September in Salus

September 19th, Pt. 3

Caelum couldn't breathe. He felt like he was going to throw up or pass out or both. He couldn't take his eyes off the figure in the cloak. Slowly, the man pulled his hood back and there was a pang in Caelum's heart so painful he thought he might cry. Still, some invisible force pulled him forward until he broke through into the gap in the crowd.

"Do you think I couldn't sense you, Caelum?" Mr. Gray aimed his gun at Caelum's chest. "Are you going to try to stop me?"

"I'm the only one who can," Caelum said, stepping forward. He tried to steady his hand, pointing his gun at his father. Mr. Gray's gun glowed red, Caelum's yellow.

"Adorable, Caelum. I know you're powerful, but I don't think you've quite reached the "student has become the master" point. You're still so young- you don't even know what you want. I do, though- I want you to work with us. He gestured to the other black-cloaked figures who were lying on the ground, knocked unconscious by the charys guns of the Council. He and Eli's captor were the only ones still standing, but they didn't seem to be bothered by this.

Mr. Gray continued speaking. "All of you are defenseless. There's no one who can stop me. There's no point any longer in us working for the public good. My wife died on a quest and the only recognition she got was from the Salusians. The public are ignorant and ungrateful. They don't know what we do for them, but they'll pay the price for our services. We'll be revered for keeping them safe. We won't have to live here in hiding any longer. Salus will die."

Caelum pulled his charys gun from his belt and aimed it at his father. He clicked it to yellow. "I'll never join you. Salus is my home. You- you abandoned me, but I'm not going to make the same mistake. "I'm not going to abandon Salus.

Mr. Gray narrowed his eyes. "Then don't worry. This won't hurt."

For a moment, it seemed like no one in the room even breathed. Caelum and his father had their guns aimed at each other. The crowd didn't move an inch.

Caelum's gun felt cold in his hand. His father was looking at him in a way Caelum had never believed he could. Gone was the loving leader of a man he remembered. The person in front of him was hard and merciless. The look in his eyes was harsh and psychotic. Caelum saw him tense. Caelum's finger twitched to the trigger of his gun. Then both triggers were pulled, almost at the same time.

And everything went dark.