He could hardly believe his luck that he was back home. It still looked as bombed out as when he left to serve the interests of one very important man, James Black. The opportunity to lead a global taskforce like the Black Knights seemed almost too good to be true, but he had no regrets and his long service had now landed him back home of all places and for that, he was relieved to be free of that burden. The first thing he did was try the old rickety door. It was unlocked and slowly swung open to meet the wall. Something felt off with all this, no one lived here anymore not since he had left this place a long time past and swore never to look back upon it. The dried paint on the wall and dampness in the air had him hesitating almost to cross the threshold but there was no turning back now. He was here for a reason. I swore my oath when it meant something. There were no hollow words in that promise, it meant to always move forward without fear. Black had seen it fit to recognise the potential of those cast aside as the British Empire crumbled to dust. An opportunity of a lifetime. That came at a heavy cost.
“You’ll never see them again, you have to understand if they learn anything about what you will do for us. They’ll hunt them down and destroy them,” rang the words of the ever-indomitable Skorm in his thoughts.
“A lifetime of service and what do they get?”
“Luxury. On James Black’s word.”
He stopped when he reached the rundown living room. So why am I back here? My wife and kid were never here. They moved to Australia and lived comfortably as Black had promised. So why am I not there instead?
“Because they lied, Charles.”
He more than recognised that voice, but instead of sounding sweet, it dripped of bitterness. He spun on his heels and faced his dishevelled-looking wife, Hannah. Her now long dirtied blonde hair draped across her face, and she looked worryingly skinny. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. The Black Conglomerate had made it clear it would protect them.
“The minute you signed your life away to them, they cast us aside and left us to rot.”
“That’s not true, the Black Conglomerate -”
“The Black Conglomerate and your Black Knights see you as merely a means to their ends. You mean nothing to them,” she spat.
Charles recoiled back at her words. He had never heard her so incensed.
“But that doesn’t matter now, you’re here and we can be a family once more.”
“Speaking of, where is Michael? Where is our son?”
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The hunched-over woman straightened and her smile widened in a way that made him shiver. “I had to prepare him for dinner and your arrival. We knew you would come home eventually. Please, stay where you are. I’ll be right back.”
Charles didn’t know how best to react and simply watched her shuffle into the adjacent kitchen.
“And here’s me thinking you had a strong will,” said Major General Skorm, his voice coming from behind where Charles stood.
Charles looked over his shoulder and stepped back uncertainly upon seeing the tall, domineering build of Skorm taking up much of the small armchair. The long blonde-haired commander of his task force and the wider Black Conglomerate military looked like he had been expecting him too. What is going on here?
The Major General put his head in his hands. “You still haven’t figured this whole thing out. This isn’t the first time they’ve wormed inside your head.”
A dawning realisation sank in as the wind picked up and he heard distant footsteps getting louder. Major General Skorm ceased slouching and straightened up. “Did I train a soldier or a bitch?”
Charles was well aware of his commander’s knack for getting a rise out of people. Only this time it served a purpose. This is the Mortalis using my family for a purpose.
“Now you’re getting it, Charlie.”
“Honey, who are you talking to…?” asked Hannah coming to his side. The rage in her eyes built upon seeing Skorm. “Get out of my house, no one invited you, Major General.”
The Major General rose to his towering seven-foot-tall height, nodded to Charles and went to leave.
Once he was gone, Hannah flapped herself calm and grabbed Charles by hand. She led him back to the table in the dining room, fully laid out for two people not free, in the centre of the table sat a plate with a massive slab of meat stacked on it. He eyed his wife. “Where is Michael, Hannah? Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is?”
“I’m sure he’s just running late -”
She was cut off as his hand shot out and grabbed her throat. “How could I allow myself to be tricked like this? This is the oldest Morte trick in the book.”
As whatever had hold over him broke, the world blurred into a darker chamber. In his grip was something caught between man and Mortalis. The suit had been punctured and he looked recently infected with dark liquid running down his cheeks. Charles saw also to his left the root cause of his trouble, a True Eye obelisk. He had seen smaller ones back on Earth, they had a way of causing headaches, but he had yet to see one of this size.
“If I can’t save you, I can at least end your misery,” said Charles before he slammed the newly converted Mortan’s head into the black slab. He let go as the impact sent them to the ground. The obelisk had also looked unsteady.
Charles put both hands behind the structure and pulled towards him. Gravity did the rest and what was once a True Eye obelisk fell on top of the former miner. Whilst crushing him, parts of it also broke off. Enough that Charles hoped would weaken the hallucinations. It hadn’t fully done the trick as Skorm appeared once more with his arms behind his back.
“Excellent work, soldier, but how do you plan on handling him?” the Major General asked tilting his head to the doorway.
“That’s Pyotr.”
“Ah, I’m afraid then, Pyotr isn’t long for this world.”
Charles looked to the fellow Black Knight. “Pyotr?”
“Pyotr as you knew him isn’t here right now. My name is Savin. I’m one of Nirikiri who worked here, and I have many questions for you, Black Knight.”