FEAR.DEATH.BY.SWORD

CHAPTER 8

Nemo opened his eyes to find himself kneeling on the floor in the middle of the room. He didn't remember closing his eyes and he certainly didn't remember kneeling down. Sweat pooled below him as large drops ran off his face and down his arms. His shirt was thoroughly soaked. Beads of sweat dripped off the bottom of it. All the candles had been blown out except for one, giving off just enough light to barely see. In that light, Nemo saw that his arms and legs were still attached. In fact, none of the injuries he received in that room were there.

"Did I imagine the whole thing?" Nemo thought. "No the pain was all too real. I couldn't have imagined that."

He touched his face expecting to feel blood. Nothing was there. Even though he couldn't care less how he regained his limbs, part of him needed to know.

"What happened?" Nemo asked Janus.

"You passed, that's what happened. But I guess you're referring to why you're sitting here in one piece instead of bleeding out on the floor."

"Yea, what you said" was all Nemo could manage to respond with while the memory of everything that had just happened was still fresh in his mind.

"It was all so real. It felt so real that I'm wondering if I'm dreaming now, or maybe I'm dead."

"You're not dead." replied Janus "Like I already told you, you passed. You couldn't pass if you were dead."

Janus could see that Nemo still didn't really understand what he was telling him.

"Hmm, let me start from the beginning and explain. The fragrance from the candles in this room causes hallucinations. You were told to wait in here for a while before I came in, giving you plenty of time to be exposed to the effects of the candles. Also, this room has no windows and hardly any ventilation, ensuring you would be good and stoned by the time I came in. These hallucinations can be powerful and extremely vivid. All it takes is a little suggestive wording, like saying I'll cut off your arm, and your mind does the rest.

"What about the pain I felt, how could I hallucinate something I've never felt before?" Nemo asked.

"Oh the pain was real. You'd be surprised what the mind can be tricked into experiencing. Let your brain think your arm was cut off and it will send the appropriate response as if it was."

Nemo rubbed his elbow and felt down his arm. Not even a scratch from earlier remained. He still couldn't believe it all happened in his head.

"Well, how come you didn't start hallucinating? Shouldn't the candles have affected you in the same way?"

Janus held up three fingers. "Three reasons. One, you weren't talking to me to guide my mind into a hallucination. Two, I know that the candles are supposed to cause hallucinations, so I can focus my mind to counteract that. And three, I'm a goddamn member of Fratello della Spada. No simple trick like that should work on me. You'd do well to remember that too, now that you're one of us."

That last part caught Nemo's attention. "You mean, I'm a member now?"

"How many times do I have to tell you kid, you passed. Stage three is a test of your fighting spirit, and you have plenty of it. You refused give up no matter what I said. That means you pass. Keep that determination, you're going to need it in the future as a member of this organization."

Nemo's eyes went wide with understanding. "So this means I can go home!"

"Sure, if that's what you want. You can come and go as you please, but you'll probably want to stay for the ceremony first."

"Ceremony, what ceremony?"

Janus was quickly becoming tired of answering Nemo's everlasting questions. "Come on just follow me, unless you want to stay here and redo the stage all over again."