Scars Ch. 14
#14 of Scars
The long hiatus is over and the next chapter to Scars is finally here.
Tiny drips of water drop from the damp ceiling onto the floor. I lay in my cage, knees down, metal cuffs clasp against my hands, chains connected to the cuffs go straight up to the roof of my cell making my arms outstretch painfully over me. My groggy eyes can barely see the corridor that stretches some feet to the stairway that goes back up to the surface. The poison from Valentine's dagger may no longer threaten my life thanks to the anti-venom Conway was gracious enough to give me, but the effects still linger in my system causing my insides to whither in agony. Even with my vision loss, I know exactly where I am - the underground prison beneath the main building of the guild. I've been here before, whenever I or Ollie ever did something stupid we always visited each other.
I don't think Ollie will be visiting this time, he either hates me now, or pities me too much to visit. It doesn't really matter anyway, it won't be too long until I'm put to death for my crime. Maybe death will be a good thing. It's definitely better than staying down here for the remainder of my life, and it's a hell of a lot better than being Conway's slave.
"Well don't you look pathetic," a familiar voice rings out from the shadows.
My eyes grow wide, I don't give the guy much credit. "On the contrary, this jail cell is pretty roomy, you should come in and join me," I joke. I can hear a faint chuckle as Ollie walks closer to me. "I didn't think you were going to show up."
"I wish we could've met under better circumstances," Ollie sighs, walking and kneeling down, his back against the steel bars. "Oh how the mighty have fallen."
"I don't think even in my prime I was ever mighty," I chuckle, a loud cough escapes my breath. "When you get the chance, can you sock Valentine for me?"
Ollie laughs loudly. "You don't even need to ask," Ollie laughs. His chuckling slowly dies down as a more somber look appears on his face. "What....happened? Everything and everyone was happy until you left."
I look down at the ground, contemplating my next words before finally looking back up to him. "I guess since I'll be dying soon," I wheeze. "I could at least....tell you about her..." Ollie's head which stared blankly at the ground pops his head up in confusion and curiosity.
"Her?" Ollie asks.
Back all the way in Midna, inside Carolyn's house, Patrick grabs a can of beer from the fridge in the kitchen, he glances at Chris who is sitting in the living room watching the TV, more news about The Scars robbing different stores around Midna. Now that Keenen's in charge of The Scars, Midna is more dangerous than it was before. Thoughts of moving to a different city circulate through Patrick's head, but what about Chris?
Patrick knows Chris is still thinking about Lucan, they both are. Even in the short time they knew each other Lucan Chris became good friends and even after finding out about Lucan's involvement with a mercenary guild, Patrick still held some friendship for the wolf. Thinking on it now, Patrick almost sees himself in Lucan - a young kid getting stuck in a bad group.
Carolyn opens the door and walks into the house and sees Patrick in the kitchen. Carolyn goes straight toward him, passing by Chris who completely ignores her, lost in his own thought. Carolyn walks into the kitchen turning her head and making sure the two of them are out of earshot of Chris, when she knows the Dingo can't hear then, she turns back to Patrick. "You're lucky I've let you stay at my place for the entire day without telling me why, but your friend over there is starting to freak me out," Carolyn says. "What happened to you two?"
"We...," Patrick tries to explain, but can't find the words. Carolyn begins to get worried. "We ran into some unfriendly people."
"The Scars?" Carolyn guessed. Patrick chuckles a bit, thinking of how better it would've been if that was the case, he may even have been able to go toe-to-toe with them with Lucan on his side.
"No, not them," Patrick sighs. "We were attacked by mercenaries."
"Mercenaries?!" Carolyn yells. Carolyn begins to get mad, thinking Patrick is just pulling another trick on her, but the look on Patrick's face makes her realize it's not. "You're not kidding?"
"Chris found this guy on the streets and he ended up being some mercenary on the run from his group...guild, I don't fucking know," Patrick says.
"Picking up a dude off the streets especially in a city like Midna is pretty fucking stupid Pat!" Carolyn barks. "What was Chris f-ing thinking!?"
"Don't blame him," Patrick says, going over and leaning against the oven. "It's my fault shit hit the fan the way it did, if I had just killed Victor back when I had the chance."
"Victor?" Carolyn looks at Patrick who looks away from her, a look of worry begins to come over Carolyn. "Patrick tell me what's going on."
"It was back around two years ago during the election for the new mayor of the city that our guild was based in," I say, still chained in my cell and wheezing with each breath. "The person everyone was saying was gonna win was this big hotshot judge. Our guild mates also knew him as a threat since is platform was to rid the city of violent gangs."
"Us a violent gang!" Ollie chuckles. "We're the most sophisticated group of people in the entire country!"
I completely ignore the joke and continue on my story. "Conway knew that if this judge won the election our guild would be targeted for sure, so I was sent to go kill him," I wheeze.
"I already know this Lucan."
"Well did you know he had a daughter," I ask him. The room grew silent as I could tell Ollie was putting two to two together until Ollie finally got it and turned his head to me. I couldn't help but grin and softly chuckle at the surprised look Ollie had on his face.
"You didn't?!"
"I did," I respond. "The assassination went off without a hitch except for one thing - I was caught."
______________________________________________________________________________
Two years ago in the city of Meridian, home to the mercenary village, Knife's Edge. At night, the city is quiet. On top of a building overlooking a large mansion stands a young wolf, his eyes scanning the entire perimeter for guards patrolling the area. Within seconds, the wolf disappears from the roof and quickly sneaks up to the mansion, breaks the lock on the back door and enters the mansion.
Crouched, the young wolf looks to see if there are any guards inside, instead finding no one around and instead notices the light on in what looks like the kitchen. Slowly moving closer, the wolf moves his head to let a better vantage point of who's inside the room. The wolf's eyes grow wide as he sees the "future" mayor standing in the kitchen, oblivious to the young mercenary watching him from the door. The middle-aged arctic fox is standing in front of the fridge, his back turned to the assassin who crouches into the kitchen unnoticed.
The wolf sees his opportunity and before he can react, the wolf pulls out a knife from his belt and thrusts it into the arctic fox's back, the wolf quickly covers the his muzzle to stop him from screaming and after a few seconds of struggling the fox goes limp in the wolf's arms. Taking the blade out of the former mayor's body, the wolf walks over to a cabinet, takes out a knife and proceeds to stab the mayor once more in the exact same wound. With the murder covered up as a suicide, the wolf turns to go only to be met by a female arctic fox at the door.
"She looks much younger than the former candidate so she must be her daughter," the wolf thought.
"You killed my father," the girl says, her eyes staring at the body on the ground. The wolf knew he had to kill her before she could call out for help. Within seconds he could be surrounded and he still doesn't know how to fight more than one person at a time.
"Miss Clarice is something the matter?!" an old woman yells from the other room. The wolf grips his sword and grinds his teeth. Everything was going so well! After this he'll be lucky to get a mission ever again. The wolf readies to begin a bloodbath, but instead the arctic fox girl shushes him to be silent which both confuses and quiets him.
"Everything is alright, I'm just getting something to drink," the arctic fox yells back before turning back to the wolf. "Don't make too much noise or my maid will catch you!" The wolf was about to argue back and tell her he doesn't need her help, but the realization that she's trying to help causes him to back down. Who is this girl?
After Clarice checks to make sure the maid has left she motions the wolf to follow her to the back exit. She opens the door first and with no guards in sight, the two rush out of the house and after both help each other hop over the fence run away.
"And you lived happily ever after," Ollie declares, almost mockingly, but there was no spite in his tone.
"Not necessarily," I cough. "The next thing we did was -"
I immediately stop myself from speaking as I see down the hallway of cages and the stairway to freedom Victor and Valentine both walking toward us,. Luckily they were too far away to hear what I had just told to Ollie, but the mischievous grin on Victor's face unsettled me nevertheless.
"I was wondering where the hyperactive wallaby was at," Victor says. "You missed the big meeting."
"Discussing the different ways you want to kill me with huh?" I wheeze.
"Better," Victor pronounces. The two mercenaries stop a few feet away, their grins unrelentingly causing both me and Ollie to watch them with caution. I noticed Ollie's hand slowly reach for a knife in his back pocket. I grit my teeth and rattle my chains hoping he's notice my warning. Ollie against the two of them is suicide.
"We come baring great news," Valentine says.
"The little pup's execution date has been announced as this coming Saturday," The grin on Victor couldn't be bigger if he tried, Saturday was only 4 days away, an escape plan is impossible in that short amount of time especially with Valentine's poison still effecting my body. "I gotta say I envy your brother, but of course -"
"Orders are orders," Valentine finishes. "We figured we tell you the news out of the kindness of our heart, we'd hate for you to sleep at night not knowing when you'd inevitably die."
In my attempt at telling them to fuck off I instead let loose a barrage of coughs and wheezes that even makes Ollie jump away from the cage. Valentine's poison, even if healed, still causes an immense amount of pain.
"Oh Valentine, you sure do know your poisons," Victor says with sadistic giddiness.
"I'm flattered," Valentine laughs before walking back toward the exit, Victor follows suit.
"Hey!" the shout was so loud is caused an echo for a couple of seconds, the two mercenaries at the door look back to see Ollie standing up and clutching the knife in his hand.
"What the fuck are you doing Ollie," I whisper. "Are you trying to get yourself fucking killed?!"
"One day when the two of you fuckin bastards least expect it," Ollie exclaims. "I will use this knife to kill the both of you bastards."
"Ollie!" I wheeze.
Victor and Valentine both look at each other and then back at Ollie before the two of them burst out laughing like they just heard the funniest joke they've ever heard. I could tell Ollie's hands, no, his whole body was shaking. Ollie liked to talk tough, but faced against two of Knife's Edge's most deadly killers and all the bravado would die out like a cold flame. I try to stand up, using the chains on my arms to lift me up as I desperately try to talk Ollie out of killing himself.
My heart begins to pound even faster as I can see Victor turning back to us, brandishing his own knife. Just as Victor is about to walk toward Ollie who readies himself for a fight, Valentine puts a hand on Victor's shoulder stopping him.
"Let the boy make his threats," Valentine smirks. "As much as I would love to end that wallaby's life in front of the pup, Conway has made it clear that any killing of another guild mate and you'll be ending up with Lucan on Saturday."
The look on Victor's face you'd get the feeling he's contemplating killing Valentine right on the spot for stopping him from getting to Ollie, but instead puts his blade away as does Ollie who's breathing has been shaky the entire stare down.
"I'll see you both on Saturday," Victor shouts as he strolls out of the room with Valentine. "And maybe sooner than that for you Ollie."
The door shuts loudly causing Ollie to fall back first onto my cage cell. Our breathing is intense and it takes us a moment for the both of us to regain our train of thought. "Ollie, what the fuck were you thinking?" I manage to say.
"I just sent them a message," Ollie breathes out. "Damn bloody good one if you ask me, maybe need to work on my stance and possibly get rid of that fucking shaky movement. Nobody'll be afraid of ya if you look like a leaf in the wind."
"You idiot!" I bark. "Now Victor's gonna come after you, you're a dead man and Tonya won't be able to bail you out of this one."
"Oh I wouldn't put it past Tonya," Ollie says, a grin forming on his face now. "You never know with that tricky vixen."
"Whatever happens I won't be there to see it," I let out a sigh, my muzzle points to the ground as I lose all hope of getting out, of seeing Chris and Patrick again. The grin on Ollie's face goes away as he sees my disheartened appearance.
"Hey, cheer up buddy," Ollie says. "Who knows, in this sea of enemies, you just might find a couple of allies."
I don't respond, and Ollie gets the message and walks and with one final pitiful glance to me, walks up the stairs leaving me to my misery.
Ollie walks out of the door that leads to the prison, his body slumped and defeated just like the friend he had just left behind back in the prison. Ollie would pay anything to just simply go back to the way things were, with him and Lucan hanging out, training with Tonya, and going on missions.
As Ollie walks toward the rows of buildings meant to be housing for the mercenaries, he catches Tonya kneeling against one of the houses and signals Ollie to come over to her. Tonya whispers something into his ear that makes his face perk up and he looks up at the vixen with a puzzled look. Tonya simply smirks and nods, almost as an answer to a question he didn't ask. Ollie and Tonya enters one of the buildings, looking behind her to make sure no one is following them before closing the door.
On top of the adjacent building rooftop, Drake watches from a distance as the two disappear within the building before turning around himself and leaves.