Invictus

05: Angel with chains

Benedict was out doing his job late into the night and he arrived home at 4 in the morning, tired with only the desire of sleep in his mind.

Upon walking towards the living room, he saw a lump on the couch followed by slight snoring. Benedict's eyes softened and looked fondly at the sight of his little sister.

Ever since their parents died, he was more of a father-figure than a brother to his little sister.

Benedict embraced that role and it was easier to be the father-figure than a brother since it felt more natural.

Benedict brushed her hair to the side and chuckled at the sight of her drooling a little. Benedict rolled up his sleeves and gently took his sister in his arms. Emily stirred at the sudden jostle and her eyes slowly opened and looked at Benedict dazedly.

"Ben?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Shh, go back to sleep." He whispered, pulling her closer to his chest and she snuggled immediately closer for warmth.

Emily smiled sleepily at him. "Welcome back." She whispered. "How was work?"

"Same old same old." He answered as he walked towards the stairs. "Were you waiting for me?"

Emily yawned and nodded. "I was." She muttered. "I get nervous when you're not back before 3," Emily said.

His heart melted at her words. "You're a sweetheart but you don't have to wait for me."

"I wanted to."

"Oh, baby." He cooed, kissing the top of her head. She was such a sweetheart. "You don't need to worry about that. I always come back to you."

"But what if you get shot or worse?"

Benedict smiled at that worried face. It's nice to have someone worry about you after all. But she doesn't seem to think that he was far more careful with the job to get instantly killed.

And if he did get shot, he won't allow himself to die easily. The only thing he'd die from is if the ground opened and hell was pulling him under to burn for the things he did.

When he was little, he always asked himself if he'd been walking the right path or have he had gone astray.

While people avoided the dark and repulsive part of life, he asked himself if he was walking in that direction. Life leads people astray. Benedict had seen it happen to a lot of people and questions haunt his mind and whisper, 'have I also gone astray?' People feed greedily on their desires, on what they like, not knowing that their desires sometimes lead them to the end of the cliff. He and his brothers feed on it as though it's the only thing keeping them alive until that dark and repulsive part is embedded within them without them even knowing it, planting its seeds of unscrupulousness within, corrupting their minds and tainting their souls until they could barely be called pure anymore.

The more he grows older, the more he sees, the more he feels, and the more he strays away from lessons taught before when all was full of nothing but untainted joy and colours. He blurs the lines of right and wrong to give way to what he wants. As he grew older, the more people surrounded him and the more he fell from those days when he was nothing but innocent.

And those people either help Benedict or kill him, little by little until he's nothing but an empty shell, like those who have fallen from grace.

Benedict desires those monsters that haunt his mind. And they lure him.

Desires. Greed. People.

He listens to all of them and it listens to him.

Benedict moved down the hallway, his footsteps quiet like a mouse. He was careful not to jostle his little sister as he moved towards her room.