by M. L. Giles
The gate at the side of the house crashed open as I shoulder barged in to it, giving me access to a small, overgrown garden with the bones of its previous owners lying deep within the long grass. A brick wall ran across the back, stretching out behind all the other connecting gardens along the street.
It was more than I was hoping for.
By kicking off the corner fence in the garden, I was able to grab a hold of the brick wall at the back, then effortlessly hoist myself onto it. The gate clattered some way behind me for a second time, uncomfortably soon after the first.
As I ran along the top of the brick wall with my arms stretched out for balance, the female guard appeared in the garden. She flicked her arm towards me, throwing a small knife my way. Its bladed tip tore through the air, narrowly missing my waist.
I kept going, making my way past two houses before the female behind me had even stood upright on the wall.
Then, without warning, a section of the brickwork crumbled underfoot. Before I knew what had happened, I was facedown on top of the wall, having painfully caught myself with my hands against its sharp edges. Taking a second to make sure my heart was still in my chest, I lifted myself up to continue.
After passing by another two houses, I stopped to take a quick look back. The woman was struggling to keep herself steady on the crumbly wall. As for her male guard companion, he was only just starting to clamber up onto the wall.
That’s when a disastrous mistake was made – not by me, of course. After seeing me fall, the woman behind me increased her pace, causing a loss in balance. She dived into a garden, trying to land on the grass rather than the stone path beside us.
Hilarious. If running for my life wasn’t so important right now, I’d probably have gone back just to mock her.
“Now or never!” I thought.
I continued running along the wall, keeping an eye open for a gate that looked open down the side of the houses. When I spotted the opening I was looking for three houses on, I jumped into its garden, making a break for the half-open gate.
I was willing to bet those two would think I’d run as far as possible. Except here was where I changed up the formula to add a touch of confusion.
At the front of the house was a garage that stuck out from the main building. By using the same corner wall kick trick I’d used earlier, I was able to just about reach the top of the garage and pull myself up onto it.
Now all I had to do was lie flat on my back, stay quiet, and wait.
A minute or two later, I heard the gate just to my side crashing open with a loud bang. From the deep panting, I could tell it was the male guard.
A few seconds later the female joined him.
“Bloody Nora, that guy is fast!” The woman was first to talk. My heart raced even harder just knowing they were so close to me.
“Yeah… he is…” The guy sounded out of breath; so was I, to be honest, but it was important I controlled my breathing by focusing on it.
“Did you see which way he went?” she asked.
“Nah… Maybe he… went back… into the gardens?” he wheezed.
Both of them walked away from me, heading to the bottom of the driveway.
“Ooooh, this is bad!” the woman said nervously. “What do we tell Aiden? Should we go back now or keep searching this place?”
“Let’s say we… got him. Phew…”
“Lie to Aiden? Are you insane?! We would get in so much trouble.”
“You really want to… tell him… that you let that lad get away?”
“ME?!” the woman screeched. “I might’ve fallen off the wall, but at least I wasn’t slow, like you!”
The two kept bickering for some time, continuously blaming each other, pushing the responsibility of failure back and forth. It was funny to hear them argue.
What the guy said next, however, was far from funny.
“Erm, Ivy? Look over there. Isn’t that where the hotel is?”
“What? …Oh! That was fast. How long’s that been going on for?”
I turned my head, looking over in the direction of the hotel. A large building blocked my sight of it, but I could easily see the thick black smoke billowing into the sky.
I mouthed the words, “No…”, almost choking at the sight.
“Party’s started early. Let’s head back, Lucas,” suggested the women. “Nothing we can do now. Might as well enjoy the show.”
“Sounds good… to me.” The man took a few deep breaths, still winded from the run. “Have to say, I’m surprised Aiden is burning them all. Some of them could’ve been useful back home.”
Even as the two walked off, I didn’t feel capable of moving. My head rolled back into place, letting me look up at the clouds in the sky. Without the two guards bickering away near me anymore, I could hear the faint sound of screams echoing in the distance.
The hotel was on fire. Those Colton had given himself up to save were now burning away. Wendy and Thomas had betrayed me. And, to top it all off, the guy I loved was being driven away to be killed.
It was game over.
The thrill of being chased earlier wore off quickly as the hard truth sank deeper into my soul. I loathed myself for even feeling that thrill at such an inappropriate time.
The black smoke just began to seep in to the corner of my vision. My eyes closed straight away, trying to ignore it. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t block out the screams. Those screams reminded me of when I lay in the bathtub of my old home, trying to suppress the sounds of death using a towel over my head.
On that day last year, upon finding Gloria dead, it felt like I’d lost everything. I remember asking myself, “What’s the point in living without the only person I give a shit about?”
That exact question returned, accompanied by a physically crippling depression.
My muscles wouldn’t move anymore. My eyes refused to open. My breathing became heavier with struggled breaths.
“Screw it. I give up,” I thought. “Gloria, Colton… I’m so, so sorry. I love you both.”
Exhausted, sweaty, and defeated, I relinquished myself to an uneasy slumber. The familiar screams of death once again my only lullaby.
One eye opened slowly, followed shortly by the other. A blurry, dream-like, yet somehow familiar place seemed to spring up before me.
With my poor vision slowly returning, I knew where I was: back in Aiden’s make-shift courtyard outside his hospital, standing at its entrance. Before me, strapped down on hospital stretchers, were Bethany, Evan, Carl, Tyrone, and finally Colton. Each one of them had been evenly spaced next to each other in a neat line.
When I tried to call out their names, no sound escaped my lips.
The sky above us was completely blanketed by something resembling black smoke, giving the illusion of a starless night. An oversized, orange-coloured moon sat in the sky slightly below the smoke, illuminating everything around me in its sickly glow. There was no breeze, no sounds or smells either. Nothing.
For some reason I couldn’t move anything, except my head to look around.
I glanced frantically around, trying to make sense of this scene. After my head had looked up at the sky, then back down again, a jerry can materialized next to each strapped down individual.
“Matthew.”
It was Aiden’s soothing voice that called out my false name. I looked around again, trying to see where it was coming from, but he only appeared when my head looked back at my friends.
What a beautifully radiant smile he greeted me with… In the orange glow of the moon, Aiden looked like an angel. Even the red bathrobe that once made me laugh now seemed more befitting to his golden, saintly visage.
But I knew there was nothing saintly about this demon in red – this thing of nightmares.
“Don’t do this, Aiden.” My words came out no louder than a squeak, like my voice wouldn’t project any louder.
Without saying a word, Aiden silently walked over to Bethany. He picked up the
jerry can next to her, gently pouring the liquid fuel out of it and all over her, covering her entire body from head to toe. Not once during all of this did he avert his gaze from me.
The world seemed to be muted. Bethany soundlessly coughed as the liquid spilled over her face.
“Stop!” I tried to yell, yet once again it simply slipped out of me as a whisper.
Aiden placed the jerry can back down on the floor, then moved one hand behind his back. With a slow flick, he produced an already lit lighter from behind himself, its flame an indescribable shade of gold. Every move he made felt so theatrical.
He dropped that golden-flamed lighter, setting Bethany alight.
She screamed out in pain – the first sound I’d heard that hadn’t been Aiden’s voice. Soundless flames ate away at her skin, filling the air with that old familiar smell of burning flesh I, unfortunately, knew all too well.
It was just like the sleeping guard all over again.
Eventually, Bethany fell silent. Her body stopped writhing, leaving behind an unrecognizable lump of charred meat.
Aiden, with an unchanging face, glided gracefully over to his next victim, Evan.
“What the hell are you doing, Grayson?!” a female voice came from nowhere, simultaneously coming from everywhere. It was too distorted to recognize who it was.
Aiden repeated every movement he had done with Bethany on Evan. Pouring the fuel, placing an arm behind his back, pulling out another lit lighter, then dropping it. All this while maintaining eye contact with me.
Panic was setting in my heart. I tried to struggle free of whatever invisible force bound me. The sight and smell of burning flesh brought out a deep-rooted fear in me, one placed there by Aiden himself.
“Snap out of it!” the distorted female voice yelled out to me. “This is exactly what he wants. He wants you to feel paralyzed by fear.”
Carl was next in line. Just like the first two, Aiden covered him in fuel and dropped another magically appearing lighter on him. The very second Carl stopped screaming, Aiden moved over to Tyrone.
“Let it go, Grayson,” the female voice spoke out again, less distorted this time. “This isn’t like you to just give up! DO SOMETHING!”
“I want to, but there’s no way to win anymore,” I whispered back to the voice.
“For the love of— Stop holding yourself back, jackass! You’re smarter than this douche. COME ON!” the familiar voice screamed back at me.
Aiden poured fuel onto Tyrone, lighting him up just like those that had come before him. The sound of his scream and the smell of burning flesh didn’t seem to affect me as much this time.
“What are you going to do?” the female voice asked me. “Colton’s next. Are you going to let him die?”
“No!” I shouted, my voice finally returning to normal.
Aiden began to make his way over to Colton, one elegant step at a time, still focusing his gaze on me.
“Then stop him already!”
“I can’t move!” I replied to her.
The jerry can beside Colton was picked up. Aiden began the pouring process. I could hear the man I cared so much about coughing from the fuel splashing all over his face.
“Please,” I begged to the voice. “Help me…”
Gloria stepped in beside me. She took a hold of my arm and lifted it up effortlessly. With her other hand, she placed Colton’s machete, Misha, onto my open palm.
The second the handle touched me, I felt free to move again.
“If there is one thing I know about you, little brother,” Gloria said to me, “it’s that you always find a way.”
Now was the time.
I felt empowered; stronger than I’d ever felt before.
With my freedom restored, I ran full speed towards Aiden, tackling him down to the ground, forcing the demon to drop his golden-flamed lighter away from Colton.
There was no hesitation on my part anymore. I threw myself on top of Aiden, holding Misha against his throat.
“You think you can go around killing whoever you want just because the law doesn’t apply anymore?! Well guess what,” I pushed my hand forward, slicing open Aiden’s throat with an impossibly clean cut, “two can play your twisted game.”
The colour slowly drained from Aiden’s still-smiling face. Blood poured out of his neck, painting the ground beneath us a mix of orange and crimson.
With the deed done, I stood up and turned around to face my sister. She looked so beautiful. My mind is often dominated by the last memories I have of her lying in bed, white froth drooling out her pale lips. But here, in my dreams, she looked how I preferred to remember her; a feisty lady, who was always ready for a night out on the town.
Her light brown hair flowed back, tucked neatly behind her ears. A loose pink top, held up by the straps on her shoulders, showed off her arms, while a pair of spotless white jeans showed off her curves. The small amount of makeup on her face enhanced her natural beauty.
And, finally, sitting in my sister’s earlobe was her half of the sapphire earrings I had stolen back.
That was the image of my sister I wanted ingrained in my mind, rather than the tragic corpse with half its face missing.
All the bodies on the floor seemed to vanish from my sight. When I looked down, Aiden had also disappeared without a trace, leaving only me, my sister, and the bloodied machete in my hand.
“How did it feel to take a life, Grayson?” she asked in a voice pitch perfect to what I remembered.
“Bad but necessary… Gloria, I’m scared.” I spoke while looking at the blood dripping from the machete. It shook in my trembling grip.
“What are you scared of?”
“Being alive. It feels like my mind is breaking down, leaving me with some pretty disturbing thoughts. All I feel is despair and anger eating me up from inside. What’s going to become of me if I keep getting pushed so hard? Will I end up some heartless freak, like Aiden?”
Gloria walked over to me and gently lifted my chin up with her hand. “What the hell happened to my little brother? Where did he go? You have been, and always will be, Grayson Ryder: a selfish, sneaky, cunning son of a bitch with a heart of gold. So stop overthinking things! It’s not your style.”
“Hey! I wasn’t selfish!” I argued jokingly, playfully pushing her hand off my chin. “You got all of the money I stole – most of the time.”
Gloria placed one hand on her hip, giving me a sassy look. “Really? I recall a certain someone telling me that the rush was almost payment itself.”
She had me there.
I gave a not-so-innocent smile. “Heh, busted… Gloria, what should I do now? Colton is probably dead and the hotel is gone. I have nothing again.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you deaf or something? Grayson Ryder is selfish, so what does HE want?”
That was an easy one to answer. “The only thing I want right now is Colton, not that it’s possible anymore.”
Gloria grabbed a hold of my shoulders, shaking them lightly to get my full attention. “What did I say earlier, jackass? You can do anything, so why is it too late?”
“Because—” I never thought about it until that moment. Why was it too late? Why was I simply accepting this defeat, leaving the man I loved to the jaws of death? “You’re right, sis. I have to try. Even if I get there and he’s already dead, I have to try.”
“There he is! There’s my brother! So what’s the deal with Colton? I had no idea you had a thing for men older than yourself,” she teased. “Can’t deny those guns of his, though.”
“He’s only thirty-five! Besides, it’s all about the personality with me. And with him, I feel this connection I’ve not felt with anyone else before.”
“Wow, that was incredibly cliché for you! I bet secretly it’s all about those muscles,” she raised an eyebrow. “Am I right? Come on, be honest.”
“…They do help,” I joked.
We both laughed. It was the most amazing feeling in the world to see her again. For
some reason, I rarely dreamt of my sister. No matter how much I would think about her, she only ever seemed to live in my memories. Nothing could compare to seeing her again, and despite being woken up shortly after by rain drops tapping away on my face from a sky turning dark, the joyous feelings carried with me to the waking world.
“Thanks, sis,” I thought. “I know what to do now.”
My body felt broken, my mind weakened. Although I wasn’t sure anymore how much I could endure, I came up with a plan.
There was only one way I was going to have a decent shot at saving Colton: clothes shopping.
Chapter 20
Transformation.
Unfamiliar Face.
Gloria’s visit in my dreams had given my mind a small break from the bottomless pit of despair I had come so close to willingly falling into.
I got up from the garage roof, dithering in my wet clothes. Both legs gently heaved the entirety of my tired, weary body one at a time. Every muscle ached from a combination of tiredness and physical exhaustion caused by escaping my pursuers. It took a remarkable amount of strength to do something as simple as staying steady on my feet.
In the distance, the faintest crackle of the still-burning hotel could be heard, even over the sound of the light rain.
My body, wet and tired. My muscles, aching and sore. But worst of all was the state of my mind. Despite Gloria pulling me back from the brink, a storm of madness loomed in the corners of my thoughts, threatening to strike my sanity at any given moment.
An uneasy notion came to me as I looked up at the darkening sky.
“Is this why so many people went crazy? Because the world pushed them too far?” I thought.
It was sickening to think I could relate to them.
The only glimmer of salvation that kept me going was the thought of rescuing Colton.
Time was now a factor, one that I had already lost much of from my power nap. I needed to force myself to move if I intended to get my plan in motion.
My feet shuffled over to the edge of the garage roof. Gently, I lowered myself to the ground, almost losing balance when my feet hit the driveway.
Once I’d regained my composure, I made my way in the opposite direction from the hotel, heading towards the town’s centre to gather what I needed.