Fallocaust (The Fallocaust Series) (127 page)

“Get out of here, you have him.” I flicked my cigarette away, but I stepped away from Leo and Greyson. If I started shooting I had to have them far away. I hoped Greyson had enough strength to drag his husband to safety.

Silas of course did not leave. The king walked up to me, he took a tin out of his pants pocket and flicked it open. I could smell his familiar scent as he got closer. The once pleasant smell was now imbedded in my senses. I immediately felt its familiarity momentarily weaken my senses; but I steeled myself.

This was not the man I had drinks with. This is the king of the greywastes, a cruel, heartless abomination. Do not let down you guard.

He offered me a tailor made, and I took it. He offered me a light and I took it as well.

“Who else do you want,” I said through a puff of smoke, though I knew the answer. My pulse raced as I realized that without me even realizing it, I had been preparing for my own departure.

“I want you.”

I gave him a small nod, I had expected that and he knew I had expected that. I sucked in the tobacco smoke and deliberately held it in.

“I’ll give you a night with me,” I said to him, my stomach twisted and filled with sickness at the thought “Whatever you want, as long as I can have my own guard outside the door.”

“Indeed you offer me your body for your father?” Silas’s crooked smile widened, a few teeth broke through. “You still like me, Reaver. Has your brilliant little mind realized that yet?”

This surprised me. I blew out the smoke from the corner of my mouth but didn’t answer.

“Even now, your heart relaxes at the sight of me, the scent of me... I wonder if it would quiver under my touch.”

I recoiled as Silas reached out to touch my face, he retracted it with a narrowing of his eyes. Though a moment later he got another brush of confidence and put his hand on my arm. I tensed like a coiled spring. “Tell me Reaver. Have you dreamed of me yet?”
“No.” He was starting to catch me off guard, I didn’t like this. I cringed as he ran a silken finger up my arm. My mind braced my body as he slipped it behind my back and pulled me towards him.

My teeth clenched as he pressed his lips against mine. I moved my mouth to the side, leaving his lips to brush lightly against my cheeks. “Do we have a deal then?” My words were dripping acid.

I fixed my eyes on Leo and Greyson as his hot breath blew against the nape of my neck. I was doing this for them. They might’ve lied to me my whole life, but they had saved me as well.

Greyson was clenching his teeth, his grey eyes burrowing hatred into Silas’s back. When he saw me looking at him he looked back and shook his head just enough for me to see.

“Mmm... Reaver...” Silas kissed my neck, I turned from Greyson’s steel gaze and clenched my own teeth in restraint.

“Did they ever tell you... what I created you for?” His voice was a rasping purr. “How important you were? You are not like your brothers... you are effigia, my perfection. My sculpted beauty.” I felt the breath get locked into my throat as my body could no longer accept his touch or his breath on my neck. I backed away, my right hand twitched for me to grab my M16.

Silas’s heart was a thrumming beat, in a back drop of racing engines. The crooked smile on his face now revealing its self more of a mocking sneer.

“I created you physically as my perfect man, my Adonis. I worked with Lycos for years perfecting your every detail.” Silas’s hands flexed, I couldn’t help but think he was grabbing me in his head. “But your mind, your emotions... every bit of meat and bone down to your blood cells I created in the image of the perfect man, myself.

“I created you with only one purpose, to be my partner, Reaver. I engineered you to find me quite the irresistible guy.” The man I formerly knew as Asher flicked a wayward strand of hair from his face with a flick of his head. “Your only purpose in life... down to your DNA is to love me.”

His words stuck to me like tar, no... not tar, like shit, something vile and disgusting that I knew I would never wash off. My brain seemed to collapse in on its self as the sentries in my mind failed to dispel the onslaught of emotions.

But what were those emotions? I couldn’t sort threw them any more than I could sort water with my hands. Sickness was all that I felt, and a burning ember in gut that told me even if he left right now, it wouldn’t be over.

“Do we have a deal or not?” The words flowed through my lips and even I was surprised at the hollowness to them. I felt a sting on my fingers and I realized the cigarette had burned through. Leaving the base to burn my fingers. I didn’t drop it. The pain focused my thoughts.

“It will be in my house, outside the blacksands,” Silas said.

“Deal.” I nodded.

“No! Reaver!” Greyson suddenly found his voice, I looked over and saw his eyes wild. “Don’t go with him. He won’t bring you back for fuck sakes. Reaver, you’re not like the others. You were cloned from Silas. You are Silas! Every part-”.

“Silence him!” Silas snapped to Nero.

I only saw a flash of silver from Nero’s belt, then the high pitch whine of a silenced gun. My mouth opened in a scream as I saw Leo’s head jolt before it slumped to one side. A black hole apparent in the side of his head.

I am a machine. I am a machine.

The cry on Greyson’s lips was nothing compared to the look of pure anguish I saw on his face. He threw himself over his husband to protect him as Leo’s gasped his last breaths.

I drew my M16, but my legs took me towards my dad. I fell to my knees in front of him and took my first strangled sob. Ignoring the yelling and gun fire that had erupted from the single gun shot. I tuned it out and held my hand up to Leo’s cheek.

“Leo?” Baby?” Greyson’s voice broke, I saw his rough hand brush back Leo’s short blond hair.

I watched him take his last breath, I watched his hazel eyes dim, with his last image being that of his husband for twenty years.

Greyson whispered something under his breath, then with his teeth clenched in despair he let out a cry so gut wrenching I knew it would haunt me forever.

Then a bullet landed beside me, I turned around and saw Hollis and Redmond with the enforcers and my sentries on the wall exchanging gun fire with the chimeras. It was a flurry of activity I had completely blocked out.

I saw one of the enforcers fall, behind him Perish had retreated to the wall with the pet. The twins and Nero were laughing, with their assault rifles sparking and smoking as they rained the enforcers with bullets.

Then I heard Silas’s voice, but his words were lost in the booming, sky cracking gun fire.

I felt Greyson grab my hand, still holding my M16. I didn’t realize I was half raised, ready to join in.

“Reaver,” Greyson choked, his hand clenched mine in its shaking grasp. “You are King Silas, you are his clone. Reaver... only born immortals can kill one another. Once we realized only you could kill him, we stole you. Not to be a mayor, but to one day put an end to his madness. Only you can kill Silas. You are the only perso-”

The bullet exited out of his temple, missing my face by only inches. For a moment, his eyes locked with mine, before they, like Leo’s, faded. I caught him as he slumped over, and as he fell on top of Leo, his heart gave a congested lurch, before it fell silent.

I watched in shock as the blood poured from the crater in his skull like a tipped jug of water. Flowing down his husbands neck, and onto the greywaste ground.

More grey and red.

The next thing I knew I was biting through flesh.

Warm, ambrosial blood rushed into my mouth. I resisted the urge to drink it as my teeth kept biting deeper and deeper. I felt his throat vibrate as he screamed, then hands pull me off. I took a bite of flesh with me when they finally pried me off of Silas.

“Your quick!” Silas snarled, he was holding his neck, the blood flowing through his fingers like red streamers. He took a stumble forward but fell to his knees. I thrashed my arms and snarled like a feral animal. Kicking and lunging with all my effort, when I realized one of them had my shoulders I twisted my head back and started to bite him. In response I felt him hold my entire head in their hands.

Elish was beside Silas, he had his arm bent and braced to help Silas walk. The blond chimera’s face was a cold marble slate, not a single emotion to be had or felt.

King Silas stumbled towards me and I saw for the first time Redmond and Hollis beside him.

“Fucking shoot them! Shoot all of them!” I yelled, my voice hoarse and ragged.

I realized with a boulder in my throat that their guns were lowered, then in the same shaken realization... they were not making eye contact with me.

Just like that... you bow to him?
I let out a scream of rage and found myself baring my teeth at the cowards before me.

I heard Silas laugh, then the words I had feared.

“Find Killian.”

Before he could even get the last syllable of my boyfriend’s name out of my mouth I was screaming at Silas. Every insult and swear word I could think of in my vocabulary. It only lengthened as I saw Redmond and Hollis walk towards the north road. Their heads lowered and their backs slumped.

I looked up and saw Legion officers with my sentries, a few feet away from each one, holding assault rifles in their hands. My men were unarmed now, forced to watch the display below them. Sadii was slumped over the wall, but she was still alive. Matt’s eyes were wide with horror.

A cold calmness came over me, and with that the noises faded into my brain. I no longer thrashed, bit or snarled like a feral beast. I went limp.

To my left, my eyes fell on my dead fathers, never far from each other, even in death. I wondered in my brief embrace of tranquility if I would hold Killian the same.

Then I smiled. Because not even fate would bless me with such an acceptable death. Because I was King Silas, I was immortal.

I laughed, I felt the hands loosen from my body. Whether it was from my own default way to deal with my overwhelming emotions, or that I actually found it funny remained unknown.

I got up, not even grasping the surprise that they had even let me rise, and turned around.

Past the airplane I realized there was a crowd of Aras residence watching the display on the north gate, probably attracted by the gunfire. About twenty or so, watching with huge eyes, the slaughter of their leaders at the hands of their king.

A crowed clustered together like sheep, behind a traffic cone barrier one of the enforcers must have rigged up. They stayed behind it obediently, waiting for their next leader to tell them what to do.

There were no guns shots piercing the air, defiantly defending their leaders and their town from what we all had known was the enemy. There was no cries of despair or vows of revenge. The sheep watched the wolves, waiting for one of them to put on a sheppard’s clothing. Wide eyed and frightened, like the eyes of any prey.

I heard deacdogs in the distance, my eyes focused as I saw Deek in front of the traffic cone. Watching me with a raised head, he was growling at the chimeras but had remained obedient to where I had asked him to stay. I was happy for his unwavering obedience to my word. They would have killed him if he had rushed in.

Then off in the distance I heard an explosion of assault rifle fire, and the barking of Murry’s deacdogs. The hands tightened around me as I started yelling, I started telling Killian and Reno to run. Run and drive far from here. Never look back.

I saw them in the greywastes, together. I saw Reno making a tear stained Killian laugh for the first time, I saw Killian cutting Reno drugs and brushing his hair back like he had mine. The thoughts didn’t disturb me, it made my heart ache that I might be lucky enough to have that be a reality once Silas took me. My fate was no longer important to me. I just had to protect Killian. I had to make sure he was taken care of and safe.

I heard Killian scream, he was close. They had got him. My eyes fell to a group of residents who had emerged from the north road. They were walking together, towards the square. I could see almost twenty of them, residents I knew. I saw Miller and his father, Hollis and Redmond, I even saw Reno’s own uncle Carson.

A red haze clouded my vision as I saw the mob was dragging two people towards the gate. Killian was still screaming but Reno was silent. Both of them had been beaten brutally. Blood dripping freely from their faces and heads.

My body felt like an atomic bomb held in an iron cage. Back in their grip I twisted and thrashed so hard I could feel my bones creak. I knew I was yelling, my mouth was dry and my throat hoarse, but what I was saying was lost in the overwhelming hatred I felt for the residents I had lived with for eighteen years. They sold us out, just like that. They laid on their backs with their knees apart waiting to get fucked.

If there was every any question as to why I hated them, why I burned them so easily, this was the answer. Right in front of us on full display. The mob holding my boyfriend and best friend and delivering their bloodied bodies to their death.

“Killian!” I yelled, I felt am arm wrap around my throat, he put me into a head lock. I tried to say his name again but the tight grip left me breathless.

“They shot Reno!” Killian sobbed, his blue eyes were wild, full of hysterical fear and unhinged panic. “They shot Reno!” Behind him Hollis dealt him a hard smack to the side of the head to quiet him.

They had turned on us.

My town had turned on us.

“There they are, just take them and leave.” Redmond’s deep voice sounded somewhere in the growing mob of people.

You fucking bitch.

Under the condemning gaze of my town’s residents I felt something break inside my mind. All that emerged from my mouth to announce my decent into madness was a scream so animal like I heard the deacons start to snarl and bark behind me.

The acid blood that burned inside of me flared up in an inferno of hatred so overwhelming I thought it would burst from my body. With every ounce of strength I wrenched my arms from their captors When I realized I had broken my human chains, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the detonator I had quietly synced up with Reno the night before.