The Day That Things Went Wrong

It was just like any other day; on the day it all went wrong.

The bustling life of London city flourished. People, noise, cars. Everywhere. Tourists, all gathered around Big Ben and the London Eye, citizens rushing and pushing, desperately trying to get to work. There were the early risers, dotted on benches, observing the world around them as if they were not just as much a part of it. There were the late partiers, the elderly, the young, the families, the homeless, the businessmen. All of them living in the same place at the same time, and all of them completely unaware of the chaos that would shortly ensue.

After the chaos, there would be silence, but not that of the peaceful sort. The silence would be deafening, in the similar sort of way to that of the screams and sounds of collapsing buildings minutes earlier.

And then there would be the girl. Whose story will most likely never be told by anyone, except by the person who had betrayed her trust the most; the person who had caused everything to all go wrong

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She sat behind the cold steel bars of the prison cell; eyes fixed blankly on the plain white wall in front of her. Beside her, three figures sat hunched over in the corner of the cell, whispering among themselves.

A man stood outside the room, staring at the four. A short woman stood beside him; hair stretched into a tight bun, lips stained red, jewels adorning her ears.

She glanced at the man, trying to read him, trying to understand anything about this unknown man who had just appeared, as if from nowhere. She got nothing. He was just as blank as the white walls of the cell in front of them.

“I need you to understand sir, we can’t let this matter go unsettled.”

“I know.” Nothing. Not a flicker of emotion. Not even for a second. His face revealed nothing about what he was thinking or feeling, almost as if he were feeling nothing at all. As if he were numb.

“There will be a severe penalty for them, especially the girl.”

“I know.” Face still blank, his expression solely fixed on the figures inside the cell.

“Sir, I’m not sure you are understanding the severity of this situation, they blew up seven buildings and killed forty-two people. They’ll be on trial, due to some conflicting evidence that has been found, but they are inevitably going to be found guilty; sentenced to life in prison. Or worse, if the court allows it”

“I know.”

The woman sighed, her exhaustion seeping through. It had been a long day filled with endless paperwork and interviews. The last thing she needed to be dealing with was this mysterious man who was somehow linked to a group of possible terrorists. Or at least, a man important enough to be given high enough security clearance to be able to see them.

“I’ll be back in a minute, you may talk to them if you so please, but there will be guards in the room at all times.” The woman mumbled, shaking her head slightly before leaving the room.

The man glanced at the three huddled figures and the girl for a moment more before entering the room. The three immediately stopped whispering and snapped their gazes to him, while the girl remained staring blankly ahead.

“Aria, what happened?” he questioned.

No reply.

He sighed. Things had changed a lot since the two had last seen each other, and things hadn’t exactly ended on the most civil of terms.

“Sister, please I need you to talk to me so that I can try and help-“

“I need no help from the likes of you, brother.” She sneered. “I remember quite clearly where that got me last time.”

Her eyes were filled with so much hatred, it seemed to seep into his soul, causing him to suppress a shudder.

“Look, you know I didn’t mean for things to end like that.”

“No. You look, I don’t want your help. Not now, not ever. And if that means that I shall die, then so be it. I would rather die than ever see you again. You are no brother to me; you lost that title years ago when you betrayed me. When you betrayed all of us.”

“I swear, I didn't mean to. I was just trying to-”

“In case it wasn’t clear enough when I said it the first time, I’ll say it again. I. Don’t. Want. Anything. To. Do. With. You.”

“Aria,” he pleaded. “Please, don’t do this. I can’t lose my sister too.”

“Just leave me alone, you brought this upon yourself.” She turned back to face the wall, her face warped with rage and annoyance.

He glanced at the three boys in the corner momentarily, who looked at him with just

as much hatred, before sighing in misery and turning to leave the room.

The woman had returned and was waiting outside when he exited.

“Do you know the girl personally?” She asked, curious as to who this man was, and how he was linked to the girl inside of the cell who had almost single-handedly brought down London. “I saw you were talking to her.”

“I knew all of them,” he murmured. “At least, I thought I did. Once. A long time ago.”

“Who are they?”

His face was grim, a crumpled smile spread across his lips as he answered. “They were the people who were going to change this world. For the better.”

He spared one last gaze at the people who were once his everything, before leaving the building. He was officially alone in the world; he had no one left.

He had never meant for it to turn out like this, he had never meant to betray them. In his mind, it had been the best plan of action among many that would have led to an inevitable death for all of them.

If everything could’ve just gone according to his plan all those years ago, none of this would’ve happened. His parents wouldn’t have died, the group wouldn’t be in prison and he would still have his sister.

But no, things all just had to go terribly wrong.