The door was open, for the first time since Lobotomy Corp fell, and in walked its first visitors, the Ghillie Dhu. Their number significantly decreased since the raid on the office building. Down to just a dozen members, excluding their 3 leaders, for a total of 15. Most of them didn’t know what to expect beyond the huge metal door, other than what the rumors about the branches said. There were tales from those who returned from them about monsters that defied logic, not unlike Distortions; they also said that these monsters came first, not the other way around. As they walked past the barricade that impeded them for so long, everyone was shocked by how clean it was. Pristine walls and floors, even the lighting fixtures were still glowing brightly. This wasn’t anything like what they were told. “Well… I’ll be…” Fionnlagh laughed, staring at one of the horizontal lights on the ceiling. The beige and mint green walls were still clean. Even the logo of the place was still looking fine, not vandalized by those trapped in here. “Hm… It looks like… Like I never left.” He hummed, rocking back and forth where he stood. “Nostalgia… Hah…” He stepped forward, looking around. His smile turned into a frown, “Makes me sick…”

  In the back of the group, two of the members talked with each other. One, a silver haired girl with her hair tied back in a bun. The other an older, bald man. “Left…? So it’s true what the twins were saying?” The girl said, hoping that Oberon and Titania wouldn’t hear them, those two were known for their volatile tempers when it came to protecting Fionnlagh. The white haired man, with his ever present smile, worked for L Corp?

  “Why does that not surprise me? The guy is a complete nutcase.” The man looked around at the clean walls, talking in a hushed voice. “Don’t know why someone would want to return to their place of work after their Nest fell.” The place looked completely untarnished. All over the City, Lobotomy Corp branches were wide open, and each one were in a state of disrepair. Why did this one look even more ominous with how pretty it looked? “So we’re looking for something aren’t we?” The man called to Oberon and Titania, knowing they’d give a straight answer and were easier to talk to.

  Unfortunately, Oberon and Titania stayed silent, and Fionnlagh was the one to response. “My other half… She is here. She has to be here. This is where she was sent.” He spoke steadier than usual, different than his usual dreary speech. His usual smile was gone. “Careful… Abnormalities… Likely roam the halls… Hm… Unshackled.” He put his hand over his chest, his heart was beating so fast now. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself.

  “Is there some sort of bookkeeping area? A central command?” Oberon suggested. “It’ll likely have all the info we need. Are you sure it’s here?”

  “I… Yes… I still remember where it was…” Fionnlagh hummed.

  Finally, at the end of the long long hall, the group walked out into a large circular room that went 2 floors down. Then, they saw them, a gathering of people; there were people still alive here! Even without a stream of supplies! Walking on the catwalks and down below on the bottom floor. All of them dressed in suits. Lobotomy Corp agents, long since trapped down here, still wearing their uniforms. A few of them were even on the same floor as the Syndicate, one of them even within speaking distance; but, it was likely speaking with them would be pointless. All of them had frozen expressions, half open mouths and glassy eyes. Each of them drooling from the corner of their mouths, an orange line of saliva. “What the hell?” Oberon said, walking up to one of the Agents. “Fionnlagh? Is this one of those Abnormalities?”

  “Hm…? Ah… It… It looks like the effects of one…?” He walked to Oberon’s side. Titania walked in the opposite direction, looking out for anything important. Fionnlagh stared at the drooling man, his half open eyes meeting with the Agent’s dead stare. “No… I recognize this one… Yes… I’m familiar with it…”

  Oberon, Fionnlagh, and 6 of the Ghillie Dhu members found a stair case going further down. “Sis…” Oberon called to Titania, “Go look for something. A room with info. We’re going downstairs.” Titania nodded, departing with her own group of 6.

  As they headed down stairs, towards the bottom of the large room. They saw the source of the Agent’s dead stares. There at the bottom, a large wooden statue of a man in a cloak and blindfold, his hand outstretched; his chest was concave, where a gelatinous orange mass sat. Out from a slash in the statue’s hand, flowed a thick orange fluid, not unlike the liquid that dripped from the various catatonic Agents. A large congregation of Agents were gathered in front of it. “What is it?” One of the grunts asked, leaning over the railing to get a better look. They were so close to the Agents, yet the Agents didn’t react at all, lost in their own worlds. The orange slime collected in a small circular divot in front of the statue, at which point it would harden; it looked like a piece of honey candy. One of the Agents in front of the line took it and popped the congealed, mass in their mouth before walking off, waiting their turn once more.

  “It… Reminds me of when… The time I would get food stamps…” Fionnlagh shook his head. “People waiting in line… People… Hah… People waiting in line… For a chance to keep going… Some turned away.”

  “I don’t think this is anything like that.” Oberon said. “This looks like drugs, not food.”

  “A rose by any other name.”

  “Fionnlagh…” A voice called, prompting Fionnlagh and Oberon to look over. The voice belonged to one of the Agents; the only one cognitive enough to hold a conversation at least. Unlike the others, he dressed in a brown suit, patterned with beads of orange. At his hip was a baton, resembling a massive glowstick filled with glowing orange liquid. “That is you, isn’t it, Fionnlagh?”

  Fionnlagh stared at the man, before answering. “Hm…? You know me…?”

  “You’ve forgotten? It’s me… Euchariah.” The Agent said. He spoke in a quiet, subdued tone, not unlike Fionnlagh’s. “Why did… How did you come in here?”

  “We opened the door…” Fionnlagh said, plain and obvious.

  “But why return here?” Euchariah said again. “I thought you didn’t want to come back?”

  “To find my other half… The golden tree…” Fionnlagh said again, “Where is it? Crann Bethadh.” For the first time in so long. Fionnlagh spoke with a degree of urgency. No sudden pauses. Talking like a normal person. “Where is she…?”

  “If you speak of Abnormality F-01-10-25, it is no longer here.”

  Fionnlagh’s eyes began to well up, but continued to listen to the orange clad Agent.

  “It was suppressed and moved to another Branch, roughly a month after you left.” The man continued, “We lost many people to it… My apologies. But perhaps you aren’t meant to be reunited with her. Leave this place. It’s better off this way.”

  “Ah…” Fionnlagh buried his face in one of his hands, tears running down his face. “Crann Bethadh… Where have you gone…?”

  “So this was all for nothing?” One of the miscellaneous Ghillie Dhu’s mumbled. “I left my old group for nothing. Fuck…”

  While Fionnlagh sobbed, Oberon looked to him. “There are records here. Transfers. Wherever it was sent, it’ll be here.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Titania! The mission was a wash! Look for any records of transfers to other branches!” Oberon looked to Euchariah. “Now about you…? You aren’t going to stop us, are you?” He gripped his machete, ready to strike if Euchariah chose to do so in return. From the Agent’s glazed over expression, that was unlikely.

  “Even if I wish to fight, I can’t bring myself to.” He put his fingers to one of the orange beads on his outfit, looking down at the congragation of Agents in front of the statue on the bottom floor. “The medicine we take here… Diminishes the senses. You know that, don’t you, Fionnlagh?”

  Looking up, his tears dried, Fionnlagh looked down. “That Abnormality… Hah… Prettified Medicine Man, so it was called…”

  “Abnormality designation T-03-14. The orange medicine would make one almost impervious to psychological trauma, while sacrificing their ability to feel anything at all. The withdrawals in turn would result in severe mood swings.”

  “A foul being…” Fionnlagh grimaced. He understood it. It was a small representation one of one the ‘Four Great Pains’ of the City, as he called them. People lining up, working til their feet and hands bleed, all to get a tiny bit of escapism. Food, entertainment, drugs and alcohol, and sex. All things that were considered good and a way to forget about your struggles, but didn’t last long enough to matter.

  Great Pain #4: Escapism is Pointless. No matter how much fun you have, it doesn’t free you from the horror of reality.

  “Oberon? Please… Set them free… They… They aren’t actually living…”

  “Yes, sir.” Oberon said as he looked to Euchariah, no hesitation, he swung his machete.

  The blade sliced cleanly through Euchariah’s chest; being met with shocking resistance, due to the strong material, but it cut through nonetheless. The man showed no reaction, not even pain, nor malice, nor anything. He merely stumbled back, looking at the wound in his chest, falling his knees. “Very well…” He coughed, “If that is the path you choose… So be it.” Those were his last words before Oberon swung again, decapitating him. His head rolled and fell down a floor, next to the other Agents. They didn’t even react, all their eyes still locked on the statue in front of them. From there, the rest of the Ghillie Dhu members moved out, with the goal of slicing down any Agent in sight; the one who was complaining earlier needed to vent some anger.

  Fionnlagh could no longer bare to watch this facade of life. Feeling nothing but sickness and disgust as the Agents showed no reaction to being killed or their coworkers being killed. “Come. Let’s go further in.”

  “Do you want to take his weapon and suit?” Oberon pointed.

  “The EGO? No…” Fionnlagh said, “I can’t bare to look at it…”

  “Very well.” Oberon said, walking beside Fionnlagh, going further into the branch.

  Elsewhere in the branch

  Titania walked around, hearing the sounds of the Agents being silently slaughtered, was not surprised how quickly things turned into violence. She was curious why none of them seemed to react to be killed; well, they looked practically braindead from their expression. Soon, she stopped in front of a door, stepping in something. “Hm?” A puddle of clear liquid, flowing out of the door and dripping down to the floor below. “What the hell is this stuff?” She said, kneeling down. It was hard to smell with this mask on. But it didn’t have a bad smell. Didn’t eat away at her boot or the floor, so she knew it wasn’t corrosive. It just looked like ordinary, shiny water.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  One of the Ghillie Dhu members, the chatty girl from before, walked over and leaned down in front of it. “Hm…?”

  “Do you know what it is?” Titania said, in an unusually friendly tone.

  “I might recognize it.” She said, stirring the liquid with her sword. “This might sound weird but… I think it might be development fluid.”

  “Development fluid?” Titania asked. That sounded oddly specific. “Like… Amniotic fluid?” How did someone recognize that by looks alone?

  “No, not that kind of development.” She explained. “I mean photographic development. I worked with the stuff all the time when I was a teen.” She smiled proudly, “I did some photography… When I lived in-”

  “I don’t really care.” Titania said, as she opened the door, causing even more of the liquid to flow out. The room before them was awash in a dim red light, making it hard to see. But, once their eyes adjusted, as they walked further into the room, they began to make things out. Photos hung from the ceiling by strings, covering the walls, like a massive spider web of pictures. Each picture was of random things. Abrupt photos of unsuspecting people, people posing for the camera, close ups on various fixtures around the facility, snap shots of animals. There was no rhyme or reason for the subject of the photos. Several Agents stood around the room, organizing the photos, poking at machines and devices. “What room is this…?”

  “The sign above it says Energy Management.” One of the Ghillie Dhu members mentioned. “I guess that’s why the power is still on here?” He pointed to one of the members, cleaning a nearby wall with a rag. “Look, I guess this is how they keep this place clean.” Most of the Agents looked scrawny and malnourished, as if they haven’t eaten since the front door closed.

  The further they walked in, the more they realized just how big the room was. “…And why the lockdown was still active.” Another said. If the place was still being powered, despite the branch being shut down, that had to mean there was a source of local power? This was quickly answered by the thing lying in the very back of the room.

  A massive creature covered in shaggy white and black fur. No… It wasn’t fur. The creature was covered, every inch of its body, in undeveloped photographs. It resembled a large ball of photos, with a camera lens in the center, like a giant eyeball. Humanoid arms sprouted out of it, allowing it to cling to the wall. As the group approached, the camera extended and retracted.

  “Who…?” A weak voice came from the corner of the room. Walking over was a woman, the one cognitive person among the Agents. She dressed in a suit covered in photographs. At her hip was what resembled a fusion between a gun and a camera. “Can’t be. How did you get in here?” The woman said, staggering over to Titania. His voice was weak and raspy, as if he only now broke a month’s long silence. Just like the rest of the Agents in the room, her body was scrawny and starved. “Please. Whoever you are. Please leave. We don’t want you here.”

  Titania remained silent, looking around the room. She audibly gasped when she finally got a good look at the faces of the Agents mingling about the room. Their heads were completely smashed in. Like someone crushed the entire area between the top of their head and their upper jaw. Shoved into this crevice was a camera. Not yet responding to the EGO clad Agent, she put her hand to her ear. “Fionnlagh?” She said, “There is someone who can talk here. Shall I patch you through?” She paused as Fionnlagh spoke, something the Agent couldn’t hear. “Very well…” She nodded. From a device on Titania’s chest, Fionnlagh’s voice came through.

  “My apologies.” Fionnlagh spoke, “But I can’t leave… Not until I find… Find where she was sent… Crann Bethadh… She is no longer here… But I… I will find where she is.”

  “Fionnlagh?” The Agent said, “That’s you? Time hasn’t been kind to you, has it?” She sighed, “Guess it hasn’t been kind to me either. Do you remember me? It’s my Maxie. We hardly talked, so I guess I don’t blame you for not recognizing my voice.”

  Titania spoke up, placing herself in the conversation. “I’m in a room full of freaks with cameras shoved into their faces. Some weird spider made of photos is here. Is this one of those Abnormalities you were talking about the other day?”

  “Tarnished Old Photographer” Fionnlagh said. “It is the… Abnormality known by that name… When it gets ready to take a picture… Look away.”

  “Fionnlagh.” Maxie said, “Leave. We are fine here. We have accepted things as they are and it’s best you do the same.”

  “I can’t.” Fionnlagh said. “Nor will I ever…”

  Curious, one of the Ghillie Dhu members got closer to the Abnormality; it was the chatty girl from before. The entity didn’t show any hostility, so they assumed it was fine. They did not even hear Fionnlagh’s warning just moments ago. Steadily, the len began to focus, making a whirring noise. That was when one of the other Ghillie Dhu’s shouted.

  “Hey! Look away!” They screamed, covering their eyes.

  Quickly, everyone managed to turn away or covered their eyes. A bright flash filled the room. Everyone looked away, all but the curious Ghillie Dhu member, who immediatey fell to the floor, howling in pain, splashing in the puddle of development fluid that covered the floor. The center of their face was sizzling, a black smoke coming off of it. The Tarnished Old Photographer, like some sort of automated machine, reached into its photo covered body, and pulled out a fresh camera, then shoved the device into the freshly made hole of the unfortunate woman; the woman spasmed and writhed on the ground for a good few seconds, before going still… Then, rose up and stood stationary where they once were. The Abnormality let out a groaning noise, the red lights in the room flickered, and then everything was silent.

  “What the fuck was that?!” Titania asked, looking at Maxie.

  “This is the fate we will all meet one day.” Max explained. “We stay in the center of the facility most of the time. The ones there decide to forget about everything, even emotions, by taking the nectar of the Abnormality there. Then, when their time comes… They arrive here.” As he spoke, one of the camera headed men collapsed to the ground, the glowing light of his lens dimming. “We maintain the facility, long after it has been shut down. We clean, we furnish, and we keep the power on. All to make everyone more comfortable. Eventually we die, but the third Abnormality removed the concept of worry from the facility. Soon, it’ll be all of us here. Then, no one.”

  Fionnlagh, still listening, wanted to shut his ears off. This place, despite looking so beautiful, was powered by death. Something that you’ll eventually be tasked with, whether you want to or not. It was one of the pillars of life in the City… Yes, this Abnormality, that allowed one to automate work through a single sacrifice, was the embodiment of another one of the Four Great Pains.

  Great Pain #2: Suffering is Necessary. To be successful in the City and for everything to run smoothly, people need to be hurt, exploited, and tortured.

  “Titania?” Fionnlagh said, “…Set them free… They are in pain… They don’t deserve this…”

  “Understood.” Titania said, drawing her blade.

  Strangely, Maxie didn’t fight back or protest. Perhaps it could be that he welcomed her fate or that it had been so long since she last experienced combat; the red light in the room made it impossible to tell where blood was being splattered. The only ones who fought were the various camera faced men and women, but they too were cut down by the Ghillie Dhu. An act that Titania agreed, was a freedom from exploitation.

  Oberon was exploring elsewhere, Fionnlagh was now by himself, moving towards the room that had yet to get explored: Enkaphalin Storage. Whenever he was stressed, in a place he didn’t like, the walls and floor of that place felt sticky. Like a layer of filth on them, something that only he could feel. It was something left behind by the Pain of the City.

  “I don’t like it, Fionnlagh.” Titania spoke to him over his ear piece.

  “Neither do I…” Fionnlagh said.

  “The way these guys were cut down, Oberon said the same thing. They just stood there and allowed themselves to die. Why would someone be so accepting of their end?”

  “My only regret… Is that I couldn’t turn them into a tree… A much more peaceful end.” Fionnlagh sighed. “But they were too far gone… Too far gone… For salvation.” He put his hand against a wall, feeling the putrid stickiness. There was one more person here. Marching down the hall, he came to a large, empty room. He recognized this place; it was where the Enkaphalin containers were sorted and filled when doing work. The door way in the back was where they were stored and shipped out to the District. Fionnlagh wasn’t alone though. Standing there in the center of the room, was a man clad in what looked like a mortician’s uniform. He stood in front of a life-like statue of himself; a statue that depicted himself with a gun to his head, his head tilted to the side, a spray of blood and bone shooting from the opposite side of his head.

  The man turned to face Fionnlagh, “So you’ve come.” He stepped forward. “So I’m all that’s left, I take it?”

  “I set them free…” Fionnlagh nodded.

  “You were always a bit annoying like that.” He sighed with a smile, “Sorry, you’ve probably forgotten me too, just as you did with Euchariah and Maxie. It’s me, Sang-Jun.” He stepped away from the statue. Once he was away from it, the statue began to transform, morphing into a simple gray monolith, surrounded by lit candles. Another Abnormality. Sang-Jun looked over his shoulder at the monolith. “You always hated this one didn’t you? It always showed me the same image and I never understood why it showed my suicide… I never had any suicidal ideation. But I guess I understand now. It really is, excuse the pun, set in stone.”

  “Fewer Afraid…” Fionnlagh said.

  “So you remember its name.”

  “It’s a terrible Abnormality… The worst one…”

  “What makes you say that, Fionnlagh. An Abnormality that shows us the image of ourselves upon death. People live day to day, fearful that they won’t live to see the next day. People are murdered for no reason often. Bad things happen and maybe they just will take the slippery slop and kill someone. When we were here, we feared to look at it, looking at our own deaths… But now we get it. It was always hear to remove the fear of death.”

  Fionnlagh walked up to the statue, but didn’t get close enough for it to transform. He couldn’t bare to look at his own death. He already looked at it once before. He knew in his heart that Sang-Jun was wrong. This was another one of the Four Great Pains. In the City, you were discouraged to care about others. Only care about yourself. If you see someone dying on the side of the road, don’t bother to help them, unless you can get profit out of it. At its core, this was what he hated about Fixers; people with the abilities and jobs to be heroes, yet only worked for money. Then there was this Abnormality… Who told you that you shouldn’t care that if you’ll be killed or will kill yourself. All you should do is put your hands in your pockets and say ‘whatever.’

  Great Pain #3: Empathy is Discouraged. Care only for yourself or what others can do for you, accept your lot in life.

  “So you won’t stop me?” Fionnlagh said.

  “From doing what?”

  “Staying here…? My Syndicate… We have killed everyone else… And you don’t even care.”

  “I’ve already witnessed my death. It’s like reading the last chapter of a book. When you know the ending, is there any point of caring about what happens between the beginning and the end?” Sang-Jun took out a gun from the holster at his hip; despite how expensive they were in the City, many staff in Lobotomy Corp carried one. This, however, wasn’t for self defense, it was a gun with one bullet. When working in a place of great horror, there came the threat of a face worse than death; that’s why Sang-Jun always carried the gun for himself. ‘Better die than be killed’ he always said. “There is nothing I can do to stop my faith.” He smiled, putting the gun to his temple. “So there is no point of crying over it.”

  Fionnlagh looked at him, a mournful look in his eyes. With a deep breath, he nodded, “I’ll cry in your stead.”

  Sang-Jun pulled the trigger, causing a geyser of blood, brain matter, and bone to fly from the opposite side of his head. Just like that, Fionnlagh was the last surviving member of Lobotomy Corp’s 23rd Branch.

  Looking to the ceiling, Fionnlagh felt the aforementioned stickiness of the City’s sickness beneath his feet; it made him want to puke.

  “This was pointless. What should we do now?” Oberon said, walking into the room, Titania was right behind him.

  “…The files should tell us… Where she was sent… Crann Bethadh will save this City.” He sighed. “…Fixers will arrive here… When they come, we shall welcome them…”

  Oberon nodded, “Very well, you’re the boss. I’d rather leave as soon as we find it, but if you want to wait, we wait.”

  Titania, curious about the monolith, approached it. She watched as it shifted and transformed in front of her. Transforming into… A statue of her on her knees, her head severed. “Whoa…” She said, stepping away from it, watching as the Abnormality went back to its original state.

  Fionnlagh walked to the end of the room, wanting to be by himself for now. There was one last Great Pain that the City suffered from. One that was the greatest, as it embodied the other three. Escaping is Pointless, as it doesn’t free you from reality. Empathy is Discouraged, you should only care about yourself and what others can do for you. Suffering was Necessary, you can only truly live a prosperous life off of the suffering and exploitation of others.

  Great Pain #1: Happiness is Finite. Joy is not something that can be created nor destroyed. Every moment of joy steals it from elsewhere, no matter how big or small. From ones struggles, one derives joys that only last for a short amount of time, and is taught not to care for the misery of the one they benefited from. This City and its Head, was like a god, begging to be murdered. Fionnlagh’s goal was a journey to find a nicer way to kill it.

  “Haaah… Oh Carmen…” Fionnlagh cried into his hand once more, “What happened to you…? Where did you go…? Carmen…”