The morning bell tolled for the souls in Night City that arrived at Heaven’s gate. Madeleine sat in her pajamas on the front bench inside the Holy Angels Church. Saturday’s sermon was starting in about fifteen minutes, as the lonely and elderly couples sauntered in to keep the Holy Ghost company. The hushed exchanging of pleasantries of fellow strangers brought hope into their hearts, as the stained-glass windows bathed the whole room in an ethereal glow. She always thought that there was a strange comforting warmth that permeated the air. Maybe because it was the closest thing to a temporal home for more than just the orphans; a sought-after shelter from the nightmares that reality lurked beyond these walls. She overheard at least one joyous laugh everyday, a roundabout reassurance that every breath wouldn’t feel like their last. Rubbing the darkness underneath her eyelids, letting sleepiness escape her wide-open lips. Coming to the sudden realization that she’d be late, hastening her footsteps across the Cathedral, supposed to meet the youth pastor and her surrogate brother figure for her lessons. The calm before the fire and the flood...
Rushing upstairs and toward her shared space, grabbing the outfit neatly folded atop the wooden chest by her mattress, laced with the irony that she set everything out to remember to change. Quickly putting on a smile along with the rest of her clothes. Delaying her speed for the sake of the young woman’s polite words while gathering everybody's bed sheets in a laundry basket.
“Slow down dear, life isn’t a race.” Getting into a typical routine of loosening her knotted long hair with a comb like her untangling shoelaces, heading into havoc halfway into the hall in a half-hearted habit to look presentable.
“Stop running boy and come here!” Softly shouted by the old burly gentleman dressed in pristine white garb chasing the bare-chested boy wearing his shirt like a cape and snickering until he tripped, falling onto his knees and hopefully having enough time to pray before having his arm grabbed and himself yanked up. The bear had been poked, its grumpy snarl was terrifying to the other children. Except for this abnormal kid whose off-kilter stare seemed perpetually perplexed by the others existing around him.
“What happened?” Madeleine asked approaching them, interrupting the building steam spewing from the bear’s ears before his top blew off. The older man released his grip, sighing and straightening out his shirt’s collar. The boy darted behind Madeleine, curiously peeking out with a sly grin.
“He was caught kissing all the sick girls when they were sleeping, all the while he refuses to dress himself properly.” He answered sternly.
“But I was trying to make them feel better. That’s what kissing does right Maddie?” The boy argued with a tone reflecting his confused innocence, not so much that it was a sincere mistake but that he had no guilty feeling of wrongdoing. His gaze shifted toward her, as she rubbed the back of her neck and looked away. It was smarter and faster just to bite the bullet, as her awkward silence spoke clearly. He folded his arms and shook his head, seeming to be moments away from throwing his arms in the air.
“Well considering that he clearly listens to you. Perhaps, you can get him to behave and doesn’t cause more trouble today.” His lecture trailed off into muttering inaudibly, as he thoughtlessly sauntered through where the closest door happened to be, it was the same story as everyone else that had been actively keeping their distance from the boy since he was brought here. She nodded in response watching him leave, as the boy playfully mimicked her movements. But both of them knew that neither of them could perform such a miracle. She turned to look into his golden-eyes and without a word spoken, the boy start putting on his shirt and looked solemnly at the ceiling.
“What’s wrong with being an animal?” He suddenly asked, sounding somber and cold enough to chill her bones. He gently grabbed her shirt and stared up at her with a frown. A clinging sympathy that she couldn’t shake, becoming her cross to bear. Madeleine accepted that she was going to be late regardless, leaned down and kissed the air by his forehead. He reacted with a soft smile, patting her hair and speaking to her in a way she had learned to tolerate. “Good girl.”
Unbeknownst to her that encounter would be her last interaction with the boy excluding his parting words. But her following days weren’t any easier…
Madeleine caught a glimpse of an ever-expanding arsenal locked up the first time she was escorted up to the third floor. Comprised of many confiscated firearms from the homeless sheltered here, surrendering their property willingly as they were under the churches protection. To think she quivered from the mere sight of a firearm before her training. She knew this was going to be her final lesson. Her heart and hands were still, keeping the rifle aligned with the target, finger squeezing the trigger. The earbuds muffled each following bang, her results were nearly perfect.
Bam — Bam.
Bam! Bam! Bam!The next session was personal. Was he moving slower? Was something on his mind? Who cares! The only thing that mattered was victory. Her palms sweating underneath her boxing gloves, focused and dodging her trainer’s jab by ducking below, thinking a split-second before unleashing another flurry of blows. Watching his footwork very carefully like she was trained to — he misstepped and stumbled! She lunged forward and tackled his leg, knocking him on his back. He laid there in awe, looking at an ecstatic ear to ear smile. She clenched her fists victoriously and jumped in the air.
“Yes! I did it! I finally did it!” Her high-pitched squee almost left her embarrassed, but the sweetness of winning made her jittery she like devoured too much sugar. Having the faintest smile as he stood upright, the nearby window suddenly lighting his face juxtaposed by being in the darkest place imaginable. What glared before her was fear incarnate, his distraught voice wrought with pain. She hesitated to respond or react, had she hurt him?
“It’s been an incredible experience to watch you mature. I don’t know if when I’ve ever seen someone your age have such inner and outer strength. Nor, will I ever again I suspect.” His last sentence just loud enough to be understood. She often rolled her eyes at these talks, adults spoke in such confusingly abstract ways. But it still stuck her as abnormal behavior, merely nodding along to show she was listening. He turned his back to her. “I’ve always tried to save you and others. But know that in the end, only God can be your savior.”
“A-are you okay?” She blurted out, having no other way to phrase her blunt concern. Pausing for a few seconds, but answered with a question of his own.
“Have you ever felt the devil’s presence? Heard demons digging their sharp claws just beyond your vision every night?”
“No, because the devil and demons can’t go inside the church.” She replies dismissively, shaking her head so the idea couldn’t latch onto her mind. He suddenly gripped her shoulders which made her flinch, being briefly shook, it was rougher than he’d ever been to anyone let alone her.
“That’s wrong! The devil will go anywhere to get what he wants! Don’t you dare let their flames tempt you!” His voice spiraling into anger, spitting the very fire from hell he warned about. He then left go and stood there silently. Was this some cruel joke? She instinctively slugged his arm in retaliation and ran off, never getting the chance to see the stream of tears...
Later that night when she couldn’t sleep, she decided that she wanted to apologize and crept through the dark church. Finding herself underneath the attic and hearing a loud thud. Furniture falling down? She paused and wondered if it was her imagination, before investigating and climbing up and stared in horror. It was him...now a lifeless husk as his feet dangled in the air and lightly swaying like a puppet on a string. The sight, the strong smell, as tears and saliva began leaking from her. The atmosphere was the first time she’d truly felt the devil was near. The ground shook beneath her and collapsed like reality itself, as her silent scream went unheard as the scenery began crumbling away...
Splash!
She had fallen down into an unknown dark place, the tears wouldn’t stop coming down, becoming a puddle that reached her ankles. Her reflection showing her older self, long hair covering half her face. She closed and rubbed her eyes. Opening them to be waist deep and surrounded by an endless purple sea shrouded in nearly pitch-black darkness.
An echoed voice called out from a distance, wading deeper and deeper into the depths as she attempted to follow the sound. It soothed her like the freezing waves splashing in her face, noticing a few feet ahead that a dark, shadow-like body floated up to the surface and just kept being slightly further than her hand could easily touch before suddenly finding herself underwater. Thrashing to the surface and gasp for breath, feeling the blazing heat as the water’s surface had been surrounded by walls of intense fire. Her reflection now showing her horrible burned scars covering her flesh. The fire spread all around her a hand outstretched through the blazing wall, seemingly begging her to be pulled through.
“Do you want to live?” A familiar voice asked his familiar line.
“Yes…” Madeleine grabbed the hand tightly, subsequently yanked through as red fur began spouting from her arm’s open wounds and rapidly covered each inch until utterly changing into Scarlett.
Scarlett opened her eyes and sat up wrapped in white covers like a cocoon, not in any pain but feeling very numb. Inside her master’s bedroom, the decor was a bizarre mix between luxury and commonplace. Able to see her master’s face through the reflection of the mirror hanging up on the westward wall, seeing those golden irises staring back. But despite being stripped down to his boxers, he still had far too many layers to peel off. She hadn’t been exposed to the naked truth, looking for the chopped onions to explain his tears. In spite of their years of imitation intimacy, it was clear that she never understood anything about his feelings, motivations or history. Interrupting the silence by abrupt speaking up, though she couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
“You’re going to have to try harder than that, if you want to die on me. His delayed laughter only made it sound more serious. Letting out a sigh as she laid back down when he approached the bed. “Don’t expect me to be lenient to you when breaking my rules.”
“I apologize for my failure.” She said flatly while his knees leaned against the bed, resting his hands on her stomach and smiling.
“If you weren’t on the right track, you wouldn’t have been targeted by the payroll parasites foolish enough to double cross me.” He answered gently massaging her sides beneath the sheets, catching a whiff of his last smoked cigar in his breath. “I’ve always stated finding information on Davison has always been the top priority. But it’s only made everyone more desperate and cutthroat. Truth is, the only thing I’m aware of is how far behind I am in my pursuit. I waited too long to put somebody like you that I could rely on. Now I nearly suffered the ultimate price...” She didn’t dare speak or move, merely watching him draw closer sliding his caressing hands up. He whispered something softly in her ears, sounding like a child. “You scared me.”
She sat up and kissed his lips, their relationship as twisted as their tongues. He silently sat himself beside her and wrapped his arms around her when she attempted to move away from the bed. “No, you should rest at least for another 48 hours. It will give me enough time to ensure that I’ve eliminated all who try to fracture my fortress and murder my most prized possession. I will stop at nothing to get what I want.” His sinister tone only emboldened her.
(
Music)
“Neither will I.” She answered sounding submissive, but her actions had become deliberate, slipping from his grasp and laying her head onto his lap. “Allow me find Lieutenant Davision for you. There’s someone I need to track down...please help me find her— master.” She begged.
He simply stroked her head, his touch as gentle as his response. “Anything for my pet...”
It was obvious to her that beggars couldn’t be choosers. Tracking time was less necessary than locating her newest target with whatever information she acquired. Her body still remained unbroken and Beretta’s tightly clenched, prepared to put a certain biker gang six feet deep in the concrete jungle. As one shattered psyche strolled through ramshackle streets, nothing would stop her from getting revenge. Despite the self-insistence of programmed instinctual fearlessness, each step closer to her destination was a place her nervously beating heart feared to tread. Unleashing the chains off the beast, untying her past like anchors dragging behind her embedded in her deepest subconscious. It was too heavy to carry that weight and needed to be left behind as it was only holding her back. Ignoring the disarraying flood of various lights and the sounds of strangers and cars became background static as she passed. The air was still and the bait had been cast out, mail was somehow inconspicuously delivered to the redhead, sprinklings of information to hook her in. But Scarlett had more prepared if she wouldn’t bite…
Continually breathing in and out deeply as she was finally here. Scanning her surroundings to make sure she couldn’t sense anyone stalking her. Proceeding to take several steps forward and putting her guns back into her holsters, since nobody else was around. Lifting her gaze straight ahead with both hands pressed upon upper-chest, never had utter emptiness fulfilled such a large void what remained of her soul.
Her old street address where her boyfriend’s old apartment complex that had previous stood and burned to a crisp, learning every life inside ended except for hers. It didn’t matter if it was luck, fate, God or something far more terrifying. It was now just a vacant plot of land forgotten by the rest of the world, only having a few fallen tears to remember it by. She moved on quickly, halfway to her scheduled meeting spot...
“I hope she won’t keep me waiting long...”
