Success of the Broken Banner

Chapter 23: Monster

Frankie rose from her chair as Kilo and I stepped into her office, his gun never wavering from its target, providing backup as we closed in.

"It ends now, Keres. This is where you meet your reckoning," Kilo declared, his gaze locked onto Frankie's every twitch. She slowly swiveled to face Kilo, a flicker of shock dancing across her features.

"Remove the bandana. Let me see your face," Frankie commanded, fists clenched at her sides. "Only a handful know me as Keres." Kilo's eyes crinkled at the corners, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips before he yanked away the cloth, revealing his identity.

A wave of anguish crashed over Frankie, swiftly replaced by clenched-jawed resolve. "You."

"The one who ended your partner's reign of terror years ago," Kilo spat, a sickly sweet grin twisting his mouth. "I've waited a long time to see justice delivered, and I won't leave until it's done."

Frankie's scowl faltered as she turned to me, her expression morphing into a desperate plea. "Amelia, please. We have a cure now. We can undo this."

"No." My retort was instantaneous, my own weapon still trained on its target. "What's been done to me will never be inflicted on another. This cure will not survive the day."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Amelia," Frankie implored, rounding her desk as she inches towards me, palms raised. "We can reclaim our lives, isn't that what you've yearned for? Your old life, back within reach."

Frankie's words struck a chord, resonating with the longing I'd harbored since awakening in this living nightmare. But I knew the harsh truth - there was no going back. This was my reality now. As much as Frankie would like to manipulate me into believing otherwise.

"Come on, Amelia. I'm your best friend," Frankie cooed, hands extended in a placating gesture. My grip on the gun intensified, finger trembling over the trigger as memories of our companionship threatened to surface.

"Amelia, focus. She's playing you," Kilo growled, his voice a low rumble. "Remember our objective."

His words were a much needed slap in the face. Time was a luxury we could no longer afford. I had the power to end this, here and now. But before I could follow through, Frankie knocked the gun from my grasp, sending it skidding out of reach with a deafening clang. She moved swiftly, a glint of metal appearing in her hand, but I was quicker.

I pinned Frankie to the wall, our bodies locking into a struggle for dominance. My arm crushed against her windpipe, knee pressed into the wall between her legs, immobilizing her. My free hand closed over hers, prying the blade from her grasp, sending it clattering away.

"I should have burned that damned letter, should have left you to rot!" Frankie shrieked, nails raking down my arm.

Rage surged through me, incinerating the last vestiges of control. I flung her to the floor, straddling her as I seized the upper hand. Fingers tightening around her throat, I watched as her face turned a mottled shade of red and purple.

"You are the monster, Amelia," she wheezed, struggling to draw breath.

"You forged the monster, Frankie," I hissed, vision blurring to red.

An overflow of pent-up fury and betrayal erupted from me, fists connecting again and again into her face, unleashing every ounce of venom I possessed. Frankie's features grew distorted, bloodied and swollen, barely recognizable within moments.

She'd ceased struggling long before my onslaught ended. Tears streamed down my cheeks unchecked, a dam of pent-up emotion shattering as the reality of Frankie's betrayal and Echo's precarious state came roaring to the forefront. When at last my knuckles screamed in protest, I collapsed beside Frankie's lifeless form, hands splayed wide, head thrown back as a raw scream tore from my depths, mournful and anguished.