by Ammar Habib
Ethan took a step back. “What are you?”
“You will find out soon enough.”
He did not like the answer, but Ethan knew better than to question. “Why do you need me? You have a camp full of people. Use one of them.”
“It’s much more complicated than that, Ethan, but that’s none of your concern.” Daken began to move closer towards Ethan. “Do we have an agreement?”
A pile of items appeared a few feet to the right of Ethan. He looked down at them and immediately recognized them all. There was the stack of rainbow bracelets Naira had made for him over the past two years. Ethan knew they were not fake. They were the real thing. Next to them was the pink dress she had died in. It was covered in bloodstains and had numerous tears.
As the old man moved towards Ethan, a thousand thoughts consumed the young man’s mind. He didn’t want to refuse this man’s offer. In his heart, he wanted nothing more than revenge on Baatu, making him and everyone responsible for Naira’s death squeal and beg for mercy. Every single person that was in some way responsible for the death of the innocent girl needed to be butchered. But he knew if he went in on his own he would not succeed. If Daken could truly empower him, then Ethan would have to join forces with him. If he truly could make Ethan unstoppable, then Ethan needed to do whatever Daken commanded.
No matter what it was. “What do you need me to do?”
The sly smile reappeared on Daken’s face as he uttered a simple word. “Kill. But that’s your specialty…isn’t it, Ethan?”
***
Ethan took a deep breath. It was a cold night. The air was stiff and the wind was calm. The moon was completely invisible tonight. Even the animals seemed to have disappeared, as Ethan hadn’t heard a single sound from the jungle. Then again, he had not seen a single animal since he had been resurrected this morning.
Surrounded by trees on all sides, he sat a few feet away from the tall fire. A thin, black cloak covered most of his body but did little to protect him from the cold. On the other side of the fire, Daken sat on his knees with his eyes shut.
The immense heat radiating from the fire did more than enough to keep Ethan warm. Beads and streams of sweat slowly made their way down his skin as he waited for Daken to begin. But for now, all he heard was the crackling of the flames.
He was not sure what to expect. Daken had failed to mention how this would go.
The image of the burnt man was still fresh in Ethan’s mind. When he had asked Daken about him, all he had said was that the man had failed in his task. His punishment was an eternity of torture. An eternity of burning to death, being resurrected, and burning to death again. Endless punishment.
The entire camp was full of people who had failed Daken. The whole day, Ethan had heard their screams coming from the huts, crying out for mercy. But all of their cries had gone unanswered. He could hear the sounds of the flames consuming and melting the flesh right off their bones. He could hear the screams end as they died, only to begin again moments later. Ethan could feel the heat coming out of the huts, but he did not even dare take a look inside any of them.
If there was a hell on earth, this was it.
The worst part was that none of their begging seemed to move Daken in the slightest. In all of his travels, Ethan had never seen a more cruel or heartless man than this. That is, if he was truly a man.
There was something surreal about this whole place. It looked earthly, but nothing about seemed familiar. Ethan hadn’t seen a single animal or insect all day. It was almost too peaceful.
Daken’s eyes opened and he looked at Ethan. “Are you ready to begin?”
Ethan nodded.
“When you wake up, you’ll be in the domain of a monster.”
“A monster?”
“Its name is Jaing. As long as it lives I will never be free...but I can’t go near it.”
“Who’s stopping you?”
“You must slay it. Once you do, you’ll come back here and you will be free. If you fail, well…let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Ethan nodded, knowing that none of his questions were going to be answered.
The old man closed his eyes. As he began to speak, a heavy gust suddenly blew across the jungle. Branches of the trees could be heard rustling in the wind as hundreds of leaves were plucked away and flew with the breeze. The flames themselves began to burn at an angle.
Daken’s chanting could be heard over the wind. His words consumed the area and Ethan shivered as he heard them. The words Daken spoke were of no language Ethan recognized.
Minutes felt like hours as Daken’s chanting gradually grew louder and louder. Although he was barely opening his mouth, it seemed as if he was screaming at the top of his lungs.
Ethan felt himself heat up. His streams of sweat became rivers. He backed away from the fire as his skin felt as if it was beginning to roast. He frantically began to rub his burning hands over his scorching body, trying to cool it down.
It came to no avail. He looked up at Daken, but the old man did not seem to notice as he continued his foreign chant.
The heat was unbearable now as Ethan began to feel dehydrated from the sweating. Leaping to his feet he backed far away from the fire and almost went into the trees, but the heat only increased as he did so. He ripped off his dirty cloak and threw it on the ground, but it did nothing to help.
Suddenly, his entire body burst into flames.
Ethan’s screams filled the night sky. His arms frantically flew through the air as he tried to put the fire out that consumed his body. Every inch of his skin was covered by it. He could feel his skin melting under the flames. The sizzling and crackling fire slowly incinerated him as it did its malicious work. He looked up at the stars, begging to the night sky. Soon, his vision was overcome by the fire. His eyes were blackened and blinded by it and his ears crumbled into ash.
He only cried out for two names. Only two people came to his mind as consumed by the flames. Only two faces came to his thoughts as he was burned to the ground.
His lost sister and his lost love.
Falling to the ground, he curled up, completely helpless and at the mercy of the flames. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear. He couldn’t breathe. His screams ended as he lost his ability to speak. He could feel the murderous flames consuming his body. He was nothing more than a pile of wood to them.
Life left Ethan. He couldn’t even think straight anymore, but knew that the heartless man was doing nothing to save him. It felt like dying all over again. It felt like lying helpless on the dirty road at the hands of the drunken gang.
…except much worse.
Chapter 12
Unlikely Alliance
The golden door of the elevator opened and revealed the entrance to Ethan’s penthouse. Taking a step into it, the elevator doors closed up behind him as he examined his surroundings. He still wore the same outfit he had worn to Katrina’s house last night: his emerald shirt and jeans. Seeing that everything was the same as he had left it, Ethan began to make his way across the foyer.
He stopped moving as he saw Marion enter through a doorway, angry and upset. With one hand in his pocket and the other at his side, Ethan spoke. “We really need to stop meeting like this.”
“What’s the excuse this time?”
“I told you that I was going to Katrina’s house last night.”
“You didn’t tell me you were going to be spending the night.” Marion’s tone was starting to annoy Ethan just like it did yesterday. He couldn’t stand being commanded by someone else. It felt like insects crawling under his skin, but he tried to ignore it right now. “Anyways, I’m back now.”
“You should have left me a message. I was about to call her house this morning to see if you were still there.”
Ethan’s patience had gone by now. “Then you should have called.”
Marion took a step forward. “Ethan D―”
Ethan’s voice rose as he cut her off. “Maybe I was not clear enough
in our discussion yesterday. You work for me. I don’t have to put up with your motherly bull. If you value your job then you better start acting like it.”
She was silent, unable to say anything back.
Walking by her, he turned around once more. “Call Charles. Tell him I got his message and will do my best to be there Wednesday. And I hope you got that picture developed I asked you to do yesterday.”
Without waiting for a response, Ethan left the room.
Entering the hallway, he stopped when he realized he had a visitor standing a few yards away from him. Looking at a colorful portrait that hung from the wall, Jonathan stood completely unaware of his younger brother’s presence. Ethan waited for a few seconds to see if Jonathan would notice him, but he was too engrossed in the painting of the harbor.
Ethan cleared his throat and got his brother’s attention. The last thing he wanted to do right now was talk to his estranged brother. He had plenty of other things that needed attending to, but Ethan knew the best way to cut a conversation short.
For a long, awkward second the two stared at each other before Jonathan broke the silence. “Hey, sorry to drop by unannounced.”
Ethan moved closer to his brother. “What do you need?”
“I just stopped by to say hi. I was in the neighborhood so I thought it would be nice to come by. Marion told me you were visiting Katrina.”
Ethan nodded.
“Cathy and I were concerned about you. We’d left you a lot of messages since last Sunday when you came over for lunch. I don’t know if you got them or not.”
“I haven’t had time to call you back yet.”
“Apparently.”
Ethan slightly smiled. “You don’t have to be worried about me.”
“We don’t want you to push us away. We want to be here for you. We want you to know that we are here for you.”
Ethan nodded, but did not say anything back.
“I’m sorry that dad ruined our afternoon together. I really am. Cathy felt really terrible.”
Again, there was no response.
“I’m here for you, Ethan. I just want you to know that. I’ll always be here for you.”
This was the perfect time to end this pointless conversation. Ethan slightly chuckled. “Just like you were always here for me before I left, right? How many times did we see each other? Six times a year at most, or was it less? Is that how you were ‘here for me’?”
Jonathan did not reply back to the sarcasm.
“You’re so full of crap, Jonathan. You were never there for me. You were always Brett’s little follower. And suddenly, you have a change of heart and want us to be best buds.”
Jonathan slammed his fist against the wall. “You have no right to say that! You were lucky, Ethan. You got to leave after mom died. I didn’t! You never had to put up with dad’s drinking. You never had to put up with him never being there, never being a father. At least you had a father, Ethan!”
The two stared at each other in silence.
Jonathan let out a few deep breaths trying to gain back his composure. “When you called…when you called and told me that you were coming back, I didn’t believe that it was you on the phone. I thought it was some sick joke. But I still came to the docks because I had hope. I was hoping that you would show up, that you and I could actually start to form a real relationship. I thought that we could put mom’s death behind us. Forget the past, and just move forward.”
“…There are some things I can’t put behind me, Jonathan.”
Frustration returned to Jonathan’s face. He began to make his way towards Ethan. “I’m sorry to hear that. Just know that all the money in the world can’t buy you peace.”
As Jonathan passed by him, Ethan replied, “Neither will always trying to be the nice guy.”
Jonathan paused momentarily and turned back to look at Ethan. “You know what, Ethan; stay away from us. You can burn in hell.”
Jonathan swiftly left the room, leaving Ethan alone. Once his brother was out of earshot, Ethan spoke once more, but only in a whisper. “I already have.”
He hung his head down low. The quicker he pushed Jonathan and Cathy away, the better it was for all of them. He would only hurt them. What Jonathan did not understand was that things could never go back to normal between them. Ethan had made a deal with Daken. He had made a deal with a demon. A monster. He had given up his life in exchange for vengeance.
Jonathan would get over it. He had lived the last four years of his life thinking Ethan was dead. All he had to do was pretend that Ethan had never returned from the grave.
The battle inside of Ethan was tearing him apart. He couldn’t sleep. He could hardly eat. Every waking moment all he thought about was revenge. He wanted to be happy, but he could not be at peace until he had vengeance on the last man responsible for Naira’s death: Anthony Griffin.
He knew that his mission was consuming his very soul; his already blackened soul. By the time he killed Anthony, Ethan knew he would be too far in the hole to even be able to see the light. Things would never return back to normal. There would be no happy ending.
But if he chose to not seek revenge, his dreams would be haunted. They would be haunted by Baatu, the faceless Anthony Griffin, and, worst of all, Naira. He could never be happy. He could never be free as long as Anthony was alive.
When he had returned, he thought that his plan was foolproof. But he had not counted on falling in even more love with Katrina. He was not even sure what he wanted anymore. His soul seemed to be constantly ripping into two ever since he laid eyes on her again.
If she knew half the things he had done in his travels, she would never come near him. He knew it. There was no difference between him and the criminals he had killed. He only wanted to fulfill his own means out of a personal vendetta.
But he could not stop now. He would take out whoever he needed to get his revenge, no matter if they were innocent or guilty. If they were in the way, that made them guilty. He would push away whoever he needed in order to complete his mission. He would lie, cheat, and steal in order to accomplish his mission. Nothing mattered except finding Anthony Griffin.
Some things couldn’t be left in the past. Some things Ethan had to face. Alone.
***
William stood in the darkened alley. Wearing his heavy, buttoned up, black trench coat he nervously eyed his surroundings. It was too dark to really make anything out, but he knew that the entire alley was deserted.
It was a chilly night, but not as cold as it had been the past few days. Nonetheless, William had worn a pair of black gloves just in case. In the pocket of his coat, he carried a small handgun. He had told his landlord that if he wasn’t back by midnight to call the police.
Hopefully that call would not need to be made.
“I see you’ve brought a gun.”
The cold voice came from behind William. He swiftly turned around to finally come face-to-face with the person he had been waiting for. The figure’s head was covered with a grey hood, while a grey cape completely covered him head-to-toe. A red mask with black spots around the eyes hid the hooded man’s face. William took a step back as his eyes widened. For several seconds he merely stared at the masked man before finally gaining the courage to speak. “You can never be too careful in this town.”
“I need your help.”
“…My help?”
“I’m looking for a man. Anthony Griffin.”
William nodded. “He’s the head of the cartel and rumor is that he’s in Crown City…but I’m sure you already know that.”
“He’s been ruling the cartel for years, but there isn’t a single picture of him. Nobody knows what he looks like except for a select few.”
Every time the masked man spoke, it sent a chill up William’s spine “Nobody’s ever seen him except for his inner circle.”
“And one more person.”
William paused for a brief moment. “Is he the reason you’re doing all this? You have s
ome sort of personal grudge against him?”
“He’ll pay for his sins.”
“I have no problem with somebody standing up against the government or police, but what you’re doing is wrong. You’ve made it personal.”
“When did killing murderers become wrong?”
“When you killed that cop near the docks yesterday. That was you, wasn’t it?”
The masked man was silent.
“He wasn’t a crook. He was a good cop, one of the few this city has.”
“He was in the way.”
“…You really are crazy.” William wondered if this man was even human.
“Your wife died unjustly. She was taken from you by a group of men who never paid for their crime. Never paid for their sins.”
The reporter looked down on the ground.
“If you knew who did it, would you rest until they were dead?”
William looked back up. “So, Anthony killed your family? Is that what this is about?”
The masked man’s silence once more gave William his answer.
“What’s your plan?”
“I’m going after one of Anthony’s henchmen. He should know where Anthony is.”
“It won’t be easy. I hear the police are tailing him, using him as bait to get to you.” William slightly smiled. “You’ve really got them scared of the dark right now.”
“The police won’t be a problem.”
The smirk left William’s face. “You’re going to kill them?”
“If they try and stop me.”
“Sounds like you have this all planned out.”
“I need you to do something.”
“Go on.”
The figure suddenly tossed a small memory card at William and the reporter caught it close to his chest.
He looked down at the card and then back at his counterpart. “What’s this?”
“The only picture of Anthony Griffin that exists.”
William couldn’t believe what the masked man just said or how he could have come about it, but he quickly replied. “W—what do you want me to do with it?”