NEZHA

There were two guards for each of the twenty doors and all of them were long dead. All of them to the floor with blood dripping down their necks and hands. As if a dog came here and bit them all. No, not a dog, a wolf. A wolf came from here and killed them all. But the ones inside were still unharmed. Well. They were still alive, that is. Arsu took one of the men’s pistols and we started searching for Petbe.

I started shouting, calling out Petbes’ name. No reaction to the cold basement. I decided to turn to one of the doors and open the small window to watch what was supposed to be women gathered to the floor like sheep for slaughter. Their breathing was heavy, the moaning was distant and their clothes were half ruined. One of them found my eyes and stood up, rushing to me, and grabbed the wood. Her eyes were red like blood and her smile had lost every emotion.

‘’More of it. I need more’’She hissed, licking her lips.

My eyes flinched and closed the window fast. I tried to remember how to breathe, I tried to find a way to move on. But there was no way I could.

‘’Nezha?’’ Arsu asked.

‘’We need.’’My legs gave up and watched the fallen bodies as my ears could still hear the woman pleading. ‘’We need to find Petbe fast.''

So we kept opening the windows and seeing where she was Every time the image of them kept growing worse and worse. There were young women, old, even children younger than Mara.

Another twist on my stomach before giving up. I couldn't do it. I couldn't follow. I wanted to stop trying to fight.

‘’Nezha?’’ A voice asked from the furthest door. I jumped to it and opened the window to find a shaved white head and a pair of blue crystal eyes studying every part of me.

‘’Is that you?’’She cried.

I took a pistol from the guard and shot the lock of the door, making everyone in the room scream.

As I opened the door, I saw her still mumbling with the smoke almost making my head numb. She was crying with her eyes almost red like blood.

‘’Come on’’ I grunted, taking her body up.

‘’Why are you here?’’ She asked, scanning the entire room.

‘’Because you are one of…’’

‘’Mammon’s property?’’She asked me.

I stood stunned, inhaling the smoke hard, and kept walking outside the door watching the other girl try to crawl to us. One deep breath and my leg tried to close the door.

‘’No’’Petbe muttered. ‘’Please save her.’’She cried.

‘’They are too many I…’’ Almost all of them were lost, and broken. None can heal madness. None can heal addiction. It's a ghost that will never leave your side.

‘’Please I want to save them I cannot…’’

‘’Petbe we have to get out of here.’’I kept saying.

‘’My mother was one of them’’She finally broke into a scream. ‘’She was one of them and sold me stay to become like her.’’

She looked at me as if I was her only salvation, her only way for her problems to be solved.

And yet I couldn’t do anything.

Just like Mara was watching me back then. Just like when I was watching her…

***

‘’Nezha’’Ao Bing barked at me back then with his eyes screaming from terror.

The girl behind me whimpered confused.

My entire body was shaking as I turned to her and smiled gently. She kept looking at me confused with her shaking eyes and her pin becoming tighter on her body.

I showed myself with my hand and I spoke. ‘’I am Nezha’’I said and then pointed at her.’’You?’’

Her gaze stiffened and looked with panic at her hands and then touched her face, her scar, and then she looked at me.’’ Ma…’’She stuttered. ‘’Ra…?’’ It almost sounded like a question.

‘’That’s a nice name’’I said to the girl with the name Mara. Her eyes suddenly lit and she pointed her pin at me. ‘’Nezha?’’ She asked shakily.

‘’Yes.’’I nodded. And a wrinkled smile curved around her face, saying my name again and again. I was just happy to see her smile. I didn’t even notice Ao Bing walking right behind her. His fingers clenched the leather and then there it was. A clicking sound around her neck.

Her eyes snapped. ‘’Nezha?’’

‘’Let’s see…’’Ao Bing walked around her and showed me the remote. ‘’Will you do the honors?’’

‘’What did you do?’’ I asked.

‘’My job’’He shrugged.

‘’Nezha lihre’’Mara spoke with my name in her tears.

‘’She is a child,’’ I explained. ‘’She is innocent.’’

‘’None of you is innocent’’Ao Bing said and pointed at her with his index finger. ‘’How many more will she kill because you think she is innocent?’’

‘’Ao Bing ‘’I tried to reach for his hand and his sudden coldness found me.

I shook my head knowing that if it wasn’t going to her it was going to be me. I backed away and looked away.

‘’Nezh…’’ I heard Mara’s voice break before the screaming began.

When she got out with a new pile of clothes I stared at her and tried to talk to her to apologize. But every time she looked at me with a sudden emptiness.

***

‘’I cannot …’’I said.

Petbe’s eyes darkened just like Mara’s did.

‘’I am sorry,’’ I muttered before walking closer to Arsu, closer to the exit with Ao Bing waiting for us with his pistols.

I gulped and looked at his gaze which could mean everything. I looked behind to find Minerva. But she was nowhere to be found.

‘’What did you do to her?’’ I shouted.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Ao Bing shrugged, unaware of what I was talking about. ‘’Doesn’t matter what you will do now,’’ He answered. ‘’Stollas seems to be interested in that girl.’’His voice was rough, distant, and tired and yet he still had a grin upon his face.’’Seems she won’t go anywhere after all’’

Mara on Stolas’ side?Even if she wanted to, she would never leave Mammon. I saw it over and over again, she could not do that.

Did Minerva run? She would never do that. I clenched Petbe’s arm even tighter and hissed.

Arsu drew his pistol out and so did Ao Bing, flipping his white hair behind his face.

He was smarter, he was faster and stronger than all of us. And he could have killed us if he wanted. That is what I always admired about him. His control.

‘’Please, run’’His eyes softened. ‘’With Stolas I can break your contracts and you can be free.

I looked back at the cages and then at Petbe. ‘’Was this always your plan?’’I asked.

Ao Bing moved back and scratched his head with his pistol. ‘’The plan, the plan..’’He muttered over and over again. ‘’The plan was a mess, I shouldn't be here.’’His voice broke and faced us with a sweet smile. ‘’But I can help now, please just when Mammon takes the collars out you have to run far from here.’’

‘’Because if we don’t we will get grabbed by the smoke’’I followed his thoughts. He stayed silent. No need to speak.

‘’We have to call the army,’’ Petbe whispered.

‘’The army won’t come,’’ Ao Bing said. ‘’Not even if the entire Diyu will get destroyed.’’

‘’What?’’Arsu gasped.

Ao Bing raised his index finger. ‘’Did you forget who controls the electricity? One call to the army from any phone and one of his men will see it and it will cut it. ‘’He walked around the stairs and pointed the pistol again. ‘’Actually, the army might come but not to help you.’’

A wave of realization hit my head.

‘’Stolas is working for…’’

‘’He is working with the army’’ Ao Bing corrected me.

I drew my pistol to him and he faced me as if I was a kind of joke. Ao Bing sighed tired. ‘’Don’t you get it? I can help you. He can help you.’’He took a step closer downstairs and we took one back.

‘’You can become everything that you want all you need is to run Maybe freedom is true maybe...’’

Run. Run Away with a piece of paper. Run without the collar around my neck. Run free like the ones they call birds.

Free. I could almost taste it.

‘’Where is..’’Petbe muttered with her legs pushing her body far from me. ‘’Where is Mara?’’ She stood on her own feet asking that question to Ao Bing.

‘’Well,’’ He frowned. ‘’Her fate is going to be different.’’

‘’What?’’ I asked .

‘’You need to stop feeling guilty about her, you know’’ He said with irritation in his voice. ‘’Unlike the rest of you, she might belong here. She caught Stolas’ interest.’’

‘’You mean you talked about her,’’ I said. One thing that I knew he despised was Mara. Since the day he first saw her, he probably hated her existence.

‘’It is better than working for Mammon is it?.’’ He smirked

‘’It is better to not work at all,’’ Petbe shouted at him. His eyes snapped at her, staring confused as if she just slapped him. ‘’Why you could save me and not her?’’

Ao Bing's lips parted.

‘’Why do you want to help everyone except her?’’ I asked him

‘’You don’t know?’’ He asked. ‘’You don’t know what she is?’’

‘’What?’’ My thoughts rushed all around.

‘’It doesn’t matter because this is the way it will…’’Ao Bing grunted tiredly. ‘’This is the only right solution. It doesn’t matter what you want.’’

What do we want?

Arsu groaned and tried to pull the trigger but it was too late as A Being shot first on his arm. I jumped to him and clenched his wound before dying from blood loss.

He slowly fell to the ground and smiled at me. ‘’This is pathetic.’’

‘’You will get out no matter what.’’Ao Bing commanded us.

I glared at him and tried to speak. But nothing came out of my mouth. Not while I could feel the blood falling even faster from Arsu’s skin.

And the first one to step closer was Petbe, watching him with curiosity. His eyes narrowed as he tried to look at me.

‘’Do you think that you will do something when you find her?’’He asked me. ‘’Do you think that you will stop being a watcher and do something to save your guilt?’’

I did not speak. What could I have said to him? That he was wrong? I was a watcher every time of my life. I never fought really for the ones I cared about. I did nothing.

‘’There is only a way to find out,’’ I said.

Ao Bing sighed and aimed now at me. At my hands.’’I am sorry for your arm then-’’

Bang. Bang

He fell on his knees as Dolia shot both of his legs.

Tears fell from her eyes as he looked back at her. ‘’What are you doing?’’

‘’It is a beautiful plan. ‘’She said with tears falling to her smile. ‘’But for it to succeed they all had to be willing.’’

Ao Bing held his scream and tried to get up and that was our chance to run away.

Dolia gestured her head to Arsu and me and Petbe. ‘’I will treat him,’’ She said.

I nodded and looked back to the dark basement. ‘’Can you…?’’I asked her, trying to find the right words. In the end, she nodded with a smile.’’I am still a Spectre’’She whispered. ‘’I will take care of the dirty work.’’

Walking to the green light I could see Petbe smiling for a second of gratitude before instantly fading with the blood all around us had painted the floor and stairs. Every beauty of the Building was now gone. Everything was dressed in blood and darkness.

‘’Is this how the area is?’’Petbe asked.

I could see her eyes shattered from what she learned. I could not blame her for wanting to run now that she was free. And yet she still stayed.

‘’Yes,’’ I said, looking back at Panting Ao Bing, whispering to me something that shocked me.

Tell Mara I am sorry…Sorry for not believing in her.