Blinkers #Wattys2016

* 4 * Rio Stoner

Planet: Saturia

Star Count: 4

Bang!

"Whoa, this gun is so dope!" Rio exclaims, marvelling at the expensive firearm he recently gained. It turns out that working for the Alien Politics paid off really well, after all.

Tav shushes him, his beastly body visibly sweating underneath his suit with wariness. "Don't shoot so carelessly, Rio! The cops might catch you!"

This remark makes Rio scoff. "Oh yeah? What are they gonna do, kill me?" He smirks.

His conspicuous demeanour causes the bigger being to flinch. "N-No, but..."

"But what, Tav? C'mon! You and I both know that no matter what happens- as long as I got this job? Everything I do will be covered--" His voice drips into pride and enthused certainty. "--by the Senate itself."

As painful as it was to admit, it is true. Rio is the Senate's most prized member, despite the difference of species. At first glance, one might mistake him for an ordinary teenage boy, when in truth, he is the polar opposite of that. Almost extraterrestrial.

"You're provoking more and more sentinels to become your enemies," Tav quietly warns him. And that, was also true. Because of the special treatment Rio is receiving from their superiors,  even the veterans grew uneasy of his presence among their ranks. Not to mention the boy's foul-mouth which spoke nothing but insults to them.

Rumour has it though, that he was quite the charmer.

Yet another scoff. "You still going on about that? Jeez, Tav. Cut me some slack. It's not like I don't know how to defend myself."

Oh, his ego is charming, alright.

Unfortunately, before Tav could protest to him, Rio starts to whirl around. He tucks in his gun in his holster, grins, then does a backhanded wave to Tav as he saunters to a different direction. "I'll see ya later, bro," he says, blending into the shadows as his lean figure disappears down the narrow street.

He didn't do it to avoid conversation, no- he did it in order to attend to a very important hobby of his: stargazing.

Night time is one of Rio's favourite things in life. Although this planet has two moons, he appreciated the scenery it creates in the midnight purple sky. He remembers nothing of the sky of his parents' planet's origin, but thanks to that, he had learned to appreciate the little stuff in life; Ironic how meagre it seems now.

"It's not a picture-perfect sight without the stars," a familiar voice states behind Rio.

Startled, he quickly whips out his weapon and points it at the owner of the voice. His eyes narrow dangerously. "Chase," he sneers.

His elder brother nods, appearing disinterested by the threat laced in Rio's tone.  "Good evening," he casually greets.

Rio rolls his eyes. Instead of questioning simple things like, 'What are you doing here?' Or 'Why are you following me?' He says, "Leave me alone," and retreats elsewhere.

However, Chase isn't planning to oblige to his wish. He stalks towards him, pace in sync with his. "Don't ignore me!"

"I do as I please," Rio retorts, shoving his gun back in its strap.

Chase quirks a brow. "Well, so do I."

When Rio starts to quicken his steps, Chase grabs his shoulder and forces him to spin and face him. "Listen, we need to talk."

"We don't," Rio reaches out to try to peel Chase's hand off him, but the action signals for Chase to squeeze hard until Rio could wince. He glares at him, obviously pissed. "Let go," he hisses.

Shaking his head, Chase sighs heavily. "You just don't understand the situation you're in, do you? Mario, you need to quit your job. I won't allow you to do all of their dirty work any longer!"

Dirty work? Since when did his family give a shit whether dirty work was good or bad? Last time Rio checked, they were fine with whatever they could scrap up as money. Besides, he's been functioning under the orders of the Higher-ups for years now.

"Never stopped you before," Rio counters, shoving him back; Chase stumbles backward, genuinely shocked at the amount of strength Rio has.

'Is it normal for adolescents his age to have that?' He wonders fleetingly. Once his wits return, he attempts to further convince Rio.

"They're changing you!"

No response. Rio walks faster.

"Practically murdering you! Aren't you concerned about that? Mario, it's like you don't even have a heart anymore!"

Those words hit home. Rio pauses, slowly, but discreetly, clenching his fists.

Chase switches to a gentler approach, which any soldier would mistake as vulnerability. "Come back, and I'm sure we could sort this out... Just... Leave th--"

Snap!

Then he crashes onto the pavement. Suddenly, Chase's vision blurs. He groans out in pain, barely identifying the outlines of his attacker as he felt a kick to his gut. The kicks continue to fly, damaging his sides, mostly his stomach, until Chase coughs blood, the abuse stops momentarily.

All sorts of sound are muffled, but at least he catches one message: "... I said leave me alone."

Ending at that note, Chase is lifted, strong fingers lifting his head. Rio sends a powerful jab at his face before continuously slamming his head against the wall mercilessly. He doesn't stop until more than half of his teeth fell out.

Bones break, numbness overcoming Chase- you would think that it halts there, since his body limps.

If that isn't enough to vent out his anger, Rio lifts his gun once again, pressing the cold muzzle on Chase's forehead. A grimace is etched onto his pale features, smeared with blood.  Wrapped in a veil of silvery moonlight, Chase could only conclude one fact during this event:

Rio Stoner is not inhuman - he is a monster.

Bang! Bang! Bang!