TAINTED REMNANTS: VOLUME 1

CHAPTER 1: IF YOU CAN HEAR ME

8:42 AM

12/24/2019

Cold.

All she could feel was cold.

Not just from her own surroundings, but from within herself. The freezing weather outside that leaked through the constrictive chamber hardly had an effect on her anymore. At this point, the shivering was caused by her own fear. As the mechanical bear that acted as her executioner slowly counted down, likely relishing the suspense of it all, her fears grew.

Fears of her life being cut short with a single swipe of a blade, a blade held by something that was supposed to be harmless. That was also another factor in her fear. The fear of being in this situation to begin with. This... thing... animal, creature... monster... shouldn't be alive. It shouldn't be talking. It shouldn't have such an extensive knowledge of such grim subjects such as different execution methods throughout the centuries. This thing was made out of metal, wires, and pipes. It's a robot and it's able to express such complex behaviors that only a human could be capable of. How such a thing was even possible was beyond her and should only belong in a fictional world. Even so, she couldn't wish this on anyone, even a fictional character. The slow realization that your life is in real danger and the utter hopelessness you'd feel would be paralyzing.

That's another factor in her fear: hopelessness. Even she knew she had a small chance of escape. All she had to hold onto was the faint and fleeting ember of hope of her plan actually working and the desire to make up for her mistakes. She wanted to apologize to the people close to her and make things right with Dylan, the only person she could call a friend in a long time before she fucked everything up. She wanted to hug her parents again despite how much embarrassment they caused her. She just didn't want to die.

What was she thinking? Wishing for death, even if it wasn't genuine. This was probably karma coming to collect its due. A part of her believed that she deserved this, that she should be the only one sentenced to die for crimes everyone commits.

Yet... that's not how she wanted her life to end.

Did she really deserve to die in such a cruel way? Would anyone deserve this? No. She was just a kid, a kid that felt like the whole world was against her, a kid who made stupid mistakes, a kid who just wanted a second chance to live. Was that so wrong? All Millie asked was to receive a second chance, just one.

She put her hands over her ears as the bear began its countdown and curled herself up into as tight of a ball as she could.

"Trois..."

Silently, she started sobbing to herself. Was this what it felt like to feel death's embrace? Was it truly this cold?

"Deux..."

No! Millie needed to think positive. She was going to live. She was going to get one last chance at life and make the most of it. She was going to apologize to her grandpa, her parents, Dylan, everyone! If she did all that, she would matter! No.... She already mattered. She just didn't see it before...

"UN!"

The voice announced with glee. Not even a second after, the rusty blade sliced clean through the chamber and passed right over Millie's head. The blade was so close, she could feel the wind passing right over her head and just barely touching her hair... but it missed. For a moment, everything was quiet. Then, the panic set in.