Kane (Short Story)

Till The Sunrises

Sitting by a campfire, a band of young men dressed in combat attire bundled up near the flames before them, in hopes of being heated up by the warmth of its embers. These men varied in height, age, weight, and weaponry and the group was predominantly composed of a small sum of 6 or more men. The group seemed to be a band of mercenaries upon first glance, but in reality, they were a gang of bandits who were highly skilled in the art of war. Currently, the men had just gotten finished with a job and had decided to come to a halt after days worth of traveling upon foot. In their line of work, however, it was safe to say that their job was far from what was typically considered, to be honest work. Although the wondering bandits had originally become notorious for petty thievery and murder, their unsatisfied hunger for riches had caused them to go even further down the rabbit hole by taking a step further within the criminal underworld.

They took this step by deciding to part take, in human trafficking.

Besides their equipment, lying next to them was a young 11-13-year-old boy who was hog-tied to a log as if he were nothing more than mere cattle or livestock. Cuts and bruises covered his bare body which shook and quivered in response to the cold air of the night sky. His heartbeat rapidly as he struggled against his restraints, and muffled groans came from his mouth which was covered up with a white rag, firmly tied against his lips as if though he wearing a muzzle. Tears poured down his eyes which made it feel as if though the sharp edge of a cold blade was brushing down against his cheek, and his hands and feet grew numb for the ropes which bounded him had caused the blood circulation within them to grow insufficient.

Covered in blotches of dirt and wearing trousers which were soaked in his piss, he was forced to sleep on the rock hard floor which lied beneath him.

"A young boy huh...wouldn't it have been better had he captured a young girl?" One of the bandits, a tall man muscular man dressed in heavy armor questioned curiously.

"Nay. Surprisingly, young boys around his age sometimes sell for twice the profit as slaves depending on the costumer's taste." An older man, appearing to be of a shorter and chunkier built remarked.

"Is that the truth? Or simply a jest?"

"It is indeed the truth my friend."

The tall man snickers "Hearing this makes me believe that we are not the true scoundrels in this world, but instead, somewhere in middle."

"Indeed. However, do not kid yourself. Although we may have no interest in our victims personally, we still sell them out against their will for a reasonable profit.""I agree. but in this line of work, such things as morals do not apply to us.""And that my friend, is how we have been able to survive." The older man proclaimed.The muffled groans and squirming of the boy in the background had proceeded to commence until suddenly a rough-looking man holding an ax kicked him in the side of the head to shut him up. This caused droplets of blood to drip down the side of the young boy's face, and for and unbearable boiling hot sensation to emit out from the side of his skull.  "Damn, this little heathen doesn't know how to accept his fate." The rough man scowled."I consider his struggle to be entertainment." The older man who spoke earlier to the other man had now retorted. "Just like a bug trying to escape from a spiders web, he desperately shakes to break free only for the venom from the spiders' fangs to pang into him as the light fades from his eyes.""What are you a poet?" The rough man jested with a smug gesture."Of sorts I suppose. Of sorts..."The rough man simply snickered in response "Just don't let a metaphor control your sense of judgment, old man.""The day I take advice from you young man is the day I turn myself in and throw myself onto the mercy of the court." He remarked."And I'll personally be the one who arrives to watch you hang." The young man replied. Suddenly interrupting their conversation, a vagrant man dressed in rags had approached them from the shadow of the woods with a cup in his hand. The vagrant appeared to be in his late 20's and appeared to be wasted based upon the way he aimlessly stumbled onto the grounds before then collapsing onto the ground before them. This had caused the rough man to unsheathe his ax for the band had been alarmed by his sudden arrival."You there, I suggest you walk before matters grow worse for your well-being, traveler." He threatened The vagrant man seemingly muttered nonsense in response as he rolled over and laid flat on his back. His eyes seemed empty and bleak, and scruffy beard and long hair blew gently in the wind as he seemingly gazed up at the moon with a melancholy gaze. One which contained an indescribable undertone that could not be identified by those who surrounded him. "A drunk in the forest I presume?" The leader of the bandits, an average-sized man who wielded a broadsword questioned with authority. "So it would seem." The older man from earlier replied. "A lost soul such as this one possess no threat to us.""Even so he's a nuisance..." The muscular man chimed in. "If he is allowed to idly roam here he may cause us tribulations in the near future."The leader sighed. "It matters not, for this man is at his wit's end." He stood up "What matters is selling the boy. If the vagrant gets in the way we can simply take care of him then."The young boy who had managed to use his spit to slide his, upon further inspection, poorly tied muzzle off took this opportunity to scream out for aid."Mommy! Daddy! Someone HELP ME!!!" He shrieked as he struggled against his bonds."Give it up." The bandit leader stated calmly while ignoring his sobs and cries for help. "Even if one were to hear your cries it is unlikely that they would be willing to help.""PLEASE HELP!!!" the boy cried out sobbing and quivering as he struggled to fight for his freedom but to no avail, he had come up short. "As I said before young one...It is over for you. This world is a man eat man world and until you accept that you are helpless you will only continue to suffer." The man sighed "And I feel no remorse for those who are weak."The boy felt his entire body and his throat go numb as pain and sorrow had begun to consume him now. Sobs and cries had continued to come from his mouth for the next 5-10 minutes but after an endless day of struggling, he finally let his mind collapse as he had slowly begun to accept this new reality."It is unfortunate really." The older man murmured "Had you not been the sort to wander out, then perhaps you'd be at home right now. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time unfortunately for you had determined your destiny."The boy turned to face them now as his cries and pleas had slowly turned into an expression of anger, malice, and hatred. His shined with a burning intent to kill those before him who had put him through this struggle which to him, could only be described as, hell on earth. "Anger is what you now feel I see. well unfortunately for you, a dog who bites its master's hand must be punished." Suddenly, within that instant, the older man then placed his foot on the young boy's head who grimaced and cried out in pain since the man had begun to dig the heel of his foot onto the wound on the side of his head. "I recommend you stay lifeless because in the end. You shall be nothing more than a mere puppet." Before the older man could take the torture any further he came to a stop when he felt the hand of a man firmly grasp onto his ankle from behind. That's when he turned around behind him, too see the vagrant man firmly holding the man's leg into place as if though he were holding the hilt of the sword."I suggest letting go, you insufferably fiend." The older man cursed upon the drunk vagrant who simply muttered something under his breath that was unintelligible to those who surrounded him. "If you won't let go willing then I suppose that I will have to remove you as a nuisance immediately. I pray that you discover peace in your next life." Growing annoyed the man then unsheathed his blade as he turned his attention onto the vagrant below him. He then lifted his blade and remained deathly silent as he then swung downward, in an attempt to bring an end to his life.Within a few moments, the older man now screamed in pain as he was now bleeding out the floor. A pool of blood now poured out from his missing arm as the vagrant man stood there with a pile of bandit corpses surrounding his body. His eyes were dark and filled with a lust for blood as he stared down at the bodies before him and slowly came back to his senses.The older man screaming slowly crawled towards the hog-tied boy as he then let furious scowls in intense pain. "S-stay back!" He stammered. "Don't you dare come any closer!" the man cried out. Tears of pain now forming in his eyes as he desperately wailed around his blade in between them. The vagrant man simply remained silent as he looked down at his cup which was now poured out upon the ground."You ruined my drink..." He murmured."H-huh?" the man stammered with a slight sense of panic while holding in the pain."How much more do you plan to take...before you're satisfied. HOW. MUCH. MORE." "I-I don't understand we've never met!" The older man cried out. "What could I have taken."Growing sober the vagrant man puked as he struggled to recover. He then looked down as his vision cleared only to see that he had mindlessly whipped out another band of criminals unrelated to his past out of drunken rage. He let out a sigh at this realization and his eyes grew cold as he looked down at blade which he now held in the palm of his hand, before then stepping into the light of the campfire to reveal his face to the man once more."No- It can't be-" The man stammered, the adrenaline and blood lost now causing his entire body to go numb overtime. "You are the criminal who hunts down other criminals, the man who seeks atonement for the crimes he has committed once before. You are Kane." He scoffed. "To see you in such a state. You truly are a hypocrite for trying to be a hero! You were once an outlaw just like the rest of us and now you blindly wipe us out on a drunken whim to put a bandage on the wounds that you opened your very self. How are you of all people any different than the rest of us?!" He cried out.The vagrant man simply remained silent before then beginning to speak once more. "Nothing matters anymore...nothing ever matters."Without hesitation, the man then decapitated the other man in the blink of an eye and watched his head roll off before then turning his attention onto the boy tied to a log. Without saying a word he simply swung his blade, cutting through the boy's bounds then he watched the boy roll off to the side while shivering in fear.He let out a sigh and the walked away as he picked up his cup and took another sip of his once more, as the sun rose.

Upon the Horizon.

[The End...]