...
Cassian's vision blurred as hot tears streamed down his face. In his arms lay his mother's lifeless body—her blood darkening his hands and clothes. The metallic tang filled his nose, but it was her warmth—now fading—that clawed at his soul the hardest.
Cassian's breath fractured—sharp, uneven gasps that trembled in his throat. His chest burned, but the ache was nothing compared to the wrongness clawing at his skull.
This isn't real… it's just a nightmare… She's sleeping. She'll wake up if I call her name.
Beside her, Arwyn knelt with an unnervingly serene expression. Pale fingers brushed over Irina's closed eyelids as he intoned, "Oh, bless her soul, my Lord. May she enter Your kingdom with grace and light." His crimson eyes lifted in a prayerful gaze as if her death were a sacred rite.
Bless her? BLESS HER?! What right did this fucker have to speak of blessings after what he had done?
Arwyn turned to look at him, his voice soft and unyielding. "Rest well, Irina. I'll be sending your son to join you there soon."
Cassian's mind fractured. His fists trembled as he cradled his mother closer, her lifeless form slipping from his grasp. Arwyn's saccharine words slithered into his ears like venom. The world narrowed—blood roared in Cassian's skull, drowning out reason, leaving only rage and anger.
"This world," Arwyn continued, his tone unshaken, "this life, this form... it's all but an illusion. A fleeting moment. But fear not." His lips curled into that gentle, patronizing smile. "I have come to liberate your souls."
He heard him only faintly. His mother's last moments flashed in his mind. He remembered her urgent plea to run. He saw the blood pooling around her. He felt the warmth of her touch as she said she loved him.
She was gone. GONE!
The rage boiling inside him reached a breaking point. His trembling hand slowly reached out grabbing the shattered base of a fallen glass vase on the floor. His fingers gripped the jagged edge so tightly that he could feel the shards digging into his palm.
"FUCK YOU!"
The scream tore from him, raw and ragged, as he lunged. The vase cracked against Arwyn's skull with a wet, visceral crunch. Blood splattered across the pristine white fur of Arwyn's trench coat. Cassian, breath heaving, the jagged remnant of the vase still clenched in his fist. Blood dripped from his shredded palm, mingling with Arwyn's on the floor.
"FUCK YOU!" he roared, his voice cracking. "You took my mother away from me!"
Arwyn's head had snapped to the side from the blow, but slowly, unnervingly, he straightened. His crimson eyes fixed on Cassian, calm and unblinking.
A thin line of blood trickled down his pale cheek.
"Let it all out, child," Arwyn said, his voice smooth, as though they were having a normal conversation. "For to enter his kingdom, you must first destroy these emotions—this anger, this grief. Accept the truth, as Irina did in her final moments."
"Shut up!" Cassian's scream tore through the room, his grief and fury erupting in a violent wave. Before Arwyn could finish, Cassian drove the glass shard in his hand into the man's left eye.
The shard sank in with a sickening crunch. Blood gushed from the wound as Arwyn stumbled back. He raised his hand to the shard protruding from his eye socket.
"Fuck you!" Cassian shouted, his voice breaking. "Fuck your kingdom! Fuck your lord!" For a moment, time seemed to stop.
Then, the air around Cassian grew heavy—crushingly heavy. The room darkened as if a shadow had fallen. A cold, suffocating pressure pressed down on him from all sides.
Arwyn straightened, his one remaining eye-locking onto Cassian with an intensity that made his skin crawl. The blood-red iris seemed to expand, growing impossibly large as the shadows around them deepened.
"You speak such profanities," Arwyn said, his voice devoid of its previous calm. It was cold now, sharp and cutting, and it sent a shiver down Cassian's spine.
The dark star in his pupil pulsed with an unnatural light. It radiated a fear so profound it froze Cassian to his core. The pressure around him grew. He could see only the glowing eye and the void within it.
Cassian gasped, his knees buckling as the crushing force intensified. His vision blurred, the edges darkening as though the world was caving in around him.
But even as his strength faltered, even as his body screamed in agony, something deep within him burned, the memories of his mother's smile, voice, and love.
"I don't care," Cassian spat through gritted teeth, his voice trembling but defiant. "I'll kill you... I'll fucking kill you!"
Arwyn's expression darkened, his glowing eye narrowing. "Enough," he said, his voice ringing with authority.
He raised his hand, and an invisible force slammed into Cassian like a freight train.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs. Cassian fell to the floor. He coughed and spat blood. Pain shot through his body. He tried to move, but the searing agony in his ankle stopped him cold. Looking down, he saw it twisted at an unnatural angle.
"Ahhh—damn it!" he cried out, clutching at his leg as tears of pain and frustration blurred his vision.
Through the haze, he watched as Arwyn slowly rose to his feet, his movements unnervingly smooth. Blood still dripped from the shard embedded in his eye, but his expression remained calm.
Arwyn reached up and plucked the shard from his face with a sickening squelch. The wound hissed and sizzled, mending itself before Cassian's eyes.
"Such anger," Arwyn murmured, shaking his head as though chastising a child. "Such defiance. It blinds you. It keeps you shackled to these mortal needs"
He pressed his hands together in prayer, his expression calm once more. "Oh, my Lord, forgive this one for his ignorance. Forgive his rage, his blasphemy. For he knows not the grace You offer."
Cassian's body trembled, muscles screaming as he struggled to push himself up. Every movement sent waves of pain coursing through him, but he refused to stay down. His's body trembled as he glared at the man, every fiber of his being screaming at him to get up, to fight, to do something.
Arwyn clapped his hands together once.
The sound reverberated through the room like a thunderclap, and then the flames appeared out of nowhere as crawled up the walls and started devouring everything in their path. The heat was suffocating. The smoke was thick and choking. Cassian's gaze snapped back to Arwyn. He stood in the inferno, his white fur coat stained with few drops of blood and no other damage despite the flames licking at its edges. He looked almost angelic, framed by the fire's glow, but to Cassian, he was nothing but a devil in disguise.
"You bastard," Cassian growled, his voice hoarse as he struggled to push himself up. His hands slipped on the blood-streaked floor, his body trembling with exhaustion. "You'll pay for this... I swear you'll pay..."
Arwyn didn't respond. His eyes remained closed, his lips moving in silent prayer as the flames roared higher around him.
Cassian clenched his fists, his vision swimming as the heat pressed down on him. His mother's pendant glinted in the firelight. Its warmth against his chest was a small but steady reminder of her final words.
He groaned, wiping at his face with trembling hands, only to smear more blood across his skin. His body screamed at him to stop moving, but the growing heat beneath his palms made it clear: if he stayed, he would die.
Cassian lifted his head, the pain in his ankle like knives digging into his bones. Through the haze of fire and smoke, his eyes found her.
His mother lay crumpled on the floor. Her body was unnaturally still. Her once-bright eyes were closed forever.
A lump formed in his throat, choking him. He tried to push down the emotions clawing at his chest—grief, anger, guilt—but they were relentless. A sob escaped his lips despite himself. "Mom…"
For a moment, his legs felt like lead, his mind warring between conflicting emotions. I can't leave her. I can't just run.
But then her voice rang in his mind—fragile but firm. "Run, Cassy. Survive."
His chest tightened as a fresh wave of tears blurred his vision. His fists clenched at his sides.
He had to live, not for himself, but for her.
Through the roaring flames, he spotted the glint of a kitchen knife on the counter. He could use it. He could fight back. He could—
No.
The image of Arwyn pulling the glass shard from his eye flashed in his mind. The wound had closed instantly, as though it had never existed.
Cassian's jaw clenched so hard it hurt. The knife wouldn't help. Nothing he could grab in this house would help.
The fire was closing in, the intense heat sucking the oxygen from the air. With a last, desperate look at his mother, Cassian choked back a sob. "I'm sorry, Mom," he whispered.
With a shuddering breath, Cassian turned toward the nearest window. He raised his elbow, shielding his face as he drove it into the glass. The window shattered with a sharp, splintering crack, shards raining down around him.
The cool rain hit his face like a slap, jolting him back to reality as he climbed out of the burning house. His foot caught on the window frame, and he tumbled to the muddy ground below, landing hard on his side.
Pain shot through his body like lightning, and he cried out, clutching his twisted ankle. For a second, he lay there, gasping and shivering as the rain poured down in icy sheets. The rain was cold, but it wasn't enough to cool the fire that raged behind him—or the one burning in his chest. Cassian turned his head to look at the inferno, his face twisted with a mix of grief and fury. He had to leave. He had to keep moving. The ground squelched beneath him as he pushed up. His breath was shallow and labored. His ankle screamed in protest, but the fire in his chest burned hotter.
Revenge, he thought. It was the only thing keeping him going.
Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the rain-soaked road ahead. The crack of thunder that followed snapped him out of his daze.
Keep moving, he told himself. You have to keep moving.
He limped forward, his teeth gritted against the pain. The rain soaked him to the bone, plastering his hair to his face, but he didn't care. The only thought in his mind was finding help.
"Think, Cassy," he muttered under his breath, his voice shaking. "You need help. Where can you—"
His thoughts spiraled as he stumbled down the empty road, his soaked clothes clinging to his skin. Instinctively, he patted his pockets, only to come up empty. A sharp pang of frustration shot through him as he remembered—his phone was still back at home. Mom had confiscated it after the detention fiasco. The memory of Arwyn's glowing red eyes burned behind his eyelids, sending a shiver down his spine. The taste of bile crept up his throat, but he swallowed it back, forcing himself to keep moving.
What the fuck is he? How the hell did he heal like that?… the flames, the Force.
Damn it!… Who can I find now?
His eyes widened as a name came to him.
Big Mac.
Officer Carl. Everyone in town knew him. The guy was always parked at the gas station around this time, munching on donuts and chatting up anyone who would listen. If anyone could help, it was him. Clenching his teeth against the pain, Cassian limped down the rain-slick road, his breath fogging in the cold air. His house burned like a beacon behind him, the glow casting eerie shadows through the rain.
When he finally spotted the gas station, his chest tightened with relief. A familiar patrol car sat parked beneath the awning, its headlights cutting through the gloom. The officer inside was hunched over the steering wheel, a pink-frosted doughnut in one hand. Cassian picked up his pace, ignoring the screaming pain in his ankle as he reached the car and pounded on the window.
"Help!"
The officer jumped, dropping his half-eaten strawberry donut. He widened his eyes in shock when they met Cassian's. For a moment, he just stared, mouth open.
"Cass?" Carl McDonough's voice was tinged with alarm. The rotund officer immediately shoved his door open, his large frame filling the gap as he stepped out.
"What the hell happened to you?!"
Cassian could barely stand, his chest heaving as he tried to find the words. "Carl... I... my mom... he killed her," he managed, his voice breaking. Carl's jovial demeanor disappeared instantly. He crouched, one hand steadying Cassian by the shoulder. The other reached for his radio.
"You're bleeding, kid. Jesus, you're soaked to the bone too! Come on, get in the back—out of the rain."
Cassian stumbled, his knees buckling, but Carl caught him, guiding him toward the passenger seat as he sat at the edge not daring to go fully in, if he lost his consious then…
Carl grabbed his radio, his voice sharp with urgency. "Dispatch, this is Officer McDonough, badge number 4-2-7-9. I've got a critical situation at the gas station on Route 8, just south of Maple Street. A minor on the scene, severely injured, is reporting a potential homicide and arson. Repeat, the minor is injured, claiming a homicide and arson in progress. Request immediate backup and EMS at my location. Over."
The police would help and kill that bastard… they had guns and rifles.
Ahhh!
Cassian let out a pained cry as Carl's hand clamped down on his shoulder. At first, it felt steadying—but then the grip tightened, hard enough to make him wince.
"Carl?" Cassian's voice was weak. "What... What are you doing? My shoulder—"
The officer's head tilted to the side, an unnatural angle that sent a chill down Cassian's spine. Then Carl began to whistle.
The sound was soft at first, almost pleasant, but there was something off about it—something wrong. It grew louder, more deliberate, as Carl's grip on Cassian's shoulder tightened to the point of pain.
"Carl, stop!" Cassian cried, trying to pull away. "You're hurting me!"
The whistling stopped.
Cassian froze as blood began to trickle from Carl's eyes, staining his cheeks. Cassian's heart slammed against his ribs as Carl's head jerked back, then forward again. When his eyes opened, they glowed crimson, a dark star swirling within each pupil.
"Carl!" Cassian screamed, his voice cracking.
'Carl' grinned, but the voice that came from his mouth wasn't his own.
"I told you, little lamb," Arwyn's voice purred. "Running is futile. Accept your fate, and I will deliver your soul to His kingdom."
Cassian's heart pounded in his chest as terror froze his body. He tried to speak, to move, but Carl's unnatural strength pinned him in place.
"Why resist?" Arwyn's voice crooned through Carl's lips. "Irina is waiting for you on the other side."
The mention of his mother ignited something inside Cassian. His fear gave way to rage, hot and blinding. With a desperate scream, Cassian shoved against Carl's chest, throwing everything he had into breaking free. Carl stumbled back, but his unnatural strength allowed him to recover quickly. He lunged forward, tackling Cassian to the ground.
The rain poured around them as Carl's glowing eyes bore into his. Cassian writhed beneath him, his hands clawing at the officer's arms as he fought to free himself.
"It's time you accepted your fate, little lamb," Carl said, his voice dripping with mockery. He drew his service weapon from his holster, the barrel gleaming as he aimed it directly at Cassian's head.
Cassian's breath hitched as the dark star in Carl's eyes seemed to expand, swallowing everything else in his vision.
...