Choke Chain

"So what's the catch?"

Those had been the words I'd asked Merrick when he'd dangled the key to immortality in front of my face. Not just immortality but power. I hadn't known such a simple thing could have such damning consequences. Though I supposed back then, I was naive and hungry. Willing to listen to anything if the price fits me. Was the price worth it?

It was so dull. It was like the whole world was wrung of life the second the cold metal that now hung heavily around my neck, was first locked in place. Ever since that day, I’d become a Darling, serving the lord of the area with my blades, hunting down and slaughtering, threatening, or in other ways terrorizing his enemies. “Enemies” being a strong word for what that bastard felt for them, probably. I'd seen many people maimed for coughing too loudly at night in a bar on the opposite side of the building as he had been. Sadism was all it was. That’s what it always was in this wasteland.

That wasn’t the concern at the moment though. Right now, I needed to figure out how to get into the heavily guarded building in front of me. This was the last mission before I got a break and the next Darling in line was put in my position. At least that's what he promised. His promises were like the devil’s promises, always with fine print to it. 

Through the overgrown expanse of open field, sat a lone structure. The part of the roof that jutted out to form a patio was all but torn away, leaving behind the tall cement columns that used to support it. On the part of the roof that was still there, was a collection of bowling pins. Many of them, their paint has worn away, leaving behind nothing but a vague shape. One can only assume there used to be a ball there as well, judging by the round indention. 

By my count, there were six...yeah six big-ass lizards guarding the entrances. They stood roughly 7 feet tall with varying brown and green scaly skin. You could almost say they looked human in the face with the exception of the gold eyes and double eyelids that covered them. As luck would have it, two in the back of the building kept leaning into one another and looking back at the other. A clear sign of gossip. Eventually, it led to a brawl. A bloody one at that. One reptile sunk his claws into the other’s throat, finding purchase and pulling. A small twinge in my chest let me know that I wasn’t entirely numb to the carnage which I was thankful for. 

I kiss the locket and tuck it back under my shirt before beginning my descent down the hill. My crude but viciously sharp blades clank against my thigh holsters rhythmically, reminding me of a page I once read. Many different warriors would bang their shields to intimidate their enemies during wars. This wasn't going to be a war, this was going to be a massacre.

The first lizard I came across was almost dead anyway when I quickly jabbed my knife into his throat, yanking it through so he couldn’t scream. He had been caught up in the fight from earlier so really this was a mercy killing, I reasoned.

The next was standing, smoking a cigarette just around the corner from the first. A metal dumpster had been lit on fire to keep at bay the biting chill the destroyed planet had gained over the last five decades. Seeing as I was a foot shorter, especially in the flexible wrap shoes I wore, it was going to be a challenge taking down a full-grown and super jacked lizard. 

I peeled my back off of the grimy wall and turned to face him, blades behind my back. A gold-brown eye rapidly rotated in his socket, squaring on me in reptilian shock, before his whole body followed suit. He had a slightly jutting jaw with rows upon rows of yellowing teeth. Hissing, he smiles, or what I can only equate to a smile.

He's dumb and thinks he can brute strength his way through this like he does most others. I easily curve my way around his swiping claws, twisting myself so I can plunge the daggers up and under his shoulder blades, one of the only ways to get underneath their scaly backs and wrench the hilt down as if I were trying to pop the bone out. I hold fast as he thrashes. He's not going anywhere with my weapons in his back. I knock his knees out from under him and he goes down, barely catching himself on his knees. 

"You can die or you can leave." 

It's not much of a choice, all dystopian things considered, but it's a choice nonetheless. "Fuck you," is his eloquent response. Shrugging a little, I yank the blades down and out, taking everything with them. Even though I've been this strong for nearly a hundred years, it still comes as a shock sometimes just how much damage it can do. 

I leave him bloody and crying out as I make my way into the back entrance of the bowling alley. He's reptilian, that much blood loss mixed with this cold is almost worse than death but I dislike being cursed at. 

The hall is dark and dank. Clearly, no one has heard of bleach around here. There are piles of trash lining the walls and I have to step around several questionable-looking puddles. There's a loud ruckus going on at the end of the hall where a light slices through the slit between the salon-style doors. 

Kicking them open, I'm greeted by a group of seedy-looking characters playing a game of poker, or whatever they call it now. There's at least one girl or guy dressed in a caricature of burlesque beauties to each big boss. And at the head of the table, is the biggest boss, my boss to be exact. He has a separate Darling with him. Different variety. 

That one must have asked to be desired or something similar. There had been plenty of others that had sat by his side, or rather in his lap, much like this girl. A shiver goes up my spine thinking of the last one I was sent to collect. Hardly anything left in his eyes that resembled life. 

"What the fuck is this!" A woman with half of her face nearly melting and the other half carefully painted to resemble a Geisha points an accusatory finger at Merrick. A man with a tall, purple mohawk whips out a pistol, pointing it squarely at his face. 

"Darling, if you would please?" That's all I need to hear. As much revolution as I feel towards the nickname and the man using it, I enjoy being let off my chain a bit. To have full reign to use all the strength and stamina given to me by Merrick. It's intoxicating. 

By the time I'm done, I'm dripping in blood. The mask that had covered my face is wet, even. Everyone including the Beauties are gone. Better than what they were going to be, I think, eyeing the bones on a forgotten plate on a table. The other Darling is standing with her arms around her scantily clad form, hovering near the door opposite of the entrance. She won’t run. Not if she’s ever tried before.  

Merrick claps. "Well done." He stands, the legs of the chair scraping harshly on the old linoleum tile. He circles me, lifting a lock of bloodied hair from my shoulder and dropping it back down with a wet slap. Standing over six feet, his imposing figure made it easy enough to be uncomfortable, which I was sure he enjoyed. I keep my face neutral as possible, trying to seem uncaring and passive. I could feel the steady drip of blood falling from my hands that I kept hanging at my sides. I needed to be relieved from my position. I needed time to figure out how to remove this damned chain without killing him.

Merrick finishes his circle in front of me. His heavy hands clasp both of my shoulders. My eyes flick up even as I keep my head slightly bowed. His face is like a trainwreck. You can’t help but look. A wide smile, skin that didn’t quite fit right, empty white eyes. It was like he had put on his skin every morning and never did it right. I wonder what horrible monster would be underneath if I peeled it off. 

“You have served me very well, pet. I should see you have a reprieve, yes?” He snaps his fingers and white, hot pain slices through me. The locket felt as though it were melting through my chest. Snatching the mask off of my face, I choked and panted, falling to my knees. Catching my breath hurt. The inside of my mouth tasted like a bag full of pennies and my head swam. I desperately attempted to clutch the heart-shaped locket choke chain like it was a life preserver. I could feel the indention of the cursed thing under my sweat-soaked skin and cried out in horror.

“This wasn’t part of the deal!” 

“Oh, but wasn’t it? I said you’d be able to rest for a while and I’d have another Darling take your place. Meet your replacement.” He gestures a meaty hand towards my right side. There, naked and seemingly in just as much pain was Draven, my little brother. We stare at one another, eyes filled with so many emotions. I know that there’s hatred there an I want so badly to apologize. To beg him for how I ruined our lives. 

When I’d come to Merrick seeking immortality and the power to be something more than just a beggar in the streets or a farmer like my parents, I had been told that it only works in pairs. That I would have to have another person to live forever with me. Naturally, I had thought of Draven. He was my best friend, my confidant, my world. We’d take on the world together and become something incredible. I knew there had to be a catch but I didn’t think it would be this. 

He’d bound us together, forcing the one soul to live inside the locket and the other to siphon their power from the one trapped. It was an excruciating feeling, never being able to die but also having to continuously be a battery to the other. Or at least that’s what Merrick had told me. Looking at Draven, hollow and bruised, I knew in my heart it was true.

I reached for him. He came, his hand grasping mine so fiercely I thought it might break. “I’m sor-” Draven throws a hand over my mouth, silencing me, and shakes his head. Pressing his face against mine, he whispers to me. “I know what to do.” When I see his eyes again, there’s a fire in them. 

I’m not registering anything. I’m panicking. I can’t let this happen. But I’m powerless. The pulses of fiery pain are causing convulsions now. My sight blurs. The last thing I hear before disappearing is Merrick taunting me.

“Don’t worry, in the next hundred years, I’ll let them take a break as well. I’m nothing if not fair.”