Black Labyrinth

Guilty Party

The sun began to set.

The orange hue of light reflected grimly on the junkyard, it reminded me of fire.

"What's the plan?" Quincy asked as he turned to face me.

The car was parked a block away from the junkyard entrance. It was still visible from where we were sitting. The large gate in front was open but the wall of crushed cars surrounding the property made it impossible to see inside.

"Now we see what he has to say."

The light by the entrance felt like a spotlight and the crowd forming around us made it feel like a performance. It was a small crowd, but most of the people inside it were armed. Their silence was unnerving.

The crowd slowly moved back as the voice called out from behind them.

"Glad you could join us Marcus."

The group started to individually place their weapons on the floor. Through an opening I saw him step out. As he moved toward us, the crowd all kicked their guns forward and Lane called out once more, "Now it's your turn, knives too."

Quincy turned over to look at me once more, trying to read my expression.

"You sure about this?" Quincy asked.

I take a moment to contemplate my choices. The room felt like it froze, a photograph I've taken in my mind. I looked down to see the physical manifestation of this picture, this conflicting moment. In my other hand was another photo, a rip in time. A picture of an almost identical moment that existed outside the reality of my decisions. A version of events, with versions of ourselves that ran parallel to us.

A delusion or even a fantasy.

This alternate photo turned into a small movie that played. Lane's men splattered across the junkyard. Lane's face beaten to the point where his face was rearranged and I don't stop. Hit after hit. I could hear the loud noises he'd made in between the thud my fist made against his head. The edges of the image turned red, moving closer toward the middle.

Then it stopped.

I crumble it up, and as it drops it disintegrates into nothing. Then I return to the moment and nod my head.

"I hope you know what you're doing, kid."

We walked forward toward the center as our weapons slid off to the side. We stood quietly waiting for him to speak. The large light fixtures made an awful humming sound, an off-key melody. It eroded my sense of hearing, replacing the sound of silence with something painful.

Between us, I noticed a large collection of blood stained rocks that littered the floor.

"I just wanna talk," he said. A shadow covered most of his face. Still, I noticed there was an eye patch that now covered his one dead eye.

"Let me tell you a story and if by the end of it you still want to kill me, no one here will stop you."

~

The head of the sledgehammer dragged across the floor, taking chunks of human head with it. I flinch back and see it all, the horrifying image. My shirt, pants and hands were all covered in blood.

I can't seem to turn away from the body and the more I stare, the more I shake.

Through the anxious shivering I asked the only words that I could find, "W-what now?"

Lane let go of the hammer's handle letting it stand upright.

"Now we make a deal. We've both lost people, we're even. Now we can see what they want."