March part three

There he was, standing before me—the little demon—his eyes glowing in the darkness at the top of the stairs, advancing slowly. Behind him, the agonized screams of chained monsters echoed through the chamber. I could only assume he had teleported them here with his power.  

"This is why I don't let adults into DreamGuard. They always get too suspicious. But who cares? One more meal," he said, wearing his signature smirk.  

"A meal for whom?" I asked, my tone serious. "For the monsters... or for the children?"  

"Heh, who knows? But does it even matter? All for the sake of protecting dreams," he replied, stepping under the dim light of the room. "After all, anyone from the outside is no different from a mere animal."  

"Oh no, you wouldn't understand. You haven't been through what I have," I growled, my rage boiling over.  

"Exactly. Your experiences in the outside world have changed you. That's why you deserve to die here and now. But don't worry—your nephews can still be saved. I promise I'll take good care of them."  

At those words, my blood boiled, and I lunged forward, guns drawn, charging at Prescott.  

"If you lay a finger on them, I swear you'll end up in the same cage as your beloved monsters," I snarled, aiming both pistols at him.  

"Hmph. Sorry, but I think it's already too late. After all, you're already in there with them."  

"Huh?"  

Suddenly, I was far from Prescott, with cold iron bars between us. His eyes gleamed in the dim light. I turned around—and saw them. A horde of ultra-mutants, saliva dripping from their gaping maws.  

Prescott stepped toward a nearby green button. With a casual press, the beasts’ chains fell away, and they crept toward me with predatory curiosity.  

"The one who kills the human earns their freedom," Prescott declared.  

The creatures lunged at me instantly. I gripped my pistols tightly and started firing. They hurled their grotesque powers at me—fire, venom, razor-sharp appendages—but I dodged each one, delivering precise headshots that left them lifeless on the ground.  

"What you're doing here, Prescott—it's inhuman. Feeding children creatures that were once people. Hell, some of them might even be their parents! Maybe they never actually died, and now you're torturing them. Not even ultra-mutants deserve this," I spat, still firing, my body drenched in the multi-colored blood of my enemies.  

"Shut up! If I were you, I'd focus on staying alive," he snapped, irritated that I was still unscathed. "You don’t know what you’re talking about. With just military rations, we would’ve lasted six months at best. The kids needed to eat. They couldn't suspect a thing. I promised my father."  

"Ha. I don’t think you really care about the kids. The truth is, you enjoy this madness. You can’t fool me—I know what kind of eyes you have."  

"Shut up! Shut up!" he screamed, clawing at his own hair in frustration. "You don’t understand! You haven’t felt my pain! I was a slave—a damn sex slave! They kidnapped me as a child and sold me to disgusting adults! Mark was one too! Until General Lickert saved us. He was the only good adult I ever knew. I made a promise to him. And yes! I enjoy the violence! But you can’t blame me! It was those damned adults who turned me into this!"  

"No, Prescott. You're wrong," I said, standing amidst a pile of corpses, soaked in blood. "You are the master of your own fate. And so am I."  

Despite the burns, the gashes, the poison seeping into my veins, and the broken bones, I remained standing. I had fought my way through this nightmare of a cage. I would not let Prescott decide my fate—not before I fulfilled my mission.  

"But how? You're just a regular human! You shouldn't still be standing!" he stammered, trembling.  

"Yeah... I don’t even know how I’m still alive after so many battlefields. I don’t consider myself a survivor. Maybe I just have dumb luck."  

"Hahaha! How idiotic. Who cares what you are? You’re still trapped in there. No escape. I’ll leave you to rot in this cage until you starve to death. I always win. I am the damn god of DreamGuard!" he declared maniacally, his mask finally slipping away.  

I stayed calm and lit a cigar. After taking a long drag, I fixed my gaze on Prescott.  

"I wouldn’t say that if I were you."  

"Huh?"  

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the background. A shadow leapt from the staircase, landing directly on top of the so-called god. The figure held a gun to Prescott’s head.  

"The great Rick makes his grand entrance! Miss me?" my nephew declared, brimming with self-importance, convinced he was the hero of the moment.  

"Hah! You really think a mere child stands a chance against me?" Prescott sneered. "This isn’t the first time a nosy kid has wandered in here. I have no problem killing you. Losing one doesn’t matter as long as the dreams of the majority stay alive."  

With a flicker of his glowing eyes, he teleported Rick into the cage with me.  

"Damn it! Sorry, Uncle," Rick muttered, looking ashamed.  

I placed my hand on his head and ruffled his hair.  

"You did good, kid. Just like I planned."  

"What? Planned? What, is the other one about to show up now?" Prescott scoffed, glancing toward the staircase. "Come on, I’m waiting. I’d love to wipe out an entire family of violent fools."  

"Unfortunately for you, I’m not alone," a voice called from the stairs.  

Andrew descended, but he wasn’t alone. The entire group of DreamGuard teens was with him. And they were furious.  

They had heard everything. They had seen the truth. They now knew their leader had murdered children. They had realized what they had been eating all this time.  

Tiara, Chuck, and Mark stood at the front. Mark stared at the floor, devastated, while Chuck and Tiara crossed their arms, standing firm.  

"No, no, it’s not what it looks like!" Prescott stammered. "I did it to protect you! To protect your—"  

Before he could finish, Tiara kicked him in the face, knocking out one of his teeth.  

"We know," she said coldly. "But the dreams you tried to protect... were built on lies."  

"You fools! You don’t understand what I’ve done for you! I’ll start over, with or without you!" His eyes flashed white.  

But before he could use his power, Tiara raised a hand, and his glasses transformed into thick eye patches, blinding him.  

"Andrew figured out your weakness and told us. You need direct eye contact to teleport your target."  

Stripped of his greatest weapon, the so-called god of DreamGuard found himself surrounded. The enraged teens beat him into submission, then locked him in the very cage where I had fought for my life.  

As I turned to leave, I pulled a cigar from my case and tossed it at the battered commander lying on the floor.  

"You’re gonna need this more than me."  

At the same time, Rick walked past him and spat in his face.  

"Never underestimate the Carson family," he said, sticking out his tongue.  

Despite my wounds, I knew we had to leave that very night. If we hesitated, we might never leave. Our journey had to continue.  

After saying our goodbyes, we took a horse and accepted the ammunition and weapons we had been promised. At the gate, Mark stood, still processing everything.  

"Mark, I know you're scared of the outside world, especially now that Prescott is gone. But believe me, not everything out there is despair. If you look hard enough, you'll find hope," I said, glancing at my nephews. Andrew looked confused by my words, while Rick picked his nose absentmindedly. "And even if the world is ending, I know you'll find a way to enjoy what’s left—this time, without secrets."  

Mark lifted his head and met my gaze.  

"Thank you, Jason. You really are a leader. I only hope I can be as good as you... now that Prescott’s gone."  

"Trust me, you’ll be even better. And you’ve got your friends to support you. Well... goodbye. I hope we meet again—if there’s life after death."  

With that, we rode off into the night.

With those words, we rode off into the outside world. I took one last look at DreamGuard as it faded into invisibility. Rain began to fall, making it harder to see what lay ahead.  

Still, I told myself everything was fine and urged the horse forward.  

Suddenly, the animal stumbled, and in an instant, we were airborne. Without hesitation, I grabbed my nephews and shielded them from the impact.  

Lying on the ground, I saw that the horse’s legs were tangled in a net. Then, amidst the sound of rain hitting the earth, I heard approaching footsteps.  

I looked up and made out a tall figure in the shadows. Her long, wet hair clung to her face, and she held a rifle in her hands.  

Before the pain consumed me, I managed to mutter,  

"Who the hell are you…?"  

"Your salvation."  

Her voice was firm, feminine. And as darkness closed in, I thought to myself that it was still too soon to be seeing an angel.