Fallocaust (The Fallocaust Series) (114 page)

The man chuckled at his tone, Leo looked over at him and felt his face drain of colour. He hadn’t recognised him, he had gotten older, they all had. He was a man now.

“Caligula?” Leo whispered.

The young boy not even twenty didn’t acknowledge him; but he knew who he was either way. Like all chimeras he was handsome, perfectly formed with eyes as bright as stars. He could’ve picked out his genetic category just by watching him walk, he could have told him what coding he had used just by checking his teeth.

Caligula survived, but what about the others? Had they been drawn back, or had King Silas changed his policies since he had been gone. No, no... he remembered now. Caligula had been given to Kessler as an infant, to raise him as his successor. He was no longer the little baby he had held, he was a monster now just like the rest of them.

The man, with curled black hair and eyes the colour of the metallic steel kept walking, no answer on or dancing on his lips. He wasn’t allowed to answer, his master must have told him not to talk to me. Did he know who I was? Did he know my name?

“Caligula, is Kessler here too?”

Caligula’s metal eyes staring ahead. “They know what you did, Lycos.”

It was then that Leo knew it was over, it was in that moment that any hope for this being a ransom, or a toll ambush disappeared evaporated with the slam of the vehicle door.

Leo looked behind him. The rains falling on the dead mercenaries, and the forgotten bosen. The blue tarp was shot to pieces, now only a shred of it clinging to the barriers, secured by shoe laces or twine.

Leo watched Caligula walk up to a slumped figure. He crossed his arms and started to speak to him, though all he could see was his lips moving.

Donny looked up, he had tears running down his cheeks. Good old reliable Doc, he had trusted him with everything, all of their secrets. He had been a part of their mismatched family since Greyson had smuggled Leo to the bunker, clutching a newborn to his chest.

Caligula watched Doc break down with minimal interest, even when Doc put his hands on his boots pleading his expression was unfazed. He shifted away from the doctor’s touch like he was some filthy thing, not worthy of even touching his army boots.

As the vehicle lurched forward with a grinding whine, he watched Imperial Commander Kessler’s heir wrench the doctor to his feet and push him towards an awaiting legionary vehicle.

Leo screamed at him, he screamed at him every name he could think of as his own vehicle drove away from the grisly scene. He screamed until his voice broke, and his chest heaved from exhaustion. Doc could hear him, he knew he could, but he didn’t make eye contact. He didn’t even look at what he had caused, what he was about to cause. Doc had single handedly destroyed everything Leo and his husband had worked for. Everything.

It was all over now.

Silas was coming for Reaver.

Chapter 48

Killian

Dad was running around in a frenzied panic, so was Mom. None of them were really noticing what I was doing, so I sat and played my game boy on the stairs. They didn’t need me yet anyways and when they did I would do my job as greeter.

I was already dressed in my best blouse and black pants. Dad said I looked dapper, I didn’t know if that was good or bad for an almost fourteen year old. I assumed good.

Mom was straightening Dad’s collar, she was in a yellow dress, the new one she usually only wore to outings in the town.

Today’s tea was important; Elish Dekker would be visiting us.

There was a knock on the door. Mom and Dad froze for a split second, before Dad ushered me forward towards the door.

I stuffed my game boy in my back pocket and opened the door.

In front of me was a very handsome man, one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen. Of course he was though, he was an chimera elite and they all strived to be beautiful and perfect. Elish didn’t need to strive though. His long blond hair was shiny and the colour of the sun, it fell down far past his shoulders like spun gold. His violet eyes also attracted my gawking gaze, they were warm velvet set on a backdrop of pale milky skin. His cicaro was lucky to have him.

My uncle says soon I’m going to be sold to Skyfall to become one, when I’m fifteen, that I had been singled out by Bishop himself. I asked Mom about this but she almost smacked me she looked so mad at the suggestion. I didn’t think it would be that bad, if I got someone like Elish... I mean it’s better then some of the grubby men that stay in this town. It might be fun to live in Skyland.

“Good afternoon, Elish. A pleasure for you to visit our home,” I said very politely, I stepped back to let him come in.

Elish didn’t move, his eyes were focused on me. He had an air of cold indifference about him, but in the same breath his eyes looked at me with intense interest.

I dropped my gaze, feeling small and filthy in his presence.

I looked nervously up at him, and watched his violet eyes seemingly analyse me like a computer.

When he got what he wanted, he swept past me as if the time hadn’t gone by at all, and greeted my parents. Two armed theins behind him. They disappeared into the dining room and closed the door.

I waited by the door, I pressed my ear against it and tried to listen. All I could hear was muffling though, I hissed under my breath and debated my options.

“You shouldn’t snoop so much,” a voice said behind me. “It will just get you into trouble.”

I looked behind me quickly, I hadn’t seen anyone behind Mr. Elish and his body guards.

A teenager like me, but taller and with messy jet black hair, was leaning up against my door frame in a casual manner.

“Who... who are you?” I stammered, feeling temporarily frozen.

“A mere cicaro, my name is Jade.” The pet named Jade smiled, though his eyes held a different emotion, inquisitive and all seeing, like he was peering into my soul. It was eerie.

The pet had a studded collar on, and a tight leather vest and pants. He was twirling his leash chain in one hand, the other he was drinking something alcoholic. When we made eye contact he smiled very nonchalantly. I could tell already he was trouble, mother would never let me be friend with him. Maybe that’s why she didn’t want me to be sold to an elite chimera.

I took a step away from the door. I was just a boy in a factory town, but as a chimera’s pet he was technically a slave, so I wasn’t sure if he outranked me. I didn’t want to chance it.

“It’s too bad about you leaving Skyfall, you would have done well as a pet.” His eyes scanned me up and down like his master’s had. They were a yellow, I had never seen that colour on someone before. “I bet you would taste nice.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Whatever you say.” The pet gave me a wink and tossed the bottle over to me and turned and walked with a self assured sway down my stone steps.

I caught the bottle and sniffed it before recoiling. It was rum. I took a drink of it and gagged as my throat burned like fire.

When Elish and my parents emerged out of the dining room, I ran over to the door to hold it open for him.

Elish noticed the bottle, he motioned at a thein and he grabbed it from me, I didn’t protest.

After courtesies Elish was gone, same with the guards, Jade the cicaro and the guy with a uniform.

“So you’re fired? It’s official?” Mom asked, I watched as she took the papers my father was holding.

“Dad, you got fired?” I said in alarm. What would this mean for us? Would we lose the bookstore? Jade... Jade had just said...

“I’ll talk to the boy,” Dad said.

Dad faded, Mom faded, Mr. Elish, Jade... everyone faded into my memory again. Though like a lot of my days they would be near my conscious, just waiting to take me away for hours on end.

I jolted, and as I did I felt the warmth, cozy feeling of Reaver’s house around me.

I looked down, and saw I still had the needle in my arm. I slipped it out and recapped it. Before I leaned over and hid it in my dresser beside me. I then sat back on the chair in his bedroom and closed my eyes again. Feeling warmth and comfort flow through me.

The heroin had been saving me, it had been putting me near comatose. The first time I had tried it I was out of it and drooling for hours. So deep in my dreams I couldn’t get out, not that I wanted.

Though sometimes my zombieland took me to horrible places, a lot of them were nice thoughts: Reaver’s warm embrace, my old home in Tamerlan, warm by the stove surrounded by books. Mario Kart in the basement with my boyfriend. So many good memories.

Some nightmares, but I took that with the good.

I curled up in the chair and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and let the warmth take all of my worries away.

Reaver would be here soon, not now... but soon.

Reality didn’t come to me until I was hitting Reaver’s back and sliding off of him.

I leaned a hand on an old truck for support and threw up. I didn’t have anything to puke but water and candy but my brain didn’t care. I lurched until my legs shook, I could feel Reaver holding me up. His firm arms holding me steady and straight.

I spat onto the ground, a small pool of bile and stomach fluid underneath the rusted car rim. I stared at the pool until I heard him talk.

“Want to go back home?” Reaver asked, he thought it was from my own mind and memories making me nauseas, in reality it was the heroin.

I shook my head and climbed back onto his back. He carried me everywhere now, I liked it.

I tightened my hold on him, and rested my head against his shoulder blade. The warm amazing feeling came back. I closed my eyes.

“He’s drooling on your back.” I felt myself get lifted up and placed on the couch. My head tipped back but I caught it. A moment later I heard fingers snapping in front of me.

I focused my eyes and saw Greyson staring at me, he looked concerned.

“You still in there, son?” Greyson asked, his hand was on my foot and he was shaking it.

I looked at him, and then down to his hands, once again remembering the time he had strangled Reaver. “Is Leo here?”

Greyson shook his head. “No, he’s been gone for almost a week now, Doc too. In Anvil doing business. Just me here and the fish.”
I nodded and tucked my knees to my stomach.

“Is this... typical?” Greyson rose, I saw him turn to Reaver.

Reaver nodded, his jaw was tensed, I knew he was clenching it. They walked for awhile out of earshot.

I wasn’t sure how long it was, but eventually those voices got higher. The next thing I heard was them walking up the stairs. I stayed laying down on the couch. My mind was too fuzzy to care what they were doing.

Leo was gone, so the place was clean as ever. I always found it funny how Greyson was the clean one and Leo was well, not messy, but not as anal, like Reaver. Maybe that was a chimera trait, though Elish gave off the air of someone pandemically clean, but I guess he did have sengils and cicaros to clean for him.

I hoped Leo stayed gone for awhile. It was nice not to have to worry about being sniped, I had enough to worry about.

It had been almost a week now. I bet he was deep in rotting now, the bugs and the worms had probably come by now too. There would be remainders from Perish’s body, so they would eagerly crawl to a fresh corpse to devour. What part would they eat first?

No matter what they wouldn’t touch that voice recorder, nothing decayed plastic, not even sulfuric acid.

I sat up as I heard something upstairs, I craned my ears and felt a surge of nervousness as I realized it was yelling. I hated yelling...  I hated it when they fought, what if he hurts Reaver again?

They were probably fighting about me.

I sighed and stood up, I jammed my hands into my pockets and slipped into the bathroom.

After I had shot up, just a small amount not enough to make me out of it, I could still hear the angry voices. Though the ones above me were almost drowned out by the ones in my head. I needed to get out and go for a walk, I needed some distraction. I didn’t want to be stuck inside with the fighting.

I quietly slipped outside.

It was raining, but it wasn’t a freezing cold rain, just tepid. I looked up at the charcoal grey sky and walked along the balcony for a few minutes before I made my way to the street.

The rain felt nice against my skin, I took my jacket off and tossed it into one of the abandoned vehicles that had been pushed off to the side of the road. I momentarily raised my arms and welcomed it with a happy sigh; before I continued to walk.

No yelling, no fighting. No people threatening me, or hurting my boyfriend. No crazy raticaters and no haunting painful memories. This was the closest I have felt to living in reality in a long time. I actually felt in the moment, not a thousand miles away in on different planet.

I was blissfully alone too. Darkness came early now, and instead of the late nighters wandering the streets with bottles of booze or joints they mostly stayed inside or clustered near Melpin’s.

I didn’t see a single soul as I ventured to the south area of Aras. Just empty houses, shadows of refuse piles stretching to the sky, and the sullen faces of rusted vehicles.

Each street I went down held new things for me to look at. I found the movie theater Reaver had once promised to show me. I walked past that and turned east, there I found the office buildings Aras got a lot of their furniture from. It still had some office furniture left behind, but mostly all that remained was the decay of a building rotting from the inside out. Boarded up but with the door ajar; people were free to come and go.

I cut through that parking lot, and gave my head a shake to free it from the rain water. I should have brought soap, this would be a nice time to bathe in the river with all the fresh water.

I turned left from the parking lot and started walking towards another cleared off street. Shops on either side, all closed off and dead to the world, after this street I would start to make my way back to the basement.