The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023

4| The Awakening

As soon as the bag covering his head is ripped off, Cloud notes three things in his mind.

One, his sudden blurry vision paired with a convenient chunk of missing time and a dry throat all indicate some sort of knock out gas or tranquiliser. He vaguely remembers the prick of a needle in his arm but that's about it.

Two, he's been brought underground. It's a pretty bold assumption to make straight away but the lack of natural light as well as the sudden drop in temperature lead him to the conclusion. Plus, the air in this tiny, square, room smells staler than a crawl space and he can feel the crunchy balls of dry soil underneath his feet.

And three, even underneath a harsh spotlight surrounded by shadows and grey walls that are green in places with thin layers of mould, Cloud knows he is not alone.

"It's all there."

"Can never be too careful, especially in my line of business." Dinah responds, talking to the person hiding in the shadows just at the edge of Cloud's vision.

"We're people of the Lord here, officer." the figure replies, his words laced with cruel amusement at the irony.

Dinah looks up from the brown envelope in her hands, masking her true feelings behind her steel gaze. "Uh, huh." she grunts, flicking through the last of the notes.

"So how much am I worth?" Cloud inquires, the effects of the drugs wearing off quickly.

At first she appears to be surprised to see him awake but that all goes away after a moment. "I've had bigger." she confesses, slipping the envelope into the side pocket of her trench coat.

"You're not nearly as good of a liar as you think you are."

Dinah sighs, pausing on her way out. "What does it matter? You're already dead, kid."

Cloud closes his eyes, focusing on the sound of metal scraping against concrete as she exits the underground prison, hearing her heavy boots climb at least twelve steps before the sounds stop. He makes a mental note of the steps that make noise, with the third, fifth and seventh being the loudest.

"I have to admit. Now that I'm looking at you. You're not nearly as frightening as my dad said you'd be."

Cloud squints his green eyes whilst biting down on his molars as the men, five in total, emerge from the shadows. They're all dressed in plaid with thermal wear or fur coats on. The blonde guy with beady eyes does all the talking even though he appears to be the youngest of the bunch. He also has the smallest frame, built thin and tall whilst the other men have a few extra layers of fat around their guts.

"Five against one, and I'm all tied up." Cloud utters, the rope pinning his arms back and the cuffs keeping his hands separated. "I must have really ruffled some feathers."

The ringleader pulls up a chair, sitting on it backwards mere centimetres away from Cloud's face. He's so close that Cloud can smell the bitter film of coffee still on his tongue and smell the warm scent of cologne turning sour.

"Did you really think that after all these years, no one would notice the little fires popping up? Or the markings?" he asks, his dull, grey eyes flicking back and forth, searching past the veil, looking for the answers hidden beneath the scowling expression of this boy. "And I have to ask, what's with the dead animals?"

"You've got the wrong guy."

"I've got the wrong guy?"

"Sure do buddy, because I have no idea what the hell you're talking about!" Cloud barks, feeling the hind legs of the wooden chair lift off the ground as he flinches forward.

"Woah, looks like we've got a tough guy here, brothers." he remarks, earning him a round of snickering laughs. "But I do love the tough ones. They're always the hardest to break, you see."

Without warning he takes a clear shot at Cloud's head, his sweaty palm connecting with his cheekbone, making a sound that cracks off the walls.

Cloud drops his head, taking a moment to collect himself before correcting his posture, although, this time with tears of rage brimming in his eyes. "I'm not going to lie...you hit like a little-"

Again, he lashes out, the second attack drawing blood. It takes longer for Cloud to shake it off, the side of his face sizzling red with a partial hand-print left behind.

Sometimes, Cloud wishes he could just keep his big mouth shut and that the part of him that fears nothing would quieten down. "Not bad. Let's do it again...see how much of my D.N.A. you can get underneath your fingernails."

"Clearly you have no idea who you messed with so let me paint you a picture, buddy." he starts, circling Cloud like a stray cat, the cunning in his voice fading in and out as he toys with him. "We're into everything...the police force...the fire department...we, are, everywhere."

Cloud's nostrils flare as he considers tearing out a vein the next time he swings for him. He's confident he can do it if he bites down hard enough but then he'd definitely get mobbed by the other guys staring him down.

"Did you get a tree house too?" Cloud snickers, avoiding eye contact whilst struggling to level his breathing.

"The Church of Babylon has been the lifeblood of every town in the Everwood forest ever since our ancestors came to these lands. The first thing they did was build a haven on holy land and for generations the very same building was passed down from father to son...and then along comes some kid, who burns it all to the ground!"

"If you're going to kill me, just get on with it. I'd rather die than take one more history lesson."

Cloud feels the chair hit the ground before all the air is kicked out of his lungs. The wood inside one of the legs splinters slightly as his head hits the floor hard, scrambling his brain as the rest of the men fight to keep their ringleader from choking the life out of him.

"Lucas, that's enough!"

"I say when it's enough!" he roars back, shaking the other guys off before landing a final crushing blow to Cloud's stomach. "Get him up, now."

"Why'd you do it? Huh?" Lucas growls, impatiently grabbing Cloud by the hair, forcing him to meet his gaze. "Why ruin a legacy that you had no business being involved in?"

Through gritted teeth stained red with his own blood, Cloud answers the question plainly before his eyes roll to the back of his head. "You took the life of my best friend, made her life a living hell...so I took your building and everything inside, and turned it into ash."