Arc 3 - Chapter 66: Peace and Prejudice I

(Reverence 6, 59 / 8:00PM)

The old couple rose from their seats, and settled their boots to the fake grass. Turning around, they stared at the young couple.

Feeling his eyes darken, Johnny’s face brittle in a tinging warmth, like he was trying to avoid their stares. His throat aching dry, he had his fingers trickle his thigh, as he saw his own father furrow his brow.

“So what gives Johnny?”

“Father, I think it’s about time we split ways.”

“Come again?”

“Me and Elizabeth are done. It’s over.”

Betty’s cheeks grew a tomato red, as her eyes glared deeply into the couple. For her own son to abandon his family, abandon them? Why would he? Although he held no value to them, they still forced him close. Doug’s voice lowered, as if his vocals were dipped in molasses.

“What do you mean it’s over? It’s over when I say it’s over.”

“And I already said that we’re through. I’m here to say my final goodbyes, that’s all.”

“Final goodbyes? Who do you think you are anyway? Some prince trying to live with his princess?”

Elizabeth felt her fingers coil into his, as if her nails grew an inch or two out. With a small squeeze, he kept her stable, all in the hope that she wouldn’t lose her cool. But even so, he too felt a boiling sensation within his stomach. Keeping his eyes locked on Doug, keeping his boots glued to the floor, he waited.

“You and your pet won’t last long out there. The law ain’t gonna be friendly with you no more.”

“So then why is it like this? If she is considered filthy to be with, then how come I don’t stink? What then?”

“You and your ideals…”

Using his right hand, he pulled out two simple things. One of them was a lighter, and the other a cigar. Flipping open the lid, and rolling down the mechanism, a small flame lit up the brown stick. As soon as smoke began to roll, he moved the cigar toward his mouth. And closing the lid of the lighter, he put it back into his pocket, as smoke whispered in his lungs.

“It’s not their personality, or even their looks for that matter, but the mingling. Imagine a world where all species fucked? The amount of half-breeds and quarter-breeds ruining the gene pool? Do you know how crazy that sounds?”

“Do you know how crazy you sound?”

An exhale of air brushed from Doug’s lips. Smoke littering out as well, he softened his cheeks, and sagged them down near his jaw. Lowering his hand, he had it glued to his thigh. Keeping his eyes on Johnny, along with Elizabeth, he and Betty analyzed the movements of their bodies.

“You gonna kill me?” Asked Doug.

A small vein grew from Johnny’s right temple. Feeling his whole body shudder, he tried to impose… he averted his eyes to the floor.

“Just let me go. You don’t need me for anything. You and Vivy drilled that in me already.”

His fingers found themselves coiling into hers. Doing the same thing she did before, unlike him, she allowed his feelings to ventilate more. As if she wanted those floodgates to burst, she was close by his side…

While his voice broke into syllables.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you gonna kill me too?”

Betty turned toward Doug, her eyes perplexed in many emotions. Wrapping an arm around his, she waited for anything that Doug might spill. Without even moving his eyes to the side, he saw himself in Johnny’s blue eyes.

“I’m still human aren’t I?”

They heard the buzz of a bee. Coming from one of the vents, it buzzed itself straight toward the four of them. Although none of them were concerned, Doug noticed that it took interest to him. As if by queue, Johnny and Elizabeth moved away from the bee.

“A pest? At this time?”

Looking like it was charging at him, it had its stinger in front, making him take a step to the right. Right as he did—

—The roar of a Thompson can be heard.—

Because Elizabeth and Johnny created a gap, the barrage of lead coming from the door burdened their ears. Along with Doug and Betty, he reached for his trench gun—lead struck his body. Bullet holes, blood, it poured out as the barrage of lead didn’t stop.

Betty directed her eyes on Johnny and Elizabeth.

“After all we did for you two! U-Unsight!”

Side-stepping to the right, Elizabeth placed herself right in front of Johnny. To which her vision dimmed, faded to black by her blessing. Her nose traced a scent. An unwashed mouth, a breath oozing with nicotine, alcohol, and rotting gums. Trailing it, she lunged to the right, and prepared a fist.

‘Too easy.’

But Betty lunged back. Barely avoiding the fist, she felt the girl’s knuckle graze her nose, as her own bones held. So much will, so much passion, it was all a way to escape. Knowing she had to fight back, she creaked both of her knuckles harshly.

“Fine! Guess I’ll have to—”

Another roar of bullets commenced. Coming out from the door, was none other than a bunny-human wearing a thick brown jacket. Brown boots, brown jeans, it was an attire that every Pathiest wore. But most importantly…

“Unsight!”

Instead of lunging to his right or left, all he did was take in the darkness. Seeing nothing within his irises, he was alone… his nose perked. Trailing the same scent Elizabeth honed, the stench of booze, cigarettes, and rotten gums rush into him. Grinning to himself, he welcomed the unholy breath.

“Beast-humans rock yo!”

As he let loose with his gun, Elizabeth kept her ears open. As the two were in sync, both beast-humans began a ballad that Betty couldn’t stop.

Meanwhile, Doug aimed his trench gun straight at Johnny. The bullet holes, the wounds he carried, they were all healed from earlier. His finger on the side, Johnny had already taken out his light machine gun. But he didn’t wield it just yet, as his own father eyed him like a hawk. The two unable to stare at the background fight, Johnny’s voice quivered.

“Just admit it already, you wanted to get rid of me.”

“Murder is beneath me.”

“Considering how far you’ve gone, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Johnny took a step forward, his fingers still hovering over his machine gun. The two holding their breaths, their ribcages expanded and closed with each thrust. Johnny felt his eyes slowly darken…

“I mean, you always looked down on those beneath us.”

People beneath him. In terms of wealth, he was at the top, a man whose wealth far exceeded the government. If it ever were to collapse, all of his years of hard work, planning, and strategies would all be a waste.

Doug heard faint whispers, souls that spoke from the void. Being a collection of them, one of those voices…

“You promised…”

Doug bit his lip, strong enough for blood to be drawn. Remembering that night, one depressing night, any day before that was a day he took for granted. Smiles, friendships, goals, vows—then black. Only a shell, a husk that pledged his life to sin.

“Because those beneath me, wouldn’t have done the things that needed to be done.”

Another barrage of lead bursted free. The two turned—Doug’s body twitched. Same as usual, he welcomed those holes in. The pain, the gnawing blood, it was a repeated motion that kept him alive. Or rather, kept his adrenaline pumping. As soon as the roar of bullets stopped, Doug turned his head toward the door.

“You missed yet again.”

Despite all that he shot, the shark-human kept his eyes narrowed, as he made his walk through the fake garden. He lowered his trench gun, as blood vomited from his mouth. Steam hissing from his wounds, he was like a machine. Inputting pain, outputting blood, a small lake formed from below.

“So how about it?”

The doors from the other side opened. Bursting free, it drew in another batch of guards, ones that wielded their usual rifles.

As soon as they ran, they took aim and fired. Seeing the couple brought in reinforcements, Jumbo was fortunate enough to hide behind a bench. And as for Benn…

“Take care of your father. I’ll deal with the pests for now.”

“Got it.”

“You think I’ll let you?”

Just as Doug aimed his barrel at Benn, he leaped back. Hearing gunshots to the left of him, he clenched hard on his teeth, as he saw his own son rain lead on him. Feeling one or two bullets struck, he was far from precise, but he was stable.

‘I’ll just have to strip away his machine gun.’

While he moved with his chubby frame, he sprinted back many steps toward a piece of rock. One that acted like a wooden crate, it was painted gray, and shaped like a boulder. Using it as cover, he hid himself from the metal rain.

As Elizabeth glided with sliding boots, so did Betty. The two throwing each other fists, it was a game as to who could hit each other first. And for the two beast-human men, they both took cover near a wooden bench.Not exactly the best hiding spot, but unlike the guards, they had some foundation to work with.

‘Talk about a heap of shit we’re in.’

Three battles, two teams, and one deciding winner. All happening in the garden of Nod, whichever the outcome… would be paid by their sins.

________________________________________________________________________

Elizabeth glided through the floor, all from the tips of her toes. She wasn’t fast, but was fast enough for the old woman’s eyes to deceive herself. Trying her hardest to thrust, to punch like she used to, her knuckles couldn’t breach skin. Feeling her own hair jump, her skin began to gleam with sweat.

“Just hold still ya piece of shit!”

“Try me!”

Continuing to inhale her sub-human breath, it trailed and swerved like some endless stream. Lunging to the right, and then to the left, Elizabeth honed in like some incoming missile, one that pushed Betty to yelp.

Her fist grazing her cheek, she was honing closer than she thought. Because her breathing fastened, her breath trailed out even more. Keeping her nose locked in, fully wrinkled upon the unholy scent… she leaped back.

“I think I had my fun.”

Giving Betty a small window, she growled within the innards of her throat. Leaping forward, she kept her hands low to her sides, and her eyes fully groveled on the cat-woman.

Something dark appeared above.

“S-Shoot!”

Controlling the cloud, she stood still, making her an easy target. But for the guards, they were already dealing with bigger fish. One by one, each guard that tried and failed sprawled on the ground. Blood sulking from their chests and stomachs, bullet holes littered their bodies.

‘Man. Cover really is God’s gift.’ thought Jumbo.

Having luck on his side, not a single bullet struck him, but he did lead whistle by. Pulling the trigger, throttling his bones with the recoil, it was merely a game of whack a mole for him. But for the shark-human…

Hunkering himself down, he grinded the back ends of his molars.

‘They’re targeting me a lot more than Jumbo…’

All of the guards focused their attention on Benn, although he had better cover than Jumbo. Hearing the bullets fly, it made him cradle himself like a turtle. Feeling like the seconds turned to minutes, a small vein surfaced from his nose.

‘Damn those guards, and Jumbo is practically an easy target.’

One bullet whistled up top, one that zipped past his hair.

‘To hell with it.’

Pushing the center of his gun on the wooden crate, he blind-fired in back of him. Feeling his muscles pulsate, gleam under the strain of his biceps, he tightened his gums that corroded in parchedness. The bullets from the other side loosened in stature. Hearing this, he nodded to himself, and poked his head out at last.

Pulling the trigger, he laid a monsoon of metal.

“Retreat! R-Retreat!”

“Not so fast!”

Poking his head out as well, Jumbo began firing at yells and cries from the guards. Benn meanwhile throttled his barrel in a thunderous continuation. Loving the way his blood pinched him, how the pins and needles worked against him, it was all a bliss.

[Can’t you just accept the way things are?]

Each bullet made a mark on a guard’s body. Whether it be on their chest, or on their stomach, it was a gift from him to them. He didn’t smirk, nor did he smile. Frowning on those who dared challenge him, only he was able to accept his own destiny. A path that not even others would walk alone.

[Benn. Benn listen to me!]

The more his muscles screamed for warmth, the less he remembered that feminine voice. He sneered, he wrinkled, just hearing that voice made him age five years forward.

[Who are you trying to become?]

Memories make the man. A fundamental principle, one that he knew from night and day. All those years, all of that pain, it all soared out of that machine gun barrel. Still hearing that same voice, all he could do was listen to her.

Some of the guards, a handful of them, reached the same door they entered from. Grabbing the handle—they collapsed. Blood gushing from their mouths, Benn didn’t even give them the right to retreat. Mopping up every last guard, Benn and Jumbo made quick work of the guards. But wait… Jumbo blinked. Blinking once, and then twice, he glanced down at the Thompson he carried.

“Oh shit I could see now. Thanks…”

Turning around, he noticed Elizabeth’s hanging mouth. Feeling her own throat rattle, ring against her vocal chords, she had her hands low to her sides.

Swaying them side to side, she was in a much better position compared to Betty. As for herself, she growled the longer she kept this game of tag running. But the reason why Betty ached was because of the dark cloud right above her.

“Talk about an unfair fight.”

Reloading in the barrel, it looked like Betty focused all of her sights on Elizabeth.

“Let’s finish this up quickly.”

While everyone had their own battles, Johnny had a special one. Hiding behind a small boulder, he tucked himself in like a turtle. Hearing the rounds of the trench gun roar, his face tattered in sweat.

“Surrender!”

“Does it look like I want to!?”

“Then so be it!”

Rising out of cover, the recoil of his gun thundered his muscles. All over his body, he felt the ricocheting force. Crouching down once more, he heard the trench gun roar. Taking turns on firing, Johnny clenched his teeth hard.

‘I really burned down those morals…’

As soon as the trench gun ceased, Johnny rose up and throttled his machine gun again. Spraying a bit longer than usual, the barrel burned red, leaving the tip to slightly melt.

Halfway through firing, Doug already finished his reloading. Rising his body as well, he fired, and Johnny barely crouched down.

‘But gaining freedom was never easy.’

One or two droplets of lead fluttered his hair.

Right at the moment Doug stopped firing, Johnny couldn’t dare keep the game up. Glancing to his left, he ran toward a bench, the same one that Doug and Betty cuddled in. Noticing his sprint, Doug glanced at his gun… he didn’t need to reload.

Still having one more buckshot, he was far away from cover. And most importantly, Johnny didn’t aim his gun at him. In the span of a single second, he was given the hardest of choices. Whether to shoot his own son, or to let him take cover…

—Bullets pounded against his back.—

Blood vomiting from his mouth, he had already regenerated many times beforehand. Running on fumes, the exhaustion began to strike him like a truck. Feeling it burn his throat, its warmth trailed down his throat and chest.

‘Who…’

“Yours sins are tallied.”

Smoke surmising from the barrel, it whispered and trailed up toward the ceiling. Walking with squirming boots, he took out the magazine, and released the bullets emptied of gunpowder. Benn kept his darkened eyes on the chubby man, while Johnny finally relaxed his shoulders.

“I don’t think surrendering would do you any good.”

Johnny gripped his machine gun with one hand, while the other trickled numb. Seeing the way Benn eyed Doug, eyeing his own father, there was no joy in them. No emotion, no spark, no flame.

“A vampire’s weakness is his heart, right?”

The question being directed to Johnny, rather than Doug, his lips pursed from the question. His father had his trench gun laid on the floor, along with his knuckles. Feeling a cold shiver run down his body, he reached where Benn stood.

“Benn, what are you planning?”

Johnny clamped his left hand onto Benn, most specifically upon his shoulder. Making him turn, he didn’t have any anger or sadness in his face. No… it was confusion.

“Don’t tell me that he should be spared.”

“Think about what you’re doing. If you kill my dad, you’ll only shake the hornet’s nest. A big one.”

“We already have.”

Johnny stared deep into Doug’s eyes, and he saw nothing reflective. His pupils, his irises, his scleras; nothing fluttered any light. Although he had nothing to reflect on, nothing to shift, Johnny felt his eyes darken too.

“Now tell me Johnny, does he need to be spared?”

“We shouldn’t kill. Killing is beneath us.”

“Yet killing him would put a lot of people at ease. Us included.”

Throughout the entirety of their ordeal, Doug was the reason why they were sinners. Dubbed as traitors, terrorists, it was all a ruse to get them back at their tower. But was it truly it? Was it really just because of some property damage?

“In fact, there’s more pros to getting rid of him than cons. The moment we were dubbed sinners, our morals as a group didn’t mean jack. All our good deeds, all of our accomplishments, are gone.”

Benn’s voice growled like a motor. Hearing it rumble and groan under the stress, Johnny kept his left hand balled, while his right tightened into the metal. Digging his fingers into his own machine gun, the shark-human couldn’t move the barrel even if he wanted to. Rightly aimed at his heart, he didn’t even clear his own throat.

“So what do you see in him?”

Johnny loosened his balled hand. Letting it rest against his thigh, he looked down at his boots, while his fingers scratched his stomach. Unable to look at Benn, or Doug, he allowed the metallic flooring to crease his eyes.

“Then how about a different punishment?”

Johnny moved his eyes toward Benn, who hung his lips an inch down. His grip on his machine gun loosened, he let the thought dwindle in his brain. Seeing Johnny subtly smile… It was fitting for a man bathed in greed.

“His money, his wealth, his power, it will all be stripped away. We’ll force him to move his wealth towards—”

Doug jumped. Gripping his trench gun nearly instantly, he moved his finger, and cocked the butt into his body. Like some sort of draw, he aimed fast, and right at Benn.

‘Oh…’

But Benn was tackled. Wrapping his left arm around his body, he squeezed his eyes shut, while bearing the boom in front of him. It was deafening, it was… one of them screamed, one of them yelped—

—One of them bled.—