Remnant

by Michael Clements

  After the hand forced her to sit, it released her then lifted the bag off her head. “Welcome to your new home,” the man said, whoever he was.

  Someone was standing in front of her; a man slightly shorter than average height with mocha-colored skin. She had never seen him before, but it was easy to decipher he was some kind of important man. She sat in a small office with Crosses everywhere, except on the man in front of her, or the man standing guard at the door. There were Bible verses hanging like portraits on the wall. Theia picked up on where she was. But it didn't feel right. The man before her didn't fit the description of one who would be there. He had the darkest skin she had ever seen on anyone, wore a red and black jacket made for someone larger than him, and had piercings and jewelry covering his clothes and body.

  “I heard you put up quite a fight,” he greeted. “My name's Marcus Solomon, and this is my home.”

  “Why am I here?”

  “You were alone. We want to help you, that's all.”

  Whatever. “I don't believe you. You wanted to kill me.”

  “If I wanted to kill you, don't you think I would have done that already?”

  “You want to make me your prisoner...”

  Marcus grinned. “Only if you choose to be one. It's everyone's choice. We're in the middle of a war. I don't make anyone stay or fight. They choose to. I'm not the kind of grown-up who thinks you can't handle yourself just because you're a child. All we do is protect each other.” He looked at her for a moment. “What's your name?”

  She almost didn't say. “I'm Theia.”

  Marcus nodded. “I think that's a pretty name. Never heard it before. What does it mean?”

  Last time I tried to tell someone, they laughed at me. Theia chose not to answer. She asked him a question instead. “Why were you killing soldiers?”

  “Like I said, Theia, we're in the middle of a war. We're only defending ourselves here. Just trying to survive. We found you all alone. You must have been out there for a while. If you know how to survive, there's a lot of kids here who could use your help.” He repeated, “We're just trying to survive, here.” He examined Theia. “I bet you've had some tough times. A girl on her own; easy target. Anyone give you trouble out there?”

  “There was … a kid...”

  “And did you ever learn this kid's name?

  Theia kept her head low. “Chase. He was ... I don't know.”

  “Older?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Hm. I knew a 'Chase' once. He was one of the big kids here; a leader. Did you know a 'Spencer' too?”

  The question terrified Theia. Why would he ask that? She reluctantly nodded.

  “Then we knew the same 'Chase.' Spencer told us that Chase was hurt by someone. A little girl...” Marcus crept his head downward as he said that, his eyes unblinking. “You must be that little girl. Hmm. I only just met you, and I already know you so well. You're a strong fighter. Your peers could definitely use your ... skills.”

  Theia stared at the floor. “I just want to go home, to my dad and mom. Please...”

  Marcus snapped his fingers. Theia saw a man leave the room with haste. “Why don't you stay for a while? Maybe just a day or two? See how you like it. You might make new friends.” Then, the man returned to the room with a small plate full of food. He presented the plate on the desk before her.

  She had never been more thankful to have a plate in front of her. Without caring for the plate's contents, she wolfed down every bit of it. Had she known it was primarily a mixture of crackers and trail mix, she might have found it disgusting. But it had become the most delicious thing she had ever devoured. When she finished, she was breathing heavily as if having run a marathon.

  “We don't have a lot of that,” said Marcus. “We might have more with your help. Will you stay for a while?”

  “Okay.” Theia felt regret saying it already, but there was nothing influencing her decision more strongly than the notion of being fed and staying warm. He's lying, she thought. He won't let me leave.

  A moment later, Marcus instructed the henchman behind him to take her to the sanctuary. It was a short walk there, through halls patrolled by armed men and young boys who glared like they held a grudge. She was brought across a courtyard directly to another building – her new home. When he opened the doors, Theia saw over two dozen other kids inside. Without a word, he closed the doors behind her. All her new peers stared at her. Then, she didn't know what to fear more: Marcus, or the kids in front of her.

  ADAM

  Such peace, thought Adam as he stood watch by the slumbering youths. He envied them. They were innocent and oblivious, too young to comprehend the world they now lived in. Not that the world before was perfect. For the first time since the beginning of his involvement with Scarlet's clan, he felt alive and content. There was nothing more rewarding than having a purpose, and for that purpose to be protecting innocent lives. Lives that could change the world someday, he thought. Then, the realization struck him: That's what every child is. Change. Another chance. Another attempt to get it right. Then he questioned his line of thinking. Yet, war and crime and injustice prevail. They will always exist.

  The door opened. In that fraction of a second, he had hoped to see Mercy. Instead, it was Ethan. Adam was certain of what was coming next. The notorious enforcer approached slowly, too silent for the younger ears to hear. “You told Mercy about the records,” the husky figure said.

  “Yes...” There was no use in lying; Ethan could sniff it out like a dog. “She should have kept that between us.”

  “Mercy suspected it would help her case... Your case.”

  Adam read Ethan's eyes. It brought him calm. “You know, don't you?” he asked, referring to his and Mercy's intention to escape with Scarlet's hostages. Ethan nodded. “Have you agreed to help? I guess if you weren't, you would have …” He gulped. “... had our throats slit by now, or something.”

  Ethan nodded. “There's a condition, though.” Adam paid closer attention. “You and I never speak again. And if you survive this, you say nothing about my involvement.”

  “I think I can manage that,” said Adam.

  “Good.” He saw Ethan glance at the kids on the floor. There was some tossing and turning but they were still dozing. “Find Karl's people. Have them break him out. I'll draw out Emilio's men from their houses next to the school. Wait there with them during the exchange until you get my signal. Then bring them inside from the north entrance. You and Mercy will be on your own from there.”

  “What signal?” asked Adam. He required more specific details.

  “You'll know.” And with that, Ethan began to exit the room. “The guards will let you out, no questions asked.”

  “How will we get back inside when...”

  Ethan was already gone. Adam immediately realized what he had done. Like making a deal with the devil, there was no guarantee he would get his end of the deal fulfilled. My end of the deal was never agreed on, he realized. Only a moment later, Mercy entered.

  His window was short. Having no time to spare, he refrained from speaking to Mercy. They only glanced at each other as he swiftly fled the room. He closed the door tightly behind him. The guard directly across the hall watched him intently, which he pretended not to notice. He paced to the first floor but did not run. A few dozen feet down, there were the main doors and the two men who stood leaning on their shotguns guarding them. Adam swallowed then held his breath as he approached them, feigning confidence as much as he could. Without any movement or a single word from the guards, he reached the doors and pushed them open. First part's done. And that was only the easiest.

  Adam directed himself left, walking across the parking lot and into the neighborhood. He would have simply circled the building, or exited through the back, but he thought, Ethan must have his reasons to keep me from being seen. It was obvious, the more he thought about it. He waited hand and foot on Scarlet; what business would he have leaving the building alone? Sca
rlet herself would stop him, then order her guards to beat him until he confessed his intentions. Before long, he found himself amid an area he wished to never step foot in again. It was far too quiet, which alarmed him more than the usual pandemonium. I guess I incidentally cleaned the place up, he thought, recalling seizing Karl. Now he was there to return what he helped steal...

  As he crossed an intersection between Prescott and Grand, two blocks from the lair, he came to a stop at the sound of cracking glass and shoes slapping against the pavement. He was surrounded from all sides by five people, two of them female. They approached slowly, preparing to pounce. What should I say, how should I say it? Adam weighed his options, but none seemed plausible to guarantee his safety. It was then that he realized he was unarmed – the most foolish way to enter the war zone. “Wait, please,” he attempted to plead. But the swarm seized him, threw him to the ground, and proceeded to kick him. He curled to shield his body but it did little to help. They kicked him until he was too sore to keep himself protected. Then one of the women ordered he be taken away.

  Adam was thrown into a dark basement, accompanied by three others, all of whom had little meat left on their bones, like they hadn't eaten in weeks. Every one of them appeared to be his age, and seemingly part of one gang or another, from what he could tell. None looked at him.

  Shortly after being thrown in, the woman who had led the ambush entered, walking toward him with a satisfied grin. “I know your face,” she said.

  “I... I don't remember you.”

  “We've never met, stupid. I saw you carryin' my boy to the school.”

  “You didn't try to stop us?” He quickly felt foolish for questioning the one who held his life in her hands.

  “Oh, I would have, if Ethan Krohn weren't with you. He's been out here before. Lots'a times. Nobody crosses Ethan. Not me, not Karl.”

  “Ethan is the one who sent me back here, to talk to you.” The girl looked at him more intently. “He wants to give Karl back. But...”

  “But what?” she snapped loudly.

  “You'll need to rescue him yourselves,” said Adam fearfully.

  “Sounds suspicious as fuck.”

  Adam straightened up. He wasn't restrained. His muscles were weak though, which was inhibiting enough. “Ethan wants something from Scarlet. I don't know what. Something to do with old records. I... I don't know if that means, like, something to do with music or some kind of history.” Her lack of laughter showed his attempt at humor was pathetic at best. “Ethan needs your help – a distraction so that he can get what he wants from Scarlet. In exchange, he'll let you have Karl.”

  The woman laughed. “What makes Ethan think we want him back? He was a shit leader. I have his job now. His power. Why would I give that up?”

  Adam lowered his head, yielding. Looks like I'll starve to death down here too, he thought.

  “Lucky for you, I'd give the world for Karl.” She rose. “He's a shit leader. A shit boyfriend, too. But he's my shit boyfriend. I better find him in one piece, I swear to God.”

  “You will, I promise. But you'll only have this one chance to do it.” He clenched his hands to test his level of strength, seeing he could move at least. “How many can you bring?”

  “The whole hood if we gotta.”

  Adam grew annoyed with how she spoke. “I mean, how many exactly?”

  “I don't know, man. How many ya need? I'll bring my best five.”

  “How about ten? Can you bring ten?”

  “Hell yeah. Now, where we start?”

  Her confidence proved to be exaggerated – the most she could muster for the task was eight. Adam explained the plan to them once they congregated, though he admitted Ethan told him very little. The group appeared incapable of understanding what vague details were available to them. Their focus was fixated on retrieving their number-one man, and perhaps killing the loathed Scarlet along the way. Adam felt embarrassed to even need to explain that Scarlet was not the target, nor could they possibly get close enough to kill her. It took some time, but Adam managed to get everything under way. Just as they departed, one of them backed down, stricken with fear.

  He led the remaining seven up the same path he had taken to reach their turf. He chose a house at random that had view of the front entrance to the building. The house was locked, but through one of the broken windows, they crawled inside with ease. It was vacant, just as Adam had vaguely assured. For having such a short attention span, they were surprisingly quiet. Adam didn't think they could get so close to the building; not without one of them stumbling onto their face.

  “Stay here. I'm going to wait for Ethan's signal,” he told them once they were all inside.

  “Yo! When can we storm the place?” asked their pompous leader.

  “When Ethan gives the signal. If you attacked now, you'd get mowed down before reaching the front doors.”

  None of them appeared content with his response, but Adam fortunately managed to leave with his head. He maneuvered carefully down the familiar street for the second time, finding a vantage point that could provide him a view of the transaction as it took place. And he seemed to be right on time. As he found a place to watch from, the vehicles had already pulled up and men were getting out. He crouched. He saw Mercy, standing behind six innocent children with bags over their heads, clutching each other's hands, shaking. Mercy appeared broken merely being there.

  “What should I call you?” asked Scarlet, chuckling. “Mr. Solomon? Sir Solomon? Or maybe Solomon the Third?”

  “Just Marcus,” he replied.

  The man cast an eerie vibe upon Adam. Marcus' face was more stern and emotionless than Scarlet's. He struck Adam as a sadist. Given what he's here for..., he thought. Worst of all, as Adam witnessed vividly, was how Marcus' eyes were fixed on the children, more than they were on the eyes of his host.

  “Emilio told me about you,” said the woman. “I was surprised to hear that a Solomon was back in the game.”

  “I heard what happened back in the Seventies; how you killed my family. It's an inspirational story.”

  “Your grandfather, your father, and both your uncles, yes,” Scarlet bluntly admitted. “We kept your mother alive, didn't we? You are here, after all. We spared the rest of your family, too.”

  “No hard feelings,” said Marcus, raising his hand in a friendly gesture. “My grandfather was...” He didn't finish his sentence. “My father wasn't any better, though he never inherited the power. It was good that Tabitha overthrew him. Carrie and Phoebe helped too, I suppose.”

  “As did I!” Scarlet cried jealously.

  “You were serving under your sister at the time, correct? You didn't have your own family, your own people. You still shared Phoebe's name. Until you disowned her.” Scarlet kept calm. “Tabitha... She started all this, didn't she? This commission you've had for forty years. All her idea. Ironically enough, she was the one to try to end it too. You're still looking for her, if I understand it correctly. But she escaped your grasp.”

  Scarlet looked half embarrassed, half angered. “You've done your research. Yeah, she's a clever cunt. At least we have her on the run. She killed my sister.”

  “'Sister?' I thought you hated Phoebe.”

  “No. We just didn't see eye-to-eye. I had a better relationship with her children than her. One of them serves under me now. He's loyal. Effective.” She looked around. “I don't have a damn clue where he is, though.”

  Adam could observe Mercy losing more composure, trembling, and shedding a tear, likely holding back more. Behind him, he heard commotion originating somewhere among the houses. Fear came over him, but he tried to ignore it.

  “So, tell me,” continued Scarlet. “How did you come to make a name for yourself? We should have heard about you years ago.”

  “I've kept low. Didn't want you keeping an eye on me. None of you. I may have Daren's name, but that's only a... an advantage. I have no fealty for him. A man like that... I was never proud to share his blo
od.”

  From his view, Adam saw Mercy shivering, and the children even more. Mercy was patient. She looked into the distance every few seconds. Probably looking for me, Adam thought. He noticed Ethan was nowhere to be found, though his friend Shane was present with seemingly all his men, and Emilio with his. There was a small army behind Scarlet, same with Marcus.

  “Are you like your grandfather, Solomon?”

  “I don't get your question.”

  “You speak of yourself as his superior. Morally, anyway. But, you exchange precious food for children. Either you have more than enough food to feed six more mouths, or you don't intend to feed these kids once I've given them to you.”

  Marcus grinned. “The former, ma'am. We have no shortage.”

  “So, you have enough to spare? How is that exactly?”

  “We always find more, and we ration what remains.”

  “I see. What is it you plan to do with these little ones?”

  Marcus shot her a long stare. “Utilize them.”

  Adam saw Scarlet's reaction to his words. She seemed to understand what he meant, but she never asked for details. She only turned and gestured for Mercy to hand off the children to Marcus' men. Mercy kept her head down as she led the little ones away from her care.

  “Can I call you 'friend,' then, Marcus?”

  “We're on good terms so far...” Marcus had their blinds removed. He studied them for a moment. “I prefer orphans. That was part of the deal.”

  “By their own admission, they're orphans.”

  “All right, then. Dump the food and let's get out of here.” Three of his men dumped the bags they carried over their shoulders. A wide variety of canned foods poured out along with, surprisingly, some perishable foods such as vegetables and packaged meats, unspoiled.

  Where did they possibly get that? thought Adam, his eyes wide open.

  “I hope you accept this gesture as an offer of friendship,” said Scarlet.

  “Alright. Call me an ally.” Marcus' men escorted the frightened children away. Each of them looked at all the adults surrounding them, begging with their eyes. Adam saw Mercy, whose tears were dripping from her chin, but she kept silent with her head down to hide it.