Chapter 4 - Killers

“Here on this glorious day, I have gathered you all, my abiding subjects. For the continued prosperity of our nation and all that it is. I hereby sentence you all to death. Let the culling begin!” - Prince Xander before ordering what would come to be known as “Slaughter Day” , executing 300 citizens in broad daylight.

I wasn’t angry.

But I won’t lie and say that part of me wasn’t nervous, afraid even.

Afraid for my fate to be in the hands of complete strangers and like a lion drowning at sea, there was nothing I could do about it.

There was something over my head, blocking my vision and suppressing the rest of my senses.

Helplessness and Fear enwreathed me, but I was familiar with them, wasn’t I? These were the emotions that stayed close throughout my lifetime, fleeting for long stretches at times, only to slip into the cracks of my mind polluting my thoughts when I least expected it.

As the hours passed so did the war that took place in the battleground I called my mind.

Wars were often fought there. They normally started as a result of two conflicting feelings vying for power. Whichever one came out on top, dictated the rest of my body’s actions & its behaviors.

Escaping into the depths of my mind I entered the barren wasteland filled with countless bodies that had their soul taken from them, walking along the granite pathway I began to take in my surroundings, the 2 moons stared back at me as if I was a trespasser that did not belong.

I reached the end of the pathway, only to find a young boy stained with blood and grime all over, with a tattered black cloak and hood covering his face. I got closer to the boy only to find him chained to the wooden chair he was seated on.

As I approached the boy his head suddenly lifted, revealing the bloodied blindfold covering his eyes.

He never once looked at me, placing his attention completely on the moons.

“You’re finally here.” The boy smiled

“Have you been waiting for me?” I replied

“Not waiting for you.” The boy chuckled, “For your decision.”

“Decision? I don’t know what you mea-“

The boy cut me off, this time with more feverance in his speech.

“Will you accept me and all that I represent? Or will you continue to cower in fear of your past, chaining yourself to them like a scared, blind little boy.” The thing continued.

My eyes widened in surprise.

“You don’t have to choose now,” It said. “But I’ll be here waiting, remember that.”

✧

I was brought back to my present situation by the sound of footsteps entering the room they placed me in.

One..Two..Three I counted.

Three sets of footsteps approached me before they came to a halt as they entered my immediate vicinity.

“Remove the bag.” I heard an authoritative voice say.

“By your will, Lord.” A familiar female voice replied, shortly after I was finally able to see.

I didn’t say anything at first. Taking a moment to really gauge the scene and just who I would be speaking to.

“Hello, Carter. It’s a pleasure to meet you. How are you doing today.” The man with the authoritative voice said.

His tone was much milder and pleasant when speaking with me I noticed. But that only seemed to fuel my anger like gasoline on a hot stove.

“Fuck you!” I snapped

“Let me go and leave me alone, and I promise I won’t seek retaliation.” I barked out

Slowly, the man let out an exhausted sigh.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Very well, let it be known I tried to make this as civil as possible. At the end of the day livestock cannot act or behave as if it is human. I say this, Carter, because that’s what you really are.”

The man’s previously authoritative & honorable tone shifted into a somewhat disgusted & matter of fact voice, icy enough it would frighten even those not blessed with the gift of hearing.

“Livestock is meant to live its life according to its master's wishes.”

He paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words crash down on me.

Slavery. I thought.

A large part of me didn’t want to face the truth, and fought against it, in fact.

My life was to be taken away from me by order of someone I’d never once bothered or met before this day.

I continued to glare at the man and stayed silent as my mind worked overtime.

“Now if you are to become who the organization intends for you to be, plenty of changes will need to be made. Starting with your Title.”

My blood froze.

“No longer so talkative, are we? I appreciate that Carter. However, I think it’s time for you to learn a lesson in actions and consequences.”

He glanced at the boy with the lifelike tattoos.

“Eli.” He spoke

“Assist Carter in understanding his error.” He ordered

The hairs on every part of my body began to all rise at once.

It was if my body could sense the pure bloodlust Eli gave off at that moment.

Every fiber of my being screamed to get away, go as far away from this place as possible.

Alas, I was bound, and he was free.

“By your Will, My Lord.” Eli said

I watched as the boy got closer and closer, more details of his face came into light where I was able to get a much clearer look at the gray haired teen, whose skin showed unmarred, save for the scar above his left eye. Eventually grabbing onto my index finger, where he began to go one-by-one and break each individual finger on each individual hand.

Though it took some willpower, I killed the screams before they could even leave my mind.

Only for the tattoo of vines on his arm to move rapidly as if they were never tattoos in the first place. As the vines slowly came unto my being, moving from his person to mine, The once broken fingers began to slowly snap themselves back into place, unaffected as if the previous grueling treatment never happened.

I looked up at the monster with gray hair. Only to be met with a big smile that never reached his eyes.

I closed my eyes and held my breath.

Thus beginning a habit that would later on stay with me every single day for the rest of my life. Prayer.

To every and any god that could hear me, for salvation.

✧

387.

A number that kept me solace, a number that I clung onto as my body and mind were destroyed over, and over, and over.

387 marks the total amount of each separate instance my body was healed back to its original state by him.

They tried to break my mind, my body, and my soul. To say they didn’t succeed would be a lie though.

It was an odd sight to see I’m sure.

As I lay slouched, bound to my seat, with a pool of blood staining the floor, my body convulsing over and over, yet not one mark or scratch could be seen on me. I’m sure it looked like I came and sat down, tied myself up and sat there after the fact.

Oh how I wish that was the case. The scars that I would carry with me from this day onward were invisible to the naked eye maybe, but trust me, they were there.

Apparently I didn’t understand just how bad it affected me until I dozed off and found myself in that same barren wasteland, with two moons.

I awoke right next to that same thing that inhabited the deepest part of my mind as before. Only this time, there wasn’t as much fear and surprise in me as last time.

The boy must’ve noticed the change, as before he began to speak, he held himself back.

I took the invitation for what it was and so began another of our conversations.

“What exactly do the two moons represent?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Whatever you want them to mean,” The boy responded.

I was a little stunned by his reply, but before I knew it, a reply was spurted out of my mouth.

“And what do they mean to you?”

The boy's head, marred with blood and dirt from the wasteland, shot up and he uttered words that would shape me into who I would later on become.

“The moons represent choice, for me,” he said. “More often than not you’ll always have two choices in this realm. To struggle, fight, and grasp with your hands all that you’ve ever dreamed of. To not take no for an answer and create your own way, to rebel against the constraints we’re bound by. To go against the decree of the gods and form your own path. Raising up your soul in defiance of the once perceived to-be inevitable.”

By the end of his speech the fervor had turned palpable and the boy had been leaning forward almost like he was going to leap out of the seat he was bound to..

The boy genuinely believed with every ounce of his being in what he was saying.

“And the other choice?” I asked

As the words left my mouth I could see his body shrink back into his seat, and the visible fervor and belief was nowhere to be found.

“To sit back and let it all happen, for your will wasn’t enough.” He spoke with so little energy and life I could’ve blown on him and his bones would’ve turned to dust.

So there I sat, in the barren wasteland with nothing but released chains and a wooden chair.

The blindfolded boy, my friend, had been long gone by now and as I look up into the night sky I noticed that only one moon was left in the distance.

I woke up from my slumber still chained to my seat, startled by the words that appeared in front of me. The words were tangible and I knew that if I stuck my hand out i'd be able to touch them. After reading them I could only lay back in my seat and think about my visions in the wasteland, serenity washed over me if only for a brief moment.

TITLE GRANTED:

- Reapers' Heir

CHAPTER 4 - END.