Hatred Spurned by Love: Chapter 2 – Obsessions with Happiness (Text Only)

Chapter 2 – Obsessions with Happiness

This new group of friends has done nothing but relax and gather information through the radio and the internet for the past two days. They’ve used the excuse that we’ve been waiting for the right information and timing for what they want to do and that Sunday was a day of rest. I’ve never heard of Sunday being a day of rest other than when the Sufferer told me to take it easier on Sundays. Still, these past two days have been irritating despite getting my strength completely back and getting to know new friends after a month of straight walking and loneliness. Now, it’s Monday and I refuse to wait any longer, so I tell Liron that it’s time to act.

“Yes, we will act now. Thank you for waiting. I’m sorry for telling you what to do despite being our leader.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I just hope it’s worth it.”

“Oh, it is because it will cause a headache for those in power. We’re going to be destroying clubs and drug distribution houses.”

“That’s it? We’re just going after a bunch of useless junkies? How does that help?”

“Oh, a lot. Ever since the Light’s influence has been declining in the world and people have stopped being happy every single moment of their lives, there’s been a need to rekindle that feeling of everlasting happiness. I should know. I was one of those people who sought a source of constant happiness, and the Light provided it in various ways, that were both public and private.”

“You could have devices implanted in you that gave you constant stimulation or if you couldn’t afford that, there were good old drugs and various kinds of strong alcohol that gave you a similar effect to drugs. Then, there are the clubs where people danced and did favors that I’d rather not talk about to get money and these drugs or devices implanted in them. Anyway, the long and short of it is that we destroy this supply of drugs and devices, then the junkies will go after the government who they know horde and make all the good stuff and start causing a ruckus in the streets.”

“You didn’t need to explain it in that much depth but thank you for doing so anyway. Alright, you convinced me that these clubs and distribution houses should be our target. Looking at this map of targets, I think it’d be best if we split up into teams to do the most damage in a day.”

“Adler, might I suggest team compositions?”

“I was just about to ask you since I assume your group has done something like this before.”

“We have. It’s how we met Iris.”

“It was the day I was tired of my addiction and the first day that I prayed for a way out of it.”

“That doesn’t compare to the story of how Nadine and I met Liron.”

“It was crazy and scary. Crane somehow knew where Liron was when she was going after the statue of Mary.”

“Without you guys, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

“I’m sure you all have interesting stories to tell, but now is not the time for them. Let’s focus on the task at hand.”

“Adler is right. Let’s get this done and come back to reminisce about memories later.” Liron tells me about the optimal team compositions and I agree with her decision. Nadine, Crane, and Liron will be part of one group while Iris and I are on another. I’m fine with this simply because I’m sure we can handle this on my own and only need Iris to point me in the right direction and some other reason I can’t put my finger on yet.

While walking the streets of the capital, I feel the presence of Light. It brings back dangerously nostalgic memories of constantly happy days with my friends at school and fun times at home with my parents and Mikheil. Looking up at the many tall buildings that reach the sky and reflect the sun’s light, I see videos of Mikheil on the news and remember the day he put me in the spotlight and called me his brother as if it were something to be proud of. I also see news reports with him, his wife, Lyana, and his son, Hazin. It’s then that I remember that I must face them one day and probably see them damned as well, but I push that thought back down and focus on what I’m doing now.

My concentration is disturbed by Iris’ constant touching of my arm, which she repeatedly does with growing frequency until she takes hold of it. I shove her off and say, “Stop it! You’d think after what happened the first time, you’d never touch me again.”

“I’m sorry. The pain of the Sufferer is just nothing like I’ve ever felt before and something that I’m getting used to. What the Sufferer feels is filled with so much agony and sorrow, and yet, the hope and love within it drowns it out. It’s as if the love grows the more pain there is.”

“Sure, whatever. Just stop touching me.”

“Okay, I’ll stop. I also feel the pain within you because of what you’ve lost. I can help you with that if you want me to. Do you want to talk about it later?”

“There’s no helping how I feel beyond getting done what we need to, so let’s focus on that.”

“Yes, sir. I’m surprised no one recognizes you out here despite being who you are.”

“That’s because of how I’ve changed over the past month. Besides, I also have this hoodie just in case I want to play it safe.”

“Ah, that’s a very smart idea! Maybe I can stylize your hair when we get back to make you look even more different. I have a few ideas in mind.”

 I put up with Iris’ stupid banter until we reach the first club. This place is entirely windowless and reeks of desperation, excrement, and whatever drugs they’re using.

The people here look demented with the whites in their eyes not being visible, all the scarring on their bodies denoting where the machines that cause them sensations were put, make up to barely hide their imperfection, and they show more skin than hide it. They dance, drink, gorge on drugs, and do degenerate acts that are better suited to be done in private and between a husband and wife.

Before I can transform and damn them all, Iris grabs my hand. “We need them for our plan to work. There’s no crazy riot without rioters to cause it, right?”

“Tch, fine. Let’s quickly get this done. My blood is boiling for their damnation.” Iris leads me to the backrooms of this place, down the stairs, and into the basement that somehow smells worse than upstairs. It’s probably due to all the drugs here, and seeing as there’s no reason to hold back, I transform and use my powers to turn everything here to dust, including the few guards and workers here. To my surprise, some of these people survive my attack and accept the Sufferer into their hearts. Cleansed of their addiction and awoken by His suffering, they ask us for help to which Iris tells them safe places to hide within the capital and outside of it.

“You may not want to be here because it’s going to get crazy soon.” Once the repentants leave, Iris continues, “What you did was so cool! Here, I thought you were going to just make the drugs wither or we were going to have to burn everything the old-fashioned way, but this is a fine result as well. We have to leave before the junkies come down here looking for more. Trust me when I say that someone who can’t get their fix can turn into an incredibly violent person.”

Iris and I leave the club as fast as we can and start walking to our next target. Along the way, she says, “I’m glad at least a few of the people accepted the real truth.”

“It’s not enough that it’s just a few. There should be more doing it. It’s tragic when a single soul is lost forever.”

“I know it’s just that I’m trying to look on the bright side of things.”

“I’ve tried to do that in the months that I’ve been serving the Sufferer, but it barely if ever helps me feel better. It’s best to just take things as they are and move on.” Iris tells me that the next club isn’t too far from here because the people who run these places want them to hop from club to club.

“They want to constantly feed your addiction and essentially live at the clubs, which I did along with working there. What better way to keep your addicts hooked than paying them what they want along with a modest salary?”

For the next ten minutes, Iris asks and talks about random stuff that I have no interest in and simply respond with one or a few words. Once we arrive at the next club, we can hardly make it to the backroom before a ruckus is caused in the club. Many of the junkies we saw at the previous club are here demanding more drugs to satiate their fix, and more are being brought up, but the people who were already here want their fix first, which causes a fight and the guards to come up from downstairs to try to calm everyone down. Using this opportunity, Iris and I go downstairs to destroy the remaining supply and slip out without a single soul being killed.

“That was so cool. I felt like a slick super spy you would see in the movies. I’m sure along with the couple of places that the others hit will cause a huge riot in the capital, allowing us to cause even more damage.”

I’m about to agree until I see a bunch of junkies run past us in a hurry. Iris and I follow them to see where they’re heading and eventually find them heading to a tall, pink, red building where they’re all gathered, demanding their fix. “Hmm. I see an opportunity to go the extra mile here. What is that building?”

“The headquarters of the company that owns the clubs. What? Are you seriously thinking that we should attack it? Just the two of us?”

“We have an army of aggravated junkies here to take advantage of, so why not? Are you ready to cause some real chaos?”

“I should probably say no, but the idea of it sounds like a thrill, especially since I’ll be getting back at the people who got me addicted to sensations in the first place. I’m in!”

To hide our transformation, Iris and I get into the crowd of junkies. Once covered by the crowd, Iris transforms and secretes a gas that comes out of her many mouths that drives the junkies even crazier for what they crave. Now crazier than ever, the junkies charge at the headquarters, overwhelm the guards, and break into the building.

As we continue upward and the crowd dissipates, we encounter guards who I handle. The building’s security then activates the building’s defenses as metal security grates start coming down in the halls and rooms, all of which I break past.

“How do you know that the managers of the clubs are on the upper floors and not lower?”

“You’ve said you’ve seen movies before, right? Well, what they show about the leaders of organizations being on the top floor is typically correct.”

Sure enough, we find a group of people in suits and strange body modifications in the most protected room. Those like the woman in the very back with beige and brown skin, two sets of breasts, and three legs look like abominations of science that spit in the face of the Sufferer. “Ah, and we were just talking about making our escape downstairs. See, boys? I was right. Now, you all owe me your bodies and those of your loved ones,” the woman says in a voice that sounds more like a man’s than a woman’s.

Iris uses her powers while saying, “Don’t think you’ll be getting out of here alive!” Everyone in the room starts consuming the drugs they were packing and fighting each other over them.

I add my powers to the mix so that the scum in this room faces justice. To my surprise, two of the people here actually repent while the rest turn to ash.

The person who I thought was a woman is broken down until her appearance turns into that of a man, who she probably originally was, making him seem sicker and more blasphemous than before due to his meddling with the Sufferer’s original image of him. He says, “The Light will know about this! Your kind have never succeeded before and you’ll soon face the same fate! I hope you end up as someone’s toy who they abuse daily.”

With the heads of the clubs dead, the two who repented come along with Iris and me as we sneak our way out of the building, still using the never-ending crowd of junkies of cover.

While in the crowd, we transform back into our normal forms and find a place to hide. Iris tells the two repentants, “Despite knowing that you both had an off-handed part in ruining my life, I’ll forgive you and help you find a place to safely hide.” The repentants say how sorry they are to Iris and thank her profusely. She then tells them where they can go and we go our separate ways.

It’s then that I think about confronting Mikheil and what I say to him about keeping the world under the thumb of the Light by being his pawn. I don’t think I can ever forgive him or even say the words to his face despite the Sufferer saying to forgive all. Let’s say that the impossible happens and Mikheil repents and apologizes for everything he’s done. In that scenario, I’d probably beat him up and never want to see him again before ever saying that I forgive him and mean it. “That was very strong of you to do that, Iris.”

“Thank you, Adler. Let’s get back home. All of today’s excitement has me beyond exhausted.”

When Iris and I return to the hideout, Nadine, Crane, and Liron tell us of their success and are amazed at what we did. Nadine and Iris decide to cook something special for everyone today along with our usual dinner to celebrate our victory. It’s then while sitting on the couch, waiting for dinner, and watching the four of my new friends talking to each other that I realize something. I wish that this would be my friends who first introduced me to the Sufferer. I wish I was like Crane with Nadine, a couple smiling and laughing in each other’s arms, and that my friends had this much success with their missions. Right now, the authorities are struggling to control the riot of junkies, something that will cause Mikheil and the Light a headache and weakens their control over the capital, especially since the junkies aren’t the only ones who relied on the drugs to continue living happily.

“Don’t be a stranger, Adler. Come over here and join us. Dinner is ready.”

“Ah, sure.” Sitting with my new friends makes me realize another thing, that is I haven’t really cared about their stories or backgrounds, and even when they were telling me about them, everything just went over my head. I also feel the faint feeling of a smile forming on my face, but it doesn’t despite the warm atmosphere of being with them gives me.

“Are you okay, Adler? I’m sorry if we’re making you feel distant by not talking to you.”

“No, I’m fine, really.”

“Don’t be afraid to join in and tell us one of your own stories. You are our leader and new friend who helped us get this great victory today, after all.”

“Did I really though?” I didn’t mean to say that out loud.

“Of course you did! You really kicked us into action when you got here. We would’ve been overly cautious as we usually are without you.”

“Um. You’re welcome.” But I don’t feel like I deserve any of the praise nor do I completely feel welcomed at the table since I’m the only miserable person here while they’re all happy.

“Come on, guys! Three cheers for the Sufferer and Adler!”

Everyone cheers for the Sufferer and me, and yet, I still feel nothing. They then make me the center of attention by talking to me more about my life and relating to me with their own stories, which I actually pay attention to this time. Still, I feel nothing. What’s wrong with me? Am I truly this dead inside that I can’t feel the slightest bit of happiness? Sufferer, have mercy on me and bless these friends who I don’t deserve.