Redo 2

I was not a fighter. Every fight that I had gotten into was when Milgram was controlling my body. My reflexes were poor, and I froze when I heard Harsh, like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car.

That was a mistake.

A thin cord wrapped around my neck, encircling it fully. As I stood up and lunged towards the door, it started to constrict. I clawed at it desperately as my skin bled and my chest heaved. I suffocated, and looked around the room. The other man in the room was facing me calmly. He had other loops floating in the air between us.

My head boiled in pain and rage. Black spots filled my vision, and I tried even harder to get my fingers underneath the circle. I failed. I trembled with rage, and lack of oxygen as I thought, Milgram…take them down. With pleasure.

Milgram took control of my body after I collapsed. The loop continued to tighten around our neck, but he didn’t seem to be concerned. I felt the pervasive rush of happiness and pleasure again. The sharp senses assaulted us, along with a new one. We could feel the air around us, every particle. The cord tightened even more, but our neck was like iron now.

We looked up at the man with the cords and shot him a feral grin. With a twist of our shimmering hand, Milgram commanded the air to flow away from his lungs, just as he exhaled. The man’s eyes bugged out. The circle tried to constrict fully, but it was futile. Eventually, he stopped twitching, and we turned our attention to Harsh.

We ripped the loop off and threw it away. “You shouldn’t have done that!” Milgram crowed viciously. He gestured again, intending to suck the air out of Harsh’s lungs when-

Harsh cleared his throat and leaned back. “Now, a brief test,” he raised a single eyebrow. “You passed!”

I was in control of my body again. What the shit Alden! What just happened? I looked around the room. The loop man was standing passively, his cords gone. Milgram was locked away again, without the usual timeout or death. I stared at Harsh.

“You just killed me,” I stated, my mind working furiously.

Harsh was very surprised. “You remember? That’s…unusual. My power allows me to change the future, to put it simply. You don’t remember the first time?” He looked at me quizzically.

“What first time?” At this point, we were both confused. Do you know what he’s talking about? Not a gosh darn clue, buddy.

Harsh’s brow wrinkled. “The first time you came here, I told you to take a cookie. The second time, I told you to take a brownie. You remember the brownie, right?” I nodded frantically.

“So you remember the brownie, and the attack?” I nodded again.

“Yeah that’s right.” I paused. Wait, the attack. “Hey, change the past again.” I asked him.

Harsh’s mouth tightened. “I already did. I assume you didn’t notice anything?”

I shook my head, “Nope. But, I’ve got an idea.” My mind was racing at this point, the attack almost forgotten. “My power only kicks in when I’m dead, so maybe I only remember the futures I die in?” Or when the future changes when Milgram is in control.

Harsh contemplated this, and slowly agreed. “Very well. I must apologize. I test everyone’s powers, but there’re very few people who notice the changes. I assumed you would be no different than the rest. I will not make that mistake again.”

I accepted his apology with a tilt from my head. There was a slightly awkward pause. Veritas stepped out of nowhere, and leaned in to whisper to Harsh. I pretended not to notice, and twiddled my thumbs. She stepped away, and Harsh spoke.

“Something’s come up. You will leave now, Veritas will escort you out,” he said with an air of finality. Veritas opened the door, and I walked out. I followed her down the street and looked back at the house. It was gone.

I shook my head and picked up the pace. Illusionists, man.

“So, why’d you join up with Harsh?” I called out. Veritas glanced over at me with an odd look. “What? I’m just trying to make some conversation here.”

The sound of Veritas’ heels echoed of the trees for a moment, as we strolled in silence. “I rolled with him on the outside. He took over my old gang, and I worked my way up the ladder. They took me a month after Harsh.” She chuckled softly. “I left Boston, ran back to NYC. It took nearly all of the Tactiles, all of the Aegis League ‘heroes’,” she made finger quotations and looked slightly proud and smug, “To bring me down. They had to fly in that FUCKING CUNT,” Veritas yelled that last part, “Lady Aegis, to see through my pictures. Even then, it hurt her, gave her a nosebleed. That’s part of the reason Queen leaves me alone, I’m hell on telepaths.” She grinned at me. “So now, I’m number two in the Harshes.”

“Why’d you do the quotation thing with heroes?” I said.

“That’s what you got out of my Cinderella story? That’s all you have to say?” She seemed surprised.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Why don’t you think the Tactiles and the Aegis League are heroes?” I raised my voice. “Fuck, they threw me in here. They’re the reason I got powers in the first place, but I still think they’re heroes. They put away the-” I stopped talking when I realized what I was about to say. Awkward.

Redo 1

Ricky’s shout echoed eerily around the small street. We were standing in between two small houses, with trees on either side. The green line on the ground stretched off towards the woods on either side. Nobody was in sight, but I felt like we were being watched.

The clouds above us swirled and gathered, blocking out the sunlight. Swirling mist crept up from the pavement, dark shapes moved inside it. I started to talk to Ricky, but he shushed me. “Something’s wrong here, very wrong.”

I glanced over at him threw the thickening fog. His eyes darted back and forth, his breathing was rapid. What’s going on? I don’t know, I might have to run.

A low moan emanated from further down the street, but I couldn’t tell what made the noise. The fog was thicker than ever before. The dancing shadows around us became more jagged, more frantic. A huge form rose in front of us, towering and black. I heard another moan, it was closer this time. Wait a minute.

I started laughing, quiet at first, but it got louder. This whole thing was too obvious, too layered on. I guess we met the illusionist. “So, you must be Veritas then?” I called out.

The fog and clouds disappeared immediately, and Ricky looked over at me, disappointment etched on his face. “How’d you know?” He asked.

“The fog and weather was one thing, but the noises and shapes were a bit much. It was like a cheesy horror movie.” I smirked.

“Goddammit.” I woman stepped out behind a tree, which vanished. She was around my age, maybe nineteen. Veritas was flawless, dark brown hair and smooth skin. She was in a strapless red dress that flowed down to a matching pair of heels. Yeah, no. This is definitely an illusion too.

“Veritas, this is Alden. Alden, Veritas.” Ricky introduced us.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I told her. She smiled back at me, and said “Alright Alden, follow me into the Harshes.” Veritas turned around and sauntered away. I looked back at Ricky, who gestured me on.

I stepped over the green line and into the Territory. “You’re here today because you might want to join our little family in here. The rules are pretty simple, do what Harsh says, no hard drug use, no fighting one another unless Harsh approves it. We also do a lot of training for the Games.” That sounds familiar…

“What Games?” I asked as I followed Veritas deeper into the Harshes. She looked over her shoulder and crooked a single perfect eyebrow.

“Ricky didn’t tell you? The Games are what makes life bearable in this hellhole. When you have no internet, TV, radio, no external signals at all, life gets really boring really fast. The Games take peoples minds off that stuff, provides a healthy output for all that pent-up frustration and aggression. Every week, a team from each territory (except Slaughtertown) meets and fight. The Sheriff watches over the whole thing, so people don’t die very often. It’s very popular, members of my gang can challenge people on the Green Team, which is us, for a spot. If you’re on the team, then you have to be able to keep your place. We fight the Blue Team, the Zoners, tomorrow. The winner of that fights the winner of the Yellows and the Blacks.” She smiled at the thought of winning. Hopefully.

“The team that wins gets to demand a tribute from each team they defeat. Last week, we got all of the Yellow’s weed for a week, they replenish our stock every day. We had to give the Blacks a piece of the Harshes, but it was a close fight.” Veritas explained.

“What are the rules? How many people can fight?” I was intrigued.

“Five to a team, very few rules. All weapons and powers allowed, no gang bosses fight, you tussle until one team is down or gives up. The Sheriff watches over it all, he keeps the fatalities to a minimum.” She winked at me. “It’s all very civilized.”

We kept walking. Something’s off here. I think Veritas is using illusions to mask where we are. I still haven’t seen any other people yet. She stopped walking in front of me.

“We’re here,” she told me, and gestures ahead. The road shimmered, and a house appeared in front of us. Two burly men stood by the doorway, and one crouched on the roof.

Veritas strolled up to the door and opened it for me. “Gentlemen first,” she chuckled. The door opened into a small sitting room, with another door at the back. It was plainly furnished, with two men in it. One was tall and imposing, with pale skin and black hair. I assumed the man sitting was Harsh.

Harsh was a plain man. He sat at a wooden table, and gestured for me to join him. Harsh was small, with dark hair and a smooth face. He was Indian, with a small scar at his temple. One thing stood out; a streak of grey in his otherwise black hair. As I sat, he took out two plates. One had chocolate chip cookies on it, the other had brownies.

“Please, take a brownie.” He commanded. I got the sense that this man wasn’t one to refuse, so I bit into a brownie.

“Tell me. What is your power?” Harsh requested in a deep voice.

I rubbed the back of my head and sighed. “Well, it’s kinda complicated. I like to think about it as Adaptive Resurrection. There’s a bit of a minor twist to it, but if I die, then I come back with a power.” What, I get no credit? I’ll mention you if I have to, I’d rather not lie to him right now.

Harsh leaned forward. I could tell he was interested. “What did you do to get thrown in here? How did they catch you?”

“Why are you asking all these questions?” I asked him, deflecting. Not in the mood for answering those last two.

Harsh smiled slightly. “Think of this as an interview. My organization is larger and has more power than the Zone. I’m seeing  whether or not you would fit in.”

I felt slightly frustrated. “Why do I have to join a gang at all? Why can’t I just stay in the Zone?”

Harsh’s smile vanished quickly. “Anybody, not counting the Slaughtertonians, can go into the Zone. If you aren’t very close to the Sheriff at all times, it is the second most dangerous place in the Town. More people are killed there than almost anywhere else. If you join a gang, you get more entertainment, resources, and above all, safety. I can think of a few rapists who would have no trouble holding you down and making you scream at night. That wouldn’t happen in my territory, I promise you that.” His face was serious, and I felt unnerved. If they don’t kill me, I’m only as strong as a norm.

Harsh cleared his throat and leaned back. “Now, a brief test,” he looked at someone behind me. “Kill him.”