To Kill Or Not

Revenge – the action of hurting or harming someone in return for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands

Revenge at its finest is meant to be pure. It’s meant to be something beautiful and peaceful. Revenge is the act of you undoing something that has been done. It’s the act of you finding closure and finally coming to peace with terms. Revenge was never meant to be this boastful thing of getting an upper hand on someone. It was merely you finding peace with the situation. Truth be told how can I just let a murderer go unpunished? when everything in my existence arches because of him. I need to find peace; I need to get closure.

I was five when it all happened. The death of my family, my parents, siblings. The Dukes left me so I could tell their story. They left me so that someone could have bear witnessed to the horror they caused. They left me so that through me my family’s name and the horror tied to it would remain forever. I was a kid, traumatised, I saw blood drench out of five different bodies at the same time. I saw my mother die slowly, saw each breath pass, I saw her become a ghost. They thought I was the weakest. They thought I would let it go and be scared of them. I guess my existence was pre written as the slayer of the Dukes. Everyone is scared of them. They only thing I feared was loss. I already experienced it. I have nothing left in me to fear.

The Dukes are a secret organisation formed to create and inflame terrorism. It was an organisation formed by the darkest minds to do the darkest things. My parents made an organisation to tackle the Dukes. They were able to stop a lot of terrorism. However, once my parents were found out, the Dukes sought to slay them and make them an example for anyone who would dare think to oppose them. They have three heads at the table and have thousands of followers. Its weird how people are easily convinced to do evil. I guess I now understand why they say we are all born sinners. Evil is the closest thing to us hence the easiest to fall to.

The Dukes have people everywhere and anywhere. This means I don’t know who to trust. The world is in chaos now. Everything is different, everyone is scared. “What will be of tomorrow?” We all ask ourselves. We might wake up with a new leader, new government or even to death. The Dukes care little of life and are willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to get where they want to go. Killing them will be hard but when as something well while ever been easy?

I sharpen my knife and look at my reflection. I look at every scar caused by them. Both inward and out. They left me alive but they left a hole in and on me so that every time I look at myself or anyone looks at me they see the horror of the Dukes. I used to shy away because of it, now I own it and I promised myself this scar will be the last thing the Dukes ever see. I take my knife and gun. The gun is more for the pawns, the Dukes however, I want to take my time and pry each breath, each drop of blood and make my own scars on them. There are going to know who I am and when the Grim Ripper asks what happened the Dukes will call me death.

The hardest part of this is knowing who to trust. The world has changed and I need allies. No one can take down an entire army on their own, not even vengeance. I needed a team and with no family that was going to be the hardest thing ever. I had no friends, no relatives to count on, I was a ghost living a human experience. I was alone. I looked at my knife and saw it glare back at me. Was I going to let fear seduce me into forgiveness, seduce me into letting this all go? What would my parents think of me? It’s not that I was afraid of going after them. I feared not being able to put down the bane of my existence. “This will be the day I die” kept playing in my head. I was about to have the most glorious and dignified death. I was going to eliminate the Dukes and unlike them I wouldn't leave any child, any wife or any servant to take up their revenge. I was going to learn from their mistakes and clean the entire blood line.

My parents left documents on the origins and location of the Dukes. That’s all I had to find them. The worst part was I didn’t know whether they would still be located there. I wish my parents were still here. They would probably know what to do. I took a leap of faith, I just had to. I went to the dorks located outside of town. I wore my black skin suit and a mask. I didn’t want them to know who was coming just yet. It had to be a surprise, that the little girl they left scarred was back, and she was out for blood.

I slowly walked past the gate and my senses were on high alert. I didn’t know what to expect and needed to be ready for literally anything. I took my gun out and slowly paced to the door in front of me. I listened in to see if there was anyone on the other side. I breathed in, took off my mask and then boom! I busted the door open. As I got in my entire being was shock. There were men and women surrounded at a table. They all turned and looked at me. Their faces were covered up. I didn’t know what to do. There were bodies on the floor. They were corpses. And yet they were so comfortable as though it were any other day. I felt a presence behind me and I turned and shot it. It fell to the ground and as the figure was dying it whispered a name. Part of me hoped it was mine, maybe then I would have truly avenged my parents. I quickly turned back to make sure no one else was trying to kill me. The figures just sat there, they sat studying me. It was as though I was a ghost they just couldn’t figure out. I guess they were stalling because back up arrived immediately. I was out numbered and out gunned. I didn’t want to give in. I was willing to die and maybe finally be with my parents. They all didn’t make a move towards me, all twenty-five guards just stood there looking at me.

The largest figure stood up and made its way towards me. I pointed my gun at it. This wasn’t about them feeling pain anymore. Now I just wanted them gone. As it came closer I tried pulling the trigger and the figure uttered my name. “Gracie!” 

“How do you know my name?”

“I know the name of every individual I let live. It would be cruel not to, don’t you think”

“Isn't the cruelty in killing?" 

"I doubt. Especially if you are dying for the right cause. I would honestly see it as admirable. Look at all those bodies on the ground, each body died for something it believed in. I wouldn't call it cruelty more like desirable, because their lives won't be in vain."

"You talk of vain and yet they have loved ones who won't see them again. Desirable yet none of them truly knew what they were getting into" 

"This is about your parents Grace. I know. It was hard on me too. I mourned for them." 

"Why would a monster like you mourn?"

"The same reason you would...Grace. Because they died. Maybe your won't fully understand but I do have a heart." 

I don't know what happened the bullet just left my pistol. The figure went on one knee, it went on both knees and finally fell to the ground. I took my knife out as the guards surrounded ready to fire. I looked him dead in the eye and ran my blade across his face. 

"Now you are going to feel the same pain I did."

I could smell the blood I was about to make ooze out of him. I was about to insert the knife in him when he told me to remove his mask and everything would make sense. It was a dying man's wish I had to honour it. The real decision was whether to honour if while he was still breathing or not.

I took off the mask and the horror waiting underneath was worse than that I thought happened all those years back. The murderer, the Dukes, they weren't just the bane of my existence. They were part of it. There's nothing worse than truly knowing that even in family you can't trust any one. As I held my uncle in my arms with a knife about to pierce his chest. I saw flashes of my mother, of father and of my siblings. Was I about to turn into a monster as well. What I was about to do next would define me for the rest of my life. 

I looked at my uncle with rage and fury. I couldn't let this go. He killed my parents. He needed to pay! And he did. More peaceful than I wanted him to. I just left him. I didn't want to be like him. Me finishing off the job after knowing who he was, I couldn't do it. I stared down at everyone else as I was leaving and they knew revenge and been done.

Did I forgive them? No! I just didn't want anymore family members dying in one day. I want each one to suffer their own fate. Now since I know who they are, it's much easier. One by one I'll make the pieces drop and since their king is already, I have already won the game. The Duke won't have any bloodline left. That is my promise.