The Shattered Equilibrium
Jake rose from the floor, having finished the bread in front of Apollo, who looked visibly agitated and furious. Jake was, as always, pushing his buttons.
Apollo gritted his teeth. "You’re telling me now, after what you’ve done, to tell the Boss about you, so he can punish you himself?"
"According to the established law, yes. After the commander's punishment comes the Boss’s."
"Jake! You know I hate you."
"Who doesn't?"
"Daniel!" Apollo screamed.
Daniel stood up, fear etched across his face. He was, after all, new here, and he had caused quite a stir that could cost him everything.
Jake grabbed Daniel’s arm, pulling him aside. "The kid has nothing to do with our conflict!"
Apollo took a deep breath, looking as though he might choke; his face was flushed deep red, and the veins in his arms bulged. He was consumed by an overwhelming desire for revenge.
"Shut up!" Apollo roared.
He launched a punch toward Jake, landing it squarely on his face. Jake’s cheek reddened, but that faint, signature smile appeared on his lips.
Jake pushed Daniel out of the way and began to unleash his own barrage of punches.
Nearly five minutes passed.
Well... it’s safe to say Apollo lost that fight. He fell multiple times and was bruised in several places. Yet, he kept going. He was no match for Jake, and he knew it; he was simply trying to salvage the dignity he had lost despite his attempts to assert his authority. His pride had been thoroughly wiped across the warehouse floor.
The other members stepped in to stop them. The brawl ended.
Jake had a small scratch on his right cheek, while Apollo... his face was swollen. The others lifted Apollo up and carried him out of the warehouse.
One of the guys approached Jake, shouting, "Do you realize your situation? You fought the area commander!"
Jake wiped the blood from his cheek. "I realize my situation, and I am prepared for the consequences."
"You’re always so arrogant, Jake! When you were the commander, you punished anyone who crossed you for the smallest thing. And now? Apollo is the commander here; you need to accept that!"
"I never punished anyone without a reason! And I never withheld food from anyone."
"You know he hates you, and you keep provoking him. There’s nothing you can do, Jake. The Boss appointed him as your replacement, so try to fix your situation or 'run away like your friend Clarity did.'"
The guy turned and left. Every word was true. But Jake... he was completely satisfied with his actions, satisfied like someone ready to do it all over again.
Daniel retreated nervously, intending to leave. Jake remained silent. The kid had truly gotten himself into trouble.
Evening fell. The sun began to dip toward the horizon, fading away.
In his room, Clarity put on his work attire—the strange robe and emerald green shoes. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, whispering, "I look... like a bag of trash. Yeah, looking great as usual."
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Clarity wasn’t actually that bad. On the contrary, the clothes were striking. He was tall, and wearing a full robe like that made him look like a stealthy warrior, while his tied-back hair gave him a more mature and powerful appearance. But he hated himself entirely, so we can at least forgive his self-criticism.
A knock at the door, and Eleven entered. Clarity smiled to see him. "Hello, Finn!"
Eleven smiled, entering calmly. "Clarity, regarding the work... you’re older than me, so you’ll be the one assigning the tasks."
"Do we have daily tasks?"
"Yes."
Clarity said insistently, "Leave all the annoying and difficult tasks to me, like cleaning the bathrooms, for instance."
Eleven smiled in confusion. "We won't be doing things like that!"
"Really? Then what kind of tasks will we be doing?"
"Come with me and see."
In one of the rooms, Clarity’s eyes widened in disbelief. "So, this is what I’ll be doing?"
Eleven nodded. They stood by an open window overlooking the garden.
Eleven read from the paper in his hand. "The first task is to find the gold earring that Miss Lara dropped out of her window."
Clarity turned to Miss Lara, who looked to be in her early forties. She was sitting on her bed with a small bandage around her foot. Clarity asked, "How did it fall from here, Miss?"
"I threw it, actually. I had bad memories attached to it, but I suddenly missed it. I hope you can find it."
Clarity turned to Eleven, gesturing with his hand. "She just threw it!"
"Clarity, you really have to get used to it. That same lady once asked me to fetch a shoe she loved from her house."
"Heh... what kind of job is this!"
"Do you know the hardest task I’ve faced this week? It was definitely finding you."
"So that was part of your tasks!"
"Yes. Now, let’s start before the sun sets. This paper has your tasks, the room numbers, and the patients' names, so you won’t need my help." Eleven patted Clarity’s shoulder. "Good luck."
Clarity took a deep breath, staring at the window. He had to go down to the garden and dive into those long weeds to find a gold earring. Fine... let’s just do it.
An hour of searching passed with no progress. The pains returned, accompanied by that annoying feeling of nausea. Clarity had only eaten a small cookie that morning after a long fast, but he was still feeling the effects. Perhaps he should look for easily digestible food just to survive.
"At least until Mom gets better," Clarity whispered, staring at the sky.
An apple fell on his head. Was it an apple? Yes, it was.
He knelt to pick it up, staring at the massive apple tree, then smiled. "Do you think I’m Newton or something? Or do you want me to eat you because you’re easy to digest?"
Someone was calling him! Clarity looked up at the window; it was Eleven. Clarity waved.
Eleven called out loudly, "We found the lady's earring! It didn't fall into the garden after all!"
"What? And all these hours of searching!"
"That happens often, Clarity. Now, come to the second floor. Miss Eve wants to see you!"
"And the other tasks?"
"Since the Miss wants you, I’ll take care of the rest."
"Thanks, Finn!"
Clarity entered Eve’s office. She was sitting on the sofa with some papers in her hand. She smiled the moment she saw him and asked him to sit. She set the papers aside and asked excitedly, "Is it true what I heard?"
"What did you hear?"
"Were you working for Bruno?"
"Bruno? Who is Bruno?"
"The leader of the Red Mist gang. Weren't you working there?"
"Is that his name? I didn't know! I was working there, yes, but I left a while ago. I promise you I won’t cause any trouble or do anything to affect the institution's reputation, so don't worry."
Clarity was justifying his position nervously, while Eve was in a completely different world. She was smiling, focused on nothing in particular.
She finally noticed Clarity, who had been calling her name repeatedly. She spoke with even more enthusiasm, "What was your job there? Were you a commander?"
"No, I was responsible for manufacturing smoke bombs and deceptive weapons."
"Wow... you have a talent like that, making those bombs that explode into red smoke! That’s wonderful... when the fireworks are heard and the red mist spreads everywhere... and after it clears, a sign appears saying: 'The building has returned to its owners.'"
Eve was speaking with unusual excitement, so Clarity asked, "So... you aren't angry with me?"
"No, why should I be? In the end, that was your own path. Every path in this life is wonderful in its own way."
"But, that path contradicts yours, or your father’s, or your grandfather’s. Am I not right?"
"Ah, yes, it contradicts it... certainly," she said with a blank smile. "Bruno and his followers are outlaws. You did well to leave them."
She’s the strangest person I’ve ever met, Clarity whispered to himself.
Jake entered the gang’s building, intending to do something. He knocked on the door of the room that used to be his. He opened it to face Apollo, who was sitting there with his face full of scratches, the swelling almost gone.
Apollo smiled faintly. "So, you received the Boss's order?"
"I did, and I will execute it to the letter."
"That Daniel kid has been transferred to the Southern District, and you, as punishment issued by the Boss... will follow my orders exactly, regardless of what they are, or you will be dealt with otherwise."