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The Hecatomb, Chapter 3 |
| Written by Sean | |
| Sunday, 22 June 2008 | |
A knock on the door roused David from his much-needed sleep. It was not a knock, per se, but rather an incessant series of loud and cacophonous collisions with the door. Groggy and caught within the final moments of a dream, David rolled over in his bed, staring blearily at the digital clock on his nightstand.
3:45 a.m.
As he wondered who in God's name would be banging on the door at such an unholy hour, David, clad in pajamas, rose from bed and trudged sleepily down the hall and stairs. Moonlight filtered in through Venetian blinds, bars of darkness and light stretching along the walls. After what seemed to him to be a very lengthy trip, David wrenched the door open as far as the lock would allow and stared tiredly at his visitor.
"Hello Mr. Verre."
"And you are..."
"I used to be called Karl. May I come in?"
"No."
"I don't mean any harm, David. "
"No."
"I think it would be in your best interest."
"No."
"We saw what happened at the station, David."
"So? Wait, ‘we?' You said ‘I'"
"I'm here with a partner."
"Go away. Now."
"Irene would have let us in."
David stared at the visitor's left eye, the only part of his body visible through the small slit. It was a cold green, frosty and frigid. The eye was hardly important. What was important was that he knew Irene. David shook himself from his shock. It was silly. Anyone could have known Irene. Just because it was illegal for mutants to access the Registry, it did not mean it never happened. Anyone could have just looked at the Verre family and notice that Irene had been labeled "past."
"I was with her before she died."
"What?"
"The Quietus."
The man raised his arm, showing a string of black numbers tattooed on his forearm. From the limited knowledge David had of the Quietus, those numbers were the mark of those chosen for the sacrifice. After they were rounded up, the chosen were branded so that in the event they escaped, they could be tracked. This man had been to the Quietus and, somehow, escaped.
"What do you want?"
"A moment of your time."
"At 3:45 in the morning?"
"It's safest."
David unlocked and opened the door, allowing this strange man into his foyer. He was a tall fellow who boasted long dirty blond hair that fell in slight waves to his shoulders. He was some combination of skinny and muscular, though most of his body was concealed by the floor-length duster he wore. Behind him walked a young girl, no more than 12, with a ferret perched on her shoulder. With brown hair, hazel eyes, and a distant smile, she seemed almost happy to be walking around a city so early in the morning. The man once known as Karl glanced around at the house with polite interest. The girl stood stock still, her ferret peeking at every thing.
"What do you want, Karl?"
"Actually, they call me Lord now."
"Lord?"
Karl - "Lord" - held up his hands. He wiggled the fingers on his left hand.
"A disease. It works through contact. It only takes a few moments for victims to go into convulsions. About an hour later, they start bleeding. Six hours later, they're dead. "
He proceeded to wave his right hand.
"The cure. It works immediately. ‘The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away.'"
David glanced at the girl. She was facing him, her ferret looking out the window behind her. She seemed to be staring right through David, as if he were hardly there. He glanced at Lord, now nervous with a man of disease next to him, and then continued to watch the girl simply stand there.
"Artemis has a special sort of connection with animals."
"Her name is Artemis?"
"Ever since she left her old life behind."
The girl spoke, and David was actually startled. Staring straight at him now, the girl described the world out the window behind her.
"There are three cars going by, one of which has its lights off and another only has one. There are two flies on the windowsill, a light in the house across the street just turned on, -now it's off again- and..."
The ferret leapt down, gazed under David's couch for a moment, then climbed back up to his mistress' shoulder.
"There are thirty-seven cents and a paper clip under your couch. "
David was impressed. Apprehensive, yes, but impressed nonetheless. "Lord" spoke, his voice deep and powerful, demanding obedience.
"We saw what happened today at the station, David. Well, actually, Artemis saw and told me. I was trying to buy a newspaper .We were disgusted, and have decided to extend an invitation to you and your daughter. "
"An invitation to what?"
"Why, freedom of course."
"Excuse me?"
"No more tasers, no more Registry. No more signs, deprivations, animosity, or being thrown onto the street as your daughter watches. "
David cringed. He had taken a seat on the well-worn couch previously inspected by the girl's ferret. His hands were folded, and his chin rested on the backs of his fingers.
"How do you plan to do that, Karl?"
"Lord. There is already a war going on, David. They have created an army of the masses, a legion that fights not just with violence, but with emotions and the law. We have our own force, David, one that fights with conviction unmatched by the hateful populace. Split apart, we cannot do much. United, however, we are a force that can make a difference. All we have to do is fight back David, return fire. Do to them what they have done so freely to our own."
"You want to kill people?"
"They've killed."
"I won't kill anyone."
"They killed Irene."
David was silent, his eyes on the floor. Lord smiled.
"They burned her, David. Tossed her into flame and rejoiced."
"That's enough."
"She screamed, like everyone before her. It was when she stopped that I felt the true horror."
"That's enough!"
David's living room window shattered, and Lord found himself with a blade of class pressing against his neck. David had stood up, slightly hunched over and eyes burning. There was droplet, small but present, sliding down his cheek.
"Daddy?"
The glass fell, fracturing upon contact with the ground. David turned to see Evelyn standing at the top of the stairs, staring with somber, sleepy curiosity at the scene below. Her doll hung loosely from her hand. Lord smiled up at her, and David tried his best to calm his anger and his fear.
"Go back to bed sweetheart. I'll be up in a little while."
"Who are they?"
"Just visitors, Ev-"
"Hello Evelyn."
Lord interjected, eyes fixed on Evelyn. She simply blinked, awkwardly waved her greeting, looked from Artemis to Lord, and yawned.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Lord. This is Artemis."
Artemis waved her own greeting and flashed a smile. Her ferret peeked out over her head. Evelyn gave another wave in reply.
"I like your ferret."
"Thank you. I like your doll."
"Thanks."
"Artemis, why don't you go bring Evelyn back to bed?"
David began to voice his objections when Lord silenced him. Artemis and Evelyn disappeared behind a corner, leaving the two men to themselves.
"I offered Irene a chance to escape. She could have been amazing. One thought, and the clothes of every Quietus agent could have killed them all. "
"Irene wouldn't do that."
"No, she didn't. So, I had to work my magic. I poisoned them all, the brander, the agents, the doctors, anyone I could reach. By the time the processing was over, nearly every human was infected."
"You killed them all?"
"No not all of them. I think about two of them survived. But I had to, David. Again, I offered Irene her own escape, but she refused. She said that if she came back, the Registry would come down in you with full authority. Better to have loved and lost than to be dead, I suppose."
Again, David was silent.
"She gave me this, for you."
Lord dug around in his duster, obviously searching for something. He withdrew a folded heap of cloth from one of his pockets and proceeded to unfold it tenderly. From within its depths, he procured a necklace, black string on which a crystal and glass pendant hung. It was an angel, pure and translucent, shining in the moonlight. He extended it to David, whose trembling fingers delicately grasped it. David tried to speak, but at first, his mouth was far too dry. A few attempts later, he succeeded.
"I made this for her for our first anniversary."
"She told me. She said you recited a poem to her as well, one of her favorites. "
"She Walks in Beauty. Lord Byron."
"I don't mean any harm to your or your family. I just want to make the world a better place for people like us, to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. I want to make sure that I will never again have to stand in a man's living room and give him his parted wife's last memory. "
"She loved this necklace."
"I know. She did. Help me make sure this doesn't happen again. If not for Irene's memory, then for Evelyn."
David was focused on the necklace, staring at the little angel's wings of glass. Lord folded his hands in front of him, a fatherly smile on his face. Without averting his gaze from David, he called out to Artemis.
"Artemis! Let's go!"
Artemis came skipping down the stairs, her ferret clinging on to her shoulder for dear life. As she took her position at Lord's side, she smiled.
"You have a lovely daughter, Mr. Verre."
Quietly, David replied.
"Thank you."
Lord took a polite bow and strode to the door. He opened it, allowing Artemis to exit first, gazing pleasantly at David.
"I'll be in touch David. I'll give you some time to think about it."
With that, Lord left, and David was alone with the angel and the memories. Copyright 2008 Sean |
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