The harsh winds gain capability from my speed, as they relentlessly strike against my face. The muddy terrain earnestly works to slow me down, but I must continue. I have never other choice; all I can do is run. Run, run, run. I have to run. I know they are near; I can’t let them get near; I can let them get us. I hold Edena’s hand as tight as I can, my fingers crushing hers till even my hand hurts. I make sure to as her warmth is the only comfort I feel, and I know it is the same for her.
We cut through the shrubs ignoring its sharp thorns, we climb over an array of fallen trees as we continue running. I don’t know where, I just know it’s away. If I ran all my life, I still don’t think I could be far enough away. But I must try. If they find us, they will take Edena too, she will be gone forever and I can’t let that happen. Not again.
As we continue on, she tugs on my hand before she stops running. I try to drag her along, but I turn and see her face which is exhausted and feeble as she gasps for air. She leans against a tree, as I hold on to her hand and stand by her. She attempts to catch her breath as I stare back the opening we just ran through. I hear the menacing sound of hooves paired with sadistic laughter moving closer. They are here and they are going to erase us.
“Edena, come on we have to go!”
I grab her being, lifting her up before grabbing her hand somehow much harder than I did before. We sprint, as sobs come out of my throat. We have to keep going, and we do until my hand feels weightless and I don’t hear her heavy breathing anymore. I turn and stand shocked as I am completely alone. The horses and laughter seem to be right behind the clearing, but I go towards it. I must save her.
“Edena! Edena!
Where did you go! Edena, say something!”
“GRIFFIN, GRIFFIN. SAVE ME PLEASE.”
I try to run towards her once again, but for some reason I am stuck and I cannot move. Her shrieks ring in my ears, but I am helpless. My body turns by itself and I run away from her screams, away from the laughter. I run away alone, putting myself first like always.
“EDENA!”
I feel warm hands enclose around my being, as my back is pulled to lean onto a support. I keep screaming until I see the familiar site of the top of our tent. I turn to Edena, who has a look packed with such care that I can’t help but be soothed. Her face is the picture of serene, her beauty is the remedy to my soul. I lean and kiss the top of her head, before we both lay once more.
“I hope they stop one day” she says.
“Yeah.”
As I look at her worried face, I can’t help but feel such pure devotion and admiration course through my being. Every night I howl from my dreams, and every night Edena is here to comfort me through them all.
“Thank you, Edena.”
She gives a knowing smile before uttering a for what. No doubt just wanting to hear the reasoning she already knows.
“For making my nightmares end.”
She cusps my face “I seem to be doing a terrible job then huh.”
“Because of you the nightmares end when I wake up.”
She calls me cheesy before clinging on to my form once more as we both bask in silence. I know her mind is just as worried, just as stressed as mine is. Today is a big day that places a lot on our shoulders, but it is still absolutely nothing compared to what is to come.
We are meeting Marcus, my dearest friend who is still behind the walls. At our last meeting he promised me he would try his absolute hardest to acquire the location of the next inauguration (reinauguration is more fitting) for Maya’s Council.
“Are you ready for today?” she asks.
“No, but that has never stopped me before.”
Even though it is so dark, I am so near her that I can see her dazzling smile.
“I hope Marcus can get the plans.”
“He will have them. That’s the one thing I am not worried about. He has never let me down before.”
“Then what exactly are you worried about?”
“The attack after we get the plans.”
“God willing, we will get through that too.”
“We will suffer loses regardless of how it goes. That’s just the price for freedom.”
“You are right Griffin, and that is a price every single person in the camp is willing to pay. They know joining the Rebellion is the same thing as signing their death, but they do it anyways because at least now they will die for something they believe in.”
“I just hope they don’t have to.”
“Your compassion brings you down, but if there is something in the world worth falling for then compassion is one of them. Never change that Griffin.”
I just hold on to her tighter, both awaiting and dreading morning time.
It inevitably comes just as it does each day but at least the Lord seems to be in a good mood, as the Sun’s beams shine upon us. The camp is still mostly asleep except the handful who are always awake at this time, alongside me and Edena. It is mostly the older members of the Rebellion; I am sure they are plagued by their own pasts.
I take Edena’s hand as we head into the forest to the nearby stream. It’s the perfect way to start each morning as the cold water is both refreshing and cleansing. My mother was always adamant on keeping clean, and it surely passed on to me.
I wash my face, and soak my head into the water. I cup some into my hands and drink, as my thirst makes it seem more like ambrosia then water. I stare into my reflection in the pristine water, as it reflects scarred. My hair is wet and pushed back, so its clearly visible as it runs from over my right eyebrow down to my lower lip.
I got it a year or so back in battle. I was too focused on Edena, and I didn’t notice that there was one solider behind me. His attack only grazed my face before she killed him, but it was a close call nonetheless. After me and Edena had a dismal conversation where she sobbed talking about how close she was to losing me. I vowed to be more careful, as I promised I would never leave her here.
I move to trace it with my finger, as suddenly the water is disrupted and I am utterly soaked. I see the culprit, and I stare at her with fake indignation. I run through the shallow water and splash her back. Her laughter rings in my ears, a sound more heavenly than the Sirens.
She places her hands up enacting a truce, as I concede till she splashes me back the second I put my hands down. I grab her and as I am about to enact my revenge, I see Elliot enter the spring.
We both exit the water and attempt to sober up and stifle our laughs.
“Elliot what brings you up so early?” she says.
“Have you been having bad dreams too?” I add.
He gives a friendly smile, one characteristic to him.
“I wouldn’t call it a bad dream, quite the opposite. But it might have been a little bad because I woke up way too early.”
“What did you dream of?”
“Well, I will admit my memory is a bit hazy, but I remember the important parts. Like when she”
“Right right I got it. I thought you would dream of victory in battle, or cutting off Mara’s head” I say as we all chuckle.
“Dreams are the only escape one can have from life, especially for people like us. I think it's good to dream of paradise, or irrational joys. Even if they are futile, they keep me going.”
I nod and smile at him. He’s a good man Elliot, he was the one who found and took me and Edena in. I owe him my life, and I make sure to work towards my debt fighting for our shared cause.
“Are you ready for today?” he asks.
“Yeah, we are. We have fought hard to get here, and we will continue to do just that. We have to.”
“And we will” Edena adds.
The three of us head back to camp after we wait for Elliot to freshen up. By now everyone is awake and busy in preparations. We all have a job, even if only a few of us will go to the actual meeting point. A smaller group is better for our discreetness. If these meetings or our location is made known, it will ruin everything.
The people here are good and we all have similar backgrounds, which has led us to share a burning hatred for the Republic. Even if the reasons are varying, we all were able or forced to escape. The Republic itself is a perplexing thing, and the lack of concrete history I know about it makes it seem like a never-ending power, that has been there for as long as there has been life.
We are poor, we never had any books to read nor we were taught much. Though that might have been a blessing, for the Republic’s version would surely be full of lies. Our knowledge came from experience, and the wisdom those around us gained from their experiences. But from the things my father told me, and other veterans I have seen around. The world used to be a totally different place. Technology was much more advanced, life was safer, fulfilling, and much better governed. The pursuit of happiness was an individual thing, one that everyone had the right to.
Then the same thing happened that always happens, the true nature of man could be concealed no longer. There was much warfare, and much greed. Technology got to such a point where everyone just destroyed each other, and from the fragments of the world rose the New Republic. I am not even sure when they came around, my father didn’t know either.
Things were better at the start, it was an actual Republic and humanity was being preserved. But the few in power felt surged by it, and from there they wished for more and more. The people were helpless, the world was a broken place and the Republic was a demon but one disguised as an angel. It took advantage of its people, as it became a hierarchy where the rich prospered while the poor got even poorer. To call it a Republic is nothing short of a jeer, and even if everyone is aware of this, they cannot do anything against it.
10 percent of the population is richer than the other 90 combined, and that too easily. Executions happen with a lack of evidence, starvation is common, medicine and treatment are foreign to most. Justice and order do not exist, only whatever will help Mara the most.
Mara is the devil’s mother, and such a person is the current Supreme Monarch of the people. I cannot rest till she dies, the world cannot free oppression or even itself till then either. But even then, the Republic is so much more than that. She is the head of a dragon who wields swords, and the head can just grow back and replace itself with another. The Republic is so vast and infinite, and our numbers are nothing compared to it.
But we have an eternal fight, something the Republic can never even dream of destroying. For as long as there is oppression, there will be those who despise their circumstances. Even if many get conformed by their surroundings, some don’t and those people will be the pioneers of it all. They will get the masses, and with the masses the government can do nothing but fall. If not by my hand, then by the hand after me. Rule never lasts, especially not one that does nothing but dictate its people.
We have been trying to wage little attacks here and there. We steal the riches shipments, we find new members to further our cause, we shed as much Republic blood as we can. They know we are out here, but they do not know where. I make sure of that, as does the Republic’s own arrogance. They think they cannot be defeated, but they can, and they will.
The fact that we have Marcus on the inside is also such a huge advantage and blessing. I trust Marcus with my entire being, and few are as capable as him. We’ve been through much hardship together, and I just know he will be the key piece of ours in this fight.
The inauguration will be a heavy security event, but the rich are shallow and our fighters are determined. With timing, some luck, and the Lord on our side we could damage the core of the Republic. Even if we can’t kill Mara herself right now, the council serves as a crucial support for the Republic. Without its support all things inevitability tumble.
We disembark with just three horses, in the middle of the day. The patrols at night are stricter, but Marcus assured the meeting point would be out of the enemy’s eyes. After looking at the map it seems to be around a two-hour trip, so if all goes well we shall be back by nightfall.
Edena sits at the back of my horse, leaning on my back as she beautifully hums. It’s a song we used to hum when we were kids, about a who hero struggles against the beast, but he perseveres in order to save his love. It gave a sense of hope to us and all the other kids. Maybe one day we can beat the beast, maybe one day we can be the hero. But I know now that the story is nothing but a cruel mockery.
Life is nothing like fairytales, and how can it be. In this story the beast is portrayed the hero, and we are the criminals, we are the barbarians, we are the beast. But my childhood self never realized that, he was young and naïve and innocent. He had aspirations, he had hope. He thought he could free his family from the cells of poverty, he thought that the Republic would be slayed by a hero similar to him.
He was a dreamer, but I have walked the floors of hell and now I have nothing but nightmares. Sleep is no escape for me, dreams are not what I live for. They do nothing but trap me and force me to acknowledge myself and my sins, but for that I have no time. I have nothing in me that can accept myself, or anything that has happened to me. I can do nothing expect push forward. If I have been given a cursed fate, I refuse to accept it.
As long as I have Edena, as long as I have this burning hatred inside of me that awakens my dead soul. I shall continue forward.
“Are you okay?” Edena asks.
I don’t respond, as she just hugs my back tighter. I know I don’t have to answer, I know she knows. I know she understands for she is on the same boat as I. The both of us dangling in a raft in the midst of an absurd endless ocean.
As long as she is with me on that raft. As long as she is with me as we trudge through horror after horror. As long as she is with me after each of my nightmares. As long as she is with me as I attempt to outrun my past while chasing my future. As long as she is with me.
The spot Marcus marked is a seemingly abandoned campsite which he said is used by the Republic in their various voyages. He had been stationed in the area recently, so luck was on our side. We tie our horses near an outer ring of trees, before opting to survey all surroundings on foot.
Other than me, Edena, and Elliot there is Rampart and Willson with us as we all circle around the site, and search through some of the trees. It is completely clear, not even a horse for Marcus. Whenever we have had a meeting, Marcus somehow finds us before we find him so we enter the site and just wait.
We don’t light a fire, for the obvious smoke would inform one of our presence. There are only 3 chairs, so me and Edena rest against a tree together. My nerves are high, but having her warm body nestled against mine surely helps. Hopefully he can make it, it would be totally plausible for something to have had come up. The time he gave was midday, give or take a few hours so we can do nothing but wait.
Edena dozes off with her head in my lap, so I sit careful not to move. I think about my family, which I seldom do for its far too painful, but given the circumstances I do anyways. It’s funny though, how I now crave that same impoverished life I was always so against.
My family made it worth it, my mother never let us live like we were poor. She always made the most out of everything, all with a beautiful smile on her face. My father always made time to play with me, to teach me things even with how demanding the Republic was. Edena and Marcus were my closest friends even then.
I look down at her sleeping face, one I have thoroughly memorized. Her brown hair, with its traces of curls in them which I always like to play with. Her skin which is so soft and mesmerizing. A better canvas than the sky itself. I trace my finger over her lush lips, as I softly bring mine against them.
Edena’s father was an important member of the Republic, and nothing near poor. But when her mother was pregnant, he left and acted as if she never existed. Her mother descended into a deluded madness, while Edena was left with little care. We have always been family for as long as I can remember, and many times my parents cared for her as if she was their blood.
Especially when her mother also died a few years ago, and even with her last breath she was waiting for his return. Edena changed after that, but unlike me she was still able to foster hope and she was still able to dream.
I know the world is cold and cruel, there is no arguing against it. Those who think differently are nothing but privileged, or ignorant, or heavily deluded. Still, I can’t help but want to wake up every day, I can’t help wanting to give it my all.
I see why, it’s because of this being who lays on my lap. Of course, the burning desire for revenge I feel plays its part. But in a cold world the flame of revenge does not give me warmth, for it is a cold flame which burns me but does not comfort me. Edena does though, she always has and she always will. I wish to live because I have something to lose. And that is scary, that is so scary. The fact that in order to feel ecstasy one must risk agony.
But all that means is I have to be that more diligent; I have to feel an even greater wish to live. I have to correct my past sins. I have to protect her, and accomplish what I failed to with my parents.
I hear movement amongst the trees, as Edena and everyone else jolts awake and ready. I grab my sheathed sword for the chance it is not Marcus. It seems like only one person though, and I am correct as he walks in.
He’s let quite the beard grow out, and his hair too is duly in need for a cut. He looks older, more tired but Marcus just the same. I walk over to him, as we share a deep embrace. Memories of our childhood flash through my head, to think of all that has led to this.
“Marcus, it is a blessing to see you again.”
“I haven’t been here 20 seconds, and you have gotten all dramatic on me.”
He embraces everyone else, as we move to the three chairs. His humor has stayed the same over the years, so has his awkward walk. He really is just Marcus; the Republic has never been able to dig their claws into him even after he has spent so many years with them.
“Sorry about the chairs.”
We all sit on the floor instead, as Marcus opts to stand.
“I don’t have long this time; I have to go to the next vantage point.”
“So, let’s hear it then Marcus” Elliot says.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
“The bad news” I say.
“Okay well the good news is I got the location, date, and even inside information about the venue.”
We all share a relieved sigh, as Edena squeezes my hand as I do back.
“What’s the bad news then?” I say.
“Well, uh. The event is much sooner than I had forsaken. It’s actually the day after tomorrow.”
A silence occurs, as all the just upturned lips change into a frown.
“Okay that’s that then. We forget about it, we wait for another opportunity” I say.
Edena immediately intercepts.
“No, we can’t do that Griffin. This is the best opportunity we have ever had. Even if it's hasty, we have to take it.”
“We aren’t ready for this, not on such short notice.”
“We will never be ready for the Republic, but that does not mean we can’t do our parts against them.”
I look at Marcus and I can’t tell what side his expression favors.
“What if it goes wrong, what if the numbers are just too much?”
“That’s how it always has been. I told you, everyone is prepared to die if that is what it takes. But you’re right I hope they don’t and maybe they won’t. But death is inevitable, the Republic shall catch us if not time itself. To die for such a cause is nothing short of a blessing.”
But I don’t want to die, I don’t want you to die.
Edena grabs my hand once again, as I look into her fierce determined eyes.
“I know if Mara is to ever be beaten, if the Republic is to ever be beaten then it will be you delivering the killing blow. I know I will be by your side, and I know things will get better. Not if we do not do this. There is great margin for error, the odds are against us to such extreme degrees. But the odds have been against us since the day we were born Griffin, and we have preserved.”
I agree with every word coming out of your pretty lips, but why am I so terrified. Why am I so scared. I don’t know, this isn’t like me.
“I think I agree with her Griffin. This is exactly what we have been fighting for all these years, even if it’s risky” Rampart says.
Wilson nods agreeing, while Elliot comes over and grabs my shoulder.
“The burden of everyone’s life is not your responsibility, but taking down the Republic is. Why don’t we make the inevitable the presently plausible?”
I nod, as everyone rejoices except Edena who stares on to me with worried eyes. I kiss her forehead, before telling everyone to load the horses while I help Marcus load his.
The Sun has begun setting by now, as the two of us stare at it.
“I think this is the right choice.”
I stay silent, my gaze just following the traveling Sun.
Marcus hands me a journal, which I accept.
“This is all the information I could get. Its plenty, so try and devise some sort of plan. Surprise is your friend here, come out of the gates with all you have. Once the shock wears off it is pretty much going to be over.”
“Do you think we can win?”
“I don’t think anyone can win in a war” he says.
“Yeah, I think you are right. I will do everything I can to make the loses minimum.”
“I know you will Griffin, but you can’t save everyone.”
I don’t know if I can even say anyone.
“We will meet again Griffin I know we will. May your foes perish to your feet.”
We embrace once again, as he loads on top of his horse.
“Thanks Marcus. For everything and more, I owe you, my life.”
“I know” he says while nodding and riding off into the sunset.
Mother’s face has just been getting paler, her forehead warmer. But yet she smiles, because she knows just how much father and I worry. I will get better soon don’t you worry she tells me over and over. I know she will, she has to of course.
Father seems stressed, but I keep telling him how there is no need. Mother is strong, she will fight this the same way she fights every other problem life throws at her. We just have to give her time and show her all of our never-ending love.
I hear my friends screaming my name asking me to come play. I hug father, and kiss mother’s forehead wiping the moisture from my lip as I leave the room to run to get Edena and Marcus.
But the second I am about to leave I turn and see mother whose condition has become twice as worse. Father paces the room, his once confident and carefree nature now serious and grim. He is cursing the rich, and how because of them he cannot afford the medicine mother needs. How he went around asking for firstly the antibiotic, but when that proved to no avail he started begging for bare change to be able to afford it.
Adding every cent my father has saved it is still nowhere near the amount required to buy what my mother needs. I bring her a cup of water, as I place a cold rag on her forehead. Edena is with me too; I can see how sad she is looking at mother.
Father states how enough is enough, and he slams the table before getting his coat ready to head outside. I stop him asking where he is going, as he hugs me strongly. He tells me how much he loves me and says “I am going to get your mother’s medicine” but I know the meaning. He is going to steal it, but in desperation man does such things, and it is not man’s fault. For one should not be blamed for stealing for his dying wife, the ones who force one to steal should be.
He leaves, as me and Edena stay with mother till much commotion is heard. “An execution is happening in the square; an execution is happening in the square.” That’s a coincidence, just at the time father left to get the medicine. I despise executions, but the timing makes me check it out. Maybe I can see father on my way.
Me and Edena hold hands running towards the middle of the square where a huge crowd has already been huddled. It is hard to see the stage, but I let go of Edena’s hand and climb on to a nearby crate. I look up and I see a man standing behind father holding a big axe. “FATHER NO” I scream, but it does nothing except alert him of my presence.
He stares into my eyes as his head is cut off. It isn’t a clean cut; it actually takes around 3 swings to get it clear but eventually it does. It thuds as it rolls on the floor. For a moment the world stops, and it is just me and my father’s head. His eyes are no longer staring at me, because like one of the balls we play with his head rolled and moved. It is just a lone head, gone and away. The rest of his body is just nothing.
Edena grabs me as I fall down from the crate. The look in her face alerts me immediately, my entire being hurts but she pleads squeezing my hand. We have to save mother. I run towards our house, but Edena pulls and beckons the other way.
“Kill his family, erase them” Everyone screams.
“Erase them, erase them.”
But mother, what about my mother. What about father, what about me? Edena is pulling on my hand, and my body directs itself and starts running. I can’t feel anything, but I feel everything.
We run and run, as we exit the walls through one of the many blind spots the poor side of the city has. Run, run, I have to run. Edena’s hand is all I know, it’s all I have left.
I can’t let go, I never can. Father mother, I am sorry. I am sorry, I am sorry.
I feel arms around me once again, but this time the nightmare doesn’t end there. Edena holds me and I weep, oh how I weep. I weep for myself, I weep for Edena, I weep for my family. I weep for how much I miss them; I weep for how things were. I weep for everyone who has suffered injustice, I weep for my soul. I weep for all the blood I will stain, and how deserving each drop of it will be.
The morning comes, just as my resolve does. I have a destiny to fulfill, I have people I need to protect, people I need to save. Fear will not save Edena, action will. I will not run this time.
The whole day yesterday was spent strategizing and reading the journal Marcus left. There will be about 150 important members of the government, and a few hundred soldiers. Our numbers in total are around 230, but we will have the surprise factor on them.
The plan is simple, and the one Marcus recommended. Me and Edena will go on the top floor of this vacated building near the ceremony area as we keep watch. When Mara goes to give her speech I will give the signal, and we will all advance. It will be a bloodbath down there, but no life shall be innocent. The Republic deserves this, and the ones who die from our side lost their innocence due to the Republic.
After the initial attack, we retreat whenever we can, for the second reinforcements arrive from the city, it will be our end. It is a sound plan, surely causality heavy but each death shall mean something. I will make sure of that.
Those who are not coming spent the night packing the horses, so everything is loaded and ready. Before we leave however, I decide to give a speech.
Edena hugs me, before I nod and climb on top of some crates that were placed for this purpose. I look out at everyone who stares at me with eager and hopeful eyes. One could never guess that these people would be riding to their deaths. I feel an overwhelming sense of care for each and every one of them. I wish I could just save them all, but I can’t. But I can make their deaths meaningful, and I can do all in my power to save as many as possible.
“Comrades, brothers, sisters, family. We stand here united. Not just because of our cause, not just because of our upbringing, not just because of our circumstances. But because we are family, and we are all each other has. I’ve always thought life was unlucky to us because we didn’t have money, or adversity and loss was more common than not. We found family though, we found something worth fighting for. Something worth dying for. The Republic can’t say that. I bet they could die for greed, or power, or money. But no Republic man would die trying to save his wife, no Republic man would die amongst his family the way we would. I hope today is meant for us; I hope that all goes well. I just know we have already won, us deciding to undertake this is proof enough. We have won because we faced hell and walked through its fires, and now we shall walk back in to save those we love.”
Cheers ring through the crowd, as everyone gets on their horses. Edena puts her hands around my waist, as I soak into her warmth. May justice be served today.
Her shallow breathing is all I hear, as we both sit quiet and patiently. She observes the stage through our one pair of binoculars, as I observe the parts of her face not covered. It has been a while since we separated from everyone else, as we are in our designated high ground. The building was vacated as promised, but I wonder what it was used for, considering the singular hand cuff that is attached to the wall.
The plan is simple. The second Mara begins her speech I shall ignite and toss the one stick of dynamite we have left, and it will serve as the signal to commence attack before me and Edena run down to join.
I run my fingers through her hair, the action helps my nerves calm down.
“I don’t want to lose you” I say.
“You won’t.”
“You can’t say that, you have no way of knowing.”
“I will always be with you Griffin, just as you will always be with me.”
“I don’t mean like that. I want you whole and alive the way you are right now. I want to feel the warmth of your hand, or the taste of your lips.”
She puts the binoculars down before turning her body towards me.
“I can’t guarantee something like that.”
“But you have to, for me.”
“I will do my upmost best. I can’t live without you.”
“Neither can I, neither do I want to. But me and you will both live, I will make sure of it Edena. The Republic is not taking anything else away from me.”
“They won’t, they have already taken more than we had to offer.”
We both sadly chuckle, before embracing.
“I would walk through hell over and over if you were by my side” I say.
“It is only hell if you aren’t there. The past few years of my life have been the best, easily. You made life worth living, you made me want to live. You always have.”
She nestles her head into the crook of my neck as I hold on tight.
“And you said I was the cheesy one.”
We laugh, and for a second the Republic is forgotten, so is Mara, so is everything that has led up to this moment. I kiss her, and this moment is the past, present, and future and all three are absolutely perfect.
I hear a knock at the door, as I startle up and immediately draw and point my sword out, but it is just Marcus.
“Marcus, what are you doing here? I didn’t know this was part of the plan, what if someone saw you.”
“Relax, relax. No one did, I knew the spot and I had an opening so I came. I thought I would be here while we lit up the beginning of the end.”
Me and Edena smile, as we make room for him by the window.
“Sorry if I you know, interrupted something.”
We both just giggle, opting to go the silent route to his teasing.
“You know this room used to be a Republic den. A lot of rich men came here unknowing to their wives” he says.
“That explains the handcuff.”
“There’s a handcuff?!” he says.
Marcus laughs in shock wholly and freely as he goes behind me to examine the handcuff. The next thing I see is absolute darkness.
I wake with a throbbing pain in my head, but as my eyes dilate, I see Edena on the floor. Her lip is busted, and a large bruise resides over her eye. I move to get to her, but I can’t. I struggle till I realize my hand is in the large metal cuff. I look up and I see Marcus smiling at me.
“What is this Marcus!”
Edena looks up at me, and her expression is broken. I can see the helplessness she feels in her eyes.
“Edena! Marcus, what is this. Please, what is this?”
He just continues to smile, the same smile he has always had.
I struggle and struggle, but it does nothing to my cuff which stays on tight.
“You know. The cuff made this all the better, all the funnier. I actually didn’t know that would be there, but it makes this that much easier.”
“What do you mean Marcus, what are you talking about.”
“God, Griffin how stupid can you be. No wonder your hand is in a prostitute’s cuff attached to the wall. Edena got it immediately, she even put up a fight. This is betrayal, I am betraying you. I seriously don’t know how to make that any clearer.”
Betrayal, from Marcus? Am I in a nightmare, I have to be. Wake up, wake up. Let me wake up in the tent in Edena’s arms please. Let me hold her, take me out of this nightmare.
“What are you denying Griffin, seriously what is there to deny. This isn’t a dream; this isn’t a joke. I am here in front of you, I am going to kill Edena in front of you before I kill you.”
But this is Marcus, what can this mean? How can this be?
“Okay, okay. I guess shock is really a disarming thing. Okay, let me try and explain. I brought you here so I can turn in you and every single member of your Rebellion, so I can move up the ranks of the Republic. That’s simple enough right, it also offers an explanation. And don’t you dare ask, “but why” I just told you why. As for how, well I don’t know. You are nothing to me, never really have been. Maybe when we were really really young, but since then you haven’t Griffin and I think you have the right to know that.”
I see Edena on the floor try to get up, but Marcus kicks her in the face, as she falls back down once more. I see her eyes well up, as I feel my own doing the same. The anger in me is uncontrollable, but I cannot free myself from these cuffs.
“Edena! Don’t you dare touch her, I will kill you Marcus. Please don’t do this.”
He just smiles and shakes his head at me, as if all of this was just amusing to him.
“Shut up, I was explaining myself. I am trying to express here and you are cutting me off. Don’t try that again Edena, I won’t be as kind. And I am going to touch her Griffin, I have to in order to kill her. Anyways, yeah what was I saying. I don’t care about you never have. The Republic pays informers well, and they have been filling my pockets up for a while. I could never accept poverty the way you could, it was always so bizarre to me. I could not live on small pieces of bread and soup; I could not live amongst rats.
Maybe it was because your family was just like you, accepting of the circumstances. If your father did not accept so easily, maybe your mother would have never died. Maybe your father’s ambition would put your family in a position where he didn’t have to steal medicine. But he did, and he paid the consequences.”
The tears are flowing down my face, as my arm is in constant motion just trying to free itself.
“Don’t you dare speak about my father like that, my father did everything for me.”
“Well maybe his everything wasn’t enough. Like father like son, look at you. But you want to know why I am doing this? Because not only do I not care about you, I also am repulsed by you. I hate you and your stupid face. I hate the Rebellion; I hate you too Edena. You guys are nuisances, pestering flies to the Republic, and it’s my job to get rid of the flies.”
I look around me, as I see my sword. It’s almost in reach, I try to grab it but it is just a little too far.
“Don’t worry you can’t get the sword. I just put it there to taunt you, it will make this next part just that much more interesting.”
“But how, how! How could you support the Republic after what they did to my family! How could you do this to me!”
At this Marcus laughs, and it is the same laugh I have heard many many times in life. There is no extra hint of sinisterness, it is not any more psychotic. It is just Marcus.
“Oh no, oh no Griffin. How do I tell you this.”
He nudges the tip of his sword on Edena, “Do you have an idea?”
“No? Wow okay so this is going to be a total shocker. There’s no easy way to say this, except I killed your father.”
“Okay, I will admit that was a bit dramatic, because as you know it wasn’t me it was the executioner who cut off his head. But it was me who told the Republic that he was going to steal. I am not even sure if he attempted it yet by the time they caught him. He was a fellow poor man, so there wasn’t much monetary gain involved but it was worth it because he was your father. I thought they would kill you next, I had no idea you and Edena would actually escape. But oh how glad I am you did, because now I get the chance to do this. It’s like the stars just fell to my hand, I think this all was meant to be.”
I rustle the cuffs so hard my own wrist feels like its broken. The metal cuts into my skin till I smell so much blood but I continue. I shake and shake the cuffs doing all I can. All I want is to slit his throat, I want to kill him so bad. I try to pull my arm out of its socket but even that doesn’t work.
Ah, ah.
AH, AH, AH. Marcus, I am going to kill you I am going to kill you. I am going to cut you into pieces and bring you back together just to cut you again. Never have I felt such venom, never have I felt such rage inside of me. It’s consuming, my entire body is on fire. You will not win, I will save Edena, I will avenge my family.
“Oh your helpless face this is great. You are just like your father, you are just like the poor. But finally, I am the rich, I am part of the Republic. I am going to break you before I kill you Griffin, though I am pretty sure I am almost already there.”
No, please.
“I am sorry Griffin.”
No, God please stop this.
“I am not, I don’t know why I said that.”
Let me out please. I am not running this time, let me fight please.
“How should I do it hmm?”
I see Edena try to crawl towards me, her love clear in her eyes. The image shatters my soul in to a thousand pieces, as even though I give it my all I am still stuck in place. I cannot move, I cannot do anything but watch.
Her eyes stay on me as Marcus stomps his foot on the back of her head. Her face collides with the ground, as her nose completely breaks and her eyes close. Her face is a mass mixture of crushed disfigured parts and just red. There is so much red, such fresh red pouring out of everywhere. A harrowing screech comes out of her throat.
A sound filled with agony; a sound so dreadful that I cannot even comprehend it. It can’t be real, it can’t be possible for anyone to make such a sound. The sound that would be heard if an angel was slaughtered, the sound that would be heard from space if the entire world died at once.
I would die a million times to not hear that sound, I would do anything just to not hear it. Just to not see her choking on the floor in her own blood. Just to not see Marcus step on her again, this time the front of her face colliding with his foot.
He steps again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again. AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.
Each instance I die a million times, each second, I suffer eternities of punishment. The blood continues to fly everywhere, the screams stop after the third stomp but he just continues. He just stomps and stomps and stomps.
I feel my hand breaking, the bones overlapping with each other and individually cracking. I pull, I still pull so so hard. My hand is completely bent, my wrist has shattered in so many different places. I reach for my sword, more cracks happen, as he continues to stomp.
“You are the greatest thing to ever happen to me Griffin.”
It’s so near.
“I love you.”
My wrist completely comes out of my hand in snaps in such a way that I get the few inches forward needed to reach my sword. I grab it with my free hand and immediately I turn to myself and swing it down to cut my arm above the cuff. I don’t even feel it, I enjoy doing it actually. I saw away wanting to get the cuffs and even the hand just off of me. I lift and strike down again, and once more until my arm is completely severed.
The room is red, but it needs to be redder. It needs to be so much redder. I look at Marcus who just stares at me with fear in his eyes, but I need more fear, I need him to suffer so much more. He needs to suffer past the end of time and existence and conscious and the universe. He needs to suffer past forever, and still it would not even be close to enough.
He tries to turn and escape, but I come forward and slash my sword which cuts him on the thigh. I slash again and sever his right leg completely below the knee. He screams but the sound is nothing, his agony is nothing.
I lift myself up towards the window, and take out the dynamite out of the shelf Edena placed it on. I can’t light it anymore with only one arm, so I throw it down the building in hopes that it explodes. It doesn’t I knew it wouldn’t.
I go back towards Marcus, and his now pathetic whines. “Please, please no no” and “you don’t have to Griffin there’s no need.”
Foolish scum, foolish devil. I shall kill you even if the rest of the world had to die at its cost. For the world means nothing to me anymore, I have nothing. You have taken everything from me Marcus, I have nothing to lose I have nothing to live for.
“You don’t have to Griffin please, there’s no need! I have information, take my information first! There are other governments and cities just as big as the Republic, they can be used to bring the Republic down, I have connections I can help you. Please Griffin, please brother. I love you.”
The beast can never love, and even if I cannot save mine; I will make sure to slay the beast. I hope you get even a fraction of the eternal punishment you deserve.
I lift my sword and swing it at this throat. His head is still very much attached as he chokes on his own blood, but I swing it again and this time it falls clean off. I hear a thud of it hitting the floor. I drop the sword and pick up the head and walk to the window. I throw his head off, hoping someone from the Republic sees it fall and takes it as a signal.
I fall on to my knees, as I stare at Edena.
“I failed again.”
Her body is stiff and in fetal position, as her head is nothing but a giant mash of blood and brain.
I lay down beside her, and I close my eyes. I pretend we are in the tent and she is holding me. Everything is okay, everything is perfect.
We lay in an empty field of grass; the wind blows on us cooling us down from the killer summer heat. I notice our distance; she is laying right there almost next to me. My heart rate has not slowed down ever since.
I am in utter heaven, the peace and solitude laying with Edena offers. I have no worries, no ambitions, no responsibilities except her.
“Hey Edena?”
“Mhm.”
“You like me right?”
“Mhm?” she says while sitting up.
“U-Uh, like as friends like you like me. I am your friend right?”
She groans before laying down with her eyes closed once again. Why did she groan? What did she want me to say?
“Seriously Griffin” she says, her voice muffled by the grass she is speaking into.
“How big of a hint do you need?”
“Hint for what?” I ask.
“Oh my god, oh my god.”
She sits up, as I look on both curious and confused.
“I do like you.”
“Yeah I know, you just said that earlier.”
“No! I mean I like you in the way you are referring to.”
I feel my face warm up, as I duck it down.
“Really?”
“I love you stupid, I always have. You make everything so worth it.”
I hope I see you on the other side, I realize now that heaven is just wherever you are. I am gone, but I want to be because you are gone.
