Tragedy ✔️

Chapter 18

The sun is setting, causing the air to become chillier than in daylight hours. I don't think there has ever been a cold front in this place since I got here. I don't think such a thing exists here. It always feels the same.

I'm walking down the streets of downtown with no destination in mind. I mean, I know what I'm looking for, better yet, who I'm looking for, but I don't know where to start.

The new menace, Starla, made my friends and the other recruits vanish to who-knows-where. I keep walking at a steady pace, turning my head here and there to see if I can spot any sign of their whereabouts.

Most of the streets are empty, with the occasional car passing by. There are a few people strolling about with groceries, but it's not enough to calm their rumbling stomachs. Every normal person that doesn't work for the king gets just enough to eat at least once a day, but it's never enough to satisfy. I would've had more than enough, at least that's what I think, after I saw the amount on the check I received after I destroyed my sister.

It still hurts.

If none of this would've happened, if I would've just done what I was supposed to in the living world, to bring souls from there to here, I would've been rich here. My mother would still be alive, but not Annie.

There's no excuses. I can't think of how it would have been if I did act differently because there was no other way. For some reason, this had to happen. Someone had to stand up for what was right. And to change the way a society lives, there has to be a mind that says, enough is enough. In this case, it was me.

My concentration is broken when I hear snickering and laughter. Good thing I was woken up from my mind because I almost crashed into a road sign. I look around and notice that I somehow wounded up in a dark alley. Silhouettes that chuckle with menace haunt the dark corners of the alley, sending chills down my spine.

"Um, excuse me?" I say, my voice echoing, "Can anyone tell me where I am?"

I get no response. Instead, I get more snickering and laughter. I can hear echoing footsteps approaching me, but I can't see anyone. Beads of sweat start forming on my forehead and I start to slowly back up to the light.

"I-Um," I stutter, "You know what? I know where I am, so, thanks for your help!" I instantly turn my heel and make a run for it but I am pulled by the neck of my shirt to the ground. I hit the concrete hard, and my neck is burning from my collar rubbing against my skin as I'm being choked.

"Well," says a deep man's voice, "Look what we have here. A 6x3 employee."

I try to stand up, but I am quickly pushed back down followed by a punch to my jaw. I am then pulled up by my hair and thrown across the alley, landing on my side. I grunt as I try to move but I'm weak. I know I can't get hurt because I fell from the third story of the court house without any injuries, but with that fall, battling Starla, and now this beating, my body begs for rest.

"Stand up you wimp!" shouts another male voice. I am given another blow to the face, making it numb. "We hate souls who think they're all that because they work for the king and are payed daily far more than what we are given in a year."

A blow to my side makes me shout in pain. I am on the ground, curled up like a shrimp, unable to move. My stomach hurts so bad, I feel like my intestines are about to spill out of my mouth.

"Gives us all your money if you don't want to die!" shouts the deeper-voiced male.

"Y-you c-ant kill me, " I can barely say the words as my mind is struggling to work, "We're all already d-dead."

"You should know more than anyone else that you can die here as well," says the other man.

"It's called destroyment," I say barely auditable, still laying on the ground.

"Whatever it is, give us your money or that will happen to you and it won't be pretty!"

Oh, these idiots. My mind starts clearing up and I feel a little bit more recovered. I still pretend that I am badly in pain, waiting for the right moment to proceed with my plan. Whenever they get close, I'll use the last ounce of magic I can manage to produce.

"Didn't you hear?" I say pretending to sound weak, "6x3 is gone. The king himself destroyed everyone who worked there."

"And what makes you special that you survived?"

"To help you," I say, "To make you free and give you the rights you deserve in this world. The rights the king neglected from you."

"You expect us to believe you? You have five seconds or we'll end you. Five...four...three...two... one..."

This is it. I stand straight up in less than a second and point my hands toward the shadowy men, ready to blast them and make a run for it. But my magic never comes out.

I am punched in the face, then kicked in the groin, making me once again fall to the ground in a loud shout.

One man leans down to me and whispers in my ear, "We don't need saving."

Then a sharp matter enters my skull, creating a cracking sound deep inside of me that makes me think I have shattered to pieces.

Suddenly, I feel something deep inside of me. It's like a heat that is starting to grow rapidly in my head.

I then feel that surge of energy shoot out of my body and I can't see anything but a spectacle of white and red flames before me. I hear a chorus of screams and shouts and I notice that my mouth is open as well. I am a part of the harmony

I see the men are dancing, running around like chickens as their bodies are scorching in flames. Within thirty seconds, they are on the ground, spamming like fish out of water. Finally, their bodies go still. That is the last thing I see before my eyes close.