Pearseus: Schism

Croix

The curses of the mob under his window, combined with the whispers in his head, made Croix’s head pound. He scowled and slinked to the window to curse at the stone-throwing protesters, the dull thuds of rocks reverberating in his head as they hit the wood. A stone broke the window to roll next to him, spraying him with broken glass. Screaming obscenities, he crawled behind his desk. An Armband ran into the room.

“Are you alright, sir?”

“Who the hell are you?”

“Ensign Tang, sir.”

“Why aren’t you attacking them, Ensign Tang?”

“Sir?” The young man’s eyes opened wide.

“Attack them! Shoot them! Kill them all!” Croix screamed, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

Tang blinked. “We can’t kill them all, sir!”

Croix stood up to peer out of the window. At least half the survivors had gathered in the plaza. He was surprised to see Joe among them, shouting like the others.

I’ve told you so many times; you should trust no-one! the whisper in his head scolded him.

“I don’t!” Croix cried out.

“Don’t what, sir?” asked the boy.

Croix reached into a drawer to dig inside, pulling out a gun and a slim dagger. He handed Tang the dagger, keeping the gun for himself. “Follow me,” he ordered.

They ran towards the cell where they held Lucas. Croix slammed the door against the wall.

“You bastard! How did you do it?” he asked.

Lucas cringed, holding his hands up to shield his eyes from the blinding light rushing in to the dark cell through the open door. His handcuffs had not been removed since his arrest, and dried blood and pus soiled his wrists. Bruises covered his unshaven face, making him look gaunt and dirty.

“Do what?” he rasped, wetting his lips with his tongue.

“How did you turn them against me?” Croix yelled.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Lucas croaked.

“Get up. Up!”

Croix yanked him up by the handcuffs and Lucas screamed in pain as the metal dug into his flesh. Dragging him outside, Croix ignoring the Armband who stood frozen, fidgeting with his dagger, his conflicting thoughts evident on his young face. Lucas was like a father to the community; they had even erected him a statue.

“You’re responsible for keeping the peace,” Croix reminded him, noticing his discomfort. “You obey me and me alone, remember?”

He marched off and Tang hurried after them, a confused look still on his face.

Croix slammed the balcony door open and stepped outside. The crowd howled as they saw him and crashed against the building, like a wave made of flesh. Croix heaved Lucas in front of him and an eerie silence replaced the commotion.

“Is this what you want?” he asked them mockingly.

Barrett stepped out from the crowd. “It’s over, Croix. Let him go.”

“Let him go? He’s guilty of treason.” He pointed an accusing finger towards the crowd. “You’re all guilty of treason! You should all hang!” Spittle ran from the corners of his mouth, and Barrett gaped at him from below with an almost compassionate look in her eyes.

“Don’t do this, Croix. It’s not too late.”

“Is that pity I hear in your voice?” Rage swallowed him at the insult. “How dare you feel sorry for me! You’re the one that caused all this! Traitors, all of you!” His face twitched with fury.

“We’re coming in. Just Richard, Joe and me, just to talk,” she shouted to be heard over the commotion.

“What’s there to discuss? You all want me dead, don’t you think I know that? You’ve wanted that from the beginning. They were right, they’d warned me about you. All of you!”

“Who’s they?” she asked, confused. “No-one wants to hurt you, Gerard. Just let Lucas go and we’ll figure it out.”

He had almost forgotten about Lucas. He stared at his hand holding on to the handcuffs as if it belonged to someone else.

“Release him? He’s behind all this!” The whispers in his head agreed, urging him on. His other hand held on to the gun. He raised it with trembling fingers and pressed it against Lucas’ head. Lucas closed his eyes.

“Please…” he begged.

Croix’s trigger finger twitched and Lucas’ head exploded. Croix heard the howling from the crowd and saw its movement, first backwards, as if to avoid the blood; then forward, like a pack of wolves ready to cut him to pieces. Warm droplets sprayed him, dripping softly onto the crowd below like swirling scarlet raindrops, baptizing them in Lucas’ blood. A giggle rose to his mouth, and he brought his hand to his mouth to drown it.

A sharp pain in his back made him spin around and drop to his knees, releasing the gun. It thunked on the floor as Tang let go of the dagger stuck under their leader’s left shoulder blade. Croix’s blood rushed to leave his body through the open wound, every pump of the heart sending more of it to intermingle with Lucas’ own blood spattering on the balcony floor.

For the first time in a long time, Croix felt no pain, heard no whispers. It was so quiet and peaceful that he smiled in gratitude at Tang as he collapsed on the floor.

His brow creased at a tall, dark shadow with bright red eyes and elongated features hovering behind the boy. For a moment Croix found himself back in the dark forest, running away from the misty monsters chasing him. One of them caught up with him and raised a smoky finger. It morphed into a sharp dagger to stab him in the chest. Panic engulfed him, the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and he screamed his last breath.