"Hey Pete it's Cedrick, I know you're probably getting tired of me calling all the time, but I'm done with him Pete, he won't talk. I'm starting work again tomorrow and the police have already come to my door to ask about his disappearance. I'm thinking I'll just off him today and wash my hands of this whole ordeal. I'm just so tired of it all... Call me back when you get this."
Cedrick sighed and shook his head, there was nothing more to gain from keeping Kira trapped in his basement. The police might even begin to catch on to what he was doing.
Cedrick stepped inside his house and took off his shoes then placed his items on the counter.
As he was unpacking his things he received a voice note from Peter. "Sorry I didn't receive your call earlier, I'll be over in ten minutes just sit still." Cedrick sighed and sent a text.
'Alright see you soon.'
He put the last gallon of milk in the fridge, then he went to check on John, just to dish out a bit more revenge before Peter arrived.
He walked towards the basement when he noticed that, 'The lock was melted?' Cedrick could only guess what had happened and cursed himself for his stupidity. He opened the basement door and wasn't surprised to see Matthew missing, along with the Blowtorch and a few other tools, including the majority of the contents of the First aid box.
He looked around him but he couldn't see John, so he dashed into the basement and grabbed the pair of rusty scissors he was using earlier.
After acquiring a weapon the first thing he did was run to his jacket that he'd left on the counter.
'The son of a b**ch took my phone!'
Wait. That wasn't all. He was missing something else. The gun he kept in his left inside pocket, the gun that Peter had handed him, the day he lost his family, was gone. Any thought of capturing or killing John disappeared when Cedrick realised this.
Cedrick tried the front door but both the handle and lock were melted and scorching to the touch. He also tried to kick it down but the door wouldn't budge.
'How the f**k did he do this so fast.' Cedrick's eyes scrutinised every inch of his house looking for signs of Kira. His palms were sweaty and his body was pumped with adrenaline.
'That fucker has to pay for what he did to my family!' Cedrick thought, 'I... I can't just stand by and let him do this, let him get away with this. I have to stop him somehow, even though he has a gun, that doesn't change much, I know every inch of this house and he doesn't. His body is also severely weakened, the fact that he's got that gun means nothing because he only has one hand to shoot it with, and that's the same arm with an untreated bullet wound.'
Slowly Cedrick's mindset began to change and his resolve was boosted, unknowingly influenced by his deep set rage. He allowed himself to get angry and scoffed at himself for being so overly cautious of a severely crippled man, now his only objective was to find and kill that rotten scum of the earth.
It was then that Cedrick recalled Peter's words from a few days ago.
'Don't forget this man is an experienced killer and probably served in the military too, if you want to kill him do it safe, don't underestimate him.'
Cedrick decided to calm himself, recognising the fact that his anger was controlling him. This man was still a force to be reckoned with, one hand or not, he is a presumed veteran and seems very experienced, so it was best to think rationally. Leaving any sort of weapon or tool within arms reach of Kira was beyond stupid in the first place, but there's no fixing that now.
Suddenly, he heard a rustle on the other side of the house.
'Was that him?'
Then, a loud crash and acrid smoke penetrated his nose.
'What is he doing? He's gonna burn the damn house down, does he plan on dying here?'
Cedrick's first thought was to find a way out, he tried to kick the door down again but his efforts were in vain.
He turned and ran towards the nearest window in the living room. He wrapped his jacket around one of his fists and punched the glass with all his strength and it shattered upon impact.
"Hello Cedrick, how are you? From the look on your face I would say you seem quite panicked."
John stood in the middle of the living room with a half empty can of aerosol in his bandaged right hand and a blowtorch tucked in his left armpit. He was barefoot wearing an oversized shirt and baggy jeans, but in his pockets were a gun and a kitchen knife. He put down his makeshift flamethrower and grabbed the gun with a shaky hand. Half the living room was now ablaze and the fire was spreading unnaturally quick, as if it were alive.
"Tell me why!" Cedrick snapped. "Why did they have to die!"
"They died because I wanted them to, and everyone else should too, do you see what I'm holding Cedrick? This is what we humans made to kill each other. If we as humans made it, then surely I as a human should make use of it. You used it once and I'm doing the very same." John limped to a wall and leaned on it for support, but he kept the gun on Cedrick.
"I used it to fight for my country, I used it for the sake of my people, Guns belong in wars! Put against Soldiers! Not civilians... Not against innocent families."
"That's just it Cedrick, this is my war. My war against humanity, all of Humanity is like a parasite, and I've seen what it's like, I've lived what it's like Cedrick. I fought for my country against you Brits. I lost my family, my friends, everyone I loved I lost, tell me how that's fair Cedrick? You say you fought for your country, but when the 'soldiers' of your country decide to rape innocent people, tell me, is that truly the country you want to serve?"
Cedrick watched in silence as John began to vent, his anger wouldn't allow him to reason with John, or even feel sympathy for him, but at the very least he understood.
"Cedrick you and I were in the same position, we can't control what the people in power do, only contribute. You joined the war effort and probably left a war hero right? I came home to the news that my sister and mother had been raped and killed. My family did nothing wrong, they weren't even in the war. Or at least that's what I thought, but I've learned to think differently now. When two or more parties enter war Cedrick, Civilian or soldier, everyone's involved. I don't blame you for what you've done to me, I don't matter anymore, the country is on the brink and after this, the damage will have been done, this country will tear itself apart. You won't be there to see it."
Cedrick jumped behind the couch as four shots grazed by. He heard Matthew curse and move behind cover as well.
"Bastard! I'll kill you!"
"You know your wife said the same thing when I was done with your son, you two really are made for each other. She wouldn't stop crying when I showed her what a real man's touch felt like, I bet she loved it when I-"
Cedrick released an animalistic roar as he charged at John. He discarded his weapon and tackled his target to the ground, quickly reaching for the gun. Unexpectedly, John threw the gun away and before Cedrick could process what was happening he felt a sharp tingling sensation in his abdomen.
Then there was a heat like nothing he'd ever felt before, as the knife left his stomach. Though it was always like that when you get stabbed. John stabbed Cedrick again and Cedrick spat blood but this time he grabbed John's hand and pulled the knife out himself.
"You think something like this will stop me from killing you?" Cedrick said and his bloodied teeth opened up into a grin.
His eyes were burning so fiercely with an unfathomable hatred and his whole body was shaking with unbridled rage, as he twisted John's hands and wrestled control of the knife.
The fire was crackling all around them but nowhere near as ferocious as the anger Cedrick felt.
John finally dropped the knife and Cedrick kicked it into the fire. He got on top of John and his punches rained down upon him like a relentless wave. John tried to retaliate at first, by punching Cedrick in his stab wound, but his punches were too weak to stop Cedrick. After a moment John lost the strength to resist and Cedrick's rage boiled over.
"Fight me!" He roared, as he continued to pummel John. "Fight me you bastard!"
His punches slowly stopped, and a few seconds later he took a deep breath and looked at John. His face was sunken into his skull like a meteor had struck it and blood leaked out of his nose, ears, eyes and mouth.
Cedrick's knuckles were broken and his hands were numb, but he felt nothing.
The fire raged on as he looked around him and he realised he was still angry.
Cedrick slowly lay down next to John's corpse with laboured breaths. "Tell me why you bastard. Why were we all fighting in the first place..." Cedrick said as he began to close his eyes.
"Cedrick!" A voice called his name.
'Am I in the afterlife?' he thought.
"Damn I thought I lost you for a second." Peter said as he heard Cedrick begin to mumble. "You are still alive right? Don't worry I've called the ambulance they'll be here shortly, what the fuck happened?"
"Pete..." Cedrick mumbled as he began to stand up.
"Come on I've got you, let's get you out of here." Peter said as he helped Cedrick up and they made their way out of the burning house through the window. Peter put Cedrick down on the grass in the front garden for now and rested his head on a small rock.
"Alright, just stay awake okay? And try to breath, here I'm applying pressure to the wound, this might hurt a bit. You better not die, cuz you owe me a new jacket after this."
Cedrick chuckled. "I'll owe you more than just a jacket Pete."
"Come on we're brothers, don't even think about it."
Cedrick smiled as he looked at one of the only loved ones he had left.
"You know I'll always love you Pete."
"Don't say that shit as if you're about to die, there'll be plenty of time for that kinda stuff later, just stay strong till the ambulance come alright?"
"Right."
Around 20 minutes later, the ambulance arrived and the Paramedics rushed out to get Cedrick on a stretcher as one of them came to check his pulse.
"What took you so long?" Peter barked. "He's been bleeding out for half an hour."
"We are quite busy at the moment, we don't have enough people to deal with injuries from all the riots happening." The paramedic responded. "Wait a second. He... He's dead."
"What? No he fucking isn't I've been talking to him this whole time." Peter yelled.
"I'm sorry but you must be mistaken, this man has been dead for over half an hour."
"W-What? How is that possible, I... He was speaking just a minute ago. Just a minute ago he..."
"Sir, I think it's best if you come with us for now."
Peter's eyes were fixed on Cedrick as he began to regain his senses.
The truth is, before Peter had dragged him out, before Peter had even found him, Cedrick had died in that house.
Or maybe... maybe the truth is, he died along with his family on that fateful day, when Kira last struck.
Peter walked towards Cedrick's body, with tears in his eyes.
"So I was talking to a corpse for 30 minutes straight huh? Damnit Cedrick! Why'd you have to go and get yourself killed."
He formed a fist with his right hand and it went to his heart while his left hand went behind his back.
"Cedrick... Whatever it is you do in your life after death, give it your heart. Rest well soldier... until we meet again."