"Special Match?" – I tilted my head in confusion as my eyes landed on the woman who had been looking at me just a moment ago.
"Rejected" – I noticed red text hovering above her head, her face showing a mix of relief and disappointment.
She gazed at me with pity, walking closer, her eyes locked onto mine with pure empathy.
"It's okay! Kids your age..." – her tone was gentle, her face shadowed by sadness.
"It's the least I can do for you."
I felt a tear roll down my cheek; my heart sank at that very moment as her lips met mine in a kiss.
"You would have grown into a handsome man," – tears streamed down her face.
"My husband left me and my son alone... life is already hard for us... maybe selling an organ could help us start over, I thought, but..."
I looked at her, a profound emptiness enveloping my entire body; I felt both well and ashamed at the same time.
"I'll never put myself in a place like this. What's your name?"
"Ranol," I mumbled, my tone raspy.
She smiled, ruffling my hair and hugging me.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything for you," she whispered as she turned and walked toward the exit.
I have always lived a lonely life, both at school and at home; I don't have a family. Yet somehow, at this very moment, I feel more alone than ever.
I'm dead!.. I'm so very dead.. what am I going to do?
I sat on the plastic-covered floor, lying upon it.
"At least I had a kiss in this life!"
I wanted to say it felt fulfilling, but... it just made me realize how shallow my thinking really was.. I just want to live more of this life..
I felt my heart thumping, and I burst into uncontrollable tears; my cries echoed in the hall, suppressing all noise.
* * *
"Leave me!" – I heard a vaguely familiar voice screaming, and my cries stopped.
I caught my breath after crying, looking toward the exit, my eyes widened as I rushed in that direction.
I saw the woman who had just left after kissing me being held by a bot; her fist was pounding against the robot.
"Let me go! Let me go!" I ran and tried to stop the bot, only to be ignored as I saw a horde of bots marching toward the same direction.
[Bots are typically programmed not to harm humans; this is something a bot can never do. They are specifically designed to serve humans with their limited artificial intelligence. Therefore, the manufacturing of sophisticated bots was banned 60 years ago. Only simple models remain to this day.]
I ran and attempted to stop the bot that was holding the woman. I tried to do this by gripping its legs and making its hold loosen, but what could a boy like me do? I barely weighed 55 kg, while the machine was around 500 kg of pure metal. It was foolish, but I gave it a shot.
[Usually, bots are found in wealthy households or as patrolling units, and I had never seen more than six in my entire life. However, looking at the quality and quantity of these bots, I wonder what kind of organization this is.]
Soon, the robots arrived at the waiting area, and panic and fear engulfed the entire place. People screamed and protested; those with the "Match" title were carried away, while those with the "Rejected" title were held down forcefully by two bots.
"Stop! Stop! Agahhh!" a man screamed, tears streaming down his face and mucus dripping from his nose as he was pinned down by two bots.
"What is going on?" My heart skipped a beat as the robot's fingers morphed into a blade.
"Agahhh! Stop!" – The robot's hand, unwavering, made a cut in his attire, tearing it, and then it began to slice open the man's chest.
My stomach churned, and I vomited, but nothing came out except bile.
"When was the last time I ate?"
The robot pulled out the heart and other organs. My pupils shook.
"No, no!... Bots are programmed not to hurt humans, then why?... why?" – I mumbled.
The bots precisely extracted the organs, and I kept my gaze glued to the nightmarish scene unfolding in front of me.
The people weren't unconscious; all of them were awake, feeling each and every pain, screaming in agony.
"Agahh! I looked back," I screamed, running forward with a nauseous feeling in my stomach.
"Why? I don't even know her... why am I trying to help her?" I gritted my teeth and ran.
The woman with long brown hair and green eyes had her eyes gouged out by the bots. Blood fell from her eye sockets, and her mouth screamed in agony, or it seemed that her voice was gone from screaming too much.
I tried to stop them, but nothing happened; my force barely pushed them back. I kept hitting the bot, punching it until my hand broke, but I continued to strike, my thoughts remembering how kind she had been to me and how she had kissed me.
"Stop! Stop! YOU BASTARD!" I barked.
And right before my eyes, all her organs were extracted, and I could do nothing about it.
"Sir, follow me," a robotic voice said as it held my shoulders.
I was on my knees on the plastic floor, surrounded by a pool of blood. My entire body felt numb, as if nothing mattered anymore.
"Sir, follow me!" I looked at the bot with hollow eyes.
"You shouldn't have seen it. I'm sorry for being late; something like that must scar someone for their entire life."
The bot was different; it looked unique. Its shape was more humanoid than most of the bots around, and it wore a suit and a mask. Its frame was tall.
"Hmm," it supported me, carrying me like a toddler. I felt its cold metal grip, and my entire body remained numb from the horrors I had witnessed.
[It's okay...] her words echoed in my ears.
"You must be confused about the circumstances; it might be the best course of action to explain what's going on," the bot said while walking.
"This is an organ farming organization operated by the government itself," my eyes widened.
"What? What do you mean?"
"It may be difficult to comprehend, but it's the truth. This organization extracts organs from individuals whose existence doesn't matter in society, such as the homeless or orphans, and sometimes people with fewer connections," it said in an indifferent tone.
"Ranol, a 17-year-old school student, ran away and was caught here. You were observed for the last two weeks; there was no report of you being missing."
"So you were deemed to be collected. The Lookers caught you; they thought they brought you in, but we were the ones who instructed them to check that area."
"How do you know all of this? And how can you kill people like that?" The bot remained silent.
"What about that woman? She had a son to take care of. What will happen to that child?"
"Hmm, the authorities will take care of him. His abilities will be analyzed, and he will be observed until the age of 15. If he seems like a misfit in society, he will also be extracted.
"Ha ha... Who are you to decide for others?"
"Regarding matches, the elites of society who need organ transplants look for such matches. In most cases, the organs are given to them after they are appraised to see their compatibility, and the desired organs are provided to them," it said.
"But most VIPs pay even more to suit their compatibility, taking the whole match, and such matches are referred to as special matches because you suit the needs of the VIP person."
I felt disgusted by its words.
"Now then, was your tooth broken? It must be restored. Those Lookers need to be dealt with; they are being unprofessional."
ZMMMM – the large metal door opened, and he carried me away, taking one step after another.
I always knew this world was messed up, but to think [memories of organs being extracted from people and the pool of blood flooded my mind] we are worse than animals.
I was taken to a room, my hands completely soaked in blood, and I was told to take a shower... I chuckled.
"How much worse could it be?"
After the shower, he dressed me in a shirt and pants, gave me a sleek pair of shoes, and styled me. I looked at my reflection.
"My face was pale, my eyes bloodshot, and my hair was styled."
"This will do." DRIP – the bot poured some drops into my eyes.
"Now it'll be less bloodshot."
It attempted to open my mouth and hummed.
"Impossible! How is it healed?" Its words were shocked, but its tone remained indifferent, just like before.
I stared at the mirror in disbelief, opened my mouth, and examined my teeth, which were as good as new, as if they had never been broken.
"What is going on?"
* * *
I was led to a sleek vehicle. In the back seat sat a man with ebony skin and a dark beard. He wore a pair of glasses, and his attire looked professional, sitting next to me.