."What're you doing here, Father?", muttered Phineas. "Can't you see I'm workin' here?" Phineas raising both of his elbows in disagreement, then crossing his arms. Connor took of his top hat and looked slightly away but also darting his eyes at Phineas indirectly. "Oh nothin'. I just thought you would've given up this job up it's nothing but hard labor all day" Connor comments with a snug but worried look on his face. He taps his foot on the ground melodically, his shoe clacking each time. The look in his eyes suddenly changed to a sharp and insistent one. "Ye know ye can join the family business", said Connor with a caring look in his eyes. The light reflected off his pupils and irises, making them shine beautifully. "The door is always open", he continues while drawing out his words. "I honestly don't want to", said Phineas while tilting his head and shrugging his shoulders. "I know what you do, " said Phineas strongly and dismissively. "…and I'd prefer to make an honest living", now spinning his axe between his fingers. A look of pain covered Phineas' eyes for a second, then faded quickly. "Okay, yer choice", said Connor with a slightly condescending tone but with hints of trying to hold it back. He turns around and starts walking away. Connor puts his top hat back on and looks back at Phineas. "But just know this, I'm always watching over you", said Connor with a calm tone and a warm smile. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He walks away to the right (which is east).
Two Hours Later
It's now past sunset. The sun hangs below the horizon. Black and blue start to fill the skyline. Phineas walks back up the trail to his cabin. No animals can be seen. Only the faint chirping of crickets. After brushing up against some plant in the dark that tickled a bit, but kind of hurt, an itchiness comes over Phineas' left ankle. He tries to scratch it with the sole of his right shoe, it only gets worse. "Fucking stinging nettle", Phineas muttered. "Don't scratch it."
A little over half an hour after that.
He arrives at the area around his cabin. Making it to his cabin, Phineas walks to his room and lies down on his bed. He picks up his axe from his bag. The reflection is weak under the moonlight. He looks at his axe. The only reflection visible is his distressed face. There is no blood on the axe, but the blood will never be gone.
"It was 13 years ago, when I was just a boy becoming a man", says Phineas, pained, but narrating. His surroundings fade out. It's time for a flashback.
Thirteen Years Ago
Young Phineas had just bashed a lamb and chopped it up with an axe. His eyes looked remorseful and horrified. The axe shaking as his hands tremble. Blood covered Phineas' body, hands, and the axe he held. He hyperventilates ever faster. "Keep at it, Phineas!", demanded Connor (his father) in a motivational yet scary voice. His father's eyes bloodshot and puffy from a night of heavy drinking. This wasn't the first time he made Phineas do such a thing. "B-but i-it's already d-dead", whimpered Young Phineas with tears in his eyes. The clear tears mixed with the blood of the Lamb and turned a transparent Crimson. "I want to stop!", he continues. Connor walks up to young Phineas and grabs his face between his two hands. He turns Phineas' face toward him. "Ye need to disregard them and the state of their body", Connor insisted while looking Phineas I'm the eye. His twisted reflection visible in that of Phineas' dilated pupils. "Show no mercy when ye strike!!", yelled Connor with his eyes dilating in anger, his hands shaking with rage. He prepared to slap Phineas, but restrained himself. "Errr…not today. Not today."
"After each 'lesson', the axe and I were covered in blood. You wash off the blood, but it remains. It never seems to go away. I see it every single day. There was never a time when killing didn't make me uneasy. My hands always trembling. My mind always screaming at me, 'Stop! Stop! Get away!'. But for some reason, the more my father pushed, the more the screams turned into things like 'Kill him! Get out! Slit his throat! Make him pay!'. It got to the point where I went up from having to kill animals to being forced to kill people", narrates the present Phineas.
Two Years Later
"When I was fifteen, my father made me kill my first person. By that time, I was a bit stronger", narrates the present Phineas.
Young Phineas looked absolutely horrified at the sight of a human man chained up in front of his eyes. "Kill him, son", commands Connor with the same crazy stare. Only this time, he looks sober. "He has no family who will miss him." The man squirming in his chain bandage on the floor. The look in his eyes was that of a broken, lost man. But he still had a fire in his heart to live. "No, please let me go! I have a wife and childr – Connor tackled the man and gagged him. His begs for his life reduced to loud, muffled moans of pain and agony. "Kill him now, Phineas", yelled Connor as he holds down the man. Tears run down the man's eyes. The same tears Phineas cried two years ago. He couldn't do it. "I-I can't do it", whimpered Phineas as he lowers his weapon. "What the fuck do you mean?!", screamed Connor with a more crazy look in his eyes. "You have to be a ruthless leader to run this business, lad", said Connor calmly as he walked over to Phineas. He snatched his axe and walks back over to the bound man. "We can't just let him go because of your weakness, my boy", he continues. "Nooooo – Just like that, the man's head was chopped off. Phineas backed away. "Here's this back", said Connor as he tossed the axe back to Phineas. Connor lights a cigarette while looking down at the ground. "Your mother's goin' to be disappointed in you", said Connor as he looked at Phineas. The thumping of footsteps rumbles down the ceiling and to the ground level. A woman approaches, Phineas' mother, Ciara. "What's goin' on down here?", asked Ciara as she walks into the room. "Oh, he failed the test?", she continued. "Yes. He failed to eliminate the target", responded Connor. Ciara turns towards Phineas and glares. "Get out of here, boy!", yelled Ciara. "But", muttered Phineas. "Don't come back until you prove yourself worthy of succeeding as the leader of the family business!", she snapped while pointing at Phineas. Phineas proceeded to run out the door and outside. "Fine, I don't want to be here, anyway. I'll show you! I'll make an honest living, unlike all of you!", yelled Phineas with spite as he ran into the rain, never to be seen again. "He won't last a day out there", mocked Connor. "Nope", agreed Ciara. "Go get Patrick", said Connor.
"That was the moment I gathered the courage to run away from the family business. The moment I decided to make my own life; an honest life. No matter how much I told myself it was alright when I washed off the blood, I could hear the screams of all the animals I killed in my head. I ran away. Little did I know at the time, my brother was next in line. I was so stupid. I tried to get rid of the axe right off the bat, but it's my only relic of home I have left. I may have hated my home life, but it brought a sick sense of comfort to have something familiar from my childhood by my side. Like a bottle to a baby, but I can't wean myself off this messed up nostalgia", narrates the present Phineas.