“That’s horrible,” replied Diandra, disgust and anger welling up inside her. “But…why is he called The Scorpion?”
Rai turned the body over so the back of the boy’s neck was exposed. There were three small holes right along the boy’s spine.
“You see these small insertion points at the back of his neck? They resemble a scorpion’s stinger. Plus, whoever this monster is, he likes to hide in plain sight because nobody has any clue who he is…So, they call him The Scorpion.”
“How many times has he killed liked this before?”
Rai stopped for a couple seconds before replying, “This will be his twenty-third kill in New Valley.”
“Twenty-three?!” exclaimed Diandra in shock. “How can somebody get away with this for so long? Don’t the Royals do anything?”
“The Royals?” Rai laughed and then spat. “Why the hell would we want to get the Royals involved? If we tell them there’s a serial killer on the loose, they’ll just use it as an excuse to raid all our homes and lock us up. Remember when I said we all have secrets and a past? Well it’s true, and none of us want to end up in Adras.”
Diandra didn’t want to believe what she was hearing. She knew AzzaNation was bad, from what Navon and all the Elders had told her, but she never expected this. The people were not only sick and dying from starvation—they were being used as easy targets by any psycho who wasn’t locked up, and the poor frightened people couldn’t go for help because they would be the ones who would get punished.
“Why don’t you leave?” asked Diandra.
“Leave? To where exactly? Every city is the same in AzzaNation. You think Newon or Jinc doesn’t have their own criminals? Cause they do. And I know you survived in the wilderness, but not all of us are that strong. We wouldn’t last two days out there. No Diandra, it doesn’t matter where you go in AzzaNation because no matter what, we’re all guaranteed to suffer.”
The Egon thought the rest of the night on Rai’s words. It made her furious to know that this kind of injustice was happening throughout the world, and it made her even angrier to know that there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it.
Except, that wasn’t entirely true. There was something she was doing—or at least, there was something that she was going to do. Her mission to rescue the dark-haired man and bring peace to AzzaNation with him was all that she could do. She thought long and hard about it. She could abandon her mission and stay to try and help the locals in any way that she could, but that wouldn’t solve anything. Their suffering was only a symptom of the disease that was rotting away at AzzaNation. She had to get to the root cause and stop it from there.
In the morning, Diandra helped Rai and the others prepare the murdered boy’s body. They had cleaned him, dressed him in nice clothes, and laid him on top of a funeral pyre. The boy’s father, Pete, had carved a wooden knife, throughout the night, and placed it in his son’s hands.
“I am such a failure,” cried Pete, as he looked over his son.
“No,” said Rai. “You are not to blame for this…he is.”
“I know that,” continued Pete, “I just wish I could have given him more than a wooden knife. If only I had a spare dagger—or maybe I could make a deal with Taft, for a sword.”
“Pete, what you made him will do fine. I’m sure it’ll give his soul strength, just knowing that you carved it yourself.”
Pete went to say something else, but decided against it. Rai offered the man a hug, and he accepted without question. Once they stepped back, Rai signaled another one of their group to light the pyre. Everyone stood silent, including Diandra, as the fire transitioned the boy’s mutilated corpse into ash and bones. Overall, it was a touching ceremony, and many tears were shed for the great travesty that had befallen this young man and their group.
Afterwards, Diandra said her goodbyes to Rai and Antony, and she thanked them for their kindness and hospitality. After a painful experience and a hard goodbye, she left New Valley and continued her journey south into the massive and treacherous Singh Desert.
CHAPTER SEVEN
H alf a month had passed since the first round of the prison tournament. Leo was returned to his pitch-black cell, forced to sit alone—with only his thoughts and feelings of guilt to keep him company. He couldn’t get the image of Ben’s death out of his mind. The man’s lifeless body and mangled face, lying on the ground. He didn’t know if his actions were worth it or not—if they were justified. And in that moment, the only person who could convince Leo of his actions came buzzing into the darkness.
“Coté, where are you?”
The fly continued to buzz around the cell until it finally landed on Leo’s shoulder.
“I’m glad to see that your senses are improving. It’s a good sign for our next move, Leo.”
The speedster was finding it difficult to suppress his anger with Coté. He wanted to scream at the bug, but he contained himself enough to ask his question.
“What are you talking about?”
“All in good time—I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at your fight. You found out exactly what to say to get under Manden’s skin. Then when he lost control, you simply used his own power and momentum to kill him. It was quite brilliant, actually. Maybe you’re not such an idiot after all.”
Coté chuckled softly. Leo’s nostrils flared, and he clenched his teeth. The shifter was praising Leo for his brutality in the fight against Ben Manden—the very thing that was making him feel constant pains of guilt. How could Coté be so flippant about such a thing? Not only that, he had the nerve to tease Leo while continuing to leave the speedster in the dark about the plan of escape—the whole reason Leo was participating in this damn tournament in the first place.
He had enough.
“Stop it you little piece of shit! Just shut up and stop pissing me off before I crush you under my boot! I murdered a man for you. Plain and simple. It doesn’t matter how I did it because at the end of the day, Ben Manden is still dead—and I’m the one who did it…I killed him because you told me I would be free—and yet you fail to tell me your plan, expecting me to follow you blindly. If that’s the case and you expect me to keep killing people with no idea how it will benefit me…then I’m done right now—and you might as well find another patsy.”
The fly was stunned into silence for a while, and then he began to chuckle humbly.
“You keep surprising me Leo,” said Coté. He stopped laughing when Leo gave him a very strong death-glare. “Very well…I apologize for keeping you in the dark, but it was necessary at the time for security reasons. We couldn’t risk the Warden reading you and finding out our plans before everyone was in place.”
“Who is everyone?” said Leo. He was slowly calming down, but he still wanted answers. “Why are you putting so much effort into freeing me?”
“Well, I guess it’s finally safe to tell you…I am an operative of the rebellion group known as the Brotherhood of Light. We are planning a major attack on the King and his Royal Army and we believe that you will play a major role.”
The Brotherhood of Light, as Leo knew were the largest and strongest resistance group on the planet—freedom fighters, who were willing to stand up against the royals and all the terror they caused. Leo had never met a member of the Brotherhood, and until now, he had always assumed they were only a rumor started by hopeful and naïve citizens. Especially, since the rumors claimed that the Brotherhood was led by angelics, an ancient guardian race that used to protect AzzaNation back when Kahl ruled the planet. Most of them were wiped out when Grindaull came to power, but some people still claimed that a few survived.
“…Okay,” said Leo, skeptically. “Even if I believed that you were actually from the Brotherhood of Light—which I don’t. Why would the Brotherhood ever need someone like me?”
“To be honest…I don’t know. All I know is that the order to free and recruit you came from the top, so that means that you must have some serious potential.”
“But I hate killing,” Leo strained his voice, his words getting harder and harder to push out, “I killed Ben because I had to—but I don’t think I can do it again…”
The image of Ben’s splattered remains festered in his mind—plastered in his brain like a painting. Then the images of the royal guard and Len replaced Ben’s image with their own grotesque death scenes. Leo’s lip began to quiver and the tears he was holding back began to fall down his cheeks, despite his objections to them.
“…Look, I know it’s tough, but when you live in a world full of wolves you have to learn how to show your teeth and bite back if necessary. If you get stuck…try to do what I do…Picture a world where cruelty doesn’t exist…and then fight to make it real.”
Coté’s words weighed down on Leo like a tonne of bricks. If he wanted to live in a world filled with peace, would he actually have to fight and kill for it? It seemed extreme…He didn’t know the right answer—and he figured that there probably wasn’t going to be a right answer.
“Listen Leo,” Coté continued, “I know this is a lot to take in but things are about to happen fast and we need you to keep your head on straight. You have one more fight to win in the tournament and then our plan will unfold.”
Leo was barely listening to the shifter, “What’s the plan?” He said half-heartedly.
“After your fight, one of our members will grab you while you’re being escorted back to your cell. It will be quick—so you’ll have to be ready…Hey Leo—listen to me! We are going to get you out of here. I promise. But you have to help us and do your part. Do you understand?”
Leo looked at the fly resting on his shoulder. This man was offering him an escape—his life back. All he had to do was fight and kill one more prisoner. He still wasn’t sure if he was okay with what he had to do, but he knew that he could do it…That was enough, for now.
“Yes…I understand. I will win my match and then your operative will help me escape.”
“Good,” said Coté, “…and trust me Leo, it will get easier.”
With his last comment said, Coté flew off Leo’s shoulder and out of the cramped space. Leo was once again alone in his pitch-black cell, with nothing but his thoughts. He didn’t know if he was destined for greatness or if he had incredible potential. He secretly hoped that Coté was telling the truth…he had always felt deep down, buried layers within his psyche, a desire to do great things—to be a person that mattered to the world and the larger universe. He had always ignored those feelings up until now, shrugging them off as a childish whim. However, the more he thought about it, the more he knew that he wanted to live in a world of peace—in a world where no one would have to hide in fear just because of who they are. For the sake of his father, he wanted to live in a world where no one would be oppressed and where everyone would be free. And as Leo sat in his dark cell, he became focused and determined, coming up with a powerful and new resolution…
“I will create that world.”
_________________________
This time, when Leo entered the arena he was prepared. He was prepared for the restricting fighting space. He was prepared for the mindless cheering of the crowd. He was even prepared for the warden’s sociopathic mind games. He felt a new determination that gave him strength and courage. He stretched his muscles and waited for whatever psychotic criminal he had to face next.
The door across from him opened and a small figure walked through—revealing a petite and fair skinned young girl. The girl had long blonde hair and bright yellow eyes. As she entered the arena, neither hatred nor fear was evident on her face. Instead, she wore the look of overwhelming glee. She smiled and waved at the crowd, jumping for joy as they cheered. She then switched her attention to Leo, focusing all her giddiness on him.
“Hi there! I’m Sheena, what’s your name?” she said with a massive smile.
It took Leo a moment to get over the shock of what he was seeing and find his voice. “Ugh, hi…I’m Leo.”
“Nice to meet you LeeeeeO!” she exclaimed and bounced with joy. “I hope we can be friends!”
Leo had to fight his instinctual urge to scream at the little girl standing and cheering in front of him. She acted like they were about to play tag or some other childish game. It was like she didn’t know that they were about to fight each other, let alone that their fight would end with one of their deaths. He looked at the girl more thoroughly though, and he began to see the truth behind her off-putting facade. He suspected that Sheena knew this fight was to the death, but she more than likely saw it as a game—which meant bad news for him. Unlike Ben Manden, this girl relished the fighting, and wanted to kill.
Montgomery Woodland quickly stood up to address his guards, and once again, the crowd fell silent at his directive.
“Welcome everyone to another round of our beloved tournament. You have seen both fighters come out victorious once—but I’m afraid that only one can move on.” Monty paused for dramatic effect. Leo thought the warden was being ridiculous, but the crowd was loving it—or pretending to at the very least. “From cell block ‘X’, we have…Leo…THE BUUUTCHEEERRR!”
The crowd erupted. They had seen Leo destroy his last contestant in a horrific and brutal way, and they wanted more. It made him sick to think about how the murder of Ben Manden kept him up and gave him nightmares, and yet, it was nothing more than a passing moment of entertainment for these guards. If Leo had to perform acts of violence, he wished with all his soul that he could perform them on Monty and these royals, but he pushed those thoughts out of his mind for now, so he could stay focused on facing Sheena.
“And from cell block ‘Z’…we have…Sheena…THE SHIIFFFTEEERRR!”
This time the crowd was deafening. They cheered and applauded as Sheena jumped with joy and waved at her adoring fans. Suddenly, things made a little more sense to Leo. He now recognized Sheena’s yellow eyes as the same beast-like eyes that Jax had. The fact that she was a shifter meant that her little girl form was only her default appearance—a look that was probably meant to confuse enemies or lull them into a false sense of security. Now that Leo knew what she was, he wasn’t going to fall into her trap. If she was from cell block ‘Z’ that meant that she was one of the most dangerous inmates in Adras, which meant that he had to be extremely careful.
“Let the fight begin!” shouted Monty.
Once again, the lights over the crowd went out until all that remained were the lights illuminating the arena. The loud buzz quickly followed, and the implants on both Leo and Sheena were shut off. The match had begun.
Leo immediately went on the offensive. He charged and struck Sheena in a flash before she could change into something stronger. She hit the ground hard, and as she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees…she began to laugh.
“That…was…great Leo!” she said, wiping the blood from her mouth. “…Now it’s my turn!”
She changed so fast that Leo had no chance at stopping her. All at once, her humanoid limbs began to morph into a beastly figure. Her yellow eyes glowed, and her teeth grew into large fangs. Her once tiny set of hands and feet were now paws with razor sharp claws. She continued to morph until she became a very large and terrifying Larion jungle cat. Her fur was a crimson red with orange hair circling her mane. If she wasn’t so terrifying, she would be a majestic sight to see.
She began to circle Leo with the new found walk of the predator she had become. She licked her lips with anticipation before pouncing at Leo, with a terrifying ferocity—but he saw her coming and used his speed to sidestep her attack. Sheena landed and immediately attacked again. He dodged a second time, but as he sidestepped her again, he realized that he had fallen into her trap. He was so close to the wall of the pit that when he dodged her second pounce—she landed on the wall and sprung directly at him before he could get away. Before he knew it, Sheena had tackled his legs. She brought him to the ground and opened her mouth, revealing her fangs. He screamed in agony as she dug her teeth into his leg, rip
ping the skin off and revealing the muscle and bone that lay beneath.
She went for another bite, trying to sever the limb from the rest of his body, but Leo had enough. He used his speed to unleash a flurry of strikes to Sheena’s head. He moved so fast that everything was a blur, but in the middle of his attack he saw something fly out of the shifter’s mouth. She squealed in pain as she retreated to the other side of the pit.
The speedster knew that he didn’t have much time before she recovered and went on the offensive again—so he had to come up with a plan quickly. Now that his leg was out of commission, he couldn’t use his speed to dodge her attacks. He needed a way to land a fatal blow to her with one move, ending the match. He looked around for a rock or something blunt he might be able to use as a weapon, but there was only dirt and sand in the pit. But as Leo was searching, he noticed that Sheena was pawing at her face—and she was bleeding. Suddenly, he realized what went flying from her mouth during his assault…laying somewhere in the dirt, was one of Sheena’s fangs—and he could find it!
He quickly scanned the pit looking for the only thing that could save him. It seemed like a hopeless task, but as he put all his concentration into his search, it appeared before him. There it was, in the middle of the pit—right between him and the shifter. He began the agonizing task of dragging himself across the dirt towards the broken fang. Luckily, Sheena was still thrashing around in pain and failed to notice what he was up to. He moved as fast as he could, trying not to think about the excruciating pain emanating from his leg as he dragged it through the rough dirt. Muscle and bone scraped against coarse sand, soaking it in blood. The dirt was surely sticking to his wound, moving inside him, probably causing an infection, but he couldn’t think about that now. He just had to keep moving, because if he failed…he would be in a lot more pain while Sheena was eating him alive.
The Chronicles of AzzaNation: Dawn of a New Age Page 12
