03 - Aftermath
It could've been just a moment. Kian stood still, frozen by shock. Ashes, flames, screams, heat... They were all bullying him. He wanted to move and rush to his Grandpa, who was still unsconscious on the ground, but his muscles didn't obey his will.
At the same time, Albel checked on Grandpa Calja. He checked the pulse and the breathing. Then he caught the eye of a wounded Town Guard who seemed to be looking for something to do. The Town Guard approached and Albel and him exchanged a few words, then the Guard took the old man and carried him away.
Kian wanted to speak, but again, his body betrayed him. Albel stared at the teenage boy for a moment before walking towards him. Kian's vision blurred and then he blacked out. After that, he vaguely remembered being carried in strong arms. He even remembered a moment when his vision came back and he saw Albel's (cold) face. Then he blacked out again.
ALBEL THE WICKED
"Aftermath"
3
His mouth was dry. That was the first thing that Kian realized when he next opened his eyes. He also didn't fail to notice that the bed he was on wasn't his usual mattress. Then it all came back to him. The attack on Jaarys. People screaming for their lives. Albel showing his true face. His Grandpa getting hit by some weird magic spell.
"Grandpa!" Kian exclaimed as he sat up.
His heart began to beat fast. He looked around and saw something that made him want to throw up. Around him were dozens and dozens of beds with wounded people lying on them. Some even seemed like they were dead. Children with burnt skin, some were bleeding still. A woman's face was frozen in terror. The man next to her couldn't stop looking around everytime a sudden noise or scream would occur. And the smell... the smell was hideous.
Getting up was quite painful for some odd reason. Kian placed a hand on his chest as he recalled being hit by something. There was a bandage there now. Was it an arrow? Was it a magic spell? He shook his head, trying to focus on what was really important at the moment. Finding his Grandpa. As he stepped on the cold floor, he realized he didn't have shoes on, or socks for that matter. He caught the eye of the person lying in bed next to his. That person pointed downwards, underneath the bed. Kian looked where she was staring at and saw all his gear. He gave the person a smile. He couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. Too many bruises and burns. And Kian's eyes were quickly tearing up.
After putting his shoes and socks on, and after putting on his belt (with the chain whip and the little bags), he walked around the area. He wondered if he would recognize his Grandpa amongst all the wounded people. Some of them, like the person who had been lying in the bed next to his, were so badly injured that it seemed impossible to identify them. He went around three or four times, and still couldn't see anyone who looked, at least even remotely, like his Grandpa. He even asked a few of them if they knew where was Calja, the Innkeeper. He only got shrugs or complete ignorance. Finally, he decided to walk out of the makeshift hospital ward.
Not too far away from there, in one of the few buildings that completely survived the attack, the Mayor of Jaarys was having a meeting with his people. The people who made the town work, so to speak.The building, which was somewhat burnt, became the new Mayor's office. Rakey Cordon had been elected earlier that year. He was a fairly weedy looking man with a fragile face.
"I've sent a courier to Lancaac. They're the nearest town. Hopefully help will be on its way soon," he said, rubbing his forehead. He then looked up at his 'team'. They were six. Four men and two women. They all looked rather down (understandbly). "In the meantime," added the Mayor standing. "Can somebody please explain to me why the fuck did these guys come here for? Has anybody even heard of them? Do they have a fucking name?" Rakey Cordon was known for his colourful language and loud mouth. (That's why some say he was elected.)
The other officials stayed quiet. They were used to his loud mouth and his severe attitude but they had no answers to give him. Not one. The attack, as far as they were concerned, was completely random. A barbaric act.
"I want answers for fuck's sake!" The Mayor yelled. "Who are those sons of bitches who destroyed my fucking town?!"
"Nobody knows."
The unfamiliar voice made all of the officials' heads turn. Rakey Cordon looked at the stranger with fury.
"Who the fuck are you?"
"My name is Albel," replied the stranger. "Albel Nox."
All of a sudden, the officials' faces grew into quite shocked, stunned even. The Mayor's fury died almost instantly.
"Oh..." was the first thing that came out of Rakey Cordon's mouth. "I'm sorry," he continued. "I had no idea you were in our town."
"I didn't want my presence to be known," replied Albel coolly. "I was asked to come here. Somebody suspected the town was going to be attacked."
"What?!" The Mayor's fury returned with a vengence. "Somebody KNEW?! Why the fuck wasn't I informed? We could've been prepared for those sons of bitches!!"
Albel never lost his cool. "That somebody actually tried to warn the Lastellan Guards about it. But unfortunately, they didn't deem the information worthy of any attention."
"Still!" The Mayor said through his gritted teeth. "YOU could have come to me!"
Albel looked at the head of Jaarys with a deadly stare and said, "I knew you wouldn't be able to do anything, maggot."
The other officials gasped, most in a discreet way. They waited to see the Mayor's reaction. But surprisingly to them, he stayed silent and looked rather helpless.
After a rather long moment of that awkward silence, the Mayor was about to say something when they heard a ruckus coming from outside. "Are we being attacked again?!" The Mayor asked, absent-mindedly almost. But Albel had this knowing feeling in his eyes and went to see what was going on.
"He's a thief! A murderer! He wanted to kill me!" That was Kian, cracking his chain whip. He was red in the face and yelling at the top of his lungs, trying to convince a group of people (including three Town Guards) that someone was a bad guy. "And he wanted to kill Albel too!" The teenage boy added.
"It's a misunderstanding, little boy..." The person accused of being bad was that big man Kian encountered in the Forest the day before. This time though, he looked a lot friendlier. He was smiling nervously. "Let me explain..." Kian cracked his whip to keep him quiet. "Eeesh... smells like I'm in nasty trouble..." He said quickly, almost whispering.
"Shut up!!" yelled Kian. "You wanted our blood!"
"That kid..." That was Mrs. Peachpaii, addressing the others. "He made up some strange story the other day. Said I was being attacked when in fact I was just with my friend. He's a silly boy."
Kian glared viciously at her, saying, "Quiet woman!" after which the others, in whispers, agreed with the old woman.
"Enough, idiot."
Everybody looked in the direction from where that chilling voice came from. It was none other than Albel.
"But it's him!" Kian pointed at the big man who wanted his blood. "He attacked you!"
Albel had his arms crossed and looked rather severe. He said, "This is my friend Harmony."
The big man bowed his head with a smile.
"Friend? FRIEND?!" Kian was out of breath it seemed.
"I was trying to explain..." Harmony intervened. "When you saw us in the Forest, we - Albel and I - thought you might have been one of those who attacked the town. We didn't want to raise any suspicion. We wanted to catch them."
Kian now glared at Albel with even more viciousness than ever before. "What the hell is wrong with you?! What's with all the lies??"
"Shut your mouth, fool." Albel snapped, glaring back.
But Kian was too angry. "You damn liar!" He said. "You pretended to be some weak little GIRL when really you're..." He paused, as though the words were too difficult to mouth. "When really you're Albel the BLOODY wicked!"
Again the people around whispered vividly amongst themselves.
"I never pretended to be a 'weak little girl'," replied Albel. His tongue was an icy blade. "That's what you saw me as."
Kian balled up his fists and seemed like he wanted to use his chain whip. And for a moment there, the people around held their breath as they expected a battle to break out. Even the Town Guards thought so. But in the end, Kian looked like he didn't want to keep going down that path.
"Whatever," he said back, his voice conveying the anger inside. "Where's my Grandpa? I want to see him."
"Oh my, the poor kid," said Mrs. Peachpaii. "He doesn't know?" She was addressing the others, but of course, it was loud enough for the boy to hear.
"Know what?" Kian asked, looking at the old woman.
They all fell silent. No one wanted to break the news to him. And when the boy looked around and saw their faces... He realized what happened to his Grandpa.
One of the masked men who attacked the town was having a hard time in the makeshift holding cell he was in.
The makeshift cell was simply a room in what used to be a coffee place. He was tied up and all bruised up. His mask was off and it turned out that he was a middle aged man, with a few days' beard growing.
The Town Guard who had been interrogating him didn't refrain from using some violence. He was given a thumbs up by the Mayor. But even with the use of violence, the prisoner wouldn't speak. He would make noises when slapped, punched or eletrocuted but he wouldn't utter any words. His face would stay blank.
The Town Guard was sweating and growing more and more impatient by the minute. The thought of killing off the prisoner crossed his mind.
"Leave, maggots."
The Town Guard, and the two others present, were quite obviously surprised. But as they saw it was Albel, they didn't argue. The Mayor had given him free reign. The Town Guards left the room and Albel stared right in the eyes of the prisoner. And judging by the look on the prisoner's face, it was as though he was smirking at Albel. But the 'visitor' wasn't phased at all. He approached the prisoner, his eyes cold and murderous, and placed a hand on his throat. It wasn't a hard grip, Albel wasn't trying to strangle him. The prisoner, surprised by the non-violent action, looked at his new interrogator with curious eyes. It was almost like Albel was caressing his neck with his fingertips.
Then, he felt it. A slight pinch on the right of his neck.
Pain. Fucking horrible pain.
Worse than anything he had ever felt before.
Warmth on his face... It was blood pouring down from his nose.
He couldn't even scream, or talk, he was paralysed. He felt his blood boil and he felt like he was about to implode. He looked at Albel with tears in his eyes.
Albel looked back. Cold eyes. Murderous stare.
"What happened?" asked the Mayor as Albel walked out of the coffee place. "Did he talk?" He added as the visitor stayed silent for a moment. There were the officials and some other people around as well.
Albel exchanged a look with his friend Harmony.
"There was only one thing that worm knew," answered Albel finally, turning back to the Mayor and the others. "Attack the town."
The Mayor, as well as the others, waited for more. But when nothing came. He said, "T... That's it? THAT'S IT?! WHAT THE HELL???" His face was crimson. "Are you sure he's not holding back information?!"
A glare from Albel was enough to silence the Mayor or the whispers of the other people present. "He knows nothing else," he said. "You can do as you please with him now." He added before walking off.
The people started chattering about what they just heard and also commenting on how weird Albel was. The Town Guard who interrogated the prisoner first approached the Mayor and asked, "What are we to do with the man?"
The Mayor looked back at him, shocked, "What do you think?! We execute the hell out of that scumbag!"
The people cheered.
Away from that, a teenage boy kneeled down in a newly designated secluded area. It was where the bodies were laid to rest (for the time being) covered by sheets. Numbers were placed near each body to identify them. The teenage boy stayed silent, staring at the covered body before his eyes. His eyes showed his mind was elsewhere though. His fists were balled up.
Slowly, he reached over and uncovered the face... He was breathing hard. Then he saw the face. Frozen. Pale. He felt a lump in his throat and before covering the face back, he placed a kiss on his Grandpa's forehead. His vision began to blur and he immediately closed them. He breathed faster, then slower... Opened his eyes again. He whispered something inaudible.
A long moment passed.
Then he got up.
"How long have you been standing there?" He asked.
"Only a minute or so," replied Albel coolly.
"You could've said something," said Kian, a bit annoyed.
"Didn't want to interrupt." Albel looked directly in Kian's eyes, who didn't seem comfortable with it. "I notice the lack of tears."
The boy glared back at Albel, saying, rather harshly, "I don't do crying."
Albel remained stoic. And silent.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Kian wondered.
"I wanted to pay my respects," replied Albel. "He was a good man."
"Yeah?" Kian's tone got even more bitter. "And yet you lied to him about who you were and pretended to be his friend." He let out a forced laugh. "Funny you should talk about respect... Do you even know what that word means?"
Albel smirked back and said, "Funny how you love to make assumptions."
Kian was so pissed off at that point that he was ready to grab his chain whip and attack the visitor... but the screams, coming from where the others were, stopped him.
And before he knew it, Albel had already rushed away to the origin of the noise. Kian followed. He hoped the masked men were back... so he could have his revenge. He wanted revenge very badly.
When the boy reached the scene, he had to freeze in his tracks. The coffee place had now completely collapsed. And there was... a giant... fighting off another giant. They were at least 3 metres high and their muscles were pumped to the max, almost ready to pop. Kian had never seen anything like it. Then, he recognized one of the giants.
It was the murderer he stopped in the Forest. The guy he beat to save Albel. Well, that's what he thought. Harmony. That was his name. But the other guy...
"Who's that?" Kian asked to a Town Guard who was as entranced as he was.
"..."
"It's the prisoner," said a now quite familiar voice.
"No way!" replied Kian, forgetting for a moment how angry he was at Albel. "W-what happened? WHAT is he?"
Albel seemed to be thinking a thousand things as he watched the fight. "Something utterly disgusting," he said as he took his sword out of its shear. Again, Kian saw the golden glow in his eyes as Albel jumped into the fight.
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