IV. a corpse that breathes

Xavier had yet to move from the ground.

He waited for his sides to stop throbbing, before he could even consider moving. The park was now vacant; none of the students had been eager to go against Archer, Nathan, and Keiko. There was no one in the background except for his thoughts.

No one who helped.

No one who cared.

His brows pinched in the middle. That. . . was somehow worse than drowning under feet.

"Turn towards the truth!"

Xavier breathed a question.

"Bow your heads and accept the sacrifice of the one true savior! He lives on, and he shall never die!"

He twisted his neck to look into the street. An old man dressed in an ankle-length robe was shouting. He approached a car stopped at the light. "You must accept him as the savior!"

"A savior," Xavier mumbled, rather cynical.

The car drove off as soon as the light changed, yet the old man raised his volume and pivoted to another passerby.

"We mustn't let the actions of the devil succeed! Blackwood, who tried to take away our knowledge of cloning. He shan't succeed. The benevolent Neo must never die!"

—Huh?

A hand of his was quick to wrap over his healing scar. Xavier held his breath before peeling his torso from the ground. Staring at nothing, he remembered one of his first memories, where the cigar-lipped man spoke to him—er, to Neo.

I've already set everything up. Me, you, this entire building, the workers. . . anything that has any knowledge of cloning. I'm destroying all of it.

Before he could make sense of anything, Xavier blinked himself to a surprise.

The old preacher was standing just before him. Everything about his expression spoke of a steadfast determination. "Young man, are you alright?"

"Y-yes?"

He offered his hand and helped him stand, anyway. In seconds, they were on the bench.

"Thank you, sir."

"Everyone believes that Blackwood destroyed all of the knowledge about cloning," the old man crossed his arms. "It isn't true."

Xavier held his lips together; the man's stance alone spoke of his unyielding belief. He wouldn't believe it if he told him that he heard exactly what Blackwood said.

"That evil man might've killed everyone working on the cloning operation in an explosion, but there is still evidence out there."

The boy's reply was quiet and nervous. "What if there isn't?"

"I know there is!"

Without warning, his shoulders were grabbed, and he became the man's captive audience.

"His memories! Those who have the benevolent Neo's memories! They know where the answers are hidden!" The man went on, surging his manic tirade with a distorted face.

Xavier's eyes were orbs of vulnerability.

"We must find them; anyone who hosts his brain," he sneered. "His clones are not yet gone. Until then, we must find the answers! Only then will humanity gain the power to clo—!"

.
.
.

In the end, age won.

Amidst his outburst, the old man suffered a surge of pain in his chest. Xavier helped him, of course; he had sprinted to Lincoln Middle for some water, and a nurse.

Currently, he was trudging back at a pace slower than snails.

He looked over his shoulder where a nurse was attending to the old man. She had been visibly irritated that he was interrupting her free time. Xavier slowed to a stop. It seemed that being a burden was all he was good for.

As for what that old man was saying. . . He gazed at his sneakers.

He was talking about looking for people like me. . . Come to think of it, Archer asked me something similar.

Say, do you. . . sometimes get his memories?

I'm glad I didn't tell them, Xavier inhaled, imagining what could've been.

He continued forward, his textbook in hand.

When he was close enough to the brothel, he reached for his blindfold. He slipped it over his eyes, and opened the door. On cue, the sounds of creaking beds, and breathless breaths flooded his ears.

Despite being blind, his movements were assured. He made it to his bedroom easily, and removed the fabric. On his desk was a plastic container of—he looked closer—Chinese food.

"Thank you, Kelsey," he said to no one.

He read his textbook as he ate. Of course, there was the occasional glance outside his window, at the wire of birds. Always plural. Unlike him—.

It happened. Again.

The fork was on his lip when he dropped it unwillingly.

Again, Neo was mute and paralyzed on a bed.

-                         -                         -

Slouched in the seat beside the bed, Blackwood sighed.

"Like I said, I'm destroying everything, soon." He squared his shoulders, wearing a so be it smirk. "At least, that's what I hope will happen."

Neo's eyes shrunk to a curious squint.

"There's one other place that reveals how cloning works. Redbeard hid his books there with a passcode I will never figure out."

With worry, Neo's brows scrunched.

"It's no big deal. There's a low chance that anyone will find that old place," he smiled in reminice. "Either way, the bomb has to go off tomorrow. If I don't do this, the world is doomed. Leaders will begin wars, or experiment on the innocent. Who knows what will become of humanity."

In response, Neo closed his eyes, opening it shortly after.

Blackwood bobbed his head. "I'm happy you agree."

-                         -                         -

"Cloning exists," Xavier voiced, dazed. He looked past his window, at the winged creatures on the wire. Always plural; they were never lonely, it seemed.

And, really. . . the birds were not much different from clones. Each feathered silhouette was an image of the next. That sparked an idea.

"I have to find out where the books are hidden," he whispered dazedly before shutting his eyes. "Come on," he willed his neurons to summon another memory. His teeth gritted. "Come on. Come on, come on, come on."

Xavier let out the breath he'd been holding. "It's useless. . . I can't control when they come."

His shoulders slumped, and a somber reflection of the birds on the wire sat in his eyes.

To his surprise, the bedroom door creaked open. In seconds, Xavier's reflection instead mirrored the figure of a man. By his stance, and the immediate silence in the brothel—it was as if he owned the place.

Perhaps he did. Xavier knew not who this man was, after all.

"Hey, grab whatever shit you got. You're leaving this place."

That voice. It's the boss. . .! Heart in his throat, Xavier dared not speak.

The boss cocked his head. "Oh, right, you've never seen me. What's with the face? You calling me ugly?"

"No, I promise—."

"What, you thought I was out on vacation? Change of plans," he smirked. "Anyway, I won't repeat myself."

Gathering any fibre of courage left that in him, the boy parted his lips. Granted, he was looking entirely at his feet, and his voice was barely there. "Why did you let me stay here? Why didn't you. . . kill me?"

"I didn't have to."

That only brought more questions.

"From what I see, you died when your ma died," he said. "There might as well be a corpse living in this room."

He pushed his lips together.

"Just like a corpse, you don't got a say in what happens to you. So get up."

In trembles, he did just that, making sure to put his blindfold on before he left behind what little he had. His books, the birds on the wire. . .

Two forward steps later, his face was grabbed and pushed to one side. "To think you would make me money one day. . .  'Course I ain't complaining."

Huh? Money?

"Outside. Go."

Despite the lump in his throat, he walked.

Around him, a low murmur was brewing. Xavier wished his ears would stop working. From what it sounded, no one knew where he was being taken. Their guesses—which were made of everything worse than death— were enough to slow his trembling legs to a halt.

"The fuck are you doing? You lookin' to join Rue?"

Click-click. Fwip.

"Move."

A gun?!

Xavier froze, lifeless. He was but a corpse, after all. And the world. . . how cruel it was to him. "P-Please, just kill me—."

"Honestly, I wish I could just move aside. Unfortunately, I keep hearing Rue's annoying ass voice in my head. Something about looking after her sorry ass kid."

Kelsey?

"Aye, are you out of your damn mind?!" "Kels, step aside before you start something! I'm not 'bout to die over a stray bullet, man!" "Oh my god, oh my god."

The bass behind him roared. "You have the fucking nerve!"

Then the crack of a bullet tore by.

In one frame, a choir of screams resonated. In the next, Xavier was running in the dark.

Tired of being blind, he removed his blindfold. They were outside, with Kelsey pulling his arm to propel him. Xavier looked over his shoulder, and his eyes grew. He was staring at a nozzle.

"Kelsey!" He flung downwards, bringing her with him.

Two strays. If not for the boss' aim being off, they would've been hit.

Having landed on the concrete, he tried to catch his breath, and deal with his scraped knee.

Instead, Kelsey pulled his arm. "Come on."

Two more strays.

He could barely think as she willed him to move. "Fuck's sake, Xavier, get up!"

He limped after her, his head focused on the gun behind them. The boss was closing in.

"He's going to shoot." He mumbled, turning forward. It was then he noticed the blood on her shoulder. "Kelsey."

"Just run."

They made a ninety degree, and ran for some time. On an unlucky turn into an alleyway, Kelsey tripped on a trash bag. Emptied bottles of alcohol rolled out from under her body.

"Damn it," she winced upon getting up, her arm hanging limp by her side.

Xavier stamped his body to a building. He watched her through soulless eyes.

"The boss isn't going to kill you."

He knit his brows.

"He only gets the money if you're alive. That's why he was missing on purpose." She pointed to her noggin. "It's your brain they want."

"Huh?"

"Well, Neo Ruhl's brain. Something about his memories," Kelsey studied his face. "Know anything about it?"

He looked elsewhere. "No."

After a nod, she attended to her shoulder. The blood had painted her entire arm by now.

"Um. Why did you help me? Is it because my mom told you to?"

Kelsey laughed, weakly. "Who knows?" She stamped her body to the building on the opposite side. "I wish I didn't. This fucking sucks."

He shut his eyes.

"What about you? What was that back there? You were begging him to kill you."

"I-I just. . ." His answer drifted when his peripheral caught movement.

Kelsey groaned in exhaustion. "Fuck's sake."

Their visitor held a gun in his hand, and it aimed at her. "Oh, even I can answer that. It's 'cause he's already dead inside!"

"Xavier, run."

He slid a hesitant leg backwards. "Are you coming?"

For some reason, Kelsey was closing in on the boss. "Just go. Agh!"

When she was at arm's length away, he fired the gun. Xavier's eyes caught not a single frame of that bullet flying by. It penetrated her chest, making her fall. On her way down, she'd managed to throw his gun out of his hands. 

She wrapped her arms around his leg to hold him back.

"Bitch, let go of me! Hey, you stay where the fuck you are!"

"Run, Xavier. Even though the world is shit, just keep going!" She coughed blood, but still kept his legs still.

Xavier's view was blurred. He was blind with nothing but tears. He wiped them away, tore his sight from Kelsey, and pivoted to run.

Behind, the boss roared. "You run, and I'll find you, Xavier! I'll fucking find you, and I'll kill you like I killed your ma!"

The boss' voice was losing volume as their distance gained. His next phrase, however, defied all physics; It rung loudest.

"You hear me?! It doesn't matter where you go! You're my fucking son, anyway!"

The confession caused a hiccup in his steps. Xavier looked over his shoulder, his eyes the size of saucers. Regardless, he didn't stop, not while Kelsey was sacrificing everything for him.

Palms over his ears, he chose to make himself deaf. 

He did not know why he ran. To live? There was no life for corpses. Perhaps it was the birds flying above him. Without a thought, he followed the feathered clones. Xavier ran with his chin raised.

He wondered if life, for them, was cruel as well.