by Terry Schott
Chapter 34
“Our world seems to be addicted to the easy way of things. Unfortunately, what seems easy at first almost always ends up causing pain, suffering, and loss. Why do I get fat and sick when I eat tasty junk food? Why must I perform painful exercise to stay healthy and in shape? How come I have to sacrifice so much of my time and money studying in order to get a good paying job? These are the types of questions that no school teaches us. The answer is simple; it doesn’t matter why. That’s just the way it is. If you want to breathe air, then you can’t lay on the bottom of a pond. If you desire wealth, you can’t sit in front of your television screen and expect it to find you. If you want to learn how to play a musical instrument, you must pick it up and spend thousands of hours practicing with it. Entitlement is a problem both inside and outside of the Game… all of our lives would be better if we stopped expecting the world to hand us it’s treasures simply because we asked for them…”
Promotional message from “We Can Be Better”
featuring Brandon Strayne
Samantha
I’m not comfortable doing this. It’s too late, this alley is crowded with garbage, rats and homeless men. I check my scribbled note again; yeah, this is the right place. Not the best spot for a top secret meeting, but appropriate. I’ve never understood why some Eternals go bad and join the group that long ago started referring to themselves as ‘Infernals.’ I guess I’m just too sweet to understand a group so sour.
I hear a noise directly to my left and turn, shifting into a combat stance. I see a filthy old man sitting in a pile of torn up cardboard and newspapers; wispy white hair, splotchy balding head, dirty face and ugly, broken-toothed smile grinning up at me.
I start to turn away when he speaks with a strong, bold voice. “Took you long enough to get here, slag.”
I lean in closer to get a better look. The smell of him! It’s horrible. Sure enough, though, I see the red swirling in his dark eyes and realize it must be him. “You’ve sunk low,” I say. “Not where I’d expect my boss to be hanging out.”
The old man chuckles. “That’s because your kind isn’t promoted by killing the boss. If three of your lieutenants were ready to take over and all they had to do was kill you… you’d be hiding safely in a garbage pile, too.”
“Is that true?” I ask. I wonder how the Infernals ever get anything done; they always seem so busy killing and fighting each other.
He shrugs. “It could be true. I know three are ready, even if they don’t realize it. I’ll likely only manage to make two dead before the third figures out what’s going on. It should be a bit of fun and excitement.”
I turn my nose up in disgust. He laughs, then stops suddenly and looks seriously at me. “Why am I even speaking with a baby like you? I speak only with Gabriel; you all know this. Where is he?”
I shake my head, “I have no clue, old man. They said you agreed to meet with one of Brandon’s, and that’s who I am. Are you too drunk to talk? This is serious business.”
The old man turns his head, pushing a finger against the outside of one nostril and blowing snot forcefully out of the other. Most makes it to the ground; some rogue splatter hits his arm, but it’s hard to distinguish from the other garbage sticking to his sleeve. “I’m just fine, thank you very much.” I can hear a slight slur; he’s been drinking. “Let’s just get down to business so you can get out of here and leave me alone.”
I pull up a clean-looking wooden box and set it down in front of him. Then I sit on it and look him directly in the eyes. “Okay. We need you to put a clean mark on Danielle Benton.”
“Hmm.” He scratches his armpit roughly. “That name rings a bell with me. Somebody I know wants her dead, I think.”
“Someone just tried to Sever Spike her a few days ago,” I say.
“Yes, that sounds about right,” he nods. “They sent a moron to do the job. Still, he should have been good enough to get past regular security… so she has an Eternal watching her, does she?”
Damn it! He’s pumping me for information that I shouldn’t give. “I’m not here to talk, just to tell you what Brandon wants.”
“Well, if you’re not here to talk, then you shouldn’t be telling me someone tried to kill her, little girl. You should just walk up to me, give me your best intimidating look, and say ‘Clean Mark the girl, now.’”
I stand up and lean in towards him, giving him my best intimidating look. He chuckles and says, “That’s more like it!”
“How long have you been running the Infernals?” I ask.
“I don’t run the Infernals, girl, you should know that. The one who runs the Infernals has been around for over five thousand years.”
“You know what I mean,” I sigh. “You’re the one with the word. You give an order, every other Infernal obeys.”
“Unless my boss gives a different order; yes, yes, you’re right. Okay, then, to answer your question, I’ve been running things for two hundred and twelve years.”
“That’s it?” I ask.
He snorts with disgust. “Don’t you pay attention, girl? We kill for the position I hold. I’ve held onto this position longer than almost everyone who ever had it. And, since I like to brag, go check your history books. The past two hundred and twelve years have been very productive for us. My boss is pleased. So shut your mouth.”
I think of a comment, but realize that I’m speaking to one of the most evil creatures on the planet, so I say nothing. Best not to have him remember me too well.
“I really find it hard to believe you, girl.” The old man takes a boot off, emptying dirt and stones onto the ground. “Nothing personal, but there’s not a lot of trust between our two packs. Gabriel is the only one who I can believe; it’s a shame he isn’t here. That girl might die by accident, simply because I doubt your words and can’t sell it to my crew.”
I sit down and fold my hands on my lap. “Brandon said you would doubt me, so he had me memorize a message for you, to prove he is involved and this is serious.”
“Did he now? Well, let me hear what my old buddy Brandon has to say.”
I calmly give him the message, repeating it exactly how it was told to me. I don’t understand what half of it means, but apparently this old creepy guy does. His face goes from not interested to extremely serious. Halfway through my message he loses his appearance of being a drunk old homeless man and sits up straight. I finish and he stands up, nodding to me. He’s tall, and underneath all those dirty clothes, I can tell he’s very muscular. He’s definitely in a costume; I bet he looks only forty or so underneath all that.
He looks me straight in the eyes, but I know he’s looking at the person Firsting me. “Okay, fine, Brandon,” he says. “I will make sure none of ours touch her. You’re going to piss a lot of big names off, both here and on Tygon, Strayne, but you’ve scared even me a tiny bit. Count this as one of your favours called in though, boy, and don’t ask me for any others while this one is in play. As of this moment, Danielle Benton is Clean Marked by the Infernals. When she dies, it won’t be at our hand.”
I shiver inside as he smiles and says, “You’ve the Devil’s own word on it.”