Diamond Shards

Chapter 6 : Leviathan

            His steps sounded like knocks on a door, and they echoed through halls. A coppery but sweet smell flowed into his nose; he did not flinch for he was too used to the stench of death. The rifles he saw on the floor were islands in small oceans of blood. He had molded the dead soldier's faces with fear in their final moments. You had two choices, so be sure to tell God that, if you even make it up there in the first place, he thought. One body blocked his path, huge like a boulder. It looked into his eyes, but without any of its own. The eyeless sockets were dark caves in which waterfalls of blood poured down from. Annoyed, he kicked the body to the side and continued walking.

His dark blue cloak covered him but didn't prevent the chills from entering. He entered a room that appeared to him as a living room. The room was engulfed by shadows on the far-right side, on the left where they burned by the flames of the marble stone chimney. The couches near the chimney appeared to be made out of polar bear fur and were stained by droplets of blood. At the center of the room, in front of him, was a carpet yellow as gold, with an old bald man who wore tattered fancy clothing. His legs had dark red holes in which blood poured out. His face grew cold with fear at the sight of the young man.

He pointed a gold coated revolver with red jewels on both sides, the weapon of wealth, and with his other hand, he firmly grasped a photo frame next to him as if it were a baby, protecting it. The young man guessed the darkness and the pain had only scaled his feeling of fear. That fearful look only annoys me more, thought the young man as he continued walking with steps that sent loud echoes flying through the giant room.

"Stay back, I swear I'll shoot!" the old man waved the gun, but the young man continued conjuring loud steps.

"You irritate me, Raymond Jones. I came knocking on your door for information and you greet me with bullets and threats. Do you see me smiling?"

"Ren, stay back, I'm not giving you anything!"

"I wasn't giving you much of a choice."

Ren squinted, and tried to focus. In his mind, he reached for a well that was overflowing with water. Deep in the water was a wooden bucket that his mind had to grasp. The shouts of the old man were far away now and then silent. A gunshot rang in his ears, but a hand of water emerged from Ren's left shoulder, catching the bullet like a penny. He dropped the bullet on the floor, copper touching wood.

"It's useless, Raymond."

"Please, please! Please don't kill me!" Raymond's eyes were full of salty tears.

Ren grabbed him by his red tie, pulling him close to his face. His hand of water smashed the golden revolver, crumbling it to pieces. His face was full of wrinkles, and genuine fear, Ren could picture him golfing on weekends while stepping on the backs of the poor.

"My parents said that too, but did you give them a chance, did you?" shouted Ren, holding his fist up. His arm trembled with rage that he found difficult to control. Stay in control. He covered himself in a blanket of calmness and threw the frustrating thoughts away. "You didn't give them the chance."

"No, Ren, YOU didn't give them the chance."

"What are you trying to say."

"If my memory serves correctly, YOU had a chance to save them. YOU could've left the lab with them, probably remained hidden and alive. But you were too afraid to act, weren't you?"

"You shut your mouth."

"Who am I kidding, you're just seventeen, you're still a kid. That still doesn't change the fact that you were the one who killed them!"