Episode 4A: Revelations and Deviations

Logun has now come back to the tower and learns several things. More information on the Ascension has come in but they need more!

Episode 4

Revelations and Deviations

Part A

Logun was out in the streets but he did not see the bright sun or the blue skies. Instead he saw the thick clouds and rain that occupied the atmosphere. What a rainy day it was. The weather did not affect his schedule, so he traveled as if it were the regular day. Logun saw the people pass him and the people that he had passed. He thought to himself “I pass these people everyday, I never know if I will have to kill them or not. It’s my duty as a hangman to kill some of them and to sever the insubordinates from the rest of Acrisius.”

He had arrived in the main lobby of the tower. It was slightly packed but it was occupied, and it was filled with other Hangmen. Some of them wore punk gothic clothes, some wore leather jackets, hoodies, and other street clothes. He heard gossip, talking, and laughter.

“Yeah I hope they beat him up good down there.” said one of the hangmen.

“That’ll show him for being such a wimp for his first hunt” stated another who laughed.

They all stopped talking amongst each other and stared at Logun. He had seen Vixen sitting on one of the couches. Her legs were swinging back and forth and her shoulders were up straight. Her face had turned to Logun with that mask of her’s.

“Hey Logun baby!” said Vixen. “Mister Spree wants to see ya!”

“What does he want now?” asked Logun in a very rude manner.

“Hhmmmm, oh Vixen knows, he wants....” stated Vixen who was then interrupted by Logun.

“Not now, Vixen! I’ll figure it out myself.”

Logun had then entered into the elevator feeling puzzled about the other hangmen who stared at him. Logun was aware of the attention in the lobby. When the doors have closed he had the elevator to himself. Which button was he gonna press? 1, 2, 3, 10, 15, 25, 50, or 100? First his finger was on 100 but no, he pressed B. This was a button in which he had never pressed for a long, long time.

He was on ground level, so the elevator when downward. After a few seconds, the doors have opened. Ding! He heard heavy beats and bass from the walls to his ears. There was vibration on the floor. What was this? Music! Dance Music!

He made his way through the hallway which made the sound of the music increase. This music had heavy beats, a fast tempo, and a quick rhythm. He heard electronic noise out of the music and then the crowd cheering. To him it was just noise but to the crowd, it was pure drum and bass, techno, and rave.

What was this? When Logun opened the door, he saw the lights flash onto the dance floor. Several hangmen were dancing, most of them circled around the center of the dance floor. The dance floor was a grid like surface with each unit that blinked a different color. The lasers made random and scattered patterns. The speakers have bounced and vibrated and the lights orbited around the perimeter. The neon stood out well in the club.

He walked past the dancers and the hangmen. He pushed his way through them hastily and then had to tackle through the condensed crowd. When he got closer to the center, he heard punches and kicks. He also heard screams and cracks.

Ryan was there in the center of the dance floor. The dancers have made their flips, jumps, and windmills. One hangman attempted to kick Ryan in the ribs but Ryan caught the foot and twisted it around. He turned around and punched another hangmen. The blood poured furiously out of that hangman’s face. Ryan then kicked the hangman’s stomach and gave him an uppercut. He turned to another hangman who was standing steadily with his fists up. The hangman made one punch on Ryan’s chest to stun him. He then leaped on him and held his hands on Ryan’s neck. Fortunately, Ryan reversed the advantage and turned the hangman on his back. Ryan then mauled the hangman’s face and punched the hell out of it.

He screamed like a caveman, his fists were red, and the hangman could not bare to take the constant punches. Ryan’s face was partially beaten and his eyes were red but he did not care. He was in bliss, happiness, and in his own little world. Logun then came behind the mad Ryan and held his arm around Ryan’s neck. Of course this was to hold him away from the brutally beaten hangman but to also stun Ryan for a while. He dragged him away from the crowd in a very angry manner and took him outside of the dance party. Once they had exited to the hallway, Logun threw Ryan onto the wall to waken him up a bit. Logun stood up tall and looked down upon the bloody Ryan Gillard. Ryan looked at his hands and then laughed.

“God d****t, you’re high on drugs aren’t you!” stated Logun.

“Drugs? What drugs?” laughed Ryan. “It was only chocolate, Crimson's blood, then morphine, and....”

“Pull yourself together Ryan. Clearly no one can knock that s**t off of your body!” shouted Logun who was very disappointed by the response. “You shouldn’t let our fellow hangmen do this to you.”

“Yeah....they are our friends! We were having such a wonderful time!”

“Friends? Do friends turn you into a laughing stock and wage fights against you in the middle of a dance floor? They may be our colleagues but not your friends!”

“What the f**k do you know about friends Logun?” shouted Ryan Gillard in a more hostile matter “All I see you do is walk away when everyone is like ‘Oh how you doing?’ ‘what are you doing?’ ‘can I talk to you?’ ‘Can we be friends’ ‘You are such a nice guy’. Then you put up an attitude that tells them to go away.” Ryan went back into bliss, looked sideways and moved his hands and arms.

“Well you are a half intelligent dumb s**t that has to get pulled out of fights because you are just the odd little b***h out that no one will ever like!” screamed Logun with the top of his lungs.

“Oh yeah, well you can’t even talk to the one girl you call Tanya!”

Logun’s eyes have opened very widely and that name “Tanya” had triggered his conscious to the images of the girl he saw in the train. Ryan then laughed with his hands up as if he were in a roller coaster ride. Logun walked closer to Ryan and then formed a fist. He was about to punch Ryan within a second but then he hesitated. He did not let his emotions get the best of him as his hand was shaking. Logun then realized that this was just child’s play. What made him hesitate? Why didn’t he deliver the punch.

“And then all you have is that picture of her before you grow crazy from this city. All that chocolate they stuffed in my face has made me just a retard like I always was.” laughed Ryan Gillard.

“Don’t say that Ryan!” commanded Logun who dropped his intentions to punch him.

“What....why not? Why? It's true. Can’t I continue to please them? I loved this game!” asked Ryan in a whiney voice. “Can we go hunting again, I promise you I won’t cry like a b***h! Please Logun, Please?”

Logun chose to ignore Ryan and then went into the club. The dancers and hangmen stood by and gazed upon Logun. He took away their fun right? They couldn't be more happy if Ryan wasn't there!

"What, you want him?" screamed Logun to the crowd. "Yeah you can all have him but aren't we suppose to kill subordinates and not our fellow hangmen? The f**k is wrong with you all? He was just nervous in his first hunt. I was there, and you werent the ones who told him to shoot those subordinates. What gives you the right to gang up on him? If you wanna beat the crap out of someone, do it in the underworld, not here! This is a dance floor, not a gladiator arena!"

The crowd grew silent. Oh boy they all backed away after they heard Logun's words. He walked away and saw Ryan attempt to stand up. Ryan tried to balance himself and then got up finally.

"Aren't I just the fine punching bag!" laughed Ryan who held onto a wall. "At least Crimson can heal me once in awhile!" stated Ryan Gillard. "Now why is it that I get beat up all the time? Why couldn't I shoot those two girls without feeling like sad, but then the other hangmen treat their job like a game?"

"Because they don't see things the same way as you do! That's their loss Ryan!"

Eventually, all the morphine began to wear off quickly. He was sweating heavily and he could no longer move without feeling sores.

"It hurts Logun." said Ryan. "I need more chocolate, morphine, and Crimson's blood!"

Logun then face palmed himself and made a deep sigh. He could not take what was done to Ryan at all. The disappointment grew deeply within him. Ryan then yelled impulsively.

“Logun, you don’t know what it’s like to feel pain! I wanna go home!” Ryan then screamed louder, louder and louder as he felt the withdrawal symptoms. Once Ryan had an interval to calm down, Logun then came in closer to Ryan. His mind had drifted away from the reality he stood in.

Fourteen years ago, Logun hid behind a tree for several minutes. For he did not know where he was going to go. He sat down holding his abdomen breathing heavily but he could not let his exhaust give away his location. Logun was tired, exhausted, and afraid of what was to come to him.

“Too bad he won’t know anything about his real parents.” said the father from a distance. This had brought Logun’s attention instantly. He still hid behind the tree but he could not run any longer.

“Yeah, I doubt he would learn about what he did to his mother at childbirth!” laughed the mother. “That stupid little abomination just killed her. She didn’t even have a glimpse of his pathetic face! And now we have to take care of that thing that killed my sister!”

“Come on, let’s go home. Maybe we can call the police or something. He’s gonna have to be disciplined for this!” responded the father.

Logun then sat down and did not know what was inside of him. First it was all in his stomach, then his heart, then out of his eyes. He tried to suppress that face of his along with the tears that came along but he didn’t give in until the next few seconds. Once the parents were gone, he had to cry and let it all out. After that moment he......

“GGAAAUUGGGHHH!! It hurts Logun! Please” screamed Ryan. “You wouldn’t know what it’s like to be hurt!”

“Yes I do Ryan and let me tell you something about myself. I should probably start chronologically so you have to listen and man up out of those withdrawal symptoms.” stated Logun. He took a deep breath and said “Right when I came out of my mother’s womb, I killed her due to childbirth.” Logun looked down as he rubbed his eyes in one second.

“Logun..... don’t worry, it’s not your fault.” said Ryan Gillard who was now sympathetic. He no longer was worrying about his physical pain and withdrawal symptoms.

“Well that’s not what my new parents thought when they took me in. My real father sent me to some relatives that wanted me to call them mommy and daddy. They forced me to clean and sweep in the house just like regular chores but when it got too far was when they decided to beat me up and abuse me. Sometimes, they gagged me, shocked me with an electric cattle prod, and locked me in the pantry. And you want to know why they did that? It was because of their grudge against me. Me as the one who murdered my mother. My new parents loved my actual mother well but could not bare to look at me as their new son! I f*****g wished I slit them in the throat when I had the chance before running away and coming to this city!”

Logun began to explicitly remember the violent moments of his past. His flashbacks grew strong as he told the story. His hands cringed as his violent expressions accumulated. Ryan was only worried about what was to come to Logun.

“Now you see, this is why being a hangman is so much better than staying back at your previous life! We are above all of those subordinates who are just gonna sit in their homes and live in ignorance. Of course we can send all those sinners to hell, and I want you to have fun doing that Ryan. So don’t make yourself the underdog of the hangmen, enjoy the fun that you get out of shooting subordinate in the underworld. Remember how excited you were to become a hangman before your first hunt. Don’t lose that excitement. Because you gotta blend in with us so that you will be happier!”

He screamed with his emotions and tears that came out of his eyes. Logun then said in a calmer tone.

"I have to go Ryan. Don’t get into trouble anymore! And don’t take any more of the chocolate, morphine, and Crimson’s blood okay!”

“Yes Logun!” responded Ryan who struggled to speak. He was feeling cramps, aches, and pain.

A moment later, Logun had arrived in Carnegie Spree’s office. There he was standing in front of Carnegie’s desk with his hands in his pockets. Vixen and Crimson were accompanying Logun near each corner. There was Crimson who devoured the chocolate bars like a machine. His gluttonous expressions have made him stood out in the room as Logun and Carnegie were in a chat.

“Little boy, I called you up here to tell you about your little friend who right now is being.....” said Carnegie who was then interrupted by Logun.

“Punished! That’s it, right, yeah he deserves it. I knew giving him that lullaby wasn’t enough.” stated Logun who tried to blend in with Carnegie’s hidden sadistic side that was behind Carnegie’s cherubic face. It was difficult for Logun but he at least knew better than to express his true emotions, right? Of course Carnegie clapped his hands.

“Oh that’s so wonderful little boy. Now you know that I cannot tolerate any hangman who is a little cry baby and tries to toy with my heart.” said Carnegie Spree who twirled his cane.

“So boss? Do we have any information on the Ascension yet?” asked Logun who wanted to change the subject. For he could not bare to listen to more about Ryan’s punishment.

“Aahhh, Crimson, tell the little boy what he asked for!” commanded Carnegie in a soft tone.

“Well right now we have some hangmen hunting down some people who belong to the Ascension. We don’t have all of the names but I can find some more later on. But right now, we have delayed the targets we had before just to take down the Ascension because this Ascension could get serious!” said Crimson who walked closer to Logun.

“Why do you say that?” asked Logun.

“Oh Vixen knows, Vixen knows, let her tell you the story. Because there is a prophecy about the Ghost Runner.” said Vixen who hopped towards Logun. “Vixen says that the Ghost Runner is someone who has knows a lot about Acrisius, can get through specific points of the city, and is at least trusted by Mister Spree. But then, this Ghost Runner will secretly serve the Ascension to help the revolution.”

“Ghost Runner? Now who would that be?” Logun asked Vixen.

“Nobody knows silly! It’s a story that the Ascension share with each other!” responded Vixen.

“What if it could be true Vixen?” asked Crimson rhetorically. “This Ascension is definitely something that can’t be ignored. They broke into PRO news in the underworld just to send a message to the subordinates. Other than knowing who this Ghost Runner could be, these Ascension members are scattering around through portals and different locations in the city. They try to target specific areas and go on scouts but they can’t reach into them. One of those areas is the chocolate factory, the other is the Hermes Library, and then the PRO news Station.”

“But haven’t they already broke into the PRO news station?” asked Logun.

“Yes, but they are not fit for another invasion since we took out most of their members! All they need is the Ghost Runner then this city will go down.” responded Crimson.  

“No worries everybody. Right now we have to piece all of the information together so we can strike down the Ascension.” stated Carnegie Spree. “Crimson, you keep on doing your job to find more names and locations. This city depends on all of us! For now I must make a speech for my fellow hangmen.”

There they were, Logun, Crimson and Vixen stood at the stage while the rest of the hangmen stood up waiting for the Great Carnegie Spree. Logun stood up folding his arms and felt the wait to be very boring. Vixen sat down flexing and stretching. Crimson was just twirling his knives around his fingers. Sometimes the knife had severed his fingers but don’t worry, he can always regenerate those fingers back. Oh wait, look who is here! Carnegie Spree came up on the stage and earned the attention and cheers he received. The hangmen held their weapons up on the air which included swords, rifles, sickles, knives, pistols, shotguns, and staffs. They all wore gothic clothes and dark fashion. Carnegie stood on the podium, adjusted the mic and then made his speech.

“My fellow hangmen of Acrisius. This year, and the previous years, I loved the way you executed your job. There is a reason why this city has felt so free from the naughty subordinates, and the crime rate has decreased almost to zero. That was all because of you!” stated Carnegie Spree who caused the rest of the hangmen to cheer, including Vixen. “You all aren’t fit to stay below the tower, and you all aren’t fit to be them subordinates. But don’t celebrate yet silly hangmen, because we have a problem. This problem is something that we cannot simply put aside or we will not be able to carry on the lovely business. It starts with a capital ‘A’! They are called the Ascension!”  

Of course this made all of the hangmen boo at the words Carnegie had delivered. But then he knew what he was going to say next to counter that statement, so Carnegie Spree continued.

“Do not cry my poor children. They are not yet able to do any harm to Acrisius. All of them are just hidden freaks who are just crying because thanks to Crimson and Logun, they scared them off!”

The other Hangmen then cheered! “Logun, Crimson, Logun, Crimson, Logun, Crimson!” Crimson opened his hands and did a gesture with his arms which allowed massive gallons of blood to spray from both wrists. Vixen clapped her hands facing Logun and Crimson. However, did Logun take the praise very well, of course not, he just stood by with his serious face.

“But the Ascension have potential to inflict more pain to us Hangmen!” said Carnegie Spree. “We must hold off on some targets that I have already assigned to you, but right now we have new people that you must find and kill! But guess what citizens, they are part of the Ascension. What are we gonna do to them?”

“Shoot them, stab them, kill them, bring the bodies and heads of them to the tower.”

“Yes....Yes! We have all heard their lies but do we believe them?”

“No!” shouted the hangmen.

“Then you will all go out and get your targets right now! But let’s make this a game. The rules are simple. Anyone who comes back with the head of one of the targets gets seven chocolate bars! Run my little children....Run! It’s time to show we do not tolerate any whiney little babies who demand for revolution! The game starts now!”

Author's Note

I've been taking a big break from Ghost Runner and now I have posted this. The next part will come eventually but I am working on it. So any thoughts?

Reviews

[Writer #00]

the elevator when down-->WENT down ?
is someone who has knows a lot...---> who [omit has] knows

Woah. Fantastic chapter. You're a wonderful and extremely talented storyteller. I love the way you portray the hangmen. It seems like a bunch of school kids, with Spree as the principle, Ryan as the picked-on new kid, and the other hangmen as teachers or bullies (poor Ryan!! Lay off that chocolate, morphine and...did he drink Crimson's ...?).

Now I think Logun or Crimson is the Ghost Runner, since it is someone Spree trusts.

The ending to this was perfect and much like an actual pep-talk war-speech assembly. Of course Spree, the 'ageless child' would make murder and political resistance into a game... and the hangmen accept it like big, subjugate toddlers. :)

Well done!

[Xerclipse]

thanks Writer #00! Hangmen are no different from kids or school. Its a school running a city.

And yes, Ryan had consumed part of Crimson's blood to heal himself and it works as a drug. Being the picked on new kid is what happens if you are too wimpy to commit your first murder, haven't you been paying attention... lol. Im glad you enjoyed.

[Writer #00]

Crimson's blood heals him? I think I missed that...

[Shep]

Some of it seems very familiar to me abusive parents,chores cattle prods. I wounder where that came from..lol. Awesome chapter.awesome speech. Waiting for more.

[Xerclipse]

Lol well thanks for reading! Well good artists borrow, great artists steal. When I am done with this book, I can list all of the references I have in this book, like V for Vendetta, your story, DMC, or Amittyville Horror. Well I am just glad that since you shared a similar life, you don't go out and kill people for the government.

[Shep]

Trick is to stay a live long enough to finish. Not go on a killing spree.