To whom it may concern: Dear readers, The story you are about to read may be a bit gruesome. The events that take place are what follow Sebastian and Ciel after Ciel's change. As you read you will notice that they are more than definitely O.O.C. Please enjoy the following, and may your hearts not be too shattered in the end.
M. Brutality
Four years ago, the Reapers had revealed their true secret. Everyone turned on one another. The humans realized what was truly out there. The Reapers put a bounty on Ciel and Sebastian's head. Soon all of London was after them. The once all mighty Phantomhives were brought down in an instance. But there was one person who denied the rest: Grell. For his obvious, and obnoxiously noticeable, love for Sebastian, he risked everything to keep them safe. Secretly, Sebastian only wanted his Master to be safe, so he accepted defeat and took what was offered. They sought refuge in Eastern Scotland in a town called Peterhead, hiding within the walls of Trinity Parish Church. In the midst of night, they came for Ciel Phantomhive.
Cold. Scared. Blindfolded. And strapped down. It's only a matter of time. Since the fall of the Phantomhive Manor, everyone has changed. The Reapers have been kidnapping thousands of people, demons, and other mysterious creatures and conducting torturous experiments on each and every one of them. We live in a society where nothing is right anymore. It's year 1912. Everyone knows the dark secrets of the world now, what lies in the shadows and creeps in the cracks and crevices of our own living nightmares. It doesn't matter anymore if you're a demon or human. Hope is a mere dream now. Hope for life. Today, we worry about our very existence. Skilled, strong or smart didn't mean anything anymore. If you're not a Reaper, you're not safe. How the world got so bad? If only I knew.
It was the dead of night when they got me. I was asleep one minute, awake with a cloth bag over my head, struggling to get free the next. I remember a sharp stabbing pain in my side before I passed out. I don't know anything after that except now, I'm naked. Spread out on what feels like a metal table.
There was a sudden clank that interrupted the still air. My body flinched. Then a screech like an aged vault door was opening. I could hear people screaming. Electric saws and gun fire too. The sounds of terror became quiet as the screech mad itself known again. There was another click, then silence struck the room again. I'm not alone… I could hear my own breathing, and the frantic beat of my heart. My blood was racing through my veins like lava. There was nothing else. Not a footstep. Not a word.
Metal hitting metal, like heavy silverware in your kitchen, stung my inner ear. My heart stopped in shock. Whoever it is, they're right next to me. My body broke into a cold sweat. One large, calloused hand pushed down on my chest. The other searched through the objects that lay next to my head. This is it. I closed my eyes. I imagined being anywhere but here. A memory flooded my mind.
'There they were. Mum and Pa, having afternoon tea. Smiling, taking in the summer air as the breeze brought joy in small swifts.'
A tear escaped my grasp and ran down my cheek. I can't let this remnant go.
The memory was ripped away as I felt the straps being cut. I was lifted so I could sit up. What is this? I wiped the tear away, gently touching the blindfold. Reaching back to untie it, the mystery person stopped me. "What is –" I tried to ask, but was with a forceful hand. This time, I could tell it was a man. Human or demon? Was beyond me.
Taking hold of my hand, he helped my off the table. The ground was cold too. Stone. Standing was easy, but my first step forward, I fell. Before I hit the ground, the man caught me. He placed a jacket around me and through my arm over his shoulder as he helped me hobble over to the wall. He being nearly six inches taller than me made it difficult and seem like an endless journey, but it was well worth it.
Panting with exhaustion, he helped me to sit. I leaned up against the wall, and allowed my head to fall back. Closing my eyes, I took a minute to catch my breath. How do I know I can trust him? Who is he? Lifting my hands, he handed me a bottle. I felt a small tug before I heard a quiet pop. He pressed the bottle to my lips, signaling to drink. Not smelling anything, I took my chances. Water. Delicious and pure. Gulping it down with my life, I could feel my body regaining strength. With a gasp of air, I was handed what felt like a cracker and ate it more than willingly.
Lifting me back onto my feet, he swung my right arm back over his shoulder. With my free hand, I pushed off the wall to level myself out.
After about fifteen steps, three falls, and two more sit downs, we made it to an exit. I felt the door, exploring the corroded surface. It had to be well over 150 years old due to the feel of rust and weathered edges.
The man let me go gently. Stumbling back a step, I reached forward and tugged on his sleeve. Cotton. "Please don-" I was cut off again. He pulled me close to him. He held me for a moment before releasing his grasp. Who is this guy? Questions burned through my skull as if there was no tomorrow. I have to trust him. He placed my hands on his waist. I was behind him now.
The clank from the door knob turning made me realize it had been roughly forty-five minutes since he entered the room. I could feel him shaking. He's worried. Scared.
The door screeched open quickly. The shouts of terror filled my ears. Men. Women. Children. Infants. They were all being tortured. I could hear their cries for mercy drilling through my whole, naked being. Where am I? The thought like frozen marble in my throat. I got really dizzy as my stomach began to turn. I clenched the man's belt and pressed my face against his back. The cool feel of the cotton on my skin brought on a sense of security. He's not an enemy. He's trying to rescue me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door.
I heard something a distance from us. The man pushed me behind him, against the wall. There was a small snap, then a ca-chak of what sounded like a gun. Quietly, we made our way down the hallway.
Suddenly, there were voices getting closer to us from where we came. Three. People conversing. They were too far to hear, but before long, room level became shouting.
"Quick! After them! Don't let them escape!"
The man pulled me under his left arm and fired. Deep grunts came as one of our enemies fell to the floor. He fired a few more shots. A man yelled in pain. Another hit. Chk. Chk. Chk. The clip was empty.
We turned and ran the opposite direction. Making sudden right turns. Then left. Jolting in every which way you could think of. One hand in his. The other on the wall. There was a scratch of a blade being unsheathed. A groan then a thud as someone fell in scorching pain.
More people came at us from behind. A door sprung open ahead at the end of the hall. Numerous men were marching in. surrounding both myself and the intruder. My heart began to race in panic. My breath was already altered from the lack of energy and running.
Still holding the man's hand, I squeezed in terror. He squeezed back. Either to show comfort, or understanding of the situation. He pulled me into his arms again.
"What now? How many of them are there?" I burst out finally. Tears began to fill my eyes, soaking into the blindfold.
"This is it…isn't it?" I said, trying to hold myself up.
He closed the distance between us. The tears began to flow off my cheeks onto his shirt. My life was over at age seventeen. I didn't even know who this mystery man was. Nor why he was trying to help me. He grabbed my hands. Leaning down to my level, he whispered into my ear, "No."
I could hear the surrounding men, soldiers, load their guns. "Ready…" He placed my hands over my ears. "Aim…" He pulled something out of his pocket, tugged, then tossed it. "FIRE!"
There was an explosion. A high pitched humming filled my brain as I tried to find the man.
"Where are y-" I started, but stopped. Remembering I was supposed to stay quiet.
With extreme force, I flew forward. A click sounded. There was a gun to my head. Then the shot. A bullet grazed the side of my face. I fell to my knees in agony, screaming in pain.
The man lifted me back onto my feet. We hobbled over what seemed like sand bags. It took a moment for me to realize, they were bodies. He threw a frag grenade.
I stumbled trying to regain control of my legs again. Reaching for a nearby wall, I felt rubble. Our escape route. My hearing slowly began to come back. Sirens were going off everywhere. Something was sparking, maybe a power line? Men were yelling and shouting out orders far off. Struggling to make my way over the pile of deceased wall fragments, I lost grip of the man's hand and rolled down the stone hill. Getting scratched and scraped the whole way down. Dizzy, I tried to stand up. I could feel the wind blowing. Every last inch of my skin was caressed with the gentle breeze.
I heard the remnants of the wall moving. Snapping back to reality, I started to back up but fell again, tripping over a cement block. Crawling in the direction I fell, I moved quickly to get away. I was picked up and lifted to a standing position. The tightness in my chest began to ease from the unique smell of cardamom, smoky vanilla, and musk. A smile shot across my face in utter joy. I'm not alone.
As we came to a stop about 300 yards from the wreckage, we heard more soldiers coming. We leaned up against the building. The blindfold was soaked with sweat from my hair line, making a decent coolant. It felt nice every time a small gust of wind blew by. But it stung the cuts on my face, and slightly itched. It's been about two hours since we left the building, and now I believe I can trust him.
Thankfulness filled my heart as warmth blanketed my frail body. With the brittle wind, came a frightening noise. Dogs. They're trying to sniff us out. My body went stiff. I bit my lip until I could feel the flow of liquid metal pouring over my tongue. Flinching, I clamped my teeth together, and held onto the man with a death grip full of faintheartedness. My mind making it a millennia, reality whisked it away with the breeze. We waited a few more minutes just to make sure the coast was clear before heading out again.
My body became harder to move. The air felt like needles piercing my skin. The ground was like razor blades digging into my souls. Hunched over, my body was attacked by feathered tacks. Each one different from the last. The air was turning to ice with each passing second. Toppling forward, a scream evaded my lips. Discomfort filled me inside and out in an instant as if my bones were made of glass. Reaching up for something to help me back onto my feet, I came across wires. I took hold of them and picked myself off the ground and then falling into the man.
The essence of the man filled my nostrils in unruly amounts. But it was all too familiar. I couldn't think of where I knew the scent. The cold air continued to hit me and vanish all known thoughts.
Bitter. Rimy. Brumal. Each step was full of torment from the boreal weather. Feeling solid, each movement brought a new twinge of distress. "I can't…" Before I knew it, my words were trailing out of my mouth, splattering across the ground. The retched taste filled my mouth, only making my insides crumble and crash even more. My stomach was even queasier than before.
Breathing became a whole new struggle on its own. Walking wasn't any easier. Withstanding the difficult task, I pressed on, leaning against every solid surface available. Nearly falling, I settled moderately into the man's grasp again. Confidence flourished through my veins. I'm not alone.
Steadily, we continued down the gravel path. The fencing was to our left. Men were heard clearly above. A watch tower. Sitting me down, the man left my side. There was a squeak then some footsteps moving hastily. There was a crack and a thump. Two men grumbled as they fell to the floor. There were more footsteps and another creak from the door before the man returned to my side.
Helping me to stand, everything became dizzy. The world was spinning. Holding me close, the man guided me to the fence. There was an opening. Freedom. I placed one foot in front of the other cautiously stepping through the break. Alarms sounded. Fear impaled me. Drilling me to a stable position. I couldn't move. Frozen.
The man pulled me forward. We plummeted down the slope, feeling autumn leaves and frosted grass beneath us. It seemed like a luxury after the shrill pain of dirt and rock along the bottom of my feet.
I cried out as something bore into my right shoulder. Reaching back, I pulled out a six inch blade from the oozing wound. Adrenaline burned inside me. I tore off the blindfold, only to find armed forces charging at us. No armor. Just civilians. It was sundown and snowing. A man raised a gun in my direction, but didn't have a chance to fire. I threw the dagger. Perforating his hand, he shrieked in pain. The man dropped to the ground.
Another man standing behind him already prepared, shot his rifle at us. Anguish pulsated across my abdomen as I took the bullet to my inner thigh. Turning to run, I loped right into the man.
He was tall, roughly six foot three. He was wearing a scarf that covered his face from below his crimson eyes down. It extended down his neck and overlapped his white button up. He wore black slacks with a gun holster attached to his belt. The boots he wore looked very similar to military combat boots. His hair was a dark, chocolate brown and was very tan. He was holding a hunting knife, roughly four inches in length.
He pushed me aside and threw the blade. A man fell down the hill side. Taking one final glance at the stranger's face, we turned and fled into the forest. The trees made it easier to dodge the bullets, but dodging the trees made it difficult to escape. Jumping over fallen branches and nests of twigs, we managed to make some decent distance between us and the Reapers. Thinking we were in the clear was the biggest mistake I could've possibly made at that dreaded moment. I looked back only to see a man had fired at me. The bullet ripped through my right knee. Crashing to the ground, I could hear the enemy closing in.
To my surprise, the stranger came back. He lifted me and helped me to run. Using him as a crutch, we didn't get very far. Another bullet whizzed by and nicked my ear. More shots were fired. Another tore through my right arm and into the man's upper back. With intense rage, the man straightened his back and slammed his mouth shut in pain.
Dropping to the ground, I could feel the blood spurting from my wounds. To my surprise, the stranger helped me hobble to a nearby tree. We climbed up the old base of the trunk, making our way as high as we could go. About thirty feet up, I looked down. The soldiers were still running, blindly searching for us.
Taking a rest, I leaned back. Closing my eyes, the thought of still being alive whirled around my mind. It seemed almost fake. I had my life, and it was all thanks to the stranger. Remembering the man, my eyes shot open. Looking around in panic, I almost fell off the sturdy branch I was perched on. He was crouched on a thick limb scanning the ground. Looking for any sign of movement. Reaching over to tap the man, he spun around. Looking at him in shock, he only stared in a scowl, then turned and looked down again. I leaned back against the tree, closing my eyes, and drifting off into the night.
A few hours had gone by when I was shaken awake brutally. The man was looking dead into my eyes, still scowling. What's his problem? Still aware of my wounds, I slowly made my way down the pine. I tried to grab hold of a branch, but my grip failed. I fell a good ten feet with a thud onto the cold, hard ground. Making the air flee from my lungs. Pressing my chest, I tried to calm down. The man came and helped me to stand. Brushing myself off, I took a step forward, only to remember the gunshots in my leg. I fell to the ground, wincing in utter discomfort.
The man kneeled to my side. He ripped off his shirt, and began to tear it into strips. Curiosity took control of my eyes as I began to exam every last inch of the man's body. Resisting the need to touch his abs, I forced my hand back. After a good twenty minutes, my wounds were wrapped. Poorly, but none the less. He picked me up and we were off again.
He would rather me carry me, than leave me? What am I to him?
My head began to throb. Nuzzling into his neck, I began to drift asleep. I'm not alone…
The morning air was thick. I opened my eyes only to realize I had no one idea where I was. Light beamed in through the cracks of many twigs and sticks that made up a small hut. On the far side of the room, a fire crackled. There was a pot of some liquid substance boiling. To my left stood a small side table with a half melted candle stick, a glass of water, and a small plate with a couple pieces of fruit and bread.
Sitting up, my body broke into spasms of aches as if there was a ten ton weight laying on my chest. My throat was dry and scratchy. It felt like I hadn't eaten in days. The items began to look more and more inviting by the minute. As I reached for the glass, something moved in the shadowed area on the other side of the fire.
"I'm glad to see you're awake," the voice stated. "I was beginning to worry. You lost a lot of blood. I'm surprised you made it, but you were very lucky. Take your time regaining your strength. You'll need it."
"Who are you? Are you the one who came for me? Where am I?"
My jaw dropped as the man stepped forward, tears forming in my eyes.
"It's been a while." The man said with a half-smile barely able to form.
It was Sebastian. My dearest friend that I had not seen in few years. He rushed to my side and pulled me close to him. Oh how I've missed you Sebby. The last time I had seen him, he was kidnapped by Grell. I lost track of them in the city. I couldn't even catch a slight scent of them.
"Young Master, there is something I need to tell you."
"What is it Sebastian? You haven't answered me yet. Where have you been? Where did you go? …Where is Grell? I'll kill him."
Sebastian looked down at his hands, one placed in the other. The look of fear was painted across his face, as if something terrible was on his mind. He looked back at me with an intensity.
"Spit it out alre-"
He pulled me in, locking our lips with a subtle embrace. Frozen in shock, all the happy memories flooded my mind. Joy filled my soul. I've wanted this for a very long time. Happiness, joy, glee, bliss, and something else filled my senses.
"Ciel, I love you."
My eyes widened. My heart stopped. My mind went blank. But, I wasn't alone. Never again will I ever be alone.
Within seconds, the door of the cottage broke down, and a man with a gun standing ready shot multiple rounds. Blood splattered my face as I turned back.
"SEBASTIAN!" The words escaped my lips and tears flooded down my cheeks. His body went limp and fell to the ground.
The man in the doorway gave a grim smile before reloading his gun and aiming at me.
"Good night Phantomhive."