Chapter 25 - In Which There Are No Heroes Left

She was sure where she was half the time. The corridors were too alive for her to find a clear path. The sound of screams and gunfire rushed through the interior and flashes from the shoots rushed through it every so often. That plus the light streaming through the walls offered her enough illumination to see what was left.

Red ran like rivers through the floors, sometimes dripping through the floorboards above he heard. She couldn't tell if she was the one who had split it or they were just another casualty from the firestorm flooding through the manor, but nevertheless, their faces burned brighter than the steaming shells spinning around her. Some part of her told herself to not look as she ran and just leave them on the ground. Every inch of her thought otherwise.

Some were more peaceful than others. They looked as if they had simply lied down and never woke back up. Others had a looked of pure horror washed over, their jaws pried up to let blood spill out from their mouth and a hand clawing at the wound shot into them in an attempt to stop the exponential bleeding. The worst.....the word could barely even be described as human. Bullets had struck them in the exact wrong ways and caused entire chunks of their bodies to be blown free. Skull shards lay scattered across the red planks and body parts hung from the holes blow in their faces. Tongue fell limp through their missing checks, eyes hung from the shattered remains of their sockets, and missing teeth were found to be punched into the gums instead out of the mouth. One in particular was nothing more than a mess of muscle and crimson bone tied together by thin rivers of sinew on the verge of snapping.

Her rifles could have done that and she made sure she killed with a head shot when she marched down here. Every single time. She never looked down at what she killed before. They were just corpses after all, piles of meat left out to rot, but now they screamed at her as she passed by. Some pleaded for help, others for their families, other times they grabbed her legs as she rushed past, forcing her to look down at the foot that had been caught. She knew it was stupid to a think a corpse had reached out and grabbed her when it was more then likely she just got caught on a piece of them, but that was always where her mind went. Grabbing onto her and begging for mercy like her aunts and uncles had only to be trampled moments later. Once again she saw the fires following in her wake and swallowing up the people she had lined the path with.

She tried running faster and escape the howls chasing after her only to find more and more dotting her way. The fires hounded her down, no, they hunted down everyone else. She just gave them something to follow and follow they did, better than any pack on the planet. Killed more than anything those cowardly guards ever would and left something less than corpses behind. A story for so many to remember, one that warned of what happened when you strove to make a better life. You'd be trampled under the colonizers boots...her boots.

No.

That was the one word she had in her mind with every step she took. No to the idea she had seen flash across the young woman's face. No to what she had done. No to Judas. No to those people looting from the bunker. No to everything!! No, no, no!!!

The corridor was its own execution with all the screams and flames flooding it, but she didn't come out of the tunnels until the sound of gunfire faded entirely into the background. After that, the next door she found was the one she brought herself through and finally came stumbling back out into the hallway. Her boots left behind bloody footprints in the carpet with something squishing as she put pressure on her heel, but Lozen barely noticed. She had no idea where she was, only that she was somewhere with no guards or ramparts or anything resembling the skirmishes below. It was relieving at first, but her lungs still pumped air in and out after running what had to be a full mile through the house and her mind was still clambering after everything she saw.

What now? Should she run? It felt like she should. Those slaves were well armed and far too numerous for the guards to hold off. Even without their precious hero they were approaching. She needed to move, but something prevented her from thinking about merely running away. Her eyes scuttled all around the area until they found something she never expected to find herself at again.

The doors to Cane's safe room. Left with only a single guard to stand in front of them and not the best one from the looks of it. He was barely taller than her and the hand that he pointed his rifle at her with was shaking beyond reason. Lozen guessed he must have been new to this whole business, but felt little if any pity to the young lad upon that realization. Though at the same time, she had no idea what she cared at all. He was a boy who didn't have the guts to pull the trigger. The answer came to her before long.

He was in her way.

Just leave. Find a passageway, get to Judas or wait outside the property, and then run. This wasn't worth it. She didn't want to stay here anymore, but still something pulled her towards the door. The boy stood his ground as she approached up until she said "All the front's are failing. The slaves will be here any moment and when they do, you better be long gone or else they will scalp you like a dog and tear you limb from limb. Or you could give me the keys and leave me to deal with whatever comes next. No one will know you were ever here. So start running." That was that last little nudge the boys needed before the rifle from his hands and the key he pulled from his pocket clattered onto the ground. With that, he ran like the coward he was.

The only thought Lozen spared on the man was to the weapon and key he left on the floor which she promptly scooped up. She slid the key into the lock and when she was certain the bolt had slid back, she walked right in. "What is it!!?" Sirius's voice rang out from the back of the room, apparently his person not having moved from the window since her departure. The cane he seemed to love so much was still lying on the ground and his back was pointed to the door, both of which made Lozen hope that meant he was unarmed. She found her tongue getting caught in her throat at the mere sight of the figure regardless.

Why was she here? The money? Well, obviously....no. That didn't seem right. She needed and more than earned it, but every time she tried focusing on that fact, what she had seen in the hallway. Something twisted in her gut even as she ignored the pull from the images down stairs and worked its way up into her vocal cords, seizing control before she realized what she was saying. "The creature that tried to kill you earlier today is dead." Sirius whipped around as he heard that and sprinted over her with a speed she didn't expect anyone in such ornate clothes to be so quick. He grabbed her by the collar before she even knew what was happening and pulled her down as she said "REALLY!!? YOU'RE NOT LYING!??! THAT THING IS DEAD, GONE, DECEASED?!?"

Lozen held her tongue for a moment before saying "Yes. In all the chaos I managed to put it to rest."

A small smile creeped across Sirius's face. "Finally." He muttered at first as his smile continued to grow as an elated expression clutched his face. His eyes ballooned to the size of fists with jubilance and a pure, unrefined joy gushed out of his ever inch. It was as if he had just the face of God. He stumbled back again until his back hit the rim of the couch placed between the doors and the coffee table and a hand ran itself through his oily hair. Muttering poured out of his mouth of which Lozen could only make out a few words, but he seemed ecstatic over all. Even as he seemed to just start bumbling about around the furniture set up throughout the room, drunk off a catharsis he had been deprived of for far too long. She didn't even have to ask for her reward.

"Your bounty is in the table drawers. Take as much you want. IT'S DEAD!!! He's dead! THAT SAVAGE BEAST IS DEAD!!!" Cane spat out without even taking a breath, flinging his arms into the air like a child, but Lozen's gaze didn't fall to the article of furnishing Sirius had indicated. They kept themselves locked into the man in the middle of what could only be described as a positive psychotic break that didn't leave as many shards, but shattered nonetheless. It was naive the way he was acting, that was obvious to everyone except the blind. There was something else that kept her attention locked on him. Maybe it was that gleeful look in his eyes or the way his half cackles didn't bother to even come out from his mouth all the way. She didn't know. All she knew was that she couldn't look away.

"The slaves were putting up a good fight." She started, her mind drifting, but her voice no longer needed it. "More than I thought they would. They must really hate you."

"Who cares?" Sirius tossed her way before continuing tripping over his own feet.

"They're over powering your guards. They may very well make it to your location." Lozen said as she sat here down on the couch and Sirius stopped in his tracks. He stayed frozen for a moment before saying "A stroke of luck. Those savages can't get through my men. They can barely talk let alone fire a gun."

"That's not what I saw. They were angry. Very much so. More than I expect even spaces to be. And I think they were angry at you."

"They can be as fucking angry as they want."

"So long as they aren't succeeding, I know. But they are, Cane. And it appears a part of the reason for that is sheer hatred. So let me cut to my question. What did you do?"

Cane seemed to freeze again before turning to face Lozen and saying "Don't you dare start demanding things from me! You did the job, now take your reward and go!!" She didn't move an inch away. In fact, she wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her weapon before continuing.

"And all your guards are away either running or being slaughtered. I have no obligation to leave."

"How dare you-"

Sensing his discontent, Lozen quickly raised her weapon up and fired a single shot right next to Cane's head. A chink of wood hanging over the fireplace rained down onto the floor as the bullet slammed into the column and forced Cane to let out a pathetic yelp. He jumped before once again rooting himself to the spot, this time more out of a sudden wave of fear as opposed to seething, unfounded rage. Good.

"Nor to keep you alive. You'll just be another man killed by savages." She added, every word a hammer strike that drove the last nail further and further into his coffin. He seemed to know this. He seemed afraid.

"My....my men won't stand for this!!! They'll-"

"Run like rats who know the ship is sinking. As they have been for the past half an hour all because the people you kept locked away and tortured hate you more than I have ever seen. So here's the deal. You tell me exactly what you did to justify such anger," She aimed the barrel of her weapon right at Sirius's head, letting him see down the muzzle before continuing "Or I'll put a bullet in your legs and leave you to the 'savages'. I wonder what they'll do with you. Most people would think they'd kill you. They seem angry enough, but no. Something people misunderstand about anger. You need to hit it right in this sweet spot for it to drive someone to murder, because enventually, that anger will cross a line and death won't be enough to saciate it. How do you cross that line? You make them wish for death. You starved them, rape them, tear apart their families, and kill their loved ones right in front of their eyes, because they'll hold onto that pain like a serpent with a mouse. And they keep holding and holding and holding until one day they snap. You know what's worse than giving someone a reason to kill you? A reason to keep you alive. The dead don't scream and trust me, they'll make sure you will. Everyday, everynight, but by bit they'll tear you apart, but make sure you stay around long enough to feel every moment. Do you know what will happen after that?"

She didn't expect him to answer, but his silence was better than the finest wine.

"They'll have a choice. If they're merciful, they'll kill what remains and simply leave you to rot. Or they throw you in true middle of nowhere and leave you to slowly wither away under the unforgiving sun until they're nothing left you but a shriveled husk, begging for mercy to a God that smiles upon your suffering."

She stopped, but she didn't know why. Sirius wasn't talking or at least she didn't expect him to up after until he took a small step towards her. It wasn't much, not threatening, hopeful, or anything noteworthy. There was a desperation to it however that Lozen caught. Like somehow he was hoping to find some sort of splice from her, the one who had laid out the horrible events awaiting him. What did he expect? For her to take it all back? To tell him everything was going to be alright? What was she, his mother? Still though, he spoke regardless.

"A-Are they merciful?" He asked, voice trembling on the verge of collapsed and eyes, brimming with hope and need, not moving from her face.

"Were you?" She replied, re-aiming her weapon right at him and giving him the final nail he needed to start talking.

"I....they were worse. All of them were worse!! You think they had it easy out there all alone, being hunted like dogs by every man from here to the Atlantic!? Of course not! They're dirty savages, barely even human! Anyone would have killed them, but what did I do when they came to my door step!! I took them in, gave them shelter, food, water, a purpose, and a new community."

"One bound by chains."

"They would have died without me!!"

"They were dead already."

"And I made something useful out of them!! I gave them something to strive for!! I gave them a chance to live!!"

"Even an insect can simply live."

"And I was the only one who treated them like that!! While everywhere else slaughtered and raped them, I gave them a home!! You think they would know any of the people joining them in this little squabble if I hadn't brought them there!! The only reason they're able to accomplish any of this is because of me!!!"

"No. You were the wick, but not the match. That man down there-" She gestured to the window. "He's the reason they're out their fighting and winning. You....how many did you kill?"

"Less than I saved!!"

"That few?"

"Shut up!! Just.....I gave them a chance to strive!! I gave them a life which they could perform this pathetic stunt in!! I am at least owed that."

"What you are owed is the same thing splattering the walls of this ornate crypt."

"Shut up!! Just shut up!! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!!! I AM NOT TO BE TREATED LIKE-"

Lozen fired another shoot right next to his head to shut him up and when he ducked down, she continued "Take your own advice, Cane, and have some dignity. Even Finch didn't die squealing like a pig."

"I'm....I'm not going to die...not after-"

"After what? Nearly two decades worth of enslavement, thievery, and inhumane depravity? You think you're owed anything after all that?"

"You don't get to say a word!!! You helped me!! You took my money all the same and now that beast is dead!!!"

Every atom in her being came to a dead halt when they heard those words and every thought turned to daggers to defend against it. She killed him. Nothing that could be done about that. But she only killed him to take the money, not to stop this rebellion. Wasn't that the problem? Wasn't she supposed to care about those people? No. The heroes may have done their work, but she didn't need to play a hand in any of it. Just two had arisen this little revolt, one that lasted even after their deaths. But....something about this wasn't right.

He was a demon. Just like the men she saw riding through her villages with the warriors head rolling behind them. And she had forgotten what they looked like. No. That wasn't it. She forgot to care.

It had to work though. That money he pointed to, it could help her people. No. Wait. That wouldn't work. Of course it wouldn't. Like she said, she needed to take her own advice. The kind she didn't realize she had been giving. Her mouth was running faster then her mind, but the pause Sirius's words forced her into gave her time to let what she said sink in.

Even an insect could simply live. How long had she been riding into a town of beetles and ants? How many opportunities did she have to change that? Why couldn't she have seen it before if all it took was one man dying and one woman leading to make it all seem to clear? Was it....was it her?

"Not yet." She muttered out loud, letting her tongue lose as her thoughts drifted into obscurity. "What?!" Sirius demanded.

"Not yet. Not ever." Lozen repeated and rephrased and she readjusted her grip on her rifle, pulling the muzzle down to point at Cane's trembling legs. "You...please! You can't!"

"I have a gun and trigger finger. Why can't I?"

Sirius's jaw bobbed up and down for a moment before he spat out "This won't make up for what you did!! You still killed that Injun monstrocity!! Do you think they'll forgive you for that?!"

"No. But they'll hate you for worse. They'll swarm in here and see you bleeding on the ground. They'll bandage you up, drag you in front of the manor, and they'll tear you limb from limb. I on the other hand have survived worse before and I will survive worse to come."

"....You can use me as a hostage!!"

"So you can do what? Think of a way out? You're a hysterical loon, Cane. The only one I ever met who had a chance of escape is now dead."

"But you can't escape without me!!"

"I know the passages, the grounds, and a man on the inside. I don't need you to make it out of this."

Cane seemed to petrify in place for another moment before he suddenly collapsed down onto his hands and knees. His eyes on the brink of tears, Cane hollered out "PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!! I DON'T DESERVE THIS!!! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!!! I CAN GIVE YOU MORE MONEY!!! LOTS MORE!!! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT, JUST TAKE ME AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!"

Pathetic. That was all Lozen could think as she saw such a "prestigious" man dissolve into a pile of whimpers, half pleas, and begs for a mercy his shattered mind still thought may come. It just seemed cruel to leave him to their mercy at this point, but she wasn't a hero. She wasn't the one those people down below admired. That was a job for someone else. Judas, God, Hell, maybe even Alberta in another life, but not her.

She stood up, not hurrying herself to get anything done for the gunshots were still all in the distance and her company was of no threat. Her cold eyes took another glance up and down to Cane's almost Prime body before she leveled her rifle. "Those who beg have nothing to give." She muttered just loud enough for Cane to hear, but before he could issue another plea, she fired.

Two shoots, nothing more, each delivered right into his legs. They didn't kneecap him like she had hoped and she had to go make due with his shins instead of thighs, but she doubted he'd get back up because of that. A bone chattering scream rang out through the room as Sirius rolled onto his back, every expression on his face bulging as if they were all trying to free his skull and his legs twitching in agony. She could tell he was in a rather unique position. One where his instincts compelled him to pull his legs in close and clutch the wounds to protect him while his pain receptors singed his mind if he even so much as twitch. His legs wither from the agony which only produced more pain that in turn only made him wither even more. He wasn't even making words anymore, just screaming, moaning, and writhing in utter agony. Perfect.

"Gigawabamin, Sirius Cane. I hope god has more mercy then I do." Lozen said as she slung the rifle over her shoulder and started making her way towards the door, leaving the screaming fool to wallow his agony as the sound of gunshots and Apache cries for justice starting drawing closer and closer.