“This
won’t kill you Engine. Dammit! Open your eyes! Keep your head up, don’t you
even dare to pass out!”
Am
I going to die here….so much blood. It’s
cold…can’t keep my eyes open.
“Sir, he’s letting go,
we need to back off!”
“No! Keep firing! The
boy lives or dies with this exercise. If he does not stand than I expect
nothing less than a bullet-riddled corpse against the courtyard wall.”
“Aaaah!” A blood-curdling
shriek and utter blackness as Gin awoke in a cold and profuse sweat. He
clenched his eyes tightly as he waited for his muscles to contract and relax.
His body was automatically set on high alert. It’s the kind of reaction one
would expect from someone standing before a firing squad - especially when he
was both physically and mentally recalling the full complement of a 30 caliber
machine gun rending their flesh over and over. He was panting heavily and
looking around his dark room for something to comfort him. He reached down
beside his bed to grab a bottle of water which he proceeded to sip from, only to
let the majority of the bottle trickle down his nick in an attempt to cool
himself off. “Heh, I guess the past is going to haunt me forever. But I can’t
be held back forever. One day my prison will shatter. I will earn the right to
my life. Until that day comes, I will never give in to despair…I suppose that’s
just who I am. The so-called ‘Little Engine that Could,’ I just won’t ever
quit.” He laid back down and tried to get back to sleep hoping that tonight he
could avoid the nightmares that he couldn’t seem to escape; unfortunately, this
night not would not spare Gin from his grief or show him any remorse.
“Come
on in! It’s time for dinner!” Gin could hear the soothing sound of his mother’s
voice. When he turned around, he could see his old family home in the distance.
A gorgeous old mansion on the outskirts of the city, it sat high up on a hill
overlooking a suburban housing settlement.
“Comin’
ma!” A ten year old, bright-eyed Gin called back to his mother and began
sprinting his way back through the dense forest that made up his massive
backyard. Well at least it would seem that way to a ten year old. It was a
massive property and he had gotten lost out there more than a few times when he
was younger. As he approached the back door and the embrace of his mother’s
arms, his breath began to constrict. His full sprint devolved into a lumbering
stagger and instead of breathing he was gasping for breath.
“I
told you to pace yourself sweetie, here.” Gin’s mother ran out to catch him
before he hyperventilated and fell to the ground. She shook up his inhaler,
forced it into his mouth and pressed down on the top to administer his asthma
medicine. This process was all too common for Gin who, knowing full well about
his heart condition, would still insist upon running around with the other
children in an attempt to keep up with them. He actually never remained “it”
for long when playing tag. He would let out a full burst of speed and generally
catch the very same person who tagged him…but he would be out of the game for
good after that.
“Elena?
You ready yet? We’re dying of starvation over here hon.” Gin’s father called
out with a playful tone.
“The
food’s ready, I was just busy making sure our son doesn’t die.”
“...Alright
well don’t let the steak get cold.”
“We’re
having steak tonight?!” Gin immediately perked up with a bit of a cough and ran
out of his mother’s arms and over towards the dining room.
“Whoa,
whoa son. Slow down, we’re all hungry and the food isn’t going anywhere. Geez
your mom just treated one asthma attack, you looking for another one so soon?” Gin’s
father George grabbed him as he ran past. “You remember my boss Mr. Aidan,
right son? Go on and say hi.” Gin turned around to see the massive man who was
talking with his father. He was very tan and had long, dark hair with a chin
strap that ended in a goatee. He was clearly older than George – though he was
very obviously clinging onto what youth he had left. His eyes stared softly,
but there was something ostensibly devilish about his smile.
“Well
I’d be awfully upset to hear that you’ve forgotten about me son.” Mr. Aidan
stood up out of his seat and looked down at Gin with a gesture of playful
disappointment.
“Hell-o…”
Gin’s eyes met with Aidan’s and he felt a chill rush down his spine. He quickly
looked away – refusing to make eye contact again. Aidan seemed very overbearing
to Gin. He felt a yearning for comfort. He thought about clinging to his
father’s leg as any other child would when faced with a somewhat scary
stranger. Though Gin had never been one
to fear an unfamiliar face – he had always been quite friendly and maybe a little
overly talkative in fact. A 10 year old Gin would not be able to figure it out
– a 30 year old Gin, would most likely be puzzled as well. There was something
about Aidan’s presence that made Gin feel as though he was unwelcome in his own
home. Even his playful attempt at sarcastic disappointment felt more like
genuine malice.
“Haha.
What’s the matter? I was only joking. I couldn’t expect you to remember me from
so far back. The last time I saw you, you were still in diapers.” Gin could
felt a small heft in his chest as Aidan spoke. This feeling of fear was so
foreign to him that he could only wear a face of confusion. He stood there
staring around the area where Aidan was standing trying as hard as he could not
to make eye contact again.
“Yeah
you can’t really expect him to remember something from two weeks ago. He’s not
the brightest kid.” George joked and nudged his son on the arm.
“Hey!”
Just like that Gin snapped out of his little funk, turning his attention toward
his father. “Shut up dad!” He leaped onto his father’s back and started
pounding away with his little fists using his legs to clamp on. George chuckled
as he took a beating from his son. He only pretended to fight back as he could
tell Gin was still out of breath from his asthma attack earlier. Only Gin
himself could tell that his shortness of breath was somehow caused by Aidan,
but he continued to pound away at his father hoping to beat back his fears.
“Don’t
break your father. He’s my top man. I need him in good shape.” Aidan chuckled.
Gin’s punches got fiercer as he heard Aidan’s voice.
“Ow!
Seriously son, listen to him. You’re going to put my back out.”
“Honestly
George can’t you go five minutes without provoking him? He just had an attack,
he needs to rest.” Gin’s mother Elena walked into the room from the kitchen.
“Anyway, you have to stop fighting now because the steaks are ready. You don’t
want them to get cold do you?” All at once Gin and his father held perfectly
still for a split second before the both cried out in unison “Steak!” George
Grabbed his son under his arm and rushed them both into the kitchen.
Gin
sat down and started shoveling his food into his mouth. As odd as it sounds, he
always loved steak from the point that he was old enough to try it. He tore
through the tender meat as fast as he could, hoping to finish and get away from
the table where that odd man sat across from him. He never looked up from his
plate and when he finished eating he rushed off to his room. “Don’t forget to
come back and help me with the dishes!” His mother called to him as he ran off.
Though they were wealthy, Gin’s family was very headstrong and often insisted
on doing things themselves – which is why there were no servants in their
massive mansion of a home.
The adults took their
time savoring their much larger portions. When they finished it had been quite
some time since Gin had rushed off. George and Aidan retired to the den to discuss
professional matters while Gin and his mother cleaned the dishes.
“Mom?” Gin turned to
talk to his mother.
“Yeah hon?”
“Who is that man?”
“Mr. Aidan is your
father’s boss honey. Didn’t he tell you?”
“I think so. But why is
he here?”
“Well your father has
been good friends with Mr. Aidan for a long time but now he doesn’t want to
work for him anymore. So he wanted to invite Mr. Aidan to a nice meal before
giving the bad news.”
“Why doesn’t dad want
to work for him anymore?”
“He loves you so much
that he wants to be able to spend more time with you.”
“Hmm. What does dad do
mom?” It was the first time that Gin had ever wondered what it was that kept
his father so busy and away from home all the time. He always felt that when
his father could be around he had always done more than enough to make time for
him.
“Well you know your dad
is really good at getting people to do things they don’t always want to do.
It’s called persuasion.”
“Huh?” The young Gin
was puzzled, he wasn’t the brightest boy.
“Well, he convinced you
that you should do your homework without much trouble didn’t he?”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“He also got me to make
steak for the third night in a row…” Elena said with a troubled look on her
face. “Anyway, your dad persuades people to give their resources to Mr. Aidan’s
company, and no one does it better than him…or so he says.” She muttered
beneath her breath.
“So dad’s going to be
home more now?” Gin was excited at the thought of having his dad around more
often as he was almost always out of the house working.
“That’s right son.” His
mother smiled at him as she handed another rinsed off dish to her son who
placed it in the dishwasher. He smiled back at his mother excited to have his
dad around more often. “Let’s hope Mr. Aidan doesn’t get too upset with your
dad.” At the mention of his name, Gin thought about Aidan’s presence and he
lost his breath for a moment.
“Mom? I-is Mr. Aidan
mad at me?”
“Of course not.” Elena
chuckled. She looked over to see a thousand yard stare on her young son’s face
and realized the seriousness of his inquiry. “Why would you think that?” she
asked with a motherly concern. Gin didn’t answer, he was lost in thought. His
mother bent down and hugged him tightly. “Honey, if Mr. Aidan is mad at anyone,
it’s your father. You have nothing to worry about...though his face is kind of
scary huh?” They both shared a laugh – though Gin’s was more of a nervous
chuckle – and after a peck on the forehead from his mother, Gin ran back up to
his room.
“I’m done Flame. It’s
time I get what I want and what I want, is to spend time with my family.” Gin’s
father sternly protested. Seldom had he been heard with such a serious tone of
voice.
“You’re done, when I
say you’re done. I think you forget who it was that brought you up. You would have
nothing without me. I did for you what no one else ever would. Your debt has
yet to be repaid.” Aidan retorted.
That night Gin lied
awake in his bed. The young boy was confused by the commotion he faintly
overheard between his father and his so called ‘boss.’
“I have done everything you have asked of me.
Not a single expectation went unmet. Kronos is well established now and you
have more resources than you could ever need. What more could you possibly ask
of me Flame?”
“You
so easily forget your position George? I suppose arrogance has always been your
biggest vice. Don’t think you won’t be punished for your hubris. The origins
don’t like their lap dogs to have self-awareness.”
“Enough
Flame – Aidan…This is not the life I want for my family. My time is short and I
won’t let you scare me into submission anymore. I will go to Etruscion myself
if I must.”
“Fine.
Attempt to stand before Etruscion without the power of Kronos behind you. I’d
be interested to see how you fare.” With that, Aidan bowed out in silence. He
left with a look of pious disappointment on his face. You could almost hear him
saying “you’ll regret this George, please don’t make an enemy of me,” but Aidan
was never one to appear weak. None of this came through to Gin clearly. He
could only faintly recall some of the odd names they mentioned echoing through
the halls of his massive home. He had fallen asleep before the conversation had
ended, and after that night, Aidan was neither seen nor spoken of in Gin’s
home.
The next three years
went by in the blink of any eye. Gin’s eleventh birthday was the first one his
father was able to be around for in the last five years. It warmed his heart
well to have his best friend home all the time and ready to play. Though Gin
was always very gregarious, the difficulty he had in keeping up with the other
children – caused by his heart condition – left him with only a handful of
close friends through his adolescence. Even when he would insist he could keep
going, he would do so through spells of dry heaves and wheezing which his
mother could not stand to bare. So the boy turned to his father, his hero, for
friendship. For as long as he could, George made sure that Gin would head out
into the yard with him every day. They would play tag or wrestle – really any
type of activity that would help to strengthen Gin’s breathing little by
little. After all, Gin did get his heart condition from his father in the first
place, who better to know how to fight back against it? Gin and his parents spent
every day together through his youth and when he finally did make more friends,
he still yearned for quality time with his parents and he would choose them
over his friends more often than not. That twelve year old boy could not
possibly have ever been happier…nor would he have the chance to be.
“It was all a lie.” Gin thought to himself. “The comfort of love and happiness lulled me into a false sense of
security so I could be dragged down further. My world began to unravel in one
night of terror.” By the time Gin turned thirteen, his father’s condition
had worsened. They did not have the chance to play together like they used to.
George spent the majority of his time in bed which was very uncharacteristic of
a man his age. Gin and Elena did all they could to help get him back on his
feet.
“Come
on dad, you have to get up. We should totally go for a run, it’s a great day
outside. I bet I can finally beat you up that huge hill on Parnell. What do ya
say? Winner gets to do my homework for me. Eh? Sound tantalizing dad.” Gin
joked to get his father’s spirits up.
“Wow
son that sounds really tempting. It’s so exciting I think my heart may finally
just give out if I think about it anymore.” George replied.
“Hey!”
Elena punched George on the shoulder. “Don’t even joke about that. And, hey!”
She then proceeded to punch Gin on the shoulder.
“Ow!
What?!”
“You
better get that homework done before you go anywhere.” She scolded in an oddly
motherly fashion.
“Fine,
I’ll do it right now…if dad gets up and goes for a run with me. Come on dad
let’s go.” Gin grabbed his father by the arm and attempted to drag him out of
bed. “Come on pops, we’ve got to put some more mileage on you before we can
trade you in.” Gin was insistent on getting his father to better himself. After
all, George had done the same for his son; and although Gin would never say it
out loud – for fear of hurting his father’s feelings – but seeing his hero
defeated by the same condition George had once helped Gin to conquer, was
killing him inside. He couldn’t stand by and watch his father rot from the
inside out.
“I’m
sorry son….” George gasped for breath. “I just can’t today. Why don’t you ask
one of your friends to go with you.”
“Fine,
I’ll give you a pass today.” Gin replied. “But you have to promise to come with
me tomorrow.” In truth, Gin wished taking his friends would have been the same,
but it never was. Only when he ran with his father did he feel like he was
accomplishing something. Everyday the two of them would get just a little bit further
together before they would both start wheezing. They would have humorous bets
to see who would go into shock first, needless to say…they both needed a ride
home rather often. But now, they almost never ran together. So rarely did
George find the strength to even climb the massive flight of stairs in their
estate.
That
night after dinner, Gin came home alone. His run was so underwhelming that he
wasn’t breathing heavily in the slightest. Gin walked into the kitchen hoping
to grab a drink – and maybe pick at some leftovers. “Alright, mom packed up
some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Crap, can I eat them now? If I do I won’t
have them for tomorrow!” He clasped his hands against his head and ran his
fingers through his hair as he wracked his brain for a solution to his current
predicament. “Ah! I want ‘em so ba-“ Just then, Gin heard the sound of
shattering glass followed by a muffled scream. “Mom!?” Gin called out. “You
okay ma?! You need me?!” Gin peered down
the darkened hallway connecting their kitchen to the living room.
“Don’t
come any closer kid or I blow her face off!” It was late at night at the lights were off in
the house so Gin could not see clearly. All he could make out were two black
silhouettes standing in the living room. Behind them he could see a small hole
where some moonlight came in through a broken window. The light from the moon
revealed the bottom of Elena’s dress. Gin could see the heel of his mother’s
shoe which was closed in by what looked like a black combat boot. He heard grunts
and groans that sounded a lot like his mother and right by the source of the
sound he could see a slight silver glint from the light of the moon. Gin didn’t
want to process what was going on. He had a feeling that once the situation was
accepted, it was the truthful reality. There was no denying it though, his
mother was being held hostage with a gun to hear head.
“Mom!”
Gin called out from the darkness. “My…mom.
What’s going to happen to my mom? I need to run, I need to get dad, I need to
get anyone that can help.” It was all Gin could think about. He knew his
only choices now where to try to escape to the darkness, or calmly listen to
what this intruder had to say, which is why his next move came as much of a
surprise to him as anyone else. “You better fucking let go of my mom!” His eyes
were wide and his stance strong. “Why did
I say that?! I need dad. What can I do on my own? He has a gun, he could kill
her.” He couldn’t believe what he had just done but something inside him
would not allow him to sit still.
“You
better watch your mouth you little shit! I could end her life any second if I
wanted to.”
“Don’t
say that about my mom!” Gin’s heat was beating wildly. He was a frail thirteen
year old boy with a heart condition staring down the darkened silhouette of an
armed stranger who was holding in his hands the fate of that which Gin held
most dear. Gin knew he was completely powerless in this situation, but he
didn’t care. The end of that hallway could have held countless demons from a
far off dimension but as long as they were threatening the life of Gin’s loved
one, they would be no more frightening than a litter of puppies.
“Honey,
you’ve got to calm down.” Elena struggled to speak through her captor’s bonds. “Ngh.
I’ll be okay. Just do what he says and I promise you we will be oka-!” The
captor jerked Elena’s body towards him and tightened his grip.
“Shut
the hell up. Both of you!” Elena’s captor screamed as he tightened his grip yet
again and placed the barrel of his gun firmly into her temple.
“Agh!”
Elena called out in pain.
“Ngh!
Leave her alone! I’ll fucking kill you!” Gin was seething. His heart was racing
so fast he was beginning to wheeze.
“That’s
it kid.” The captor kicked Elena in the shin to break her stance.
“Agh!”
Elena cried out yet again as the her captor’s boot dug into her leg leaving her
shin severely wounded.
“Lady,
I’ve had just about enough of that smart-mouthed brat of a son you’ve got
there.” He raised his gun towards Gin and pointed it firmly at his forehead while
adjusting his stance to support Elena whose was struggling to stand with her
wounded leg. “If your kid continues to behave like an animal, then I’m going to
have to put him down.” Elena, whose torso was now titled toward the ground,
supported by nothing but her good leg and the arm of her captor which she was
hanging from, jerked her head upward. She saw the horror of a gun being pointed
at her child and went into a berserk rage just as Gin had.
She
let out a loud yelp and threw her head into her captor’s torso. She then sunk
the heel of the shoe on her good foot into one of his shins, just as he had
done to her, and summoned all of her strength to push his gun aside and skew
his aim.
“Mom!”
Gin cried out and started sprinting towards the two as soon as the gun barrel
lost its target.
“Ngh!
You bitch!” The captor screamed as his shin was assaulted. He pushed Elena’s
face away from his torso and let the rest of her body drop to the ground as he
readjusted his aim. He pointed his gun down toward Elena as Gin flew in to
tackle him. A loud bang went off, followed immediately by a thud as two more
bodies and a hand gun hit the ground hard.
“Agh!
Hah hah! You bastard! Hah hah!” Gin was sitting on top of his mother’s
assailant radically throwing punches and panting. His heart was pounding harder
than it ever had before and tears were streaming profusely down his face. He
got in a few good blows before the assailant sat up and knocked the small
thirteen year-old in the face so hard that he flew back towards his mother’s
body. Gin could not even bare to look to confirm if she was okay. He knew that
if anything else had happened to her, he would fly into such a blind rage that
the resulting stress response would send him into anaphylactic shock and he
would be completely helpless to aid or – less preferably – avenge his mother.
Gin had to perish the thought and focus on the task at hand. He stood back up
and wiped the blood from his face. He was ready to dive right back in and fight
until his little body could not hold up anymore.
“I’m
going to love beating some sense into you kid.” The assailant rose and walked
toward the helpless young teen. The look on Gin’s face would terrifying, he
truly had the eyes of a killer. He looked right through the man before him and
saw him as nothing but sentient trash that needed to be burned. As the
assailant got closer Gin brought up his leg for a kick hoping that his legs
would do significantly more damage than his arms – he most likely would have
been right if his kick had landed, but the assailant grabbed Gin’s leg and drew
him in closer. Gin immediately took four right hooks to the face that knocked
his head back with every impact. On the fourth punch he hit the ground hard and
shut his eyes. “Now stay down kid, I’ve got a job to finish.”
“You
get back here you pile of crap.” Gin refused to let his attacker slink off. He
grabbed the assailant’s leg and started punching it. He hadn’t landed three
punches before he felt the tip of a combat boot in his temple.
“It’s
only going to get worse for you if you don’t stay down kid.” The assailant
continued forward to pick up his gun.
“Agh!”
Gin cried out and kicked the unsuspecting assailant while his back was turned.
“That
is it kid! I told you to stay down, now I’m going to have to put you down.”
When the assailant got back up on his feet, he turned toward Gin and cocked his
hand gun aiming it once again at Gin’s forehead. Gin stared deeply into the
familiar gun barrel once more. His heart was pounding in his chest. He was in an
excruciating amount of pain and he was bleeding profusely.
“Did I kill my mother?” Staring death in
the face, all Gin could wonder about was his mother. “Is she okay? Was it my fault? What else could I do for her?” Gin
was so fixated on the choices he had made. “He
hurt my mom. I had to protect her. I needed to hit him and so, that’s what I
did.” He felt somewhat contented by that thought. Instead of being
dominated by what would scare off any other person, Gin focused on attempting
to resolve the situation in the way he most saw fit. He took a deep breath and
exhaled heavily while trying to calm his heart rate. He heard the sound of the
gun cock and contemplated rushing forward in a last desperate attempt but
before he could take a step…The loud bang of a gun went off.
“Check
on your mother!” It was George slinking down the stairs, gripping the railing
in one hand, and a hand gun in the other. The assailant went down and his blood
began to drench the carpet. Gin’s tears only stopped for an instant as he
immediately turned around to check on his mother. As it turned out, Gin was
able to spare her the bullet, but it may have been a less cruel fate than what
she had actually suffered through. The various severe instances of blunt force
trauma she received to the head that night caused an aneurism which killed her.
Gin bent down over his mother’s corpse and held her tightly as he cried. His
father, despite his dangerously high heart rate, rushed down the steps to
console his son. The family sat there for hours without saying a word.
They
were so deep in mourning, they never would have noticed, the man that they
though had been shot dead had completely disappeared. He crept off into the
darkness when Gin and his father were distracted. Outside the estate, the
assailant regained his composure. He plucked the bullet wound from his chest,
it was just above his heart. He held his hand up to the fleshy wound, closed
his eyes, and took a deep breath in through the nostrils. The muscles in his
chest tightened and began to glow as the wound started to heal itself. He then
pulled a phone out of his pocket. “Is it done?” A deep voice asked from the
other side of the phone.
“I
think I got the woman, but that kid is a different story. He freaked out and
attacked me! What kind of a kid tackles an armed gunman? And then, we got into
a fist fight and I pummeled him real good – even used my scion powers at one
point, but the kid would not stay down. It was the craziest thing.”
“Failure
is unacceptable scion.”
“I
know bu-“ The assailant tried to argue but he was cut off.
“Do
not back talk scion, return to the tower immediately.”
“…Y-yes
sir Lord Flame.”
Gin
awoke from that night the same way he had for the entirety of his teenage
years. He was covered in tears, sobbing into his hands, unable to get up and
start the day. “What is wrong with me?” He wondered aloud. “Why couldn’t I save
her? That man was armed, what was I thinking?” He clenched his forehead hard
with one hand and streaked his fingers through his hair. “Dammit!” He punched
into his wall in blind frustration. Most of his nights went about like this. He
would unintentionally reflect on the darkness of his youth and the terrible
fate that had been thrust upon him. “Well, maybe a run will cheer me up.” He
said taking a deep breath. So he started to run, and he ran hard. He must have
gone for hours – heading to the very limits of the city, he didn’t even feel
tired. When he finally reached his destination, he looked up to see his old
family estate. It was at that second that Gin’s exhaustion caught up with him.
His heart had been racing at an unnatural pace just as he knew it would, but he
couldn’t control the loss of breath he felt by stepping back into his home.
This place, it was the source of so much happiness and at the same time, so
much grief.
“Hello
Engine.” From inside the house, a deep and familiar voice echoed forth.
“…What
are you doing here? Can’t you leave me alone?”
“Oh
come now son, I could ask you the same thing. This Estate is technically mine
now, I’m sure you remember signing it over to me when I offered to help treat
your father.” The man replied in a haughty tone. Hearing this angered Gin. The
fact that anyone would ever bring up his parents in such a way is something
that Gin could never forgive. “Oh did I upset you? Didn’t mean to be
insensitive Engine, I just thought you had grown from the weak and foolish
child you once were, are you telling me my training was ineffective?”
“I
haven’t tried to attack you have I?” Gin replied. In any other circumstance,
Gin probably would have lunged out by now. The man before him, however, was one
of few that Gin could never even dream of attacking. “Are you going to tell me
what you want…Aidan?”
“Oh,
I see you still have a spark of insolence don’t you Engine.” The man before Gin
was in fact, his father’s old boss, Aidan. “I expect you to refer to me as Lord
Flame, I thought that was clear Engine. I helped you to find your power, I
demand respect for all I’ve done for you. I threw all of my resources into
trying to save your father, you and your family are still indebted to me.” Gin
cringed as he heard this. Sadly, it was true that around a year after Gin’s
mother had passed, George’s condition had turned critical. The only one there
to help Gin when his father’s medical bills ran his money dry was Aidan.
“Yeah
and I’ve done everything you told me to, you never said anything about having
to like it.”
“Watch
your tone, your sentence hasn’t quite run up yet.”
“Yeah,
just a few more months though, then I’ll be free of you.”
“Oh
don’t think like that Engine, I thought
Well I was sure I had
taught you something Engine, but it seems your old habit is resurfacing. Like a
dog bearing its fangs before its master. Maybe fear has become your fuel?”
Rather than feeling insult, Aidan was intrigued by Gin’s newfound backbone.
“The power of Etruscion will take away all remnants of your soul and in return,
it will leave behind only your present-most trait allowing it to amplify and
manifest as a latent, super-natural talent. What is it Engine, what is it that
fuels your heart?” Aidan was staring intently at Gin. He wasn’t staring at him
though, rather, he was staring through him – entranced by the possibilities of
Gin’s potential.
“This
won’t kill you Engine. Dammit! Open your eyes! Keep your head up, don’t you
even dare to pass out!”
Am
I going to die here….so much blood. It’s
cold…can’t keep my eyes open.
“Sir, he’s letting go,
we need to back off!”
“No! Keep firing! The
boy lives or dies with this exercise. If he does not stand than I expect
nothing less than a bullet-riddled corpse against the courtyard wall.”
“Aaaah!” A blood-curdling
shriek and utter blackness as Gin awoke in a cold and profuse sweat. He
clenched his eyes tightly as he waited for his muscles to contract and relax.
His body was automatically set on high alert. It’s the kind of reaction one
would expect from someone standing before a firing squad - especially when he
was both physically and mentally recalling the full complement of a 30 caliber
machine gun rending their flesh over and over. He was panting heavily and
looking around his dark room for something to comfort him. He reached down
beside his bed to grab a bottle of water which he proceeded to sip from, only to
let the majority of the bottle trickle down his nick in an attempt to cool
himself off. “Heh, I guess the past is going to haunt me forever. But I can’t
be held back forever. One day my prison will shatter. I will earn the right to
my life. Until that day comes, I will never give in to despair…I suppose that’s
just who I am. The so-called ‘Little Engine that Could,’ I just won’t ever
quit.” He laid back down and tried to get back to sleep hoping that tonight he
could avoid the nightmares that he couldn’t seem to escape; unfortunately, this
night not would not spare Gin from his grief or show him any remorse.
“Come
on in! It’s time for dinner!” Gin could hear the soothing sound of his mother’s
voice. When he turned around, he could see his old family home in the distance.
A gorgeous old mansion on the outskirts of the city, it sat high up on a hill
overlooking a suburban housing settlement.
“Comin’
ma!” A ten year old, bright-eyed Gin called back to his mother and began
sprinting his way back through the dense forest that made up his massive
backyard. Well at least it would seem that way to a ten year old. It was a
massive property and he had gotten lost out there more than a few times when he
was younger. As he approached the back door and the embrace of his mother’s
arms, his breath began to constrict. His full sprint devolved into a lumbering
stagger and instead of breathing he was gasping for breath.
“I
told you to pace yourself sweetie, here.” Gin’s mother ran out to catch him
before he hyperventilated and fell to the ground. She shook up his inhaler,
forced it into his mouth and pressed down on the top to administer his asthma
medicine. This process was all too common for Gin who, knowing full well about
his heart condition, would still insist upon running around with the other
children in an attempt to keep up with them. He actually never remained “it”
for long when playing tag. He would let out a full burst of speed and generally
catch the very same person who tagged him…but he would be out of the game for
good after that.
“Elena?
You ready yet? We’re dying of starvation over here hon.” Gin’s father called
out with a playful tone.
“The
food’s ready, I was just busy making sure our son doesn’t die.”
“...Alright
well don’t let the steak get cold.”
“We’re
having steak tonight?!” Gin immediately perked up with a bit of a cough and ran
out of his mother’s arms and over towards the dining room.
“Whoa,
whoa son. Slow down, we’re all hungry and the food isn’t going anywhere. Geez
your mom just treated one asthma attack, you looking for another one so soon?” Gin’s
father George grabbed him as he ran past. “You remember my boss Mr. Aidan,
right son? Go on and say hi.” Gin turned around to see the massive man who was
talking with his father. He was very tan and had long, dark hair with a chin
strap that ended in a goatee. He was clearly older than George – though he was
very obviously clinging onto what youth he had left. His eyes stared softly,
but there was something ostensibly devilish about his smile.
“Well
I’d be awfully upset to hear that you’ve forgotten about me son.” Mr. Aidan
stood up out of his seat and looked down at Gin with a gesture of playful
disappointment.
“Hell-o…”
Gin’s eyes met with Aidan’s and he felt a chill rush down his spine. He quickly
looked away – refusing to make eye contact again. Aidan seemed very overbearing
to Gin. He felt a yearning for comfort. He thought about clinging to his
father’s leg as any other child would when faced with a somewhat scary
stranger. Though Gin had never been one
to fear an unfamiliar face – he had always been quite friendly and maybe a little
overly talkative in fact. A 10 year old Gin would not be able to figure it out
– a 30 year old Gin, would most likely be puzzled as well. There was something
about Aidan’s presence that made Gin feel as though he was unwelcome in his own
home. Even his playful attempt at sarcastic disappointment felt more like
genuine malice.
“Haha.
What’s the matter? I was only joking. I couldn’t expect you to remember me from
so far back. The last time I saw you, you were still in diapers.” Gin could
felt a small heft in his chest as Aidan spoke. This feeling of fear was so
foreign to him that he could only wear a face of confusion. He stood there
staring around the area where Aidan was standing trying as hard as he could not
to make eye contact again.
“Yeah
you can’t really expect him to remember something from two weeks ago. He’s not
the brightest kid.” George joked and nudged his son on the arm.
“Hey!”
Just like that Gin snapped out of his little funk, turning his attention toward
his father. “Shut up dad!” He leaped onto his father’s back and started
pounding away with his little fists using his legs to clamp on. George chuckled
as he took a beating from his son. He only pretended to fight back as he could
tell Gin was still out of breath from his asthma attack earlier. Only Gin
himself could tell that his shortness of breath was somehow caused by Aidan,
but he continued to pound away at his father hoping to beat back his fears.
“Don’t
break your father. He’s my top man. I need him in good shape.” Aidan chuckled.
Gin’s punches got fiercer as he heard Aidan’s voice.
“Ow!
Seriously son, listen to him. You’re going to put my back out.”
“Honestly
George can’t you go five minutes without provoking him? He just had an attack,
he needs to rest.” Gin’s mother Elena walked into the room from the kitchen.
“Anyway, you have to stop fighting now because the steaks are ready. You don’t
want them to get cold do you?” All at once Gin and his father held perfectly
still for a split second before the both cried out in unison “Steak!” George
Grabbed his son under his arm and rushed them both into the kitchen.
Gin
sat down and started shoveling his food into his mouth. As odd as it sounds, he
always loved steak from the point that he was old enough to try it. He tore
through the tender meat as fast as he could, hoping to finish and get away from
the table where that odd man sat across from him. He never looked up from his
plate and when he finished eating he rushed off to his room. “Don’t forget to
come back and help me with the dishes!” His mother called to him as he ran off.
Though they were wealthy, Gin’s family was very headstrong and often insisted
on doing things themselves – which is why there were no servants in their massive
mansion of a home.
The adults took their
time savoring their much larger portions. When they finished it had been quite
some time since Gin had rushed off. George and Aidan retired to the den to
discuss professional matters while Gin and his mother cleaned the dishes.
“Mom?” Gin turned to
talk to his mother.
“Yeah hon?”
“Who is that man?”
“Mr. Aidan is your
father’s boss honey. Didn’t he tell you?”
“I think so. But why is
he here?”
“Well your father has
been good friends with Mr. Aidan for a long time but now he doesn’t want to
work for him anymore. So he wanted to invite Mr. Aidan to a nice meal before
giving the bad news.”
“Why doesn’t dad want
to work for him anymore?”
“He loves you so much
that he wants to be able to spend more time with you.”
“Hmm. What does dad do
mom?” It was the first time that Gin had ever wondered what it was that kept
his father so busy and away from home all the time. He always felt that when
his father could be around he had always done more than enough to make time for
him.
“Well you know your dad
is really good at getting people to do things they don’t always want to do.
It’s called persuasion.”
“Huh?” The young Gin
was puzzled, he wasn’t the brightest boy.
“Well, he convinced you
that you should do your homework without much trouble didn’t he?”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“He also got me to make
steak for the third night in a row…” Elena said with a troubled look on her
face. “Anyway, your dad persuades people to give their resources to Mr. Aidan’s
company, and no one does it better than him…or so he says.” She muttered
beneath her breath.
“So dad’s going to be
home more now?” Gin was excited at the thought of having his dad around more
often as he was almost always out of the house working.
“That’s right son.” His
mother smiled at him as she handed another rinsed off dish to her son who
placed it in the dishwasher. He smiled back at his mother excited to have his
dad around more often. “Let’s hope Mr. Aidan doesn’t get too upset with your
dad.” At the mention of his name, Gin thought about Aidan’s presence and he
lost his breath for a moment.
“Mom? I-is Mr. Aidan
mad at me?”
“Of course not.” Elena
chuckled. She looked over to see a thousand yard stare on her young son’s face
and realized the seriousness of his inquiry. “Why would you think that?” she
asked with a motherly concern. Gin didn’t answer, he was lost in thought. His
mother bent down and hugged him tightly. “Honey, if Mr. Aidan is mad at anyone,
it’s your father. You have nothing to worry about...though his face is kind of
scary huh?” They both shared a laugh – though Gin’s was more of a nervous
chuckle – and after a peck on the forehead from his mother, Gin ran back up to
his room.
“I’m done Flame. It’s
time I get what I want and what I want, is to spend time with my family.” Gin’s
father sternly protested. Seldom had he been heard with such a serious tone of
voice.
“You’re done, when I
say you’re done. I think you forget who it was that brought you up. You would
have nothing without me. I did for you what no one else ever would. Your debt
has yet to be repaid.” Aidan retorted.
That night Gin lied
awake in his bed. The young boy was confused by the commotion he faintly
overheard between his father and his so called ‘boss.’
“I have done everything you have asked of me.
Not a single expectation went unmet. Kronos is well established now and you
have more resources than you could ever need. What more could you possibly ask
of me Flame?”
“You
so easily forget your position George? I suppose arrogance has always been your
biggest vice. Don’t think you won’t be punished for your hubris. The origins
don’t like their lap dogs to have self-awareness.”
“Enough
Flame – Aidan…This is not the life I want for my family. My time is short and I
won’t let you scare me into submission anymore. I will go to Etruscion myself
if I must.”
“Fine.
Attempt to stand before Etruscion without the power of Kronos behind you. I’d
be interested to see how you fare.” With that, Aidan bowed out in silence. He
left with a look of pious disappointment on his face. You could almost hear him
saying “you’ll regret this George, please don’t make an enemy of me,” but Aidan
was never one to appear weak. None of this came through to Gin clearly. He
could only faintly recall some of the odd names they mentioned echoing through
the halls of his massive home. He had fallen asleep before the conversation had
ended, and after that night, Aidan was neither seen nor spoken of in Gin’s
home.
The next three years
went by in the blink of any eye. Gin’s eleventh birthday was the first one his
father was able to be around for in the last five years. It warmed his heart
well to have his best friend home all the time and ready to play. Though Gin
was always very gregarious, the difficulty he had in keeping up with the other
children – caused by his heart condition – left him with only a handful of
close friends through his adolescence. Even when he would insist he could keep
going, he would do so through spells of dry heaves and wheezing which his
mother could not stand to bare. So the boy turned to his father, his hero, for
friendship. For as long as he could, George made sure that Gin would head out
into the yard with him every day. They would play tag or wrestle – really any
type of activity that would help to strengthen Gin’s breathing little by
little. After all, Gin did get his heart condition from his father in the first
place, who better to know how to fight back against it? Gin and his parents
spent every day together through his youth and when he finally did make more
friends, he still yearned for quality time with his parents and he would choose
them over his friends more often than not. That twelve year old boy could not
possibly have ever been happier…nor would he have the chance to be.
“It was all a lie.” Gin thought to himself. “The comfort of love and happiness lulled me into a false sense of
security so I could be dragged down further. My world began to unravel in one
night of terror.” By the time Gin turned thirteen, his father’s condition
had worsened. They did not have the chance to play together like they used to.
George spent the majority of his time in bed which was very uncharacteristic of
a man his age. Gin and Elena did all they could to help get him back on his
feet.
“Come
on dad, you have to get up. We should totally go for a run, it’s a great day
outside. I bet I can finally beat you up that huge hill on Parnell. What do ya
say? Winner gets to do my homework for me. Eh? Sound tantalizing dad.” Gin
joked to get his father’s spirits up.
“Wow
son that sounds really tempting. It’s so exciting I think my heart may finally
just give out if I think about it anymore.” George replied.
“Hey!”
Elena punched George on the shoulder. “Don’t even joke about that. And, hey!”
She then proceeded to punch Gin on the shoulder.
“Ow!
What?!”
“You
better get that homework done before you go anywhere.” She scolded in an oddly
motherly fashion.
“Fine,
I’ll do it right now…if dad gets up and goes for a run with me. Come on dad
let’s go.” Gin grabbed his father by the arm and attempted to drag him out of
bed. “Come on pops, we’ve got to put some more mileage on you before we can
trade you in.” Gin was insistent on getting his father to better himself. After
all, George had done the same for his son; and although Gin would never say it
out loud – for fear of hurting his father’s feelings – but seeing his hero
defeated by the same condition George had once helped Gin to conquer, was
killing him inside. He couldn’t stand by and watch his father rot from the
inside out.
“I’m
sorry son….” George gasped for breath. “I just can’t today. Why don’t you ask
one of your friends to go with you.”
“Fine,
I’ll give you a pass today.” Gin replied. “But you have to promise to come with
me tomorrow.” In truth, Gin wished taking his friends would have been the same,
but it never was. Only when he ran with his father did he feel like he was
accomplishing something. Everyday the two of them would get just a little bit
further together before they would both start wheezing. They would have
humorous bets to see who would go into shock first, needless to say…they both
needed a ride home rather often. But now, they almost never ran together. So
rarely did George find the strength to even climb the massive flight of stairs
in their estate.
That
night after dinner, Gin came home alone. His run was so underwhelming that he
wasn’t breathing heavily in the slightest. Gin walked into the kitchen hoping
to grab a drink – and maybe pick at some leftovers. “Alright, mom packed up
some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Crap, can I eat them now? If I do I won’t
have them for tomorrow!” He clasped his hands against his head and ran his
fingers through his hair as he wracked his brain for a solution to his current
predicament. “Ah! I want ‘em so ba-“ Just then, Gin heard the sound of
shattering glass followed by a muffled scream. “Mom!?” Gin called out. “You
okay ma?! You need me?!” Gin peered down
the darkened hallway connecting their kitchen to the living room.
“Don’t
come any closer kid or I blow her face off!” It was late at night at the lights were off in
the house so Gin could not see clearly. All he could make out were two black
silhouettes standing in the living room. Behind them he could see a small hole
where some moonlight came in through a broken window. The light from the moon
revealed the bottom of Elena’s dress. Gin could see the heel of his mother’s
shoe which was closed in by what looked like a black combat boot. He heard
grunts and groans that sounded a lot like his mother and right by the source of
the sound he could see a slight silver glint from the light of the moon. Gin
didn’t want to process what was going on. He had a feeling that once the
situation was accepted, it was the truthful reality. There was no denying it
though, his mother was being held hostage with a gun to hear head.
“Mom!”
Gin called out from the darkness. “My…mom.
What’s going to happen to my mom? I need to run, I need to get dad, I need to
get anyone that can help.” It was all Gin could think about. He knew his
only choices now where to try to escape to the darkness, or calmly listen to
what this intruder had to say, which is why his next move came as much of a
surprise to him as anyone else. “You better fucking let go of my mom!” His eyes
were wide and his stance strong. “Why did
I say that?! I need dad. What can I do on my own? He has a gun, he could kill
her.” He couldn’t believe what he had just done but something inside him
would not allow him to sit still.
“You
better watch your mouth you little shit! I could end her life any second if I
wanted to.”
“Don’t
say that about my mom!” Gin’s heat was beating wildly. He was a frail thirteen
year old boy with a heart condition staring down the darkened silhouette of an
armed stranger who was holding in his hands the fate of that which Gin held
most dear. Gin knew he was completely powerless in this situation, but he
didn’t care. The end of that hallway could have held countless demons from a
far off dimension but as long as they were threatening the life of Gin’s loved
one, they would be no more frightening than a litter of puppies.
“Honey,
you’ve got to calm down.” Elena struggled to speak through her captor’s bonds. “Ngh.
I’ll be okay. Just do what he says and I promise you we will be oka-!” The
captor jerked Elena’s body towards him and tightened his grip.
“Shut
the hell up. Both of you!” Elena’s captor screamed as he tightened his grip yet
again and placed the barrel of his gun firmly into her temple.
“Agh!”
Elena called out in pain.
“Ngh!
Leave her alone! I’ll fucking kill you!” Gin was seething. His heart was racing
so fast he was beginning to wheeze.
“That’s
it kid.” The captor kicked Elena in the shin to break her stance.
“Agh!”
Elena cried out yet again as the her captor’s boot dug into her leg leaving her
shin severely wounded.
“Lady,
I’ve had just about enough of that smart-mouthed brat of a son you’ve got
there.” He raised his gun towards Gin and pointed it firmly at his forehead
while adjusting his stance to support Elena whose was struggling to stand with
her wounded leg. “If your kid continues to behave like an animal, then I’m
going to have to put him down.” Elena, whose torso was now titled toward the
ground, supported by nothing but her good leg and the arm of her captor which
she was hanging from, jerked her head upward. She saw the horror of a gun being
pointed at her child and went into a berserk rage just as Gin had.
She
let out a loud yelp and threw her head into her captor’s torso. She then sunk
the heel of the shoe on her good foot into one of his shins, just as he had
done to her, and summoned all of her strength to push his gun aside and skew
his aim.
“Mom!”
Gin cried out and started sprinting towards the two as soon as the gun barrel
lost its target.
“Ngh!
You bitch!” The captor screamed as his shin was assaulted. He pushed Elena’s
face away from his torso and let the rest of her body drop to the ground as he
readjusted his aim. He pointed his gun down toward Elena as Gin flew in to
tackle him. A loud bang went off, followed immediately by a thud as two more
bodies and a hand gun hit the ground hard.
“Agh!
Hah hah! You bastard! Hah hah!” Gin was sitting on top of his mother’s
assailant radically throwing punches and panting. His heart was pounding harder
than it ever had before and tears were streaming profusely down his face. He
got in a few good blows before the assailant sat up and knocked the small
thirteen year-old in the face so hard that he flew back towards his mother’s
body. Gin could not even bare to look to confirm if she was okay. He knew that
if anything else had happened to her, he would fly into such a blind rage that
the resulting stress response would send him into anaphylactic shock and he
would be completely helpless to aid or – less preferably – avenge his mother.
Gin had to perish the thought and focus on the task at hand. He stood back up
and wiped the blood from his face. He was ready to dive right back in and fight
until his little body could not hold up anymore.
“I’m
going to love beating some sense into you kid.” The assailant rose and walked
toward the helpless young teen. The look on Gin’s face would terrifying, he
truly had the eyes of a killer. He looked right through the man before him and
saw him as nothing but sentient trash that needed to be burned. As the assailant
got closer Gin brought up his leg for a kick hoping that his legs would do
significantly more damage than his arms – he most likely would have been right
if his kick had landed, but the assailant grabbed Gin’s leg and drew him in
closer. Gin immediately took four right hooks to the face that knocked his head
back with every impact. On the fourth punch he hit the ground hard and shut his
eyes. “Now stay down kid, I’ve got a job to finish.”
“You
get back here you pile of crap.” Gin refused to let his attacker slink off. He
grabbed the assailant’s leg and started punching it. He hadn’t landed three
punches before he felt the tip of a combat boot in his temple.
“It’s
only going to get worse for you if you don’t stay down kid.” The assailant
continued forward to pick up his gun.
“Agh!”
Gin cried out and kicked the unsuspecting assailant while his back was turned.
“That
is it kid! I told you to stay down, now I’m going to have to put you down.”
When the assailant got back up on his feet, he turned toward Gin and cocked his
hand gun aiming it once again at Gin’s forehead. Gin stared deeply into the
familiar gun barrel once more. His heart was pounding in his chest. He was in
an excruciating amount of pain and he was bleeding profusely.
“Did I kill my mother?” Staring death in
the face, all Gin could wonder about was his mother. “Is she okay? Was it my fault? What else could I do for her?” Gin
was so fixated on the choices he had made. “He
hurt my mom. I had to protect her. I needed to hit him and so, that’s what I
did.” He felt somewhat contented by that thought. Instead of being
dominated by what would scare off any other person, Gin focused on attempting
to resolve the situation in the way he most saw fit. He took a deep breath and
exhaled heavily while trying to calm his heart rate. He heard the sound of the
gun cock and contemplated rushing forward in a last desperate attempt but
before he could take a step…The loud bang of a gun went off.
“Check
on your mother!” It was George slinking down the stairs, gripping the railing
in one hand, and a hand gun in the other. The assailant went down and his blood
began to drench the carpet. Gin’s tears only stopped for an instant as he
immediately turned around to check on his mother. As it turned out, Gin was
able to spare her the bullet, but it may have been a less cruel fate than what
she had actually suffered through. The various severe instances of blunt force
trauma she received to the head that night caused an aneurism which killed her.
Gin bent down over his mother’s corpse and held her tightly as he cried. His
father, despite his dangerously high heart rate, rushed down the steps to
console his son. The family sat there for hours without saying a word.
They
were so deep in mourning, they never would have noticed, the man that they
thought had been shot dead had completely disappeared. He crept off into the
darkness when Gin and his father were distracted. Outside the estate, the
assailant regained his composure. He plucked the bullet wound from his chest,
it was just above his heart. He held his hand up to the fleshy wound, closed
his eyes, and took a deep breath in through the nostrils. The muscles in his
chest tightened and began to glow as the wound started to heal itself. He then
pulled a phone out of his pocket. “Is it done?” A deep voice asked from the
other side of the phone.
“I
think I got the woman, but that kid is a different story. He freaked out and
attacked me! What kind of a kid tackles an armed gunman? And then, we got into
a fist fight and I pummeled him real good – even used my scion powers at one
point, but the kid would not stay down. It was the craziest thing.”
“Failure
is unacceptable scion.”
“I
know bu-“ The assailant tried to argue but he was cut off.
“Do
not back talk scion, return to the tower immediately.”
“…Y-yes
sir Lord Flame.”
Gin
awoke from that night the same way he had for the entirety of his teenage
years. He was covered in tears, sobbing into his hands, unable to get up and
start the day. “What is wrong with me?” He wondered aloud. “Why couldn’t I save
her? That man was armed, what was I thinking?” He clenched his forehead hard
with one hand and streaked his fingers through his hair. “Dammit!” He punched
into his wall in blind frustration. Most of his nights went about like this. He
would unintentionally reflect on the darkness of his youth and the terrible
fate that had been thrust upon him. “Well, maybe a run will cheer me up.” He
said taking a deep breath. So he started to run, and he ran hard. He must have
gone for hours – heading to the very limits of the city, he didn’t even feel
tired. When he finally reached his destination, he looked up to see his old
family estate. It was at that second that Gin’s exhaustion caught up with him.
His heart had been racing at an unnatural pace just as he knew it would, but he
couldn’t control the loss of breath he felt by stepping back into his home.
This place, it was the source of so much happiness and at the same time, so
much grief.
“Hello
Engine.” From inside the house, a familiar voice echoed forth that sent a small
chill through Gin’s body.
“…Can’t
you leave me alone?” Gin grunted. “What are you even doing here?”
“Oh
come now son, I could ask you the same thing. This Estate is technically mine
now, I’m sure you remember signing it over to me when I offered to help treat
your father.” Gin didn’t answer. He just looked at Aidan with contempt. His
instinct was to back-talk, but his training taught him better; still, something
inside him was changing, he felt safer now speaking his mind before Aidan than
he ever had before.
“Yeah
we both know how that turned out…” Gin gave Aidan a cold stare. There was a
slight trembling behind his voice as his heart began to pound.
“Well
I was sure I had taught you something Engine, but it seems your old habit is
resurfacing. Like a dog bearing its fangs before its master. Maybe fear has
become your fuel? I suppose an imposing threat would activate your stress
response and power that magnificent heart of yours.” Rather than feeling
insult, Aidan was intrigued by Gin’s newfound backbone. “The power of Etruscion
will take away all remnants of your soul and in return, it will leave behind
only your present-most trait allowing it to amplify and manifest as a latent,
super-natural talent. I could never figure out why your courage had given you
so much power; until I realized that you have something much different from
courage…but what? What is it Engine, what is it that fuels your heart and
glands to pump such massive levels of adrenaline? Why does it allow you to push
the barriers of human limitation so well?” Aidan was staring intently at Gin.
He wasn’t staring at him though, rather, he was staring through him – entranced
by the possibilities of Gin’s potential.
“Not this crap again.” Gin thought to
himself. “Hey!” He called to Aidan, to snap him out of his trance.
“Don’t
you ever wonder Engine?!” Aidan stood up from his seat and slowly walked toward
Gin. “What was your trait - what could possibly have amplified to change your
physiology in such a way?!” Aidan had the look of a hungry predator eyeing Gin
as though he were a tasty meal.
“You
got me.” Gin replied shrugging his shoulders. After all, his body wasn’t
actually functioning differently than it should have – it was a natural
process, multiplied several million times over. When Gin’s body would go
through the normal human stress response, he would receive a copious amount of
epinephrine from the adrenal glands which is heart would pump several times
faster than that of a normal human being. Normally, adrenaline surges allow
humans to briefly perform at 100% of their physical potential while
simultaneously rejuvenating the body. Gin, on the other hand, could go well
beyond this ‘normal’ potential, and then some, as long as his stressors were
sustained.
“Well,
I can see your ignorance hasn’t changed.” Aidan replied as Gin grimaced and
scratched the back of his neck. “One day soon, I’m sure we will come to understand
this power of yours Engine.”
“I
still don’t understand your fixation with me; the power of an origin easily
dwarves my own.” Gin snapped Aidan out of his trance with that remark.
“Yes.
Indeed, we are rather glorious.” Aidan proclaimed his self-adoration.
“Ah
yes, the mighty origins, the great kingpins of Chronos.” Gin stated in a
sarcastic tone as he dramatically danced about the room. “So powerful and
cunning they are; tricking a powerful demon by using the souls of their
followers to pay off their debt to him.” Gin stopped his dramatic prance and
turned to Aidan with a look of condescension. “So what’s the conversion rate of
deceit to glory again?” It was the first time he had ever been so forward with
Aidan. “Ah!” Gin cried out as Aidan grabbed him by the throat. He could feel
his flesh started to burn as simmering steam rose up and into his eyes from the
point where Aidan grasped at his throat.
“It
was cute the first time Engine. But now I find your new tone sickening.” A fire
burned in Aidan’s eyes and small embers began to swell at his feet. “You are
not to talk back to or mock the origins. Do not forget that you belong to the
origins – you belong to Chronos. Don’t forget who saved you from your
weakness…Eug-”
“Don-Don’t!”
Gin screamed struggling for breath. His powerful, adrenaline fueled muscles
aiding his strength, giving him just enough energy to speak through Aidan’s
vice grip. Aidan let up on his grip. “Please - Lord Flame…I’m sorry I insulted
you.” Gin tried as hard as he could to make himself sound humbled.
“Don’t
let it happen again. I don’t know what happened to you Engine, but you better
get a grip.” Aidan put Gin down but the embers continued to burn into the old
carpeting.
“Y-yes
sir.” Gin obediently replied.
“Take
the rest of the night to cool off. I have something I need you to take care of
tomorrow night.” Aidan turned away from Gin and headed out the door.
Gin took a deep breath
and rubbed his hand over his throat where he had been grabbed. “Damn that’s
gonna burn for a while.” He headed upstairs to his parent’s old bedroom. “I bet dad’s old emergency kit is still in
the side table drawer by his bed.” Gin thought to himself.
No comments:
Post a Comment