Wrenhaven

Kaden reached for his broken glasses grimacing as his ribs ached in protest. He spat out another mouthful of blood, the dizziness from the alcohol and several punches to the face making him feel like vomiting. He knew his nose was broken and silently cursed the men responsible for it. He squinted through a half closed right eye, he could see that his frames had been bent in half and were missing the lenses. He wouldn’t need them anyway since his left eye was swollen shut and his right eye had a large gash above it which was still bleeding; he couldn’t see with them even if he’d been able to use them.

Still, at least he’d been triumphant. Sure they kicked the hell out of him, but in the end they’d been sorry. At least he could’ve sworn he heard an apology from the last one before he slit his throat and dumped him in the river. Wrenhaven was lawless at the best of times and Kaden took advantage of that at every given opportunity. Humans were a disease, and he was the cure. He looked down at his white tunic, stained red from the blood of his enemies and probably some of his own, sighing pensively. He hadn’t planned on killing tonight and they’d spoiled his best silk tunic. He tugged at the silver threaded pattern inlaid in the now frayed edges scoffing before trying to straighten himself up. They hadn’t even been that hard to beat. Where was the fun in that?

He groaned loudly as he stepped inside, grunting with the effort that it took to push open the heavy oak doors to the tavern. Though he wasn’t a man of the law, he didn’t fancy himself a criminal. No he only served justice to those who deserved it. And those three men, if you can call them that, had been raping and kidnaping young children for 6 years and Kaden just couldn’t stand by, the way the police did, any longer. It felt good to kill when he killed monsters like them.

No one said anything as he shuffled his way to the bar, holding up two fingers and slurring, “two shots of whisky.” Before huffing as he lowered himself onto the tattered leather stool cushion. The bartender obliged without so much as a whisper, setting the two shots in front of him seconds later before adding something else. A tall stein of dark beer thunked against the marbled surface in front of him. Kaden eyed the bartender, annoyed and confused.

“Over there,” Said the bartender, pointing towards the back corner of the bar where there was hardly any light. Kaden used his swollen right eye to scan the room before allowing it to rest on the table in the corner. He raised his glass acknowledging the woman he saw there. She wore a white dress, had dark black skin, and fiery red hair. He nodded as she too rose hers and took a long slow drink of the beer. He wasn’t a fan of dark drafts but he wasn’t rude and wouldn’t refuse free alcohol in any state but especially the one I was in now. With a grunt he leaned sideways, wincing at the pain in his ribs, and wriggled his phone out of his pocket. He needed to document his kills.

When he’d fought in the war, he’d been a contracted killer, a soldier, even a thug. Taking out key players behind enemy lines. None of it mattered in the end though, the world still fell, and now no one was really in power except the broken and fractured Republic. He scoffed a little then, chuckling as he tallied the bodies he’d just disposed of in his phone notes, logged the date, time, and location of the kill. In the old days he would’ve kept his log private and kept it in a notebook, stashed somewhere safe. But he wasn’t so worried these days, Kaden found he flourished in a lawless world. As he took the second shot of whisky he noticed the tall, black woman had left her seat and when he turned his head to look around was startled as his eye fell upon her emerald irises. He hated not being able to see well.

“Name’s Tanea,” she extended her hand for him to shake, he noted the fine jewelry on her fingers smirking as he thought how worthless all that was now. Slightly offended at his lack of greeting, she pulled her hand back when she realized he would not shake it. With a tight lipped smile, she smoothed the front of her dress and took a seat next to him on one of the worn barstools.

“Kaden Lewis right?”

Kaden grunted, turning his attention back to the stein of beer and finishing it off before wiping his mouth clean, depositing the coin he had in the bartender’s outstretched hand, and leaving Tanea to stare after him feeling perplexed. She rushed to pay the man as well, leaving her unfinished glass of wine on the bar as she scurried after him. Kaden groaned inwardly, another rebel seeking him for their cause. God he was over causes.

“Hey! Come on man, look I really need your help,” called Tanea trying to flag him down.

“Get in line, lady,” responded Kaden walking away still. He’d been about to turn toward his home when Tanea called out to him again.

“I know you’re the Black River Butcher!”

Kaden halted in his tracks, aware of the sound of her heels coming to an abrupt halt to prevent her from running into him,

“What did you call me?” his voice was cold as ice. He could sense the tension rise in the air as Tanea considered how this situation could go if she wasn’t careful.

“I want to take down Mac!” she said, her voice rising in her desperation.

Kaden glanced around him, noting the men who were now far more interested in their conversation, “Not here.” he said before hooking his hand around her muscled arm, and shoving her down a deserted alleyway crowded by trash, piss, and a few dead old men. Tanea turned her nose up at the smell and Kaden knew she was from the country. Any city dweller wouldn’t have noticed the smell let alone have been bothered by it.

“You’re from the country,” he said flatly.

“Yes? Why does that matter?” she asked, annoyed.

“It does,” replied Kaden curtly.

“Whatever, look, I know who you are, Kaden, and I have a job I know you can’t refuse.”

“That so?” Kaden chuckled half heartedly, shaking his head.

“Yes, just hear me out,” she pleaded.

“Why?”

Tanea couldn’t give him a reason, but Kaden knew that. It was why he asked the question. He’d found asking people things they couldn’t answer was an effective way of getting out of jobs he didn’t want to do. He was feeling quite proud of himself as he turned his back to her and began to walk away, but just as he reached the entrance of the alleyway Tanea called out once more.

“Please, I know what he's done to you, I knew Andrew,” she offered probably as a last ditch effort. But this time Kaden stopped, sighing as his shoulders dropped in defeat.

“He’s got my kid sister,” finished Tanea as he closed the distance between them again. Damn it. Kaden rolled his eyes at himself but he couldn’t ignore the desperation in her voice or the fact that there might be an innocent kid involved. He hated most people, but he found it hard to despise children, they weren't soiled yet.

“This way,” he grunted, pushing her once again but this time to the back end of the alley before they rounded a corner, slipped through a hole in a rusty chain link fence, and stopped in front of some wooden pallets propped up against the grimy brick wall.

A dull, yellow lantern flickered above them, and the smell of urine was nearly overwhelming. Even Kaden fought the urge to put his hand over his mouth. He slid the pallet away making a dull scraping sound; revealing a rusted, green door. It was bronze but had since oxidized and turned a deep green. As he wrenched the door open it protested on rusted hinges, sending unpleasant metal whining sounds echoing down the quiet alley. This was the only part of the city that was quiet at night. That was simply because it lay on the outskirts in the ruins, where most knew only the worst sort of people lived. Kaden certainly knew it, it was why he made this area his preferred hunting grounds. Besides that, no one would come looking for him here. No one dared.

“Listen, I’ll hear you out, but I won’t promise anything,” slurred Kaden now trying to control his breathing as the weight of his wounds began to push through his mental fortitude. He really needed to fix that door, it had taken a lot more out of him than he thought it would. Tanea nodded eagerly as if he’d said yes.

“You uh, got a little something there,” said Tanea gesturing in a circle with her index finger at his torso with a disgusted look on her face. The blood stains pock marked his tunic, his annoyance rose again as he was reminded of the messy state he was in.

Kaden didn’t respond. He glanced back down the narrow hall they had come through, it was dark with only two small windows near the top, allowing faint golden light in. The sourness of the mood spread like pollen in the air, permeating everything around it. Tanea busied herself with the dirt under her nails as she waited for him to unlock and open the heavy steel door they had just arrived at. It groaned and wined as he held the door open for her, straining against its weight as it stubbornly tried to swing shut. His place was locked up like Fort Knox. At least that's what the leasing agent told him when he bought it years ago. It had fallen under new management and was falling apart now, but the worse it looked outside, the less likely anyone was to enter it which suited Kaden just fine.

Tanea scurried through the now open doorway and stepped to the side gracefully as Kaden shuffled in behind her, his breath held as the pain began to reach an all new high; he swayed for a moment, stopping to catch himself on the interior wall breathing heavily.

“Jesus. You alright?” Tanea asked, stretching her arms as if to catch him. Her thick eyebrows furrowed together in concern as she clenched her teeth and drew in her breath.

“Oh, I’m great,” replied Kaden tersely, shoving past her and sliding his key card from his pocket to swipe in the next door. So many fucking doors.

“Well, I mean come on this is the first time I’ve seen you like this up close,” said Tanea watching him closely. He still couldn’t see out of his right eye, and the left side hadn’t stopped bleeding all the way yet. He wondered if they’d nicked the artery there, realizing he probably needed stitches for that one.

“Up close?” asked Kaden, moving to unlock the secondary metal gate which blocked the main apartment door. The door lock clicked and lit up green, he turned the rusted handle, pushed the thick wooden door open and went inside without waiting for Tanea to follow. She hefted the door open behind him, allowing it to slam loudly shut. The metal clanged loudly just outside the door, and the slamming of his actual door rang in his head for a moment. He let her pass him as he locked it once more.

“Well yeah, I was here last week,” her voice trailed off for a moment as she observed the mess Kaden lived in, “and the one before that. Do you ever clean? Christ. It stinks.” She brought her forearm in front of her nose, scrunching her face up at the smell. Kaden shrugged. Apparently the countless nights smelling drunk men, piss, and god knows what else had dulled his senses.

“You can always find a hotel, there’s plenty on this block.”

“I’m good,” responded Tanea quickly, doing her best to stop wrinkling her nose and accept the mess he lived in.

“Probably for the best,” agreed Kaden a little smugly. He took a glance around and even he had to admit he’d let it get away from him lately.

Piles of take out dishes lay rotting along the worn green counter, near the chipped yellowing sink, and overflowed from the black trash bin in the corner. He’d definitely need to clean up for his own sanity, but tonight he needed a stim-shot and some rest. Kaden’s thoughts were only on the shot as he hobbled to his bathroom at the end of the hallway to his left and opened the bathroom cabinet releasing a fresh wave of pain in his broken ribs. He searched for a silver case containing the stim-shot he would need to help him reduce the swelling and stop the bleeding. He would have to take another to heal his broken bones, but he’d have to wait at least 24 hours before the next dose.

“Whoa where did you get all those?” Came the overly interested voice of Tanea over his shoulder as he popped the lid open to the locked case and brushed his hand over the vials tucked inside.

“Where do you think?” snapped Kaden as he slid a slick metal vial with a tiny needle on the end out of its plastic sleeve. He sucked in a few shallow breaths working his jaw as the alcohol began wearing off. He needed to slow his heart rate down, control his breathing or the serum could move to quickly through his blood stream and cause a panic attack. He knew the needle was too small to hurt, but the serum contained would cause him almost unfathomable pain in the next hour, and he knew he’d be in for a rough night as it worked to heal his torn body and bleeding organs.

"Okay touchy," remarked Tanea raising her eyebrows and stepping away from him. He shot her an annoyed look, but his glare was far less effective with only one good eye. Still she got the hint and slunk away, plopping on his couch which made a leather creaking sound.

Finally alone, he paused just above his thigh before inserting the needle and pressing on the release button on the back, sighing as cold thick liquid spread through his body. He then pulled out another small tin with cigarettes laced with marijuana and lit one with a match from inside the same tin. He inhaled deeply, wincing as his lungs flexed against his fractured ribs. He held it as long as he could, forcing himself not to cough as he exhaled the pungent smoke.

After ten minutes had passed, his pain was dulled by the alcohol, nicotine and drugs. He relaxed, noticing that it wasn’t any worse than what he had experienced on the way over. A bit better in fact. A little more time and he would be asleep from the booze and weed. It would be over in a few hours. He would take that over weeks on end healing without it.

Without another word he hustled towards his room, knowing he had precious seconds before the real fun started and he wouldn’t be able to move. He wanted his bed, now; but knew he’d never make it so settled for the worn leather couch that still smelled like cat piss. Not really caring if it made it so Tanea had to move somewhere else. He really should get rid of the damn thing, it smelled awful.

“Can’t beat free!” his brother always said. The memory of Andrew pained his heart and he pushed the image of his twin sibling laying broken and bloodied and very much dead, from his mind. He heard the sirens from that night for a moment, sighing with relief as they echoed into nothingness, passing through his mind. Then the pain from the serum hit, and he felt he had a newfound faith in God as he prayed for it to stop. The heavy blackness of unconsciousness engulfed him as everything in his system mingled as part of his cocktail. He sighed as the high set in and all was blessedly silent.