A Story of Cinders: From the Ashes

Chapter 46: Voices

Louis and the Baron had been staring at each other for what felt like hours, unmoving, unspeaking. They both knew the talk that was coming. Louis opened his mouth to speak, but the Baron interrupted him.

"Now before you say anything..." he started.

"If we die," Louis interrupted, "this is your fault."

"Oh, but a glorious death it would be."

"I didn't want to die! I have more work to do. Like undoing a reputation a certain somebody stuck on us."

The Baron laughed. "Not my fault those people were weak. If they were stronger, they would have survived."

"And we're dying. What does that make us?"

"Not strong enough, I suppose... Maybe if you weren't holding me back--"

"What?! What would happen if I wasn't 'holding you back?' We'd still be wasting our lives with the Vultures, waiting for someone to hunt us down. That's where we'd be!"

"You think those weak hunters could take me down?"

"If they shot you in the head, it wouldn't really matter how strong they were."

"Hmm. Do you know where you'd be without me? Still stuck in that cell. You'd have died before any of this ever happened."

"If I remembered any of that, I'd be inclined to disagree."

"No, you wouldn't."

"Enlighten me."

"Hmm. Where do I start?"

"From the beginning. My body, I deserve to know everything that happened to it."

"Okay. As far as I know, we were in prison all our lives. We weren't even given a name, just a number. Like a machine off the line. And I still have no idea why we were there. It's just the life we knew. But we knew we wanted to be in the world outside. We made an image of what it would be like from books, movies, TV, et cetera. So when the men in white coats told us we could leave if we joined their project, of course we jumped at the chance."

"Project SURVIVOR."

"Is that what they called it? We never heard the name. Now, here comes the difficult part. What happened there literally drove us mad."

"Skip the details."

"They played with our insides. Put stuff in our body. Poked around in our head. Exposed us to heat, cold, electricity, radiation, everything imaginable. We weren't always this big, you know?"

"They made us this way?"

"They made us. We weren't living up to their expectations, so they made everything more... extreme."

"Yes... I remember now." Images flashed before his eyes. Images of sterile facilities, cold operating tables, fluorescent lights, and scientists in white coats prodding him with needles, slicing him with scalpels. It was government-ordered torture. Trying to make him stronger. Make him a super-soldier to turn loose on the world. End the world war before any further destruction could ensue. The process only lasted a few months. But in that time. They forced his body to grow a foot and put on a few hundred pounds.

"It was enough to drive us mad."

"That's when you came to be."

"We went insane. But you... You refused to go away. You fought back."

"But you were in control. I had to sit and watch for years as you killed and destroyed a world that was already killed and destroyed."

"They made us this. This world has been nothing but merciless to us. Why would you expect me to show it any mercy? I don't owe it any! You've gotten what you wanted. You always wanted to be free, and you have the strength to make sure nobody can make you a prisoner again."

"I don't. I can't truly be a free man as long as you're around. We left the cell, but I've been a prisoner in my own body since you came around. And even after I took control, I've been a prisoner to something you can't comprehend."

"That is..."

"Guilt."

"Are you fucking kidding me..."

"Everything you've ever done has consequences. For every life you've taken, countless hearts have been shattered."

"Those people aren't our problem."

"They are our problem when they come looking for us! Have you ever had someone want to kill you for something I did?"

"Well, there were those soldiers that did this to us."

"That was your fault."

"If I recall, you got us into this war, not me!"

"I wouldn't have to join this war if I didn't feel guilty and have to redeem ourselves for your actions!"

"And whose fault is that?"

"Yours! Directly yours!"

Baron shook his head. "Guilt and conscience are holding you back."

"They keep us human. You might be able to survive out there, but so can a coyote. And I'd rather be a man than a dog."

"The man would get killed out there. The man isn't meant to survive out there. You need the animal."

"The Hell I do!"

A third voice started muttering. "I think it's time we woke up..." Louis said. "I'll be in control of this."