Shackled Serenity

by Leon Logos

  “I recovered well enough at the outpost,” said Kyler. “Then I rushed here. Apparently Desmos is here, too. He got here before me.”

  “Yeah, that’s right,” she nodded. “H-he’s—well, he’s here.”

  “Are you at a hundred percent?” Cackle asked, massaging his head.

  “Not even close,” said Kyler, shaking his head. “I’ll try not to get physical with anybody. My body’s still kinda weak…”

  “Yo, get a gun from the bodies outside, then,” Cackle advised. “Fast.”

  Kyler nodded, jogging out of the classroom. He took one step outside the room and was immediately hurled back inside. Someone smashed the end of a rifle against Kyler’s head. It was Sixto.

  Kyler fell to the floor but sprang to his feet a second later. Despite the impressive rebound, the blow had disorientated him. Kyler swayed from side-to-side for a moment, getting his bearings. Sixto tried going for another melee attack with the rifle, but Kyler managed to grab it from him. Kyler flung it wildly; the gun landed by her. Sixto looked incensed, his mad eyes comparable to Gunther’s. He pounced at Kyler, pinning him to the floor. He began barraging Kyler with punches, his knuckles clenched in a manner that resembled a man beating his wife’s killer.

  “YOU DAMN BEAST!” Sixto bellowed. “I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU!”

  Kyler could barely defend himself, as he wasn’t at his strongest; and Sixto’s rage had seemingly amplified his physical strength. He had no intentions of stopping, letting the punches flow. Until he abruptly did desist. Serenity dropped to the floor as Sixto took out a knife from his back pocket. She knew where this was going. There wasn’t any shortage of weapons, given corpses of soldiers were scattered all over the place.

  Kyler was barely strong enough to lift up an arm. He stared Sixto in the eyes, stony-faced even when facing death.

  “Sixto!” Serenity yelled. “Please, no!”

  “Don’t worry, Serenity,” Sixto snarled. “I’ll save you!”

  “No, just listen to me!” she urged. “Let me explain!”

  “Damn it, Kyler!” Cackle upbraided, angry at Kyler for losing; Cackle was unable to come to his brother’s aid, still incapacitated on the floor.

  “No, I won’t let you leave!” Sixto said fervently. “I’ll protect you!”

  Sixto raised the knife high in the air, building up momentum.

  “Sixto,” Serenity called shakily. “Look.”

  Sixto looked up at her. His rage turned to bewilderment.

  “What are you doing…?” he asked, eyeing the rifle in her hands.

  “Please don’t make me do this,” she pleaded. “Get off of him.”

  “Serenity, you’re not going to shoot me,” Sixto shook his head. “No, no, you told us you weren’t a traitor! You told us!”

  “I’m not!” she moaned, hands shaking. “Sixto, stop!”

  “No,” Sixto said adamantly, frowning. “These Carlisles must pay! First Alistair, then the Council, then—MAYBE EVEN MY SISTERS!”

  “I understand!” she cried. “I get it! But it wasn’t him! It was my father!”

  “Your ‘father,’” Sixto scoffed. “Right, so Gunther Carlisle your dad?”

  “N-no, you know what I mean!”

  “I’m doing this, Serenity,” Sixto said, committed, eyes red and misty. “I have to. And if you shoot me, then you’ll be a traitor. Simple as that.”

  “DON’T MAKE ME CHOOSE! PLEASE!”

  “Shoot him already!” Cackle squawked, still on the ground.

  “Shut up!” Sixto said hoarsely, face contorted in fury. “You’re next!”

  “NO! STOP!”

  The split-second Sixto’s hand began to thrust downward, her finger moved before her mind could process what was happening. She pulled the trigger once, the rifle already aimed at its target. Instead of one, two bullets zipped out of the muzzle of the rifle. The muzzle flashes were instantaneous.

  She dropped the rifle in alarm, horrified at what she had done. Two holes appeared in Sixto’s upper body, both in the chest area. Sixto’s eyes were wide, as he stared at her in astonishment. The knife slowly slipped from his hands, clattering onto the floor. Blood spilled out of his mouth. He then dropped awkwardly to the side, his breathing fading. His body became stiff and frozen, his eyes permanently open and stunned.

  It took a few seconds to register what she had done. But when it fully did, the emotions bombarded her like an EF5 tornado.

  She screamed. Screamed louder and stridently she did when Amara died. When Patrick or Gunther lashed her. She wept and bawled until her voice became hoarse, her throat capitulated, and her vision diminished. For all the heavens and the gods above to hear. Her head exploded in grief, shock, remorse, and a discordant myriad of other feelings. For an eternity she was overwhelmed. But a moment later, there was blackness and then oblivion.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  When consciousness emerged, it was only subtle at first. Adequate comfort enveloped her, encompassing warmth and tranquility. She was still unaware of her surroundings. Furthermore, unaware if she even existed. Her thoughts were null at the moment, not lucid yet. She could just feel. And hear; hear incomprehensible ambience and chatter. She moved a finger, then a muscle. A sharp, shooting pain stung at her at the slightest movement.

  Slowly, fragments of her memories and thoughts began to return. Piece-by-piece, filling up a whole. She gathered that she was alive, but just semi-conscious. For a rapid moment, she had a crazy inkling that she was in the afterlife. It was a challenge, but she opened her eyes. The blackness turned to a stark whiteness, too blurry and radiant for her to make out anything. Her vision recovered gradually, recognizing the ceiling of a tent.

  She then realized that she was in a tent. It big enough to accommodate about eight people. The floor wasn’t a floor, but ground. Just dirt and patches of grass. A table next to her with a first-aid-kit, and an assortment of other medical pill bottles and tools, sat next to her bed. She lay on a rough, military-style bed that was far from luxurious. She stared at the ceiling for a full five minutes, recollecting her thoughts and memories.

  It didn’t take long for her to remember the battle. The Aurelian massacre. And then, the traumatizing events that accompanied it. Dorian, Alistair, and Sixto gone. Quite possibly the sisters, too. And Gunther even returned. She remembered his infuriated, charred, mad face.

  The remembrance of Sixto’s death invoked pangs of grief and culpability. But she had dried up all her tears already. And she had grieved a great deal already as well. All that was left was for her to deduce was where she was. It was a tent, she already confirmed that. It was quite noisy outside, people conversing and walking by. The last thing she remembered was—as disturbing as it was to recall—was shooting Sixto. Everything was hazy after that.

  It seemed her wounded leg was tended to, with a proper bandage. Not the makeshift tourniquet Cackle made. There were also bandages on her face. Along with getting shot, she had received a beating from Bastion.

  Serenity sat upright, swinging her feet 90 degrees to the right. She dangled them over the bed, brushing the ground. Her shoes were still on. She only now realized how much her head was pounding. The headache was tormenting, but it was a natural result of all the tempestuous chaos before. Was it yesterday? How long ago? How long had she been in this tent?

  She didn’t bother getting to her feet to walk. She stayed sitting on her bed, just waiting for something to happen. She honestly had no preference really. Either the Aurelians kept her, or Viktor’s side took her. The outcome of the battle was still unknown to her. Presumably, it was over.

  After twenty minutes, someone finally showed himself. Kyler. It confirmed her suspicions. She must’ve been in that outpost of Viktor’s.

  “How long have you been awake?” Kyler asked, standing over her. He gestured her to lie back down. She did so, only out of weariness.

  “Not that long…” she said, her voice hoarse; she also had a sore throat. “How long have I been here?
I mean, where is this?”

  “The outpost,” Kyler answered, confirming it. “And a whole day.”

  “A day?” she repeated, in amazement. “When was I last conscious?”

  “Almost twenty-four hours…” said Kyler, essentially repeating himself.

  “Wait a minute, does this mean…that the Aurelians lost…?”

  “It was extremely close,” said Kyler. “But yeah, they did. Our side lost more than three-quarters of our forces. We’re so small now. I think taking out both Venators shifted the tide of the battle.”

  “Both…?” she said, frowning. “You took out one. Who was the other?”

  “Desmos and Garen took care of that, apparently,” said Kyler casually.

  “Desmos. Does that mean he’s alive?” she asked hopefully. “And that he won? He beat Father? Like, for real?”

  “Yep,” Kyler nodded. “I don’t know all the details. I mean, I missed almost the entire battle. But Desmos won. And he’s here. So are the others.”

  “Agno, Garen, Cackle?”

  “Yeah, and that Viktor guy. The leader.”

  “Oh, him…” she said distastefully. “What are they doing now?”

  “We’re getting ready to leave,” said Kyler. “But first, they need to finish looting the place. They’ll steal everything and depart. I just came back from helping. I mean, he ordered me to. I couldn’t refuse.”

  “How’s your face?” she asked, pointing at his also-bandaged face.

  “Doesn’t even tingle,” said Kyler modestly, shrugging it off. “That ‘Sixto’ kid. Was he the one that helped you visit me?”

  “Yeah…” she said dejectedly. “I can’t believe I…”

  “I honestly wasn’t sure what you’d do,” said Kyler candidly. “I was ready to die at that moment either way.”

  “This is all so screwed up,” she remarked bitterly. “Everything.”

  “It’s over now, forget it,” said Kyler. She sighed somberly, placing her hands on her stomach.

  “How the hell did we all manage to survive this?” she asked, puzzled. “Doesn’t that kind of shock you? That none of us are dead?”

  “We were trained well,” Kyler said uncaringly. “And maybe a bit of luck. If an enemy had stormed into that classroom, we would’ve died. Cackle and I weren’t strong enough to move. It took a while for us both to recover.”

  “And you somehow got me here,” she said. “How?”

  “Well, the battle was pretty much over after you passed out,” Kyler explained. “I carried you a bit, since Cackle was still dizzy. Then Agno came along finally and took over. He was pretty pissed.”

  “Why?”

  “Well,” said Kyler, amused, “apparently when he was at the outpost with Desmos, Desmos knocked him out after Agno tried stopping him. That’s how Desmos got to the scene. Only Agno cared enough to stop him.”

  She visualized the scene. Desmos and Agno had their moments. She randomly recalled Desmos smashing Agno’s phone back in the airport in Manchester.

  “Do you know what…what Father wanted to do with you?” Kyler asked hesitantly, testing if she was willing to speak about it.

  “No,” she shook her head. “Just that he wanted to take me away. Not any of you guys, just me. I still don’t understand.”

  “You didn’t learn anything about your background with the Aurelians, did you? Aside from finding out who your real parents were?”

  “Yeah, that’s about it. But I did learn something; Father was affiliated with the Aurelians in the past. They weren’t friends but were still on the same side. And he had feelings for my mother.”

  Which must’ve been when the rift started. After losing her mother, Gunther went rogue. His murderous actions were irrevocable. Bastion had told her that the Aurelians and Carlisles had been at war for centuries. There must’ve been a short stalemate in the conflict, a period of hiatus from the feuding. Then the war had started again, after Gunther went crazy.

  “He knew your mother?” Kyler asked blankly. “Were they together?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “But he was competing with my father in trying to win her over. But he lost, got angry, and killed my parents. And my aunt as well. It doesn’t make sense to me. Did he love her that much? Was he so heartbroken that he was willing to commit murder?”

  “Cackle told me he looked nuts,” said Kyler. “And he also told me what happened to Father before he and the other two set out for us.”

  “You mean when they tried to burn him alive?” she said.

  “Well, the fire was unintentional. But there was a fight for sure. Just to summarize, the others planned to leave without telling Father, in order to avoid a conflict. Father caught them trying to sneak out. But the others were set on leaving. Father didn’t like that. That’s when the fight broke out after some arguing. Garen took it upon himself to handle him.”

  “That must be why he was so different,” she said thoughtfully. “He seemed more like a leader now. I mean, he was second-in-command, right?”

  “Yeah, he took it upon himself to be the big man,” said Kyler. “I’m sure Desmos is proud of him, even if he won’t admit it. Though, if the others helped, Father could’ve been overpowered easily. But Agno and Cackle weren’t inclined in fighting Father.”

  “Can I ask you a personal question, Kyler?” she said sincerely. “And just be honest with me. No lies, no bullshit.”

  Kyler nodded, prompting for her to ask it.

  “Does it make you sad that Father’s gone?”

  “For a moment—when I learned he was dead—a bit,” said Kyler musingly. “I mean, he’s our father. But for the most part, I’m not bothered. Especially after finding out that he wanted to take you away forever. I thought about it a bit and realized he was a shitty dad. But I’m still grateful to him for teaching us how to survive. How to be strong.”

  “Well, I have no issues with him being gone,” she said acidly.

  “I’m sure,” said Kyler, unperturbed. “You have the right to be glad.”

  “Though,” she said reflectively, “it still feels unbelievable. Like, I never imagined this day would come. I thought I’d be bound to him forever… It’s unreal, you know? This is so bizarre.”

  “We all feel the same way in that regard,” said Kyler.

  “Could I speak to Desmos?” she asked earnestly. “I remember him saying that he was going to get information out of Fath—I need to stop calling him that—Gunther. Maybe he did.”

  “Really?” said Kyler, intrigued. “He’s not here right now. He’ll be back with the other three soon. They’re out looting.”

  “Who’s here now?”

  “Just some of Viktor’s men,” said Kyler. “Only about a hundred of them remain. Yeah, a lot of them died in the battle. Most of them.”

  “Who the hell is Viktor anyway?” she burst out, remembering that she still didn’t have a clue how Viktor knew them.

  “Oh, you didn’t know?” Kyler said, unaware that she was clueless. “He’s our contractor. The guy who paid us for killing Aurelians.”

  “H-huh?” she said, dazed.

  “Father’s been working with him for years,” Kyler explicated. “Viktor would tell him where to find Aurelians, Father would send us to get them. We would be reimbursed with money in exchange for our services. Mutual benefits.”

  “I’m the one that has kept your family financially healthy and stable all these years.” Viktor’s words echoed in her mind. So this was what he meant.

  “Have you guys known about him this whole time?” she asked indignantly. “And here I was, clueless on how we had money!”

  “Well, we knew there was a contractor,” Kyler shrugged. “But I didn’t know who it was exactly. Until now.”

  “So, we really are assassins,” Serenity scoffed. “Hitmen…”

  “Yeah, basically,” Kyler nodded unconcernedly. “Cool, right?”

  “No,” she affirmed forcefully. “Not cool.”

  “Which rem
inds me, you’ve never killed anybody on the job,” said Kyler insightfully. “Or anybody in general. Until that kid.”

  “Sixto was beyond reason, I had no choice,” she said defensively. “And Sixto—he was trying to kill you.”

  “I’m flattered that you chose me over him,” Kyler smirked.

  “Shut up,” she said, not amused. It wasn’t a joke.

  “Sorry,” Kyler apologized brusquely.

  “If it was Cackle being held at knifepoint, I wouldn’t have shot.”

  “Nah, you two have settled your differences,” said Kyler. “You saved each other’s lives yesterday. He hates you a bit less now.”

  “I don’t believe it,” she said skeptically.

  “Well, he’s never hated you really,” said Kyler perceptively. “‘Hate’ is a strong word. You just annoyed him a lot, and he found you easy prey to pick on. With you dead, who would keep him entertained?”

  “Nothing’s changed, then,” she said disgruntledly. “He’s always felt that way about me. I’m just an object to him. And a burden.”

  “Well, he could’ve bailed out on the plan to rescue us,” said Kyler, giving her something to think about. “But he chose to go with Garen and Agno. Instead of siding with Gunther. Same applies for Garen and Agno. They both agreed to come for you—well, for us. Now, I’ve got a question for you. And I expect you to be just as honest.”

  “What…?” she said glumly.

  “Does it bother you that the Aurelians are gone?”

  She had to cogitate a bit before formulating a response. Serenity had thoroughly enjoyed her time spent with the Aurelians. Not just that it was a privileged life of luxury, but the bond she felt had been genuine. But her congenial connection with them had dissolved completely, after learning of Alistair’s true intentions with her. “Bait.” It was utterly devastating.

  “I only miss some of them,” she said. “Yeah, it bothers me that a select few are gone. Sixto, my friends, maybe even my cousins…but I also wish that I could turn back time, and that you guys never came for me.”

  “Cackle told me that you weren’t even wanted,” said Kyler. “Well, not really. Something about exploiting you to lure us in.”