V-00000.4 - Terminator

I began walking towards the door, shoving down my wandering thoughts and emotions, and as I got closer to the door, I heard a faint sound, and within a few more steps, I could hear them whispering behind my door, their words as clear as day to my enhanced senses.

“You sure he’s even in there?” Said a soft younger I didn’t recognize.

"Oh, I’m certain, felt the creepy bastard eyeing us.” This voice was harsher with a grave undertone that made me certain it belonged to Marcus.

Another voice came to my ears, sounding young with a Russian accent, and I was certain it belonged to Dennis. “Are we really going to be doing this? T’s… Creepy as fuck sure, but he was one of us, I jus…”

Marcus spoke again, cutting Dennis off. “Don’t be stupid, Denny; T is a goddamn sociopath. I don’t know what misconceptions you had about the guy, but he wasn’t your friend; we didn’t call him T—just because he’s tough alright.”

Dennis spoke up again, only to be cut off by Marcus immediately.

“What does…?”

“Shut it; I can hear him coming.”

I could feel rage steadily building in my mind as I approached and heard them talking. I had made every effort to leave on amicable terms with these people, and yet here they are at the first sign of opportunity, trying to stab me in the back. I shoved the mounting rage down and felt the emotion twist into a cold malice as I stood sideways to the door, keeping my profile slim.

“What do you want, Marcus?” I shouted through the door, cupping my hand to my mouth to throw my voice and seem closer to the door.

Marcus replied without hesitation, his voice light, almost jovial and friendly.

"Fuckin T, of course you knew I was here. Listen, pal, I just wanted to drop by to make sure you’re alright given the circumstances.

I know you don’t run with us any more, but I felt I owed it to you, especially considering how sick you are.”

“I’m fine, Marcus. I appreciate the concern, but you don’t need to waste any more time with me; I’m sure you have your own problems.” I said my tone completely flat.

“So it’s like that, huh? You get out, get yourself an education, and what? Suddenly your too good to even look me in the eye after I come all the way out here to make sure you’re ok.”

“We’re done, Marc. I know why you are here. Last chance now, fuck OFF.”

For a moment Marcus was silent, and then I heard a whisper. “You know Adam has Alice, back at the warehouse just saying..." Marcus spoke once again.

“Listen here, Viktor, you’re going to get your crippled ass out here, or guess what! I’m going to leave and spend some time with your lovely girlfriend.”

My veins froze at the mention of Alice; panic crept into my mind, and I could feel my heart pounding harder as it pushed adrenaline into my veins like liquid fire.

Then a sense of cold, empty detachment silenced my fears; the cold, violent part of my mind, the part of me that I had spent the better part of two years suppressing and pretending wasn’t a part of me, began to work again, feeding me images of murder and fanning the flames of my rage.

Step by step, I inched closer to the door. A feeling of detachment swallowed everything my steps felt far from me, but once I grabbed the door handle, my nerves exploded into action, and my ever-present pain focused me, pushing my sprawling mind into a hateful frenzy as the cold metal doorknob shocked me from my trance. Racing to make my conscious mind catch up with the unconscious, I pulled my mind to the present.

My eyes narrowed in as I dismissed all options that didn’t end with my foot in Marcus’s gray matter, then a vision of Alice forced itself to the front of my mind, her deep gray eyes locked on mine. I heard her voice soft as ever, and I softened at the sound—the only sound that ever reminded me I was a human being too.

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“Don’t be dumbass, Viktor. You’re not a monster; you’re just a little bit broken, but I’ve seen the good within you. Vik, your smart, funny, and loving... If you can’t believe in yourself, then believe in me! Come home with me; forget about all this bullshit; you promised me forever, so stop trying to throw your life away.”

Her beautiful eyes that day had bored straight through the darkness that blanketed my soul, exposing a light I thought long dead. She made me feel as though I’d spent my entire life drowning, only to have someone reach down and drag me above the water.

Remembering her words always brought a new voice to the surface, one of reason and conscience, a voice that told me I couldn’t kill again and I had to be better than yesterday.

I pulled the door open and looked upon my former friends as well as a few strangers.

Looking back at me was a woman with long dark hair and four men, only two of which I recognized, but in the faces of my former friends I saw mixtures of guilt, pity, and contempt, and this only fueled my anger more. Especially the look in Marcus’s eyes; they were deep and scathing, as if he were looking upon a broken statue—something that used to mean greatness and was now just a reminder of how everything turns to shit.

"Listen, Vik, just don’t make this more than it has to be; you understand. Give me my word; I'll make this easy on you and Alice.”

“You know something, Marcus, you’re a real bastard; you’re only still around because of ME! But here you are getting ready to take me out for what? Just because I’m sick and you can now, need the ego boost that bad?”

“No, that’s not the fuckin reason, and only someone as twisted up inside as you are would see it that way! I’m here because I still have something of a conscience, because with this system shit that’s happened the last couple days, I know what someone like you could become." Marcus raised his hand, pointing his finger at me as he raised his voice.

“Ya know, I never understood all that Terminator shit the guys called you. I thought it was just for fun, then I met you face-to-face and saw how fuckin dead and hollow you were... I thought you were pretty creepy, but really, I still didn’t get it. I regret ever understanding that people like you exist, so I’ll be fucked if you’re going to get super powers and come out of retirement.”

I stared daggers into Marcus’s eyes as my foot shifted back into a stance with my hands following suit, my eyes darting between the people before coming up with a plan to get at the weakest of them, someone I can make an example of to put the fear of me into these people.

“I’m not a monster.”

I exploded forward, all the strength coiled into my thighs and calves, throwing my body towards Marcus. I watched in a sort of slow motion as he recoiled and started bringing his fist down to meet my stooped form, and just before I came to blows with the man, I twisted using the unnatural flexibility my damaged joints afforded me to catch my momentum on my ankles and turn at an odd angle, changing direction entirely, continuing my spring between the stunned group. I crouched before lunging towards the girl at the back of the small gang.

Diving through the air, I slammed into her, my hands grabbing her shoulders as my entire weight fell upon her. I used her body to break my fall, only scratching up my knees. I pulled myself up her body by her shoulders, letting go of her and hammering my knees down into her shoulders, pinning her down, and I began to ground and pound her, lifting her head up before pummeling her skull back into the ground.

I could feel pain radiating up my hands and recoiling into my shoulders as my joints refused to be as stoic with the impact as I was, and then I felt my vision blur as an impact rocked my head forward. I used the momentum to headbutt the bitch hard, slamming my forehead down into her jaw.

Punches and kicks continued to hammer my body as I crouched over the girl beating her into the concrete, my vision blurred further into barely coherent colors, sounds became long and drawn out, and eventually I felt the punches and kicks turn to grasping hands, people desperate to stop me to pull me off instead of beat me.

I reached up and grasped a hand on my shoulder tight with a drunken sway. I pulled myself up using their arm and gave up on even trying to understand who or what I was looking at. Instead, I bit down hard, digging my teeth into the man’s forearm. I felt his hot blood fill my mouth. A sweet, almost fermented taste ran across my tongue as my vision cleared just enough to see Marcus Kick. He was hard knocking my away with my pound of flesh. I slammed down onto the concrete, my elbows catching me, already starting to scramble back to give myself some breathing room.

I spat the chunk of Long Pig out and licked my lips as I pushed myself up. Staring forward, the dark shapes in my vision started to clear up into people, and the pinpricks in my eyes retreated. I could see the scene id caused; the girl with dark hair was laid out, blood covered the ground surrounding her head, every part of her face twisted up and disfigured, and beside her was a boy with blue dyed hair cradling an arm missing a mouth-sized chunk. Their eyes though were what I cared about, and in their eyes though were what I cared about, and in their stares I saw outrage, shock, hatred, and one more emotion.

Fear painted them as blood painted me; no one wanted to be the next guy to try it. As beaten, as beaten bruised and bloody as I was, I pulled myself to my full height, standing straight. I could feel my entire body protesting and screaming at me to stop as fresh bruises and popped joints, and the definite concussion told me this was it.

I showed no pain, fear, or weakness, not even anger. My eyes were dead, empty, hollow for all but the malice, the desire to kill them for threatening Alice. Staring at them, I could feel something subtle, a gut feeling whispering just how afraid my instincts were drawing my attention to their shifting eyes, how their postures were changing to be more defensive and ready to bolt.

Stepping forward I snarled with the pain and anger towards Marcus’s “Tell me where the FUCK she IS, or I’ll make sure none of you get out of this place alive.”

“Who the fuck are you kidding? You’re barely on your feet; we aren't.”

“SHUT UP, Marcus only chance. You might kill me, but I’ll tear most of you apart. Cripple whoever’s left with my dying breaths.”

Watching Marcus, I could feel the choice was already made in his mind; the girl on the floors breathing was ragged and came with a wet rattling sound, and everyone surrounding him was terrified, uncertain of why they were here, and their loyalty was fading fast as some bloody lunatic threatened to eviscerate them even if it cost his life.

“She’s holed up at the Buckner building; you know the place... This isn’t over; that girl wasn’t even a part of this you fucking animal you.”

I stopped listening to him the moment he gave me what I needed, and I began backing away down the street, keeping my eyes on the frightened group who gave me the same treatment until I rounded a corner and I began to run, trying to get enough distance between us that I could move without being ambushed.

I’m coming, Alice.