Separate Ways

Rik opened his eyes and was greeted by a bright light breaking through the cockpit. The sun had risen moments before his eyes opened. He actually slept the entire night, which was the first for him in a long time; he was exhausted the day before. He stretched and looked out at what scenery he could see from the cockpit and noticed they were on the outskirts of the city. He looked to his left and saw Vikurl sitting there which made him jump nearly out of his seat.

“God damnit, you scared the hell outta me.” Rik said.

“Sorry, I had to make sure we parked far enough away that the scanners wouldn’t notice us, and you fell asleep.” He responded. Rik nodded and did a quick once over of the controls making sure everything was intact.

“Your ship is fine. You never know though, I could’ve sabotaged it.” He said sarcastically.

“That’s comforting.” Rik replied. He descended down into the main cabin of the ship and Vikurl followed him shortly after. Upon standing they both noticed the ramp to the ship was down and they both equipped their blasters. They looked at each other to see if the other did it, but they were both in silent agreement that neither of them did. Cautiously walking around the main cabin, they peeked into rooms trying to see if someone broke in but nothing was out of place, nothing was stolen and most importantly, they were both alive. Rik was then hit with a terrifying thought.

“Corvus.” he said as he scrambled to the room Corvus was sleeping in only to find he was not there. He barrelled out of the room and ran over to a small monitor in a separate room, Vikurl watching in confusion.

“What?” Vikurl asked. Rik was looking through a camera that overlooked the main cabin of the ship, and upon looking back further into the morning he eventually noticed Corvus opening the ramp. He should have been notified while he was in the cockpit that the ramp had been opened, but he then remembered that Corvus was a mechanic and he likely knew of a way to get out of the ship without making a sound. Rik turned and looked at Vikurl.

“That little psychopath.” Vikurl said.

“He left over three hours ago.” Rik said. Without response they both ran out of the ship and eased into a full sprint in the direction of the Butcher’s estate. They had landed near a swamp which was the primary ecosystem of the planet; Sareen was a planet of dark cities plagued by trade, criminal activity and drug cartels and was known for its long, windy and dark swamps that went on for miles and miles around the planet. It was perfect for the crime syndicates for dumping bodies that never wanted to be found as the carnivorous wildlife would do the work for them.

It made it hard for Rik to sprint through the trees, bushes and thick mud but seemed easy for Vikurl to sprint through. Rik held his side and looked down as he ran to see a small circle of blood on his bandage and he then realized his wound had opened up and was beginning to bleed. He ignored it and pressed on trying to keep up with Vikurl who could easily lose him if he wanted, but slowed his pace enough for Rik to keep up.

Rik didn’t want to believe that Corvus would go out on his own after everything he had been through and everything he’d heard about the Black Butcher, but then he realized that those reasons may be exactly why he went out on his own. He was impatient and hearing what the Butcher would want to do with Sasha must have lit a fire under him and pushed him passed his boiling point. Rik’s hate for the Butcher ran deep, but Corvus’ hate was slowly catching up to him and if the Butcher succeeded in killing Sasha then they would be even, and that was the last thing Rik wanted.

The one thing they had going for them, was that the Butcher didn’t know for sure that they were after Sasha. To him, Orion had purchased Sasha to save her and if Rik knew Orion as well as he thought he did then Orion would not have mentioned them at all. This gave them an edge and it was necessary but if Corvus got to that estate trying to break in it would ruin the element of surprise. They had to catch him before it was too late, and without hatching a plan or thinking anything through they knew it wasn’t going to be a case of stopping Corvus. They would have to go in guns blazing if they wanted any sort of chance of all leaving alive.

Sasha sat down with her back against the cold wall of the cell, looking over at Borin who was lying on the ground and had likely passed out from the beating that went on way longer than it needed to. Vengeance from her cell felt intoxicating and if she weren’t in her cell, she may have joined in with them. Regardless, the fear was still embedded in the back of her mind plucking at the hairs on her neck, keeping her muscles tight and her adrenaline pumping. She felt as if the adrenaline hadn’t stopped since she was kidnapped on Fares, and if it went away she thought it may kill her.

Suddenly, she could hear a struggle down by the end of the cell block. There was inaudible yelling and the sound of foots and arms slamming into the walls, clearly indicating a struggle. She knew another prisoner was on the way, and now perhaps she could at least talk to someone before she died, regardless of who it was. Having company in her lonely cell would be welcome in her last moments. It was better than having Borin on her right side, even if he was seemingly unconscious.

The cell door beside her cell swung open and three men dragged a man in struggling to get him into the cell. One of them punched him in the gut multiple times and soon through the man into the wall. Sasha looked over at the man and wanted to jump up and scream; it was Corvus. The man piled into the cell and began punching and beating him. He tried to fight back, but while laying on his back against three men wasn’t even a fight. It was a vicious beatdown.

Sasha watched in horror as the men beat Corvus, and after a few minutes of beatings they stopped. One of them delivered a last kick into his side and they left the cell slamming the door behind them cursing at Corvus, one of them spitting in the cell before the door slammed shut. She walked over to the glass and knocked on it fanatically trying to get his attention.

“Corvus!” she yelled through the glass. He groaned and rolled onto his other side to face who had called his name. When he saw her his body flinched and he perked up when he saw her face.

“Sasha.” He said as he winced in pain. He pulled himself toward the glass and they were less than inches away from each other. They couldn’t hold each other, but they were closer than ever.

“You actually came for me.” She said.

“Of course I did. I said I was right behind you.” He replied. She wanted to hold her brother again, and help him through his pain but the glass was thick enough that even blasters wouldn’t penetrate. They had never seen each other in this type of shape, and though her brother had been beat up plenty of times on Fares, he was never dragged this far into submission.

“We’ll get out of this, I promise.” He said. She nodded and just before he could explain his cell door began to open. They both looked toward the door and they both backed away from the glass plastering themselves against the wall of their cells.

The Black Butcher entered the cell and looked at both of them, but his eyes landed on Corvus. He crossed his arms and leaned against the glass separating wall. His knives, hammers and various tools clanged against each other like chains and echoed through the cells.

“You know what I find odd?” he asked. They both shot a quick gaze at each other and looked back up at the terrifying man. The Butcher pointed up toward the corner of the room.

“The fact that you assume I’m not watching you.” He said. They both followed his direction and noticed a tiny camera in the corner of both of their cells. They both let out a sigh and knew it was a mistake to reveal their relationship so quickly. The moment was too intense to ignore, and it was the first time since Fares that they’d had words with each other.

“How do you two know each other?” he asked. They both stayed silent and tried to eat think of an answer they could both agree on without discussing it; easier said than done.

“Answer me!” he screamed, slamming his fist on the glass.

“We’re siblings.” Sasha blurted out. Corvus looked over at her and back at the Butcher. He shut the door behind him and walked over to Corvus, looking down at him.

“Wait a minute. Stand up.” He said to Corvus. Corvus did not want to cooperate, so he sat in place just groaning under his breath. The Butcher grabbed him and thrusted him up onto his feet and pushed him into the wall, staring at him. Corvus could tell he was putting two and two together, and this was terrible news for the both of them. He could see the Butcher’s realization hit him and he wasn’t sure how to judge his movements, as his face was completely hidden behind black glass.

“Son of a bitch. Alpha One, you’re that little punk with Rik Tanner.” He said. Corvus gulped and he tightened his jaw, as his cheeks puffed out. His fists were clenched and he wanted to fight but he was as good as dead if he did. The Butcher looked over at Sasha.

“I love when things come together. Brother and sister, together at last!” The Butcher said as he turned back to Corvus and plowed his fist into his face. Corvus flopped onto the floor from the punch and held his face. The Butcher began kicking him viciously in the gut. Sasha jumped up and banged on the glass, screaming.

“Stop it! Leave him alone!” she yelled. The Butcher continued grunting as he tossed Corvus around the cell. Corvus tried to put up a fight but he was far too weak to bother and as he slammed into the walls of the cell he could hear Sasha screaming at the Butcher to stop. He appreciated it but he knew all it was doing was fuelling the Butcher to continue, as torturing him was a form of torturing her. The Butcher finally tossed Corvus against the glass wall of the cell right at Sasha who jumped upon impact. He stood close to Corvus, pinning him to the glass and staring at Sasha through the glass.

“You get to watch each other die. Isn’t that sweet?” he said. Just as he began shuffling through his belt looking for the perfect tool to start his sick escapade on the siblings, an alarm rung in the hallway that was nearly deafening. The Butcher’s head shot upward and he stomped toward the cell door, dropping Corvus and swung it open where he was greeted by a guard.

“What is going on?!” the Butcher screamed.

“Sir, we have a breach on the main level, south side of the estate!” he responded.

“Do we have visuals?” the Butcher asked impatiently.

“Yes, sir, it’s… um…” the guard said.

“Spit it out!” the Butcher screamed as his voice cracked from its monotony for a moment.

“It’s Rik Tanner, sir, and he’s with an alien.” He responded quickly. The Butcher cuffed the guard in the head and spun around to Corvus who was looking up at him with a small smirk. The Butcher wanted to finish him but his dark desire to cause prolonged pain overtook him, and he pointed at Corvus.

“I’ll be coming back for you.” The Butcher said as he stormed out of the room, the guard locking the cell door behind him.

“Get Tanner to the Courtyard. Kill the other one.” The Butcher said, storming passed the guard. Corvus looked over at Sasha who looked confused.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Corvus looked over at her with a confident smile. She wanted to join in on the joke but he stayed silent.

“Corvus?” she asked again.

“My friends.” He said. Sasha smiled and couldn’t help now but feel relief and satisfaction, but it was far from over. If Rik and Vikurl failed then they were in for a horrific experience, worse than anything that had happened up until now. Once again, Corvus put all of his faith into Rik and Vikurl. They hadn’t let him down yet, but there was a first time for everything.

Rik and Vikurl hid on opposite sides of the hallway firing shots at the guards who were trying to keep the two of them back. Behind them lay several guards that had gotten in their way upon their explosive entrance. The main door to the estate was blown open by a few plasma charges Vikurl had in his arsenal.

“Vik, you go get the kids, I’m going after the Butcher.” Rik said loudly across the hallway.

“We’ll meet back at the main entrance, can you find your way around?” Vikurl responded.

“I’ll have to improvise.” Rik said. Vikurl looked at Rik’s waist and could see a blood spot on the bandage that he’d put on. The wound had split open and was now likely going to gush out blood. Rik didn’t have much time before Vikurl would have to seal the wound again.

“Damnit.” Vikurl responded, heading the other way down a hallway hesitantly. Rik watched him leave and turned back to the battle. He began to charge his blaster and when it hit full charge he stepped into the hallway and blasted one of the guards who was nearly split in half by the impact. The other two guards were distracted long enough for Rik to sprint down the hallway and gun them down with his second pistol before they could turn back.

Rik continued quickly and intensely through the hallways gunning down any guard that poked their head out. Never had he been put to the test like this before, but his adrenaline was pumping so hard that the pain in his side was non-existent. Every shot he took, hit the target without fail. He gunned three guards who were running full tilt down a narrow hallway and didn’t expect Rik to come fully around the corner, making them stumble in their tracks.

He got to a small room and saw a group of charges on the far door. Quickly, he ducked back behind the door he entered through and an explosion went off sending dust, metal and fire down the hallway just barely missing him. He looked back in the room and realized the door was now sealed by debris. He continued down a different hallway and continued encountering guards. Before he turned into a large sitting area of the estate, he noticed several guards firing back at him just before he entered as if they were waiting.

There was a large set of three pillars that led to a staircase that overlooked the room and would give him a better vantage point on the battle. He ran in full sprint and rolled behind the first pillar as blaster fire pelted the wall beside him. He spun back the way he came and gunned a few men down and his gun overheated, and his adrenaline made him hit the cooling flush too quickly causing the gun to malfunction. The gun would take a few minutes to cool down now and he was left with only a smaller, weaker pistol and his knife.

He reached into his duster and pulled out a small smoke grenade, activated it and tossed it into the centre of the room. He waited until the room was almost completely engulfed and he removed his duster. Tossing it to the centre of the room he ran toward the staircase as shots fired blindly at the duster. Rik ran up behind the guard on the balcony overlooking the room and jammed his knife into the guards neck and quickly bringing him to the ground, covering his mouth.

In his head, he counted three more guards below him. Two were on the main floor and one of them was on the staircase to his right. He pulled out a flash grenade and snuck over to where the other staircase came down; tossing the grenade he quickly turned away, waited for the flash and then dove off the balcony onto one of the guards backs as the guard on the staircase screamed, covering his eyes. Rik slit the guards throat of the guard who he’d landed on and quickly scurried across the floor, keeping low and came up onto the other guard pummelling the blade into his chest and lifting him off the ground, only to slam him back down.

He confidently walked over to the guard on the staircase who was still partially blind from the flash grenade. Walking by him and up the stairs, he slit the guards’ throat as he choked and gasped for air crashing into the wall and soon into the ground. Before heading out, he walked back into the room which was clearing up from the smoke and grabbed his duster, sliding it back on laboriously, while coughing and wheezing having held his breath for the whole fight. Looking down at his injury, most of the bandage was red now and his shirt was slightly stained, as well as the top of his pants. Turning quickly, he ran up to the top room and looked at a map of the estate and realized he was close to the hangar, and the Butcher likely knew he was here by now.

The only thing standing between him and the hangar was a few hallways and the courtyard of the estate. The Butcher was likely to try and escape as every time Rik had gotten remotely close to the Butcher, he would escape in the nick of time and leave Rik for dead. He would not allow that to happen again, so he made haste down the stairs, out of the room and down the long hallway which connected two of the larger buildings of the estate together. He looked out at the dark city he grew up in and figured it was fitting that he was here at this moment. He was born here, and he was likely to die here.

Vikurl snuck his way through the estate, trying to remember the dimly lit hallways from several visits he’d made in the past for deliveries of different kinds; weapons, contraband and slaves. It looked no different and reminded him of his earlier days of the slave trade when he was naive to the idea. Recalling his first time kidnapping a slave was what always kept him up at night if he was having insomnia; it was a young girl like Sasha but she was a bit younger, possibly thirteen or fourteen. He remembered her begging him to let her go but he had orders to follow. She had been sold to a crime syndicate that operated out of the White Wing sector and knew she would be ordered to serve the VIP’s of the organization. He always wondered where she would end up, if she was even still alive. Slaves had a tendency to try and escape shortly after being captured, much like Sasha.

He found the staircase that led down to the cells where he’d delivered slaves many times before. Descending the stairs slowly, he kept his blaster rifle close to his chest, ready to be fired at any moment. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he scanned both ends of the hallway to see the entrance into the security office where there were likely to be two or three guards. He figured once the alarm was triggered then there would be only one or two as the Butcher would likely pull most of his men in order to find the intruders, especially if he knew it was Rik coming for him.

With his back pressed against the wall he quietly approached the guards office and peeked in quickly to see two men sitting in chairs with their rifles lazily sat in their laps. The perfection of humanoid laziness, this is pathetic. He thought to himself. Spinning the corner he shot the guard furthest from him in the chest and pointed his gun at the other guard. Before the guard could grab his gun, Vikurl was already standing in the room with the barrel of his gun pointed at his head.

“Move or die, make the right choice.” Vikurl said. The guard slowly raised his hands and locked eyes with Vikurl.

“There is a young girl, and boy in the one of your cell blocks. One has pink hair, the other is, well, he’s a punk.” Vikurl stated. The guard nodded knowing exactly who he was looking for and slowly stood up letting his blaster rifle fall to the floor. Vikurl nodded to him and the nervous guard led him into a specific wing of the prison. The guard was visibly shaken by Vikurl’s presence and the fact that he had a high powered plasma rifle pointed at his spine, which gave Vikurl more confidence that the guard wouldn’t retaliate. He knew these men weren’t all criminals; they were simply hired to do a job and all of them wouldn’t risk their lives for it.

“Unlock the doors, and put these on, behind your back.” Vikurl said handing him a pair of slave cuffs. The guard took them cautiously, being careful not to flinch or jolt fearing that Vikurl would put a hole in his head. The guard unlocked all of the cells in the cell block and began putting the cuffs on his wrists, behind his back like Vikurl ordered him to.

Sasha and Corvus both looked up as they noticed all of the cell doors were opening. Vikurl stepped into Sasha’s cell and looked down at her with his hand out.

“Vikurl!” she said as she jumped to her feet and hugged him tightly. Corvus stood up and looked over at the two of them, relieved at his arrival. Corvus then stepped into the hallway. Vikurl peeled Sasha off of him and led her into the hallway where she ran into her brother’s arms for the first time in what felt like an eternity. They embraced and Vikurl watched on as the siblings were together once again, and at that moment he felt slightly fulfilled, but it was not over.

“It’s gonna be okay, Sass, I got you now.” Corvus said, looking over her shoulder at Vikurl who was watching both ends of the hallway.

“I hate to break up this picture perfect moment, but we really should be going.” He said. Corvus let go of his sister and she spun around to look at him.

“Where is Rik?” Corvus asked him. Vikurl walked over to him and smacked Corvus in the back of the head and he jumped from the impact.

“What the hell?” Corvus asked.

“First of all, you are an idiot for doing what you did. You could’ve gotten yourself killed, and where would she be? Alone.” Vikurl ranted to the young, naive man. Corvus knew his mistake could have been a greater one had the Butcher finished what he started with him. He looked at his sister and nodded at Vikurl having set him straight.

“Now, Rik is likely after the Butcher, so let’s get going.” He said as he led the brother and sister into the security room where he began looking through the security cameras. Vikurl handed Corvus a pistol and pointed at the door for him to keep watch incase of the guards were to return which they most likely were.

“Sasha, watch the door and shoot anything that comes toward you.” Corvus said. Sasha scurried to the corner of the room and stood by the door.

“Does she know how to use that?” Vikurl asked Corvus.

“Yeah, good enough, I have unfinished business.” Corvus said walking back into the cell block. Vikurl watched him go and wanted to stop him, but continued searching the monitors. He eventually found the Butcher standing in the middle of the courtyard, dead still.

“He’s in the courtyard, but he’s not running. He’s waiting.” Vikurl said and then turned to a map behind Sasha, pushing her out of the way to try and see where Rik might be and where the Butcher was. He noticed that the hangar was off of the courtyard; Rik would assume like Vikurl that the Butcher was trying to make an escape but Vikurl knew otherwise. It was a trap set for Rik, and they were on the opposite side of the estate. Between Rik and the Butcher was a doorway that he was likely to go through soon; between Vikurl and Rik was the hangar and the far side of the courtyard.

“Corvus, we have to go, now!” he yelled but there was no answer from Corvus. Vikurl wanted to run but he knew Corvus had something else in mind. Borin had done some horrific things to the slaves through all his years, and Vikurl was pleased to know it would come to an end. He stood with Sasha on the other side of the door and looked at her. She looked back at him and smiled slightly.

“Thank you.” She said sincerely. Vikurl nodded and let out a small smile which was the first time she’d ever seen him even remotely show an emotion other than anger. It quickly faded after a short moment. Sasha looked around for Corvus and in that same moment realized what he was up to. Vikurl didn’t seem to mind or even think about it, and neither did she. Murder was by no means the answer to many problems, but both Vikurl and Sasha had been hurt so much by the man that it only seemed fair.

Corvus pressed a small green button on the frame of the cell door which made it slide open revealing Borin, lying on the ground. Corvus stood in the doorway and watched as Borin slowly pulled himself up and leaned against the back wall. He squinted trying to see who was in the doorway, as Corvus was silhouetted by the hallway.

“Who are you?” Borin asked nervously after a moment. Corvus walked into the cell and looked down at him with a cold, emotionless face. Tears welling up in his eyes he began to shake now being this close to his sister’s captor. He gripped the pistol by his side tightly and was breathing heavily.

“You.” Borin said. Corvus didn’t know what to say; his rage was burning so ferociously that no words could be formed. Short memories and images began to plague Corvus’ mind like a slideshow; the slave girl on Alpha One, the line of girls beside Sasha, all with looks of sadness and desperation. Finally, the image of Sasha’s face that had been cut up and bruised while in Borin’s hands. It pushed him over the edge and he raised the pistol as it began charging.

“Kid, look, I have a lot of money.” He said, but Corvus cut him off.

“Don’t you dare beg me!” He screamed. His hand now shaking so much that he feared that he might even miss at this close range.

“Did she ask you to stop?! When you were beating her! Did she?!” he screamed, tears now streaming down his face. Borin held his hand up trying to reason with Corvus but before he could talk the pistol clicked and begun to hum as it was now fully charged and he quivered before Corvus. It was apparent that unless Borin had the upper hand, he was a complete coward.

Suddenly, Corvus stopped shaking as if someone were holding his hand still. He looked down at his hand, his face now soaked with tears and as he wiped them away with his other hand he now knew that something inside of him had clicked. His mother had died, his sister kidnapped and beaten to within an inch of her life, and his father had died trying to save her. Like Rik, in even the most emotional and intense of moments, he was still. He was dead still.

Borin opened his mouth to speak but Corvus squeezed his finger on the trigger and shot him right between the eyes sending his head back into the wall and his body slumped over immediately, letting out a few last flinches of adrenaline. He lowered the pistol and looked at Borin’s body leaned up against the wall, only now having paid for his crimes. Corvus didn’t want to admit it, but he felt amazing.

He pushed the feeling down into his stomach and walked back into the security office, where Vikurl and Sasha stood up straight upon his return. They both looked at him with the same expression knowing what Corvus had done. They remained silent for a moment, but instead of speaking Sasha walked over to Corvus and hugged him tightly. They embraced once again, and knowing that Borin would never hurt anybody ever again, was a great feeling.

They released and Corvus looked into Sasha’s eyes and then around at her scars and bruises. He could remember her face when they were younger, devoid of all the scars and bruises. She was a very pretty girl and even through her scars, puffed up eye and bruises around her neck she remained that way; just as pretty as her mother. He know that these scars ran deeper, and would take many years for her to forget or suppress the thoughts and feelings of the traumatic events that unfolded. He had faith in her, and he would be there every step of the way as he had been since their mother’s death.

“We have to go, Rik may be in trouble.” Vikurl said. They turned to look at Vikurl.

“What’s wrong?” Corvus asked.

“I think the Butcher is leading Rik into a trap, they’re in the courtyard waiting for him and he’s likely on his way there.” He explained. Corvus nodded and looked around the room thinking of a solution.

“There is an entire hangar between us and them, we’ll never make it to him in time.” Vikurl said.

“A hangar?” Corvus asked as his head shot up with an idea. Vikurl nodded and could already see the gears turning in Corvus’ head. He stepped away from the map and eyed Corvus inquiring with his glare.

“I have an idea. Get us to the hangar.” Corvus said. Vikurl had no clue how they were going to get to Rik, but if Corvus had any sliver of an idea then he would follow suit not having an idea of his own yet. Vikurl grabbed Sasha’s arm and put her behind him which was between Corvus and him to keep her safe.

Vikurl ran ahead of them through the hallways trying to get a jump on any guards that would get in their way and Corvus followed with his sister keeping a safe distance. Now that Corvus could see his sister up close he began to notice all of the scars, bruises and cuts into her clothing from being held by the slavers and the Black Butcher. Corvus thought about Rik finding the Butcher in the courtyard and whether it was a trap or not, he yearned for the thought of Rik killing the Butcher in cold blood. If Corvus was right about his plan, they would be able to stop Rik from getting ambushed by a large amount of the estate’s security, which explained why the hallways were so barren. Rik was in trouble.