April 18th, 2090- 13:33 PM.
Ainz Daniels.
A crow landed gently onto the low stone fence in front of me and cawed furiously before flying off down the street. I sighed deeply after realizing I was holding my breath the entire time the crow was here. My eyes wandered at pedestrians passing by the café I sat in and took in their carefree faces. Infected have taken over the north leaving Banes Point to be the safest city in Glenmont. People should be scared of that, but they aren't.
I turned back to the table where my now cold tea sat untouched. I went to take a sip when someone announced their presence with a chuckle. I glared up at Bex. "What?"
Bex chuckled again. "Nothing. It's just you're thirty-four years old and afraid of birds. You're not in your twenties anymore, so people will start to make fun of you for that." Bex appeared the same, but now their shaved sides have grown out along with them having bangs propped just above their eyebrows. They also have more wrinkles, but I wasn't about to tell them that.
"At least I am closer to my twenties than you are. What kind of person in their late thirties keeps a shrine of unopened cigarette boxes? You don't even smoke anymore." I said, jokingly.
Bex stuck their nose in the air and huffed. "They make for some nice decorations."
"What are you two arguing about now?" A female voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Regina approaching our table. It was a cloudy day, yet she still wore those sunglasses. She adjusted the elastic that held half her greying hair up in a ponytail before leaning against a stone pillar that sat next to our table.
"Oh nothing," Bex said, "I was making fun of Ainz for being scared of birds." I went to rebuke their claims, but they carried on. "Aren't you going to sit, Reggie?"
Regina shook her head. "No need, I just finished sitting through hours of lectures from the general, so my ass is asleep. I just came to say to start getting prepared to head down south."
"You mean we got permission to investigate the border?" I piped in.
"Yes, however, part of Xavier's squad will be joining us."
"Let me guess, Jan and Leah are tagging along?"
"Precisely."
"And what about Xavier?"
Regina quirked her lips. "He is staying behind, but I already ordered my subordinates to stay behind to keep an eye on him."
"I thought we were done with all the spying five years ago?" Bex grumbled.
"I only did that because I find it suspicious that Xavier would only send Jan and Leah with us and not anybody else. He has done that before if I recall." Regina studied the area of any onlookers before getting closer to us and whispering. "We are going because Renfrew soldiers have been spotted in Glenmont near the border."
"We are being sent out to snuff out any soldiers we can find?" Bex asked.
"Yes, however after the meeting, Xavier pulled me aside and said he has another request for our mission." Regina carried on, now sitting in a chair stolen from a vacant table.
Nobody asked what that request was. We all know what Xavier could possibly want in the south other than the blood of Renfrew soldiers. I decided to state the obvious anyway. "He wants us to find Joss."
Bex sighed. "It has been nearly fifteen years and he still can't let her go."
Regina shrugged and stood up. "We have a few hours to kill before Xavier wants to meet up for a debriefing. I have some paperwork to do, but you two are free to go where you please."
"I'll join you." Bex offered, before the two of them walked off down the street.
I decided to just go for a walk.
----------
I found myself at the church my family used to run. I don't know why I wandered here, but nowadays, I tend to return to places that spark certain memories for me; the good and the bad. Whether this church has good or bad memories; I could not tell.
The church recently had renovations done to it on the inside with it being reconstructed to withstand a natural disaster along with a new layer of white paint giving light to the otherwise dark hall. The stain glass window illuminated the room with its colours splattered all over the carpeted floor like paint.
I quickly took a seat in a pew closest to the back and listened in on the Sunday service. The church was packed with people, which is thanks to the burst of popularity from the recent renovations. The city didn't have a proper church ever since....
My thoughts drifted off.
----------
November 25th, 2070- 8:20 PM.
Ainz Daniels.
I peeked through the almost closed door. Although it was only a sliver, it was more than enough to see what my parents were doing inside one of the churches backrooms. There were many people I recognize from the usual morning services, but a lot of the faces are new to me. All of them knelt in front of my parents, who each held a newer looking book that wasn't the Bible. They spoke about The Infected, but their words were undiscernible from all the humming the kneeling guests did.
A hand gripped my shoulder and I jumped. I swerved around to see it was only my older brother, who wore a wicked smile on his face.
"Are you snooping again, Ainz?" My brother, Abel, asked, releasing his grip on my shoulder, and motioning for me to follow him.
I obliged. "N-no...!" I paused a moment before becoming all embarrassed. I meekly said: "Yes..."
"You shouldn't be doing that. You know how important our parent's... work is." Abel told me, although his pause midsentence was suspicious. We entered the church where I saw my other older brother (the two older brothers are twins although they don't look alike,) Cain, lounging in one of the closest pews.
"I caught Ainz spying on our parents again." Abel announced, plopping himself onto the pew next to Cain. I huffed furiously at him tattling and flopped onto the stool next to the organ.
I tapped on the keys but not enough to create any sounds. I grumbled. "Do any of you know what they even do back there? I hear them talking about The Infected, but I have no clue why."
"We don't know ourselves, but what our parents do for 'extracurriculars' isn't our business." Cain said. He paused a moment before continuing. "I won't agree with them if that is what you claim they are doing." He then slumped farther back in the pew until his chin nearly touched his chest.
I took in my brothers. They both look like my father: each of his children have the dark hair, pale skin, and faded blue eyes. Except, Cain has a scar just under his lips from where I scratched him during our self-defense practices our father makes us do. Says it's for our own good.
"Well, we could discuss it with them over dinner soon. Maybe they'll understand where we are coming from with our concerns." I offered. Hopefully, my parents will be more forthcoming about it if we seemed interested in it.
"That seems like a great idea!" Abel said, standing up and turned to face his twin. "Cain, you did say you recently got paid. You could treat our parents to a nice dinner with that money!"
I quirked an eyebrow up. "Since when did you have a job?"
Cain appeared distant at that and didn't say anything for a moment until he sighed. "I had it for a while... But I doubt I'll be doing it anymore after this."
----------
November 27th, 2070- 11:45 AM.
Ainz Daniels.
I ran up to my parents after they finished their service to ask them about dinner. My brothers forced the job onto me to ask them about it, which ticked me off, but I was the one to bring up the idea in the first place. However, before I could even make it to the front of the room, a horrible screeching echoed from outside the church.
I spun my head around to the front doors just as an armored vehicle came crashing into the church, flattening those in its path as it tried to reach the organ where my parents and I stood. My father swiftly shoved me out of the way, and I landed onto a pew. Pain struck my back, and I cried out as I held my back, but my attention rested on the vehicle that now crushed the organ. Under the vehicle's wheels, blood pooled around my father's arm with his fingers bent every which way. My mother's leg was caught between the organ and the front of the truck and the sight of it made me almost throw up.
Screams and gunfire filled my ears and I scrambled to the floor and peeked under the pews to see bodies littering the carpeted floor. Blood stained the pews and the booted feet of the ones taking down anyone in their path. There had to be at least twenty of them; all shooting and cackling as the number of corpses grew.
I bit down hard on my tongue to deafen my screams and sobs. Tears pooled down my cheeks, and I thought I was going to suffocate. I screeched when someone grabbed my shoulder. Abel clamped a hand over my mouth and motioned for me to follow him. We crawled slowly along the carpet, and I quivered when someone shot through one of the stain glass windows sending shards of glass onto us. One piece embedded itself into my arm, but my brother pressured me silently not to scream.
We stood up when we got to the side of the room where a door led to one of the many hallways the back of the church had. One of the gunmen called out for us and Abel shoved me through the door just as a hoard of bullets dug into the door. My brother now stumbled down the hallway with a hand gripping his side.
"What's happening?! Where's Cain?! Mom and Dad are dead!" I spouted out between my sobs. "What do you plan on doing!?"
My brother spun around to face me and winced. He removed his hand from his side where blood soaked it and dripped violently onto the floor. I shut my mouth at the sight. Abel would have screamed at me from bombarding him with questions; instead, he stared at me right in the eyes and said calmly: "Can you do me one last favour, Ainz?"
I nodded dumbly.
"Find someone that will help us."
Gun fire erupted down the hall with bullets embedding themselves in the floor next to our feet. I turned back to my brother. "What about you--?" I screamed at him, but Abel pushed me through the floor to ceiling window that sat next to us, and I fell into the bushes below. I went to scream for Abel, but the sound of gun shots halted my tongue. I sat between the bushes thin branches for a second as Abel's last words echoed through my mind.
"Find someone that will help us."
I scrambled through the bushes and hopped the fence that went around the church and stumbled into the bustling city street. I dodged oncoming traffic and glanced around at the pedestrians watching in horror as windows of the church were blasted through and the inside starting to catch on fire. Sobs suffocated me again and I wanted to curl up and cry some more, but I couldn't let my brother down.
My eyes latched onto a man wearing a dark green and brown jacket with matching cargo pants and black lace up boots: a military officer. I dashed for him and sobbed when he noticed my distress.
"The church--! Everyone is dead! Please help!" I got out through my suffocating hiccups. The man kneeled and held my shoulders firmly. And this man... this man said the few words that no teenager wanted to hear.
"I am sorry, but if they're all dead, then there is nothing I can do."
I fell to the concrete in devastation. The military officer's comrade went up to him, completely ignoring the child on the ground. "Xavier, your wife is calling you. Want me to take a message?" He told the man.
Xavier simply waved him off. "No, I'll take it now." Then they both walked off.
----------
November 30th, 2070- 14:03 PM.
Ainz Daniels.
A few days after the raid on my parent's church, the victim's families were given permission to check out the devastation. I didn't bother going. I already knew what corpses smelled like and I didn't need to smell it again. I already knew how everyone died anyway. A list of the victim's names was posted outside the church with a large memorial already being set up along the church's front gate. I checked it out despite already knowing my entire family was dead.
My mother, father, and brother's names were all listed as those that perished during the tragic event. Except Cain's name. His wasn't there. Cain never came to visit me in the few days I stayed at the hospital. Now that I recall, he was acting rather strange a couple days before the incident. I balled my hands into fists so tightly they shook. How dare Cain jump town when all this was happening! He always would disappear for a few days, but he knew how important it was for him to be at that dinner with our parents and yet he wouldn't have been there anyway.
I stormed off down the street going nowhere in particular. I knew Cain wasn't in Banes Point anymore and I planned on hunting him down and dragging him back here to see what became of our family. I didn't care how petty it sounded. I have nothing left.
As I packed my few remaining belongings in the hospital, I learned that the group that raided the church was unknown to the military despite having military grade weaponry and gear. I also learned that my family ran an Infected worshipping cult and that is what people are assuming did them in. Some saying we had that right to speak freely about The Infected, while others saying they had it coming.
As I left the hospital with my very light backpack, I thought how I wished I never knew any of this.
----------
February 14th, 2075- 12:57 PM.
Ainz Daniels.
I trudged through knee deep snow on my way to the centre of this sorry excuse for a town. Most of the windows were shot through with bricks crumbling off walls. None of the roads were plowed and there seemed to be no running water or electricity, yet people still lived here. I wasn't here to judge, though.
In the past five years, I have been going town by town in the search of supplies like food, water, clothes, and the like. It would be considered stealing, but I made sure there was nobody to rat me out to the military. I didn't like getting blood on my hands, but this was the world I live in now. Maybe one day I'll finally get caught by the military and they'll give me a death sentence as punishment for the people I've killed. In hindsight, my father's self-defense training came in handy. At this point, I have given up trying to find Cain. If he wanted to stay hidden, then who am I to disregard his wishes?
As I rounded a street corner, my stomach rumbled. I recently ran out of food and water and haven't been able to get anymore in the past couple days. I haven't been able to rest in this bone-chilling cold, either and my body shook violently every step I took. This town may very well be my final resting place and I wouldn't mind it. I am just too tired to carry on.
My eyes latched onto a couple of military officers and I hid behind a building. One of them I recognize as Xavier Coles, who is in charge of surveying the area for any Infected. He is somebody I still would like to bump off, but I think death might greet me before I get the chance to. The other officers with him appeared new, but all of them appeared as if they were searching for something.
"JOSS!" Xavier Coles screamed. I have no clue who this Joss person was, but they must have run away or pissed him off. Good. The officers started to walk towards me, and I bolted down the alley to avoid being caught since I am pretty sure my face is plastered up in every major town calling for my arrest. I stalked down the alley and turned a corner to a different alley and halted.
Sitting against a wall sat a girl no older than sixteen years old. When she heard my boot crunch the snow, her hollow eyes darted up at me. She had caramel-brown hair that was tied up into a messy bun and she wore a loose-fitting military uniform with boots that appeared two sizes too big. She didn't appear fearful of the knife I wielded in my hand, and it wasn't until Xavier Coles screamed Joss' name again did she shake.
"Is your name Joss by any chance?" I asked her, putting my knife in my boot. She watched me put it away before nodding her head. Xavier screamed her name again and it sounded like he was just around the corner. I glanced down at Joss, who shivered violently now and squeezed her eyes shut as if waiting for impact. Watching her reminded me of how scared I was when the church was raided and Abel's final words to me rang through my head.
"Find someone that will help us."
I don't know what came over me, but in that moment, I believed that girl was my savior and that I was perhaps her own hero.
I stuck out my gloved hand towards Joss. "Come with me." Was all I said to her.
Joss opened her eyes and stared at my hand as if contemplating whether following a total stranger would be a better fate than going back to Xavier Coles. Yet, she grabbed my hand, and we ran off down the alley together and never turned back.
----------
April 18th, 2090- 16:12 PM.
Ainz Daniels.
"Mr. Daniels...! Ainz!" A voice snapped me from my train of thought. My vision became clear, and I stared at an old childhood friend of mine from before the incident. He stepped back when he saw I was awake and chuckled. "I thought that was you back here. The entire service I kept questioning if that truly was you."
He didn't give me much time to speak as he droned on and on about how old I looked now, and how the last time we hung out together I was super short and didn't have a stubble for a beard. He kept questioning why, as a thirty-four-year-old man, I wasn't married or had any kids of my own yet. I only deadpan stared at him as he realized why I had neither of those things. Among the elite in Banes Point it has become common knowledge about how I was the only survivor of the church raid and that I ran away for many years searching for my brother.
They never mentioned all the people I've killed, but I guess the government swept all that under the rug once I was forcefully enlisted in the military thanks to Regina and Xavier.
"Well..." He said, all embarrassed. "I was wondering when was the next time your squad was heading out? It has been a few months since you left for anything."
"Pretty soon, I suppose. I can't say much about it."
"I understand, but I will pray for your safe return."
I wanted to say not to pray for some person you only began to talk to again after he got a "respectable position" in the military. However, I held my tongue and instead said: "Thank you, but you should pray that those city walls keep The Infected out." I said my goodbyes before leaving the church.
It began to rain.