The Art of Love & War

Deathwish

[The Next 3 Years]

Tatum

Thankfully, father's old home still stood upright. They didn't know that he had another small cabin besides our old one. Our old one being the one I lived in before getting kidnapped by those assholes.

When they kidnapped me, they never found me and immediately presumed that I must be dead and left rotting somewhere. And I probably lost my citizenship as well. There was no way a dead person would still have citizenship. So I couldn't just go back up. As much as I wanted to get away from this filthy, wretched place.

Oh, I definitely didn't regret killing those assholes for doing this to me.

A year after I murdered the men that kidnapped me, I'd gone up to look around a bit. I'd earned and stole some money to be able to properly feed and clothe myself. I'd raised myself a bit better for this day, hoping I could go back to the way life was for me.

I couldn't go back to my old house. It was occupied by someone else when I got there.

I was careful in my dark coat, only restricting myself to dark alleyways and streets that were rarely used.

I remember going back to that house and finding other people, strangers that weren't either my parents or Agatha. It had confused me deeply. But what I heard from the streets confused me even more.

Then it just plain shot me in the heart.

Apparently my father had been executed for treason.

I didn't know all the details. I still don't know most of them now. But I don't know if I ever want to find out.

All I knew at the moment was that my father had been executed a few weeks ago. No one knew what exactly he'd done to get executed for the reason given.

Treason.

But of course, there were rumors flying around all over the place. None in which I believed in. None of them seemed like things he'd do.

But then again, you never know.

After that discovery, I immediately set out to that small cabin he owned quite a distance away. It was a pretty deserted area, hidden in a small patch of forest. Thankfully for me, it was unoccupied. It looked to be untouched after all these years.

The place looked dirty and abandoned. Layers of dust covered every single surface visible to the eye. Everything looked the same. It didn't look like anything had been touched ever since the last time I visited the place.

I found a box full of letters hidden beneath the furnace. Only, it didn't look dusty like everything else. There was only a thin layer of dust blanketing it, while everything else was heavily covered.

What I found inside were all the letters my father had ever written to me since my disappearance, in case I ever returned. Or, that was what he said on the note taped to the inside of the box.

I'd decided to take it with me to read when I got back to the slums. Good thing I did, too.

I'd looked around a bit more, until I found another note. This time, held down by an empty drinking cup.

It was how I knew what exactly had happened to my family. It was how I'd gained access to my very first 3DMGs. The prototype and an original my dad had kept in his small office in the attic of the cabin.

My parents had kept them there for safe keeping, and also in case of emergencies. Apparently, my dad had been bringing some of his work home, without permission most likely. It had made me doubt the Military Police a little more, I can't deny that. But I had my very own 3DMG. Who was I to complain?