by M. J Kreyzer
“Let’s just get you out of here.” He said, nodding down the hallway towards a maintenance tunnel. “Hendrick, Pontious, Vyvyr, Sable, plow your ways through and get back to the Luke’s place. And Luke…” Alighieri’s face saddened at the sight of his friend, still barely able to stand, who had stormed through the city just for the reassurance that his daughter was safe. He put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “There’s a routine psychological evaluation that we’ve got scheduled for you in a couple days. I’ll talk with you then.”
Without speaking or conveying an emotion of any kind, Luke turned towards the maintenance tunnel, ushering Tess at his side while the Ditrinity formed up around him, Hendrick and Pontious in front. “Get out of the way!” Hendrick said, shoving one especially vocal soldier back into the crowd. “And Ranjak, quit starin’ at my ass!”
There was an enraged reply that drew a chuckle from Hendrick. But with circumstances being what they were, the smile on his face didn’t stay for long.
Some of the more furious members of the mob tried to pursue them, but Hendrick locked up the maintenance tunnel behind them once everybody had made it through. Now, no longer walking in formation, the group eased up, slowing their pace and giving themselves a chance to cool down. The Ditrinity had faced animosity before, though none of it compared to what they had just experienced. What they had known before was limited to dirty looks or the occasional malicious comment. But seeing the crowd behave the way they were made it clear that the Darks harbored more resentment towards him than he had originally anticipated. He had hoped they would have understood why he did what he did. It was more obvious than ever that his hopes had been too high. But with Tess walking at his side, it didn’t matter to Luke what the rest of the world thought. She still cared for him, he still had the Ditrinity, and to Luke, that’s all that mattered.
Chapter 4
“I’m just going to ask you a few questions, Luke.” The doctor said, making adjustments to the array of medical machinery that had been set up all around the hospital bed that Luke laid on. “In order for this to work I’m going to need you to answer as truthfully as possible.”
Hard light shone down on Luke on the bed where he laid. The hospital they were in was of the best quality, a facility comprising only a small portion of the winnings they had claimed from their reclamation of the city of Praemon. The room was dark, save for the halo of light that formed around Luke. On the side of the room in the direction of Luke’s feet was a mirror. On the other side of the it, looking in on everything that happened, was the Ditrinity, standing side by side; Morlo, Sable, Hendrick, Pontious, Trey, and Vyvyr Syvyr standing solemnly at the very end.
“Does Vyvyr look a little creepier than usual?” Sable whispered over to Hendrick who leaned forward in the line and looked down towards him. Hendrick shook his head and looked back into the room where Luke laid.
“Vampires always look like they’ve never seen the outside of a closet. No worries.”
“My gratitude for the colorful observation, Nathan.” Came a deep ominous voice from the end of the line. Hendrick gave Vyvyr a casual salute and looked back to the room.
“I thought they were just giving him a physical.” Pontious rumbled. “What else do they have to do?”
“Psych eval.” Hendrick answered. “They want to make sure Luke is psychologically fit to dwell amongst us normal people.”
Pontious gave an amused huff and kept watching, The others remained quiet, listening to the speaker’s in the room that were connected with several microphones placed in the examination room. The doctor held the end of his clipboard firmly against his sternum as he began to ask the questions.
“We’re going to start off with simple questions in order to condition your mind for the heavier ones and get it used to the fact that-“
“Just get on with it.” Luke interrupted. The doctor gave a polite nod and spoke.
“What is your name?” The Doctor asked while standing at Luke’s feet. There was a bit of quiet before Luke lifted his head and looked at the Doctor.
“Are you serious?”
“Please, Mr. Semprys. We are doing a test of your sanity. The length and nature of your imprisonment would endanger if not entirely destroy the mental stability of most grown men. Again I will say please answer as truthfully as possible.”
Luke turned his head towards the mirror, looking into it briefly before laying back and settling in once again. “My name is Luke Semprys.”
The Doctor checked something off. A few members of the Ditrinity chuckled.
“Please name off the members of your family, starting from oldest to youngest.” The doctor said. Luke answered immediately.
“There’s my wife, Trina, my oldest son Lazarus and my daughter Tess.”
The doctor made a few more marks on his paper. “Uh-huh. And how many of them are still alive?”
Hendrick pounded on the glass and yelled. “What the hell kinda question is that!” His mouth agape he continued his observation. By their faces it was clear that the rest of the Ditrinity reflected Hendrick’s same discontent. The doctor looked back at them, making his expression as disapproving as possible before returning to Luke.
“Just my daughter.” Luke said.
The doctor nodded. “So the other two are-“
“Dead, genius.” Luke growled. The doctor made a note on the side of his paper and continued the questioning.
He continued with questions of the same nature. The doctor paced around Luke, reading questions from the stack of sheets he had gripped in his clipboard, checking off boxes and making notes on the side. They seemed like meaningless and pointlessly personal questions. But regardless of what it was the doctor asked, Luke responded promptly and accurately, keeping any reactions to a minimum. The Ditrinity sat back and observed, quietly for the most part. They stood there getting more anxious as the questioning proceeded.
“Okay Luke,” The Doctor said, the tone of his voice making it perfectly clear that the easy questions were over. “The next set of questions deal with the specifics of your imprisonment. I’d like to remind you that this session is being recorded for further review by more psychoanalysts that General Alighieri has standing by. Are you ready?”
“Just go.” Luke mumbled. The Doctor began to pace again, setting his clipboard down on a nearby table and picking up another with a new set of questions, these written in fine cursive.
“What were the details surrounding your capture by the First Legionnaire?”
Luke took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his mind wandering back and bringing the image of the day to mind.
“I was the last living Durant left in Olsgrad Canyon.”
“Well that’s because you killed the other Durants.”
Luke froze. He peered lividly at the doctor. It was clear that he was restraining himself from a murderous outburst. The doctor swallowed hard and made a note on the clipboard. He waved for Luke to continue. “If… if you please and… I beg your pardon.”
It was hard for Luke to carry on. He wouldn’t be petty though. Just leap through the hoops and get out of there. “ I went out to face the Legionnaire army that had filled the canyon. Samuel Alighieri was still in control of the last functional cannon on the fortress and he destroyed the stabilizer within a small area. I was able to put up a barrier that held up against the Forge tanks and enemy rifle rounds and get close enough to use my sword, at which point I drew it and went head to head with the enemy soldiers. After a few minutes I became overwhelmed, getting dragged to the ground and taking significant injuries from who knows how many soldiers. After losing a lot of blood I passed out. I woke up strapped half-naked to a table with this tattoo being drawn into my chest.”
The Doctor stepped up to Luke’s left side. He pulled the collar of Luke’s shirt down to reveal a tattoo on his upper right pectoral. It was a crudely and hastily drawn skull with what looked like a blindfold over its eyes and a knife going up through the bottom of its jaw.
&n
bsp; “It’s what they use to mark those being set aside for private execution.”
The Doctor picked his glasses up and placed them on his nose while looking the tattoo over. “Then why are you still alive?” The Doctor asked.
The Ditrinity was motionless. It was a question that each one of them had been wanting to ask. The Doctor stood over Luke, peering down at him in anticipation of the coming answer. Luke returned the Doctor’s gaze with a hard, disapproving glare.
“Research.” Luke said.
The Doctor waved a hand over Luke’s body. “Which is why you have the, uh-“
“That was from torture.” Luke stated harshly. “Vladmir Frenz made sure that twice each week I was tortured within inches of my life. They’d use that to try and make me more submissive and then they’d put me on a meat table in a lab where they’d perform research on me, dissecting me, studying me.”
Sable had a hand over her mouth and hugged herself with her free arm and looked over to Hendrick. He leaned against the glass and continued to listen. Pontious was pacing the ground behind them all, his footsteps heavy, his breath shallow and his eyes fiery. Vyvyr watched with what appeared as objectivity while Trey had turned away and leaned his back against the glass, his arms folded and his head bowed.
“And they did this… how?” The Doctor quizzed, again waving a hand over his body. “I saw no dissection scars anywhere on your body.”
“That’s because Frenz is a Durant.” Luke snarled. “You’re a Doctor. You should be smart enough to know these things without prying them out of me. He healed me to keep me alive and conscious so they could examine how a living, breathing Durant worked. Most of their advanced technology has been developed because of that research. They’ve been able to create technologies that simulate Durant Elemental. The last six years of my life have been spent in isolation, being taken out to be tortured and watch myself get flayed like an animal carcass twice a week. We’re done here, Doctor.”
Luke was already sitting up. The doctor put a hand on Luke’s chest and made a feeble attempt to force him to his back again. “I’m sorry, Mr. Semprys, but the Dark leadership was quite specific on the terms of-“
“Did you hear me?” Luke said, swatting the doctor’s hand away from his chest and hopping to his feet. “We are done here. Grab your crap and get out. And tell Sam to get in here now.”
It was one of the few times- if not the first- where the doctor had been subjected to that kind of verbal affront. He made that fact absolutely clear through his exaggerated aggression in opening the door. Luke went over the corner and began gathering his things off of a steel roller table. The doctor stopped and stood in the doorway, pausing and stating belligerently, “We have your physical results in. Your intestines are twisted, Mr. Semprys. You’re surgery is in three days.”
The door slammed and the blinds that covered its window bounced off the door. Luke paid it no mind and thrust his arms through the armholes in his long coat. He walked back towards the mirror and stood in front of it. He waited for a moment while giving the mirror a hard eye.
“Flip the light on, Nate.”
It wasn’t long before the mirror became transparent and all six members of the Ditrinity could be seen standing before him. No noise came as Hendrick began to hold a heated discussion with his side of the mirror. It was completely silent for Luke as he watched Hendrick go off. Sable tapped his shoulder to get his attention. She made a discreet pointing motion towards the transmit button at the base of the window. Hendrick froze and frowned. He set his jaw and leaned forward to press it, grimacing with annoyance as Morlo turned away with a massive grin while his shoulders bounced uncontrollably. Hendrick threw a quick shoulder into his leg and pressed the button.
“That guy looked flammable.” Hendrick said as though requesting permission for something.
Luke snapped his head over to the door as it opened. It was Alighieri, dressed in his suit as he usually was. He glanced towards the mirror and walked to Luke’s side. He faced the group alongside him and looked them all over. He smiled and rested a hand up against the mirror.
“Six years it’s been since we were all together like this. Sorry about the other day.” He said wistfully before turning to Luke and putting his hand on Luke’s shoulder. He gave a smile that showed both joy and regret. “I’m sorry it took us so long. Welcome back.”
“Not my fault.” Morlo burst in loudly. All heads turned to him and Hendrick spoke.
“Thank you for that.”
Morlo looked back down at Hendrick and shook his head slowly. He raised his finger and poked Hendrick hard in the shoulder. “One of these days I’m gonna get piss drunk, show up at your apartment and beat your scrawny little-“
“Tell us what’s going on.” Pontious said with a growl at the end of his voice. Alighieri looked to the floor and put his hands in his pocket.
“It’s no secret they don’t want you here.” Alighieri said. “After what happened in Olsgrad…”
Luke groaned and pounded a fist on the window, putting space between him and Alighieri and replying. “You people need to learn to open your eyes.”
“I’m not making any accusations here.” Alighieri said. “I’m simply saying that the death of those Durants is what makes the rest of the Darks dislike you. But that’s beside the point, Luke. I have to talk to you.”
Luke raised a hand and gestured for him to continue. Alighieri looked to the Ditrinity.
“Alone.” He ended. Luke agreed and tapped on the glass.
“Give us a minute, guys.”
They didn’t like it. Regardless, Morlo went to the back of the room and flipped several switches. Alighieri meanwhile flipped the switch that made the room soundproof and solitary. He sat down on a nearby counter and stared at Luke.
“So…” He began, leaving the end open for a response.
Luke waited, expecting Alighieri to say more. After he said nothing Luke responded. “…so?”
“So what is it that you want from us?” Alighieri replied. “From my end?”
It wasn’t what Luke was expecting. After the way that every other uninformed Dark had behaved Luke was surprised that, especially at his level, that Alighieri remained loyal to Luke. As a torrent of thought flooded his head, Luke began to pace.
“I want to kill them.” Luke said, his voice getting quieter and more menacing. “The Legionnaire. I want to kill them. Every last one.”
Laughing, Alighieri got to his feet and opted for leaning against the counter instead. “Excellent. That’s the market segment that we’ve found ourselves dominating quite recently. Let me just-“
“Not missions, Sam. Not raids, not escorts. I want to kill them. That’s all.”
The amusement fell away from Alighieri’s face as confusion hit him.
“I’m not sure I follow.”
Luke faced Alighieri entirely now, stepping towards him. “Let me go. Now. Give me the equipment I want, give me the Ditrinity and drop us behind enemy lines and let us saw our way through any Legionnaire we come across.”
Alighieri shook his head and held a hand out in a stopping motion. “Hang on, now. I’ll give you the equipment and the transport but you know I can’t give you the Ditrinity.”
Luke grunted disapprovingly and turned to walk away. Alighieri followed him and spoke as he did. “You’ve seen the ranks, Luke. You were in Styne and you saw that prison assault. We’re lucky to get soldiers, much less skilled warriors. I need them here, not out on a suicide mission as a tool for your vengeance.”
Alighieri stopped speaking and moved to the blinds on the door. He pulled them apart and peered through them at the dozens of people who mulled around in the foyer outside, moving through the bloodstained hospital beds of injured Darks. Some yelled and squirmed, others relaxed and patiently waited for treatment and many lay motionless, their arms dangling off the edges of the beds with crimson running down their hands and dripping on the floor. “Look out there, Luke.” Said Alighieri quietly. �
�They’re still pouring in from Styne. Those men are the reason we’re still alive. They’re the strength behind the resistance… but they’re breaking. They’re breaking fast.”
Alighieri stepped away from the blinds and turned back to Luke. “I’m sure you already knew this but we’re out of places to hunker down. We got lucky with Praemon. We were able to take it without any major fights. We’re down to three major settlements and, after that, we have only ragtag groups here and there who do nothing more than annoy the Legionnaire like a buzzing fly. We have Praemon, Brysdal, and now Styne.”
“There’s no chance in hell the Legionnaire will find Brysdal.” Luke said.
“We don’t know that. Besides, even if we were left with that there’s nothing we can do there. Because of the time warp every last available resource has been used up in that city years ago. The only thing that place is good for now is running equipment warps through the supply gate network. And it can only contain several thousand people before we’re rubbing shoulders everywhere we go.”
“If we want to exist as a single, separate group.” Luke noted.
“Well, yes.” Replied Alighieri. “But why wouldn’t we?”
“We didn’t band together like this when our differences weren’t so obvious so why should the views of the rest of the world make your decisions for you?”
Alighieri hummed. “We need these cities, Luke. You know how successful the derelict cells are when it comes to hurting the First Legionnaire. They’re weak. They’re disorganized. They command no respect. But as a large, collective group we’ve made Lynch realize the kind of force that we actually are. That’s why I took Styne. We needed the soldiers, but more so we had to prove to Lynch and every soldier in the First Legionnaire that we are a force to be feared.”
“But they don’t fear you.”
Alighieri gave Luke an annoyed expression, ignoring the previous statement. “But we need these three cities.” He went on. “Styne has all the equipment we could ever ask for and Praemon has all the natural resources we could ever want. There is nowhere else, Luke. Praemon is safe. We have the borders under motion sensors and we have entire battlecruiser armadas patrolling the skies around the city. We aren’t going anywhere here. Now we have to secure and fortify Styne as well as the supply route between here and there. And from these two cities we’re in the perfect place to launch an all out assault on Pyre.”
