Mind Boggled

Chapter 63

Third person pov

Harper's scream echoed around the massive underground warehouse. She and Inasa both lunged for Eric at the same time as the teen willingly walked forward. It was futile. Atsuhiro was in front of them within seconds, a grin on his face as he planted a gloved hand on each of their heads, stopping them in place. Harper let out a wet gasp, throwing herself back and away from him for fear she'd get put into a marble again. A shiver shot through her, making her feel sick and like she was going to retch what little she'd been fed back up. Inasa was much calmer about backing away, his eyes full of hate and fire. He hadn't given up yet, but he was scared. 

The wind-quirk user placed himself in front of Harper as they both recoiled from Atsuhiro, mind spinning. What was he going to do? There had to be a way to stop this. This was wrong. He was doing this to save her, telling them to plant his body instead. He knew that was his sister's best bet. It made Inasa feel awful. Like his heart was being wrenched out by an invisible force. He wondered, standing shaking in front of Harper's hyperventilating form, if he'd ever be okay again. Assuming he got out of here, that is. He wasn't going to leave without Harper. If he were stronger, he could say he wouldn't leave here without Eric either. But he was too small-- too weak. He hated himself for that. For not being able to do more. He was just so scared. 

Eric stopped only briefly at the sound of his little sister's sob, glancing over his shoulder. He was crying too. The sight paralyzed her. It's not that she hadn't seen his tears before. In a place like this, of course she had. It was the watery smile he was wearing that stopped her in her tracks. It was the horrifying realization that he was going to do this. That he wasn't kidding, and this wasn't a nightmare. This was real. He was giving himself up just so she could have a little more time. He was going to die on the off chance that yes, they did spare her for a while. They could be lying for all he knew, but he didn't care. Without a second thought, he'd stood up and given himself over instead. 

"ERIC!" Harper shrieked as Sako turned and strode out of the cage. The door slammed shut and locked with a deafening click that made Harper's teeth clench painfully. Her heart wouldn't slow down. The thoughts around her were drilling into her quirk. She could feel her brother's determination clear as day in the air. She hated it. Harper hated what it meant. That was her brother. They couldn't just take her brother. They couldn't take Eric away. What had they done to deserve this? The horrible thought that they could've picked another kid occurred to her. She pushed it away, her stomach roiling. Eric would smack her over the head for thinking like that. But he was going to die. And she was about to watch.

Harper and Inasa threw themselves against the bars, pressing their small faces against the spaces between the metal to try and get a better look. Their panic was clear. Eric somehow managed to keep himself calm, cool, and collected throughout this entire event. Harper couldn't see how. She could barely think through her tears and panic. Her quirk was in a frenzy, the thoughts around her suddenly seeming like too much. The pain and suffering of the other kids captured wrapped around her, squeezing her so hard she could hardly breathe. Inasa was shouting something at those who'd dared pull Eric away from her, but she couldn't tell what it was. 

People were awful. Eric had taught her to always see the good in people, but how was she supposed to do that when people weren't good? Some were nice-- they were kind and had morals. Like Eric, and their parents. But then there were men and women like this. Like Atsuhiro, who she was supposed to trust, and this doctor, who'd decided to kill Eric with cold composition. Harper never would've suspected otherwise. Had he not targeted her and her brother, she'd probably have gone on through life none the wiser. After seeing what she'd seen in her time here, that seemed like one of the more horrifying realizations her little mind had reached over the past few days.