Head pounding, body covered in sweat, pain everywhere – I wake up. Oh… these familiar bars surround me once more. How… dull they are. Dull. There, I said it. I… I want to get out. I need to get out. I need to see whether Chaz is alive or not. I need to return home – Chaz said I was about to get there after all! I was so close to returning home. I was about to have the… amazingly good food. By Fael, I cannot believe that I, me, Fa Fumerunner, have said or thought any of those childish thoughts. Amazingly good? What a waste of words, it is either amazing or good… no, I like that series of words. It makes me feel warm inside, a feeling I don’t think has ever entered my stratosphere of emotional responses or considerations. Warmth is what my body naturally provides my cold heart, but that vision… that life… it was warm. A warmth that is too real for it to just be a fluke. To just be a cruel vision. No, I need to get out. I need to find out. I am still in this damn plane of potential, and I will walk the path of potential to rediscover myself. This is my first step, all other considerations be damned. I promised myself that there would be no turning back. No retracing my steps. No, I shall be walking forward now… but how?

The bars of the cell here are dreg. Of course, I am put in the highest security possible. If my past experience here serves me right, perhaps there is someone who is coming to ‘free’ me? Nah, I doubt it. I doubt that those people were anything more than the personification of my cruelty to… no, there is a chance I am just misremembering. There is the potential that they are alive. If there is a potential, a probability – the absolute slightest of chances; I should explore every option to make sure. Dreg cuts dreg. Only dreg can be used against dreg. Dreg armor is really heavy so it isn't often used, but when there is a person strong enough to actually wear the damn suit, they are almost impossible to kill. Save for with another dreg weapon hitting at the right spot. Dreg is so hard and tough, that when struck at the perfect diagonal, at an exact degree with a monstrous amount of force, it can cut. Force is no issue here. I can definitely hit the degree. Once struck, I need to move fast for that will be quite a deafeningly loud blow. I need to quickly chop a hole and squeeze through. Then run down the pathway and get to the secret tunnel. Go under it and reach the old hideout. Escape through there and then I will be out. Once out, I need to quickly go to Chaz’s house before the manhunt starts. I can quickly find my way into the forest and then I can disappear for a long time. I highly doubt people will forget me, and probably will lockdown this area until I am found dead or alive. That matters not, what matters is… Chaz. I cannot do good while trapped in a damn cage. Alright, very loose, shitty planning completed. Now is the time to execute.

And I do.

The building is exactly as I remembered.

The secret tunnel is easy to find.

I go through and come across… two headless corpses. They both died a long time ago. There is a table filled with weapons. A set of… masks. The masks are different from what I remember though. They are dog and cat skin masks. Just as haunting. The cut to their bodies was done clean and perfectly. Their bones are completely smooth. This could have most definitely been Savra’s work. There are cages. More skeletons. Tools for torture – yes, almost exactly how I left it but not quite. Not exactly. It feels strange to look over. On the plus side, there are some old clothes and hats here. Quickly, I get changed and put on a long coat, large hat, gloves, shoes, and glasses. Without a trace, I disappear from that cruel scene.

It takes a few hours before people are shouting about me. “Fa Fumerunner has escaped!” and all that. Everything people say can be boiled down to that single line, and it is making people scared. The fear is palpable. Oh, I would have reviled in this but instead… instead I just feel sad. Fear and then anger. Anger for me and my actions, but also anger against the guards who could not hold me. Honestly, I would not hold a grudge against the guards. They did everything right. They did not touch me or Savra, even when I was unconscious in case it was a rouse. I was dragged from a distance to my cell judging by the rope burns on my ankles. It is a shame that I wanted to get out this time around, in the other places there was no such desire.

The forest is older than I remember, and there is something different about it. A vibrancy that has been lost. A warm touch that has left from the last I was here. First, I need to find the house. Now I am in the forest, it is easy to get back to Chaz’s house. It is… still in perfect condition. The plants around the house have been cut back and looked after. Maybe the housekeepers are here? Maybe they are here and I truly did mistake them for another family. Silent is my entry. I need to see for myself before I make any noise. One wrong step and it will be all over for me. I cannot let blood be spilled on these sacred grounds. I carefully move inside and move from bush to bush, from pole to pole. Each step gets me closer to the large doors. The doors that gave me refuge… what feels like yesterday. I miss it. I miss everything about those days. How could so much time have passed? That has to be an impossibility. It really does feel like yesterday – and not in the longing sense, it really does legitimately feel like yesterday.

Footsteps. Shadows. Figures. I crouch down, disappearing into the shadows almost completely. I suppose there is a positive to hunting so many people.

The figures get closer.

Chatter.

Laughter.

Quiet.

“…Fa Fumerunner escaped.”

“Well, we are far away. This is a safe space but we should get everyone home. Go, get the kids. Make sure they are protected at all times. We cannot take the risk with such a monster on the prowl.” The voice is familiar… Chaz?

I peek up, getting a better view of the figure. It… looks like Chaz but different. Older, of course, but different. The gate is wrong. The figure is wrong. No, this cant be Chaz. No, now that I listen, it sounds nothing like them. The housekeepers here look wrong too. The outfits, the everything – it is all different… but the masks were different. Perhaps this is right. Perhaps this is all right. Perhaps I really did misremember what happened. Well, I should take a risk. Quietly, I leave the area. I go to the entrance and stand up straight, slowly walking forward. I make myself big and obvious. The figures… Chaz and a housekeeper, turn to me. I should look different enough now without anything outside of Savra who I’ve hidden in the jacket. I touch her hilt for good luck and keep walking and wave. I make my voice much deeper than usual.

“’ello there! Been sent here to make sure everything is okay. The madman psycho killer Fa is on the loose!” This should be a good enough cover.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Yes, we were just talking. Another person came by a few minutes ago to inform us about that as well. Awful news. What is your name, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh me? I am… Cheld. Good to meet you.”

“Cheld? Unusual name, I don’t mean to be insulting.”

“Oh, no offense taken at all. What might yours be? Just mak’in sure that I’m at the right place here!”

Chaz raises an eyebrow in both bemusement and concern.

“I am Zmela Cliffclimber, of course.”

What a foolish man I am. Zmela. Zmela Cliffclimber. What a cruel twist of events and memories. Well, let’s ask at least.

“Ah yes, of course. Just out of curiosity – you see, I am not from around here. I am a guide for the fumes of Fael that works with guards, hence why I am doing the rounds. I was told by someone that a Chaz Cliffclimber resided here as well? Apologies if that is… I mean, I’m sorry if I misunderstood somethin’.”

Zmela cocks their head to the side. Their eyes are a mixture of confusion, sadness... and rage.

“Chaz, you mean my older sibling who was murdered by the very man you are here to protect me from? That one? No, no Chaz does not reside here. He only resides here.” Zmela rests a hand over their heart, tearing up ever so slightly. They look at me accusingly. “Why would you ask? It has been years. YEARS since Chaz and my parent's deaths. And my grandpa’s. My grandpa who made – no, you are a stranger. Get out. Don’t you dare come back, whoever you are. Your name does not match the name of a Fael guide. I…” Zmela takes a few steps back. I am unable to move. Stunned.

“Are you Fa Fumerunner, here to play a sick joke on me? Yes, that would make sense. Taking a name close to your victims and then asking if they are still alive. Using a story – NO! STAY BACK!” I couldn’t even attempt to move my arm before Zmela jumped to action. Their face is red with anger and… a deep fear. Not of me but of... something else. They take a deep, long breath. They are ready to shout something – ready to scream at the top of their lungs-

“I missed the amazingly good food. I am Statue, and I was told to come back home, so here I am. Home.”

Zmela stops.

“I statue. I no feel warm fuzzies anymore. I… Chaz cannot be dead. Chaz is best friend.”

Zmela tears up. They open their mouths but nothing comes out. I slowly walk forward.

“Y…you are statue? That… that cannot be. You sound identical, but… but you can’t be.”

“I statue.”

“No, I was statue. I was the one who was cursed to be a statue for pissing off a psychotic dreg master. He said I killed his family, I did no such thing. I just accidentally stood on the back of his shoes while he was walking and the next minute I was being coated in long dreg-”

“Vines.”

“Y… yes, how did you know?”

“You were stuck in a black room with a beam of light for colour. You were only fed food without any texture and given water. Your mind slowly broke and you became a statue. The potential that you could actually move the suit of armor was your saving grace. An ornamental sword was forcefully placed in your hand and when you got out, it was useful for cutting through the greenery. You eventually found Chaz with a broken leg and saved them.”

“Well, it was their arm but yes, exactly. How did you know? How do you know any of this?! I have never told and was planning on only telling Chaz when they returned from their trip…”

“When you fell off a cliff that Chaz wanted to climb, it broke the armor in two. You came out of it and were dragged back here on a makeshift wooden cart.”

“How could you know any of this?”

“I…” I take a few steps back and sit down on the grass, “You are right, I am Fa Fumerunner.” I take the jacket off to reveal the dreg collar. “-but hear me out before you shout for anyone.”

“…fine. You have exactly one minute. One move and I will fire this.” Zmela lifts up a musket. “Whether I hit or miss, the sound will be loud enough to get everyone's attention. No matter how fast you are, you cannot move faster than my trigger finger.”

Well, I could most definitely kill you before you could fire but that is not why I am here.

“When I was walking down Langnet’s road on my Deathrow’s march, I was given a vision. I… I lived your life. From… well for me it was my cell but for you, it must have been from when you walked home with the dreg master. Everything is slightly different to my memory, but things are 99% the same. Just a detail here or there. I… I felt something while I was looking at your visions. It all felt so real to me – I felt happiness. ‘Warm fuzzies’. I felt joy. I felt love. I felt loved. The first time I felt any of those emotions truly. I have no desire to kill anymore. I have no desire to commit crimes. I escaped only because I wanted to see… to see whether I did… kill… Chaz.”

“Kill? You turned Chaz into a statue while they were still alive! You make their parents starve to death while looking at their dead child! You did not kill, you slaughtered. You were merciless. You… are crying?”

Fucking tears. Again. Is now the time?!

“I… I am truly… truly sorry for what I have done. I am different – not just because of the vision, but also because I have been cursed to be truly good. I thought it was a curse before but now, now I see it as a blessing. The happiness I felt, I never want to go back. I never want to be evil again. I never want to kill. If I could trade my life for a single one of my victims, I would. I know you cannot believe the word of a killer, but trust me.”

“Trust you? You want me to trust any of this? No, you lost the ability to get any form of trust years ago. No, I hope this curse makes you suffer. I hope you are completely aware of what you did and feel destroyed in each and every moment of your pitiful existence. You deserve nothing less than torture for what you have done. You do not deserve death. You do not deserve to experience the bliss I once did. How dare you look through my eyes and think you understand my pain. How dare you come here? You know what? I know those are fake tears. I know this is all a stupid ploy.” The gun fires. I flinch. The gun was pointed up. “I am not like you. Run. Feel what it is like to be hunted. This will be your head start.”

“I… I will hand myself in. I just need to see that cave one last time!” I bolt to the forest. Another gunshot. A spray of dirt next to my feet. Another gunshot. A tree trunk shudders. I duck for cover and keep running. More gunshots. Silence. I run. Fast and hard. I leave nothing in the tank. I will not escape this place. I will be completely exhausted. If I die, so what? If I am captured again, so what?

There! The cliff! There is a small cave in the middle of it. I climb and climb, I use everything left in me to get there and dive inside. Inside is… the broken statue’s mask. A large dreg knife almost identical to Savra – her sister blade. That person… they were a criminal. They experienced love and became a new person. They… they have everything I wish I had. There is a small toy. A toy statue. The one Chaz had. This… I…

Tears again.

I cry – I sob loudly.

I turn around to see Zmela aiming their gun at me with a group of soldiers, housekeepers, neighbors, and friends with different weapons drawn and pointed.

“COME DOWN! ONE WRONG MOVE AND YOU WILL BE KILLED!” The guard shouting stares at me with bloody intent. I sit at the cave's entrance.

“I… I shall – give me… a moment… to… catch my breath” I manage to get out between pants.

“You have one minute.”

I stare at the group. At Zmela. We make eye contact. They nod. They know that I know. I know that they know. Zmela is not Zmela, but that matters not. They have friends now. They have a place in this world. They are loved and enjoy the feeling of warmth and hey, they might even have kids of their own too. They became a Cliffrunner as well. They are everything I want to be – redeemed. They are what I could have been. A brutal reminder of just how much I did. How twisted I am. How many terrible acts I committed.

I am too far gone, let’s be honest. I will never be loved – “YOUR TIME IS UP! GET DOWN NOW!” – well, that is my thinking time gone. Zmela, or whoever you are, enjoy your life. For it is a life I wished for – a life I would give everything for and yet one I will never claim.

“NOW!”

Ah, well this is all my time.

Now a crossroad is before me.

Do I return to suffer on Langnet’s road, or should I, the great Fa Fumerunner, the generational killer, just end my life here?