After Darkness II

by J. F. Johns

  The room Kalem entered was small. There was a cupboard to the left full of clothes, a sink to the right and a bed shoved against the wall. No window.

  Something about the place calmed her nerves. She didn't recall ever stepping foot inside the room, but something in her mind tugged, screaming at her to remember. But remember what?

  'Let me see your wound.' He gestured at her to get on the bed.

  It didn't take long to cross the room. She tried giving him a warning look, which basically said 'don't try any funny business.'

  Sitting down by the edge, Kalem lifted the jumper up, causing Terra to blush furiously. He must've noticed because he stopped and said, 'I can call Curtis.'

  'No, it's fine.' She lifted her chin up, refusing to behave like a baby. She tugged the jumper up higher, ignoring the heat that began to crawl up her neck all the way to her ear.

  'You ripped a few stitches,' Kalem explained, his voice deep and low. He made his way to the sink and opened a small cabinet beneath, pulling out bandages. 'I'll clean and bandage you up until Curtis can fix that for you.'

  Terra nodded, still holding the jumper up.

  Kalem grabbed something from the cupboard and left it next to her on the bed. It was a T-shirt, clearly his from the size of it. 'You might want to change after I'm done.'

  She nodded again, watching as he cleaned the wound and re-bandaged it. She tried focusing on his harsh features, trying to remember him. Nothing came. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes and winced as he cleaned the blood away from her wound.

  Kalem's jaw tightened, and she wondered why he looked so pissed off suddenly.

  'I'll go while you change.'

  'No, it's okay. Just turn around.' She waited for him to move back and turn. She quickly hurried to pull the jumper off, but the pain made her gasp. Kalem was by her side in a matter of seconds.

  'Let me do it,' he growled.

  'No.'

  'Terra.'

  Sighing, she leaned in closer towards him. 'Okay, fine. But close your eyes.'

  His lip twitched as if he were going to smile. He didn't. His robotic fingers grasped the jumper and with the utmost care- almost as if he were afraid of breaking her- he pulled the jumper over her head. Terra didn't want to cover herself, she had nothing to hide. But the blush across her chest and neck was growing more intense. He wasn't looking at her, but she could feel him mere inches from her, his face so close. She watched the harshness of his features, his long nose and long lashes. His thin lips, which were set into a straight line. She wanted to trace her fingers over the entirety of it. She wanted to draw him.

  Placing the T-shirt into his hands, he helped her put it on. As soon as she was fully covered, his eyes were on her again. Dangerous. Beautiful.

  'I saw Scarlet,' Terra said, trying to break the silence. 'In the Government's Headquarters. She came back for me.'

  'I know. I was there.'

  'I need to find a way to help her.'

  'You have done enough.'

  Terra looked away from him, feeling the intensity of his eyes too overwhelming. Her hand caressed the dark grey sheets of the bed. It soothed her so much to feel the linen against her palm.

  Kalem moved away so quickly it startled her. 'What's wrong?' she asked.

  'I don't know how to do this with you, Terra.'

  'Do what?'

  'Pretend.'

  Terra frowned. 'Pretend?'

  'Forget it.' He went to leave and something tugged at her chest at seeing him turn away from her. She stood up from the bed and hurried to grab his robotic arm. The cool metal should've felt alien against her own skin, and yet it didn't.

  She quickly let go.

  Now that she had his full attention, she had no idea what she wanted to say. She had no recollection of him at all. But the pain written across his face told her that somehow she had been important to him. She wanted to know how important.

  'I'm sorry I don't remember you,' she whispered, wanting to step closer but unable to do so. The boy with dark hair and steel eyes didn't respond, he just stood there watching her like a wolf watching its prey. 'Were we close?'

  Something flashed in those grey eyes, his expression hardening, turning dark.

  'No,' he growled, turning to leave, 'we weren't.'

  ...

  Eric couldn't help but smirk at the sight of Tristan being held by a bunch of humans. It was beyond ridiculous. Tristan, known as X-Prototype One, was an enormous fellow with arms like tree trunks and a chest that could ram into someone and knock them out. His blonde hair was always cut very short, his blue eyes always watching carefully everything around him.

  'What did you do now?' Eric asked, making his way through the group.

  'Pissed someone off.'

  'Why doesn't that surprise me at all coming from you?' Eric licked his lips, turning to glare at the people surrounding them. 'And why are you on your knees doing nothing about this?' He turned to arch an eyebrow at the Prototype.

  'I made myself a promise.'

  Eric rolled his eyes. 'You still going on about that?' Years ago, Tristan had promised to never hurt anyone ever again. Eric had no idea why the Prototype had suddenly become a monk, but it was infuriating to see the idiot on the ground, unmoving when he could easily fling them all off of himself. 'Well, I am not going to help you,' Eric added, staring down at his nails.

  'I don't want you to.'

  'What's going on?' one of the townsfolk questioned, eyeing Eric suspiciously. 'Who are you?'

  'Me? No one. Just go about your day.' He waved at them to continue whatever it was they'd been doing before he had interrupted. He stepped back, watching them carefully. At some point he'd have to intervene, but he hoped to do so when Morgana appeared. If she did.

  'You have been sentenced,' an old man said, pointing his finger in Tristan's face. 'It is time!' He rose his arms up in the air and everyone followed the old man towards the very edge, where apparently they intended on throwing Tristan over.

  'What exactly did he do?' Eric asked the lady standing closest to him. They didn't seem to mind he was the only cyborg there. They were too occupied with the task at hand to worry about a cyborg among them.

  'Two days ago it was his turn to carry out a sentence,' the old woman explained, clearly enjoying the opportunity to spread the gossip. 'He refused, so someone else had to do it. We always rotate. That way we make sure that no one has to do it all the time. We're a friendly town at the end of the day.' Eric couldn't help but frown at that last part.

  'Aren't Watchers supposed to carry out sentences?'

  'Not here they don't.' The woman shrugged. 'We're too far away for Watchers to bother with us.'

  'So why carry the sentences out in the first place?'

  The woman glanced up and down at him. 'People are sent here for a reason. The government would know if we don't follow through. They know everything.'

  'You are quite right.'

  The people had managed to get Tristan right by the edge, but he didn't seem at all bothered. 'Are you just planning on letting them throw you over?' Eric shouted, causing a few citizens to turn towards him, surprised at the disturbance. Tristan's face hardened.

  'I am not drawing blood, Thorn.'

  'Fine, fine.' He waved the Prototype away. 'Then I'll do it for you.'

  Eric gave no warning before throwing the first punch. Fighting the small group of humans was too easy, almost boring. He ducked, kicked and tore at flesh. He did try to tone it down, though. He didn't really want to hurt these people. But the thrill of fighting always got him excited. Panting, he stared down at the bodies on the grey stone of the mountain's edge, moaning and groaning.

  'That was not necessary,' Tristan said.

  'I could still throw you off the edge,' Eric offered, grinning. 'But you're gonna have to say 'pretty please.''

  'What are you doing here, Thorn?'

  'Saving your ass, by the looks of it.'

&nbs
p; 'I meant why are you in Greystone.'

  'I probably should be asking you that.'

  Eric had the indistinct feeling that Tristan wouldn't be answering any questions, so he spun on his heels, grabbed a cigarette from his chest pocket and lit it. There was a slight wind, so he dipped his head down low, trying to get the damn thing to work. Inhaling the smoke, he shut his eyes for the briefest of seconds. When this is all over, I'll give up, he thought.

  Glancing over his shoulder with a wicked smile plastered across his face, he said, 'Come on, they're waiting for you.'

  'Who?'

  'Your brother and sisters.'

  Chapter sixteen

  Petra stared out the window, grimacing. She didn't necessarily hate their new accommodations, but knowing that they had had to change because Scarlet had destroyed the Government's Headquarters made her blood boil. It would take weeks for the construction workers to fix the walls and ceiling of the building. Everyone that worked there had been sent to their new location.

  Viktor and herself had moved their headquarters to a mansion in one of the fancy and expensive neighbourhoods of the city. The house was so large it was difficult not to get lost within it. Each room was decorated more extravagantly than the last, and Petra couldn't help but stroke the thick rich curtains and lie on the burgundy rugs where she'd stare at the ceiling, lost in thought.

  Her rage grew thicker with each passing day, her hands curled into fists at almost every hour. Scarlet had taken the Destroyer away from her. Scarlet had taken Terra away from her. Her hate towards the X-Prototype blinded her.

  Twisting around on the rug, she stared up at her twin brother, who sat in one of the many armchairs, his blue eyes focused on the fire they had lit in the chimney.

  'Viktor,' she purred, batting her eyelashes. 'Bring me a toy.'

  Those cold eyes of his moved from the chimney to his sister. There was no emotion in them, nothing at all but silence. It had always annoyed Petra, but she loved him nonetheless. He was all she had.

  His eyes turned white and Petra turned towards the door, an eyebrow raised expectantly. A government worker entered the room, a young girl in her twenties. She didn't look like Scarlet or even Terra. It didn't matter. Petra was too damn angry to care.

  'Make her lie down on the floor,' Petra said. 'But not on the rug. I don't want to dirty it.' She ignored the tears rolling down the girl's cheeks. Her mind was being controlled to do whatever Viktor commanded her to, but that didn't mean she wasn't awake and aware of what was happening.

  The young girl did as she was told and lay down, trembling with fear.

  'It's okay,' Petra whispered, sitting up and leaning over the frightened human. She brushed the tips of her long fingers against the girl's cheeks. 'It won't hurt. Much.'

  She stared long and hard at the fragile body of the girl, wondering how long it would take to break the human. Not long surely. She didn't need to be as careful with this girl as she had been with Terra. She had needed something from Terra, but she didn't need anything from this worker.

  Petra's smile increased at the terrified expression on the girl, and she climbed on top of her, eager to see the girl's look of horror from up close. Something vile twisted inside of Petra at the sight, and she licked her lips.

  Petra hadn't always been like this, but she'd been broken over and over again, slowly growing to become the monster she'd been constructed to be. The world was a terrifying place and only monsters like herself survived.

  The anger grew, twisting within her chest, suffocating her. She couldn't take it any longer. She dug her legs into the human's side, making sure she couldn't struggle. No matter how strong Viktor's control was over his victims, they still squirmed under terrible pain.

  Petra dug her fingers into the girl's eye socket, grabbing and pulling at the eye as the girl screamed, blood spurting out and over Petra's face. She laughed hysterically as the eye was yanked out and the girl's face twisted and bulged in fear and pain.

  Petra scooped the other eye out, wiggling in satisfaction as the blood spluttered all over, her fingers covered in it. She quickly stood up as the human squirmed like a worm, crying out hysterically but unable to move because of Viktor's mental hold on her. Petra dropped the eyes and stepped on them, laughing at the sensation beneath the sole of her bare foot. But even that wasn't enough to satisfy the hunger she felt for blood so she returned to the girl's side. 'This is boring, Viktor,' she muttered, turning to look at her brother, his eyes still white. He looked so regal sitting in the fancy armchair rimmed with gold. 'I like it when they try running,' she said.

  Viktor's eyes turned from white back to their usual blue and the human girl gasped as his mental hold vanished. The screams didn't soften, instead they increased as she touched her face and sat up, crawling away until bumping her back against the wall.

  'Would you like to play for a little while, brother?' Petra asked. Viktor kept quiet, his attention on the chimney once again. Huffing, Petra made her way to the human's side, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back towards the centre of the room.

  Petra considered cutting part of the girl's scalp off, but then decided against it. She was bored already and wanted to do something else.

  The human girl wouldn't stop shaking and screaming, and the sound was annoying Petra now. She grabbed the girl's head and slammed it against the floor, but even that didn't silence her. The human wasn't really fighting back and that was always excruciatingly frustrating. It took most of the excitement away. The funnest part was the chase, and when that was taken away from her, she grew bored pretty quickly.

  Climbing back on top of the human, her hand transformed slowly into claws. Petra cackled as she dug them into the girl's chest, yanking the heart out. The human girl gasped for a brief second until her body went terribly still. Petra stared at the heart trapped within her claws which quickly turned back into a hand.

  'Everything is just so dull lately...' she muttered. 'I always enjoy these little moments and yet...' She gritted her teeth. 'This is all Scarlet's fault! She always ruins everything.' Petra squeezed the heart until it exploded within her hand.

  Standing, she wiped her face, smearing blood over her features. 'Viktor, be a dear and get someone to clean this mess up,' she hissed. 'I have work to do.'

  ...

  'You really did it this time, Thorn,' Morgana said, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

  Eric shrugged. 'It's about time you showed up. I thought that prickly feeling would've worked faster. Completely useless if you ask me.'

  Morgana, Vladimir and Persephone -including the bunny- had showed up a few minutes ago. The townsfolk still lay on the grass, moaning and groaning. Just a few minutes before and Eric wouldn't have had to deal with the issue alone, but as usual, Morgana was great at showing up at the wrong time.

  'What are you doing here?' Tristan asked, his voice harsh.

  'Scarlet needs our help,' Vladimir said, stepping forward to be seen. 'Eric and Morgana came to bring us back to Capital One.'

  'No,' Tristan grunted, shoving his way through the bodies and leaving them behind. 'I'm not going back.'

  'Scarlet needs your help,' Eric said.

  'I don't care.' Tristan didn't stop or even look back. His pace faltered a moment at the sight of the black horse, but he continued down the path that led back to the town.

  'That's not a very brotherly behaviour.' Eric had to jog along to keep up with the Prototype's strong strides. He quickly grabbed the horse's reins and followed Tristan back towards town.

  Half-way through the main path, Tristan stopped, his shoulders tense. 'I made myself a promise to not-'

  'You made Scarlet a promise way before that to protect her and your family!' Eric shouted back, his eyes narrowed with fury. 'Or are you going to pretend that that promise doesn't mean anything now that she needs your help?'

  Tristan spun on his heels and lunged for Eric, grabbing him by the jacket and lifting him
off his feet, throwing him a few metres back in rage. Morgana hurried to Eric's side, helping the cyborg to get up.

  'Tristan!' she cried out in anger, shocked at the Prototype's behaviour. Turning her attention back to Eric, she said, 'Let me talk to him.'

  'No. I need to do this.'

  'Eric, just listen to me.' She gripped his arm, helping him up. 'Let me talk, okay? He won't listen to you and you're both just going to argue. Give me a few minutes with him.' Eric bit the inside of his cheek, considering. His face was red with rage. Morgana felt his desperation and anger as if it were her own. It was.

  'Okay, fine,' he said reluctantly.

  Morgana nodded, her nerves calming. 'Let's go in there,' she said, gesturing at a small tavern. 'You can have something to eat and drink and we'll keep away from prying eyes. Besides, we better get off the main path before those townsfolk come looking for you.'

  Eric stepped away from her, tying the horse's reins to a lamppost. Without looking back, he marched inside the dark tavern. Sighing, Morgana beckoned at the others to follow her inside. Vladimir and Persephone sat in a corner as Eric sat by the bar, cursing at Tristan with his eyes.

  Morgana guided Tristan towards the darkest corner she could find far away from anyone else. A waiter placed drinks and food on the wooden table for them, and Morgana was so tired emotionally she didn't even bother telling the boy they wouldn't be drinking or eating anything.

  'Say what you must,' Tristan began, crossing his large arms across his chest. 'But I'm not going back to Capital One to fight some useless fight.'

  'It's not useless.'

  'Isn't it?'

  Sighing, Morgana began drawing patterns on the wooden surface. 'We need you, Tristan. Scarlet needs you. The monster took over and now... She's become something that will destroy everything and everyone. Probably including us. We can't hide from this.'

  'I'm not hiding.'

  'Then what are you doing?'

  'I'm choosing to not fight.'