//------------------------------// // When I nearly lost my soul // Story: She's Gonna Kill Me! // by Echo 27 //------------------------------// The world had ended and the battle was over, so why did so many continue to run about and flee and fight? I don’t know how long I remained there, rooted to the spot even as I fell to my knees. My very being was taken away from me, my body robbed of breath. I could not grasp what lay before me, I could not fully comprehend what had taken place because I could not accept that I had finally, after years of shielding her from the sins of my father and my own sins, I had failed to protect her. I could not understand how a woman so emotionally strong, who had taken abuse from my father for years before I was even born, who had endured a nightmare of hatred and beatings and brutality, who had pushed through so much to keep me safe and keep our little family together- was now bleeding to death on her own front yard. It seemed so cruel to know that the little house in which she had always been protected was now where she lay, slowly dying, slowly fading from my reach to a place where I could never go and bring her back. And it was all because of me. Because I, in my bitterness and hurt and pain, had become the very person I had sworn never to be, because I willingly entered a world that had brought so much danger to her, and had now finally found her and struck her down. Because I failed. The circle of cops and medics surrounding her broken body began to shift as one of the EMT dashed away and jumped into the back of the ambulance, disappearing for a moment before emerging with another wrapping of gauze. “Put pressure on the wound!” he ordered swiftly. “We’ve got to keep her conscious all the way to the hospital!” Somehow, as if a call from a deep trance, his words were enough to rouse me from my stupor. To drag me out of my haze and remind me with the force of a blow to the head that she was still alive- she was dying. “Mom!” I screamed, leaping to my feet and promptly stumbling as I clumsily tried to stand. “Mom! Mom!” I scrabbled over to the circle of men and women who were desperately trying to save my mother’s life and tried to shove them aside. I stood over her for only a moment, enough for the catastrophic damage of her injuries to truly sink in: a gaping gunshot wound in the center of her chest, likely caused by a high-caliber pistol. The wound was still gushing blood madly, pouring out onto her clothes and seeping into the ground beneath her. I looked for a sign that she could hear me, that she knew her only child was there and that I was so sorry- “Hey! Back up, give us room to help her!” an officer yelled, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me away from my only mother, my flesh and blood, the only kin I truly had- “No! No, no, she’s my mother- that’s my mother! I have to be with her, I have to be near her!” “Kid, please, let the medics do their job or else she’s gonna die!” the officer said, grabbing me forcefully and dragging me away- I could see them pressing down on her chest, a fresh heap of blood practically exploding from her chest and dousing them all in crimson- “Let me go, you have to let me go, she’s my Mom, I have to help- it’s my fault she’s hurt, I need to do something-” “Kid, back away or I will put you under arrest for disrupting emergency services!” The officer said vehemently, looking me square in the eye and giving me a menacing glare- “Officer, I’ll help,” said a voice, full of desperation yet layered in a kindness I couldn’t understand, a soft gentle thing that shouldn’t exist in this world of violence. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my entire body and someone slowly pulling me away from the broken body of my Mom and Sunset saying, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry- it’s going to be OK, they’re going to save her…” “It’s my fault, it’s my fault,” I gabbled, still scrambling to get back to her, to be near her even if I could do nothing. “It’s because of me, I have to be with her-” “There’s nothing you can do, you have to let them help or she’ll never make it!” Sunset begged. “No! NO! Moooom! Moooom!” I screamed, clawing at air as if I could grab a hold of the nothingness and pull myself forward. I was helpless, watching as the team put her limp body on a stretcher and threw her in the back of the ambulance, shutting the doors and driving away at top speed, the lights and sirens creating a deafening, dizzying display of frenetic energy. “They’re taking her away, they’re taking her away from me-” “They’re taking her to get help, she’ll be OK, she’ll be OK,” and with that Sunset could say no more, torn apart as she tried to hold me back, yet unable to hold back her own tears. I screamed so loudly that the whole earth might have shattered, a horrible piercing cry of an agony so deep and inescapable that it ate me alive. I wanted to die, I wanted to take her place- to take the blow as one who so assuredly deserved a cold violent death in the streets upon which I had waged my war. I screamed with a grief unbearable, a sorrow so cruel and twisted that just to bear it for even a moment was unendurable torture. I would have given anything to save her, to have traded places, but I could do nothing and I could not endure the reality of my helplessness. My mother, my only mother, was dying and it was because of me. I stood there for hours, wailing my grief upon the cold of the night, so stricken and consumed I could do nothing else. I was nothing in the face of an agony I had seen inflicted on so many, yet could not withstand myself. I was shattered. It sounded as if he came from a distance beyond the void, but soon before me were the polished boots of a police officer. “I know this may not be an easy time for both of you,” she said gently, “but if we could ask you a few questions as to what’s going on…” “I’m sorry,” Sunset sniffed, trying to gain control of herself whilst I was nearly catatonic. “I’m sorry, we just got here ourselves, and we- we don’t know what happened…” “And there’s nothing you can tell us? Would you have any idea who the perpetrator is?” she pressed. “You’ll never find them,” I said hoarsely, freeing itself from my throat as if on natural instinct to react. And it was true, Wanyama would never let themselves be found, they would disappear into the city and never be caught, to forever roam free… “We’ll catch them, I promise you that,” the officer assured us. “We’ll keep you updated as to what’s happening. As for…” “She was my mother,” I said, another wave of grief rising up from the depths and threatening to overwhelm me. She may not make it, she probably wouldn’t make it… “I’m very sorry. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. For now, you should head to Norton Suburban on 3rd downtown, that’s where your mother’s being taken to. I can take you there now, if you’d like…” “We’ll head there ourselves, just- just give us a moment,” Sunset replied. “If that’s what you need. And again, I am so sorry, and we will find who did this…” she walked back to her patrol car and drove off, leaving only a few officers and what remained of the crowd as our company. Sunset didn’t let go of me, clutching me so tightly that to those watching I may well have been her lifeline. In truth, if she had released me, I didn’t know if I would be able to hold on and keep myself from falling apart. Her touch was the only thing keeping me together in the world I had just destroyed- A flash of yellow in the corner of my eye. I looked over and saw, half-buried in the gardens surrounding my front door, was a worn piece of paper that had been hastily stuffed into the ground. Somehow it had gone unnoticed in the police’s scouring of my home, a clear sign that screamed for my attention. Every bone ached as I rose from my place on the grass and headed over to it, Sunset keeping her hands on my arm as I left. Slowly bending down, I pulled the sheet out from the ground to read two simple, poorly-written words: Washed Away… A simple callsign. An assumption of responsibility, left behind by the man Wanyama had sent to kill her. Washed Away… An inkling of the truth formed in my brain, a wispy insubstantial vapor taking form in my brain as it swirled and contorted, speaking words of comfort as my father was taken away by the cops when I was young, promising to help me rise through the ranks. A first meeting with Jester, accompanying me as I was brought before our leader in recognition of my efforts. A promise of friendship and brotherly loyalty, an invitation to a party in fall, a threat to me and the girl I loved and nearly executing me, a figure hidden in the shadows of an alleyway, a constant reminder of the threat I faced from the one person in Wanyama who had known me best. I began to tremble, at first a slow, jittery response. I could hear a buzzing in my ear, a pulsating sensation pounding in my skull as my grief and sorrow turned to rage, a desire for revenge against the very man, the gang-bound brother, the former friend who had fought alongside me for so long along with his group of cronies, who had longed for Sunset, who had wanted me dead even all those months ago… I saw the figure of Suds rise from the smoke, and I wanted to kill him. Click. Click. Click. An hour since they had taken my mother away. An hour since the world had ended. “Are the two of you injured?” Rarity asked Sunset, her voice still audible through the closed door, though muffled. Sunset had alerted the girls as to what had happened moments after we had gone inside. Click. Click. Click. “I’m fine, just a few bruises, but as for… lost a tooth and some blood,” Sunset replied. Her voice was calmer, more controlled than when she had been outside with me on the lawn. She was holding her emotions in check. Crunch. Another box emptied. I shuffled for another, grasping about beneath the bed. I had run into my mother’s room and locked myself in the moment we had gone inside. Sunset had tried to follow, but after being met with silence from my end, she had relented. She was probably afraid for me, worried I would do something rash. She hadn’t seen the revolver yet. “Have you gotten a call from the hospital yet?” Fluttershy inquired. “No, not yet. I wanted to go, but… no argument was good enough. Closed the door on me the instant we got inside.” Found one, an unopened package filled to the brim. Six were inside, more than enough. I grabbed the bag and opened it up, tossing the contents into what would work as a makeshift supplies case. It wasn’t enough, I needed more. “Are you going to be OK? Both of you?” “I don’t know, this is- it’s bad, Rarity, I don’t know what to do, I wouldn’t know where to begin. This is out of control, they’re still out there and we’re still marked. If we don’t do something soon, it might get worse.” Four fresh boxes still hiding underneath the bed, now tossed into my bag. I left and turned towards the closet, pulling out the large crate hidden beneath the jackets and cracked open the lock. My old combat blades, ones I’d gotten through Wanyama when I became an enforcer. Mom had gotten them from me when I had gotten arrested for the second time and hidden them here. I took them and tied them to my waist, looping my belt through the sheath. There was one last thing… “Is there anything we can do to help? Anything at all?” I found it. A weather-beaten old thing, inscribed with her name across the barrel. She’d bought it after Estevan had been thrown in prison, afraid for our safety. I hadn’t objected, knowing full well the dangers the West End could bring. Couldn’t beat a good Louisville Slugger for a melee weapon. I examined myself in the full-length mirror she’d kept in the corner. It didn’t feel like enough, it wasn’t enough, couldn’t possibly be enough. But it would have to do. I would make it be enough, for nothing in the world could stand in my way. I had left the realm of mere hatred, incensed beyond human capabilities. With my wrath, I would make the world burn. I opened the door to find the group of girls stretched across the living room, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie together on the couch while Rainbow and AJ were leaning against the wall near the kitchen. Rarity had taken a seat on the recliner, with only Sunset on the ground, sitting in front of the TV cross-legged. “Honestly, if I could just get in there, and-” she caught sight of me mid-sentence, my appearance not fully registering for the split-second we made eye contact. I was covered in weaponry, knives across my hip, a massive baseball bat in my hands with a 12-gauge slung across my shoulders, laying peacefully –for the moment- across my chest. “And… and- and oh my gosh is that a shotgun?!” “All of you get out of here. Get to Sweet Apple Acres and stay there. Lock the doors, close the blinds, everything you can possibly do.” The enormity of what I was planning struck Sunset with the force of a nuclear bomb. “Oh my gosh, you are not going out there-” “Shut up. I’m gonna go out there and I’m gonna find him and I’m gonna kill him-” “What? No, that’s crazy!” Sunset yelled, jumping up and rushing over to block my path to the door. “Get out of my way, Sunset,” I growled dangerously, that horrible pulsing sensation creeping forth into my temple. “I won’t. What are you thinking you’re going to do, fight all of them?” “Hell yes I will! I know exactly where Wanyama goes, I’m gonna lure them out and-” “No, for the love of God, no! Didn’t you tell me that Jester’s assassins could kill anyone?” Sunset objected. “If that’s true then why are you heading out there yourself?” “It doesn’t matter to you, now get out of my way,” I said more forcefully. Sunset looked me steadily in the eye with a determined gaze. She was frightened, vulnerable, but she knew exactly what she was doing. “I’m not going to move. I don’t know why you’re trying to do this, but I won’t let you go out there-” “Get the f—k out of my way!” I spat. I never cursed at her, she hated when I cursed, she’d been chiding me for doing it and I usually made an effort to keep it down in front of her. “My only family is dying because of those sons of bitches and you’re saying I should just wait-” “I’m trying to save your life!” she said passionately. “What do you think’ll happen if she survives, comes back here and finds that you’re dead? You are the only thing she has left in the world, you can’t abandon her like that!” “She was part of this place, she’ll understand-” “No she won’t! She won’t understand because she loves you with all of her heart and she always wanted you to be safe, she wouldn’t want you to throw your life away!” “She is the only family I have left! How can I let this just happen, just let them take her away from me? You don’t understand!” “I will never see my family again!” She fired back heatedly. “I will not hear their voices, I will not see their faces- and that is my. Fault! I am not going to just- stand by and let you do the same thing! “I said get out of my way, Sunset!” I practically screamed. “And what about your family here? What about Applejack or Rarity or Rainbow Dash, any of us at all? What about me?” She pleaded. “How do you think we’d feel if we let you go out there? Do you think I’d ever come back from that? I can’t lose you when I could’ve done something to save you! Don’t do this to me!” “GET OUT OF MY WAY, DAMMIT!” I roared. “If you go out there then you will die!” she said finally. “I- DON’T- CARE!” I roared, bringing the bat back and giving a furious swing, driving it so deep into the wall it became stuck. I towered over her, an iron-shod form of pure power driven by an animalistic, overwhelming fury, seething with hatred because I could not go out and do the only thing I truly knew how. I went into a rage, screaming at her like a savage monster, my anger bringing me beyond to a place where words couldn’t possibly be enough. “I don’t care! I don’t care!” I spat, my chest heaving with unchecked emotion. “I don’t care what happens to me, I don’t care if I get killed! How we do things here is simple- we fight until we die! They have taken my family away from me, that is beyond forgiveness! So either I kill them or they kill me! There is nothing else now!” Sunset didn’t move, didn’t flinch, didn’t even speak, letting my anger flow freely out of me and into the ether. Despite all my efforts to move her aside, to frighten her away, to make her leave, she refused to budge even the merest inch, meeting me at every move I made. She would not let me leave this house, though my heart lay in tatters. Even if I had lost the whole world she would not have let me follow through. “I know you’re angry, maybe even at me, but please listen to me,” she said, her voice as soft as the early morning sun. “You have to listen to me, if you go out there you’ll never come back. You will not make it and that will break your mother in ways you can’t even begin to understand, that I can’t even understand.” “It doesn’t matter-” “Yes it does,” she pressed. “Your life matters to her, you are trying to throw away your value because you’re hurting in ways most people can’t even imagine. You matter to me, you matter to everyone in this room. If you were to go out there and die, none of us will ever truly come back. If you leave me, I will not make it- I am not strong enough to be without you, please don’t leave me when I need you to be strong.” I fumbled around, searching for the right thing to say, something that could convince her to relent. “Wh-why are you doing this? Why won’t you let me go?” “Because you made me promise that I would hold you to a standard,” she whispered, slowly, carefully bringing her hands to my face, beginning to caress me gently. “We promised each other that we would make each other better people, and if I let you walk out there I will have failed. Please don’t make me break that promise.” I would never convince her. She had won. I tugged the bat out of the wall and threw it aside, looking at her in desperation. “I don’t know what to do,” I said weakly. “I know, I know… we’ll do something, we’ll try something, but right now you need time to cool down. Just- just sit down for a bit, take this stuff off, it’ll help. Il-I’ll go get something to drink, maybe that’ll help.” She rushed off to the kitchen whilst I lurched into the living room, not even bothering to ignore the stunned stares I was receiving from my outburst- or perhaps it was the sheer firepower I was carrying. Something dim in the back of my mind realized it was probably best I relinquished this stuff, so I grabbed the shotgun and cracked it open, removing the rounds I had chambered. I did the same with the revolver, opening the cylinder and emptying the chambers. I took off my belt and dispensed the combat knives from my hip, throwing them into the center of the room, then fishing out some of the ammo cartridges I had in my pockets. “Oh my,” Fluttershy said faintly, looking like she was about to collapse at the very sight of it. I grabbed my makeshift bandolier and opened up the bag, dumping the cartridges and additional rounds onto the ground, finishing by pulling up my pant leg and tossing a small pocket knife I carried into the pile. “That’s all of it,” I said flatly. “I- I just- jeez,” AJ remarked, taking off her stetson and wringing it absentmindedly. Sunset returned carrying a small coffee cup in her hands. “I had to make it really quick, but it’s tea- it’ll help you calm down.” I took it without a word and took a small sip, trying to sate her. It wasn’t very good since it wasn’t warm, but I felt a bit of stillness begin to seep through me. I took a deep breath and took a slow, long drink. “You know who it was, don’t you?” Sunset asked me. “That note in the ground, you knew exactly what it meant…” “Callsign,” I said raggedly. “A token left by every killer. It was Suds, they gave him the rights to finish the hunt.” “Suds- the one who tried to attack you when you were with me, right?” I nodded. “Then we know what he looks like, we can report him to the police-” “They’ll never find him,” I said, my anger starting to boil once more. “Suds will disappear, the police will start hunting because if Wanyama wants to hide a murderer then they will.” “But there’s got to be something we can do, you know who it is!” “And it doesn’t matter! It never matters, Wanyama never lets their operators get caught. Jester is too smart and too powerful, he owns the West End, he’s bought out dozens of cops, and he knows how to hide his own!” “But there’s- someone has to fix this, people can’t just let this happen!” “No one can fix this!” I insisted. “The West End will never be free, this city will never be safe- ever. No one will ever know peace until Jester is dead.” “Then why doesn’t somebody stop him? Why don’t people fight back against him and take him down?” “Because it’s impossible,” I said flatly. “No one touches Jester unless he allows it, no one hurts Jester, and sure as hell no one can kill him. There’s no one on this earth who can kill him.” “You act like he’s a god or something-” “Well maybe he is!” I pressed. “Look, maybe it’s because you weren’t from the West End but Jester- he’s not normal, he’s not from here himself. He’s from some faraway country where they’ve been at war for longer than any of us have been alive. The story is Jester was fighting in their civil war for years as some sort of magic man when an entire raiding party found his village and slaughtered everyone. He lost his wife, he lost his children, everyone he knew. Supposedly he went mad, snapped because he couldn’t handle it- and then he came here decades ago and he’s been ruling this city ever since.” “That doesn’t make him invincible. He’s still just a man!” “No, he’s not! Jester isn’t a ‘mere’ human being, he’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen- none of you! The Sirens are nothing compared to him, they were mere children. Jester is a man who has fought and murdered and tortured and enslaved for an entire lifetime. I’ve seen him twice in my whole life and I have never been more scared, it’s like he isn’t human, like he’s something else. It’s not just because he’s killed entire gangs and families, or anything like that- he literally can’t be killed-” “No one is invincible-” “You don’t understand! People have tried to kill him before, rival gangs have set ambushes, they’ve tried to trap him, we’ve even had people get right into his creepy-as-hell gereza as he call it and pull guns on him -like, they had him- and then something goes wrong. Like their gun will misfire, the rounds will explode, something goes wrong where the assassin messes up, and then he kills them- brutally. What Jester does to people is something out of a nightmare and there is not a single person in the entire world who can stop him.” Sunset didn’t know what to say against that, standing there in frustration as the rules of a different world collided with reality. The warped, distorted vision of the West End wasn’t understandable to someone like her- someone good. “Then tell me why you were going to go after him anyway,” she asked of me. I was about to answer when I heard a knock on the door. “Get down!” I hissed, grabbing Sunset and throwing her down. “Stay down and get out of sight!” I grabbed the revolver from off the ground and snuck my way over to the door, peeking out through the glass to see who it was. I saw the blue uniform of the police and I threw the pistol aside to open the door and- I had seen his face only earlier this morning: a gangly, graying man with a moustache who had tried to kill me. Officer Collier, one of Wanyama’s hidden men. “You!” I grabbed Collier by the throat and threw him inside, slamming him into the wall with an elbow to the chest. “Yoy sonvabitch, I’m gonna kill you-” “No!” Sunset grabbed my arms and tried to wrench me away. “I don’t think you can kill a cop!” “He’s the one that called them on us, he’s Wanyama’s!” I raged, bringing back a fist for a savage blow to his skull. “I’m not here because of them! I came of my own accord!” Collier said rapidly, trying to get his words in before my blows could make contact. “Don’t you dare talk to me, it’s all your fault this happened in the first place!” I screamed, throwing him down the hall. “Stop it! You know better than this!” Sunset said, jumping in between me and Collier. “I’ve just spent the last half-hour trying to help you, don’t go right back to where we were.” “Holy hell, if it’ll get you to shut up and listen I’ll let you hit me as hard as you want!” Collier said angrily, getting to his feet. “Go on, I won’t stop you- hit me as hard as you’d like. Do it now and then let’s get on with it, because I’m here for something serious.” Oh man did I want to. I wanted to clobber the bastard so violently that he would’ve been in the hospital for a week. I knew half a dozen places I could punch him that’d never recover just by looking at him. But with Sunset glaring at me, I couldn’t work it up- the offer was his way of forcing me to calm down and listen, as he had easily guessed I didn’t want to. “Good. Look, I know what you’re thinking of me-” “My mother was shot because of you. I was attacked because of you,” I growled. “I didn’t call them in. Barstow did,” Collier said. “My superiors know he’s with Wanyama and assigned me to be his partner.” “Oh really. They know you’re with Wanyama, too?” “Of course they do, they assigned me to him so I could try to infiltrate their ranks!” Collier replied. “The city created a task force to combat Wanyama two years ago- I and half a dozen other officers are a result of that work. We’ve come a long way but not enough.” “No kidding you’re not far enough. None of you have done anything-” “Look,” Collier said, raising up a hand to silence me. “I know you’re angry right now and you have so much right to be. But right now I need you to put aside that anger and listen to me because I’m trying to offer you a chance to hit Wanyama back and hit them so hard that they’ll never recover.” “What do you want,” I said angrily. “I want you to lead us to Jester.” My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Sunset gave a gasp of shock and the entire room held their collective breath. “What are you trying to do?” I demanded. “I don’t know where he is- I was too low-ranking to ever be given the location of the gereza.” “They won’t give it to me, either. All of the undercover officers who infiltrated Wanyama are given restricted access, limited reach to supply areas and warehouses. No matter what we do they won’t fully trust us. That’s why I’ve been sent to you.” “What do you want with me?” “You see, you’re unique,” Collier explained. “You aren’t just some normal kid who Wanyama tried to off because they were dipping into the drug supply or some other stupid act. You’re one who was allowed to leave by Jester’s laws and was then sentenced to death for something he didn’t do. You’re one of the marked ones- and unlike so many of Wanyama’s attempts, you’re still alive. They couldn’t kill you.” I didn’t have to think for long to know where he was headed. My heart began to race as the gravity of what was about to happen began to sink in… “Right now all of Wanyama is hunting for you. You and your girlfriend,” he added. You’re a breaker of the law who somehow managed to survive, something no member of Wanyama has ever been able to do and get away with. You are unique throughout the entire city and right now an entire manhunt is going on right now to bring you in.” “So that means… you were made to be a part of it, too. You were sent to search my house for me,” I guessed. Collier nodded. “Wanyama knew they couldn’t openly send one of their members to a house that already had been attacked, so they sent an officer- a cop. They thought I could get in safely without arousing suspicion. The only problem is that this is the very situation the police have been waiting for- you’re our first genuine chance to get into Wanyama’s inner workings and strike them so hard that they’ll never be able to bounce back. If I was to bring you in right now, what do you think would happen?” “A cleansing ritual,” I said automatically. “The entire upper echelons would be there for the ceremony, all of his advisors, sections lords and the Big Cats… and Jester himself to perform it all.” “If I was to bring you to the section lord of this part of the network, Ombi, orders for the ritual would require that I be present for your execution- a location no cop has ever been able to find.” “And if you brought us in?” Sunset asked. “If you could be there, what could you do?” “I could bring the best of the force in to storm house and finish them once and for all. “Imagine a world where Jester is dead.” He was for real. This was actually happening, this was a real, tangible offer that could stop all of this madness and chaos once and for all. But I had to make sure, I had to be absolutely certain… “You’ve heard the stories. You know the rumors,” I said. “Nobody can kill him.” “We’re going to give it one effort with everything we’ve got,” Collier replied. “We’ve been hunting this bastard down for so long now, and this is our last, best shot at success- if not our only one. If you can get us in, then we can kill Wanyama for good.” “Before you even say it, I am not staying behind,” Sunset said fiercely, giving me a fiery look. “You and I began this together, we’ll be there together for when it ends- one way or another.” I looked at her, at Collier, and at my friend who surrounded us. This was an insane plan, this was stupid. I had every reason to believe Collier was lying to me. A Wanyama crony who could easily be trying to deceive me to gain power, a bargain that was too good to be true. I was risking my life beyond anything I’d ever done before, and risking Sunset’s as well. The chances of it even working were slim at best. Most likely, this was my last night to ever walk this earth. I had a very real chance of dying tonight at the hands of a madman, having brought the girl I loved to her death. But if this was genuine, if it was a real, verifiable chance to fight back, to finish this for all who had suffered, I couldn’t say no. “I’m in.” The night was now frigid, the warm spring air departing in the deep of the night. Collier drove Sunset and I along to the preplanned destination where one of the task force’s spotters would be there to confirm the transition. “I can’t tell you everything that’s going to happen, just in case something goes wrong,” he had explained before we’d left. “But I can tell you what’ll happen part of the way…” It was a very simple plan, in reality. The latter half was decipherable, even if Collier wouldn’t tell us everything. Sunset and I were holding on to each other’s hands as if it were a lifeline, neither of us able to summon the courage to speak. To say we had left childhood behind was a gross understatement… “Hope Street is two blocks ahead. We’re going to have to walk the rest of the way,” Collier said over his shoulder, bringing the car to the curb and turning off the engine. “Are you two ready? If you want to back out now, I don’t blame you.” Sunset shook her head jerkily, speaking for both of us. I felt sick to my stomach because she was here, alongside me on the darkest night of my life as we headed to a place of unimaginable danger. I wanted nothing but to see she was safe, yet here she was, walking down into the depths of Wanyama territory to be brought before the man who would kill us both. If we failed, I was to die in agony. “Alright… let’s go. The moment they take you to the gereza, you’re both out of my reach, but know I’ll be working as hard as I can to make contact and deliver the location.” “What’ll happen once they arrive?” Sunset asked. “You two will need to hit the dirt and hide,” Collier said shortly. “You’ll both have done enough, leave the rest to us.” I knew full well what he meant by that. We walked along in silence, whether it be by choice or by fear it didn’t matter. I looked around at my surroundings, recognizing buildings and houses belonging to Wanyama. Some were business feeding them money, others were owned by members of the gang, shelter homes for the cruel and desperate. I knew every single building around me housed a killer. I knew this territory. “We’re here,” Collier breathed, looking up at a street sign that read: Haven Blvd. Hope Street “And here we go,” and with a loud booming voice, he yelled, “I come bringing the wanted one! The Scales of the Dragon, breaker of the laws, and the companion who helped defy the ruler of the wildlands!” And then came my part, as dictated by the laws I was accused of breaking. “I am the Scales of the Dragon, child of the Cobra, Enforcer in the section of the Outrider. I am of Ombi’s clan who protects the borders of Wanyama. I seek parley with the lord of the wildlands to plead my case- I need to speak to Jester!” At first, my words rang through the concrete jungle to an empty land, echoing across iron and brick and stone. But then, as if roused from a slumber, came a lone solitary figure, the member who had been assigned to the night guard of this area. He walked slowly towards us, his weapon pointed directly at the three of us with very clear intentions: move and die. I dropped to my knees and put my hands behind my head, Sunset noticing me and following suit. Collier stood behind the two of us, his arms raised and hands outstretched to show they were empty. If the guard believed we were armed, he’d shoot us without provocation. “You come bringing the Scales of the Dragon?” the guard called, stepping into view. I recognized him immediately as Vice, one of my old friends and former partners. He looked down at me with a violent disgust he’d never displayed before. “You filthy traitor… he will make you pay for this.” He turned to Collier. “How did this come about?” “I was sent to search their home, to bring them out of their hiding place and bring them here,” Collier answered. “These words are true and trustworthy, orders from the section lord Ombi.” Vice grabbed his phone and dialed it in, calling in to see whether or not Collier was lying. Another check created by Jester to keep him safe from threats… “You weren’t lying. The ruler of the wildlands wants them both at the gereza. You are to be honored for your success. Follow me.” Vice led the way as Collier pretended to push Sunset and I along, the four of us walking down the street and into a darkened alleyway. I couldn’t see them, but I could feel their presence: dozens of Wanyama members lined up to watch us go to our deaths. “Traitor!” one called. “The ruler of the wildlands will tear you apart!” said another. Whack! I felt a blow across my face as one of them punched me in the jaw, spitting, “You filthy f---ker, Jester’s going to eat your heart on a silver platter-” “You know the laws! Jester alone has the rights to the betrayer now!” Vice called back. The crowd no longer tried to lay hands on me, but jeers and cries were still thrown at me as we were brought along. We reached the end of the alleyway where a black car awaited us, its doors open as we were shoved inside. The windows were tinted, so there was no way we would be able to see where we were going. I was again gripped by doubt of Collier and his intentions- how would he even know where the gereza was if he had to call in the location? We drove for what felt like an age, a virtual maze of twists and turns all meant to rid ourselves of any potential tails an confuse those being brought along. Vice alone knew where we were headed now. Sunset and I didn’t say a word, probably unable to as my heart had left my chest behind and was somewhere in the upper portion of my throat. The car came to a sudden halt. “Bring them out,” Vice ordered Collier. “We’re here.” Collier wrenched open the door and dragged me and Sunset out into the night, and we stood before a very tall, greying warehouse deep in the bowels of some sort of industrial complex. I had absolutely no idea where we were anymore, lost in the iron of the city. The guards at the door came forward and searched the two of us, roughly pushing us around as they checked us for weapons. The two men gave Sunset a vicious look, the glance of a predator as it sized up its prey. She visibly shrank but didn’t fall back as they came towards her, searching her with far more thorough handling than I had elicited, their hands rubbing across her slowly and deliberately. She gave the smallest of whimpers as they felt her up, biting her lip in her best efforts to not react, to let the plan continue even if it meant something horrible- I wasn’t sure how long I could stand there and take it, feeling sick at the sight of these monsters and wondering if I could hold back any longer- “Enough! She’s marked for death!” Vice and Collier roared, pushing the two men away and ending the horror. “You’ve done your duty, now open the doors and let us in!” Vice spat. The two men sulked for a moment before heading over to the warehouse door, plunging their keys into the locks and pulling upwards. “Sunset, be ready. Nothing I can say will prepare you,” I whispered urgently, watching as the door raised up to reveal an absolute nightmare. The stench was worse than I had even remembered, a foul revolting smell that could only be found in the darkest places of the world. The sound of music hit our ears, the booming bass of the notes splitting our ears as we were brought forth into the gereza. Hanging from the ceiling, bound by their wrists were an assortment of corpses- those punished by Wanyama and brought here for Jester’s goulish rituals, some missing limbs or body parts- taken for spells and concoctions to bless Wanyama’s efforts. I heard Sunset give a small gasp of horror before she sealed herself shut. Her fear must be off the charts but she was dedicated to the plan. She had to make this work. Dozens of people stared at us as we walked in- I recognized so many of them, former friends and fellow fighters, childhood friends who had remained in a world I had left long ago, staring at me with a hatred beyond hop of understanding. Over in the corner of the warehouse I could see Dejaris arguing with his team of suppliers over a pallet of cocaine. Lariat was sitting on the couch absolutely wasted, an emaciated prostitute passed out next to him and a formidable pile of needles on the ground before them. Teyshaun and Kobye were leaning against a pillar with a pair of bottles in their hands, talking together in hurried, hushed voices. It was so strange to see all of them, men and women who had once been my friend and supporters to no longer call out in greeting but to go silent with abhorrence. I saw face after face standing there, but none did I focus on more than the one who had invaded my home and attacked my family: Suds stood off in the corner near the end of building, across from a proliferation table, leering at me with such an unrivaled abhorrence that it must’ve been costing all of his will to not leap across and kill me with his bare hands. Now, after all this time, he was going to see me brought to death. A pair of hands went upon my shoulders and I was dragged away from Sunset who was dragged over into the corner. Of course she wasn’t as important as I was in this ritual, she was the afterthought. I was the one who had broken the law. Wham! I was forced to my knees and I brought my hands behind my head instinctively, knowing the positions I would have to take. I knew full well what was about to happen. Before me, at the top of the steps was a throne, compiled from decades of work to honor a madman. Wood and iron and bone twisted together to form a nightmarish amalgamation, the chaotic structure a perfect fit for its owner. From out of the shadows, draped in the ceremonial garb were Jester’s personal guard, both armed with a pair of shotguns and savage-looking machetes. I’d seen them use them once before, and I knew how well-trained they were with their weapons. Following the guards were Jester’s elite- the Big Cats, hulking monstrous men who had slaughtered so many that it was pointless to count the lives they had taken. They took their place at the base of the steps to the throne, looking down upon me with indifference. They didn’t have any sort of opinion in regards to me- they had performed this ritual too many times to count and were well beyond caring. After them were the advisors, draped in finery and more money than I could ever accumulate in my entire life- “All hail the true ruler of this city- the lord of the wildlands, master of the Endless Wars!” cried out the guards and the entire building went to their knees as out from the shadows came the most wicked man I had ever, or could ever hope, to meet. His frame was thinner than the last time I had seen him, yet each limb spoke of a power gained through a lifetime of violence and cruelty. He had aged, a face hidden by powders and paints brought with him from a homeland far far away. His hands were painted red, symbolizing the blood he had shed with them. Around his waist were dozens upon dozens of small knives, some still covered in blood and parts- remains from the latest of his rituals. Across his sides were a pair of uzi’s he constantly carried with him, the ancient weapons rusted and dented from his endless battles. Atop his head was an elaborate headdress, a relic from the life he had led before it was consumed by hatred and war and insanity. To some he may have seemed comical, a character to be scoffed at. But to those who knew him, who had seen what he could do even in the most fleeting of moments, this was the thing that lived in the darkest of all human nightmares. This was Jester. The wise men came before him and knelt down to offer their leader his staff, a simple stick with various grasses and trinkets woven around it. Jester took hold of it and called out to the crowd in a voice thick with the accent of a foreign land, “Ascend.” The entire congregation rose to their feet except me and Sunset, who were held to the ground by our captors. Collier stood somewhere behind me, having been selected to be part of this ritual. “Bring me the lawbreaker,” Jester said, his voice unusually thin and shallow than what I remembered it being. Was… was he ill? I was thrown at the base of the steps in a heap, grabbed by the Big Cats and brought up to face the man, who stared down at me with a sort of curious suspicion. “You are the Scales of the Dragon,” he said slowly. “I am, child of the Cobra,” I replied. “Your lord is Ombri of the Outrider, is it not?” he inquired. “I am the lord of the Outrider, great one,” said Ombri, a mountain of a man who looked more ashamed than I had ever seen him. “It is of my failings that this transgression has occurred today.” Jester thought for a moment before waving his hand. “Was the Scales of the Dragon among your own?” “Great one, the Dragon had left our number many month ago, in accordance with your laws that you had bestowed,” Ombri answered. “It was not until earlier this week that it became known the Scales of the Dragon had been flouting your commands to which we all had been branded forever. The laws have been broken.” “If the Dragon had left your flock, then this is not your failing,” Jester replied. “You may rest.” “Thank you, great one, you are most gracious,” and with that Ombri disappeared into the crowd. Jester stared down at me with a burning longing that spoke of wicked desire. He was sizing me up, searching me for valuable pieces and fragments that he could use to further his powers. “Scales of the Dragon, child of the Cobra, born into the flock that I have gathered under my wings, you stand accused of treason,” he boomed, his voice now strong once more as he spoke to all before him. “I gave you shelter, I gave you peace, I gave you life, yet here you stand having stolen what is mine by right of the divine. Child of my flock, why have you betrayed your lord and master? Speak now or in death may you keep your silence forever.” My mouth went dry as I tried to speak, to say something that could help me stall for time. “Great one, lord of the wildlands, I stand before you accused of a crime the likes of which I have not committed,” I said, the crowd gasping in utter shock. To my knowledge, not only was I one of the first to survive breaking the laws, but probably the only one falsely accused as well. “Not committed,” Jester echoed. “A false accusation, a trick… a lie.” “No, great one, I am telling you the truth,” I insisted. “I was framed by an enemy, an unknown from the school who knew nothing of your laws or your mark. It was vengeance against me for a defeat from which they could not recover.” “You speak, yet with no proof for your claims. What should convince me, I who come from the divine, to listen to one who fled the safety and security of my flock?” he asked, the smallest tinge of mockery in his voice. “Great one, if I may speak,” Collier said unexpectedly, coming forward to stand at my side. “This one,” Jester said slowly. “You are the one who has brought us the Dragon, are you not?” “I am he, great one,” Collier answered. “I am also one of your Sentries, a spy for your eyes in the camp of the enemy.” “I see,” Jester said, taking a moment to cough into his shoulder. Holy hell, he’s ill… “Continue to speak, Sentry.” “Great one, I along with my partner were the ones to alert you to the misuse of your mark,” Collier answered. “And what the Dragon says is true: another has misused your mark against the Dragon. Petty revenge was the cause of this cascade of events, not malicious intent or disrespect against you. This is born from the mind of an ignorant child who acted without thought and in doing so caused much trouble for you and your name.” A derisive noise echoed through the chamber, a small subtle sound, yet so audible in the silence of the ceremony. Every part of me wanted to look around and search for the source, yet I willed myself to remain still. With Jester, even the slightest move could seal my fate. “I sense… division,” Jester said raggedly, giving another coughing fit. “Who is he that espouses disunion amongst our flock? Rise, and let yourself be counted as a dissident against your fellows…” “I do, great one,” said a voice angrily- I knew it to be Suds. He stepped forward from the throng and stood before the throne. “This one-” he pointed at me for emphasis, “Is one who has always been against you, even since the beginning. Do I have to remind you of the disloyalty that has come from the Dragon? Disrespect and infighting against the Cobra, has blown our cover and gotten arrested –twice, you know- and, as I’ve said before, when loyalty was pressed only a few short months ago, fought against me- I, the One who Cleanses!” “Because he tried to attack me in the first place,” I called out to the crowd, who had begun to grumble and mutter against me. “I had quietly left our number and Suds couldn’t accept that I had left. He threatened to harm my friend, an outsider who was with me at the time, and when I refused him the chance he assaulted me- I have done nothing except rightfully defend myself!” “Scales is a traitor who’s been working against you this whole time! Would you trust a dog that bit you once already?” Suds fired back. “I’ve done nothing against Wanyama, I left in accordance with the laws that were set down!” I pleaded. “The only reason I fought against Suds was out of self-defense, he attacked me for his own personal gain-” “Don’t trust the son of a snake, great one!” “And now my blood kin, my mother, is dying –if not dead already! Because of all of this, my family was attacked at her own home, a place of safety, by this animal! He would’ve killed me all those months ago if we hadn’t found another means of safe passage! Suds was lying in wait to murder me!” “I’ll murder you now!” Suds roared, turning about and flaring a pistol right at my chest- A horrible, grating sound reverberated through the chamber, a horrendous dissonance of human shrieks blending with a supernatural nightmare. All eyes went to Jester as that awful sound boomed forth from him yet again, bringing all of us to our knees in fear. I couldn’t imagine what Sunset was thinking and feeling right now, witnessing just a small portion of what made Jester so feared, an untouchable being from the depths of hell. “Enough,” Jester growled, an inhuman harshness cracking and shattering his words. “I have no need for this petty discord from my flock- I of the divine!” Suds and I couldn’t have managed to say a word even if we’d wanted to, frightened into silence. Jester raised a hand and one of his advisors departed back into the shadows and we were gifted with another coughing fit from the lord of the wildlands, a long rasping, hacking sound as if he were choking on something. I felt my heart sink into the pit of my stomach, knowing that something was very, very wrong… The advisor returned with an ornate dish and set it on a pedestal beside Jester’s throne before hurrying back to his place. Jester dipped his fingers in the dish, tracing the water within as if in a trance. “Petty children of my flock, my recent days have been dark as of late,” he said weakly, his voice barely audible across the chamber. “My dreams are of shadow, my days clouded, and now even my lungs fill with the smoke of uncertainty brought upon us by a new enemy…” He was sick, he was actually sick. He’d never been sick, he’d always been perfectly healthy, almost as if he were untouchable… “Only a short time ago did this befall me, suddenly in the dark of the night- a fell swoop from a beast in this city, mine. A beacon that suddenly burst forth its power in a great prism, burning my gaze and scalding me very being. It, I confess, has brought me low…” A beacon of power, a prism. And only a short time ago, did something- unless I was very wrong, I think it could’ve been- unless I was mistaken, the time would almost perfectly line up with when I was under the curse of the Sirens and Sunset had to- We’d never been in more danger in our lives than right then. Jester hadn’t paid attention to Sunset at all, I the traitor the focus of this ceremony. She was an afterthought, perhaps to be sold on the market somewhere, but right now the greatest threat to Jester, the one thing sickening him and weakening his power was a little mouse of a girl who stood unknown and unseen right before his eyes. “I despise it, children of my flock,” he said distantly. “I despise weakness, I despise the thought of death consuming and taking what is mine by right- I the divine. For too long have I shaped the lands in which I live, watching the rise and fall of numbers beyond measure. I have fought across wars and battles and time to come to this Promised Land, this place of the divine to strengthen my hold and grace it immemorial.” No, what he’ saying isn’t possible, I told myself. He can’t be saying what I think he’s saying, he can’t be that old- it’s not humanly- “And now here stand two children of my flock,” he said, his voice becoming dangerously soft. “Here stand the Scales of the Dragon and the One who Cleanses- bonded as brothers when the Cobra fell, yet now standing against one another. Do you know what this says to me?” The crowd shuffled nervously, not daring to speak. Jester smiled slightly, a small frightening thing that looked so out of place on his hard features. “Dear fellows of the flock, it speaks to me… of secrets.” He plunged his hand into the bowl and it emerged garbed in a metal glove, a clawed hand tipped with savage, serrated points that spoke all too clearly of their intent. I had seen it before, seen him use this ceremonial tool for one purpose and one alone. As we all had. Suds was slammed down into the ground next to me, his arms pulled backwards to expose his chest, the same done to me. My heart was pounding furiously now, exposing itself to the psychopath who sat on the throne before us all. Jester slowly stepped down towards us, flicking his hand maddeningly… “Holy shit, no, please no, no,” Suds began to scream, writhing and twisting against his captor in a panicked frenzy. “No, no, please great one, no! I didn’t do nothing, I haven’t done anything against you- it was the Dragon, it was the Dragon!” “I didn’t do anything, I never broke any laws! I hid nothing from Wanyama, I only left quietly and of my own accord!” I shrieked, desperately fighting for my life. “You will tell me your secrets!” Jester roared, exuding a horrifying aura of dark power, a column of wicked energy. “I am of the divine, ruler of the wildlands, I will have no equal, no rival to my throne which was given to me by right! One of you speaks lies to me- one of you hides a greater power, and both of ye would kill the other to keep it hidden!” “I haven’t hidden anything from you!” I screamed. “I’ve done nothing wrong, I swear it, I swear it!” “Holy shit, shit, shit, God help, God help! Shit-f---k, somebody help me!” Suds screamed. “I didn’t do shit, I didn’t do shit!” “Put aside your spite and your hatred! Reveal to me your secrets! Show me your dark and sins or face your judgement!” Jester howled. “Oh God help me, Oh God help me,” Suds bawled, “Help, help, help, help, heeelp!” “I didn’t do anything, I’ve done nothing wrong! I broke now laws, I did nothing wrong!” I pleaded. “I haven’t done anything wrong-” With a roar, Jester raised his hand of death high into the air and brought it streaking down like a steel comet, plunging it deep into Suds chest- Suds gave a small gasp as the last of the air in his lungs was forced out by the impact of the blow, his eyes wide as saucers- With one swift, simple movement, Jester relinquished his efforts and pulled back, pulling out his hand and tearing out the man’s heart. I screamed along with so many others, Sunset’s and I’s shrieks of terror lost in the calls of praise that came forth from the crowd. A forced sound, a mandatory call from a crowd that feared for their life before the presence of a monster dressed as a man. I was panicked beyond anything I’d ever been before, watching as Suds’ broken body fell to the ground in a bloodied heap, his eyes still wide with the pure terror he had felt in the very last moments of his life- Jester raise his prize high into the air, displaying his might for all to see, his eyes alight with a lust for power gone totally mad, having long ago thrown out sanity in favor of a power beyond the grasp of mere men. He was a demon from the darkest, deepest pits of Hell, sent from the depths to strike fear and terror into the hearts of all who faced him. “I have only begun here today!” he roared to the crowd. “I have claimed another foe, yet still I have no rest! My foe has yet to come before me, I have no seen the face of my true enemy! Perhaps here the Dragon will speak- grant us the knowledge of this power, Scales of the Dragon! Show us the power with which the world burns in the fires of wrath and war and time beyond the scales of this world! Grant me the secret that will free me from the presence of my foe!” There was no way I could speak after seeing what I’d just seen. I’d been struck dumb with fright, my tongue ripped out alongside Suds’ heart, and perhaps the last fragment of my soul had gone with it. I was doomed, we were all doomed, I would never escape this man- Then suddenly, something changed. A vibration went through the chamber, a visible tangible thing that distorted the world as it echoed across the walls and out into the waking world, exuding a hum that made the entire room stop and look about. “You’re a monster!” someone yelled. The words pierced my soul like a knife as I turned to see the crowd part and stare at Sunset Shimmer. No longer was this the small, petite young girl I’d known, but instead it was as if she had transformed, the terror that had so ensnared me turning her into something… something else… “Who is this one that speaks against me?” Jester said, tossing his prize aside and glowering at her. “You are not of my flock, no, not at all. You are something different, something not of my world…” “You’re a monster,” Sunset snarled, trying to throw off the man who still held her down. “You’re a monster who’s destroyed thousands of lives and tried to make everyone believe you’re a god- everything you’ve ever said to them is a lie!” Jester stared at her with slowly widening eyes as he realized just what –or who- that beacon of power had been. “It was you,” he whispered. “You are the one that stalks my dreams…” “You’re an animal who’s done nothing but slaughter and hurt and steal from everyone else around you!” she yelled furiously. “You try to create this whole image that you’re something special and dangerous and powerful when all you’ve done is throw your own soul away to a power that’ll destroy you!” “Sunset, shut up! Shut up or else he’ll-” They were on me in an instant, throwing me to the ground and attacking me in a vicious, relentless assault of boots and fists and crowbars until it felt as if my body could take no more and my soul would drift away into the ether. I felt bones bruise and skin tear as Wanyama tore me to pieces, decimating me and keeping me from the one person I had left- “Cease! Hold your war!” Jester said. “We cannot fight any longer, we must expel the black sheep from our flock and cure this plague before it consumes us all!” The crowd around me parted and I was lifted off the ground and onto my knees once more, Sunset dragged forcefully and placed next to me as Jester stood before us. “For too long you have haunted my dreams,” he said madly, “I am of the divine, foul witch, and you shall not spread your deceit in my temple. I shall drink deeply of your power until there is nothing left for you to keep, and I shall throw your husk away into the black.” This was it, we had failed, we were going to die- Sunset was going to die and it ws all because of me. I shouldn’t have listened to Collier, he had betrayed us both into this nightmare and we weren’t going to come out alive- Jester looked down at me with a cold indifference. “I have no more use for a Dragon, not even for its scales,” he said. “Kumaliza.” One of the men behind me whipped out a pistol and slammed it into my head, pushing the barrel in deep and pulling the trigger- Click. The round fired and did nothing. “What in the hell-” the man pulled the trigger yet again. Click. Click-click. “This isn’t happening- it won’t fire!” he yelled furiously. “You! Try again!” Jester barked to someone behind me. Another pistol. Click-click-click-click-click. “F---king thing’s jammed- what the hell-” “Then I shall end this!” Jester roared in a panic, whipping out his pair of uzi’s and pointing them at my chest, a point-blank assault that would tear my body apart- There was a small Crunch! sound and the weapons did nothing. No rounds were fired, no sound of bullets, my vision did not go dark. Something was fighting against Jester and his minions and keeping me alive. Something was protecting me and I think it was- Jester’s face went pale with dawning realization, setting aside his weapons as he turned to face his greatest, only enemy- a petite, gentle young girl with hair the colors of the shining sun, her eyes like an ocean kissed by the dawn, from a land and a world and a history he could never have predicted or hoped to understand. “You…” “You’re a monster, Jester,” Sunset said furiously. “And today they’re going to stop you.” And suddenly a lot of things happened all at once. Boom! The warehouse door exploded and went flying, fragments going flying and tearing through the crowd, drawing blood and slamming into those unable to get out of the way. Guns pointed directly at all those who stood before them came an entire SWAT team, covered head-to-toe with armor and gear, with what looked like half of the police force outside to back them up- “Traitor!” Jester screamed at Collier, eyes popping madly with flecks of foam flying from his mouth, drawing one of his knives and tossing it straight for the undercover officer’s heart- “FIGHT BACK!” Someone in the crowd roared and the sound of hundreds of weapons being drawn and readied echoed through the building as the elite of Wanyama prepared to fight for their very lives- “Open fire!” someone from the SWAT team yelled, and dozens of riot shields and weapons pointed straight at their targets were let free to fire and destroy their opponents- “Get down!” I yelled, taking advantage of my captor’s distractions to dive for Sunset and bring her to the ground- And that’s when the bullets began to fly. I was suddenly in the midst of the most dangerous place on earth as both sides clashed in a titanic struggle of power, the sheer volume of gunfire shattering my hearing and forcing me to flatten myself against the ground as I desperately tried to stay alive. Riot control grenades were fired into the throng of Wanyama, bean bags pelting and knocking down foe after foe, only for the fallen to be succeeded by yet another, the near limitless numbers of Wanyama showing themselves in full force as they desperately tried to defend their most inner sanctum and the leader they revered- “Stay down! Stay down to the ground!” I yelled at Sunset. “Crawl and find cover, come on!” The two of us skittered across the ground like animals, every bullet tearing through the air and making us shrink closer to the ground. I could feel my skin burn and tear against the hard concrete floor, so close were we to the earth, but we didn’t dare relent- too high and we could be struck. “Find the witch! Find the witch and bring her to me!” Jester shrieked, his voice magnified and booming across even this ungodly melee. “Care not for these mere men, find the witch!” “This is happening- this is happening,” Sunset breathed, her fear starting to recover itself inside her once more. “We’re still alive and this is happening-” “Don’t stop! Keep moving!” I yelled, my fighting instincts having gone into overdrive the moment the battle had begun. Every single part of my very being was intent solely on one thing alone and that was keeping Sunset alive, no matter the cost. She may not have even realized it but she had somehow saved my life and inadvertently ignited an event the likes of which the city had never seen. She needed to be there when it would end and I had to make sure she survived- “There, behind the office!” I yelled, and we crawled our way over to a small disconnected section of the building, inching our way through the doorway and hiding pressed against the wall where we remained out of sight. “Are you alright?!” she asked, her breath coming in short, rapid gasps. “This is crazy- they’re taking on Wanyama’s best right now-” “Yeah, this is actually happening,” Sunset replied fearfully. “I don’t know how we’re not dead yet but this is happening-” A scream and a lifeless body fell through the window, crashing down before us as the man I once knew as Crow bled to death before us, his mouth forming curses he could no longer summon the strength to speak- “Whoa!” We recoiled as far away from it as possible, afraid that even the slightest thing wrong would allow them to detect us. We hid together there as the bullets raged alongside the screams and curses and cries of agony that came from both sides of the vicious melee overwhelmed our senses and consumed us in the throes of unparalleled bloodshed as the world itself seemed to tear apart, the two sides clashing in a battle that would change the course of the city forever- “Stay down!” I said loudly and slowly, moving inch by inch, I dared to sneak over to the windowframe and sneak a look through- I couldn’t believe my eyes. I could see dozens of people –Wanyama’s own- on the ground and defeated, with scores having rushed to the sides of the warehouse or into the corners to avoid the incoming fire, their hands up in surrender as they watched the onslaught. A few police had been killed and many more serious wounded, but they advanced their way up and forward, carving their way through the last of the resistance and pushing steadily towards the throne where the madman who had brought this about, wild wicked Jester, stood, screaming out orders and brandishing a high-caliber rifle he must have taken from a fallen fighter- “They’re going to lose!” I yelled in awe. “Wanyama’s losing- they’re going to lose! They’re going to be defeated!” I could hardly believe it, I couldn’t believe it, I would never believe it as long as Jester still lived and breathed in this world. “I need to be there for this!” I said, and I slithered my way out of the window and out onto the outskirts of the battle, stupidly putting myself in harm’s way as the police easily could have shot me. Now was not the time to ask questions or demand surrender- this was a full-blown war that had reached its fatal crescendo. I crept slowly out and watched from behind the main line of police as they continued upwards and towards Jester, who was screaming like a man possessed, another call of fury rising from his throat as he watched a bullet find its mark and the greatest of his warriors, the Big Cat known only as Kiumbe fell to the ground to live no more- “NO! YOU DARE PLACE YOURSELF AGAINST ME- I OF THE DIVINE!” shrieked Jester, brandishing his staff and rifle at the police line that now stood before him at the base of the throne. “I am the one who brings life and light to the world, I call the sun and it rises- I am the chosen! You stand against me, you minions of a shadowed evil-” He looked beyond the line of his foes and saw me, I having creeped out further for a better view, caught out in the very open like a complete fool. “You! Vile exile of my flock!” he screamed. ”It is because of you my children are dead!” “Stand down, put down the weapon right f---king now-” one of the SWAT barked- Jester threw his staff into the line of police and pointed his rifle straight for my exposed chest and I knew that there was no way for me to escape- The rifle suddenly gave a sharp flash of amber light and the muzzle exploded, peppering Jester with shrapnel and shards of bullets, driving deep into his flesh and spilling his blood onto the floor before him- I gave a gasp at the sight, I the witness to a vision, a moment that no man could have ever dreamed. For the first time ever in all the history of Wanyama, Jester had been hurt. He could bleed, the guise of immortality and invincibility falling from him like scales and no more could he ever be seen as something inhuman, something untouchable by mortal man. Now he was exposed once and for all. I turned around to see Sunset standing behind me, her very presence burning the night with a fiery power that scorched the air and I felt a lurch of premonition right before it came to pass- Boom! The sound of a weapon discharging and the bullet found a home in the center of Jester’s skull, driving in deep and cutting through the body, showering the world with blood from a man once thought holy. He fell to the ground and collapsed like a rag doll, the endless energy and power of the magic man departed from his frame. No longer did he exude the aura that caused brave men to quiver in fear, no longer did he bathe in the blood of his enemies, and no longer would he lurk in the depths of the night as a stalking terror of all who dwelled in the West End, in this city. Jester crumpled to the ground limp and lifeless, falling to the ground and rising no more. Shrieks of horror as the remaining few who had not surrendered or fled watched their glorious leader, the man so many had thought to be a god, was killed. They could not comprehend it, their worlds collapsing as the one who had claimed to be the one who shaped the course of destiny breathed his last, brought down by the very men who he had fought for decades. A cheer rose from the police force still present, having finally brought down the tyrant that had decimated their ranks and brought paranoia and mistrust to their number. Perhaps, if only to those listening, the whole city breathed a sigh of relief as their longest, hardest, most violent conflict came to an end at last. “Get teams to get to the wounded! The rest of you focus on the rest of them!” one of the policemen barked, and all surviving officers ran around madly, rushing to their fallen friends and the injured, caring not whether they were one of their own or one of Wanyama. They simply had a job to be done, and that was to tend to those that remained and take care of them. They ignored me as they raced about the warehouse, their greatest attention set on tending to the wounded and rounding up the last of Wanyama’s members. I looked around at the aftermath of the fight, my eyes drifting across all the death and gore that surrounded me. Nothing could truly sink in yet, not for now. I walked through the crowd slowly as if in a trance and made my way up the steps, walking up and stopping before the dead and lifeless body of Jester. Even now, even after it had happened, I could still hardly believe my eyes. “He’s dead,” I said aloud. It was if the words, seeping from my lips and into the air, was enough to make it real. Suddenly the gravity of what had just happened sank in with an all-consuming crash: Jester was dead, the man who had defined the violence in the West End for decades before I was even born, who had ended countless lives and caused chaos and suffering and agony and fire to spread and wound so many that the effects of his cruelty and hatred for human life might never be truly understood. But now… he was gone. And not just him, but so many of his best fighters- the Big Cats were dead, having somehow been brought down in the chaos. The sole advisor that had live through the firefight was being dragged away screaming by the police as I stood there, and so many others that were counted as the Wanyama elite were dead and gone- all of his section lords, his prized warriors, his best distributors… in one single, bloody swoop, the police had definitively destroyed Wanyama in a way that they would never be able to recover from. This was the end of the greatest, most terrible gang in all of the city. Wanyama would never rise again from the ashes- they had been defeated. I felt a presence behind me and I turned to see Sunset standing behind me, that fiery aura evident no more. She looked exhausted and bedraggled, her hair a tussled mess and her cheeks burned from our escape across the concrete floor. Some of her clothing was tinged with blood and torn, but she was alive and for now that was enough to ask. “You’re OK,” I said distantly, still unable to properly react to the madness. “You made it.” “And so did you,” she said faintly. I turned back to Jester’s corpse, my eyes drifting up to his twisted throne. I put my hands behind it and began to push, slowly inching it across the floor until it teetered on the edge of the steps before tumbling down and shattering into thousands of pieces on the ground. A few of the police jumped at the sound before seeing the two of us there, and someone yelled for one of the medics to tend to us. She and I were rushed outside to a waiting ambulance where some of our scratches and injuries were tended to. Sunset was told she’d recover, as she only had a few cuts, but I would need to be taken to the hospital for treatment of the worst of my scars and injuries. I barely felt them, I still in shock. “It’ll have to be a few minutes before we can take you, though,” said the medic. “And you’re low priority because of all the critically wounded we’ve got. Just… stay here until we can get you shipped out.” “OK,” I said flatly. I could hardly find scrounge up the emotion to care, I felt so utterly spent by the long trial that had begun yesterday morning. The medic looked at my license, scrutinizing it for a little longer. “I recognize your last name,” he said slowly. “We were the crew that brought your mom in yesterday.” My Mom! I’d been so focused on Wanyama and survival that I’d somehow forgotten! Pushing my shame aside, I quickly asked, “Is she alive?” “She was fighting hard the last I heard,” the medic answered. “She had gained consciousness again before she left my care and she’d been asking about you. You probably will be able to see her, since you’re headed to the same hospital. Ask for her once you get there.” I nodded, watching him mutely as we left. I sat there beside the vehicle with a blanket draped across my shoulders, Sunset finding my hand and wrapping her fingers in mine. Somehow, in some way, we had both made it. We were alive, graced with the treasure to live a little longer. And maybe, just maybe, my Mom was going to make it, too. “What I saw you do today… was something I have never seen before,” I said slowly, turning to Sunset. “You stopped him.” Sunset shook her head wearily. “I don’t know what I did,” she confessed. “I saw he was going to kill you and I just wanted to stop him…” “You saved my life. You saved my life twice over tonight,” I said softly, brushing her tussled hair from her face. “You saved my life…” “We helped save each other,” was all she could say. Holding each other tight, we sat there watching the sun rise, its faint pink rays kissing the early morning sky as we waited for EMT to take us away to the hospital that awaited us, to where my mother and her fate lay uncertain. The day shone on an era unseen, the future before us a clean slate. For the first time I had ever known, Jester was dead. Wanyama was broken, and maybe now the West End would know the meaning of hope in his absence.