Syndicate of tribulation

Chapter 9

Tyro's POV

We drag my ghost of a brother's body through the woods. I have such mixed feelings about this stranger I once called kin. I hate him. I hate him so much it invokes so many other emotions that I'm foreign to. It's childish, I know it is, it's childish to wish and childish to hope. But if for a second I dared to be childish, I would wish my brother never left me and I would I hope we could reconcile and mend our bond. Before he left, for the most part, he was a good brother. A horrible person, but a good brother. When someone says they would 'kill for you' most people would take it as a figure of speech. But I know my brother would've. I know my brother did kill for me.

He was still a horrible person, nonetheless. It took me him leaving for me to realise that, and for me to realise why. I understand why he was a horrible person. It's such a shame I turned out crazy, it would've been easier to just be a horrible person.

Besloe slowly came to. "Hey, can you guys stop dragging me? My back is literally covered in unknown creatures that I don't even want to know" Besloe voiced, a bone-chilling smirk adorning his face. I'm so glad we don't look the same. King nodded to me, and we pulled him up. His legs, like jelly, gave out under him. He cursed under his breath. "Damn, no circulation to my legs for however long I was out, you lot are great host" he murmured whilst shaking his legs. I rolled by eyes whilst King simply scoffed.

"We should almost be at my cabin. It's on the edge of a town, so we should be able to get to the backyard through the woods" Kings voiced as she threw Besloe on her back, almost wearing him as a backpack as she trudged through the unforgiving bushes.

Recently, I have started to see King in a different light. At first, she was just an assassin, then she was a colleague, then a comrade and now... I'm not sure. A friend? I feel like with everything we have been through together it would be insulting to label her just a friend. Besides, something stirs within me internally whenever I think of her as just a friend.

Emotion is so complex and annoying, until a few months ago, me and emotions hadn't formally met. We had brushed past each other occasionally, but we knew nothing about each other but now. We are so intertwined I can't tell where the emotions end and where my logic starts. They are bound together in an eternal dance of dominance, and no one is winning. Just constant agony, constant struggle, internal warfare, and the mutiny of my own mind sometimes makes me feel crazier than I actually am.

We approached a quaint, cottage-looking place. My eyes widened at the architectural beauty and Besloe exclaimed loudly "no freaking way we are staying at this place!". King walked up to the backdoor of the place and slid an idle gnome to the side and retrieved a key. Unlocking the door, she stepped in slowly and gently placed down the key on a dusty small shelf by the door. "Welcome" King mumbled to no on in particular.

Besloe had regain feeling in his legs and decided to scou– I mean explore. I don't trust him, not even a little bit.

"So, what's the plan Kiki?" I asked whilst opening a few cupboards that were in the kitchen we were currently in. "These nicknames are so charming, Tanasha" King sneered back as she sat down at a large wooden table that was positioned in the middle of the room. I smirked coldly at her whilst I grabbed a few cans that were in the cupboards and scouring them for an expiry date before my stomach ate itself. "I don't know. I'm so tired and my head hearts. I can't think clearly right now so you think of a plan, genius boy" King stated whilst rubbing the centre of her forehead. I wracked my brain furiously for any ideas but only one came to mind, and it doesn't take a genius to find out that it was a stupid one. "Contact the team" I begrudgingly spat out. I knew we would have to eventually, we had to know if they were alive or not. They would've found us eventually and we both know it. King nodded her head slowly and a small sigh escaped her lips. "Where are we anyway?" Besloe interrupted, appearing from thin air. "We are in a town called Anon, it was named after the founder 90 years ago – Victor Anon, a psychotic man really, but a smart one" King stated, I peered at Besloe, "Yeah, go tell your superiors we are in Anon and then they can come pick us all up and try kill us again" I spat out at Besloe, a series of a emotions flooded his eyes but left as rapidly as they came. Which emotions? I'm not sure. Emotions and I just met.

Besloe ticked his jaw and trudged out of the kitchen with a slam of a door soon following. King put her head in her hands and started chanting out something continuously. I sauntered closer. 'It's all my fault, it's all my fault' she repeated, like a broken record when no one can be bothered to pick up the needle. I know what she meant, I know why she felt it was her fault and I agree – it is all her fault. She told me the story of her dead best friend 'Bes', obviously I didn't realise it was Besloe until recently. Even after knowing it is her fault, I don't blame her at all. He deserved all the turmoil he is dealing with. Maybe my hate for him is clouding my judgment but it doesn't really matter to me – I've never been bothered about 'fair'. I left King to her thoughts – yes, very dangerous, I'm aware – and went outside to make sure Besloe didn't make a run for it, though I wouldn't care if he did.

'I run
But my legs are tired
I hide
for how long is this required?
I just want to be free
I don't want to be scared of my mind
Of me
I run but my legs are tired
I hide
for how long is this required?
A saviour, please anyone
Set me free
I'm sick of being scared of them
And of me.'

I've heard that song before. King. Wait, why is Besloe singing it? Sometimes I forget that King and Besloe's origin stories are intertwined. They both were in the same hell and they both were burnt severely. But fire is such a tricky thing, the brand that marks them both is different and so are they. I know what that song means. It means they are tormented; it means that their own minds are experiencing strife and simply from that song I understand Besloe. I felt what he is feeling, and I have been through what he is going through. Mental turmoil. Though I hate him, seeing him struggle internally makes me know that he is trying to come onto our side. That's all the reassurance I need for now. Effort. If he is trying, then he might not be as traitorous as I once believed. Trusting is not something I do easily, so to say that I have a little trust in him is nothing short of miraculous. I walk away from the backdoor and leave him to his mental turmoil. Him and King are so alike, it's not surprising but it's still disturbing.

Besloe's POV

Help me. Help me. It hurts so much. My head, it hurts so much. Tears burn my eyes as they attempt to escape. Every time I think traitorous thoughts about Perfide an immense bolt of pain jolts through me. It's suffocating. It's annoying. There is someone else living in my head. I thought that renouncing Perfide would be enough to subside the pain, but whatever they did to me – whatever they put in me – kills more than any silly renouncing ritual. Help me, please help me.