by Casey Herzog
“You’re right, Dante. I went too far. I’ve never caused the death of so many students in an examination before.”
“How many died?” Servant asked nervously, stepping forward from where he stood several yards away.
“Nineteen, by my count. King here could be the twentieth. You can save him, but I’d understand if you don’t.” Webster turned away. “I didn’t encourage him to do what he did to you, but I didn’t stop him either. Do as you wish, Dante.”
The Healer looked up from the ground at the departing professor as he walked to his stump and sat down; only then did he start hearing the painful gasps coming from King’s mouth. His fellow Dreamers were glaring at Dante, some of them looking genuinely hostile and possibly considering attacking the young boy. Dante looked at them one last time and walked towards their leader, to their amazement.
Beth was holding Andrew’s right hand as Aaron knelt by, simultaneously shocked and amazed at his leader’s wound. They spotted Dante at the last moment and turned to stand, challenging him.
“You stay away from him,” Beth growled, lifting her hands to a defensive position. The other students watched intently.
“You’ve done enough, Dante,” Aaron said with a look of disappointment. “Whether you’re here to hurt him or to heal him, we’re not letting you approach. Even if it costs us our lives.”
What a stupid decision, Dante thought, King brought it onto himself after all. They would lose their leader out of a feeling of pride, really?
“Get out of the way. There isn’t anyone nearby who can save him. Would you rather he died? I don’t think he wou—”
“Go,” Andrew growled from the ground as he attempted to sit up. “Leave me be.”
Dante was taken aback by the older boy’s reply and the look on his face. It was pure hatred. The pain he felt was suddenly replaced by the contempt King felt for him. Despite the horrible wounds he’d suffered and the life-threatening blood loss, Andrew was capable of throwing his life away if it meant keeping his pride and dignity.
In that moment, Dante hated himself for feeling it, but he felt more respect for King than ever.
“I’ll signal for help,” Webster said soberly, “though it will certainly take longer. The rest of you gather around.”
Andrew was already getting to his feet, having handed Beth a piece of fabric to to use as a crude bandage.
“I’ll find my own way to the infirmary.” He shot a look at Dante and looked him up and down. “This is so far from over; you have no idea.”
There was the longest stare between Dante and Andrew as they assessed each other. Moments later, the trio of Dreamers disappeared into the trees towards the buildings beyond. A shifting of the woods was heard as Webster cleared the way for them. Surely they would cross the forest much quicker than they had during the grueling exam. Andrew had been Dante’s first friend at the University, but everything had soured after the Healer had distanced himself from the Dreamers. Now, they were rapidly becoming enemies.
“Who the fuck won first place in this pathetic excuse for an examination, then?” Keith asked angrily. All eyes turned to their professor at the boy’s words.
Webster looked confusedly at the small boy before seeming to understand the question for the first time. He turned and took in all of the pain and suffering he’d caused. Only then did he fully understood what he had done to the students.
“You’ve all won. I salute you.”
At that moment, it became clear to every student that there had never been a prize or reward for arriving first, that the examination had been more an act of cruelty than one of education or anything similar. Angry whispers and disappointed looks spread through the crowd, and the professor’s typically confident demeanor faltered slightly.
Suddenly and against Webster’s expectations, one by one, each student turned away from the man sitting on the stump and walked away. He ordered them to halt and yelled at them stay, but it was useless. Dante himself waited and was among the last few to depart, taking his time to simply stare at the professor in pity. He held no respect for Webster anymore, nor did the other students.
Only now do I understand that despite everything seeming so perfect here in the University at the beginning, every professor and every student here is just as flawed as the men and women outside it. Every one of them is powered by ambition, bitterness or pride. Silas Webster is a man full of pain and anger, an anger he cannot control. The beating he gave me, the fight he forced us to have in our last class and now this examination — it has all been a way for him to drain his frustrations and satisfy his bloodlust.
Dante stopped and turned one final time.
“You are no man, no professor. I will make sure you pay the consequences.”
“But Dante, I can protect you from the threats against your life,” Webster[Ed 3] offered nervously. “Forgive me for this, come on. I’ll make it right. For all of you,” he shouted.
“No.” Dante shook his head. “It’s too late.” The behavior was uncharacteristic from the professor, and Dante had no time for crocodile tears. Webster knew he would face consequences this time, even if he’d avoided them for years. Albridge will listen to me, for sure. Your luck has run out, Silas, Dante thought.
The Healer walked away and never looked back. As he disappeared into the trees, he passed the place where Animal had finally collapsed. There was no sign of the boy’s corpse anymore; Webster’s gift probably caused it to be swallowed into the ground, but Dante still began to look for rocks. He set them one on top of the other until there was a foot-tall mound of them, stepping back and looking at the sky.
“I’m sorry, Animal,” he said softly, before placing a palm on the topmost rock and disappearing into the woods.
He’d arrived at the University to keep his life safe, but everything had gone wrong for him since his arrival. The examination had just been a terrible culmination of a long chain of tragic events.
I’m not going to let that bring me down, Dante said to himself. If they want to break me, hurt me or even take my life, I’m not going to make it easy. This University is soon going to learn who Dante Castello is and what he’s made of.
I came here as a victim, but when I’m done, I’m going to be a legend.
Callum, Margaret, Johanna…You’ll see. I promise you.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Children of Eden
A boot kicked into Alex’s side, and he was roused from his deep sleep.
“Get up,” a rough voice said, and the young man wiped his eyes and mouth. Sleep was the only thing left to him that kept the ugly images from his mind, and it came rare enough to Alex.
Wait, it’s not time to work yet…
“Why are you waking me?” Alex asked furiously, pointing at the digital clock on the wall, “I still had another hour of sleep before the next shift!” They were sleeping near the fridges now, the thugs having decided that it was better if they rested at their workplace to avoid escape risk.
The bearded man standing over him didn’t even lash out, his grin dominating Alex’s field of vision as he bent over and got uncomfortably close to him.
“We want to show you something you will really want to see.”
Alex immediately pulled himself back and away from the thug, dragging his body as far as he could.
“No, come on. Please, just stop it. I’m working hard, I…” he trailed off, breathing frantically and shaking his head. Several children were waking up, their eyes widening as they saw the large group of armed men at the door. “Leave us be, we understand what you’re capable of. Just…leave us.”
“My guy Anderson here is right,” a familiar voice said from behind the thugs standing in the doorway. They moved to allow him to pass, the mane of dark hair becoming visible as he stepped in. Martin, Nathan’s father, the leader of this compound, entered the storage room with his hands behind his back and a strange look on his face. “You won’t want to miss what’s about to happen nearby. We’r
e about to catch some escapees.”
“Look…sir,” Alex said, unaware of what to call the psychopath, but immediately regretting it when several thugs laughed at him, “I was already shown something terrible by your men. I don’t need to—”
“Maria’s alive, Alex.”
Alex continued to mouth words, but no sound came out. Several kids gasped.
“No. Don’t lie about this. Not this,” he warned, causing the leader to smirk at his sudden change of behavior.
“Good to see you still have that spirit in you, boy. You can take the dog out of the fight, but not the fight out of the dog it seems. She’s alive. Just not for long, if you don’t come with me.”
Alex rose suddenly, causing all of the men in the room to aim their weapons at him. The young man stared at the older, fatter and uglier men, his fist clenched tightly.
“You will not play with my feelings like this. I loved her, but you burned her alive. Her and the rest of the kids.”
“Do you really want to do this the hard way?” Martin asked Alex, and the young man felt a barrel of a gun sit on the skin of his temple.
Alex lowered his arms and loosened his fists. This was a dirty trick, but his only other option was a bullet in the head in front of the kids. There was no option, to be frank. Even if they were going to execute him, he had to go with them willingly.
“Let’s just get it done with.”
The warehouse was massive.
At first they’d felt like they had the energy to keep going until they found the exit, but eventually Maria had called for a break. It was too much. They had been running for more than an hour and were still encountering new corridors, crossing into different areas and narrowly avoiding guards and staff alike at every turn.
They had ended their restless escape in a dark chamber which housed piles of ammunition and explosives, a fitting place to rest and plan their next move. The group had already seen food, medicine and water-packaging areas, and even the least curious and most innocent of the children was wondering how and why these men had so many supplies. It was truly impossible to fathom.
However, for all that Maria looked for handguns or rifles to house the ammo in, there were none to be seen.
“Sarah,” she whispered, “Anything? Anything at all?”
“No, they’re not stupid enough to store both things together,” the other girl replied. “Wait, I’ve found…” Her voice trailed off and Maria became anxious.
“Speak, woman!” she cried. “Sarah!” Only then did she turn to look at what had given her companion pause. “Everyone into a circle now!”
The kids obeyed, but they, too, became fully aware of what was around them once they did. Sarah backed away from the rifle barrel pointing at her chest with her hands up, but Maria’s knife was still raised.
“You should put that away,” a familiar voice said. The boy with the dark hair stepped forward between two armed men, his eyes looking Maria up and down as he approached her. “I watched you, all of you. Since you stabbed those men and left your holding area behind. You thought you were getting away, but we allowed you to get this far. Mostly to raise your hopes before I brought them crashing down, but in part because I wanted you to see and understand who and what we are. We aren’t just scavengers with guns, bandits who steal from innocents and take our stuff back home to hoard it and trade it with other lowlifes. We’re actually a professional organization, as you can see. We move so much material from place to place; you could call us a factory if you wished to.”
“You’re just thieves with a lot of space to store your stolen goods,” Maria snapped. “What are you going to do, kill us? Just go ahead and do it.”
Nathan’s smile faltered. He had expected more from her. Shock. Sadness. Despair. Maria had lost hope, and so had everyone else by the looks of them.
“There are worse things than death, Maria. We don’t enjoy hurting people, but you and your kids went too far.”
“Didn’t you hear her, boy?” Sarah hissed, “Do your worst.”
Nathan became furious, but someone spoke up behind him.
“Boss is coming.”
The echoing steps of approaching men reached their ears, and Nathan cursed quietly. Father was about to arrive and steal his thunder. I was just about to make an important decision as well, fuck!
There were many figures approaching from the nearby corridor, and Nathan narrowed his eyes. No, it can’t be…
His father became visible, the man carrying a grin as he pulled the familiar young man along with him. Nathan’s anger flared, and he frowned. I didn’t want Maria to see Alex or the children! Why the hell did Father bring them?! They were all coming, he realized, every single one.
“Well, hello!” the broad man yelled loudly, spreading his arms. Nathan felt like screaming at him.
“A-Alex?” Maria managed quietly. Her eyes grew moist, and some of the children couldn’t help but smile as they saw their fellow Eden community members again. Hope returned to them, and Nathan felt his effort in creating a sad, depressing environment for the captives fading away into nothing.
“Maria!” Alex cried, but one of the men grabbed him and pulled him back. The children following him were held at gunpoint, and nobody else moved, but the two lovers stared at each other and felt their bond strengthening once more.
“What do you want from us?” Maria asked.
“It was simple all along.” Nathan’s father grimaced and shook his head theatrically, walking from one side to the other. “You worked for us, we fed you and kept you dry and safe…And eventually who knows, you may have had something nicer to do, somewhere nicer to live!”
“You’ve fed us scraps and treated us like garbage,” Maria growled. “Your men, well, they’re dead because they hurt a sick boy. I would do it again if I needed to.” She gestured at a pale kid beside her, and Nathan saw Alex’s expression darken.
“Did they hurt you?” he asked Maria.
“Keep out of this conversation, kid,” a thug threatened, but there was something in the young man’s eyes. Every kid looked different now that they had been reunited with the rest of their people. They have a reason to fight for now.
“This was a mistake,” Nathan muttered, and his father turned to look at him with dismay.
Maria took one final look at Alex and made a strange gesture. He nodded back — a simple, almost imperceptible nod — but it was a signal.
The young captive had been biding his time for long enough, waiting for a moment like this to take his revenge.
“Now!” Alex yelled, barging into the man beside him and kicking Nathan’s father hard in the back as he created the diversion.
Maria was already moving before Nathan could react, his mouth curling into a sneer as he realized what came next.
Shit.
He felt the arms wrap around his chest and pull him back as a blade was placed at his neck, and a woman’s voice screamed into his ear as she spun him around menacingly:
“Put your fucking guns down or the kid dies! I swear it!”
Martin’s eyes widened, and his men spread out, some grabbing a kid to point a rifle at, others attempting to put a bead on Maria’s exposed body.
“Put him down!” Martin screamed, but he had clearly lost control of the situation. He grabbed Alex by the scruff of the neck and pulled the teen’s hair back, placing the barrel of his handgun to the young man’s head. “Do it now!”
Alex chuckled.
“You brought me here to kill one or more of us for Maria’s escape attempt, anyway. Didn’t you? Didn’t you?!”
Maria pulled Nathan from side to side and pulled the blade closer to his throat, cutting the skin slightly and lifting him up so that all of them could see.
“What now?”
“Kill me,” Nathan breathed.
Maria’s grip loosened slightly.
“What?”
“Do it, Father. This is on you, not me. Kill me and kill them as well. Give them nothing, rig
ht dad?” There was bitterness in his voice, the tone of old resentments.
“Let him go, you fucking bitch!” the fat man roared.
“Let us go first!” Maria screamed back.
“That’s it,” Alex growled, “I’m sick of this shit.”
A grunt of pain followed next, the crack of a gunshot. It all happened then.
It all ended.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Collapse, Part III
The enhanced killer looked down across the field from his vantage point and caught sight of him standing there between Fillmore and the other patroller.
