Journal of a Tortured

SOUL

Written By: Kain

Episode 4:  A Meeting of Titans

The year is New Beginning 35. The Resistance has made a pact with Kain in order to have him fight on their side. Not trusting Kain much, Guerin sent his best agent to keep an eye on Kain. This agent was found mysteriously dead on the bottom of a cliff. Guerin has no choice but to send another agent to watch Kain. The agent he sends is ex-Electronic Boutique employee and former mental hospital patient, Transmetal. Damien is frantically trying to stop Kain before he kills again. Kylie wants to help Damien but doesn’t know how. Cheesy Boy is skipping around making sausage and baloney. Biosoldier is stuck in a well. Things are getting awfully strange. Let’s get this show on the road!

Kain sits in his tent reading a book he got off of Guerin when he last met him. “Thoughts of a Paranoid Mind” by Andrew Wirgir. An interesting book, Kain thinks. Useless, but interesting. Kain proceeds to throw the book into the campfire just outside his tent. Stepping out into the night Kain notices a strange boy sitting in a Resistance uniform with reddish-blonde hair. He studies him for a moment. “Who are you, soldier?”

“Hmm? Me? I’m Transmetal.”

“...Transmetal? That’s a name?”

“Not my original name, but yes.”

“What’s your original name?”

“Can’t remember. What’s yours?”

“I’m Kain. I’ve always been Kain. I’ll assume Guerin sent you, since his other agent had a small accident with a cliff.” Transmetal nods and returns to eating his beans and franks. Kain walks over, grabs the other can of beans and franks, and takes it to his tent to eat them. Transmetal shrugs it off and resumes eating. A moment later, a can hits Transmetal in his head. The can is the same one that Kain just took from him.

“What did you do that for?”

“I don’t like bean and franks.” Transmetal is about to say something but decides it would be wasted energy. Kain sits down next to the fire and begins to drink a soda. Transmetal looks at him for a moment.

“What kind of soda is that?”

“Cherry Coke.”

“Can I...”

“No.” Kain drinks the rest of it quickly, and then takes out another one. Transmetal stares blankly at Kain for minutes. Kain stands and walks out of the campsite. He is gone for three hours. When he returns, Transmetal is fast asleep. Too easy to break, Kain thinks to himself, he is of no use to me. Kain goes into his tent and falls asleep. When he wakes up, he plans on moving closer to the Resistance base. For now, he needs his sleep.

Damien and Kylie are desperately searching for Kain and the Resistance. If they can convince Guerin, now, that Kain can’t be trusted, then many might be spared. Kylie must help Damien go up the steep hill. After the separation, Damien has had far too little energy for his own good. It seems as if Kain and the other one, the little boy, were taking up all of his life force. Kylie hopes that she can save Damien. She would give her own soul to save the life of her best friend. Damien can barely make it up the hill without Kylie having to drag him around. Cheesy Boy would have been helpful when helping Damien up. He chose to stay in Duschtenheim and make sausage for the bureaucrats that live there. He is missed but not forgotten entirely.

Sasha is going over her files when a tall, slender man with gray, thinning hair walks into her room. He looks outside twice before closing the door. Sasha watches him with a condescending look on her face. “Nice to see you again, Sasha.” Neither of them likes each other and they both know it. This is just basic flattery.

“What can I do for you, Senator?”

“I’d like to be reassured that your forces are doing everything they can to keep the Resistance from taking the shelters. I trust that you are worth the money I’m paying.”

“We are, sir. If you want reassurance, why don’t you go take your concerns to the Renegade soldiers?”

“Please, Sasha, you work for us now. The Renegades mustn’t be known as that anymore. We prefer to call you, Soldiers of Fortune.”

“Soldiers of Fortune?”

“Yes, after the mighty soldiers that Maximus and the Dominion lead.” Sasha’s face turns to anger.

“With all due respect, sir, that was a long time ago and I never planned on taking our men back to our roots.”

“I don’t really care about that. Either you do this, or you can mysteriously disappear.” Sasha gets the point. She nods and the senator leaves the room. She returns to her work.

Guerin stands at the top level of his bunker. He looks out upon the shelters so far away. “Sir, Kain and Transmetal have arrived.”

“Send them in.” Kain pushes past the guards and Transmetal races to follow him, apologizing to the guards. Kain stands in front of Guerin with a cocky smirk on his face.

“Are you ready, Kain?”

Kain laughs a little. “I am superior to you, the Resistance, and the Renegades. Of course I’m ready.” Guerin pretends not to notice Kain’s arrogance. He turns to Kain and Transmetal just in time to see Transmetal making faces at people through a tinted window. He stares at Transmetal until Transmetal notices. He stands at attention right away.

“You know, that window may be tinted, but people can still see in.”

“Really? I guess that explains why all those people looked really pissed.”

“Uh, yeah, anyway, Kain, here are your orders: Take Transmetal...” Kain groans and sits down. “Hey! I don’t care what you think of the orders; just follow them! Now, take Transmetal and get into the front line bunkers. We’re still engaged in casual fire against the Renegades. Actually, they call themselves ‘Soldiers of Fortune’ now.” Kain laughs. Guerin continues. “Now, once there, take a small group of soldiers into the shelter in sector C5. The top officials are there. Take them out, Kain. Then, open the doors to the shelters from the main control panel.”

“Is that all?” Guerin nods. Kain turns, grabs Transmetal by the collar, and leaves the room. Guerin turns back to the outlook, wondering if this is the right thing to do.

Kain and Transmetal have gathered the soldiers needed for the operation. Each soldier has equipped himself with weapons of his/her own choice. Once everything is together, they set out for the shelter through underground tunnels dug out in an ancient war between two non-existent powers. The ones that actually dug them were known as the Vietnamese. They were in war with another ancient people called the Turkish. Countries have been long dissolved. Even great countries of the ancient times, like Great Britain, the United States, Japan, and Germany, were dissolved when the armies of Maximus and Forin were formed. Kain uses them perfectly. He stealthily sneaks each of the soldiers into shelter.

Damien and Kylie are now among the Resistance soldiers. They ask a soldier where Guerin is. The soldier points them to a lookout shack that is at the top of a bunker in the middle of the base. “Sir, a Kylie and a Damien are here to see you.”

“Send them in, please.” Guerin’s curiosity is peaked. He wonders what his dear friend Kylie has for him today. Damien walks in first, followed by Kylie. Damien is getting stronger. It seems that the closer he gets to Kain, the stronger he gets. Kylie wonders if the same is true for Kain. “Long time no see, Kylie, what’s happening?”

Damien is the first to speak. “There is no time for small talk, Guerin.”

“Damien!”

“Quiet Kylie! Listen to me. If you allow Kain to take that bunker, he’ll use it to take your army as well. I know him. Well, I think I know him. He’s the kind of guy that would kill his own brother. I know what he’s planning. He wants to take that bunker into his control so that he has the upper hand. If he gets the Renegades to believe that the dead Resistance soldiers killed the officials, then he will have control of them. Trust me, he will use them infinitely better than the current leaders ever could.”

“What do you suggest we do about that...Damien, right?”

"Let me go and face him. I can stop him, if you give me a chance.”

“Kain’s working on our side, why should I let you try to stop him?”

“Because Kain will try and kill you and anyone in his way. I can stop him now, if you let me.” Guerin turns to the overlook.

“Go to it then.” Damien dashes out of the room. Kylie waits there for his return. Damien makes it quickly through the tunnels with the aid of some soldiers. He races along the trail of dead Soldiers of Fortune. He knows Kain is this way. He probably sent the soldiers in a different direction. Damien is sure of this...until he runs into their bodies, hanging so unmercifully from the rafters. Damien is at once sickened by the site and the obvious coldness of Kain. What disgusts Damien most is the fact that a part of him laughs and revels in the destruction of the unsuspecting Renegades. His revenge for his family, for Kylie’s family, and for the people of this planet, it had all come from him. Although he hates himself for it, he revels in Kain’s bloodlust, in his obvious hatred for all whom cross him. In this sense, Damien finds himself understanding the delicious irony of Kain’s blasphemous creation. Although Kain was meant to be a weapon in this mission, it was Kain who showed that he was the puppet master and all those in charge were mere puppets.

In the town of Duschtenheim, Biosoldier slowly climbs out of the well he was trapped in. When he is fully out, he trips over an object. Cursing, he picks the item up and prepares to chuck it. He realizes that it’s a laser light. He immediately points it in the eye of an unsuspecting driver. Blinded, the driver swerves, crashes into a building, and the car explodes. This causes a chain reaction in the gas lines, which causes the town to blow up. Biosoldier looks around the smoldering wreck of a town. He gets back in his car and starts the engine. A familiar looking boy with an Elvis wig jumps into the passenger seat. “Get the hell out of my car!”

“Can I get a ride to the Resistance base? I’ll make boloney and ketchup for you.”

“Make it catsup and we have a deal.” And thus, Biosoldier and Cheesy Boy make their way to the Resistance base, each with his own reason for going.

The battlefield is full of soldier firing AK-47s and standard issue assault rifles at each other. The battle is bloody and gruesome to watch. No soldier is safe from the weapons of the enemy. The shelters are the only safe place left. Made bullet proof to protect the rich even further, the officials saw this precise battle coming.

Damien sneaks into the doorway of a room in the shelter only to find Kain standing above the bodies of seven officials. Sasha stands in front of him. Damien recognizes her immediately. She wields a double-edged sword. The craftsmanship is spectacular. “Ha, nice sword. Where’d you get it?”

“It has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. It’s called the Dread Maker. It is a sword of awesome power.”

“As I can see. I think I’ll take it from your cold, dead hands.” Damien runs into the room and dropkicks Kain. Kain hits the wall with a resounding smack. “YOU!”

Sasha looks as if she would go into shock. Two of them. She decides to be on the side of the one that helped her. Sasha and Damien are face to face with the living nightmare, Kain. Kain picks a scythe off the ground. He twirls in the air. The cocky smirk is back on his face. Transmetal runs into the room. “What’s going on here?”

“I thought I told you to stand by that blue door?”

“I did...but when I opened it up, I realized that it was just the men’s room.” Kain laughs.

“Of course it was, fool. Why would I ever bother to leave you in charge of the important things?”

“You know, I’m not an idiot. I can do certain things.”

“Very well, go and make sure no one gets through the tunnels. I’ll take care of the last of these officials.”

“No. I know what you’re up to, Kain! I heard everything. You have to be stopped!” Kain’s smile fades. He holds up a shock rifle and shoots Transmetal in the chest. He is immediately thrown to the floor. He is still breathing, but won’t be able to move for at least a few days. Kain turns to Damien.

“I must say I’m disappointed in your progress. I imagined you’d be able to see that this sublime moment is where I turn my mere fate, into pure and unyielding destiny. I know more than any other about the future of this world, Damien. It is either you or I who will rule. How does that tiresome cliché go? To the victor go the spoils. Finally, my vengeance will be complete.” Damien starts for Kain, but is stopped cold by Sasha.

“No, I can’t let you fight now. This is my turn to fight. I at least owe it to you to try.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve done more harm to you than anyone should do to another person. If I die here it will be so that I can save the soul of a wonderful and heroic young man. Remember Damien, I may die, but you must live. You must rule over this land and bring peace and greatness back. I have had people watching your journey. I know you better than you know yourself. I know you can do it. Just do it for me, for Kylie, for Cheesy Boy, but most importantly, do it for the planet.”

Kain makes snoring sounds. “Are you done? I’m sick of hearing you mutter all those loving terms. Both of your lives end here. I will not end my life on the basis that I don’t deserve to live.”

“Kain, with what you’ve done, you don’t deserve life. I will stop you in the name of all that is holy and good!”

“Well you’re a righteous dope, aren’t you?”

“Apparently that’s one of my better traits.” Kain’s eyes become narrow. Damien can feel Kain’s bloodlust rise. He would kill anyone in his way now. Once more, Damien senses the strange sensation, the sense of vertigo, as he becomes intoxicated with Kain’s bloodlust. He becomes overwhelmed with revelations. He realizes Kain’s next move, but is too late to warn Sasha. She has already leaped towards Kain with her blade, the Dread Maker, ready to slash down upon her adversary. Kain could care less about her, for he wanted that sword. As she swings down, Kain put his hand up and grabbed the blade.

Biosoldier and Cheesy Boy arrive at the Resistance base. A soldier sees them and makes his way over to them. “It’s about time you got here. Hurry up and get changed, we have to move. Biosoldier and Cheesy Boy look at each other. The soldier pushes them into a changing booth. Moments later, they come out in military uniform. Neither one knows what’s happening but they allow themselves to be pushed further on. Sooner or later, they find themselves in a trench with the Resistance soldiers. They begin to fear the worst. Another soldier sees them and runs towards them. Biosoldier yells out, “Not again!” The soldier ignores the plea and throws a standard issue assault rifle to Biosoldier and Cheesy Boy. Biosoldier immediately smiles. Cheesy Boy starts crawling out of the trench.