Chapter Five - Turmoil

As I was walking past a store downtown, I noticed a T.V. in the window that was tuned in to the news. The anchorman said, "...The eight men were found dead in a warehouse on the outskirts of town, obviously murdered in some insane rampage, as they had multiple stab wounds to their chests and faces. The police have found little evidence as to who or what committed these murders, but it is clear that whoever did it has no regard for human life. Here with us we have the son of one of the men who was killed. Why don't you say something, son?"

I stepped back, eyes wide in disbelief as onto the screen walked John Stone, resolve solid in his eyes. He grabbed the microphone from the anchorman and said, "I know you're watching, Anderson, and I know you did it. When I find you, I swear to God that I will make you wish you had never even thought about revenge. You'll rue the day you crossed the Stone family!"

The anchorman wrestled the microphone out of John's hand and said, "Well, that's enough of that. Thank you, John. That's all for now. This is Rick Greene, signing off."

I couldn't believe what I had just seen and heard. I knew John was smart, but there was no way he could have figured out who killed his father. And what the announcer had said about a murderous rampage and no regard for human life...that hurt.

I turned away from the store and ran. I wasn't even sure if I was going South anymore, but I couldn't stay in this town. I had been so obsessed with revenge that I really had lost regard for human life. I had killed innocent people to get what I wanted...I had become just like Stone...

I stopped dead in my tracks, that last thought playing over and over. I was just like him, the man I hated so much, the man whose very soul I wanted to destroy. And I had become exactly like him. I had killed...ten...twelve people? I couldn't remember. I didn't want to remember. In a flash all of their faces, pale white and dripping with blood, jumped to the front of my mind. I heard each individual scream, heard the sound of that pitch black katana slicing through flesh and bone. And then I saw Stone's office, heard my helmet hit the ground, and then I saw something I hadn't noticed before: my reflection in the window on the other side of the office. The armor was stained with blood, my face dark with murder, and my eyes...they were wild with fury, vengeance and...bloodlust...

I was absolutely frozen. I couldn't move a muscle. My knees started to tremble. I tried to stay standing, but I couldn't hold myself up. I fell to the ground. What had I done? I was a murderer, a monster. I curled into a ball and cried. I didn't bother to look at where I was and I didn't care. I was a monster, and I could never take back what I had done. That couldn't have been me I saw in that reflection. I refused to believe it. That person was a heartless killer. Was that really what I had become?

I don't know how long I laid there, but when I finally looked up, Lu was standing over me. I looked around to see that I was outside of Hunter. I could see the prison in the distance. Lu must have seen me running and then collapse. I didn't think I had run that far...

My thoughts were interrupted by Lu's voice, sharp and cold, "You're pathetic. Those men got what they had coming to them. Do you feel sorry for every bug you step on? Every leaf you crush? Those men were no more than insects, annoying, pestering, vermin that deserved to die. They killed your family, Xzane, or had you forgotten?"

"You're a monster," I replied, suddenly terrified by his tone of voice. "Only Stone deserved death. The rest were innocent."

"That's where you're wrong. All of those men were rotten to the core. They had all done their fair share of stealing and killing."

"I took thirteen human lives! No crime justifies that!" I said as I started to back away from him.

Lu noticed my movement and said, "Don't try to run from me, Xzane. Where are you going to go? Are you going to go to the police? Tell them you're sorry for killing thirteen people? And what about John? He's very clever. You don't know him. He'll find you. You can't beat him without me. And poor Catherine...I doubt she'd take you back after you broke her poor little heart," he said as he dramatically shook his head.

I wanted to turn and run, to get as far away from him as possible but I knew he was right. There was nothing left for me in Hunter...

Suddenly, a bright light flashed and I covered my eyes. When the light faded, I moved my hand to see that Lu had taken a step back into a defensive stance and a new person had appeared between us. He was fairly tall with medium length dirty blonde hair. He wore a white robe, but his back looked bulky, like there was something under the robe, though I couldn't tell what. He spoke, voice calming but with a slight edge, "Don't listen to him, Xzane. If you go to Catherine, she will forgive you. Do not doubt the power of the heart."

Lu spat and said, Love makes you weak. Caring, compassion, all are weaknesses. Just look what your heart has done to you, Xzane. It's tearing you apart. You shouldn't feel bad for killing your enemies. Don't you remember how you felt when you had the armor on? I can give you that power and so much more."

As he said it, I felt the power rush into me. It was just as marvelous as when I wore the armor... "No!" I shouted. I had to fight this. That power turned me into a monster. But it was so wonderful... My mind turned into a battlefield, warring against itself for whether or not to go with Lu.

The man in white stepped toward me, hand outstretched. All of a sudden, my body jerked back and a deep voice from within me rumbled, "Don't you dare touch him!" The man stepped back in obvious disbelief.

He said, voice in absolute shock, "It's not possible. You're supposed to be..." He turned around quickly and spoke to Lu, "Take him. He's yours." With that, there was another bright flash and he was gone.

I turned to Lu and said, "What just happened? Who was he?"

Lu pulled his cloak closely around him and said, "Come, quickly. It's not safe here." He turned and started to walk hastily towards the prison. I followed closely behind him, eager to know what had just happened, and who the man in white was. When we reached the prison, Lu looked cautiously in all directions before opening the door and pulling us both inside.

After we were both inside, he let out a long breath and removed his cloak to reveal a man of medium height with short dark brown hair that was slicked back. He was wearing a black suit and tie. He didn't look entirely human, though his eyes were very narrow and serpent-like, and they were a shade of red so intense they almost glowed. He was smiling, so I could that his teeth had a slight point to them. He spoke, still smiling, "So, Xzane, what do you want to know?"