Chapter 2: CHAPTER II

Steve has the moral high-ground this time.

He whispers in mocking and spite, "Toxic bitch — you're so lucky I love you."

Fate is none the wiser to his disgust and loathing, his words are only heard by himself and him alone. The first rule of being in a functioning toxic relationship is to keep the relationship alive while cussing your special other in the dark — all the negativity must be thrown at her back silently while all the love is projected outwards in front of her.

Dear men, that is how you survive a crazy but cute, sexy, and beautiful girlfriend.

Steve sighs, reaching for the ice cream beside him only to find it missing; the cup is on the floor and his supposed best friend's nose is covered in sticky cream.

Steve groans, "Damn glutton..."

He sighs once more and snaps out of his depressed state as he can't bear to get angry at the good boy, opting to retrieve the phone inside his pocket instead. He looks at the time, calling out his girlfriend that it's almost time for the movie to start. She ponders for a few seconds before nodding in reply, hurriedly grabbing her boyfriend's hand and Max's leash, shooting up to line at the nearest popcorn booth — dog and man in tow.

While standing in line, a bespectacled little girl comes up to them and stares at the sitting dog. She clenches the bunny plushie in her arms, nervous, before mustering up the courage to ask, "C-can I pet the mister doggy...?"

Steve looks at Fate, who gives him a similar look of being lost for words, before turning back to the little girl. "Uh, sure... I think he wants some pets too."

The girl beams at that. "Really!?"

Steve dons a smile and nods.

Cute giggles fill the air as the little girl initiates contact with Max's fur, carefully treading the danger by slowly petting the dog in gentle touches; but as the girl relaxed, the strength and speed of her soft rubs, her weak scratches, her pokes, and her tickles, gradually increases into ungodly levels.

The chonky boy is now laying on the ground presenting his belly for the girl to play with, his feet kicking in tune with his rapidly swishing tail; his eyes moving to the back of his head while saliva drips out of his mouth, flowing down his tongue as he trembles in ecstasy. Panting hard in each breath, he arches his back one last time as the little girl scratches his ears; letting out a high-pitched yelp as he collapses to the floor in exhaustion.

Steve stands in utter shock as do everyone else watching the bizarre spectacle of a dog drowning in pleasure.

"That's...," a fat bystander speaks as he captures the moment by recording with a phone camera. "Some goddamn good hands there little lady." He stops the video only to immediately start another one, cautious about losing everything due to low storage space which he has been subjected to, many times in the past.

However, as he continues his quest, a hand grabs his shoulder from out of nowhere.

"Stop... please," the guard at the cinema interrupts. She sports a tired smile while shaking her head, retracting her hand immediately after catching the fat man's attention. "I have no idea if you're a good person or not but frankly, I don't care. I'll only say this to you because I'm a benevolent person and I pity you for being a low-class peasant — you sound like a pedophile right now, so be careful sir."

A nearby tall old man nods. "She's right you know," he confidently says. "I'm a pedophile myself, and you sound just like me when I was your age."

Deafening silence ensues.

Everyone can't help but stare at him.

"He's a what now?" a pregnant lady mutters, hurriedly hiding her son behind her.

"I'm kidding!" the old man shouts in panic, his mental defenses quickly breaking under the countless stares poking his body akin to daggers. "Jesus, can't even take a joke nowadays."

He shakes his head and scampers out of the place, his cane issuing rhythmic taps.

From afar, Steve and Fate watches the drama unfold with amused expressions; but they are equally dumbfounded at the shocking turn of events. In no time at all, the scene dies down and everyone's interest shuts off; the crowd gradually disperses with the fat man sneaking away with his newly acquired treasure.

A pedophile is born that day.

"Mister, sister!" the girl exclaims, her warm and satisfied smile greeting the couple as they turn their heads. "Thank you very much!"

Steve replies, "Uh, yeah... no problem."

She bows her head politely before running away to a nearby boy, a head taller than her, who is busy watching the fishes swimming peacefully in the fountain from whence the eccentric couple came. They stand and talk there for a few seconds more before an old couple, their grandparents most likely, took them away by hand.

The little girl looks back and waves her hand at Steve's direction.

Steve shrugs and waves back. "That must be her family."

He sighs and eyes the now sitting dog, his fur in a mess but glistening nonetheless; his eyes are bright, his smile is prominent, and everything about him is just glowing.

You are reading story Code of Delusion at novel35.com

That girl definitely has the hand of god.

"What just happened?" Fate asks after regaining consciousness from her shocked state, eyeing the skipping little girl along with the still frozen dog lying on the ground basking in the afterglow of satisfaction.

Steve replies, "I have no idea."

The alarm beeps from Fate's phone.

Quickly shaking off the stun-lock by forgetting about the recent event, Fate turns off the alarm before dragging her family to the cinema.

Steve sighs and lets himself be dragged like luggage.

While all of this is happening, a group of tentacled aliens riding a massive, overbearing spaceship watches the blue and green planet from light-years away.

The one wearing a hat speaks gravely, "What's the status of the inhabitants: are they safe or are they not?"

"Commander, sir," a goggled alien replies. "We have downloaded and compiled the data, and we think that the planet is a category 12 deathworld — it might even push through category 13."

"A class 13 deathworld you say?"

The goggled alien nods, as do everyone in the central command room. "Yes, commander sir, and we don't think they're peaceful." The goggled alien looks at the hologram with Earth's data written before continuing, "Their race is in a constant state of war with each other, and from what we have uncovered, they have discovered nuclear power before faster-than-light travel; and they have used it twice to bring havoc in their endless war."

The hat-wearing alien ponders. "War... and an alpha predator species from a class 13 deathworld. Certainly, it would bring us more harm than good to wait for them to reach space."

The goggled alien nods. "They must be eradicated."

"Extinction," the commander says, his hat nearly falling off; but with a quick readjustment, he puts it back in place and issues a command. "Glass the planet from orbit and leave none alive."

Outside, the photon blaster emerges from deep within the ship's hull, charging a violent stream of energy through its long and bulky barrel; oscillating at a low frequency, the pistons embedded on the sides continues to send liquid chemical components that are then mixed through a specialized centrifuge, which creates an extremely flammable nuclear weaponry, before outputting the resulting essence of death into the barrel and straight through any target — decimating all life.

Seeing the might of their oversized gun, the aliens stand proud with their commander.

However, one alien frowns in disappointment.

"Extinction's a tad bit excessive, isn't it sir?" an alien with a square chin interrupts. "I'd say we establish first contact, get to know them for a few cycles, and then decide what to do from there."

A deafening silence shrouds the room.

The goggled alien snaps out of the lull and retorts, "What was that? Please tell me you're kidding." 

The square chinned alien states firmly, "You heard me. I don't like the decision; I want you to reconsider and give the deathworlders a chance."

The goggled alien is appalled. "Are you hearing yourself!? These are deathworlders you're defending! A highly dangerous species. The way they're living is akin to savages and brutes! These Terrans are utterly barbaric in nature!"

"But they deserve a chance, do they not?" The square chinned alien states. "We're not savages like them. We have a responsibility to be fair and just. We are an advanced space fairing civilization, they are bound to their cradleworld. We have every advantage."

He adds, proud of himself, "Their eminent extinction might be inevitable, but at least we gave them a chance and we will be honored due to our bravery in initiating first contact rather than eradicating them out of fear and prejudice."

The words slowly sink into their slimy bodies.

Of course!

How could they forget?

The very thing they're wishing for is honor, and what better way to earn it other than to make new allies with deathworlders. It might sound crazy, but crazy is what crazy does; and they are clinically insane in Terran standards because who would ever think of  killing an entire race that is known to be hostile but has never harmed you personally or anyone close to your kind for that matter....

Terrans may be war-forged warriors, but they operate behind principles. 

The crowd mutters loudly, "He speaks truth."

You can find story with these keywords: Code of Delusion, Read Code of Delusion, Code of Delusion novel, Code of Delusion book, Code of Delusion story, Code of Delusion full, Code of Delusion Latest Chapter