Broken Kingdom Ch. 03

To think a plastic ring would land me in such deep shit. Even after using half a bottle of lotion it still wouldn't budge. Worse was the fact it was slowly heating his skin, judging by the pace it was going Thane's finger would be welded onto it in no time.

"Fuck man you slipped on so easy" he mumbled as he tried to pry the ring off. He could smell the flesh burning, faint signs of smoke soon followed. With his free hand, Thane took out his wallet and bit down as hard as he could. It was the first time he was happy about saving all those receipts. With so many people looking for him, he had to keep as quiet as possible.

Where are you when I need you asshole? Thane saw a puddle a few feet away from the dumpster he was currently hiding behind, it was a combination of various drinks and spoiled milk mixing together in just the right way to create the dirtiest salvation center known to man. Oh fuck me. Thane pinched his nose and bit down harder on the wallet before shoving the ring finger into the puddle. He was slightly relieved when he didn't hear any screaming noises, he wasn't burning to that extreme at least.

The ring however was gone after he pulled out the finger, more specifically gone straight into his skin. There was no trace of the ring besides an empty hourglass symbol seemingly tattooed on his ring finger.

Hello Thane. He panicked and ran out of the alley with speed unknown to him, the fear of getting caught had somehow pushed his physical abilities to the limit. Two blocks later however, he found himself coughing out his lungs. Thane frantically searched for a hiding spot, the only thing near was a nearly full dumpster behind the local fast food store. Knowing the saying a little too well, beggars can't be choosers, he dived in and closed the lid. Great thinking friend.

There was the voice again, but he was sure he was alone. There was no one even remotely near him and the dumpster had nothing but a pile of leaking garbage bags. He knew it was a stupid idea but he needed to erase every bit of doubt. Taking a few deep breaths and mentally going to his happy place, Thane apprehensively took out his phone and turned it on. As soon as he saw the phone boot up, he covered the speakers with everything at his disposal. The sound was pretty much gone, as were the speakers but he had more pressing issues at the moment. After switching the phone to airplane mode and making sure everything was on mute, multiple times, he turned on the flashlight and scanned the dumpster. Instead of eradicating his fears, it only brought them to new heights.

Stealthy, I like that. You're very practical friend. The voice was smooth, no cracks when it spoke. To put it simply, the exact opposite of Thane's. Clear and coherent sentences with no mumbling or stuttering, like everything it said was carefully rehearsed a myriad of times.

Thane realized, after checking frantically, he wasn't wearing a Bluetooth or anything remotely related to it. The only place the voice could be was in his mind. That was it, he was definitely going crazy. Who the fuck are who? He desperately tried to keep the tears inside his eyes as he went into a partial fetal position.

I'm your better half, a protector you can say. Thane wasn't buying it, the last person who tried protecting dragged him into this situation. I'm what you want to be Thane, I'm the unbound version of you. I have no rules, no expectations and definitely no room for the moral speculations of society. I am truly free, that is who I am Thane.

What do you want from me? The tears were too powerful for this eyelids to contain, the youth shivered in confusion and fear. Suddenly a realization occurred amidst the chaos, Amanda?

Even though he couldn't see the voice, Thane knew it was happy. That's right Thane. I linked her for you, didn't that make you happy? I knew you wanted her but you were too bogged down by the fear of society and its meaningless rules. So I took over and acquired her for you. You can take her anytime you please now Thane, doesn't that make you just tingle with happiness?

No! It doesn't! You destroyed a life! Before he asserted his position any further, Thane placed his ear against the dumpster wall to hear if he was truly safe. The footsteps came and went, but they were definitely looking for him. Why they didn't look inside the dumpster was a question only they could answer, it did put a new definition to laziness however.

Please explain to me this moral ideology, this code that you force yourself to adhere to. Why must you follow a code to keep the normal in line? If you take a step back and look, you're not normal. Would an outsider, a being from another world come and adhere to the rules of this society? Did the kings of old adhere to the same rules for the peasants? You, my friend, are superior to the rest. Why would a superior being answer or identify with such inferiority? One can be a wolf or a sheep, and you my friend were born a wolf.

No, that's, that's... There was no argument, he was the last person that should be talking about morals.

Wrong? The voice transitioned into a soft chuckle, barely changing the tone. My naïve friend, I'm here to help you realize that there is nothing wrong or right. It's just a matter of perspective. The only one truth in the world is death. Everything else is up for debate, philosophical conversations that help one to sleep better at night. Everything after death is forgotten. A legacy is just a myth. The most benevolent being in history would be forgotten within a century. So tell me now Thane, what does it matter? Wrong or right, we are all forgotten in the end.

The voice painted a very bleak portrayal of the world, completely delusional but incredibly convincing. Thane found himself listening more and more to the voice, despite his situation the voice seemed to take priority. What was the ring? Although the voice was a step away from world dominating ruler, it had managed to gain Thane's trust.

A mark, you are now owned by the organization. You are they're property. Whatever was left of Thane's will was completely shattered, his life now had a permanent end. Free will was a long and distant memory, he was nothing but an errand boy for the organization to use at will. Do not worry. I am here to rid you of this disease, follow my lead and you shall be free. The deal was tempting, very tempting in fact and considering the situation, it was his only option. If only he knew what got him into this mess, one can't really connect pieces when there's a two week blank in memory.

What do I do? There was nothing else but follow the voice, he had already used up all his lifelines from Aaron and it didn't seem like he would help anyways. Besides waiting for imminent death in the dumpster, obeying the voice was only route of the situation.

Proceed out of the alleyway and walk towards your enemies. Thane laughed and immediately requested a change of plan, he wanted to extend his life not end it. My essence is tied to yours, why would I wish for suicide? As deranged as it was, the voice made sense. Thane had to make a choice, he could either do what the voice said or wait patiently until he thought of his own plan.

Can't believe I'm doing this. Thane first wiped the tears off his cheeks and then scratched off the ones that dried. He lifted the lid carefully as to not make a sound, but the poverty ridden city made it impossible. The rusted hinges alerted nearly everyone in around that the dumpster was opened. Acting on pure instinct, Thane threw open the lid and made a run for it.

Wrong way Thane. He tried to block out the voice and reach for freedom but he quickly realized that was just a fantasy. He reluctantly turned around and slowly walked in the opposite direction, taking one step back for every four steps forward. Being out in the open, it didn't take long for Thane to get found.

He was stopped by a figure wearing tactical gear. The person was completely covered head to toe in armor, sporting a metal dome like helmet with goggles and pitch black scarf. The fortified soldier also wore a black vest, probably bulletproof, over a heavy duty long sleeve jacket and solid black cargos to match. The black army boots gave up the profession of the person, the gun pointed directly at Thane helped as well.

One thing he couldn't figure out was how nobody noticed a fully armored killing machine walking through civilian streets in broad daylight. That and how one was able to breath under all that in spring time weather. "Wait." Thane threw his hands up in surrender almost instantly, being held at gunpoint generally would cause such a response.

Go along Thane, she will not hurt you.

She? What the fuck? How do you know? The voice went silent leaving Thane on his own, something he was getting more and more used to as the days went by.

"Hands behind your back." The voice was distorted to sound cryptic, like an encrypted message Hollywood movies love to show. Thane had zero self-defense skills and even if he did, it was unlikely he was going to be faster than a speeding bullet. He did as the soldier ordered and quickly became neutralized, although becoming neutralized involved getting slammed on the ground and getting his hands tied with zip-ties, something she made a little too tight.

"Where are you taking me?" It was bad he had to walk to his demise but the silent treatment from the soldier just made it unbearable. Thane must've thought about running at least a dozen times before they arrived at a breakpoint. The woman took out a water bottle and aimed the nozzle at Thane's mouth, she didn't bother with words as she forcibly held his mouth open with her free hand while squirting the water inside with the other.

Let me take control Thane. The voice came back after an unannounced vacation. The water torture didn't leave much room for Thane to think, escape was the only thing he wanted.

Take it, fucking take it. The voice thanked him before gaining control of the body.

As soon as the voice took control the soldier instantly stopped the water torture. Thane, or rather the voice that controlled his body now, spat out the remnants of the liquid lodged in his throat. Coughing took out the particles stuck in his windpipe. Once the water was out and a safe passage was made for air to enter the body, Thane reestablished his posture. This time however he arced his back to make a slightly backwards C while he normalized his breathing. His otherwise shivering hands quickly absolved their hyperactivity and took on a surgeon's persona, absolutely still. Thane's racing heart had slowed to a steady pace and his semi-permanent worried expression was quickly overthrown by a sinister grin.

By just staring at the soldier, making sure to lock eyes, Thane made her feel hotter than she actually was. Her resolve was incredible as she stood still, gun still pointed at him, as sweat ran down her hands. Thane could only imagine what her body was going through underneath all those clothes. Despite her incredible resolve, she still stood no chance against nature as she radioed her team. She spoke in code completely foreign to Thane, even though he was already inside her mind he couldn't decipher what she meant, although he did understand what regrouping meant.

Judging by the how much she was fidgeting, he knew her mental defenses were weakening. It didn't take long for her mind to become completely oblivious to his prying. He quickly dug up the info on who it was that she signaled, things didn't look very well when the men that she signaled looked like they ate bears for a living. Scary seemed liked a preschool definition for them, even without their armor and body gear they looked like people one had nightmares about. It was then Thane had an idea, sinister and wrong in every sense but a way to escape.

Her mind had the complexity of a file organizer, all he had to do was add their names to the enemy folder as well. The task took nothing more than a few moments and a fraction of his energy, it was definitely much easier than attempting to take out his file from the enemy folder. Once someone was placed in that, it was permanent. There was no going back, it was actually frightening considering how easy it was to turn someone into an enemy. What was worse was not knowing who these people were actually trained by, they weren't government. Not even the government had such a sophisticated arsenal, this was definitely private.

By the time Thane had exited her mind, backup had arrived. "Freeze!" The woman spoke as soon as she saw her allies, ex-allies. Thane took a step back so the army personnel could hash out their problems on their own. Judging by how much training she had, the fight would be over quick, if one could even call it a fight. "Drop your weapons." Thane had just realized she was still sweating underneath, he never gave the stop order. It was too late to reverse it as well, there was no way anyone would let him make eye contact with her. The backup had already figured out what he had done.

One of the soldiers caught on a little too quickly, not wanting to take any chances he pointed his rifle at Thane and began to bark an order. Everything happened so fast he didn't know what came first, all he knew was the soldier somehow got suspended midair and his rifle lay on the ground. A quick look at where all the other rifles were pointed revealed the origin of the phenomenon. As soon as he turned to take a look he heard more rifles drop to the ground, instantly causing him to look back. The rest of the backup now were floating at least 40 feet of the ground. How nobody walking up and down the streets noticed them was a mind boggling phenomenon in itself.

He could see her hand shaking, after a few more seconds of having defy gravity she finally ran out of energy. It was like sandbags falling to the ground, only with bones that weren't connected in the right spots anymore. They were still alive, he could tell by the moans of agony. For how long however, was a question for a doctor. The female soldier wasted no time in ridding herself of her radio and then holding Thane, once again, at gunpoint. She inched closer to him until she was at an arm's length, a kick in the back was a good motivator to start moving.

Motels in the city were easy to find, poverty tends to make such a residence flourish. Thane had the great opportunity to sit in a chair tied like a madman while she released herself from the armor. The first thing he was surprised at was the length of her hair, he thought it was mandatory to have a near bald head when entering the military. The woman however, sported a full head of wavy red hair that reached her lower back. How she managed to control that in her outfit was a mystery only she could solve.

She removed the goggles to reveal her crystal blue eyes, the scarf and the body armor were the next to go. Soon she was in just a black t-shirt and cargos, it was enough to say plenty of scenes were playing in the gutter Thane's mind had taken a trip towards. Throughout the entire ordeal, his breathing remained calm and hands still. The woman however was a different case, she had to severely injure her comrades who had apparently betrayed her. She was at the point where she didn't know who to trust, her mind was a mess and edging towards chaos each passing second.

"How did you get them to join you?" She pulled out the gun once again and held it mere centimeters away from his forehead.

"I didn't do anything."

"Lies!" She choked him with newfound energy until his skin turned into a reddish brown, "Now tell me what you did" He used the closeness to get as deep into her mind as he could before agreeing to explain what happened. Her hand was still connected to his neck although she didn't use any force, she warned him that he would crush him if he lied again. Thane had an idea of what type of crush she meant, the bodies didn't paint a pretty picture.

"Last week I was at the doctor." As Thane went on with a work of fiction, he summoned up an army of tendrils to invade her mind. He spoke in an arctic calmness while the tendrils used a scorched earth strategy.

He was done sneaking around, this required a brute force method. The tendrils smashed their way into her unconsciousness, the amount of pain she felt couldn't be measured. Despite having conjured up an army only two tendrils managed to get into the unconscious, one more than he needed. Thane quickly found the orb the central orb that encompassed her entire personality, he sharpened the tendril until it was sharper than a needle point and injected it into the orb.

She was dominant in every sense as well as having enough confidence to feed a high school. No wonder she chewed and spat out every opinion Thane threw at her, he had to go deeper. There had to be an origin of this behavior. He dug deeper, careful not to shatter the orb and tried to follow the emotion. He found that her convictions were solid and made the world for herself, it was a one woman show and the show was definitely run by her. The opinions of others didn't matter, no matter what position they may have held. However underneath everything there was one figure that was seated above all else inside her mind, the figure was of someone but it was too blurry to decipher.

It could've been anyone, a teacher, a father or a lover even. The figure had instilled this way of thought inside her head but Thane had other plans, while she experienced complete agony he put the tendrils to work. Instead of relying on this ambiguous figure, Thane wanted her to rely on him and him only. It was only a matter of time until her mind completely shut down and threw an error, whatever he wanted to do he needed to do it quick otherwise he would have another Amanda on his hands.

Thane sent messages of authority, trust and love through the tendril, which was acting much like an injection. Soon the ambiguous figure had nothing to do but resign so he could take over the throne. Thane quickly exited her mind and let her recover, a little push from him speeded up the recovery process. Mere moments later she stumbled to her feet and stared at him in shock, her attitude had definitely changed. She immediately removed the zip ties and untied him, all after profusely apologizing for her actions. That was it, she was his.

Thane stood from the seat and stared into her eyes before grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling her head back. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "go freshen up, you're covered in sweat." She didn't waste a second as she ran to the bathroom to carry out his instructions. He stood in the doorway watching, she rid herself of the t-shirt revealing the black sports bra holding the F cups back. I don't really mind the sweat now that I think of it. With the sinister grin firmly planted on his face he walked inside.

Thane went up behind her and covered her mouth and nose, squeezing tightly making sure to block her airflow before whispering in a calm demeanor, "Think of this as punishment." Thane pulled her down to the ground until she was sitting on her ass and ripped the sports bra off, all while his hand blocked her from breathing. She could've easily tossed him against the wall but that would've gone against the programming he instilled in her, he was untouchable.

Thane dragged her by the face and neck towards the toilet before pushing her face on the seat, she tried resisting but eventually gave out. Thane grabbed her hair with one hand while choking her with the other, once she gave up resisting he pushed her head fully in the toilet, completely submerging it. "Stay there." There wasn't assertiveness or anger in his voice, it was completely monotone but she obeyed regardless. While her face was still in there he flushed the toilet causing her to start gargling the liquid. With his hand still attached to her hair he yanked her head out and violently smacked her tits, leaving more and a few palm prints.