Gunblade - The Rebellion of Cain

Chapter 7 - Deconstructing the Psyche of an Assassin

Cain found himself in the midst of a maelstrom of cascading events that even he had trouble processing. Paying strangely little attention to what was happening around him, he turned inward and tried to make sense of all that had befallen him within the last 24 hours. Less than a few hours ago he drowned in the captivating gaze of his wife. Shocked as she had been by his struggle with the other Swords in the restaurant, she had been alive, breathing and talking to him. Her smell, the sound of her voice, her expressions and warm touch were all emblazoned into his psyche. It was almost tragically inconceivable that she was nothing but a memory now to him.

Such a harsh realization came with a gripping, bone-chilling fear that descended over him. With an undercurrent of anguish and anxiety, he tried to bury his knowledge that with the passage of time, all memories faded. It plagued him to the point that the more he thought about it, the less and less he seemed to be able to remember about his wife. It was almost as if the more he struggled to remember her, the more rapidly she slipped from his mind.

Seized by this fear and horror, he failed to hear Esai attempting to rouse him out of a wide-eyed state of stark and gripping panic. Hunched over in the back seat of the Triumvirate sedan, he barely noticed the hasty retreat of a figure from the driver's seat. It never registered that he was travelling in the very traceable sedan that he had used to reach Esai's store when he was in the throes of a blind rage. He was marginally aware of Esai firmly grasping his arm and leading him out of the back of the sedan into what seemed like was the rear of a dilapidated industrial warehouse.

The structure was dark and ominous, made more so by the single streetlight that illuminated its concealed rear entrance. The shadows thrown by the light splashing against the craggy structure of the building hid many of its glassless windows and door-less entry points. The building hung open like a gutted animal, spilling its insides out into the street.

Cain followed the Elder into the building, his combat boots crushing glass, splinters of rotten wood and other debris as he soullessly trudged through a darkened hallway. After his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was able to make out Esai's diminutive frame sure-footedly negotiating the debris in the hallways, steadily making his way to what appeared to be a shadowy doorway.

A light source leaked around the corners of the crooked door and bathed them in a harsh, antiseptic illumination as Esai grabbed the metal handle and pushed open the heavy metal door. Cain's eyes took a moment to adjust as he took in a section of the facility that starkly contrasted with the rest of the building. His first impression was that the large, cavernous room was an old, abandoned fitness facility. The room was two stories high with skylights lining the apex of the cathedral roof. Scattered around the area were various and surprisingly well-maintained areas with modernized fitness equipment, which lined the space around an old-style boxing and sparring ring. An office area sat off to the right, with a large plate glass window overlooking the floor of the establishment. Torch lamps placed strategically throughout the space provided an impressive amount of light for the large area.

Cain barely noticed the neatly arranged racks of weight training equipment amidst the drab, peeling wallpaper foiling off the walls. He surmised there were living quarters right off the open shower stalls and assumed that this was a Triumvirate safe house that Esai had appropriated some time ago. As Esai made his way through the open space around the equipment, dilapidated furniture and loose floorboards, he flicked several switches that caused the overhead neon lights to flicker to life and buzz incessantly.

Cain trudged after him, still wearing his blood-soaked clothes. His mask and sword dangled from his grasp as he wandered over to a dusty vinyl couch to sit, wide-eyed and panicked. In the distance, Esai continued to walk around the space, ascending some steps to another floor in the open area to turn on the lighting there as well.