Chronomancer

by Mackenzie Morris

  There had to be two hundred people packed into the place, none of them moving to let him through. Dean elbowed his way past a group of men who were obviously drunk. "Out of the way. Get out of the way! Move!"

  "We need to get to the kitchen. The freezer will be in there."

  "Right."

  Shay made a gasping sound. He grabbed Dean's arm to get his attention. "Dean, they're not watching a football game."

  He glanced up at the giant screens to see the inside of a freezer where a young blindfolded man was stripped naked and being held against a wall while men in all black with covered faces spit on him. One of the attackers pressed the glowing end of a cigarette to the suffering man's neck. His cries filled the sports bar, eliciting cheers from the patrons who held up their beers.

  "Turn that trash off!" Dean screamed over the sounds and roar of the excited crowd. "Turn it off. That's an innocent boy you're laughing at. You should all be ashamed. There's a place in hell for all of you. Is this live?"

  A bearded man at a nearby table taunted him with the remote control. "No, calm down. It's just some porno that's been going viral."

  "Turn it off!"

  "Okay, okay." A woman sitting next to the man took the remote from him and pressed the power button. "Damn. We'll go back to the game."

  Shay pointed to a flash of a man darting into a side door. "Dean, the owner ran into the kitchen."

  Dean shoved his way through the crowds. He took out his AK-47 and fired into the ceiling, sending the mass of patrons into a panic. "Get out of the way! I'll shoot you all!"

  In the chaos, Shay knocked people in the heads, sending them crashing into tables and collapsing to the floor. He fired as well, driving the patrons out into the streets to clear the way. "Get in there, Dean."

  Dean hurdled over an overturned table and pushed into the kitchen. He glanced around at the normal-looking area from the clean counters to the deep-fryers until he saw the separate mini freezers that appeared out of place. "Ah, there they are, just like you said. Separate freezers. This is the place."

  "Here he is." Shay dragged the thin cowering man out from under a counter, sending copper pots and pans clanking. He threw him down onto the brown tiles and pointed his rifle at him. "The owner."

  The mustached man held up his hands and shook his head. "Don't hurt me. Don't hurt me, please. I let the customers watch internet videos all the time. I didn't know what they were watching. If that boy in the video is underage, I didn't know. Sounds like the local police should do something about it. I'll tell you anything you want to know."

  "He's an adult, but it's far from consensual. I think you know that. You're just trying to divert us. Your freezer." Dean raced over to the heavy metal door to the walk-in freezer. He tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge. "Where's the key to your freezer?"

  "It's not open to the public."

  Dean whipped out his rifle again, shoving the barrel into the owner's rib cage with bruising force. "Open your fucking freezer now, or I'll turn your guts into soup."

  "The FBI will have me arrested. They'll make me disappear."

  "Who are you more afraid of?" Dean asked. "FBI agents who aren't here or this assault rifle digging into your lower intestine?"

  "Th-The the key is on the wall by my computer. Don't kill me."

  Shay ripped the key from the wall and tossed it to Dean. "Want me to kill him?"

  "Leave this place and tell the patrons it was all part of a police raid. If anyone calls the cops, I'll blow this place up."

  "Yes, sir. Yes, sir, I will."

  When the owner scurried out of the kitchen, Dean hurriedly unlocked the freezer and pulled the door open. He fumbled around until he found the light switch. The florescent lights snapped to life, revealing the large freezer with slabs of meat and strings of sausages hanging from hooks. He kept his rifle at the ready. "It's quiet. And warm for a freezer."

  "It's been turned off or the temperature has been turned up, at least." Shay tapped the thermometer on the wall. "Someone broke the alarm to keep it from beeping."

  The putrid stench of meat that had gone bad slammed into his nose. "God, the smell. Why did they turn off the freezer? All this meat is rotting."

  "They needed it for concealing a person, not to freeze them to death."

  "It's still cold, though."

  "But not cold enough to kill a captive. They've probably been using this location for torture for a while, hence the ruined meat. Maybe the smell covers something even more vile."

  Dean weaved his way through the hanging meat slabs and around boxes of vegetables until he found a cleared area. "Shay, he's here."

  In the middle of the freezer, a young man in boxers was strung up by his wrists with ropes that looped around a meat hook hanging from the ceiling. His lacerated body was shaking violently, but the tan-skinned captive only made pained sighing sounds, his breath fogging in the air. A recent gunshot wound on his abdomen was sewn shut with sutures, the area around it dark with bruises. A blood-stained white cloth was tied around his head as a blindfold. His black hair had been shaved extremely short, making him look even younger than he was, yet somehow harsher. It was the same victim from the video.

  Dean lowered his rifle. "Niki . . ."

  "Is it him? Dean, is that him?"

  He stepped closer to get a better look at the captive. Raw cigarette burns spotted his neck and down his chest. Clotting blood coated his thighs, making the fabric of his underwear stick to his legs. Dean glanced around the freezer, grinding his teeth together when he saw the bloody pliers, cigarette butts, and empty used syringes that had been left behind on the floor. "Dear God in heaven."

  "What are you waiting for? Get him down."

  "Hold on. I have to take all this in and record it in my mind exactly as it is right now, so I can make note of it later, just like I would any other crime scene. I'll find who did this. I'll hunt them to the ends of the earth and make them pay for this. Just let me look at it all. Okay. I got it. Guard the door." Dean drew a long knife from his belt before stepping up to the bound man. He gently pulled the blindfold up, revealing the swollen yet familiar brown eyes that fluttered open to look up at him. "Niki, it's me, Dean Amethyst. I'm here to save you. I'll get you out of here."

  Shay called from the door. "Hurry it up, Dean."

  Dean sawed through the ropes until they frayed and snapped, dropping Niki to his knees before he could catch him. Blood splashed onto his legs when the captive hit the floor. He sheathed the knife then knelt down in front of the boy. He removed his trenchcoat and draped it over Niki's shoulders before taking him in his arms. "Niki, say something. Tell me you're okay. Nikolas?"

  "Leave . . . me."

  "No way in hell."

  "If I don't go to Guantanamo . . ." Niki coughed then whimpered, holding onto Dean to keep from collapsing. "Jack will go to prison."

  "We'll find him, too. We'll get both of you somewhere safe. You're done sacrificing yourself for him, for anyone else. Did you see who did this to you? Do you remember their faces?"

  He shook his head.

  "Dean, we got company. I hear footsteps."

  "Warp us out of here."

  The inquisitor sounded confused. "I can't."

  "Why not?"

  Shay held up his arm to show his Chronomancer mark that was smeared with his blood. "It's not working. The Syndicate must have locked down this part of time. They created a new base mark."

  "Why?"

  "They like the way things are going so much that they want to make it nearly permanent. Even I can't do anything now."

  "Who can?"

  "Father. He can help."

  "Father?" Dean asked. "Your father?"

  "We call him Father. Yes, he is my father, but he is also the leader of the Inquisition of Purity. Father is more powerful than all of us combined. Get him bandaged enough to move him. You have to stop that bleeding."

  Dean laid Niki down on the floor. He pulled off the boxers and gasped at t
he amount of blood that bubbled up from the cuts. "Oh, God."

  "That bad?" Shay asked.

  "They butchered him." Dean pulled his shirt off then wrapped it between Niki's legs, tying the sleeves in the front to keep it tight. "That will have to do. Shay, I think they tried to castrate him."

  "What?"

  "Or he was raped. I'm not sure. There's just so much blood. We need to get him some help."

  "We can't take him to a hospital."

  Niki grunted as he was pulled his feet. "I need to . . . sleep."

  "You stay awake until we get you patched up. We have a hotel room nearby." Dean jumped when gunfire filled the freezer. He looked over his shoulder to see the two men sprawled out in the doorway. "Cops?"

  Shay lowered his rifle. "I don't know. They ran at me with knives."

  "We have to move." Dean hoisted Niki up, grinding his teeth when the boy yelped in agony. "Niki, stay with me. Walk with me. Concentrate on each step. One at a time. Breathe."

  Niki groaned and began hyperventilating, but he walked with Dean through the kitchen and out into the now abandoned parking lot. He was crying and making mumbling sounds as blood dripped onto the snow behind him. "Jack. Jack. Where's . . ."

  "Shh. Just get in."

  "Throw him in the back. We've gotta get out of here before the cops show up."

  "I'm sorry." Dean shoved him into the backseat before scooting in beside him and slamming the door shut. "Floor it, Shay!"

  "You got it."

  While Shay sped through midnight traffic through the middle of the city, Dean was preoccupied with the injured boy who was sitting up, but leaning against the opposite window. Something wet and warm tingled on his hand. He held up his phone for the light to see the crimson smeared across the leather seats. "Niki . . ."

  "How is he?" Shay asked, running a red light. "Dean?"

  Dean touched Niki's shoulder. "Niki, are you okay? I know you're in pain. I need to know what they did to you. Where are you injured?"

  Niki only stared out the rain-slicked window, his young eyes dark with anger. The neon lights danced across his eyes in glossy streaks.

  "Niki, I saw you were bleeding. If you need to talk about it, if you need help dealing with this, I'm here. I can't imagine what it was like in that freezer with those people. Know that I've been through a lot in my fifty-five years and I've helped victims of many different crimes. You're not weak for going through what they did to you. You're strong because you're still breathing. It doesn't make you any less of a man, any less of a loving, caring, kind person. You're still you. Don't let this break you."

  "I'm not broken."

  "Good. That's good."

  Niki whispered, his breath fogging on the glass. "What happened in that freezer stays there."

  "Except that it doesn't, Nikolas. You know that. It's eating away at you. It's part of you now."

  "Then I'll use it. I'll take what they did to me and I'll turn it into a weapon to use against them. They wanted to turn me into their bitch, but no matter what they did to my body, they couldn't touch my mind. I'll find them. I'll find them and I'll kill them all. I know who the enemy is now."

  "The FBI?"

  He turned to look at Dean with tears streaking through the dried blood on his face. "Sand."

  "The terrorist group?"

  "No. They're not terrorists. They're cowards hiding in the forest, pretending to be the good guys. They're the ones who saved my life after I got shot, but they're also the ones who called the FBI to come get me and Jack. They betrayed us. I don't know why."

  Shay parked the car in the parking lot of the luxury hotel and turned the engine off, but he didn't make a move. "We're here. I don't see any FBI agents. Nothing looks suspicious. We should be able to get him inside and up to our room. How bloody is he?"

  He stared at his red hand. "It's bad."

  "We can't risk making a scene if that lobby is crowded. Can you wrap him up and try to hide it? Play him off as being drunk? Can he even walk on his own?"

  Niki roughly wiped his cheeks on the backs of his hands. "I can walk."

  "Are you sure?" Dean asked.

  "I can do it. Let me. I'm not weak."

  "You are, Nikolas. You're injured and beaten and weak. The sooner you realize that, the quicker you'll recover. I'll come around to your side and help you." Shivering shirtless and in just his slacks, Dean went around the car to Niki's door and opened it. He lifted the boy to his feet. "Put your arm around me and let's go."

  Shay went ahead and held the door open. "Looks like there's a party going on, but it's in one of the meeting rooms. The lobby is vacant. If you get him in here now, we should be able to make it to the nearest elevator."

  Niki's legs gave out and he slid out of Dean's grasp. He collapsed into the snow where he remained face-down.

  "Niki!" Dean tried to pull him up, but he wasn't strong enough. "Come on. You have to get up. You can't die here. Ah . . ."

  Shay let the door close. "Dean?"

  "Shay, he's bleeding out."

  "Damn it. I'll help get him up so we can carry him." Shay raced over and took Niki by his shoulders. "Get his waist. On the count of three. One, two, three!"

  Niki screamed, his entire body wracked with pain when he was lifted up. "Please, no. No. Leave me. I can't."

  "You can and you will."

  Dean and Shay carried him into the hotel lobby where the receptionist was distracted by her phone call. Dean nodded towards the golden elevator doors against the beige walls across from the open area that was still decorated for Christmas. Four children played around the towering Christmas tree, jumping on the sofas and giggling as cartoons played on the television.

  "Hurry." Shay helped carry Niki to the elevator and punched the button on the wall with his elbow. He shifted on his feet while he waited for the doors to open. As soon as they did, he pulled Niki inside. "Get in."

  Dean did as he was told and hit the button for floor six. While the elevator moved, he knelt down to hold Niki's head up where the boy had fallen in the corner. "Stay awake."

  "Even if I wanted to, the pain won't let me sleep."

  "Good, that's actually a good thing."

  Shay kept his arm in front of the doors to keep them open. "Get him up."

  Dean pulled him up and half-dragged him down the marble floor of the empty hallway, past the bubbling fountains and trimmed shrubs of the luxury hotel. When they reached the door to their suite, Shay opened it then picked Niki up so Dean could carry him inside.

  "Place him down on the kitchen table." Shay shut the door behind them and locked it. He threw off his coat, turned the lights on, then went to the dining area. He shoved the foam takeout containers and empty soda bottles from the table onto the floor. "We'll work on him here. I'll get us some hot water, my first aid kit, and some towels."

  Dean guided Niki to the kitchen table. "Down you go."

  Niki pulled away from him, clutching the blood-smeared trenchcoat around his battered body. He backed up, his tired eyes filled with fear, but his legs holding him upright momentarily. "Don't touch me. I can do this by myself."

  "We need to examine you."

  "I've been violated enough. I don't need you two poking and prodding. I'll tend to it myself. I'm getting a shower."

  Was he serious? "You're bleeding to death. I don't care if you're modest all of a sudden. You have nothing we haven't see before. Man to man, I swear I won't harm you. No one else is going to violate you. We need to see how bad it is so we can keep you alive."

  He stumbled towards the bathroom, holding onto the walls to steady himself. Niki hissed at them as he went into the bedroom. "Go to hell."

  "Niki, no."

  "Let him go, Dean." Shay scrubbed the blood off of his arms in the kitchen sink. "He feels humiliated, emasculated, and hopeless. Let him cope. If he needs us, he will let us know."

  "What if he hurts himself in there?"

  "Give him five minutes, then go check on him."

  A
fter removing his AK-47 and hanging it from a hook on the wall, Dean peeled off his blood-soaked slacks and tossed them into the corner by the trashcan. He sat on the leather sofa in the living area where extra ammunition was scattered across the dark green carpet and stacked on the glass-top coffee table from where they had prepared their weapons earlier that afternoon. He listened to the shower turn on in the bathroom while he trailed his fingers along the purple snake tattoo that wound around his right arm. "He's bleeding too much."

  "There's nothing we can do right now. He won't let us touch him. If we try to force the issue by holding him down, that could only make his injuries worse. We can be here for him and hope the wounds are mostly superficial."

  "They aren't. At least, if those bastards did what I think they did with that meat hook, one of the wounds is grisly and internal."

  The inquisitor took two miniature bottles of tequila from the fridge and brought them over to Dean. He sat next to him. "Drink it."

  "I shouldn't."

  "Drink it, Dean. Trust me."

  He sighed as he took the bottle and screwed off the lid. He downed it in one gulp. "Ugh, that is bad."

  "I know, right? You'd think a place this fancy would have better booze. Look at this suite. Espresso machine, dimmer lights, leather and gold-plated everything. Even the air smells good. Like baked goods."

  "Cinnamon." Dean chuckled. "We're in a fancy place like this and we look like shit."

  "Maybe it will help Niki heal. We'll order room service in the morning. Make him eat a big breakfast. Pancakes, sausage, melon, some muffins, and eggs."

  "Help him get his strength back. You know, if he eats. He might shut down completely. If he turns suicidal, I might request a room change. We don't need to be on the sixth floor."

  "We'll keep the sliding door to the balcony locked at all times. I can move the dresser in the bedroom in front of it. He'll be too weak to move it on his own."

  "Good idea. Maybe you're right, Shay. Maybe I'm getting too old for this. I'm exhausted."

  Shay finished off his tequila then threw the bottle across the room where it smashed against the kitchen counter. "We're both too old for this."