"Slick son of a bitch got away... what the-!”
"Hunter, no," Hera commanded.
"You disobeyed a direct order, McCall!"
Hunter rushed towards Ethan and picked him up. Slamming him hard against the wall nearby, dust fell in Ethan's eye. Hunter snatched the medication from Ethan's pocket. With no hesitation, he threw it out of the building.
"It's not his fault, Hunter!" Angela protested.
Suddenly, her eyes glowed with a crimson red and her voice diminished into a demonic groan.
"Let him go, aut non morieris"
As Hunter dropped Ethan, Angela quickly ran towards him.
"It's happening again," Hunter uttered.
"Please...” Angela cried out in her normal voice. “Remember your promise, Ethan."
"What the hell?" Ethan replied sitting himself up.
"Protect me, Ethan," she continued as her eye filled with red again.
Hunter ran over to them both. He grabbed Angela's arm. She pushed him back and he fell to the other side of the room. She reached for Ethan's sidearm.
Hunter stood up as Anglea kissed Ethan on the lips. He ran towards the both of them again.
"You'll always have my heart, Grim."
Ethan reached for her hand as she placed his pistol against her chest. The two of them struggled and the gun went off.
Hera shrieked.
Ethan laid on the floor with Angela's body on top of him.
"The baby," he whispered in her ear.
Hunter fell to his knees.
Ethan rolled her body from off of him.
"Get out." Hera murmured.
"Hera," Ethan responded.
"Leave!" she yelled.
Ethan stood up.
"I want your gun," she commanded.
Ethan stared at Hunter as he watched him picked up Angela’s head. Hunter held her in his arms as they laid on the floor together.
"The both of you...” Hera directed, “GET OUT!"
Ethan walked over to Hera. He gave her his sidearm. She held it close to her chest, then pointed it at Ethan.
"I don't ever want to see you back here again... ever.”
She pointed the gun at Hunter.
“The both of you...” she continued. “...are discharged. GET OUT!”
Ethan walked back toward the elevator door with his hands stretched out high. He faced Hera as she continued to point the gun in his direction. Hunter laid motionless on the floor beside his wife.
As a small explosion detonated near Ethan’s head, four Apex soldiers trampled through the President’s office door with their weapons drawn.
"Take him down!" one of the soldiers commanded.
Ethan put his hands on top of his head. As he knelt to the ground, one of the soldiers tied his hands behind his back while another held his shoulders down.
Hera dropped the gun to the floor as she passed out. A sharp pain shot up Ethan's neck as a soldier blunted him with the end of his weapon. All went dark.
DAMAGED
Enkindled Bridges
Everything was lost, he thought. Gasping hard, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Resting his back against the wall, he collapsed to the floor. That one night repeating over and over again in his head. There was nothing left in him, no reason to move.
His breathing calmed down to a quiet sob. As he held his head with both his hands, he expected the search team to find him any minute now. Rapid steps thudded in the distance. Sounds of dripping water filled the moments of silence.
Numb to his surroundings, unmoving, he awaited the inevitable. Distant alarms broke him out of his stupor only to be sucked back in with the feeling of loneliness. Dimming of corridor lights signified the start of an artificial evening. The search continued through the night, gradually closing in. He stopped and put his hands up. A blinding white light beamed across his face. With impeded effort, he opened his eyes.
***
"Thought I might find your ass out here... Boy, wake up!" a voice demanded, kicking Ethan.
Ethan looked in the direction of the familiar voice with strained eyes. The old man kicked him again.
"Don't act sleep, boy! You're lucky I don't rip off your head!" he continued.
Ethan kicked back at the man before rolling over to sleep. The old man picked up a bottle that laid beside Ethan.
"You put Damien's life in jeopardy over this?" The man said looking at the bottle. "I hope it was worth it!"
He threw the bottle over Ethan, smashing it into pieces. Ethan didn't flinch. The old man looked at Ethan as he laid beside the dumpster. He wore tattered clothes and was concealed by an overgrown beard.
"Look at you..." the old man insisted. "Not even death wants you." He chewed on a juicy brown leaf. It filled up the old man’s mouth with saliva. "Haven't seen your ass in two whole months. Well I’ll be... You look like shit!"
A skinny little boy with brown, overgrown hair passed through a busy crowd and ran towards the both of them.
"Grandpa!" the little boy cried out.
The old man spat on the ground.
"I should have left you out there to die... would have saved us a whole helluva lot of trouble." The old man gruffed. "When you decide to come back to the house, your stuff will be waiting outside."
The old man held the boy's hand and walked away. Ethan rolled back over and took an apple from out his coat. He rubbed some dirt off the piece of fruit then took a bite of it. He reached for a bottle hidden behind a trash can. It was almost empty. The bottle was labeled 'Kindle'. He gulped the last bit of the drink then went back to sleep.
***
Darkness again, I see. Is that the only place that feels native to you?
Angela?
(Laughter) Don't you have a job to do? Everything doesn't revolve around her, you know.
Claire!
Guess I don't exist in your world anymore, huh?
No... I've done enough damage. Just stay away.
You're abandoning them. My son...
Mom?
...he trusts you.
Claire... No.
We took you in Ethan. Fed you. But everywhere you go you leave a trail of fire.
I was too young to do anything. It was too late.
Please take care of them while I'm gone.
I don't want to... put them in danger...
(Cough) So much smoke... Chaos.
Well, it's settled then!
Dad!
All that is left is for you to wake up, my son.
***
Ethan opened his eyes and sat up against the neighboring wall. He looked down at his dog tag. So much trouble you caused, he thought to himself.
It's been ten years since he was an Apex soldier protecting and serving New Gate. Ten years passed, and he still had the same visions in his dreams. His last night in uniform, the fire that killed his parents, the voices, and most recently, Claire. So many lives lost, he reasoned. Gabe, Jameson, Marco, Butch... Angela. The pain was too much to bear at times. Often he would feel it would have been easier if he was another name on the list. When Hera exiled him from New Gate, she gave him time to be alone with his demons, a fate worse than death, he concluded.
He put the dog tag back in his shirt. He looked down at his wrist monitor. It had a broken face that had stopped at the time of Angela's death. As Ethan attempted to get up, he clutched his ribs. His shirt was bloody underneath his overcoat, but he had no wound.
"I could almost get used to this stuff," he murmured as he rubbed his abdomen. "It's the weird dreams and heavy sleep I'm not a fan of," he continued as he picked up the empty bottle of Kindle.
He tossed the glass bottle towards a dumpster, shattering it. As he stood up, Ethan pressed his back against the wall for support. He staggered out of the alleyway into the dense marketplace of the shantytown, Malshante.
Errand Boy
Sand, dust, and wind blew by Ethan's face as he walked along the road leading to the Delgado Farm. It was
a full days trip from the marketplace on foot. The farm was a staple for the town of Malshante for many years. Carlos Delgado's process of condensing water from plants was the leading technique for producing, acquiring, and storing water on the black market. Apex officials tried to purchase the farm for many years, but Carlos refused them every time.
Ethan walked up the creaky old stairs leading to the front porch. He looked at an old rocking chair standing guard to two duffle bags. He held the side of his abdomen as blood slowly pooled through his white shirt. A young boy ran out the screen door and hugged Ethan. Ethan gave him a grimacing pat on the back.
"Good to see you too, Damien," Ethan said.
Damien pulled away from Ethan and wiped the blood from his face. He looked up at Ethan. Carlos came out the house teetering with a cane.
"You can pick your shit up there," Carlos demanded, pointing his cane towards the rocking chair. "I'm done with all you New Gate assholes!" he continued.
"Grandpa... Ethan's bleeding!"
"Not my problem!" Carlos exclaimed. He turned around then limped back in the house slamming the screen door shut.
"What happened to you? Did you find what you were looking for?" Damien inquired to Ethan.
"I didn't find anything, buddy," Ethan muttered. "It was all a hoax."
"You left here so angry, you said that Kindle would cure us both." Damien cleared his throat as he coughed. "I was hoping you were right."
"I was hoping the same thing too, buddy," Ethan admitted.
"What made you come back?"
"I'm just here for my stuff, kiddo. The old man is not too happy."
"Yeah," Damien agreed silently. "I guess he's not."
Ethan walked towards his bags, Damien followed. He reached for Ethan's hands and gave him a photo. Ethan turned around and looked at it. The picture was of Ethan, Carlos, Damien, and Damien's mom - Claire.
"I want you to have this, to think of the good times as you go on your way."
"I... I can't take..." Ethan stammered.
"Don't forget your damn picture either!" Carlos howled, crashing through the screen door. He glanced at Damien then at Ethan as he already held a photo in his hand.
"What is that?" he demanded, snatching the photograph from Ethan.
Carlos ripped the photo in two, giving Ethan the part that only included him.
"Grandpa!" Damien cried.
"You made my daughter go out there for that damn Kindle water. Convinced her it was the only way for her son to live. We were doing alright before you showed up. Now she's gone." Carlos threw the photo he had in his hand on the ground. "This was on the dresser, it belongs to you. I don't want any trace of you around here. You're not welcomed, anymore."
Carlos grabbed his grandson and held him close. Ethan picked up the picture from the porch. Thanks for the ride, Grim, it read as he turned it over.
"When I was alone out there, you saved me, Carlos," Ethan uttered. "In a lot of ways I was broken."
Carlos clenched his jaw.
"I stole food from you and your family, but you let me into your home anyway."
Ethan picked up a bag.
"Even as your farm hand, I still haven't paid that debt."
Carlos shook his head and signaled for Damien to go inside.
"You took away more than you put in." Carlos asserted as he walked towards Ethan.
"You came to me sick as a dead dog," he paused. "The only reason I let you in my home was that of that little boy's illness. I have no idea what it is that's taking him away from me. I'm no doctor, I just make fruit. I know I can't cure... whatever it is you call it, but I treated your symptoms the same way I treated his."
"You're only suppressing them," Ethan inserted, gripping his stomach once more.
"The vomiting... the seizures... the fever... The same shit that boy has! I knew that once that Kindle mess came around here from that dogshit corporation, nothing good would come from it."
The old man held his back. He walked towards the rocking chair, kicked Ethan's bag over and sat down.
"Apex came through here one night, damn near burned down my whole farm."
"You told me that story," Ethan sneered dropping his bag.
Carlos looked up at Ethan.
"I see your bleeding Ethan. I would help you, honestly, I would. Who else is gonna tend to the farm like you do? I'm just an old man, Damien is too young, and by all things green, you are a whiz kid with those snapper beans."
He glanced at his old pickup truck.
"But you stole from my family," Carlos paused suddenly. "I thought I was sending my daughter and Damien to the market to sell vegetables. Instead, she got murdered protecting that boy because you sent him on a damn errand."
Carlos looked at the photo of his family.
"They trusted you, damn near believed in you, that maybe, just maybe... that Kindle water could heal the both of you. But you and I both know Apex is run by hoodlums. They took my produce and destroyed my family."
He put the photo in his shirt pocket then pointed his cane at Ethan's dog tags.
"That chain of yours. Damien wore it that day. He's very fond of you. If you wanted the drug so bad you should have acted like a man and got it your damn self. Instead, you hid like a coward and had my family do your dirty work. Damien barely made it home alive."
Suddenly, Ethan turned his head as the sound of jeeps roared in the distance. Ethan grabbed Carlos and scurried through the screen door. More black trucks gathered around as they approached the farm.
"Damien... Damien!" Ethan yelled.
"Boy! Quit horsing around and come on out!" Carlos demanded.
Ethan and Carlos both went into the kitchen. A man with a white mask on his face, had a gun pointed at the back of Damien's head. Damien was seated at the table with his head down. Another man with a scar down his left eye had a white mask sitting on top of his head. He was clapping his hands.
"Wonderful... quite wonderful! I think everyone in this room deserves a gold star."
The unmasked man walked over to the gunman and patted him on the back.
"You, my friend have made me proud! Not only did you manage to locate and follow a fugitive to his home, but you've also..." He made a stabbing motion in the air and twisted his wrist. "...left him with a calling card, Gold Star!"
Ethan looked at the gunmen who held Damien hostage. He recognized the guy he fought back in town. Instead of looking for answers to Claire's death, he robbed an Apex delivery truck carrying Kindle water. Two bottles of Kindle, Ethan thought. Hardly worth the inconvenience.
"Easy pal, it's me you want. Just let the boy go," Ethan submitted.
"Funny how things come round full circle, huh, Ethan. I think at this point in our relationship we should at least be on a first-name basis, don't you think?" The man removed the mask from the top of his head and placed it on the table. "If you don't mind... I prefer you call me Leo."
"How about a dead man!" Carlos exclaimed.
"Now I know you have a hard time hearing, old man, so the first one will be free," Leo pulled out a machete from his associate's waist. "But let me be very clear. Gold stars are earned, and anything less than a gold star will be looked upon as insubordinate."
Leo stabbed his machete on the table next to Damien's face.
"I said I'll go with you!" Ethan demanded. "I'm tired of running.
"Running? Nobody's chasing you, Ethan. And from what I understand, you were sent out into the world a free man." He approached Ethan. "And looking quite alive might I add... Respectfully! That disease running in your system should have killed you by now, but no... You have the blood of a fighter in your veins, don't you?"
Ethan stood in silence. He stared at the gunman as he pointed his weapon at Damien.
"Well yes, you could never return to New Gate but hey, that's all politics. Hera gave that order. And as we all know, now there's a new head honcho controlling the Gate... too bad what happened to the old gal though...tragic!"
&nb
sp; Leo grinned as Ethan squeezed his fist.
"Old bat being treated for a severe case of Xeno-CID. Damn thing is everywhere now, I tell you. Too bad... not everyone can be built like us."
"You!" Ethan sneered. He rushed towards Leo.
"No!" Leo proclaimed. "None of that shit!" He took the machete, grabbed Damien's arm and brought it down across his left hand on to the table.
"Fuck man!" Ethan cried out. "NO!"
Fingers twitched on the boy's lifeless palm as it laid upon the kitchen table.
Damien cried out.
"Wait, please... stop!" Ethan pleaded.
Carlos lunged at Leo with tears in his eyes. Leo stuck the machete into the old man's stomach.
"Shh, shh, shh, shh, shhh. Just let it go old man." Leo whispered in Carlos's ear.
Carlos took his hands and reached for Leo's throat. Leo swiftly removed the blade from Carlos' stomach dropping the old man to the floor.
Leo wiped his blade with a rag from the sink. "Hunter wants you dead. I happen to work for the guy now, but let's say it's not a mutual agreement."
Leo approached Ethan. Ethan held his hands up and remained still.
"I have other plans for you though. Everywhere I go, I hear the name, Ethan... Ethan. You're a popular person, and until recently, very hard to get a hold of."
Leo looked at Ethan's wound. He nodded to the gunmen.
"Buddy, give this man a Kindle. He needs a bit of freshening up."
The gunman reached into his utility belt and passed Leo a canteen.
"I don't want your damn water," Ethan said.
"Gold Stars Ethan," Leo warned as he walked over to the table and picked up the machete. He pulled Damien's head back.
"Wait... Give it to me." Ethan looked at Leo with his blade still in the air.
"Finally! We can get to business!" Leo exclaimed.
He walked over to Ethan.
"Look, you don't like me, I get it... I assume Hunter doesn't like you much either. I don't particularly care for the guy myself, so we have a weird dynamic brewing here."
Leo unbuttoned his shirt and revealed a small collar around his neck.
"You would think a guy would be grateful for the hard work that my associates and I have done for him. It's not every day a man gets to reach such heights of power... at least, not without stepping on the shoulders of other men."
Raising Sera- Lineage Page 5
