I hope this chapter doesn't confuse anyone, it is kind of set over about 15 days, and it's mainly Phoenix going a little bit crazy. Enjoy :D
Chapter Twenty-Five
I think it has been three days since I came to Cyclonia; I cannot rightly tell from being locked up in this dingy little cell. There is a tiny barred window at the top of the wall at the back – big enough to let a small amount of light in, but too small to tell whether it's day or night. Yesterday Cyclonis and Dark Ace paid me another visit. It is safe to say that the bruising to my face and ribs is most likely permanent now. It hurts to even breathe; I think my ribs may be fractured or broken. That is not even the worst part. This cell that I am in, not only does it not let me use my powers without excruciating pain, but it plays games with my head. The longer I am in here, the worse my mental state is becoming. Every now and then, a nosy Talon will taunt me like a damn animal, but I cannot let it get to me. I have to stay strong, make Cyclonis believe me at all costs. I am not sure if either Dark Ace or Cyclonis is aware, but the Talon who frequents the dungeons, and is in charge of feeding the prisoners, is holding out on me, he will neither give me a morsel of food, nor a sip of water. The hunger, I can deal with, but the thirst is driving me crazy. I feel like a vampire who cannot find a victim.
I am weak from the few beatings I have received and the food I haven't. The only thing I can do is lie down on this so-called bed and wait. If I can just imagine my happy place, I can get through most of the day or night, or whatever it is.
Standing up, I walk over to the bars, and then pace back to the far wall, trying to keep myself occupied. Every now and then I will hear something odd, something from what I perceive to be a memory, but I know is just this cell playing head games with me. I shake my head and sit back down on the bed, leaning against the wall. I try to run my hand through my hair, but I do not succeed; it is too knotted and dirty, caked with my own blood and dirt. My clothes are stained, and I smell awful – if I had a choice between a shower or food, I would take the shower.
I think it is night, so I lie down and try to relax, being careful not to bump my sides. I sigh and close my eyes, willing myself not to give in, to not break down and cry like a lost child. Eventually this torture will be worth it.
My eyes flutter open groggily and the taste of dried blood is strong in my mouth, and the scent in my nose. The Dark Ace stopped cleaning me up after beatings when I fought back and nearly broke his nose - that stunt cost me my consciousness for a good few hours – so now I am just covered head to toe in dried blood.
Sitting up, I rub my eyes gently, and try to stretch without hurting myself. According to the noises that I can hear through the window, I would say it is about midday or thereabouts. My stomach makes a strange groaning sound, accompanied by a sharp pain, but I ignore it, listening carefully to the footsteps that are approaching my cell. Taking as deep a breath as I can, I prepare myself for what most likely will be another brutal ass kicking.
As the footsteps grow louder and closer, my stomach does back-flips. Finally, he comes into view, but only him, no Cyclonis, which I think strange. He unlocks the cell door and strides in, stopping before me.
"You look like shit," Dark Ace states, his voice nonplussed.
"No worse than you on a regular day basis, Talon," I croak back, my voice so hoarse it is barely a whisper.
"Touché." He rolls his eyes and pulls me to my feet. He then proceeds to look over me, prodding my ribs with his index finger, but stops when I wince and try to struggle away. "Hold still, little Birdie, I'm just checking to see if anything's broken," he snarls, grabbing hold of my left wrist firmly.
I inhale sharply through my nose and the scent of blood is overpowering. I glare at Dark Ace as he continues poking and prodding my body.
"What, you never got to play doctor when you were a kid?" I ask sardonically.
He says nothing, but pokes me rather hard in one of the more tender spots on my body. I wince slightly, but do not move, willing to let him have his fun before probably beating me again. He lets go, seemingly satisfied that nothing is broken and leaves the cell, only to return with a dodgy looking med kit, a ceramic bowl filled with warm water and a small hand towel.
"Sit," he commands.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I take a seat on the bed. "Why do you even do this if you're just going to beat the shit out me again anyway?" I ask, my voice contemptuous.
"There's to be no more beating. I have managed to persuade Master Cyclonis to not order me beat you, don't make me regret that decision," he growls, his voice low and rough.
He begins to clean the blood off me where he can, being relatively careful in the more damaged areas. A giggle nearly escapes my lips when my eyes fall upon his nose; it is still slightly swollen, but the bruising around his eyes has faded away completely. I should have hit him harder.
This man is so unexpected, one minute he is beating the shit out of me, the next he his caring for me like a child. If this cell does not turn me insane, then his actions will, I think I might even feel a little bad when I kill him. I look him right in the eyes and maintain eye contact, silently letting him know that I am not scared of him. I keep my expression completely blank while he wipes away the layer of dried blood from my face.
Soon the water in the ceramic bowl is dirty and bloody and the hand towel is almost completely red – at least my face is clean. Dark Ace places the towel and bowl on the floor and reaches into his pocket. Pulling out a small mirror, he holds it out to me.
"Here," he mutters. I hesitantly take it and gaze at my reflection. Goose bumps cover me as I look over my beaten and bruised features. The cut on my right eyebrow is scabbing over, my bottom lip is split and swollen, my cheeks are red and bruised and both of my eyes are black. I quickly glance at my hair - matted with blood and dirt - and quickly thrust the mirror back into Dark Ace's hands, not wanting to look at myself any longer. Surprisingly enough, my nose is not broken, but it has been hit enough times and equally hard to bleed out every time – actually, I am surprised that nothing is broken at all, just very badly bruised.
I swallow and turn away from Dark Ace, a sick, angry, guilty feeling taking over me. How could someone do this to another human? Why have I been letting him do this to me? Why the fuck doesn't Cyclonis do her own dirty work? I stand up abruptly, ignoring the smarting pain in my sides and pace to the opposite wall, turning on my heel to face the man still seated on the bed.
"If you're quite done, then leave me be," I mutter, my words constricting in my throat. Turning around, I face the corner and wrap my arms around myself, hanging my head down and trying to block out the delusion of friendly voices caused by the cell.
As Dark Ace Stands, I hear the creaking of the bed, his footsteps, then the door clicking closed and being locked. I do not turn away from the corner until the footsteps fade away completely, then return to the bed, sitting slowly and put my head into my hands, sighing heavily.
Aerrow would die if he saw me like this, he must never find out what happened here.
Eight days – I am guessing – I have been locked in this cell. Eight long days I have been deprived of food and mostly sleep. Eight days I have had to endure delusions. Eight fucking days – five of which I have been beaten senseless. I may not be able to take much more of this; I am ready to go home…
Sitting up on the bed, my back against the rough stone wall and my knees pulled up to my chest with my chin resting on them, I let out a sigh and close my eyes for a moment. I am not sure what time it is, but I would guess around midnight, and I cannot sleep. I am not sure if it is because I am scared to sleep, or if it is because of the dream that I have every damn night. Either way, there is not a whole lot for me to do here, except sit and think, and think and sit, maybe pace around in circles occasionally.
Heaving another sigh, I let my legs fall flat and slide down the bed a little bit, so that I am half lying, half sitting. The pain in my ribs has faded, but I am left with nasty bruises, but overall, I am fine – physically. Emotionally, now that's a completely different story. For one, the voices I hear every now and then are just plain annoying, for the simple fact that I know they are not there. I remember Cyclonis making a comment about my mental strength only a day or two ago. You have no idea, bitch; my mind could run circles around you.
"Alright, maybe I am going a little bit insane," I mutter to myself quietly. A hint of a smile tugs at my lips, and I lean my head back, trying to relax my body.
I sit back, trying to relax for I don't know how long, when I hear distant footsteps, and rather loud voices. They sound drunk and I hear one – or both – trip over, crashing into something. Swearing loudly, they continue to walk towards my cell. I see them approaching, so I act cool, not wanting to attract their attention. No use – they see me and walk up, close to the bars.
"Hey, you're that Sky Knight that got 'er Terra blown up by Cyclonis ain't ya?" One of them slurs loudly.
I roll my eyes and continue to sit in silence. This aggravates them, and they start to slur incomprehensible words at me.
"Oi, girlie! D'ya wanna see what a Talons like in the sack? I bet it'll be better than any Sky Knight you've ever 'ad!" the second Talon guffaws loudly.
They will go away, or pass out eventually, just ignore them, I tell myself.
"D'yu know how to talk, Sky Knight? Or does a bog howler got ya tongue?"
"Yeah! Maybe she prefers bog 'owlers."
Keep calm and just ignore them.
"Maybe we can loosen up 'er tongue if we gets the keys," one of them suggests, struggling to a straight face.
"That migh' be some idea ya got there," replies the other.
The first Talon produces a set of keys from his pocket and shakes them through the bars, making them jingle.
This might be amusing, I think to myself as I slide off the bed and walk slowly over to them. The Talon holding the keys pulls his arm out quickly as I approach.
"That got ya 'attention, didn't it, lovely?" he chuckles at me. "I could pull somefin else outta me pants if ya'd like."
I roll my eyes and clear my throat. "I seriously doubt that there is anything at all for you pull out of your pants, Talon, unless it's you head," I say nonchalantly.
My statement angers him, so he spits through the bars, narrowly missing me.
"You're just a little whore, ain't ya?" he growls, baring his teeth. "Well you'll get what's comin' to ya, ya little cock-tease."
His words make me feel sick, and right now, I am thankful for the bars separating us. "Whatever I may get, I am quite sure that it will be better than being harassed by two drunk Talons who smell of cheap whiskey," I retort, trying to keep my voice clear and level.
"I was gunna be nice to you, lovely, let you outta ya cage, but now you've gone and pissed me off," he mutters drunkenly, holding the keys up to his face.
I laugh half-humourlessly. "For a moment there, I thought your stupidity was exceeded by your verbosity. It seems that I had that the wrong way around. You're a complete idiot. Might I suggest that you make sure the next person you hassle knows the difference between a key for a cell and a key for a switchblade."
First, their expression clouds over, completely confused, then they turn angry.
"We've got a smart one 'ere, it would seem," the first Talon mutters to the other.
"She can't be too smart, she's got 'erself all locked up," the second replies, a drunken smile plastered to his face.
"Oh, yeah, ya right. Not a bright little Sky Knight, are ya?"
Time to have a little fun. "I might not be smart, but maybe this is what I had planned," I murmur conspiratorially, and smirk. The Talons look at each other, then shrug.
"Ya can't fool us; no Sky Knight wants to get caught. You know what 'appens to the pretty ones like yeself here?" the second Talon slurs through the bars at me.
I am somewhat curious to hear what shit is about to spill from their mouths so I roll my eyes and reply, "No, please enlighten me."
They both chuckle and stare at me.
"The pretty ones like yeself go to us 'ere Talons. We've 'ad some fun with pretties like you," Talon number one sneers menacingly. A chill runs up my spine and I swallow back the bile that is rising in my throat.
"I doubt you could have any fun whatsoever with a woman, I feel that you are lacking in a certain department," I retort disgustedly.
This angers Talon number one, and he swipes his arm through the bars, making a grab from me. I step back quickly out of his reach.
"I don't think we'll get this one, her is a smart one," Talon number two mutters, more to himself, disappointment evident on his scared face.
"Nah, I thinks ya right, mate. I reckon The Dark Ace is gunna get 'er. He gets all the smart ones, not that there 'as been any before this one right 'ere," The first Talon chortles. The second one joins in laughing and they both sneer at me.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I am quite positive that The Dark Ace has better things to do than wasting his time having his way with women against their will," I say, narrowing my eyes at the two, still laughing Talons.
"You wait and see, lovely. But maybe if we's lucky, we might 'ave a fun time with ya after all," Talon one snarls, while the other nods enthusiastically.
That's it, enough of this shit. "You are both unbelievably pathetic excuses of men. I would much rather have The Dark Ace force himself upon me than be thrown to you dogs," I hiss venomously.
They both start shouting incomprehensibly, and pointing. Over their racket, I can hear another pair of footsteps approaching.
Fucking brilliant, another one, I think and let out a sigh.
"What the fuck is all this noise?!" I hear an authoritive voice shout.
The two Talons fall silent and blanch when they turn towards the source of the new voice.
"C-commander! We were j-just…" The first Talon stammers and his voice fades away.
"What is the reason for this? Explain yourselves at once!"
The footsteps stop in front of the bars, directly opposite from where I am standing. My gaze falls upon him; Tall, handsome, squared shoulders, his stance screaming 'authority', his raven black hair settling around his face, his mouth set in an outraged line, and his crimson eyes burning furiously with rage. The Dark Ace is extremely pissed off.
"S-sir, we were…were just checking to…to see if the Sky Knight was—" The Dark Ace backhands the Talon hard, - the sound echoing around the stone walls - cutting his sentence short.
"Actually, I don't care. You're drunk. Now fuck off before I kill you were you stand," he threatens quietly.
"Y-yes sir!" the Talons stutter in unison before turning on their heels, and stumbling off quickly.
Dark Ace turns towards me, stepping close to the bars, his expression back to the usual impassive, emotionless state. "I hope they were not troubling you too much," he says in a clipped tone.
"Not at all," I reply as politely as possible, "Although, I did have half a mind to kill them both." I think I see the corners of his mouth twitch when I say those words. My throat goes dry as he gazes down at me.
A scowl forms and his eyebrows knit together. "I am surprised you didn't kill them. Some of the things they were saying were disgusting."
"Nothing that I couldn't handle," I mutter hoarsely, and then add on, "The bars kept them safe, moreover, it would be terribly rude to kill a man under someone else's command." I try to sound as politely sweet as I can muster, faking a smile.
"Does your squadron know you have left them to come here?" Dark Ace asks suspiciously.
"First of all, they were not my squadron, Aerrow is their Sky Knight. Secondly, I think it would have been a monumental mistake to tell them that I was leaving to become a Talon Commander. I was just along for the ride after you killed my Squadron. Do you remember that, Ace?" I ask the last four words with silk in my voice.
I see a flicker of something in his eyes, and I assume, that yes, he remembers that occasion quite fondly. I have to summon all my inner strength to not blast through the bars and throttle him.
Now that would just be stupid.
Shut up brain, the pain would be worth it feel my hands around his neck.
"I do remember something like that. Was a shame, really. Your Squadron would have made great Talons, you kept them very well disciplined," he says quietly, smirking.
I feel bile rising in my throat, but I keep my composure. I cannot give anything away, even if it means acting nonplussed about my Squadron; there is time for tears later, I tell myself.
"I would bet on them preferring to be dead, they weren't quite partial to the idea of evil," I reply, deadpan.
"But you are?" Dark Ace asks, his voice sultry and smooth as velvet.
I suppress an unwelcome shudder at his tone, taking a deep measured breath. "Does it really surprise you? I have no home, no friends or family left, where else is there for me to go?"
"You had the Storm Hawks, didn't you?" He raises an eyebrow at me.
"I did, yes. But that would have never worked out. You see, I'm not one for taking orders from another Sky Knight," I lie.
"So you would rather take orders from the ones responsible for destroying all you loved?"
"Now that you mention it, no, not really. It's ironic, isn't it?" I ask, leaning against the bars.
"Indeed. I would as far to say a little too ironic," he replies, regarding me suspiciously and leans his face in close to the bars – to me. I can feel his breath on my face, hot and sweet.
Don't puke, Phoenix, stand your ground.
"You understand that at any given time, if I wanted to, I could blast these bars away and walk right on out of here," I state, somehow resisting the instinct to back away from this horrid man.
"That is correct. Alas, there would be a great deal of pain if you tried," he replies, smiling through the bars, from the thought of me screaming in pain.
"But I could do it. So, why have I not attempted to escape this place? Do you not trust me, Ace?" I ask silkily, pressing my face against the bars, looking right into his eyes, hoping mine hold something of a smouldering look and not a death threat.
I swear on every Life you have ever taken, I will kill you, Dark Ace. I will rip your heart out while it's still beating to show you just how black it is before you die, you fucker.
I somehow resist the urge to reach through the bars and try to get him right here. That would endanger the mission, be patient.
"You really do want to join Cyclonis, don't you?" He smirks and places his hand over mine, holding onto the bars, either side of my face.
"No, I just like to hand out in this cell here," I reply sarcastically, hoping that he lets go. No, bad Talon, no touching. Talking, sure, whatever tickles your fancy, but do not touch me, you disgusting, evil, pathetic, evil, traitorous coward of a man. You make me sick, I am yelling internally, all the while keeping my face the same.
"Sarcasm? There is not a lot of that around these parts."
"There are not a lot of brain cells around these parts either, it would seem," I state coolly.
"I have to agree with on that," he replies with what I swear to be a slight chuckle. The corners of my mouth pick up involuntarily, and I am shocked.
What the hell? This bastard just made me smile. I should be holding a blade to his throat, not casually chatting. Although, I cannot help but be fascinated by him in this moment. I cannot put my finger on it exactly as to why though. Maybe since he is talking, I might be able to get a bit of information out of him.
Maybe it's a trap. Maybe he wants you to give him information. That is not going to happen, not even their worst torture will ever make me talk.
"How much longer am I to be held in here?" I ask, hoping that he answers me.
"For as long as Master Cyclonis sees fit. We need to know that you can be trusted before further action," he replies formally, standing straight again, although leaving his hands to rest upon mine.
Stop touching me!
I sigh heavily, god knows how long I am to be imprisoned in this hellhole.
At least he told you the formalities.
He's still evil and I hate him to death. Oh if only looks could kill, I would throw one his way. Jeez, even in this place, my mind is still overactive, thinking up new ways to kill this man.
"There has to be something I can do to get the hell out of here."
"Well, you could blast these bars away and walk out," he shrugs nonchalantly.
"Oh, I'm sure you master would be thrilled if I did that. But if I did do that, it would defeat the purpose of coming here in the first place."
"I don't think you will be behind these bars for much longer. If you have not broken out in a week's time, then I will suggest to Master Cyclonis that you are truly here to become a Cyclonian."
Wait, what? He would actually do that? I shouldn't get my hopes up, this man just cannot be trusted, but for now I will give him the benefit of the doubt. "I'm quite surprised, Dark Ace. You can act like a gentleman. Here I was thinking that you would be completely indifferent to the sight of a Sky Knight behind Cyclonian prison bars." Another involuntary smile tugs at my lips.
Get a grip! This cell plays mind games, remember? He is indifferent, he doesn't care whether you live or die here, and stop smiling at him!
"I am no gentleman, little Birdie, I just see history repeating itself. I can't help but feel the slightest prick of sympathy for you." His eyes glaze over for a split second, before blinking a regaining his composure.
What? The Dark Ace just let his composure slip, in front of me no less, sure it was only for a split second, but…what?
Mind games, remember? You probably just imagined his pretty eyes glazing over, this man holds no sympathy for you.
"History repeating itself?" I ask quietly, curious.
Oh, I get it. He's trying to win your trust by making you think this happened to him too. Don't let this fucker fool you!
For some reason, I can't seemed to agree with that thought. Maybe he is telling the truth.
"Yes. I think it is time for bed, it's late," he says, suddenly turning glacial as he turns to walk away.
"This happened to you too, didn't it?" I whisper through the bars, now talking to his back.
He looks over his shoulder, a semblance of a smile on his lips and I swear I spot a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Goodnight, Phoenix," he says quietly and begins to walk away.
"Goodnight…Ace," I whisper after him, but he has already disappeared down the corridor, his footsteps echoing quietly before fading into the silence.
Well, slap me silly and call me sally, apparently The Dark Ace does have emotions.
I stride over to my bed and flop down, making it creak noisily. That evil shell of a man had to endure this too?
"Maybe why he's such a mean bastard," I mutter to myself.
I must admit, him saying that he feels sympathetic took me off guard; he relishes the thought of murdering my squadron, yet on the other hand, sympathizes for me because I'm locked in here.
What the fuck did they do to him in here? What are they going to do to me?
The thought sends trembling shudders through me. Maybe I'm just overthinking it, they probably won't do anything worse than what I have received already, besides, he said he will try to get me out of here within a week.
Trying to get comfortable, I slowly drift off into a restless sleep.
If I had my sky journal with me, I would probably write something like: The days are long and getting longer. I am weak from beatings and lack of food. I am a complete emotional wreck, although I cannot afford to show it, I must stay strong. However, I do not have my journal, so talking to myself will just have to do.
The days are in fact, getting longer – blurring together. It has been so hard to sleep lately. I am still reeling from my conversation with The Dark Ace a few days ago. Oh so many things going on in my head. The longer I am in this cell, the more powerful the delusions are becoming. Yesterday I actually hallucinated…and then passed out. It's not every day that your dead parents show up in Cyclonia to have a chat. Oh, who am I kidding? I am a complete mess, I can't keep trying to make jokes, it's not working at all.
I stand up off my bed and begin pacing, trying and failing to block out the voices that are whispering around me.
"Go away, I know this is just a delusion," I mutter aloud, hoping it will work. Of course, it doesn't. I pace back to my bed and slam down onto it, heaving a shuddering sigh.
For nearly two entire weeks, I have been locked up in this dingy cell. It feels as if it is getting smaller with each passing day. There is nothing to keep me sane here, maybe it would be worth the pain just to blast these bars to kingdom come and stroll on out of this dump. My temper is a hell of a lot shorter now, I think I know why The Dark Ace has a sliver of sympathy for me. If I have to spend any longer in here, I won't be able to stop myself from blasting these bars away and killing any Talon that gets in my way. Just earlier today, I nearly did just that, because of some smartass Talon making sexist jokes about me.
This place does more than mess with my head, I thought it was bad a few days ago, but now…now I am really feeling it. I wish I was back on the Condor with Aerrow and the others.
The delusions are so bad that just last night I thought I was back with the Storm Hawks. When the hallucination wore off I nearly broke down completely. Someone, please get me out of here.
I sigh heavily, and leaning against the stone wall, slowly slide down to the floor so that I and parallel to the bars. Putting my head in my hands, an uninvited sob escapes my lips, and I take yet another shuddering breath. Try as I might, I just cannot hold it in anymore, another sob racks through me tears begin to fall from my eyes. Letting my emotions do their thing, I just sit here, sobbing into my hands, huge bone shaking sobs.
After what seems like hours of crying, I hear boots stomping towards my cell. I hastily dash the tears from my face, but they just keep coming. The footsteps stop directly out the front of my cell. I peek up from my position on the floor to see The Dark Ace peering through the bars. Attempting to hold the tears at bay, I jump up off the floor and walk slowly over to him.
"Shit, Phoenix," he mutters, a strange emotion in his voice and on his face.
"What?" I ask quietly, afraid that I might have angered him somehow.
"Hang on, I'm getting you out of this fucking cell, right now," he mutters quickly, something like rage in his tone. Reaching into his pocket, he produces a message crystal. A small holographic screen appears above the crystal and Dark Ace talks into it. "Master Cyclonis, I believe that Phoenix is ready to be let out of her cell."
I hear Cyclonis' voice reply. "You believe that, do you, Dark Ace? And why is that" she asks quietly, menacingly.
"She has not made any attempt to escape or made threats against either of us or any other Commanders. I believe that she is quite ready for training, Master," he replies without hesitation or fear.
"Very well. I shall trust your judgement, do not make a fool out of my kind nature, Dark Ace, or you will feel my wrath," she whispers menacingly.
"Yes Master." Dark Ace bows his head before shutting off the crystal and pocketing it.
"You're letting me out," I choke out quietly between sobs.
"Yes. By the looks of it, you're about to strangle yourself with your bed sheets," he mutters coolly, not giving any emotion away. Reaching into his pocket again, he produces a set of keys that jungle lightly as they are pulled free. With one swift move, he places them in the lock and twists them with a slight flourish of his wrist.
The sound of the lock clicking open is the sweetest melody I have ever heard. Pulling the door open, Dark Ace gestures for me to walk out. Like a captive animal about to be released back into the wild, I take a tentative step forward.
Finally, I am out. I'm out! Tears anew begin to fall, tears of gratitude.
"Thank you," I whisper, forcing the words out of my constricted throat.
"You're quite welcome," he replies nonplussed.
I think my hatred for this man has decreased infinitesimally, and in the spur of the moment, without thinking, my body propels me forwards, and I throw my arms around him, nearly knocking both of us off balance. A second after I realize what I've just done. I step back, completely shocked, and feeling foolish.
"That was quite unexpected," Dark Ace mutters, standing there looking lost.
"Sorry," I mumble, staring down at my feet, feeling my cheeks flush.
"It's fine…" He scratches his head for a second and clears his throat. "I wouldn't want you to strangle yourself with your bed sheets, you're no use to Master Cyclonis dead or insane. Another day or two and you would have done something stupid," he says, regaining his composure.
I look up and attempt a small smile in reply.
"Come. Let's get you cleaned and fed, you've become far too skinny, and you need your strength for the next two months. The initiation process for becoming a Talon Commander is quite tiresome and draining," he states and begins to walk down the corridor. I follow, silently, trying to keep up with his pace.
This man is human, with emotions. I must find out what made him this way, and maybe if he is willing to atone for his crimes and hold remorse, I may let him live.
What? No, he must die, that is the only way he can atone for his wrongdoings, that small, dark voice screeches in the back of my mind. I try to ignore it, but it is right. I cannot get to know him on any kind of personal friendly level, I am going to make him pay, and hopefully within six months the Atmos will be free from these fucked up people for good.
We have reached the end of the corridor and begin ascending the spiral stairs. Our footfalls echoes quietly as we make our way up.
Only a few more months.
So? What have you to say about this chapter? I would love some reviews guys! I hope you are all looking forward to the next chapter :)