Story Reader / Floating Record / ER02 Cinder Burns / Story
08:41 AM
There is a commotion on the lower level. Noan flips open the vent cover to find over thirty upper-level guards charging into the Commoner Carriage and blocking the narrow passageways, causing many to groan and complain.
(What's happening...)
Crawling inside the air duct toward where most guards have gathered, Noan begins to see a trail of blood as if someone was dragged across the floor. Then he sees Assad's blood-soaked clothes.
...!
Assad's broken bones are exposed in the air and coated in dried blood, piercing through his flesh and skin. Part of his head is missing—his toothless mouth is silently bemoaning the pain he suffered before his death.
Tight ropes used to tie Assad up are twisting his body unnaturally. The guards around him seem to be displaying the cruel scene on purpose, showcasing how Assad was killed.
Stay silent all you want, but the rest of the core members of the Cargo Crew are next! You'll witness how they're all dragged to their deaths on the train track!
Tell us where you've hidden the things if you don't want that to happen!
...
Rachel, this isn't like one of the little brawls in the past. We could take them at face value and only punish those on the scene.
But this time, it's threatening all of us. Your silence is only going to escalate things. Our boss will send us to our deaths if we don't have it all sorted out today.
Escalate things? The aristocrats upstairs have pushed our folks to their deaths! Does that not escalate things? Or the times when desperate people take their own lives? When you lot beat up and kill whoever you want?
Do you think your little stunt here is going to solve anything?
We don't want to make it difficult for you. There's no need for us to make a scene here—we're "all" working for the people upstairs. Just hand over the things, and no one else gets hurt.
Rachel sneers without answering. Instead, she turns and looks at the entrance to the vents.
...
Noan knows that Rachel needs to receive a signal that confirms Noan's presence.
But he must take advantage of the dark air ducts right now without making a sound.
...You know, sometimes I really wish you'd stick that firefly on your shoulder.
Quietly, Noan takes out his clockwork firefly and turns on the little light bulb on its tail, gently waving it by the vent.
...
You're stalling, aren't you? Waiting for somebody?
...
If you're waiting for the two squads you sent out, I can tell you that they're already dead.
The guard takes out his terminal and shows Rachel a recording.
Thanks to this coward, the upper level is killing two birds with one stone today.
He kicks Assad's body, laughing.
Fine. I'll go with you.
Rachel! You can't—
Before he can finish, two shots from two different guards graze his shoulder, hitting a young man standing behind him. The young man falls down as the people burst into screams and protests.
(I have to act now!)
Look at you all huddling together. How many do you think will go down with just one grenade?
You ******* monsters!
Enough! Niinon! How many defenseless people are here?! Do you want to get them all killed?!
Boss! We can't let you—
Another gunshot interrupts him. Taking advantage of the erupted chaos, Noan throws the short sword in his hand at the light on the ceiling. Darkness and shattered glass befall the carriage instantly.
Sound the alarm!
Move!
The Cargo Crew members do not hesitate upon receiving the signal, charging toward the nearby guards immediately.
Making use of the darkness and confusion, Noan drops down from the vent and stabs the guard with the grenade with his Rev Blade before grabbing the guard's spare long sword and throwing it to the teammate beside him.
Nice!
The guards have expected some conflicts, but they have not foreseen how determined the people are.
Catch him... Aargh!
Niino leaps toward the still-standing guard, parrying a strike to his face. Shifting his body, he pushes his blade through the guard's unarmored throat, and the gushing blood shuts the guard up.
Right after that, the sound of screaming and explosions blend together, almost deafening everyone in the cart.
By the time the emergency lights turn on, the thirty or so guards are now silent corpses alongside a few innocent bystanders, leaving only the blood-drenched people panting and trembling.
There's no turning back now that we've killed their guards.
Good with me. I'm done waiting.
Let's kick it off! They're just going to send more people down if we wait any longer!
We await your order.
...Alright!
Rachel steps over the pools of blood and smashes the alarm of the lower floor before slotting in her ID card as the Cargo Crew Chief Captain, stopping its earsplitting shriek.
Do you remember your vow when you joined the Cargo Crew?
Rachel clenches her fist as the people watch her in silence. Her hands are covered in the blood of their enemies.
We'll free everyone from oppression! We'll lay the dead to rest ourselves and let them know their sacrifices are not for naught!
Now's the time to fulfill your promise...!
They have not bought as much time as they wanted. The aristocrats on the upper level quickly realize what is happening and unanimously decide to quench the "riot" on the lower level, sanctioning all forms of violence.
In this short period of time, those who are willing to fight gather at Carriage G, arming themselves with the weapons hidden there, while those not willing to or cannot fight move to the back of the train.
The two sides clash inside a carriage at the lower-middle section of Asslam.
The guards have the upper hand initially, suppressing the lower level with their superior equipment. But with Rachel and other core members leading the lower level, the people respond with superior tactical maneuvers.
Our people are ambushed in various parts of the train during their advances... We've already lost contact with over eight squads.
Dammit... Where the hell are those rats hiding?! Find them!
With their knowledge of the train, the people strike from unexpected, shrouded locations, from the ducts to the roofs. They cut the power and the light to the carriages while making many inconspicuous "traps."
The traps are made with crude materials—a spike that is sticking out, an easily-shattered glass box, some torn wires on the floor, or even the frame of a broken umbrella abandoned in an unknown corner.
Simple as they may be, they are all incredibly useful tools in a close-quarter fight in a confined space.
Noan can hear the guards not too far in the distance shouting about retreating, only for them to choose to stay and fight instead.
Ha! Good luck having those aristocrats allowing them to bring the fight to the upper level.
After deciding to stay, the guards are soon given new weaponry and launch another assault.
Facing their heavy fire, the people's tactics quickly become ineffective.
The desperate people must sacrifice more to deter the guard's impenetrable advance.
This is the moment we've been waiting for! If we back down now, what will happen to the people hiding behind us?
To the death!
The Cargo Crew can last as long as they have against the guards because of how they navigate and assign their forces in the narrow carriages. Once they initiate an advance, however, all their advantages vanish immediately.
A Cargo Crew member near Noan howls with his weapon raised, running past Noan without noticing a flashing red light near a broken chair to the side.
Watch out!
Every bullied person living on the lower level has dreamed about this day.
In their dreams, they will find true equality, fairness, and liberty the moment they cross the line weaved by gunfire.
The people believe that their combined will can triumph over any amount of guards from the upper level.
Only when the real fight begins does everyone involved truly understand how fragile life is.
Dust and smoke fill the lower-level carriage. Explosions and screams come out of every corner.
The well-armed guards are pushed back by the angry people while the superior weapons of the guards take the people's lives away.
Every life on Asslam—privileged or poor—is dissolving like an ice cube amidst fire, wailing and roaring in despair.
Noan can see blood gushing out under the light that seeps through the loose train doors.
The red liquid, the metallic shells, the debris, and the human flesh are all fused together, splattering all over the narrow passage.
Bodies still warm pave the floor. Without a way forward, someone has blown away the door, letting the speeding train hurl the bodies and blood away, leaving behind a trail of blood on the tunnel wall.
Countless lives and dreams, quarrels and prejudices, oppression and hate... Death erases them all.
The bustling carriage of yesterday is now silent after the ceaseless explosions.
Fewer than 50 people remain in the Cargo Crew by the next morning. There is no shouting in the frontline, just the sound of guns firing at each other.
Lying beside them are thousands of corpses and their blood, silently declaring the outcome of their fight.
The remaining people will be able to cross the connecting carriage and storm the upper level after they take down the few enemies still standing.
Before they can breathe a sigh of relief for their tragic victory, however, they hear unnerving thumping and cranking entering the connecting carriage.
—!
An enormous orb-shaped mechanoid appears, stepping over the dead bodies on the floor and firing blood-red lasers at everyone still breathing.
Right then, the train enters a tunnel, the carriage unlit by the damaged lights.
Seven seconds pass, and the brief darkness fades away, revealing nine more lives having been taken.
****! They couldn't beat us, and now they're sending in that thing!
Niino runs as he shouts, picking up a rifle from a dead guard before aiming and contributing to the fray of fire. Nonetheless, all their bullets ricochet off the mechanoid's metal shell, barely damaging it.
****! It's tough!
Get out of my way, then!
Shauna brings out a grenade launcher from who-knows-where, dashing near Niino and firing even before he has safely retreated. The anti-tank projectile flies through the greenish-grey smoke, hitting the giant machine.
Did that do it?
It should.
Before the smoke and fire dissipate, the unnerving cranking makes itself known once again.
It's not dead!
Any idea, Shauna?
That was my idea!
What do we do? The guards are still behind it! Where's Rachel?!
She led another group to the front. This thing has separated us!
Fall back for now! We'll take cover using the heavy blast doors near the coupling. That should buy us some time to regroup.
Alright! That's the only thing we can do for now!
Make sure to pick up anything useful on your way out!
Guided by the three core members, the other Cargo Crew members cover each other as they quickly retreat to the lower level. The scattered guards, meanwhile, take the chance to advance again, staying behind the mechanoid.
Hey, what are they doing?!
Looking at where he is pointing, they can see that a large group of guards is climbing onto the roof of the carriage, covered by the orb-shaped mechanoid.
What are they trying to do?
They're avoiding direct confrontations... to sneak to the back? Wait! The people who can't fight are all in the back!
They always use the people as hostages! What do we do? Should we go up and fight?
We can't. There are too many of them. I didn't think their rich *** is still hiding so many people.
According to Rachel's number, these must be Ashlar's bodyguards.
Shauna, Noan! A lot of guards have just gotten past us!
We see them! What should we do?
Move back! Asslam is approaching Tunnel 204! The ceiling of the tunnel is not high enough for the guards to move freely, even if they're up on the roof!
We have 15 minutes before we enter the 204! Make sure everyone has retreated behind Carriage G! Secure yourselves!
Carriage G?! What are you planning to do?!
I'm going to blow it up!
09:01 AM
The winter sky just shows the briefest glimpse of light through the dark clouds, and it already begins to snow.
The moment the speeding train exits Tunnel 204, Carriage G explodes, splitting the train in two.
The locomotive drags the upper-level carriages onward for a while before gradually stopping five kilometers away.
The lower-level carriages shake violently from the explosion, flipping over some of the storage carriages nearby. Luckily, preparations have been made, so most people in the Commoner Carriage are safe.
I got a message. The front is stopping.
I'm not surprised. These are a lot of carriages they're otherwise leaving behind. Those aristocrats can't give up that much money.
Is that giant military mechanoid following us?
Not yet.
Most members who can still fight have stayed in the front with Rachel. The only ones left with the rest of the people are Shauna, Niino, Noan, a Cargo Crew member named Jimmy, and Mike, a Bumblebee member.
Get everyone off the train first. We're not that far from the other side. This is all for nothing if they manage to pursue us.
Does going outside mean we're safe? The guards have legs, too, you know.
Quiet! What's that sound?!
They can hear a sound most familiar to the Cargo Crew approaching from the distant sky.
A helicopter?!
Before they can react, intense gunfire disseminates the broken carriage.
Those psychopaths! Is this necessary?!
Take cover now!
Bullets shoot through the smoke from the explosion and strike where the people are. Sparks fly as bullet holes riddle the walls and the floor of the carriage.
Aargh!
Jimmy fails to dodge in time and is hit on his left shoulder.
Noan is about to reach for Jimmy when Mike grabs Noan by his collar and pulls him behind a cover.
Jimmy!
Still trying to rush out, Noan is stopped by both Mike and Shauna. He looks at them, confused, but Mike simply shakes his head, speaking only when Noan has slightly calmed down.
Let go. You'll just become another corpse if you go out.
Jimmy is moaning on the ground in pain. Dense but sporadic bullets land around him, never hitting Jimmy directly.
Jimmy tries to crawl toward the cover, but a bullet hits one of his limbs every time he moves, accompanied by teasing laughter from the other end of the floodlight—the guards are playing with the dying man.
Those *******! I'm going to kill them all!
You idiot! Can't you see?! That's what they want!
They are keeping Jimmy alive to draw out the people hiding behind covers to slaughter them.
It hurts... it hurts so much...
The wounded Jimmy, still a teenager at this point, is trembling. His tears briefly wash away the bloodstains, revealing his still-adolescent face.
But he crawls up despite the pain and raises his pistol even as he cries—hurt and broken as he is, he refuses to kneel and instead fires at the blinding light.
Aaaargh... you... you people...
He can barely see the enemy against the light—he can barely hold his gun as it is. But the ricocheting bullets still frighten the cowardly guards, forcing them to put him down. That is the last thing Jimmy can do.
Following a dehumanizing "Tch!", a few rounds pierce Jimmy's chest, ending his rasping cry. His eyes are still open as his body hits the ground, those crystal-clear irises of his blurred by a mixture of tears and blood.
Bastards... Those ***********...!
What should we do now... We don't stand a chance confronting them directly.
Staying here won't save us anyway. Let's head out and go down fighting!
It isn't time for our last stand yet... Check that out.
Shauna points to where Carriage G broke off. The guards are standing near the pneumatics—devices Asslam used to open the train doors during an emergency before the train shifts to Helium-3 as their energy source.
There is a large amount of heated compressed air inside. I learned about it from the people in Maintenance in the past... If we can get it to leak, it will distract them for a good while.
We can take the opportunity to split up and hide, ambushing them from the dark... Do we still have any explosives? Grenades? Anything...?
We'd have used them if we did!
Then it's pointless! We can't get that thing to break from here...!
I know how to open it. I can do it with a screwdriver if I'm close enough.
Niino looks at her in silence for a few seconds before turning away.
No way...
If you can all open fire at the same time and cover me for five seconds... no—three. Three seconds is all I need to get to that track behind covers.
I said no! How's that different from taking your own life? You were just lecturing me!
How are they the same... That's the only way out now. Didn't Rachel say that you have to listen to me if we disagree on something?
****! I don't remember!
A barrage of bullets is fired at them again. Several rounds graze past their covers, impacting the ground and sending sparks flying.
Shit... They're flanking us!
No time to hesitate. I'm going to count to three, and you start firing for at least three seconds! Split up once their formation is disrupted, understood?
Is there no other way?
Everyone else stays quiet, leaving only Noan to ask this question.
No, there is no other way.
Don't be afraid. As long as there are those who live—as long as the people we want to protect get to live—I have made the right choice.
By the way, Niino... that thing you mentioned last week. My answer is yes. Let's move in together after this.
What?! You're talking about that now?!
It's too late, isn't it?
Niino wants to say something in return, but Shauna has started counting down for her plan... and her life.
—Three!
She knows clearly that her life is no longer hers after these three seconds as she offers it to the Grim Reaper.
—Two!
Grinding his teeth, Niino curses under his breath as his rifle aims at exactly where he needs to fire.
—One!
Shauna never stops thinking about dying. She is used to seeing her people die. She thought she would be ready when her time came, but now, taking one last look at her comrades, she allows herself a moment of vulnerability.
Open fire!
Shouts and gunshots come from behind the Cargo Crew's covers, sending the surrounding guards into disarray. Unable to see where they are firing from, the guards are forced to find cover as well.
An eagle-eyed guard notices a figure dashing out a cover, but the Cargo Crew's suppressive fire causes the guard's shot to go wild.
Keep shooting! Don't stop!
This is the only thing they can do for Shauna now. They also know that if they do not replace their tears with their bullets and roars, their grief will simply break them.
The Cargo Crew is out of ammo to sustain their suppression after three seconds. The brief pause is quickly filled by the return fire of the guards, which pins down the remaining crew members instead.
But before long, the guards start screaming as steaming gas bursts from the door, breaking up their formation.
****! That woman there! Kill her!
Following that are a few gunshots and an explosion, and Shauna's life comes to an end somewhere too far away for her comrades to see. The steaming air is dispersed by the explosion, no longer threatening the guards.
Split up!
The three of them take this brief window of opportunity to leave their covers, splitting up into the different parts of the carriage, hiding among its many intertwining ducts and machines.
They are fearless even when confronting enemies ten times their power. Unlike the guards, they are the people who actually know the train thoroughly.
First, a bullet breaks the lamp on the ceiling, enshrouding the depths of the carriage once again. Not only does it make it harder for the guards to find them, but the sunlight also turns the guards into shining targets.
Then comes a volley of gunshots. The head of a guard who has veered off tracking them explodes; another guard who is hiding behind a cover finds himself somehow riddled with bullet holes...
The guards are getting impatient, seeing other guards dropping one by one, and decide to bring down everything that can be used as a cover; after a round of explosions, the Cargo Crew stops firing.
Push forward in groups of three! We have to find them!
The guards advance carefully, but they have not expected to hear gunshots firing from behind them. Several of their groups are immediately taken out, sending the guards into chaos.
Take that, you armed thugs!
Retrieving his blade from the enemy's chest, Noan finds Niino sneaking toward a corner of the carriage.
Niino! What do you think you're doing?
The fire caused by the explosives the guards deployed is beginning to spread. The area with the pneumatics is flooded with fire—it will not be long before the whole place burns to ashes.
We have to get their bodies back, at the very least. There's no way we're leaving them in a place like this... I'll get Shauna; you two go grab Jimmy...
Before Noan can stop him, Niino is already on his way to the corner of the carriage, crouching and dashing from cover to cover right underneath the watchful gaze of the guards.
He quickly reaches Shauna. For a second, Niino even thinks Shauna might be alive before he sees her body with his own eyes.
But before he can move Shauna's body to a safe location, he feels a sudden excruciating pain from one of his feet—his left foot has stepped on a bear trap hidden among the debris.
His years of training have kept him from screaming despite the bone-shattering pain, but the sound of the trap activating is loud enough to get the attention of the alerted guards.
A hailstorm of bullets fires toward where Niino is. He immediately ducks away, but not before he is hit twice on his abdomen.
Niino remembers every trap in this place, and he would not have made such a rookie mistake. It must have been moved—the guards must have moved it near the corpses in order to catch anyone coming back for them.
****! Dirty bastards...!
Noan and Mike have successfully moved Jimmy's body to somewhere safe when they realize the guards have Niino pinned down.
Hey! Rachel's boy! Looks like Niino is hurt... We have to save him! Can we do it? There aren't a lot of enemies left.
Noan moves his wrists and nods, his short sword and Rev Blade in hand.
As Mike fires, Noan dashes across the difficult terrain of the carriage toward the group of guards nearest Niino. With their attention on Niino, Noan's blades smoothly go through one of them.
His teammate turns and aims at Noan, but Noan's short sword slices through his wrist. Distracted by the scream of the unhanded guard, the last guard fires in panic, only to allow Mike to hit him from a distance.
Taking advantage of this window of opportunity, Noan slices toward Niino and drags him away from the shooting and the spreading fire—leaving Shauna's body behind in the process, watching as the flame devours her.
Retreating behind a secured cover, they have nonetheless exposed their location. Suppressive fire rains upon them, trapping them where they are.
****! This is... a-all my fault! I couldn't get Shauna, and now the two of you are...
Save it after we've left this place.
Niino's terminal suddenly receives a comms request. Heartened, Noan helps Niino up while Mike returns fire with his limited ammo, holding the guards back.
This is Niino... We're stuck at the back of Carriage G... We lost a lot of people, including Jimmy and... Shauna... What is your status?
Is that so... We... we're almost wiped out too... We were hoping you can help us.
Weyland's voice is faint as if it will stop any moment.
What about the rest of you? Where's Rachel?!
Weyland answers after a brief silence.
We got separated from Rachel. We tried to contact her but there were no responses...
Niino wants to keep asking, but they hear nothing back, not even the sound of sparse gunshots.
The giant mechanoid is on their side, isn't it? We didn't really stand a chance against it, to begin with.
This rebellion... has probably failed...
No way...
They've lost... We've lost!
The guards have also taken a heavy hit. I bet—
That is when Noan realizes how warm his palms have been. He looks down at Niino in his arms to find Niino's blood soaking through his shirt and hands.
Niino?! You're losing a lot of blood! We have to stop the bleeding right now...
Noan puts pressure on Niino's wound, but there is no way he can stop the blood from gushing out. He watches as Niino's life fades away before him little by little.
No...
Niino does not seem to be in pain, however. He just holds his terminal in his hands, saddened.
It'll be quite tragic if this is what we've been working toward and looking forward to...
Niino is slowly losing consciousness from his blood loss. They have to do something about it, or he will die of shock soon enough.
But the guards are not giving them a chance to breathe. Having restored the public address system on the train, the guards speak to the two of them amidst their ceaseless gunfire.
This is a message to the rioters in hiding: come out now! Otherwise—
The sound of a child screaming and his parents crying can be heard from the system.
We'll start executing these accomplices to your riot! Do you hear me?!
Accomplice, my ***! They're just taking hostages!
We can't drag the others into this...
But we're the only ones left! We can't save anyone without putting our lives at risk!
There's still a way.
Faking our surrender?
Noan nods.
A hand slowly rises from behind the cover, followed by another hand.
Hold fire!
The guards stop shooting, but their rifles still point at where Noan and Mike hide—the guards know full well how cunning the Cargo Crew members are by now.
Noan and Mike slowly stand up, with the unconscious Niino on Mike's back. The three of them step out from their cover, unnerved and fully exposed to their enemies.
Not bad... Walk here slowly, just like this. Don't try to pull any stunts.
The guard gently smacks the face of the child kneeling beside him with his pistol. The child is so scared that he cannot even cry.
Noan nods, approaching them slowly and naturally—no one notices the combat knife he hides behind his leg.
As he approaches the hostages, Noan notices Hill once again—the old, timid woman who has been watching over him since he was young.
...
Rachel always says that "not everyone has what it takes to stand up to the bad guys."
They might be silent, but that doesn't mean they approve of what's happening.
Many on the lower level disagree with Rachel. They believe those who do not fight are a waste of resources, but they forget that people like Hill have been contributing in their own way inside this moving cage.
How many children has Hill looked after? How many torn clothes has she fixed?
Noan never questions his choices because he has noticed it all.
The people he has to protect are right there beside him. They are safe, even though they are scared... He does not regret what he has done. He just wishes he was powerful enough to have done more.
...I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...
The old woman's tears soak her wrinkled face.
Why have I... always... failed to protect you...
Don't be sorry, Aunt Hill. It's okay.
He wants to offer her a smile, but he cannot. He keeps walking as the guards watch.
I've seen what Barbra did after they took Julie, but I was too scared to tell her... too scared to tell you...
She is sobbing frantically behind the guards.
...?
I just looked... as she ate them... Just watched... as she died...!
Hill's wailing gets louder and louder, and then...
Right before Noan and Mike get to the guards—
—The gunfire and the explosion almost happen at the same time.
Aunt... Hill...?
Noan will never know when she took the grenade, and when she made up her mind.
I'm sorry, my children. Your Aunt Hill was too scared to do anything back there.
...I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...
...
...Not everyone has what it takes to stand up to the bad guys. Noan thought he understood what it meant.
—But is that true for humankind?
The young mature as they grow, and the old change as they mature.
Even the dying cinder contains the courage to ignite itself and burn.
