Chương 170: 83 - CIRCLE OF LIFE

"Another late night." T'balt was up in his office, staring at stacks and stacks and more stacks of paperwork piling on his desk. He had unfortunately committed himself to reading every single one and was deciding that he was going to need some sort of secretary to handle this kind of thing. Tyene leaned against his doorframe for a while, watching with some amusement. A full minute of his toiling had passed before she said, "The bureaucracy is back already?" He looked up.

"Yeah… I need to approve all the new housing that's being built for the new residents from the church. To be honest, I hate paperwork with every fiber of my being, but the city is way too big now to function by word of mouth. So… paperwork. At least I can toss in a thinker's loot and cut down the time, at least for everyone else." He couldn't hide the exhaustion sagging his eyes as he continued to read the papers, eyes red between his sentences. Tyene limped over to him.

"It's alright. Tag me in and go home already."

"No, it's fine. I can handle it."

"It wasn't an ask. This kind of thing is right up my alley. Boring paperwork was my middle name back in the day. It was all those jerks at Corlander wanted to trust me with, and I bet I could get it done way faster than you."

"How much?"

"Just go," she smiled.

"Thanks. You're honestly a lifesaver." He handed her the reins and the seat at his desk, then collected his things and headed home. It was late in the evening, and everyone at home was likely getting ready for bed. And his body was itching for sleep itself. So Tyene did turn out to be his guardian angel, at least for the night.

"Before you go," she said meekly. Her face was reddening, but he'd never seen anything make the woman embarrassed, so his curiosity was piqued.

"German found a letter… It was a private correspondence between my stepfather and his lawyer." T'balt stood straight up.

"And?"

"She wasn't driving that night. Her bodyguard was. A couple of happy accidents later, they find her alone, drunk, and dead in a car on the side of the road. He did it…" She sat quietly for a while, T'balt not wanting to intrude on her private thoughts.

"I need a few days to wrap my head around it, but you can have Corlander after that and save your friend." T'balt nodded slowly.

"Thanks." He left not knowing whether or not what German wrote on that letter was the truth or if it really brought her the peace she needed. It felt wrong to stay quiet about it, but he would be getting Cannon back soon, and that felt like progress. Sweet, glorious progress. He walked away but stopped to notice the door to the loot room was open.

"I said go home. Don't even think about taking another trip with the Wanderer!" Tyene shouted from his office.

"I'm not. Just be careful with the door to the loot room… we can't have people going in and out when they please."

"Yeah, yeah." On the walk home, he couldn't help but wonder at the moon. Would it give him comfort knowing that whenever things reverted back, this moon would still be as bright and full on this day when he saw it again? The moon was too large to be changed by Redeemers, so even if they felt large, there was still something out there bigger and grander. He didn't know if it gave him comfort. But it made him think of his grandparents. Some things just moved regardless of the people they carried.

That was what his grandfather had told him. The world kept moving regardless of whether or not he was in it. And yet, it felt the Redeemer created the exact opposite scenario. He was sure his grandfather would hate the idea of the power. And his grandmother right along with him. They were a couple that rarely disagreed with each other. But even still, he wondered what they would think of him now. He wondered if they'd be proud. He wondered what they would've thought of Ellie, Acelin, and T'tania.

But he could never know. They passed before Zero Day, and that was not a thing he could get back. But there were things that were still alive at Zero Day. Things that he could perhaps cope with now.

"Maybe I should try to call my mom next life," he thought. But that was a thought for a much later time. For now, he was just excited to get home and lie in his bed. He announced himself quietly once he came in the door, sure that there would be at least one person awake. Acelin was always a night owl, not as bad as he was, but it was hard to get him to sleep before midnight. He felt himself wanting to see at least one smiling face when he got home, but the room was empty and quiet.

He hung his coat by the door, noticing the place looked particularly messy. T'tania's toys were scattered everywhere even though she'd gotten much better about cleaning since equipping the thinker's loot. Dinner was on the stove, but there was no one around to eat it. He glanced around, getting a strange feeling. What sounded like muffled yelling sounded from behind the door to his bedroom.

When he heard it, he rushed over only to be caught from behind in a sleeper with an unbearable strength that nearly crushed his throat on contact. It only took a few seconds for the lights to go dark. When he woke, he was at the dinner table… with his family. Ellie, Acelin, T'tania. They were tied up and gagged with black tape. Ellie stared at him. T'tania stared at him. Both were crying. But next to them, Acelin was unconscious, head slumped down to his chest with a string of blood staining his T-shirt.

T'balt tried to yell, discovering that he too was tied up and gagged. There was what tasted like a rag in his mouth underneath a line of tape. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. All he could think was, "Oh god. Please don't." Monan Ryker walked into the room with an exasperated grin. He was still just as much of a mess as when T'balt last saw him.

"Just like old times, eh, bud?" He tried to scream, but all that came out were unintelligible grunts. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Monan took a deep breath, smelling the stench of domestication and blood. It soothed him. Then he sat on top of the table, looking down at T'balt, who desperately shook in his chair.

"Don't mind the props behind me. I'm just setting them for a little game I got planned later. Had to borrow your loot thief for it though." He pulled out a small baggie, which he rattled around to show off the sound of clanging loot coins inside.

"Can't have anyone getting fiesty. You know, probably not the best idea to give loot to a kid, but what do I know. I was never the best dad. But I left that one in her. I really want her to understand what's happening, ya know." He sat the bag on the table right next to his pistol. Monan grabbed the gun and stood. Ellie and T'tania started to squirm and panic.

"Quiet down now, props. I'm trying to speak here." He then pointed the gun at Ellie, prompting them to stop.

"Don't make me repeat myself." T'balt struggled in his chair, screaming, "No, stop. Point the gun at me." But of course, no one could understand. Monan shook his head manically.

"You've gotten a little too comfortable here, living this life you got. It's your fault everything is so boring now, ya know. Wayyy too boring. That Looter God though… he's a card. Really spiced things up. Feeding us the chaos we all need and deserve. Made the world a better place. Cuz you gotta take the bad with the good, right? Can't all be good because that'd be boring." T'balt fiddled at the tape binding his hands behind his back. But they were thick. He tried to scrape at them, but Monan noticed.

"Don't struggle too hard. Or we might have to get the game started early." He placed the game flat on the table and spun it. It whipped around in circles, the barrel of the gun switching between his four captives. It stopped pointing at Acelin. Monan raised an eyebrow and put a hand on the gun. Ellie screamed, and Monan pulled the trigger. The bang rang in all of their ears, causing each of them to flinch uncontrollably. They heard a crunch in the wall.

"Oops. Guess I missed. My hand-eye coordination isn't what it used to be." Monan picked up the gun. Acelin was still alive, but he'd accomplished his goal. Everyone was panicked, afraid for their lives. But T'balt couldn't understand. He, Ellie, Acelin- they all had history with Monan. But why was T'tania here? Why did he get the five-year-old girl involved? T'balt could see the fear and lifelong trauma watering her eyes. He desperately wanted to tell her not to worry, that everything's gonna be fine. Daddy's here.

Daddy's not going anywhere. But she was too smart for that. Those words wouldn't have meant a thing. Monan was raiding the fridge, stealing some wine from one of Tyene's special bottles. He tasted it, swished it around, and spat it out.

"You know, actually I'm not in the mood to drink." He turned back towards them, realizing T'balt was staring snake venom right into his chest. He decided to let him speak, pulling off the tape guarding his mouth. T'balt spit out the rag on his own.

"Monan, stop this right now, or I swear to God I will make you wish you never revive again." Monan smiled.

"Don't threaten me with a good time… I gotta say you're playing your role nicely. Every life is like a movie. Every time we redeem, we get to play a different role. But to make it interesting, you gotta have your good guys and your bad guys… I'm the bad guy in this one if you didn't know." T'balt seethed.

"I don't care about your damn movie. Let the others go right now. Whatever you're planning, you can do it with me and only me."

"Dude. I'm just having fun! You really wanna interrupt my good time? I get it though. I do. See, I did really wanna take a shot at building Graceland that way I can focus on family. Our family and not…" he held the gun up, nearly pointing it at T'tania but stopped short. He took a deep breath.

"Wanted to kick back and have Sunday dinners and shit, ya know. But then the librarian bird gets pregnant, and I immediately thought of a more fun game to play.

"Let him have his little good time and then…" he bent over next to T'balt, matching his gaze at the girls across the table. Take it all away. Really let that despair and fury build up in ya. That way we can have a good hatefucking afterward." Ellie began shaking her head in hysterics. T'balt could see her trying to force her body to their daughter, the failure of it ripping skin from her arms. T'tania cried wordlessly.

"It doesn't have to be this way," T'balt said.

"We can all be family, right? Right?"

"You know, there was a part of me that didn't want to do it," Monan said, sitting back on the table, covering his mouth with the gun.

"Just let someone else be happy for once. Just because you're a bored bitch doesn't mean everyone else is, right? It might be worth something to live for the rest of time all friendly and buddy buddy. So I left thinking that Corlander fucker would put an end to those nasty thoughts. But you won… And nothing happened. I felt nothing. Too bad. Because all it did was grow my appetite for the rush of doing something that I could never take back. Sometimes you don't find your true calling. Sometimes it finds you."

He pointed the gun at the little girl. T'balt started screaming. It felt like all he could do. He couldn't watch. He couldn't breathe. He just needed this nightmare to stop. Ellie felt the same. She jerked her head around, trying to signal something they couldn't understand. Monan took it upon himself to interpret.

"Oh…" he swiveled the aim of the gun, playing around as if he might again miss his shot until he suddenly aimed at T'balt.

"Uh oh… Does the bird have a preference? You want me to kill your hubby instead? That might be a fun little game. Who do I kill? Big T or little T? It's your choice." Ellie paused, fear shocking her eyes still.

"Monan, what are you doing?"

"Hold on, now. It's her choice." He walked over to her side of the table, leaning over to the point where his filthy beard brushed against her ear.

"This is the game. Someone has to die. But just one. I'll leave after the next time my gun goes off." He straightened back up.

"I don't lie outside the game, do I, T? I didn't do anything to the church. I helped you when I told you I would. Graceland has been yours since I told you it was."

"ALRIGHT I GET IT! JUST KILL ME AND GET IT OVER WITH!"

"It's not your choice. It's hers. I couldn't get her to kill you before, remember. Well, how about now?" Ellie didn't move. It was like her mind had left her body and what was left was no better than a mannequin.

"Oh… hesitation." Monan mocked.

"I get it. She's a little unconfident. She doesn't know whether or not, when you die, if she goes with you or if she stays here."

"That's ridiculous. None of that matters."

"No. It does." Monan nodded.

"I've got a little bit more experience than T'balt, so let me fill something in where he wasn't able to… When we leave. This world burns. That means even if you pick T'balt, everyone still dies. You, the girl, Acelin, and all the other little scamps still kicking after Zero Day. They'd all be gone, and the universe replaces you with a copy."

"Don't listen to that, Ellie. It's a lie."

"Well then tell her the truth, T. What happens to her when you die?"

"I… fff…" he struggled for an answer.

"It's okay to say that you don't know. I do. She's gone no matter what, doll. At least with her, you won't have to be afraid of what you'll be tomorrow. At least you wouldn't be responsible for the end of the world." Ellie dropped her head, but Monan had apparently run out of patience. He aimed his gun again.

"I'll tell you what. I'm gonna point my gun back and forth, and you just nod your head at which one you want to go, alright." Before T'balt could continue to protest, Monan was shouting at the top of his lungs, "EENY MEENY. MINEY MO! CATCH A TIGER BY THE TOE! IF HE HOLLERS LET HIM GO EENY MEENY MINEY…" He didn't finish. Ellie had closed her eyes, squeezing them not to look. Monan dropped his aim and looked at T'balt, who stared back at him, pleading in his eyes. Monan frowned and patted him on the head.

"I won't make you watch." He walked over and grabbed the back of T'tania's chair and dragged it to the back room. They heard her screams. Even though they were muffled, they heard them loud as day. She screamed for her parents to come for her, eyes wide and blue and terrified upon the realization that there was nothing they could do. Monan shut the door to their bedroom as her two parents stayed quiet, looking at each other. There was a gunshot. Moments later, Monan left the room. He sighed.

"I'm bored with this shit now. T, come find me when you're ready for another game." Before he left, he had one more set of parting words.

"Oh, and for the record, I did lie. I got no fuckin clue what happens to the props after we die… see ya when I see ya." There was a crack of thunder, and Monan was gone.