Kingdom Come

by Nicol, Andy

  I’m not sure how long I was following the bird, but my knees were aching from all the jumping and crouching, and my hands were nearly torn to shreds by the frozen bark.

  “I’m sorry, little crow, but I can’t do this anymore. I need to get down.” I shook my head and recklessly dropped onto the dirt, earning another caw of protest. My nose was frozen and I was tired. My skills ranged from long range to melee. They didn’t include endurance and stamina. Clearly, I needed to work on that.

  I scrunched my face to regain feeling and cracked my neck. Judging by the light in the sky, it was around the time that the warriors back home would be cleaning themselves up. But around here, families would be sitting down for dinner. Maybe if I hadn’t tried to be like my brother, we’d be sitting at the table right now, waiting to see who would be the next warrior out, instead of him praying that his sister isn’t next and me praying that the numbness in my body is just lack of blood flow and not hypothermia.

  The crow’s call pulled me back again. I shivered as I pulled my hood over my ears. He continued to complain and make noise as he jumped around.

  “Thank you for your help, but as you can see, we are lost and you don’t know where you are going.”

  I turned my back to him and muttered about how there’s always some weirdo in the group; this year it must be me. Suddenly, the crow flew at me. I fell back and my behind hit the cold dirt as I avoided being pecked and clawed by the winged beast. He didn’t seem happy, but he also wasn’t about to leave anytime soon, so I stood and shushed him before starting to follow him again.

  Yawning and shivering, I shook my head as I stepped around fallen trees and broken branches, dragging my feet more than walking at this point. There was a sudden three-part whistle from behind a wall of bushes beside me, and my body reacted by bringing my fists up and crouching down. The crow disappeared over the little white flowers on our right, which climbed over brush and wrapped around tree trunks. I could heart faint footsteps on the other side. After collecting myself, I pushed through the bushes. As soon as the treads of my boots hit the dirt, I shot forward and stuck out my arm to pin down the person standing behind the bush. My other hand was wrapped around my small dagger, ready to pull it out and use it if need be.

  Muscles spasmed from the cold as I lifted my head to see under my hood.

  “O-oh! Sorry.” I stuck my weapon back into my boot and pulled my hood down so my beautiful Crow could see my face. He had blood running down the side of his head, and his lips were nearly blue. Still, he didn’t seem to be shaking half as much as I was.

  My bangs fell into my eyes as I stepped away from him, even though I really needed his warmth. He slowly sighed, took a step towards me, and reached up, lightly touching my hair and resting his ice cold lips against my forehead.

  “S-stupid … what my K9 did … C-could have gotten herself killed by the gemini! Don’t want my K9 taken away…”

  I closed my eyes as his lips moved against my skin. I nodded and mindlessly swung my body from side to side. The cold was making me sleepy and hazy. Not the best combination for this competition.

  I shook my head and leaned away from him again, thinking about Dan, Angel, Johnny, and Henry. “I had a plan. I knew that if you left first, you would be fine but … I’m sorry. The last few times I’ve depended on someone else’s skills it hasn’t ended well.”

  “We should start a fire. It’s starting to feel like winter,” I muttered. “I can’t feel my ears.”

  We had been walking a while, deeper and deeper into the forest. I didn’t like how far away we were from where the competition started. It would take a long time for someone to get here if one of us were to get hurt.

  Soul silently nodded and then started to gather some small rocks and sticks. The crow watched for a while, then noticed how dark it was getting and left for his nest, wherever that may be. Soul gave a small and silent wave, then continued to gather supplies for me. I suppose it really was Lock after all. Soul wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to do, but I took what he had gathered and dumped it on the ground beside my little, makeshift firepit. I put in only what I absolutely needed to so we didn’t have to gather more. Rooting around in the dark might draw too much attention.

  “M-match?” Soul questioned as he shivered.

  “Don’t have any.” I tugged my knife out once again and hit it against a rock. “The old-fashioned way will have to do.” I heard him give a small chuckle, almost more like a giggle, as his jacket dragged along the ground behind him. I sat back as the leaves started to burn. “I guess we should thank that bird of yours. It would have taken me a lot longer to find you otherwise.”

  He nodded, then slid off of the fallen tree trunk and onto the ground beside me, pulling his knees to his chest. “R-remember … when the dog met the bird, he said nary a word but the dog still wouldn’t wander? He told her to go; she of course said ‘no,’ and the crow only grew fonder. Th-that day … said … and never got to — said and never finished…”

  He scratched his head and tugged his coat closed. Grunting and shaking his head, he didn’t bother to continue. He kept his eyes closed a moment, then looked back at me with a piercing gaze. He was very intense sometimes. I kind of liked that about him.

  “C-can I…” he muttered, then held up his hand. I smiled, knowing exactly what he wanted. The scar on his cheek pulled his lips down as he contently sighed and rested his chin in the crook of his elbow. He searched my face like a curious bird searches for dropped food. Sometimes, he looked completely uninterested in everything around him, but now his eyes were wide and his pupils were dilated, something that happened whenever we were close, even since the day we met.

  “My Crow…” I started as I felt my throat choke up. “You are very strange, and very kind to such an undeserving mutt.”

  He raised his head, shaking it vigorously. He hesitantly took hold of my hand, gently pulling it close to his face and warming my half-frozen fingers with his breath.

  “N-no … K9, if anyone doesn’t — if anyone shouldn’t — the crow must not go, the crow is the one —”

  “Soul, do you remember that video that they showed a few days ago?”

  He nodded and I carefully lifted my fingertips to his pouting lip.

  “And do you remember that Johnny has a little bit of a limp?” He nodded again and tilted his head. I scoffed at myself and shook my head. “It was my fault. I — we basically created those two demons … You were my fault too, and every time I look at you I remember that. Henry and I made idiots of them; we unleashed Jekyll and Hyde.” I couldn’t look at him.

  “They never used to be like this. They were the stars of the underground. How can you be okay with this? How can you be okay with someone who has your blood on their hands?” I could feel the exhaustion through my entire body. I sighed. Soul rested his strong but gentle hand on my cheek. I still wouldn’t look at him.

  “My K9 … has no idea … the things the crow has done. F-fear and loneliness … can make a person do things they’ll regret. But the gemini… They are not human, they do not feel regret. And they are not your fault.” Soul hesitantly put his other hand on my other cheek, worriedly laughing and starting to smile. “Why sh-should we regret what we do to them?” He ran his tongue across his bottom lip and focused on playing with my tangled hair. “K9 and Crow … don’t need to regret. Done with pity, done with sadness… The crow has everything he could ever want.”

  I didn’t know what I was feeling. I’m not great with identifying emotions in general, but I’m pretty sure I was glad that he was happy. I know I was grateful for being the one fighting in this little war. I didn’t think anyone else could do it and live with the things I had planned for the twins.

  “You know what the worst part is?” I pulled his hands away and he scooted closer. “The only thing I feel bad about is not letting everyone else they hurt take a few shots at them first.”

  Soul’s devious grin returned once again. His body swayed
back and forth as he hummed a creepy little song and looked down at his hands, which were currently playing with the three silver rings on my right hand, distracting him from the conversation.

  “Wolf…” he muttered as he tugged on one that looked like fangs. He continued to hum to himself absentmindedly as he rubbed my bloodied hand. I couldn’t help but giggle softly about how concentrated he looked. Startled by my movement, he looked back up and blushed. His nose was touching mine, and he struggled to keep from glancing at my mouth as he opened and closed his own, trying to find something to say.

  “Soul?”

  I straightened my back and leaned forward, catching him off guard. He barely managed a squeak of a response as his eyes widened and he started to stutter. I shushed him quietly and reached under his jacket. He grunted again and nodded, eyes widening but staying fixed on mine. I smiled gently as I felt the hilt of a silver, engraved dagger. I wrapped my fingers around it and then pressed the palm of my hand against the matching shoulder armour in front of me. Soul sat with wide eyes and shallow breaths, still stuttering.

  He seemed lost for a moment until he heard the same noise I had heard moments ago. Sometimes the easiest way to hit a target is to look distracted. I shoved Soul back, whipping the dagger out of his belt and throwing it towards the clicking I had heard in the bush. A moment later, there was an arrow from a crossbow embedded in the ground beside my leg.

  Now, I’m not fond of pain but that doesn’t mean I can’t take it — but I’d really rather not be shot, as a rule.

  I pulled Soul to his feet, and we ran out of the small clearing into the much darker forest. I didn’t like the tree cover; I preferred open fields where I can see my enemy and take them down quickly. Soul, however, was able to navigate in the darkness far better than I was, so I simply followed him. The boots and voices behind us were getting louder and seemed to come from all directions, leaving few places for us to hide.

  Soul looked back to make sure I was still right behind him, then kept running.

  Cursing myself and then muttering an apology, I stopped and dodged to my left through the branches. The tags on my collar rattled as two men ran past me. One stopped but the other kept going. Carefully, I slid my sword free and raised it up. Then I kicked myself into the air and brought it down on the short man. It was Fred Burnham, Greg’s fellow warrior from Dwyer. That made it far easier to bury my sword deep into his abdomen.

  “I suggest you don’t make a sound. It will be far less painful.”

  He gasped and wheezed, but nodded and then dropped to the ground the second I pulled my weapon, bloody once again, out of his seeping wound. He clutched at his stomach, and I set my boot against his shoulder, pushing him into the dirt and pinning him down.

  “They’ll pull you out of the competition soon — assuming you want to quit?”

  “Y-yes, I quit!”

  Burnham whimpered pathetically, but his expression shifted a second later and he sneered, “Th-they’re coming for you, you bitch! Greg will kill you once he knows what you did to me, and Jekyll and Hyde are going to skin your boyfriend alive!”

  I gritted my teeth and snatched him by the neck, choking the little rat. “Fear … will not work on me, don’t you know that? Fear doesn’t affect me anymore. You know, once you use something too much, the effects start to wear off. It’s like a drug.” I sneered and squeezed tighter.

  His face went purple as he clawed at my hand, smearing blood down my arm. “I hope they find you … I hope they gut you like an animal! You’re a traitor!”

  Traitor.

  “What the hell did you call me?” I gritted my teeth, bringing his face very close to mine. “You’ll shut your mouth if you know what’s good for you. I did what I had to do.”

  “You sided with the guy who attacked your comrades without a second thought… You’re a goddamn traitor.” He half coughed, half chuckled, spraying my face with blood. “And where is the greasy bird now? You took off on him, didn’t you? To save your own skin. You’re a real piece of work…”

  He slowly slipped from my grasp and I stood straight. He smirked as he lay in his blood, which was now pouring out of his mouth too. I kicked him in the head. Then kicked him again and again. He grunted and groaned as his teeth got acquainted with my boot.

  “Yeah,” I murmured as I glanced at my crimson-coated hands, “I really am.”

  He met my eyes only for a second before I stomped on his abdominal wound, and he screamed for his life. He passed out quickly after that. I stepped back. I didn’t clean my sword. I didn’t shout for a medic. I just stared and wiped my forehead, grimacing as blood stained my white hair and pale skin.

  I didn’t leave until his chest stopped rising.

  Twenty-Eight

  I felt … hollow.

  My mind didn’t wander. I wasn’t curious about Soul, I wasn’t worried about being found … I just wandered for a few minutes and thought about what Burnham said to me.

  A traitor to what? A bunch of monsters who tried killing their own people to save themselves? A traitor to people who believed I was in the wrong? A traitor to Soul, who loves and admires me, for not believing his abilities? For running off on him and hoping for the best? For making him think everything’s going to be okay!?

  Gasping for air, I reached for the nearest tree in order to steady myself. I wasn’t even sure where I was exactly. Sweat started to form at my hairline and I pushed my bangs back. I singlehandedly alienated anyone who even remotely liked me in order to help one man I wasn’t even sure I could trust … on a hunch. On a hunch that he was a victim in all this too. I had no proof at the time, and I just went along! I was so stupid! My empathy got the better of me — stupid emotions that were going to get me killed, my pride and empathy…

  No sane person would have done what I did. No sane person would purposely bring hell down on themselves. People look at me differently now; people don’t see the same warrior they did two or three months ago. They see someone who was manipulated, someone who did something reckless for the sake of making a statement. That’s not how it was though. They didn’t get it. Soul wasn’t like that.

  Even Chrissy looked at me differently…

  Yeah, it was reckless and stupid of me to put so much faith in him, but they didn’t know the full story, they couldn’t see the fear in his eyes. That fear was practically tangible, and the pain hurt me too. It wasn’t as bad now; now I was just angry. We were going to have to kill the source. Soul was not weak and I was not a traitor, not to anyone. They should’ve known that by now. They knew who we were and what we’d done. They just didn’t know what we’re going to do…

  Fear and pain was their game, but rage and vengeance was ours.

  We were going to burn. Them. Down.

  I looked up with watery eyes and determination in my chest. This would be their kingdom come.

  Twenty-Nine

  The air was still freezing but I wasn’t the least bit cold. It burned my throat and lungs but I was excited.

  I looked up through the frozen branches and caught the faint light of the moon. Grinning, I bolted through the trees, hooting and howling in excitement. I made my way back to the embers of our fire and looked around. The arrow was still sticking out of the ground, but there was no one around.

  “K9!”

  Spinning to the north, I heard Soul’s faint call. From the other direction, I heard running and panting. I started running towards my Crow, the reason I was in the mess in the first place, and the best mistake I’d ever made. Branches and twigs were cutting my arms and face, but I was still faster than the person following me.

  I slid to a stop and stared forward, where Soul was waiting with a scowl. His coat was swaying behind him as he stood amidst falling snow. A smile slipped across my crooked face and I shook my head, then leapt forward and swung myself into a tree above him. He grunted as he reached for my hand and did the same.

  “I told you that being able to pull your weight would be useful.” I
grinned and nudged his arm.

  Rolling his eyes, he leaned against the trunk of the tree and scowled like he was angry with me. I started to worry about him; I could understand him being upset but he was also clutching his left shoulder.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, a little more solemnly.

  He shrugged, then bit his lip. “K-K9 left … again.” He looked away from me and down at his hand, soaked in blood.

  “Soul, I promise I won’t leave again. I promise, now sit so I can look at your arm.”

  I didn’t know why I kept trying to help with cleaning and covering wounds. I didn’t know what I was doing when it came to that. Yes, that was most definitely a wound, and it was most definitely bleeding. My friend silently did as he was told and moved his hand, but he was upset and wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  “H-how … could the K9 do that? W-worried the bird sick…”

  “I know, I’m sorry. I was just scared and I don’t want to — I don’t want to see something happen to you. If they got us, I wouldn’t be able to handle watching you get hurt.”

  He pursed his lips and shrugged it off, then examined me. Blood was still caked onto our skin.

  “Hurt?”

  I shook my head. “It’s not mine.”

  “What happened?” he asked softly as he huddled closer, resting his cold nose in the fur of my hood.

  I exhaled and grimaced as I pulled the black leather away from his skin, once again soaking my hands. “I lost my temper.”

  He sat back and watched me move.

  “Burnham said they’re going to gut us like animals, and he called me a traitor. I thought about it but he’s wrong.”

  “K9 is a survivor, not a traitor.” He paused and wrung his hands. “B-but… Crow was never going to hurt the K9 … D-didn’t mean to force you to help…”

  I chuckled softly and shook my head as I went back to his arm. I unwrapped the tape from my wrist and wrapped it around his sleeve, earning a grunt and a wince.