TW: This chapter contains domestic abuse.
Despite being raised by two devout Christians, I've never been a woman of faith. And if I did, it was beaten out of me long ago. After everything I've seen or done, I still have no idea what awaits me when this odyssey ends. And yet, my cacophony of corpses can't stop chorusing amidst my consciousness. Like an inside joke, the ghost cackle amongst themselves. Since they know, there's no point in musing over my possible end. Either way, I rolled with the dead either way.
The horrid spirits stewed within me like a hellish brew about to bubble over my searing dilemma. When I started this, I never required a permanent or suitable home. The bare minimum is the only thing I deserved. Brutus has always done an excellent job taking care of himself as well. Whoever he previously belonged to clearly trained him well.
Considering my career involves prying into people's private lives, turning off my eagle eye is almost impossible. It takes a few happenstance interactions, and an entire picture can be painted. But, unfortunately, most of the building's residents are like me, poor souls at a ghetto-dressed rest stop, hoping to keep their heads down till the next move.
Putting your nose to the grindstone usually means you can't see what happens around you. Or, at the very least, it justifies you to look away. Thus our landlord's marital spats festered. Frayed covers and paper-thin walls couldn't protect anyone from their building's shaking spats. Until now, I've stayed out of it. I'm far more likely to stop hearts than mend them. This latest fight, though, was different.
"Please, Bonnie, it's fine. The day just got ahead of me, that's all.
"EXCUSE'S, EXCUSE'S FUCKING EXCUSES JEREMEY. I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO WORK HARD ALL DAY, CORALLING THESE MISERABLE FUCKS AND COME BACK TO A PIG STY!"
A harsh porcelain crack then followed.
"Calm down Bonnie, please, give me a chance to."
Decades of medical and combat experience familiarized me with the next sound as I heard skin break. Brutus's low growl synchronized with my shortening fuse as the heated spat continued.
"I'M THROUGH WITH CHANCES! THERE'S ONLY ONE THING THAT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO MAKE YOU LISTEN!"
From then on, the hits continued, along with the pleading whimpers. As I felt the entire building's residents turn another blind eye, the sickening hits grew in tempo and ferocity until they matched the door's feverish knocking. I tried everything in my power to ignore the call. "They" didn't, though.
"Ah, sounds like good times am I right, Sarah?"
I cocooned myself within my covers, knowing the voice's owner fully.
"It's not the same Asad."
"Oh, but I beg to differ. A weak little spawn, foolishly begging for mercy at the hands of a cruel warden? Sounds strikingly familiar. Which makes me wonder, do you think his scars will match yours when she's through with him?" he mused tauntingly.
"Please, as if she'll even have the courage to look. Knowing Sarah, she'll probably leave him behind, as she did me," another familiar voice said.
My heart stopped at terminal velocity. Calloused hands gripped the bed hard against the continuous knocking. Eventually, I worked up what little resolve I had to answer Jasmine.
"You know that's not what happened. You pushed me to keep going. You told me to live!"
"And you think this I wanted for you. I gave you a second chance to see your family and save lives. But you've wasted it away whilst nipping away at phantoms!"
The knocking started to get tremendous, rocking the entire bed while Brutus barked in unison with the landlady's strikes. When the three seemed to peak, one more ghost came into the frame. Jasmine's earthy tones and Asad's gruff diction fell away at the presence of a woman who commanded an enflamed allure.
"And why try to deny it?."
Those six words made my body stay dead like a doornail, hoping it would drive her away. But, she never was easy to fool or one to give in. So, instead, the lone wolf did what she best and tore away at me until I was left bare.
"You've been a Paladin, Ghost, Taotie, Hunter, or coward, but it doesn't matter. There was never any need for petty names when we were together. They've never counted. Not when actions tell so much more."
Despite myself, I found the door drawing closer, with my body moving independently.
"There's no need for justification. Answer that door. And show the world what you do best."
I then turned the doorknob and entered through. When I finally processed the dreaded concoction, my mind conjured. I saw what fresh new hell I put myself in. The minimalist relics of my room instantly got replaced by a large apartment filled with aged knickknacks, chipped floorboards, and shattered plates.
What stood out to me, though, was a series of pictures facing the walls instead. Each one had the same two people, one who was a petite man with a simple flat top against a more burly blond woman with her hair wrapped in a ponytail. Even through brief meetings, I knew they were Jeremy and Bonnie, respectively. What was more distinctive is that each photo captured their smiles through vacations, movie dates, and even the apartment building itself.
Making it sadder when I saw Jeremy's bruised face in utter despair as the pictures hung over him like haunting specters. With my outstretched hands, I felt a defiant squirm, realizing that this entire time, I had Bonnie already on her knees through a rear shoulder grab. Heated aggression flashed across her face as she tried to trash out of my iron hold with a knife in her hand.
However, her resistance didn't even faze me as I kept taking in various details, like how across her beefy forearms, I saw decades-old lashes, which you could only get if you were a child at the bad end of a ruler. That clicked the very last puzzle piece. If Bonnie wishes to continue the cycle of violence so badly, then I might as well make it go full circle.
What came next was as easy as breathing. My steely fingers turned to harsh talons at the flip of a switch as I twisted Bonnie's knife out of her arm and kicked it away. Taking it for myself would've made things too fast. And we couldn't have that, could we?
"206," I said without warning.
"What the fuck are you talking about, you fucking pri-"
I didn't even bother letting her finish. Instead of slamming her so hard against I hear her nose pop like a hot kernel. Whatever paltry threats she had lodged in her throat deadened through hushed whimpers—leaving me to carry on the dreaded narration.
"That's how many bones there are in the human body. And I will grind them to powder if you so much as raise your voice, much less a hand against Jeremy and I. Nod if I'm being clear."
Bonnie then nodded sheepishly.
"Good, now that that's settled. Let's ta-
Before I continued my demands, an unexpected element finally broke me out of my violent haze. Using the knife from earlier, Jeremy shakingly pointed it towards me, summoning up whatever desperate courage he could muster in a gripping sentiment.
"Stop! Get the hell away from her!"
Sheer terror excluded from every pour in his body. His stance was amateurish and unsteady. Yet, he was the one who commanded the most power in this room. It was through his fearful frame that my adrenaline-fueled mist faded away completely. Making me realize the one thing I couldn't pick up: I was wearing my Paladin mask.
A face I thought I could use to scare the victimizer, never the victim. Instead, though, I only proved Asad right. This, indeed, was like "old times." The only thing that's changed is the mask. Realizing I had just made things worse, I let go of Bonnie in sheer revolution while whispering under my breath.
"I'm sorry."
My words fell on deaf ears. Immediately she tried to push past the pain for another strike, but my parting words.
"Don't push your luck. If you hurt him again, I will know, and next time I won't stop."
I didn't bother waiting for a reaction or response beyond that point as I departed away from the shadows. And as I ran away from my turbulent crime scene with a brand new sensation. Since I never thought I'd see the day when I was more afraid of myself than an enemy.