From The Other Side

Chapter Twelve: Puppet

The ground rumbled as if signalling the rise of an ancient infernal beast, finally awakening after being put to sleep for too long. Not even the acropolis was spared.

The three woke up in a fright. Austin jumped out of the bathtub and left them immediately. Eros was getting ready to follow him.

"What's happening?" Oliver asked, splitting his attention between covering himself, carrying the conversation and ignoring the shaking building.

"An invasion," Eros answered as he ran out of the room.

Oliver went after him, struggling to find his way in all of those corridors and halls, and having yet to learn how to control his grown wings. The lights flickered as the rumbling still managed to get louder and louder. A stronger seismic wave spread through the earth. Oliver lost his balance, falling on the carpet. Several more hit the acropolis like violent punches. The porcelain shattered against the floor; the paintings fell from the walls. The boy could already see himself buried under the ruble of that temple.

Then, suddenly, it all stopped.

Fully armoured soldiers left their rooms in a hurry, pouring like torrents of water into the hallways. When Oliver realized, he was just being carried by the tides of men.

They reached the same throne hall from earlier, but now, it felt like a completely different place. The soft music was drowned out by the heavy steps of the soldiers and the clinking of their metallic garments. The joy, the pleasure and the desire had been tainted with fear and hate. Erotes was about to fall.

Outside, on the edge of the plateau, Oliver found Austin and Eros standing under the usual black sky, staring at the distance. A colossal machine stood amongst the dead trees, glowing a light orange. Other three of them completed the siege around the city.

Seas of warriors covered the ground between the machines.

The soldiers of Erotes, clearly outnumbered, were ready to go down with their kings. They held on tightly to their bows and pointed their arrows, fierce and determined. But the sight of four slaves marching into the battlefield carrying an intricately decorated palanquin made their determination crumble.

"The king..." A few whispered incredulously.

"Oliver," Eros called as he ran towards the boy, "we can't win this alone." He placed his hands on Oliver's shoulders. "You are our only chance."

A tall, strong man stepped out of the royal palanquin, the obsidian black steel of his armour shining under the bright spotlights of the machine.

"Erotes," he roared in the distance, "you have rejoiced in sin for too long. The time of your Judgement Day has arrived. And your doom is upon you."

Oliver shivered, his heart froze in fear. He could recognize that voice anywhere.

"I-I, I can't, I have to- I have to go," he stuttered as backed away, his eyes wide and overflowing with terror.

He felt an arm wrapping around his waist. Oliver looked up to meet Austin's gaze, the burning fires reflecting on his ocean blue eyes, only a few inches away.

"We need you," he said, ending the gap between their lips.

The kiss banished all of Oliver's fears. The warmth won, and it filled every bit of him.

From the battlefield, the king of Phobos growled. "Attack!" He ordered, joining his troops as they invaded the city.

Austin pulled away, breaking the kiss. "We need you," he repeated.

Oliver nodded. He took deep breaths, feeling the power coming to life inside him. The world around him responded; the clouds started shifting in the sky. The moon finally appeared.

The enemies crossed the woods, slaughtering anyone who stood in their way. The arrows did not affect them: they dodged every single one of them. Once they were close enough, a seemingly regular bracelet shot a metal cable that fixed itself on the top of the acropolis and quickly pulled them up.

They landed on the plateau vigorously fighting the soldiers of Erotes. But not the king. He went straight for Oliver.

"Hello, nephew," he said to Oliver, who was still in a trance, feeling his powers.

The boy raised one hand. A bolt of lightning crossed the air, catching his uncle off guard, making him fall on his knees. Eros came into sight, shooting an arrow right through his head. Austin made the concrete rise from the ground, and wrap around his body, all the way up to his neck.

"Banish him!" Eros yelled.

"What?" Oliver started regaining his conscience. "I-I don't know how to do that."

"We're running out of time," Austin grunted, desperately trying to contain the king as he fought against his prison.

The concrete started glowing a bright orange until it finally exploded. The shock wave almost knocked Austin out. The man quickly got back on his feet, making his way towards Oliver. Lightning couldn't stop him anymore. One bolt was less effective than the other as the man approached, impassive. He dodged Eros's arrows without even looking at them. He didn't even flinch.

He grabbed Oliver's wrist and spat on his face. "You're pathetic," he growled. Another arrow crossed his skull. Drops of his cold blood splashed against Oliver's face. "Let's end this."

Oliver felt the fear taking over his senses, flowing through his limbs, mingling with his blood. His uncle took a step back. The lighting changed as the moon was maculated, tainted with red. The world was Hell once again.

The boy flapped his wings, hoping he could fly away from that chaos, from that massacre, the desecration of Erotes. But it was in vain. He felt his limbs freeze and tense up, and his own body turn into a cruel anchor.

His uncle raised his hands. Oliver mirrored his movement, crying in pain. The natural flow of his blood had been interrupted. The liquid now followed his uncle's commands, always threatening to viciously burst out of his veins at any given moment.

His feet merely brushed the concrete beneath him. The blood in his torso weighed down on his spine, forcing him to bend backwards and kneel. Then, his uncle pulled it across his ribcage, ordering the cells to agglutinate against his ribcage, now making him bend over upon the ground.

Oliver watched as his hands touched the cement, and he heard as his thoughts suddenly demanded the rocks to grow hotter. His flesh seemed ready to be ripped to shreds, and his brain felt like a vibrant pool of blood expanding against his skull.

The rocks beneath the plateau melted into lava, all at once. The whole structure began to tumble down, piece by piece.

His uncle stood above him with a sombre expression.

"Remember," he said, "you do as you're told. Whether you want to or not."

He walked around Oliver, standing behind him. He grabbed Oliver's wings and kicked his back, ripping them out of his body.

The boy fell on the ground, his lips brushing the rough cement. He watched from behind his tears as Austin and Eros started flying, trying to stay away from his uncle. The man shot his cables towards them, perforating their wings, violently pulling them down.

Their bodies crashed against the crumbling plateau, and the monsters surrounded them, devouring their wings. Sharp fangs against helpless flesh in a bloody, brutal feist. And their desperate screams were the final song heard in Erotes, a morbid cry that would resonate through the darkness forever and ever, for all eternity to come.

The man placed the sole of his boot over Oliver's head as if wondering whether or not to add a little more pressure. The boy passed out immediately.