Crimson Judgment

by Robert Lyons

  The bigger Chroma growled while his back was arched like a cat. “I have no need for those who cannot control their basic instincts!”

  “N-no! It was the blood! It’s not my fault!” the smaller one screeched. “I didn’t want to betray anyone!”

  “The blood in that man was what was so important about him! Now it’s wasted! Tainted! Worthless! Just like you and the rest of you rebels!” the bigger Chroma snarled as his hand twisted into a massive fist.

  Shuddering involuntarily, Zayde cautiously watched the giant Chroma pull his fist back, striking forward at an incredible speed and punching a hole into the smaller Chroma’s core. Black blood exploded out from the sides of the massive opening. The Chroma messily dug his hand around inside of the chest. After a moment of searching, he extracted the smaller one’s beating heart, yanking it out with a loud, tearing sound.

  The smaller Chroma’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Instead, the monster that was now void of his heart fell backwards from his knees. Black blood continued to slowly pool out of the hole where his life force used to be located. Collapsing and falling against the earth with a small thud, the last of the “rebel” Chroma crumpled into a twisted, unnatural position.

  “Putting the agent into his blood … forcing them to go into a ‘false berserker state’…” the giant Chroma whispered to himself.

  The concert hall was now occupied with a dozen, fully coherent Chroma. Even though the massive Chroma who Zayde figured was the leader spotted him earlier, for whatever reason, he kept his mouth shut about a human hiding nearby. What did he want from Zayde? Why did he not just pull the next meal out of the hiding spot and throw him to his lackeys?

  Zayde’s pocket began to vibrate.

  The chirping of his ringtone was turned all the way up so that Zayde would be able to hear if his phone was going off during the concert. Before Zayde could silence it, a second form landed right next to him. It was no surprise that it was another Chroma, but what Zayde wasn’t expecting was that the particular humanoid that came to investigate the source of the sound shared the exactly same facial features of the massive Chroma that had seen him previously.

  “Only one left?” The smaller Chroma folded his arms across his naked chest. “This one’s a meal not even worth eating!”

  The other Chroma spread out in the audience seating area began to laugh.

  “Well, aren’t you going to answer that call?” The Chroma stared down at Zayde expectantly. “I heard it’s rude not to pick up.”

  Gritting his teeth, the human already knew there was nothing that could be done to change the situation. With a vacant look in his eyes, Zayde reached into his pocket. Placing the phone up next to his ear, Zayde took in a deep breath.

  “H-hello?” a young female voice called out.

  “Of all times … you call me now?” Zayde’s voice was somber.

  “Zayde! Were you at that concert? There are all kinds of videos on the Internet of a Chroma attack! Please tell me you stayed at home!”

  “Ha … no. I’m right in the middle of it. Guess this is it. Might as well die without baggage. Kendra, I’m sorry for abandoning you—”

  “NO!” Kendra screamed in my ear. “Zayde! Please don’t—!”

  The rest of Zayde’s little stepsister’s words never reached his ears. The phone was ripped away by much stronger hands. The Chroma behind him wore a victorious smile as the monster placed the device next to his own ear.

  “Sorry, my dear. This young man has very quickly brought me to boredom. It’s making me wanting to kill him that much quicker … He’s just fodder that will not be missed.” The Chroma smiled, squeezing his hand and crushing the phone without any sign of resistance from the device’s small, metal frame.

  Three feet away from Zayde, wedged in the rubble that came from the old man’s old carcass getting ejected from its hiding spot in the ceiling, was a thick piece of metal pipe. It was a perfect size to hold and the snapped-off end provided for a good piercing point.

  No! There’s no way I’m going to do that! That’s crazy! They’ll kill me the moment I make a move!

  It would take beyond a miracle to take one of the Chroma down. The odds of the situation were astronomically in favor for Zayde to experience a horrendous death. However, Zayde was at a point where a concept as trivial as probability of success or failure was not worth fretting over. If Zayde were able to take a Chroma down, he would be content. He would only have one shot, so he had to make it count.

  Zayde Maddox’s mind hit a mental speed bump.

  Wait. What the hell am I thinking? I’m scared shitless and yet—I’m going to take this beast head on?! Is this just me letting go completely because I’m going to die?!

  The thought of fighting against such an overwhelming power was absolutely ridiculous. As outrageous as it seemed, if Zayde was really going to die, he was going to make sure he didn’t die with his tail tucked between his legs. He owed himself that much.

  As much as Zayde tried to sweep it under the rug of denial, he lived a quitter’s life. Constantly giving up on everything—except for the pursuit of music—for as long as he could remember. He was going to be damned if the last thing he did on earth was die tired from running away one last time.

  “I’m actually starting to get hungry after all the running,” the Chroma said, laughing as he reached down to grab a handful of Zayde’s long, dark hair. “He doesn’t look very appetizing, but he’ll do.”

  “Wait a moment, Rignor,” the massive Chroma spoke up. “Don’t kill that one, yet.”

  “Why not, Renga? Is this human special to you?”

  “You don’t sense the—? Oh. Never mind. You could say he is—!”

  This was the only opportunity with the Chroma’s conversation serving as a thin smokescreen. Rounding about, sharp-ended pipe pointed out and firmly grasped in his hand, Zayde flung his arm up.

  Zayde knew his strength could never hope to match that of a Chroma, but his heightened agility could serve an advantage when coupled with the element of surprise. Zayde was able to land one clean strike. He already had an idea of where he had to aim. The only weak point Zayde could think of where he could land a solid hit was that ghastly, red-colored eyeball.

  As he ascended from the ground, Zayde could clearly see the disbelief painted across that monstrous face. The human successfully slammed the object into the center of that crimson eye. The Chroma named Rignor snapped his head back violently, unleashing a shrill screech that threatened to tear Zayde’s eardrums.

  The retaliating push Zayde received for the sneak attack knocked the wind out of him while he was still standing.

  Tumbling head over heels, Zayde’s limbs and head slammed against the stage. The pain from his new injuries and the lack of oxygen in his system triggered Zayde’s body to slightly convulse.

  Zayde’s nervous system bombarded his brain with warning signals. His body was sustaining damage nearing fatal levels. Well aware of the extent of the injuries, the last thing Zayde wanted was this agony to remind his of how hopeless the situation was. He had possibly a minute left before he was taken out of this world—if the Chroma were feeling generous to give him that much time.

  The sweet sound of the Chroma’s pain-filled screams flooded Zayde’s ears. Rolling over to see that Chroma was on the ground, the human spotted Rignor’s thrashing form smashing his own head into the floor repeatedly. Two other Chroma rushed to Rignor’s aid, trying to help him extract the object dexterously stabbed through his beloved eye.

  “Y-you!” Rignor cried out, clawing the floor and scraping up planks of hardwood from the stage. The Chroma that ran up to help their fellow red eye were pushed to the side by the injured one’s thrashing. Foam began to collect at the edges of his mouth as he crawled in Zayde’s direction. Taking a small pause, the beast reached up, yanking out the metal pipe with a sickening wet sound followed by a suppressed grunt.

  Zayde weakly brandished a proud smile.

  An inexpli
cable sense of accomplishment welled up in him.

  Zayde knew this monster was always going to regret crossing paths with him, long after he was dead. That sentiment alone was enough to be taken out of this world with a sense of triumph, despite all of the unfinished business that Zayde was going to leave unattended. He couldn’t be greedy; he knew his time was up.

  “Interesting.”

  Renga abruptly stepped in between Rignor and Zayde, legs spread and arms folded. He faced the oncoming, injured Chroma who had stopped thrashing on the ground as soon as the big one was obstructing the two parties.

  “W-what are you doing, Renga?” the smaller one asked frantically, his voice cracking. “Out of my way!”

  “Rignor, you’ve made a fool of yourself! Have you no decency to keep your composure?” the bigger Chroma said in a father-like tone. “We’re the legendary Red Tigers and this is what you want to tarnish your reputation with?”

  Zayde’s entire body tensed up.

  These monsters are the Red Tigers?!

  “I don’t care! That bastard is paying with his life!” Rignor cried out with a louder voice.

  “Enough,” Renga grunted. “Your eye is perfectly fine. The only harm is your crushed ego. You grew too careless! May this serve as a lesson!”

  “Shut up!” Rignor snapped at Renga, suddenly jumping up and pushing past him. The infuriated monster was running straight for the downed human.

  A whisper echoed in the back of Zayde’s head, void of all emotion or urgency. It was his own internal voice.

  Power. Unbounded power.

  A single bass note reverberated in the depths of Zayde’s chest.

  A flashback of Jessica getting attacked by her stalker came flooding back. The building darkness Zayde felt from back then was starting to creep back up.

  No! I don’t want it! Zayde clenched his teeth. The strength and agility boost he received a while back was inexplicable, but nonetheless it was there. However, he kept it hidden from everyone he knew. There was no telling what the consequences of revealing that to others would spell out for him. Not to mention, he feared the power. It was far too tempting to partake of it. It had a delectable pull to it that drowned out his judgment. He already lost himself once. The battered face of Jessica’s aggressor momentarily flashed before him.

  The pounding footfalls rapidly approaching brought Zayde back into the moment. The infuriated humanoid was closing in. Renga stood off to the side with his arms still folded across his massive chest. His expression was projecting an air of expectancy.

  In that moment, the big Chroma cracked a toothy grin, his expression clearly telegraphing his intentions to the human.

  Show me why you have Rutem energy…

  2.

  Squeezing his eyes shut with dread, Zayde was drawing what was sure to be his last breath. His perception of time’s flow came to a grinding halt.

  I don’t want the power? Who am I kidding? I didn’t hesitate to use it when I beat down that guy, but I had to protect Jessica! Wait, was that all? Was that the only reason I did that?

  Zayde didn’t want to remember what he was dealing with that day, so he began to believe the lie he created. The truth was an ugly beast that he was running away from. He was able to find a false sense of “being justified.” Jessica was rescued, so none of the surrounding details mattered. Jumping in to save Jessica because she was in an alarming situation was not the whole truth.

  Admittedly, Zayde went as far as he did because he was angry. It was pure, unadulterated rage let loose. It was the sort of rage comparable to that of a forest fire. The flame that burns hot and spreads fast, scorching everything to ash that dared to stand in its way.

  Why was I so angry? What pushed me over the edge?

  A chill ran through Zayde as he recalled the answer to his question.

  It was his adopted “family.” Merely thinking of the word made Zayde want to grind his teeth. Picturing the face of the person who broke him down both physically and mentally made Zayde stir the pot of murderous thoughts.

  I need to be more specific. It was that bitch of a stepmother!

  It became apparent to Zayde that he was no longer bothered by the fact that he was carrying a full-on conversation with himself.

  What did she do? He shivered. That woman beat me, abused me, and almost drove me to suicide, but I refused to die!

  The young man felt his body ignite. Surrounding by the heat, he felt strength welling up in him.

  Oh? Oh. This feels good…

  The bass note from before shifted to a high note. Slowly, the singular sounds began to follow a pattern. A song was slowly building within the young musician’s mind. Zayde’s eyes cracked open. The sound of an explosion brought him out of the depth of his mind.

  “W-what?” Rignor muttered, his body frozen with fear. “H-how?!”

  Rignor threw an overhead strike, starting above his head and aiming to bring down a devastating hammer fist through Zayde’s upper torso.

  Except the attack never landed.

  Looking up, Zayde realized he had stood up and his hands intercepted the assault by enveloping the pale-skinned fist. The initial impact of the Chroma smashing against his palm generated enough force to create an airwave that ruffled Zayde’s ragged shirt.

  Whoa … whoa!

  The two entities stood still for a moment. Rignor’s awestruck face revealed his inability to comprehend the unexpected turn of events. The Chroma broke the momentary stalemate by driving his other fist into Zayde’s chest.

  Bracing again, Zayde grabbed a hold of the Chroma’s captured fist from the first strike and used that as leverage to move himself out of the way.

  The counterattack progressed further than Zayde intended. Not only did the human evade the following attack, he was able to implement a throw.

  Rignor put such an excessive amount of momentum into his attack that he was tipping forward with no way to recover. Utilizing the hand that Zayde captured, he leaned back and lifted the Chroma off his feet. The centrifugal force from the wind-up sent the monster crashing against the stage. There was a moment of stillness as all parties present processed the events.

  “Remarkable!” Renga nodded his head, taking a liking to the development unfolding right before his crimson eye.

  “Damn you,” Rignor cursed. “You’re making a fool out of me! You’re not human! What the hell are you?!”

  “I don’t know. W-what am I, exactly?” Zayde whispered to himself as he gazed down excitedly at his hands. He had just stopped a Chroma and counterattacked.

  Renga visually analyzed the human. When Zayde looked up to see the Chroma staring in his direction, Zayde took a defensive step back, poising his body for an evasive maneuver in case of a sudden attack. It was impossible to avoid picking up on the impression that if Zayde’s back was turned to the assumed leader of this group, he was going to get cut down in the blink of an eye.

  If I make it through this, I’ll have time to find answers about myself. For now, I’ll have to concentrate on surviving!

  “Rignor, he threw you after countering your terribly predictable move. Your awful combat abilities aside, you’re probably on the right track when you say he’s not a human.” The big Chroma tried to suppress his amusement while the surrounding monsters picked up on the infectious chuckle.

  Rignor was growing more irate as the laughs grew louder.

  From what Zayde gathered, the attacking Chroma’s past accolades were rapidly losing credibility based on the monster’s performance during this fight.

  “What else could this sack of meat be?!”

  Rignor roared, getting up on his feet again, his stance just a tad lopsided. He was closing in with the intent to kill, but unlike before, Zayde wasn’t afraid. There was a fighting chance now. The mysterious strength that he was avoiding since he discovered it could end up being his saving grace.

  The remaining Chroma relocated from all around the concert hall, circumnavigating their fighter and the
human into a crude circle. Their eyes watched Zayde with fascination.

  Rignor tapped the lower eyelid of the eye Zayde stabbed the small metal pipe’s point into. The drying black blood stuck to his finger, dislodging from his cheek. It already coagulated into a thick, sticky slime. “I’m going to rip an eye out of your skull and then let you live that way for a little while.”

  Vindictive asshole…

  A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Zayde’s dirty face.

  “Are you going to keep talking?” Renga egged Rignor on.

  He might as well have said “go” because the Chroma dashed at Zayde within the blink of an eye.

  Fire scorched Zayde’s entire nervous system. It felt like a boulder was catapulted into his body. Jaw fell slack, ejecting spit out of his mouth as Zayde’s head was forcefully snapped backward. Intestines squeezing up into his upper torso, Zayde’s eyes rolled back into his head as he fell rearward.

  The splinters of wood around the human kicked up as his body broke through the topmost layer of the stage. The hardest task Zayde found at that moment was trying to draw one full breath. Zayde had never torn his diaphragm before, but he was sure this was the closest he had ever come to it.

  “You survived that? Well, now…” Rignor’s voice was vexed but excited.

  His cold hand wrapped around Zayde’s throat, an icy vise crimping down on the human’s windpipe. The panic that came over Zayde was enough to jolt his system back into “fight or flight” mode. Hands scrambling up to his neck, Zayde clawed away at the sickly pale constrictor that was applying an increasing pressure to his trachea.

  Zayde’s legs began to flail, the spasms in his muscles showcasing the desperation for another breath of air.

  “You thought I was going to spend time torturing you?” The taunting voice of the injured Chroma was beyond aggravating. “Killing you will suffice for now—when it comes to your part.”

  My part?

  The pitch inflection in Rignor’s unaccustomed voice signaled that there was more to what he wanted to say.

  “After I’m done with you, I’m going to find everyone you care about and pluck out one eye for each. You striking my eye blemished not only my name, but my ancestry, as well. I think it’s only fair … so, I’ll start with finding that girl you were talking to on the phone. She sounds important to you…”