The Castrator by Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (short books for teens txt) 📕

KILLED, OR HAD ORDERED THE MURDER OF, FELISTER HIMSELF, THEN WHAT WAS THE MISSING PIECE IN THE PUZZLE? WHAT EXACTLY WAS ESCAPING MY OWN AND I CLAIM DISCERNING GAZE?

THAT QUESTION REALLY DESERVED SOME ANSWER!

AFTER MUCH CONTEMPLATION, I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT THE SITUATION WAS PERHAPS EVEN MORE BIZARRE THAN I HAD ACTUALLY IMAGINED IT - ZONARA WAS THE TRUE CLAIMANT TO THE FELISTER'S LEGACY - SHE WANTED TO MASTER HIS SECRET KNOWLEDGE, AND I WAS TO BE SACRIFICED ONCE AGAIN. BUT I WASN'T GOING TO GIVE HER THAT OPPORTUNITY!

I TRIED TO KEEP MY FACE FROM SHOWING IN ANY WAY EXACTLY WHAT I INTENDED TO DO, AS THAT WOULD ONLY GIVE ME AWAY AND CREATE UNNECESSARY TENSION IN OUR ALREADY STRAINED RELATIONSHIP.

ZONARA WALKED CONFIDENTLY, BUT THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US WAS NOT TOO GREAT. MAYBE JUST A FEW STEPS. THE BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES ALL AROUND HAD BECOME EVEN MORE NOSTALGIC. IT WAS ANOTHER TIME!

HOWEVER, WE HAD YET TO BUILD A MORE SERIOUS PLAN OF ACTION, AS IN THE FUTURE THE SUDDEN QUEUE THAT HAD CAUGHT US ON HIGHWAY SEVENTY ON OUR WAY TO ...

WHERE WERE WE ACTUALLY HEADED? THE TWO STATES BETWEEN MISSOURI AND OHIO WERE TOO GENERAL A CONCEPT - THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE HERE.

PERHAPS THE OLD FELISTER'S NON-ACCEPTANCE OF ME AS A FULL-FLEDGED ADEPT HAD ALSO MADE HER FEEL MORE SPECIAL ABOUT MY HUMBLE PERSONA, BUT THEN I REALIZED I COULD OUTWIT HER - JUST AS I HAD DONE WITH THE OLD FELISTER AND HE HAD TAKEN ME UNDER HIS WING.

DURING MY SPARE TIME AT FELISTER'S FARM I COULD READ. VERY RARELY DID I HAVE SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT I HAD IT ANYWAY, AND THAT MADE ME HAPPY ENOUGH - FROM ONE OF THE MANY BOOKS I HAD LEARNED THE TECHNIQUE THAT IF YOU CLEARED YOUR MIND OF ALL THOUGHTS, YOUR ENERGY FIELD WOULDN'T BE SENSED BY OTHERS AND THEY SIMPLY WOULDN'T NOTICE YOU. BUT, ALAS, ZONARA WAS A PRETTY BONY NUT!

ACCOMPANYING HER, I GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT THE HIGHWAY CHASE HADN'T SURPRISED HER ALL THAT MUCH - APPARENTLY FAR SCARIER AND MORE DANGEROUS THINGS WERE ABOUT TO HAPPEN. THINGS THAT WERE OUT OF THE ORDINARY FIELD OF NORMAL EXPLANATIONS.

THE SANDY ROAD CONTINUED AND ENDED WITH AN OLD CABIN AND SHEER REDDISH CLIFFS. FROM WHAT MY EYES COULD SEE WE EITHER HAD TO CLIMB UP OR CHOOSE THE HUT FOR THE NIGHT.

ZONARA HAD GONE SILENT, AND APPARENTLY MY RATHER CRAFTY STRATEGY WAS PAYING OFF.

OF COURSE IN MY MIND WERE ALSO THE WORDS OF THE OLD FELISTER:

- IF YOU TREAT THE DEAD WITH RESPECT, THEY WILL BE YOUR FRIENDS ON THE ROAD.

THE WHOLE PRE-LONG SCENE WE'D SEEN THANKS TO ZONARA HERSELF GAVE ME SOME ADVANTAGES, BUT I DIDN'T WANT HER TO GET THE IMPRESSION THAT I WAS GOING TO UNDERTAKE A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF HER QUICKLY SPOKEN WORDS IN THE SHORT SPACE OF JUST A FEW SECONDS.

BEFORE ENTERING THE HUT, SHE HESITATED.

- "WE MUST TREAT EVERY THING IN THIS LIFE WITH A CERTAIN RESPECT - AS IF IT WERE A RITUAL," SHE TOLD ME GRAVELY, "OR THE LEGACY OF FELISTER WILL NEVER BE OURS."

THE HUT WAS EMPTY, AND FRANKLY I DIDN'T LIKE IT. I WONDERED WHY ZONARA CHOSE THIS BACKWATER. IF THOSE GUYS WANTED TO STOP US, WE HAD NOWHERE TO RUN, AND WE HAD TO FIGHT.

ANYWAY WE SPENT THE NIGHT AND THEN I FELT THE STRANGE RADIATION OF ZONARA.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, HER PECULIAR AURA REACHED MY SENSES - SHE HAD A SLIGHT SMELL OF INCENSE AND HER EYES WERE CLOSED AS SHE SLEPT SWEETLY. BUT HER BODY LOOKED FUNNY LITTLE UNDER THE COVERS - AS IF THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO ONE THERE!

"MAYBE ZONARA IS A LIVING DEAD!", I SAID TO MYSELF IN MY MIND, BUT SOME PARTICULAR "SCRAPING" ON MY CONSCIOUSNESS MADE ME SUSPEND ANY FURTHER ANALYTICAL ACTIVITY AND JUST LET THE DREAM OVERTURN ME.

THIS TIME I HAD NO NIGHTMARES AND IN THE MORNING WHEN I WOKE UP IT WAS GONE - I TOOK A QUICK TOUR AROUND THE HUT. SHE HAD DEFINITELY GOTTEN OUT OF THERE BEFORE ME! THE HUT ONLY HAD ONE LARGE ROOM WITH A SMALL KITCHENETTE WHICH WAS QUITE MODEST.

BUT WHEN I WENT OUTSIDE, SHE WAS WAITING FOR ME:

- "COME ON, WHERE ARE YOU GOING. FELISTER IS THE ONE WE HAVE TO FIND, OR RATHER HIS LEGACY, REMEMBER? I FELT YOU WERE TRYING TO TINKER AROUND IN MY MIND DURING THE NIGHT, WHICH FRANKLY I KIND OF DIDN'T LIKE, BUT THAT'S ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM," SHE SAID CALMLY, "IT'S PERFECTLY NATURAL TO HAVE SOME DOUBTS, AND IN GENERAL I HAVEN'T TOLD YOU ALL MY SECRETS YET, AND MAYBE I NEVER WILL, BUT YOU'RE VERY SPECIAL AND THAT'S WHY YOU'RE STILL WITH ME. WE HAVE YET TO LOCATE THE EXACT SPOT WHERE FELISTER WANTED TO PERFORM HIS RITUAL."

- "I THOUGHT IT WAS IN THE GRAVEYARD," I LOOKED AT HER, SOMEWHAT STRANGELY, "AND, NOW I REALISE IT'S QUITE, QUITE DIFFERENT..."

- "ACTUALLY, FELISTER'S REAL GOAL WAS TO GET OUT OF THAT CURSED PLACE," SHE STARTED TO EXPLAIN TO ME, "IF HE GOT OUT, IT COULD ONLY MEAN ONE THING, HE HAD A CHANCE TO BEG SALVATION FOR HIMSELF!

I COULD BELIEVE HER NOW. BUT WHY DID THEY WANT TO SACRIFICE ME! WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THEIR GAIN?

ZONARA WAS ALSO CARRYING A BAG FULL OF MONEY, AS MANY OF THE ROADSIDE MOTELS DIDN'T ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF CASHLESS PAYMENT.

AT ONE TIME, IT EVEN CROSSED MY MIND TO COLLECT THE MONEY AND TAKE MY TURN WALKING AWAY. I WAS GOING TO LIVE OUT MY OWN LIFE WITH ALL THAT MONEY THAT THE GREY CARDINAL OF FELISTER HAD DIVERTED TO HIMSELF, BUT THEN I CHANGED MY MIND. FIRST, SHE CARRIED A HUGE GUN, AND SECOND, FELISTER HAD ALWAYS KEPT HIS WORD. HE ALWAYS MADE SURE THAT HIS ACTIONS WERE FULL OF MEANING AND HE DIDN'T LIKE TRAITORS, AND SOMETHING TOLD ME THAT WE WERE VERY CLOSE TO UNCOVERING HIS FATEFUL SECRET, AND FRANKLY THAT FLATTERED ME! WE WERE IN FOR THE GREATEST ADVENTURE ANYONE COULD GET INTO!

ZONARA SEEMED TO SOFTEN HER TONE TOWARDS ME, BUT I COULD STILL SENSE HINTS OF SUPERIORITY.

- WE HAVE NO TIME TO LOSE. COME!

AND BEGAN TO CLIMB UP THE ROCKS. TIME PASSED SLOWLY AS WE DIDN'T HAVE THE NECESSARY EQUIPMENT, ONLY A PAIR OF GLOVES AND A ROPE. WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY BELAY GEAR OR EXTRA BELAY ROPES.

- "EVEN IF THEY HAD TRACKED US TO THE MOTEL AND REACHED THE HUT, THEY WOULD HARDLY ADMIT THAT WE WERE CAPABLE OF CLIMBING THESE ROCKS," SHE TOLD ME IN A SUFFICIENTLY CONFIDENT TONE.

I WAS NOT SURE THAT HER ARGUMENTS WERE VERY CORRECT, BUT I DID NOT WISH TO ARGUE.

THE CLIFFS WERE SO SHEER YOU COULD HAVE FELT DIZZY. FEAR OF HEIGHTS WAS NOT THE MOST CHARACTERISTIC THING FOR ME. BUT WE COULD STILL PISS OUR BONES - EVEN IF WE MADE ONE WRONG MOVE.

WE WERE FINALLY AT THE TOP OF THE CLIFF AND ZONARA TURNED TO ME:

- "THIS IS WHERE THE HARD PART STARTS!," SHE LAUGHED, BUT I THOUGHT HER SMILE WAS A BIT EXAGGERATED.

THE FURTHER WE PROGRESSED ALONG THE PATH, I WAS CAPTIVATED BY THE ZONAR'S MAGIC. THERE WAS SOMETHING AND SOME REMNANTS OF A HIDDEN SADNESS ABOUT HER - SO OVERWHELMING AS TO BE INDESCRIBABLE.

I COULD CLEARLY SENSE THAT SHE DIDN'T WANT US TO MOVE ALONG THE MAIN THOROUGHFARES WHERE WE COULD EASILY BE SPOTTED.

I DIDN'T WANT TO BOTHER HER EITHER. SO FRAGILE, AND WITH SUCH A FIGHTING SPIRIT WAS ZONARA. I FELT NOSTALGIC FOR THE GOOD OLD DAYS. A HIDDEN SADNESS THAT CONDITIONED ALL THE DOOM OF AN UNCERTAIN AND BRUTAL FUTURE!

THE YEAR WAS 2045 AND THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND WAS A BIT LIKE CYBERPUNK. BUT ZONARA WAS NOT IMPRESSED BY THE FUTURE, BUT WANTED TO TURN HIS GAZE TO THE IRRETRIEVABLY LOST PAST.

WHAT HAD CHANGED IN THOSE TWENTY YEARS - SAY ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

THE SOULLESSNESS OF THE PEOPLE WAS BECOMING MORE AND MORE OBVIOUS. FOR THOSE ACCUSTOMED TO POST-APOCALYPTIC LANDSCAPES, THE SIGHT WOULD NOT BE SUITABLE.

- "PEOPLE'S VALUES HAVE CHANGED A LOT. FELISTER WANTED TO HELP PEOPLE AT LEAST FIND WORK," ZONARA SAID SADLY.

I LISTENED TO HER IN SILENCE, PUZZLING OVER THE FINAL DESTINATION OF OUR JOURNEY.

SUDDENLY WE HEARD VOICES BEHIND OUR BACKS - THEY WERE HARSH AND ROUGH - AS IF READY TO FIGHT US AT ANY MOMENT.

- "WE USED TO RUN ON ROOFTOPS AS CHILDREN, BUT NOW YOU WON'T ESCAPE US," SNARLED A LARGE BANDIT WHO WAS OBVIOUSLY TOO EXPERIENCED IN FIGHTING.

I HAD NO IDEA IF ZONARA HAD THE SKILLS OF A FIGHTER, AND I DIDN'T WANT TO PUT IT TO THE TEST IN PRACTICE, BUT BEFORE FELISTER HIRED ME, I'D DONE SOME BOXING AND JIU-JITSU TRAINING - SO I COULD DEFEND MYSELF AGAINST THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOOLIGANS.

THE FIRST ONE STEPPED UP AND WANTED TO PUNCH ME IN THE FACE - HE WAS VERY PUMPED TO OVERPOWER ME.

I GRACEFULLY GRABBED HIS WRIST AND GAVE HIM AN UNDERCUT AND EVEN AS HE WAS FALLING I MANAGED TO PUT A KNEE ON HIS TEMPLE. I FELT HIS SKULL START TO CRUNCH FROM THE PRESSURE.

THE ZONE HAD OBVIOUSLY BEEN PRACTICING SOME SEMBLANCE OF AIKIDO, BECAUSE IT WAS TOSSING THEM AROUND LIKE SACKS, BUT THEIR NUMERICAL SUPERIORITY WAS CLEARLY GOING TO BREAK IT SOON.

- "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THE FELISTER’S LEGACY UNDER OUR NOSES," ANOTHER THUG WHO WAS SO UGLY HE WAS HARD TO DRAW SNARLED, "WE'RE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DRUG CARTELS AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SHARE WITH US EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO. WE HAD YOUR BACK, SO..."

HIS VOICE WAS MENACING AND HIS FISTS WERE IRON. HE PROBABLY COULD HAVE KNOCKED DOWN EVEN A HORSE WITH HIS POWERFUL FISTS.

HONESTLY, THIS KIND OF CHILDISH BEHAVIOR DIDN'T SIT WELL WITH ME. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS TOLERATED ON THE STREETS OF MONTERREY OR IN SUIDAD JUAREZ, WHICH BY THE WAY WAS ALSO A STARTING POINT FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING TO THE US, BUT HERE WE WERE ON US SOIL AND IT WAS MORE THAN I LIKED. I WISHED TO CRUSH THIS ARROGANT AND ARROGANT REPTILE WHO MOST LIKELY WANTED TO DEPRIVE ME OF MY OWN SHARE - OF WHAT DUPLICITOUS FATE HAD ORDAINED TO BE MINE!

- "IT WON'T HAPPEN!," I ROARED WITH A FIRMNESS IN MY VOICE THAT I HADN'T EVEN EXPECTED FROM MYSELF. - "THE LOOT WILL BE OURS, OR IF YOU WANT IT SO MUCH YOU WILL HAVE TO KILL US."

THE OTHERS SAW WHAT HAPPENED AND BROUGHT OUT CLUBS AND KNIVES. IT FELT LIKE A DUMB HOLLYWOOD ACTION MOVIE - ONLY THIS TIME IT WAS REAL. THERE WERE SIX OF THEM - WELL, FIVE NOW, SINCE I'D ALREADY KNOCKED OUT ONE OF THEM, AND ONLY TWO OF US, BUT BY THE TIME I CAME TO MY SENSES, ZONARA HAD PULLED OUT HIS GUN AND OPENED FIRE. THEY DIDN'T EXPECT SUCH A DEVELOPMENT AND DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO LIE DOWN.

BUT ONE OF THEM SWUNG HIS BAT AT HER AND MANAGED TO WOUND HER. HE MIGHT HAVE SMASHED HER HEAD IN AND HER BLOOD LEAKED OUT. HER BRAIN WASN'T HARD TO MAKE OUT UNDER THE PIECES OF HER SHATTERED SKULL EITHER - OR SO IT SEEMED TO ME, FOR I COULD SEE EVERYTHING AS IF IN A DREAM.

I JUMPED TOWARD HER, GRABBED HER GUN BEFORE IT FELL INTO ANYONE ELSE'S HANDS, AND SHOT THE OTHERS. I KILLED THOSE DOGS!

I APPROACHED HER. HER FACE WAS COVERED IN BLOOD. I TRIED TO CLEAN IT OFF AND LOOK HER IN THE EYE ONE LAST TIME. I HAD NO TIME TO LOSE, FOR LIKE ANYTHING MORE OF THEM WOULD SOON COME AND THEN THE VULTURES WOULD BE GNAWING AT MY BONES ON THOSE INHOSPITABLE ROCKS.

BUT SHE WAS DEAD. IRRETRIEVABLY DEAD. I HAD LOST MY ONLY COMPANION. THEN I FELT TRULY ALONE. SO ALONE AND LOST THAT I FELT LIKE CRYING OUT LOUD. TO SCREAM AND TEAR MY FLESH IN THE WILD SUFFERING OF A MARTYR!

AND THOSE DUMB ROCKS WERE WITNESSES TO MY FALL. I WENT AND MISTOOK THE INSOLENT TRASH FOR MONEY OR SOME OTHER WEAPONS. THERE WAS NOT MUCH, BUT I DID NOT EXPECT TO FIND