The smell of Edrimer's homemade chicken soup spread all over the small kitchen in his uncle's apartment. His old uncle, Jeremy Frye, sat at the small rectangular table, waiting for his dinner. Edrimer never really liked chicken soup, yet he knew that his uncle did, so he made the gesture of making it for him.
"At least you're safe and sound," said Jeremy in regards to the robbery at Edrimer's workplace.
"I'm telling you, Uncle Jeremy, these fucking gangs have been a plague in Alataria over the last decade," Edrimer grunted as he placed two bowls of the soup on the table, one for each of them.
"You think gangs didn't exist back when I was young? We had all sorts of them roaming the streets, and the police weren’t that much more effective than they are now. The only difference is that back then a life of crime wasn't very profitable or even worth the risk. Today, with our shitty economy, being a gang member can fix you up far better than having a regular job, and the risk is not that great with all those dirty cops," said the 68 year old as he took a sip out of his spoon.
Edrimer sighed while sipping some soup as well. "The more years pass, the more everything seems fucking grim," said Edrimer.
"Be grateful that you never had to participate in things like the Tearful Rebellion. I did, and I wish I didn't have to remember any of it." Oh, boy, I really better start watching my words.
I might trigger one of his 'good old days' stories. I love Uncle Jeremy, but his stories are the very reason I tend to dislike OldGens.
"I was 8 when the Tearful Rebellion happened. I barely remember anything from the time it happened. Basically, everything I know about it is from the pictures and videos on the internet."
"Your brother, Arkaneh, was 10 back then and he remembered things too well for his own good."
Arkaneh… Every time Edrimer’s brother came up he would sadden a bit, reminiscing about the last time he saw his older brother. It was one of the few things that could snap Edrimer out of his sarcastic attitude. Edrimer pushed the bowl of soup away. He’d lost all appetite. He got up from his seat and instead moved to the kitchen window, looking out at the cloudy horizon. It was 3 years ago… no, 2 years. Yes, it was 2 years ago when Arkaneh decided to leave us and move away, right after his relationship with his girlfriend, Elina, was ended prematurely.
"I'm sure Arkaneh is fine, Edrimer." He says the same thing every time he notices my reaction to any mention of Arkaneh . "You two have always been smart enough to take care of yourselves."
Edrimer sounded a long sigh as he kept on focusing on the view. The night sky was dark, shrouding the buildings and streets with an eerie atmosphere.
"We barely heard from him, Uncle."
"Your brother wasn't the same after what happened to Elina, but I'm sure he still cares for you." As Edrimer wondered if there was any truth to that, his SmartWrist lit up and vibrated, signaling an incoming call. Zachary's name was displayed on the bracelet.
"What's up, boss?" Edrimer picked up the call.
"Edrimer, get to the store quickly! I can see them coming, please—!" Zachary sounded panicked and anxious.
"Hold on, hold on. Who's coming? What are you talking about?"
"The men with the golden masks." The words echoed in Edrimer's mind. Men of Midas.
"I'm on my way. Hold tight." He hung up the call, grabbed his long, grey coat and rushed to leave the apartment, promising his uncle that he would be back shortly as he shut the door behind him.
I can't believe they're doing this again, he thought to himself, as he raced down the road in his old car. Is this retaliation for those three guys they lost? But why would they attack the store? The Justicars got the blame for all three deaths on the news, so… what's going on?
Edrimer felt the sweat building up on his face, his mind constantly imagining the worst and best scenarios that might be expecting him. All he hoped was that old Zachary was alright. Zachary is a lone wolf. His wife passed away and his son hasn’t spoken to him in years. I'm the only one he trusts and knows well. I was the only one he could call. He pushed the gas pedal further.
How am I supposed to fight them back this time? I don't even have a gun. Should I call the police? Are the Justicars going to miraculously appear again? He felt as if every single possible concern had risen up in his head during the 10-minute drive to the store.
As he was about to make the turn to the store, he could already hear a series of loud noises that could only be interpreted as gun shots. If they laid a finger on that old bastard…
Once he finally made the turn he felt as if his heart had dropped to the floor. His eyes refused to accept what they saw.
Out of all the scenarios he’d pictured by the time he got there, this might have been one of the worst ones.
The store was a wreck. All windows were shattered and broken. The few pieces of glass that remained standing were riddled with bullet holes.
2 men were crouching behind a red car in front of the store, both of them wearing gold Elastics. They were carrying pistols in their hands.
Opposite them were 2 other men who wore the white Elastics of the Justicars. The Justicars were carrying sub-machine guns and were putting heavy fire on the red car, hoping that one of their bullets would find its way to the golden thugs.
Between them was Zachary, sitting against the store's entrance doors. His hand was placed on his belly, red with blood from the bullet wound he has taken there. No…
Edrimer wanted to rush to Zachary's side, but he knew that walking into the firefight would only get him killed.
He watched as the Justicars sprayed the red car with bullets, reloaded their magazines, and then repeated the process.
Eventually, they held their fire for a few seconds, which made the golden thugs come out of their hiding spots to try to take a shot at the White Knights of Alataria. The two Men of Midas poked their head out and fired a few rounds at the Justicars. In return, the Justicars fired back.
One of the Men of Midas was shot in the head, spraying a new shade of red all over the red car, while the other one suffered a shot to his right arm. The wounded man returned to hide behind the car while his comrade fell to the floor beside him.
Somewhere in his heart, Edrimer wished that he could be the one to put those bullets in them.
He heard Zachary coughing, the redness from his belly now almost reaching his legs. I have to get to him. The Men of Midas are done. The wounded guy isn't going to be doing much anymore, and even if he does try to make one last attempt at those Justicars, they can surely take him down with no problem. I have to take this chance. He got out of his car and ran towards the store. He ran behind the two Justicars to avoid getting himself between the two fronts of the battle. Edrimer finally made it to Zachary, crouching by the OldGen, and taking his hand. "I'm here, Zachary, I'm here."
He caught his breath while speaking. Once he noticed that the hand that covered the bullet wound was still as a rock, he realized he was too late. He looked at Zachary's face and saw his lifeless eyes, staring at the horizon.
The next few seconds felt eternal to Edrimer, and during them he felt a crushing wave of sadness and grief which, by the time those seconds passed, turned into an erupting blaze of rage and fury.
He wanted them dead. All of them. Every single one of them. Zachary didn’t deserve this! He kept thinking. The idea to take one of the Justicars' sub-machine guns and finish off the wounded shooter crossed his mind, but before he could put any further thought to it, the situation changed.
He didn’t even see the black van coming. By the time he noticed it, there was no stopping it from hitting the two Justicars at full throttle. The few shots that the White Knights managed to take at the van before getting run over didn’t seem to do much, as three Elastics-wearing Men of Midas jumped out of it unharmed.
Two of the three went to care for their wounded brother, while the other one slowly made his way to Edrimer, a pistol gripped in his hand.
I can't believe this. Just a minute ago I thought I was going to get out of this alive. I must have the shittiest luck ever. There was no point in trying to think his way out of the situation. Even if he could manage to take out the guy in front of him, the other two would simply make sure to kill him. The situation seemed lost.
Edrimer stooped his head as his executioner stood before him. He refused to look at him. "Just get this over with, you motherfucker." He welcomed death.
"Hey, man, are you going to kill that guy or what?" one of the two other guys yelled at the third one as they carried the wounded man and the dead one into the van. "Leave him,"
said the third man. "Enough blood has been shed here."
Before Edrimer could even be shocked by the fact that his life had just been spared, something else shocked him. That voice… it can't be… The man crouched down in front of Edrimer and said, "If you say anything to the cops about those two who got shot, we will hunt you and your loved ones down.
When the cops get here you tell them that none of us got hit."
Edrimer could see the man's eyes through the holes in his golden mask. Blue eyes… not just any blue eyes… I recognize them…
their shape, their hue… and that voice… "Arkaneh!" he called. The man who he thought to be his long-absent brother stood still and narrowed his sight. "It's you, isn’t it?" Edrimer asked him.
It has to be him. I'm not wrong. That voice. Those eyes. That’s my brother, alright. The man stood still, not saying a word. "I know it's you, Arkaneh!"
The man who he sought to be Arkaneh Frye simply turned around and walked away towards the black van. "Arkaneh!"
Edrimer called out to him as his figure slowly created a distance between the two. Once the man reached the van, he took the driver's seat and drove away with his comrades, leaving Edrimer alone next to the bodies of Zachary and the two Justicars.
Arkaneh… you've got to be kidding me. How the fuck did he end up in Men of Midas? Why would he ever join them?
Edrimer felt distraught. All kinds of emotions ran through him. He sat next to Zachary's still body for a few minutes before he heard a voice nearby. "Grenn!" the voice called.
Edrimer got up and inched towards where the voice was coming from, leading him to the bodies of the two Justicars.
"Grenn, come in!" the voice called again. It was coming from a radio communication device on one of the dead Justicars. He grabbed it and took a closer look at it. A black radio transmitter, around half the size of his palm. "Grenn, what's going on over there, goddammit?!" the voice came from the device. Edrimer couldn’t trouble himself to think much in his current state. He pressed the button on the side of the device and brought his mouth closer to it.
"Hello?" he said. No voice answered on the other side.
"Hello?" Edrimer repeated.
"Who is this?" the male voice finally came from the other end of the line. Edrimer looked around him. All he saw was blood and bullet holes everywhere. He was sick of it. He now realized that his wish to have a peaceful life would never come true on its own. He had to make it come true by taking action.
By putting the men who deny it of him to their just end.
"My name is Edrimer Frye, and I would like to join the Justicars."