Volume V: The Tragic End of Treason

Chapter 18: Return of Fiction

            Click. Bang. You’re dead.

            Another one falls. Dev joins the ranks.         

            Time to tie up some more loose ends from the past. This will require a trip back to the time of the Martyrs, to the shooting that drove them into the city. For anyone not paying attention, these were the characters of The Unforgiven, the story that dear Toryn possesses. Written in Damien’s own troubled hand, as well as the rest of the Martyrs. Here are the holes that their pain wouldn’t permit them to include.

            Where did Eileen go to get work and did she return for the funerals of her fellow Martyrs? If she did come back, what was the general reaction? Yes. She did come back. But she

didn’t stay long, and after the tragedies, the unexplained deaths of Angela and Seth, she didn’t have much to say to dear Damien. Somewhere deep down, it’s thought that she blamed him for their murders. Being a cop, Damien should have been able to do more to protect the people he cared about. Her leaving is just another example of her character - anything not pertaining to her didn’t matter. And after all that had come to pass, it was just too painful to try and make amends with Damien and pretend it hadn’t happened. I doubt that Damien even knew she was there, he was in his own world of madness.

            Klyde - why the hell do the Endless need an assassin, and why now? Why was there not always a Klyde? Think about it. The Endless can’t exist forever, they’d have to be replaced. It seems that the most recent set couldn’t hack it half as well on their own. So they needed someone to help when they fucked up. It might make sense somehow. Explanation will come later, I promise you that.

            Whether or not Damien had family is known - he had parents, whom he left when he left suburbia. It’s assumed that he’s an only child. Could you imagine, having more than one of him? Be glad we’re so fortunate to be blessed with only one.

            The Martyrs’ tragedy was a school shooting - without the actual shooting. It was meant to be a stunt to wake up the town to its’ security problems. The side effect? Justin was killed, the Martyrs were permanently screwed up, and suburbia’s schools? They were transformed into something half a step away from Gestapo. Isn’t that some sort of screwy irony? Everything they worked and fought for, and they only made matters worse, trading one set of complications for a more constricting one. Most of the students continued their lives, moved on and kept going. But some were scarred for life, some took it as a message. There was a rash of suicides following the event. I don’t know...I guess the old saying was right. You really can kill with good intentions.

            Gus...next question?

            Seth and Eileen had families, but they disowned their delinquent children at a young age. It was only after Seth’s death that his family came to claim him as their own; too late did their fool’s pride let them embrace him. Eileen’s family was always kind of supportive, believing her to be an angel led astray by highly persuasive characters. They helped her in any way they good, keeping in touch with her across the country.

            Justin...what the hell possessed that kid to do what he did? What fueled his hatred of humanity, what made him so bent on destruction? Broken home laid the foundation, along with further personal issues in his own school. Unable to make the name for himself that he wanted, he moved place to place to create the reputation he longed for. His folks didn’t bother putting out a search for him - they were glad to be rid of him. They were as damaging to him as he was to them. Angela and Jo were from a large family or alcoholics, drug abusers, and general tough characters. They learned fortitude and survival from necessity to keep moving at a young age. But it gets to a certain point where enough’s enough. They were abused in more ways than one. And so when Justin presented the option of escape, of course they ran. Their family was investigated by the Child Protective Services and the kids taken and split up. They didn’t tear the world apart searching for the missing girls. They disappeared into the system with Justin. His family, his siblings, anything relevant...the information is still missing. He took it with him to the grave, purposely and willing. His motivations are unknown, a secret buried with the phantom. Maybe he wasn’t truly insane after all. All that’s known is that he came from the city, the three of them did. So they had connections already. Justin probably made a name for himself here, hence why the Endless traveled to suburbia to collect his body. Why else would they travel so far away from their own duties to pick up a distant soldier? Like I said, he took his story with him. Maybe it’s better left unsaid.