act19side

Sir! Didn't you say it was too risky? That the corps could be lying to us?

Risky? Haha... hahaha!

Sorry, Sam. I was the one lying.

But I wanted to fix my mistakes.

Listen, everybody.

I saw silver monsters taking shape around her that night. She talked to them like they were her pets.

Dorothy Franks is the one behind all this.

Do you find it hard to accept what I'm telling you?

Can't say I'm into sci-fi.

Then maybe you could take a look at this letter.

Letter?

Mr. Sonny gave it to me. He might've known he'd be in danger.

He said to me, and I quote, 'Give this letter to Mary Banner if anything happens to me.'

I'm sure he wouldn't mind you reading it... a little early.

Give it to me.

Er... what does it say?

Where the hell did that guy go?!

Er...

You don't know Sonny Romano, Greyy.

He's a ball of anger and hate, all over his insurance.

Insurance again...

Yes, every Infected in Columbia deals with that word a lot.

People outside think Columbia is kind enough to the Infected.

You get to live a normal life, as long as you can pay for your health insurance. That sounds pretty darned fair, doesn't it?

That's what Sonny told me when he first got sick.

But where did that end up?

Was it... very expensive?

On a cop's salary? I couldn't afford it, even if I quit eating altogether.

It wasn't meant to ensure keeping the Infected healthy. The premiums are way out of line with the treatment they actually get.

It's more like a fine. Or a little trick that forces the Infected to go down a certain path.

Sonny Romano never wanted to face the truth.

If he's not stopped, he could end up going down a path you don't come back from.

What you saw were neither monsters nor pets.

But they do have something to do with my experiments.

So you admit it.

The truth will do you no good.

The more you know, the more danger you're in.

People up high always like to make decisions for the little guy.

Why don't you put down those pointy things? My instruments can be fragile.

Or if you have to aim, aim this way.

I don't mind.

She takes a step towards the Pioneers, almost touching the crossbows.

Sonny's hand trembles ever so slightly. He forces himself to look away from that warm pair of eyes.

This is a ploy. A trick to get them to submit again.

Aren't you afraid to die?

I am.

But I'm more afraid that you'll hurt yourselves.

You're not a murderer, Sonny, and neither are your friends. You're just ordinary men, trying to live better lives.

Didn't you consider participating in my experiments?

You still have a chance. Join us, and you'll get what you've always wanted.

I'll never turn you down.

She extends a hand to the Pioneers, as though waiting for them to clasp it.

Does she not understand that they came to kill her?

No. Don't look at her. Her eyes, her hands, they're too soft and warm.

They, the people who walk the barrenlands, have never known anything but cold refusal from the cities and those who live in them.

She is controlling them, like she controlled the others whose wills were weak.

But, the word 'chance'...

When was the last time we heard it?

Hm...

It's those silver constructs!

Where did they come from? I didn't see...

Sonny... was right.

This lab is where they were born.

They're protecting Dorothy.

Stop. Don't hurt each other...

It's coming!

More over there!

Look out!

Grab Dorothy Franks—no, destroy the lab!

We gotta destroy this cradle of evil to stop the monsters, once and for all!

No!

That is the one thing that I will not permit.

The experiments must continue.

It was my promise to you... to them.

'Hello, Mary. When was the last time I wrote to you? I'm afraid I was never able to muster the courage to speak to you after the incident.

I could not sleep at all last night. Memories from childhood kept intruding into my mind.

Remember when you were fifteen, and we climbed up the judge statue in the center of town?

You joked that it was illegal, and that you would arrest me when you became a cop.

And I... what did I say?

'Everyone has the right to enjoy fairness and justice.'

I could not have imagined what would become of me in just a few years.

Civilization is a fragile thing. Not much separates us from the burdenbeasts outside the nomadic cities.

Fairness and justice have become alien concepts. All I think of, day in, day out, is how to survive.

Yes, I have become the kind of man you most despise. The kind that I used to most despise.

(Signs of erasure)

What if I have the chance to return to the embrace of civilization? To go back to the man I used to be?

Your birthday is just a week away. You have no idea how much I would love to surprise you.

(Long blank, then hastily scribbled words)

They're performing dangerous experiments on us. All I can do is try to keep living.'

S-Sir. Our bolts...

They... stopped in mid-air?

The bolts headed towards her and the lab equipment are frozen in mid-air.

It is as though they are being held by countless invisible hands.

Dorothy raises a hand.

She touches one of the bolts with her finger.

It gives off a light hum.

Hit the deck!

What the...?

There is a loud bang, like a heavy metal object being dropped to the floor.

The bolts have fallen to the ground—but only part of them. The heads of the bolts have disappeared, leaving behind only an eerily smooth cross-section.