The Golden Age of Grotesque

The curtain subtly moved. It was a minor deviation, one that was barely noticeable, but it was just enough for Helen Walker.

Once satisfied she and her ward were safe from harm, she let the curtain fall back and released her taut grip on the magnum in her hand.

The Eye had taught her to be vigilant, ruthless and patient. But lately the city felt alive with unrest, and right now that unrest had bled into Helen as she paced back and forth across the room.

The child stared at her in silence.

Helen smiled at the girl before the realization fully dawned on her, and in that moment, she wholeheartedly missed the old days. Her heart broke for the girl. She would never know anything different than the polluted and violent city she called home.

Helen sat beside her and began to reopen old wounds.

She reminisced on how the world once was... The city was once free. The parks were always full of children screaming with glee. Criminals lurked in the shadows. Rape was acknowledged and punished. The police motto was Protect and Serve.

All the while the child sat mesmerized by the tale.

Helen sighed before continuing with her tale.

"Then everything changed when they arrived..."

The child stopped smiling and shuddered.

"It didn't happen overnight, but slowly, the squabbling stopped. Every criminal in the city was united by fear. The city was silent..."

"The night the silence broke, every cop in the city was slaughtered. Some whilst they were on duty, others whilst they slept..."

The girl clutched the quilt and pulled it to cover her in a protective manner.

Helen should have stopped but she couldn't. She was living in the past right now.

"The city was in mourning. But no one really expected what happened next..."

The girl was silent, fully attentive.

"Murder wasn't enough for them. Instead they became the police. They started to police the public with an iron fist and the riots began, many died."

The girl finally spoke.

"Why didn't I learn this in school?"

Helen laughed but her eyes remained cold.

"People remember but are too afraid to talk about it. Those that do, vanish..."

The girl stared at her in awe before a tear ran down her eye.

"Are you going to vanish?"

Helen looked down at her revolver and walked back over to peek behind the curtain once more. She sighed and tightened her grip before speaking.

"Yes..."

The girl began to shed more tears, and wiped them away with the quilt.

Helen let go of the curtain and walked to the closet. She turned the knob, stepped inside, moved some boxes and opened a trap door.

"Story time is over... I want you to be silent and wait for them to leave. Can you do that?"

The girl nodded and climbed out of bed.

Helen gently lowered her inside the tight space. She looked down at the girl and smiled.

"Promise me you will remember what I told you..."

The girls lip began to tremble but she nodded nevertheless.

Helen kissed her on the forehead and closed the trap door.

In a few moments of haste everything was back in place. The closet door was ajar. The girl was quiet.

Helen sat at the chair and waited for them to come.

The door caved inwards as it was breached.

7 SWAT entered the room, all with full body armour and automatic weapons, they didn't speak nor move.

Helen glared at them and smiled as they moved aside to let her enter.

"Where's the child?" She asked.

Helen looked down at her revolver and smiled.

Lady Luck laughed.

"Leave the room and don't enter until I say..."

The SWAT stared at her in silence before finally exiting the room.

Helen didn't hesitate as soon as the door was shut she leapt from the chair and fired.

Luck dipped to the side, a nanosecond later the bullet smashed into the wall.

"5 rounds left..." Helen cursed and spun on her feet, the gun fired from her waist and went wild once more.

Luck smirked at her and began to advance.

Helen screamed in anger and fired the remaining rounds.

Luck sidestepped the first, grabbed Helens hand and twisted, causing the second to fire into the floor and seamlessly flipped Helen over onto her back.

The third fired into the ceiling, the fourth missed Lucks shoulder by an inch and the fifth fired into Helens stomach as her hand was twisted at the last second.

Luck stood over her and grinned, her heel punctured the existing bullet wound.

"Where is she!!!?"

Helen laughed and spat blood at Luck.

The humour drained from her face and she snarled vindictively at Helen.

"Very well have it your way..."

She whistled and the SWAT re-entered the room.

Luck pointed at them but her eyes remained on Helen.

"She's all yours, have fun with her and when you're done throw her into the nearest alleyway."

Helen stared at the 7 men and her eyes dilated in fear, yet her tone was still as ruthless as ever.

"Do your worst..." She coughed more blood onto Lucks pants and laughed manically.

Luck lifted her heel from her and walked out of the room. The SWAT had already begun to remove their clothing.

Luck leant against the wall and listened with a smirk as Helen began to scream and fight.

When the men had half-finished, Luck walked away, sated with the voyeurism.

The Beautiful Lie

Alec stood in the darkness; he watched the spotlights as they routinely searched the fence for intruders. However, it was a safe assumption that no one wanted to break into Limbo. Well until now that is...

He glared at the city of ruin that lay ahead of him and remembered how he had pledged to never again stand in its tainted soil. But everything had changed when he read the letter that he still absentmindedly clutched in his fist.

His sister who he had not spoken to since he fled Limbo had written to him and her words reopened old wounds.

He still remembered the anger in her eyes as he informed her of his departure. He remembered how he begged her to leave with him, and remembered the look of disgust and contempt she held for him.

"Flee you coward before I kill you myself..."

Those words still haunted him every day these past ten years. They also hardened him, moulded him into the weapon he was...

Alec crept closer to the city fence and counted to three.

Like clockwork, the spotlights diverted their attention and Alec began to cleave his path through the fence with his wire cutters.

The spotlight was already circling back as he dipped through and ducked down to hide in the unkempt grass.

The light continued on its regular path and Alec leapt from his feet and charged into the darkness.

This was both his home and his grave...

There was no coming back from this. His sister's letter made that quite clear.

"If you're reading this then I failed... They have her and I'm dead... All is lost... I should have fled with you... but I was too stubborn. I was too deluded in my desire to be a hero..."

Alec walked amongst the rubble of what was once the financial district of the city. The bones of the buildings still clung with defiance, ignorant to the fact that they had been detonated. He walked amongst the dust and crumbled remains of half the city, and as he walked, he started to understand why Helen chose to stay and fight.

He still hated her for it but now he had some insight into why she stayed... The city itself was resilient and so too were the citizens.

Movement caught his attention and Alec tensed every muscle in his body.

"You shouldn't be here... They say demons roam these streets."

An old man laughed from the floor above. Alec saw the crimson glow of a sheltered fire and knew this was one of the inhabitants of Limbo. He sighed and took another step away from the man and heard a low pitch pop of a suppressed muzzle.

The gravel inches in front of him indented with a rifle round and Alec turned slowly with both hands held high.

"Come... Let's exchange pleasantries before you rush to meet your death."

The elderly man lowered the rifle and remained stone faced. This wasn't a request.

Alec nodded and began to the makeshift ladder that led to the floor above. The elderly man smiled and waited for him.

Alec popped his head reluctantly through the collapsed portion of ceiling and was greeted by the smiling old coot and his military rifle.

The elderly man tensed his trigger finger, applying the subtlest amount of pressure. Alec understood the threat and nodded. The elder smiled, gently lowered his rifle and turned his back on him. Alec knew by the taut muscles that the elder was prepared. He took tentative steps around him and warmed himself by the fire.

The two sat in silence before the elder smiled and spoke.

"What's the news from the rest of the world?"

Alec cracked his knuckles in front of the fireplace and sighed.

"War and Peace... The usual."

The elder laughed so hard he started to cough violently.

"We were fools to think our fair city would halt the turning of the cogs."

Alec nodded. He remembered watching the news the day half the city had exploded. He remembered the solemn faces of those around him and the general anger from the rest of the world.

He remembered the beautiful lie. The day the President made his announcement that Limbo would be reclaimed. He remembered as the man promised the wider world that those responsible would be punished. Twenty years later the city was still under the rule of Wormwood and Lady Luck.

He remembered how angry that made him. The world had abandoned them all, and slowly but surely, the world had begun to forget.

Alec spoke.

"I'm looking for The Eye..."

The elders smile faltered and instead he stared coldly at Alec.

"People don't look for him, he finds them..."

Alec nodded and held the man's gaze.

"I'm aware of that. But I have business with him."

The elderly man chuckled to himself, leant close to Alec and spoke slowly in a whisper.

"As I said, The Eye finds you. I was told to wait here for you..."

Alec pulled back from the elder and stared at him with distrust.

"Helen Walker..." Said the elder with a snide grin.

Alec clenched his fist taut and glared at the man.

"Go to the warehouse district and find a building with this symbol carved into the foundations, he awaits you there."

The elder pointed above the fire at a segment of the concrete which contained a carved open eye.

Alec stood and brushed the dust from his pants. As he lowered himself back down to the lower floor the elder spoke one last time.

"God have mercy on them all..."

Alec breathed deeply and dropped to the lower floor.

He resumed walking. He remembered Helens face and every memory of his dead sister came flooding back to him in violent, painful waves.

The heavens opened in a torrent of rain as Alec walked head down, one step closer to both vengeance and his own death.