Masked

by G S Michaelson

  “It hurts. It hurts so much.”

  His skin peeled back around his fingers as claws ripped out from them, then receded, then ripped out again.

  Another person in front of him collapsed. Their mask rolling off. The Caretaker shook his head. Rocky continued screaming.

  “I can’t die here.”

  * * *

  “Hey Rocky. I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble.” Juniper had said, as he lay on the bed of their apartment. He was recovering, just as Caine had promised he would. He really was a miracle worker.“You don’t have to go away for me.”

  “No.” Rocky had replied, “You were my only friend. I’ll see you again, if I have to go through hell itself. That’s my promise.”

  “She’s here.” Caine had said, referring to Juniper’s new adoptive mother. “You have to leave.”

  “I know.”

  * * *

  “I promised Juniper.”

  The blood swirled around him as his spine shifted, and reformed several times. Someone else dropped. Their mask fell off, their body misshapen.

  * * *

  “No matter what,” Rocky had tossed his switchblade at Juniper. “We’ll always be friends.”

  Juniper had caught it, and popped it the blade. Suddenly, it had appeared to be the most interesting thing in the world. Rocky had been able to see a tear escape his friend’s eye, but Juniper would have denied it then.

  “That line, it’s not cool, Allen.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  * * *

  “That I would come back from hell itself.”

  The roar of industria drew the Daniel’s attention to Rocky. Many of the other children had collapsed to the ground. Certainly dying, if not already dead. Rocky remained standing. The mask on his face withdrawing rapidly as his wounds healed.

  The bone-like substance pooled around his ear, forcing his earring out and replacing it with itself. The younger man dropped to his knees, panting, bloody, but victorious. Daniel’s eyes widened, that was impressive.

  Rocky caught his eye, then nodded. Raising a fist into the air. He had suppressed the beast mask.

  As his haze cleared, someone else stood out at him. This person was neither screaming, nor was he in danger of collapsing. He merely appeared to be meditating, even as industria roared around him.

  Keith Jack now stood, his mask receding to a necklace on his neck. He bared his fangs as he finished.

  “Perfect.” said Daniel. “Just perfect.”

  * * *

  Another year of intense, continuous training had passed. Six more had survived the deadly mask selection process. They had now been moved to a different facility, working directly under Caine. Ellis, Shaw, Corran, Peach, Alfred and Quinn, along with Rocky, Jack and Caine would go on to form the group that would become Masquerade.

  A powerful blow sent Rocky to his knees, blood spewing from his mouth.

  “What the hell man,” Rocky gasped. Jack had just asked to be friends, Rocky had reached out to reciprocate, only to be struck down. Cold eyes now gazed down upon him.

  “Never let your guard down. A good shield can never be taken by surprise,” Jack said. He turned and walked away, the others watching him snickered. Peach stared at him sympathetically, but she too would not challenge Jack. He had acquired a reputation over the past three years. Rocky snarled, leaping towards Jack as the latter walked away from him. He lashed out, a fist full of pent-up rage. He was suddenly airborne. The other man had intercepted him, flipped him over and slammed him into the ground.

  “I told you,” Jack smiled. “A good shield can never be taken by surprise.”

  Caine watched them from above, Neither commenting nor interfering. The other members did so as well.

  “A good shield?” Rocky returned Jack’s sinister grin, matching its intensity. “How about as a sword?”

  “That’s right.” Jack taunted, “Show everyone just how inferior you are.”

  Jack leapt aside, the training field clearing as both men squared off. He glanced at Caine momentarily, the masked man nodded. Rocky caught the signal. He approved of this display.

  Rocky’s claws popped. Jack’s as well. They clashed. A short, brutal, bloody battle. Rocky’s blows were blocked and countered. Jack’s landed with punishing cruelty. Rocky’s claws swiped through air. Jack’s pierced flesh and drew blood. A final clash and Rocky collapsed to the floor in a sea of red.

  Peach covered her mouth with her hand.

  “Excellent!” Alfred shouted from the sidelines, “Now it’s my turn!”

  “That’s enough Alfred,” Caine spoke calmly, but firmly. “There’ll be no more of that.”

  Rocky lay on the ground, his pride bruised. Blood seeped through his clothing, coating the ground in crimson, red liquid. Already, his regeneration had kicked in, sealing some of his wounds. Jack wiped his face where Rocky had bruised it. A trickle of blood oozed from his nose.

  As if he found something funny, he smirked. Then he offered his hand. Rocky grabbed onto it, pulling himself up.

  “The wounds will heal sooner rather than later,” Jack said quietly.

  “It’s already started.” Rocky replied, then he continued, “You pack quite a wallop.”

  “So do you.” Jack said, “Nearly took my head off that one time.”

  For a moment, Rocky began to muse on whether Caine was manipulating him, letting Jack indulge in their worst instincts to make better soldiers. Then again, he thought, he had begun to enjoy himself at some point.

  Chapter 24 - Wolf

  It was five years after Rocky had joined Caine. Now, he would hunt for him. Masquerade had been established. Caine’s personal attack squad. The plot to infiltrate Draekeor was already underway. Rocky would soon be able to return to Juniper, albeit retaining his position in the organisation. Caine was convenient like that.

  Julius’ lungs burned as he ran. Sprinting over fences, dashing through fields of gravel and stone. He needed to get out of there. Branches, wicked and curved, lanced at his skin. He was still miles from the city. Miles from anyone that could help him.

  The ground in front of him exploded. Then the left, the right.

  He knew immediately it was Peach. Hidden somewhere nearby, aiming at him with her powers. He could tell that even before the next blow slammed into his leg, ripping a hole in him. He fell to his knees, then the searing pain followed.

  Rocky and Jack emerged from the bushes, neither looked nearly as fatigued as Julius. It was only natural. He had yet to fully adapt to his mask, they had trained theirs for years.

  “How do you find this?” Jack asked Rocky. “It’ll be your first hunt. Your first kill.”

  “Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!” The man begged. Jack moved his head slightly, and Peach’s next blast left a hole in his thigh. Julius bit his tongue, even as the pain threatened to send him to sleep.

  “Let’s be clear on something.” Jack sneered at his hapless victim. “You have no chance of getting out of here alive. What you can do is scream for me. ”

  “He’s right about that.” Rocky said, “You know what? Why us your best performance? Beg and crawl a little bit.”

  The man bit his tongue. He would not give either of them the satisfaction.

  “I was never going to talk or betray you.” He put his hands up, a gesture of supplication, “I’ve worked with you guys for a year or two. I can’t take it anymore. Please, I don’t want to die.”

  “So you ran away like a coward.” Rocky’s fist was a blur to Julius. He felt his ribs crack. “You broke the promise you made to Caine. What does that say about you?”

  Rocky rained down more blows on him, designed to hurt, but not to break - not yet.

  “Please.” Julius coughed out blood. “Just let me go.”

  His vision exploded into bright lights. Rocky’s foot now rested on his head, pushing him into the ground.

  “Sad, cold and alone.” Jack mocked, “We’ll make an example out of you.”<
br />
  Julius stared at the two men who stood in front of him. Both inflamed by passion. The third lay in wait in the bushes. If he ran, he would be shot down and filled with holes. Not that he would make it very far. There was no pity from any of his assailants. Jack sneered and sniggered, Rocky’s expression was grim. If he could see Peach, he would swear that she had a similar expression on her face.

  “Damn you.” He spat. “Damn you all to hell.”

  “Ok.” Jack wiped the saliva off his face. he paused for a moment. Then he calmly plucked a finger off, tossed it in his mouth and ate it. His teeth crunching on bone, his tongue slurping down blood.

  Even Rocky was given pause. Blood trickled out of Jack’s mouth, giving him an unhinged look in the moonlight.

  “If it’s hell you want,” He swallowed. “I’ll show it to you.”

  The scream started building up, but Julius swallowed it. His legs ached. His arms burned. His torso hurt from where he had been beaten. They would not receive the satisfaction of seeing him scream. Jack began to transform, his body bulging into a muscular, animalistic form. Rocky did as well, albeit into a more lithe form than Jack. Jack was Masquerade’s ferocious tiger. Rocky was their loyal wolf.

  As their fangs and claws made short work of him, all Julius could feel was regret that he had ever made a deal with the devil to begin with.

  * * *

  The Present Day.

  WestScarlet.

  Draekeor.

  Rocky wiped his mouth. He could still taste the blood sometimes when he closed his eyes.

  Leaving was unthinkable. He sometimes felt regret about the things he did— but Jack? Jack was different. Caine may have turned Masquerade into monsters, but he was born a monster. There was no blackmail for him. None was needed. He was just doing what he loved. That was frightening.

  Chapter 25 - Discipline of the Undisciplined

  Draekeor Case.

  Day 8.

  Tyrone’s fists pounded the tree. Instead of proper training facilities, he had to make do with what he had. The outdoors of Draekeor. A punch was thrown here, a kick there. His training uniform was soaked through with sweat. As would be natural, he had been there for three hours so far.

  “You aren’t using any industria,” Eva observed. She had joined him an hour ago, files with her. While Tyrone abused his body, she would go over some more of the information they had gleaned from their encounters, hoping to catch some link here.

  “I know.” Another punch. This time, the skin from his palm was torn off. “Pain is just something I need to get over.”

  “The tree won’t make you fight better,” Eva replied, “I can take you on if you want.”

  “That’s alright. This needs confidence and pain tolerance.” Tyrone said, “The next time masquerade comes, I’ll be ready for them.”

  “Isn’t the general idea to avoid pain and injury?” Eva set down her folder. “At the very least, you should be practising in tandem with your esoterica.”

  “That Jack guy.” Tyrone said, “He’s different from Alfred, and even Quinn. There’s something broken about him.”

  “I didn’t tell you, did I?” Eva said, “I went to Brad Davis’ home. He had never used the mask before.”

  “Alfred and Quinn could place masks on people to turn them into attack dogs.” He punched the tree hard, cracking it in half, “Jack knew we were there. It’s clear now that Brad’s just another victim. Yet another victim of Masquerade.”

  Tyrone moved on to the next thing. Eva looked back at her folders. She was looking at Juniper’s records, and what she could find of Allen Rocky — the man she surmised had later resurfaced, going only by his last name.

  That he had found Juniper, was it by chance or design?

  * * *

  “Rocky’s been a friend for a while.” Juniper had been idly flipping through channels after work the previous day. “He helped me out a lot.”

  “How?” Eva was sitting with a pen and a notepad.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” Juniper replied, “How is that relevant to your travel blogging anyway?”

  “Well…” Eva had trailed off, struggling to think of a legitimate reason.

  “It was a perilous time in his life.” Beth had answered. This was her way of announcing her presence. Eva had met her once or twice before, but only in passing. “After my mother adopted Juniper, Rocky tracked us down a few years later. Is that all?”

  “Where’s Tyrone anyway?” Juniper had asked, changing the topic.

  “He’ll be here soon. He just went to capture some photos with Lionel.” Eva had replied. “For the blog.”

  “That Lionel’s a good one too,” Juniper had replied, pointedly. “He doesn’t ask too many questions.”

  Eva had taken the hint.

  * * *

  Tyrone was laying into another tree. A barrage of punches and kicks.

  “We’re doing all this legwork to find out who Masquerade are and stop them. I just want to be ready to take him on when the time comes.”

  “If he’s that dangerous we should leave him to the Centurions.” Eva noticed the page Tyrone’s spell book was turned to. Then she understood why he was training this way.

  “That’s a very dangerous play.”

  He acknowledged her with a nod, then he continued hitting the foliage, bruising and battering his own body. It was a play he had used before, when he had doubted himself. It served a purpose then. It would serve it again.

  “If I wanted safety, I chose the wrong job.”

  * * *

  Juniper was not having a good day. After Rocky had blown him off earlier, he had gone off to visit the bars by himself. Drinking himself silly and then dancing his legs off was his idea of fun, even though his friends didn’t share the same opinion.

  That was why he was surprised when Rocky’s friend, the one who worked in the government approached him in the Sparklebust. He had already had quite a few, so when Corran and Jack offered to take him to a party, he didn’t find it strange.

  This one would blow his mind. He didn’t find it strange that they took the back alley exit, but alarm bells started ringing when the grip on his shoulder tightened. It was Jack. Corran was now hanging back.

  “Jack, that’s a bit tight.” Juniper complained, pushing against the man. His body was like steel. His demeanour too had changed. Jack had a reputation, but Juniper hadn’t held it against him. Rocky was his friend so he couldn’t have been that bad. Now he began to wonder if he should have taken those reports more seriously.

  “Be quiet.” Jack hissed, “You don’t want me to rip out your throat.”

  His grip grew tighter around the smaller man’s arm.

  “Hey!” Juniper began to struggle, “What the hell are you doing?”

  Jack freed him, but relief was only momentary. A forceful shove sent him crashing into the alley wall. Dusting himself off, Juniper glanced at Corran, but the other man’s eyes bore no shred of sympathy. There was no one else around either. It was now becoming clear to Juniper that this was a pre-planned attack.

  “I can’t believe he’s selling us out for someone as weak as you.” Jack spat. He took a deep breath and backed off, stopping only to kick a loose brick, crushing it into powder.

  “Are you ok?” Juniper gingerly held his hands in front of him, anticipating another outburst, but this time aimed at him.

  “Don’t be mad.” A wicked glint was in Jack’s eye now. His irises had turned into slits, and Juniper realised his nightmare was just beginning. “Rocky needs a little something from you. He needs to be reminded that your life is in our hands, and has always been.”

  “What are you—”

  As the mask began to spread across Jack’s face, Juniper’s blood turned to ice.

  * * *

  When Rocky had been summoned to their meeting spot, he hadn’t thought anything of it. Jack often wanted to meet with him to discuss this or that. With the Sabres in town, they would need to meet more fre
quently to update each other. By now, Peach would have told him about his warning to Lionel. He wondered if he needed to sell him on the idea that it was necessary to pique their interest.

  Pushing in the door, he was surprised to meet Peach and Corran as well, both seared in their places at the table. The other chairs were empty, as he would have expected. He smiled at them. Peach pressed her lips together in a thin line in response. Corran simple gestured with his head towards a shape in the middle of the room.

  Rocky’s blood ran cold. At first, his mind refused to believe it, conjuring up alternate explanations and fabulous theories. But as his hands began to tremble, he accepted the terrible sight before him.

  Juniper lay on the ground in a pool of his blood. He was still.

  Rocky slowly walked to his friend, his vision blurring. Quaking hands reached for his wrist. His pulse. It was faint, but it was there. Shaking his head, he cleared the haze around his vision. First checking for a pulse — it was there — then assessing his injuries.

  “What is this?” Rocky turned to Corran, who closed his eyes in response. Peach averted her gaze. Surrounded by his peers, his best friend with him, he hadn’t felt more alone and afraid than that night 11 years ago.

  “What the hell is this?” He roared. Then his eyes fixed on a solitary figure, sitting on a box a bit further ahead in the vast warehouse.

  “Jack!”

  He was smoking a cigarette in a lazy, devil may care manner. He raised an eyebrow as if to say “What?”

  “You did this.”

  It wasn’t a question. Industria rushed out as the wolf mask took shape, binding on Rocky’s face, strengthening his muscles.

  “You’re dead. Right now — you’re dead.”

  Jack smirked in return, stubbing his cigarette out.

  “Wait! ” Peach held out an imploring hand. “You two don’t need to fight.”

  “You of all people…” Rocky snarled at her, “How could you let him do this?”

  “I thought you were coming,” Jack said. “I’m waiting.”

  Peach prepared to fight too, but Corran shook his head.

  “Do what you want,” Corran said, “But I don’t think Jack will take too kindly to that. Already, Rocky’s on his shit list. Caine is the only one who can leash him.”