マッジ、あなたは何をしましたか？4：死の収穫

When we came back from the past, I awoke and thought we had died and went to hell. Well, we didn't but it…looks like the whole world did. "Madgie, what did you do?"I had asked no one but myself. The sky was as black as soot and as red as blood, half of everything was on fire, machine guns and AK-47s, as well as thing blowing up or collapsing could be heard. "Come widz me if you want to live!" I heard a familiar voice say. 

There was Antoinette, holding a machine gun. Around her neck, wrapped like a scarf, was a distinct braid and a familiar ribbon. Her dress was torn and her hair seemed to be crudely cut. One of her ears was full of notches from bullets. Her tail looked no different than her hair. She had deep scratches on the side of her face that have healed but left behind scars. Her leg had the scars from severe burns, my guess from acid. One of her arms had quite atrophied, making it shorter than the other, though for some reason she is able to hold a machine gun using said limb. One of her feet was turned inward and the bone in that leg had healed improperly. 

"Are you going to sit here and die or would you prefer to come widz me and live?" she asked again, only more impatient. Seeing no other option, I grabbed Madgie and followed her. She led us to a tunnel and forced us into the entrance before coming down herself. We found ourselves in Toki's basement, meeting Brownie, holding a gun at us. "Put your hands where I can see 'em!" she barked, using the gun to make gesture.  Madgie and I raised our arms. "State your names, ages, and purpose!"  she barked again.  I motioned for Madgie to go first.  "Madgie, age 12, no purpose." she said, trying not to display hesitance.   I went second. Brownie lowered the gun and said "I guess you must be here looking for Doki. Go upstairs and wait in the living room." 

We walked upstairs. As we walked into the livingroom, I spotted two familiar children, both red-haired. One wore purple, the other pink. Neither had on shoes and neither had clothing that wasn't in the slightest torn. One wore cracked glasses and the other seemed to be supporting her like a crutch. Both were frightened and upset. I knew they were none other than Rose and Vielle, perhaps no older than two or three, suffering and naive to what war is.  We sat in the livingroom and waited for an hour before a voice said "Welcome to the Death Harvest, Usagi." I jumped and found Doki looking at us.

Doki looked different than the last time. Her eyes were full of sorrow and seemed to glow as red as blood. Normally, her eyes don't glow, unless there is a reason as to why they would but her eyes were luminous in a barely lit room. In one hand, she held a flickering lantern and a bright red marker in the other.  She wore black dress that was torn and apparently dirty. She wore combat boots that had walking braces fitted over them. She was minus one antenna and had a few visible bald patches in her hair. Her claws had quite overgrown and she made no effort of hiding those by wearing fingerless combat gloves. The rosiness had faded from her cheeks. Her eyes had dark circles under them. An amethyst pendent hung from her neck. Like her daughter, her glasses were cracked. Her hair was tied into messy braided pigtails. She looked tired.

She walked over to the wall that had a large chart that had names and black and white copied photos. I scrutinized the chart and found several names crossed off in red. Something about the chart alarmed me. It had the causes of apparent demises of those we knew. Knowing what is going on, this would be useful, though in only keeping track of those alive and those dead.

Hazelle, severe burns. Crocosmia, pneumonia. Patrinia, drowned in her own blood. Meadow Rue, impaled. Sunflower, crushed under rubble. Frailine, gunfire, made no attempt to flee. Penny, status unknown, likely killed, missing for eight months. Pinkie, died trying to escape. Olga, blood loss. The last name listed was Cyanne and she died of being shot to death, just like Frailine. I was quite saddened to know the little mute with cyan eyes had perished. I wonder how did she end up shot to death and I wanted to know who killed her but that would be futile effort to avenge her because of all the gunfights. Oh, poor Antoinette, such a crippling pain to lose your best friend when you truly needed her the most.

The ones also on the list were Lightbulb, IdiotPants, and Stinky. IdiotPants' status was listed as unknown but I guessed she likely died because she was too stupid to even flee, however, no one is that stupid. Lightbulb's status was also listed as unknown but I guess he was killed, too. Stinky, my beloved pet cat, my little darling, was listed as dead but his cause of death was either killed by being shot or starvation.

Doki kept record of those likely dead. The newest one dead was none other than Toki's pet mouse Scrumptious, apparently of starvation or a broken heart. Toki was her owner, to whom she loved dearly, and, now, she, too, lost her will to live. I had to ask where Toki was but I wondered if it was necessary. 

"Go ahead and ask me, I want you to. It is eating you up as much as your hesitation, if you want to release the pressure and anxiety, ask." she asked, without even batting an eyelash. She intimidated me moreso than Brownie usually does and Brownie is the only person that intimidates me moreso than the uncertainty of death. She knew she was intimidating and the gaze in her eyes would not let up.

"Where is Toki and is she alive?" I asked, with a shaking voice. She hissed fiercely and said "You must think I am a fool! I know where she is and she is very much alive and she had no choice but to leave." Madgie seemed to fade into the chair she sat in. Something told me that, wherever Toki was, one of us was not being going there alive. Why did Toki leave was something Doki may never tell us. 

"If I take you to where The Oracle is residing, you will do as I say without question or complaint. The safer, albeitly slower, way to travel is the tunnel and the fast, more dangerous way to travel is above ground." she said, lighting a cigarette and pouring a glass of whiskey, obviously representing the sadness and pain she's trying to numb. She coughed severely and drank the glass of whiskey to sooth it. I told her we should take the quickest way but she quickly advised against it. I persisted until she gave in.

The next day, at dawn, we traveled. We walked, running at the slightest instance, through a world of deadly uncertainty. Guns rang out, bombs exploded, and screams were heard. Doki sighed and said "Toki said it is quite worth a wait if she has visitors." Hours passed, we continued walking. When we were near almost there, gunshots at rapid fire rang out and Madgie screamed. We turned and found her dead. Her body was splattered in blood and her bloodstained goggle s were right next to her. She was dead and she couldn't have been saved, only her demise could have been prevented. Doki wept and sobbed bitterly, the loss of another child.

After sobbing, Doki got up , took a deep breath, and continued walking. I couldn't leave Madgie's corpse so I gathered it up into my arms and took it with me. Had we took the tunnel, Madgie wouldn't have died…again. My heart broke and I was overcome with anger. I wasn't angry as Madgie or Doki, I was angry at myself for not weeping or even shedding one tear. "You didn't deserve to die, Madge, and I should have cried for you, regardless of what you did to get us into this. Please forgive me." I said, as I cradled my dead little sister in my arms.

We had finally come to our designation, and abandoned warehouse. "This is where Toki lives." Doki said, somberly. She opened the door and I was quite surprised to see a well-furnished living space. Toki was sitting on a bed, dressed in a black and white gothic nightgown, looking at us with sad eyes. "I have been quite expecting you." she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked at Madgie's corpse and said "This can still be fixed, darling." She got up and led me outside, to a fountain that hardly ran, and said "This is the time transport." I reached out to touch it, leaving a bloody handprint on the control pad 

The time transport activated and, at Toki's reassurance, I stepped into the light. I awake in the street, apparently the cause of a traffic jam. I get up and find myself being escorted by a police officer to the sidewalk. I spotted Cyanne playing with Antoinette and Miki. Rose and Vielle were infants again. IdiotPants, Stinky, and Lightbulb were in the house. Madgie was in the kitchen, doing her homework. Doki was tending her flowers and wasn't smoking or drinking, rather she was having a glass of lemonade and smiling. The sky was blue and there were no gunshots or explosions. Everything was back to normal. I wonder…did I dream?