. Think to himself. It was at that moment that Tord realized that he didn't need his drugs. Those things forced him to believe in something that he didn't want to. What if he was tired of it? Tired of it all. Tired of the screams, the pain, the misery, and the obession. Soldiers saluted as he passed by. Tord sighed. How did he manage to get so many people to obey him? He understood that they were just doing their jobs but it made Tord feel terrible. Forcing people to do this. By this point, all of his thoughts and regrets weren't because of Tom's disappearance. They were made up of his own moral judgement. He looked around every square inch of the base, thinking to himself. Running his own army was a hard thing to do. Especially at thirty-seven years old. Speaking of, he kind of missed his old life. When he didn't have any cares or anything to worry abot except for normal adult things. Taxes and bills were a bitch, but at least he didn't have to keep record of every soldier, every prisoner, every scientist, and every doctor in the place. What if he was wasting his time? He didn't want to rule the world anymore. He didn't want to be in control of everyone's lives. Tord sighed to himself. Where did those thoughts come from? Why was he so sad all of a sudden? He didn't like thinking like this. Well, when he did, he usually would take his pills. He didn't wsnt to forget anymore. He didn't want to leave it in the past. He couldn't just forget about all of the tragedies and havoc he's caused. Those things used to make him happy. Those things used to make him feel joy inside. Now, they made him feel bad and disgusted with his ways. He thought about changing. He usually would tell this to Paul or to Tom. They told him it was something he shouldn't have worried about. That his army was strong and powerful. But thinking back on it now, Tord realized that they were just telling him what he wanted to hear. Most likely in fear. Tord forced them to say what he wanted. Again with those damn pills! Those things hypnotyzed him. It was like he fell under his own spell. He guessed it was a taste of his own medicine for what he did to Tom. Not taking them for only one day caused him to think like this. He depended on them. Tord saw himself as a high mighty ruler that could do what he wanted when in reality, he depended on a pill bottle to make his decisions.

Matt rocked back and fourth on his bed. The voices usually whispered, now they were shouting. They were mad at him. Enraged even. Matt didn't understand why. He held his head as the voices continued yelling at him. "Stop it.." he begged through gritted teeth, "Please..just stop!" There was a soft knock on the door and Edd appeared in the doorway. Matt opened his eyes to see Edd standing there. He looked around and threw a pillow at him. "Go away!" he exclaimed. Disobeying Matt's order, Edd walked over and sat next to him. He gave it some thought and decided that it was now or never. "Matt?" he called. Matt groaned and shook his head. "I don't want you here." he muttered. Edd swallowed and exhaled. "Like it or not, I'm staying." he remarked, not listening to Matt. "I don't wanna die..I don't wanna die.." Matt whispered to himself, "Leave me alone.." Edd placed his hands on Matt's shoulders. "Matt what's going on?" he asked.
"The voices! The fucking voices keep fucking shouting at me!"
"Matt, you need to talk to me."
"No! I'm fine! I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine!"
"No you're not!"
"Yes I am!"
Matt turned to Edd. His robotic eye moved around in all diferent directions. "I said I'm fucking fine." he growled, "Leave me alone!" Edd huffed. "Fine then." he said, standing up, "You know what? Maybe you are insane." he then walked away and left the room. Matt grabbed chunks of his hair. They just wouldn't stop. They told Matt to kill himself. That he was insane-a waste of space. What had happened? Back at the lab, they used to be nice to him. They turned on him as soon as he left. Just like that motherfucker Tord.

As he walked around the base some more, Tord thought about what he was doing, what was taking place, and if it was acceptable. He had to make a decision. Either he'd continue to run the base, or the whole thing-along with his hard work and willpower-comes crashing down. Tord knew exactly what he wanted to do.
He returned to the lab where the experiments took place. He walked up to one of the scientists and looked him straight in the eye. "Slutt med det." he ordered with a stern look, "Stopp det hele." The scientist blinked. "Hva hvorfor?" he asked. "Bare gjør det! Slå av det hele." Tord replied. There was no need for questions. This is what had to be done. The scientist nodded. "J-Ja sir Rød Leder sir." he replied. "Gå og be resten om å stoppe også." Tord added before leaving. His next stop was his own office. He pressed a button on his walkie-talkie and ordered Patryk in. As soon as he arrived, he didn't have time to respond as Tord immidiently started to give him orders. "Go back to the medbay and tell them to stop everything they are doing." he said. "But sir," Patryk started, "what about the pills you requested?"
"Forget them. Everything needs to stop and now."
"Yes sir Red Leader sir."
Patryk then turned and headed out the door. Tord knew what he was doing was strange. Especially to those who worked for him. For so long, all Tord wanted was to be the ruler. For so long, all Tord wanted was to be the best. He didn't want that anymore. He didn't want to be the ruler, or to be the best. He wanted to stop. Stop the genocide, stop the experiments, stop the starvation and torture. What he was doing wasn't what he wanted. He realized that now.
Tord made his way down to the back of the base where the mass graves were dug. The soldiers stopped and saluted. Tord shook his head. "Stopp alt. Stopp det du holder på med og la dem gå. Det er en ordre." he ordered. The soldiers nodded and let the people go. Tord watched as one woman scrambled to her feet. They were all cold, dirty, and emaciated. That wasn't what Tord wanted anymore. He then ordered the men to leave. Tord travelled all throughout the base, telling soldiers to stop what they were doing and to let people go. He ordered them out of the base and told them to leave. He ordered Patryk to tell the other generals to let go of whatever land they held. He was letting go of his so-called dream. Edd was right. Without them, he grew lonely and bored. He was tired of being alone and tortured people to fill in that empty void. That feeling of heartache and loneliness. Though they had nowhere else to go, Tord knew that the country would rise back up on its own. They didn't need him. They were fine on their own. He wasn't trying to fix them anyway. Tord told them all to leave. The doctors, scientists, soldiers, and prisoners alike. He told them all to go. He wanted the base completely empty. Nothing but the sound of his footsteps and his beating heart.