Dead of the Night

  “Maximus…help…me.”

  Those were his last words. His final thoughts as the life drained from his eyes.

  Maxwell hadn’t expected it to be so easy. In fact he found the outcome rather disappointing.

  For all his strength, all his training, Maxwell had hoped he’d last a bit longer. But alas here he was, puking what little life he had left all over the ground. The smell alone was enough to make a grown man squeamish. His eyes were practically popping out of his skull as if trying to escape the body’s fate.

  If it weren’t tonight, then it would have been tomorrow. Maxwell had already thought of several other ways in which to take his life. It just so happened that his first plan was a success.

  All through the day he offered his friend a drink. Maxwell had smelled the alcohol on his breath when they had first met. That was all he needed to set his plan into motion.

  The device he’d used to deal with the ogre was the only tool he managed to bring with him to this new world. If he wanted to achieve his goals he’d need to learn more about his new world and all it had to offer. Luckily for him the plant life here seemed similar to the kind he’d studied on earth. Even more lucky was the fact that they were just as deadly.

  Elizabeth had warned him of poisonous berries that grew throughout the forest. Her warning was intended to keep him safe but instead it had given him his first tool in conquering this world.

  The berries poison was easy enough to extract. He had no way of testing its effectiveness until now. A little drop here, a little drop there. Before he knew it his friend could barely stand.

  He fell to his knees. This man who had towered over Maxwell just moments ago was now panting and gagging on the ground like some sick animal.

  He reached a hand out as if Maxwell would rush to his side. As if he’d ask “what’s wrong?” Or “how can I help you, my friend?” Maxwell did no such thing. He stood there with a blank expression, neither love nor hate.

  It didn’t matter if he was working with King Midas or if he was just another gullible fool who believed in the king’s story. All that mattered was that he was an obstacle. An obstacle that stood in the way of Maxwell’s plan.

  When he stopped twitching and his body went limp Maxwell retrieved the dagger he was gifted by one of the shop owners. He meticulously went to work cutting and stabbing the corpse. 

  After Maxwell finished, he turned the blade on himself. No one would believe that he walked away unscathed. 

  Maxwell knew the human body better than most. He knew where to cut and how to avoid vital organs. 

  The first cut stung but after the fourth he hardly felt a thing. The blood loss was starting to get to him. He could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness.

  With the amount he was bleeding, Maxwell gave himself sometime after dawn before he’d bleed out. With any luck a royal guard would stumble upon them during one of their patrols.

  He discarded the dagger, the only evidence of what he’d done. Although he doubt it was necessary. No one would question the great hero Maximus Luminose. 

  Once he had been healed, he would tell them all how he and Buros had encountered these goblins the king spoke of. He would weave the narrative of how they fought for their very lives and how Buros had sacrificed his to save them all.

  Maxwell took one last look at Buros before he fell unconscious. It wasn’t personal, it was never personal. 

  This world would thank him one day. They’ll look at the world he’d build and wonder how they’d ever lived without him. Buros would be forgotten, a necessary sacrifice for a better world. Maxwell’s world.

  As dawn broke, a pair of royal guards making their rounds were horrified at the discovery of the two bodies lying in a pool of blood. 

  Just as Maxwell had predicted, they were brought to the royal palace. It was too late for Buros, that was obvious for anyone to see. 

  Rei was the next step in his plan. She would become emotional at the sight of their bodies. She may even believe it was her fault for leaving them alone last night. She’ll rush to his side to confirm his death.

  Her senses would easily allow her to detect his faint heart beat. A healer would be called and he would be healed. 

  “Rei? What going on?”