?No one will miss us if we just go.?
I looked back over my shoulder and stared at the man standing behind a row of deep blue flowers that filled the space will a rich perfume.
?No will know.?
I thought about the proposition for a moment before I turned back to the plant I was tending. As I clipped, I could feel the figure move behind me. He stood for a moment, watching with interest as I worked. No more than an excruciatingly long moment passed before I had to turn back around and address my unwelcome audience.
?Go away. I?m sticking through with this.?
Undeterred, he asked the million dollar question.
?What exactly have you been trying to do in here??
?Accelerating the process. Go away.?
I went back to work without another word. My friend chuckled darkly before vanishing back into the shadows. I knew that my next move would please him greatly. I just didn?t feel like being distracted right now. Everything would have to go exactly as planned if I wanted to end this quickly.
To be honest, I couldn?t even remember how long I had sequestered myself within the confines of the gardens. I know we had volunteered to lock ourselves in the bowels of this mountain for some reason that must have seemed good at the time. I know that the killings had started once again, just as they always had. It didn?t matter if we had the freedom of the Murderville or the confines of this Black Peak. At the end of the day, the ritual played out all the same. The dark ones would get their fill even if the vessel was different from before.
So why fight it? Even if I?m not the one anointed to carry the knife, why shouldn't I speed up the ritual? At this point, I already knew the mechanics of the process. All I wanted to know was if I could toy with them at all.
Past attempts had ended in disaster. No matter my tampering, I had always ended up either playing into the powers of someone else or only prolonging the inevitable. My attempts at saving myself had always backfired and kept everything running according the plans of those who hide beyond our sight.
But would they protest if I tried to kill everyone tonight?
So for the last several weeks I toiled in the gardens, hoping desperately that perhaps I could throw everything out of whack in one fell swoop. No one seemed to notice that I had been gone and no one seemed to care about what I was doing. We were all locked in this trap and I was going to end it for everyone.
Would it break us from the cycle? Probably not. But it was the only thing that I hadn't tried yet.
More footsteps approached from behind. Annoyed, I turned around to chastise my visitor. My surprise caught my words in my throat. One of the others had entered the room; he was one who I had not expected would even know I was here. I went back to my work without acknowledging him.
?Look back into my eyes, killer. Today is your last.?
A long moment of silence passed as I processed what was happening. What followed took even myself by surprise. A great shrill cackling could be heard piercing the entire gardens. It was a laugh that I knew very well. It was a laugh of evil. I stood and I turned towards my accuser. Slowly, I walked towards him as though by instinct.
?Isn?t it funny how one can be accurate without being correct??
The laughter continued. It was only at this moment that I realized that I was the one emitting it.
?Go ahead Arbiter. Do your worst.?
The young man standing before me was obviously running a full gambit of emotion. The situation he had been confronted with had obviously thrown him off his guard and it took a discernible moment before he was able to put his thoughts in order. His face obviously betrayed every step of his emotional evolution.
First, concern.
Then, fear.
Finally, determination.
?Justice will be done.?
With that, he pulled out the detonator and pressed the button. All I did was laugh.
There was no scream. There was no time. There was just fire?and then nothing.
[hr]
The explosion rocked the entire mountain. The very few who remained alive could feel the rumble. At first, it was easy to mistake as an earthquake. However, as they would soon learn, the implications would be far more severe than simple seismic activity.
Link had been cultivating a garden of poisonous plants. Some might have killed by being ingested. Some might have killed through touch or prick. But all would kill through smoke.
And thanks to Jak, they were all burning.
