Through the Haze - Part Twenty-One

Revenge is never a good thing; it eats at our souls, torments us mentally, and no good can come of it. --Zander Trulopis, Book of Endings
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Anthony squatted down in the bushes near the edge of the house, waiting for his time to strike. The bastard was still up and moving, though he was shutting the lights off and blowing the candles out. He watched as the bastard walked up the steps into darkness.

He waited fifteen minutes before he slowly opened the window. He knew that it was open; he'd been working on it, slowly, over the past few hours, waiting for the bastard to get tired and go to bed. He slowly snuck into the house, being as quiet as possible, hefting his backpack over his shoulder.

He moved toward the stairs, gripping the revolver tightly in his right hand, ready to fire if necessary. He slowly, quietly, crept up the steps, not making a single sound. He was sure the bastard wouldn't know what hit him.

But was he willing to be that forgiving? The bastard had murdered his family, was he really going to just shoot him and be done with it? He wanted him to suffer, to feel that pain that he'd caused him.

Anthony let his breath out slowly, rounding a corner and moving down the hallway. He wasn't sure which room was the bastard's but he made a guess and shoved the door open.

As soon as it creaked open, there was a small, hardly noticeable sound, and something punched him in the side. He gasped breathlessly and went to his knees, dropping the revolver as he put a hand to his side. It felt like he'd been punched, but as he pulled his hand away, he saw that it was covered in blood.

He felt light-headed, and fell forward, the palms of his hands holding him, if not a bit shakily. His arms trembled and nearly gave in, but he forced them to stay up.

There was a chuckle and an old man came into view, a twisted smirk on his face. His gray hair matched his gray eyes. The muzzle of his gun was smoking slightly as he looked down at Anthony.

"...Ba-Bastard...." Anthony managed to whisper, gasping for breath.

The man laughed and kicked him in the ribs, sending him toppling over with a wild yelp of pain. "Anthony, Anthony, Anthony...what am I going to do with you? I let you live out of the goodness of my heart, you know. You should have run away."

"Bastard...." he gasped, clutching his side.

"Call me what you will, it doesn't change anything." the man knelt down next to Anthony. "I won't let you die, child. No, not yet. I'm going to have a little fun before that happens."

Anthony watched him with hazy vision as the bastard pulled out a needle. He squirted some sort of clear liquid out and moved it toward Anthony's wound, prying Anthony's hands away.

Anthony struggled to move away. "What....what is that....?" he asked weakly.

"You'll see," said the bastard. "Now, hold still."

"No..."

"Yes," he said, and shoved the needle into his wound. Anthony screamed and tried to move away, but the man grabbed his arm tightly, forcing him to hold still. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Let...go of--of me..."

"Okay." he released him. Anthony didn't feel so good, his head pounded, sending sharp pains through his body, and he could hardly move.

"What...di-did....you do....to m-me?"

"You'll see," he said, smirking.

Pain suddenly shot through his body as his wound began to close up. He gasped and cried out in pain and alarm, clutching his side tightly, unable to breathe. The bastard laughed all the while, watching him writhe in agony.

"Ba-Ba-Bastard...."

"Yes, I am."

Anthony groaned and closed his eyes, his mouth sagging as he focused on remembering how to breathe.

The man smiled. "My little creation." he aimed the gun at Anthony's leg.

Anthony shook his head. "Don't..." he said feebly.

But his effort was in vain. The gun fired, and pain shot through his leg, traveling throughout his body. He gasped and curled, clutching his leg as blood seeped through his fingers. The bastard laughed and raised the gun again, aiming at Anthony's shoulder.

Anthony's eyes widened. "No...please," he tried, but the man laughed and fired.

He screamed until he was hoarse as the bastard attacked him, watching and laughing as he healed, his wounds closing. Healing hurt so badly, it was just too much for him.

Anthony passed out within twenty minutes.

"Hmm," murmured the bastard. "I'm surprised he lasted that long." he shrugged and hefted Anthony's limp body over his shoulder as if he were nothing, and made his way down the stairs. "I'm not done with you yet, kid. You're in for a world of hurt."

He laughed as he opened the cellar door and walked down the steps, carrying the inert form in his arms.

"I'm not nearly finished," he said with a chuckle.
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Gabriel opened his eyes from where he sat on the seat of the train. He wasn't sure where they were headed; they were going to Isaac's place, but they had to stop at a few places first. They had to go along with the train's schedule, after all. He wasn't sure where they were to be stopping next, or why.

Loukoi sat next to him, quiet, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Gabriel sighed and closed his eyes again.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and everyone started panicking. Someone came onto the intercom, saying, "Please, everyone, do not panic. We're having a little technical difficulties at the moment, if you could just sit tight and be patient, we'll get moving again as soon as possible." the trained slowed to a stop.

Gabriel heard a ticking noise. His eyes widened as alarms began going crazy in his head. He grabbed Lou's arm. "Lou, we gotta get outta here."

Lou blinked at him. "What? Why?"

"Because we'll die if we don't!"

Lou frowned. "What about all these people?"

Gabriel frowned too. "I don't know, but I know we have to get off of here." he pulled Lou to his feet. Lou's frown deepened as he looked around at all the passengers.

"We can't leave them," he said to Gabriel in a soft whisper. "You know we can't leave them."

Gabriel sighed. "I know....but what can we do?"

Just as he said that, something exploded in the next compartment over. People screamed bloody murder and started running around, trying to get out. The doors suddenly shut and locked, and the windows refused to break or open. Something chilled Gabriel to the bone, and the alarms went even crazier, if that were possible.

Lou was looking around, trying to see what do to.

Another ticking noise, growing faster and faster. Gabriel shouted out a warning and tackled Lou to the ground, covering his body with his own as another explosion sounded, in their compartment. Glass shattered and people screamed and cried and then their sounds died down as fire filled the area. Gabriel lifted his head.

"....Lou? You okay?" he asked.

Lou nodded and sat up as Gabriel moved away. Fire ate ate at the seats and the floors, and Gabriel knew it was only a matter of time before things got even worse. Lou looked around at the bodies that cluttered the area. His face grew shadowed with inner pain. "All those people...."

Gabriel watched him, frowning. "I know...I'm sorry, Lou..."

Lou sighed heavily. "What for? There was nothing we could have done..."

"I know," Gabriel said quietly. More alarms went off in his head, and he tried to be as alert as possible.

Lou suddenly yelped and went down. Gabriel stared at him and crawled over to him.

"Lou? Lou, are you okay? Answer me..." he grabbed his friend's shoulder, seeing the blood that was forming around him. "Lou, please..."

"....Gabe...." his voice was so terribly faint. It made Gabriel's heart ache.

"I'm here, Lou. I'm..." he swallowed thickly. "I'm here. Take it easy, okay? You're going to be just fine."

Lou smiled weakly, faintly. "...If...you say...so...." he whispered.

"Stay with me, Lou," he said, shaking his friend's shoulder a bit. He bit his lower lip, blinking back tears. "Stay with me."

"Ca-Can't....I'm--I'm sorry...."

"Please, Lou, stay with me," Gabriel pleaded, taking shaky breaths. "Please."

"S-Sorry..."

"Don't be sorry, just stay with me. Please, stay with me."

Lou said nothing, his breaths heavy and labored, his eyes dull and glazed.

Gabriel clenched his eyes tightly closed. "Lou, please...please, don't do this....stay with me."

Lou was silent.

"....Please...please, stay with me....don't do this....don't do this to me, brother...please, don't do this."

The compartment grew chilly. Gabriel clenched his eyes closed even tighter. 'Go away,' he thought to himself. 'Please, just go away.'

He opened his eyes and looked down at Lou's pale form. "Lou, don't you dare do this to me," he said, somehow knowing how Lou had felt when he lay dying. "Don't you dare. Stay with me, you fool! Stay!"

Lou's breaths hitched and stopped.

His eyes widened, full of tears. "No....no, no, no...No, Lou, please, don't you dare....stay with me, Loukoi, please....don't do this!" he gripped Lou's shoulder tightly, somehow feeling the warmth leave his friend. "P-Please..." he whispered, his throat constricting. "Don't do this....stay, Lou, please..."

Lou remained silent, still, breathless.

The compartment grew colder, still.

"Breathe, Lou....please, don't do this....I'm begging you, brother, don't...please...just breathe...." he clenched his eyes tightly closed as a tear traveled down his cheek. "P-Please..."

"He's dead," a moaning voice said from behind him. He flinched at the choice of words and at the voice.

"He's...he's not," he argued feebly.

"He is. You know it, I know it, his corpse knows it...He's dead."

"No..." another tear escaped his eye. "He's...He's not dead...." he tightened his grip on Lou's shoulder again. 'He can't be,' he thought to himself. 'Please, Lou, don't be dead...please, brother, I need you....'

The moaning voice laughed. "He's dead. Face it, Gabriel. He's D-E-A-D, dead. Dead as door nails and whatnot."

"He's not...."

"He is."

Gabriel clenched his eyes tightly closed. "Go away," he whispered. "You've...you've done enough. I know this was your doing."

"It was," said the voice.

"And you'll pay for this....you'll pay." he reached out with a trembling hand and closed Lou's eyes. 'I'm sorry, Lou...I'm so sorry....' he thought. A tear trailed down his face and landed on the shoulder he gripped. "Why?" he whispered aloud. "Why...why did you have to do this to him?"

"Because he was in the way," replied the voice.

"But he was innocent....he didn't...he didn't deserve this...." he managed to choke out. "God, why? You should have killed me instead."

"Not with him in the way," said the voice. "With him around, you're too hard to kill. With him gone, it'll be easier."

Gabriel choked back a sob. "Why him? Why'd you have to kill him? Why?"

"I could have just injured him, I guess, but it's much funner this way. You should see the look on your face."

'Lou, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault...' he thought to himself.

"Gabriel...Gabe...." a voice whispered into the compartment.

Gabriel looked up. "What?"

He looked around, but the chill was no longer there.

Gabriel sniffled. "Who--Who's there? Hello?"

"Gabriel..."
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Gabriel opened his eyes quickly, tears brimming in his eyes, his heart racing wildly. Lou sat next to him on the train they were riding on, frowning at him.

"Are you okay?" Lou asked, looking concerned.

Gabriel said nothing, pulling his friend in for a hug. "You're all right..." he whispered, greatly relieved.

Lou frowned, hugging back slowly. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be?"

Gabriel shook his head and pulled away. "Bad dream. Nightmare."

Lou looked him up and down. "You okay?"

Gabriel nodded slowly. "I'm fine, now that I'm awake," he said. 'And out of that place where you were dead,' he thought to himself.

Lou nodded.

"Any problems with the train?" Gabriel asked, fearing that that hadn't been a dream at all, but a vision. He got chills just thinking about it coming real.

"No," said Lou. "No problems. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"You're acting kind of strange," Loukoi commented.

'You would too if you just watched your brother die,' he thought to himself, giving a shudder as he remembered it. "I'm fine. The dream as me a bit edgy; it'll pass," he said. 'Maybe,' he silently added.

Lou nodded. "Well, we'll be stopping at Juickson in about an hour or two."

Gabriel nodded. "Okay." he still felt edgy, and gravely worried.

Lou could really die if he was near him. He clenched his eyes tightly closed, willing those terrible images out of his head.

It was just a dream, he told himself. Just a terrible, terrible dream. A nightmare. It didn't mean it was going to turn out to be real.

But still, it upset him. If Lou ever really died, he knew he'd fall apart. Lou was his only family, his only friend, the only one who understood him, or at least to some extent. If he died, if he lost that...

He'd go insane, he knew.