Iron Quill - Ivory - The Tower

[Reservoir Dog]

In the silent blackness of his mind the first thing William became aware of was the sound of someone crying.  There was nothing else but this sound.  He identified it in his mind as the cry of fear and despair and it was the sound that was slowly rousing him like some macabre alarm clock.  As Williams’ senses and consciousness began to return he realised he was lying on his back.  He could feel the cold, smooth surface on the back of his arms and legs.  The cold penetrated through his entire body and would have been his overwhelming feeling had it not been for the painful throbbing at the back of his head.  As he tentatively opened his eyes the darkness was replaced by a brilliant light that caused him to instinctively try and cover his eyes with his hand.  But as he tried to move his hand towards his face his wrist felt the tightening of a chain resisting his movement.  As Williams’ consciousness was increasing so was his fear.  His wrists and ankles were in manacles and he had no idea where he was, how he’d ended up here, or why.  His breathing quickened and the panic now coursing through him caused his eyes to quickly adapt and bring his surroundings into focus.

 

William was looking straight up at a high vaulted ceiling at least four stories high.  It had skylights that had been boarded up, just allowing a few beams of light to enter.  William lifted his head so his chin was against his chest and he could survey his surroundings.  He looked towards his hands and feet first and could see he was chained to what appeared to be an ornate ivory table.  He tried again to move his arms and legs, shaking and shimmying.  He knew it was futile, but almost felt obligated to try.  As he accepted he was held fast he looked around to see that he was in a circular room with a further three ornate ivory tables evenly spread around the room, as though they were arranged to represent the quarters of a clock face, with a smaller circular table in the centre.  Despite the boards stopping the majority of light coming in through the skylights the ivory furniture, and what also appeared to be ivory walls and floor, meant the room was well lit, but with an eerie glow. 

 

William could see that the tables immediately to his left and right both had people chained to them.  He couldn’t see any movement and assumed they were either unconscious or dead.  He would have looked for any signs of life but his attention was drawn to the table opposite.  Despite having chains and manacles attached to the table William could clearly see they weren’t attached to the young boy who was actually sitting on top of the table.  William realised it was the boy who had roused him with his crying and he could see him rocking back and forth uncontrollably whilst hugging his knees to his chest.  He appeared inconsolable and the tears were streaming down his face.

William was too worried to shout to the boy and risk alerting anyone else that he was awake so was speaking though gritted teeth as he said,

 

“Kid! Hey kid!”

 

The boy didn’t flinch.  He just continued rocking and crying.

William arched his neck in order to look behind himself.  He couldn’t see anyone else in the room, but did see that there was a large wooden door with steel hinges and what appeared to be three padlocks.

 

William was trying to think straight but the sound of the boy crying and the situation he had somehow found himself in was making it very difficult.  He had another cursory glance around the room and decided that this boy was his best chance of getting help or answers so he raised his voice and tried again. 

 

“Boy! Can you hear me? Hey!”

 

The boy didn’t look up.  Instead he now began muttering something indecipherable to himself as he sobbed. 

William was startled to hear a deep voice suddenly come from the table to his right.

 

“Great.  You’ve started him up with that damn muttering again.”

 

William looked at the male on the table to his right.  He'd hardly moved. William could see his hair was greying and his face looked haggard but apart from that he was expressionless.  

 

“What the hell is going on here?” William asked.

 

The greying man didn’t move his head and gave a little snigger before replying,

 

“Last thing I remember I was getting into a carriage which was supposed to be taking me to make my fame and fortune in Malifaux.  Guess I left it too late”

 

Malifaux

 

William had heard many stories of Malifaux, but had never actually met anyone who wanted to go there of their own free will.  He had heard enough tales about that place to know his home was this side of the breach.

 

The greying man’s voice resonated around the room as he continued,

 

“I’d say the woman opposite was from somewhere in the Three Kingdoms judging by her dress…”

 

William glanced to his left.

 

“…and I’d say kid who won’t shut up is probably from the wrong side of the tracks judging by the way he’s somehow managed to slip his manacles.”

 

At that the man’s calm façade broke as he lifted his head and yelled at the boy,

 

“Shut the hell up and do something!”

 

William looked at the boy who didn’t even flinch.  His rocking back and forth continued as did his crying and muttering.  William decided that a different tact might serve them better and spoke in a calm assertive voice,

 

“Now listen to what I’m saying boy.  I want to help you and if we all work together we can get outa here.  Is there anything you can use to get us out of these chains?”

 

The boy instantly stopped rocking and looked at William who was staring back at him.  William actually felt unnerved by the boy suddenly stopping and as he looked into the boys’ eyes he could see nothing behind them.  As though someone, or something, had just switched his soul off. 

 

The boy pointed to the round table in the centre of the room and his voice was brittle as he spoke,

 

“There was an envelope and a knife on the table.”

 

“What was in the envelope?” the greying man interrupted.

 

William shot him a look as best he could in the circumstances and the boy continued unperturbed.

 

“The envelope was blank but when I held it I knew where it wanted to go and the letter inside it...  It was whispering to me...  It told me how I could get out of the tower...  It needs to be delivered.”

 

As the boy was speaking William realised that he had not seen a knife.  Where was the knife? He looked to his left and as he paid more attention to the woman he realised that her red dress was not supposed to be red and now the boy had stopped crying he could hear the drops of blood splashing on the floor.

 

The boy was looking at William looking at the woman. 

 

“I didn’t want to do it but it told me where the keys to get out are.  There’s three padlocks.  What else can I do?”

 

William looked back at the boy who had got off the table and was now nervously edging closer to the woman.  William watched as he pulled the knife from her stomach with his right hand.  His left hand was trembling as he reached into her stomach and pulled out a small iron key.   William arched his neck again to look at the door behind him and the three padlocks which were indeed locking them in.  As he looked back toward the centre of the room he could see the boy walking towards the greying man who spoke to the boy.

 

“I’ve done some bad things in my life kid so you do what you need to.  Just make sure that when you’re older you find the S.O.B. who tied me to this table.”

 

William couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

 

Tears were now cascading down the boy’s face but he made no sound.  William watched as the boy grasped the knife in both hands, held it above his head, and then with one swift movement brought it down into the greying man’s stomach.  

His body jerked on the table and a blood gurgle came from his mouth.  

 

William closed his eyes and scrunched his face up.  He couldn’t bear to watch the fate which also awaited him.  He wanted to live, not die on this table.  He knew he couldn’t get out though and the thought of dying so that a boy might live brought him some peace.  It was the only positive he could find in a sea of negatives. 

William opened his eyes to see the boy standing next to him.  His hands were covered in blood and he had a knife in one hand and two keys in the other.  Tears were still coming down the boys’ face as he said,

 

“I don’t know if I can do it?”

 

William hesitated and then said,

 

“Do it.  Dying to save another is not a bad way to go.”

 

With that, the boy lifted the knife above his head.

 

“Stop!” William shouted.

 

The boy froze with the knife dangling in mid-air.

 

William looked at the boys eyes again and uttered,

 

“They’re padlocks.  They lock from the inside.  Someone in this room locked the four of us in, the other two are dead and I didn’t tie myself up.  You did this to us.”

 

The boys’ tears stopped in an instant and a thin smile crept across his face.

William couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  The boys’ demeanour was changing before his eyes. One thought ran through Williams’ mind so strongly that he had to vocalise it.

 

“Why?”

 

The boy looked at William and spoke now with a cold, detached voice.

 

“I can kill anyone I want, but where’s the fun in that.  I don’t want to just kill you, I want you to want to give your life to me.”

 

William couldn’t believe what he was hearing and couldn’t help but respond,

 

“Who on Earth thinks like that?”

 

The boy grinned again like he was privy to a sick joke.

 

“On Earth… no one.”

 

[Haunter]

Interesting!  I love the twist at the end.  

[Laatija Gray]

Well written! That boy is creepy as hell...