Jacie kept questioning Adam on the road, but he answered less and less. He pulled away, and by their final day of travel, had fallen completely silent. As they approached Dallas and traveled through the rural territories, Jacie noticed an uptake in security and defense. Five miles away she noted an uptick in soldiers. Four miles in she saw some forts in the distance, and by the time she was three miles away, they towered behind her. In the remaining two miles to the city lay a sprawling suburb, with houses more clean and beautiful than anything she had ever seen. Adam seemed unimpressed and set his sight on the road ahead. She wondered how ornate and spectacular the houses on the moon must be, for him to all but ignore the splendor surrounding him. Guards and citizens peering at him, all the while all but ignoring Jacie. She felt strangely glad for the lack of attention, even if it was bad for her self esteem, she didn’t like all of the eyes on her. She much preferred them on Adam, who hardly seemed to mind. As they approached the gates Jacie got a sense of inferiority, that she was less than everyone else. Why was she here? Did she want to be here? Did she have a choice? Her questions would go unanswered.
Eventually they reached a large gate with an even larger wall surrounding it, the gate was as tall as the tallest house in Jacie’s village, which is to say just about three stories. Adam knocked on it, then waited. After a minute or two he tapped it lightly, as if he was checking if it was hollow. He then kicked the gate down, sending the now loose doors flying. As Jacie fell back in surprise she heard the distinctive and all too familiar sound of bones and body being crushed beneath something heavy. Now she was paralyzed with fear, fear of the Queen’s guards, who might open fire at any second, killing her. Fear of Adam, who had seemed to be but a graceful god, akin to Apollo, but now she saw him more akin to Ares or Mars. From inside the now destroyed gateway, she saw a small army of confused guards, all reaching for their weapons. But Adam was faster. In one swift action, he pulled out his shotgun and shot three times, blowing off that many heads. Now the guards were reeling, some fleeing, some seeking cover, and some returning fire. Jacie was cowered behind a wall, where she hoped the gunfire couldn’t reach her. After a certain point, she stopping trying to cover her ears and let the sound of the massacre wash over her. With it came the terrifying agony of complete fear.
Adam tore through (both literally and metaphorically) the guards. Once he ran out of ammo in one gun, he would use it to smash someone’s head in and repeat that until it broke. He would then pick up another dead guard’s gun and ammo (which he wasn’t lacking for) and continue the carnage. He didn’t take any pleasure in the slaughter of these guards, they simply stood in the way of his goal. His clothes were now all but completely shredded, torn by constant bullet fire. He was covered in blood, both his and other’s, and his wounds were healing at a rapid and near instant rate.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the sound of gunfire and death went silent. Jacie remained to hide in complete fear for a while after, until Adam, blood-soaked and nearly naked, went to retrieve her. He picked her up, staining her clothes with the blood that now coated him. He told her that everything would be alright, and to stand up. He asked if she was alright, in such a calm and reassuring voice that half her mind said that, yes, she was fine, and the other told her to run in fear. She stood on shaky legs and hiding behind Adam, followed him as he picked up a still breathing guard. He lifted the guard into the air and asked, “Where is the Queen?” The guard kept silent, kicking and fighting. Adam asked again, “Where is the Queen? If you tell me, I’ll let you live.” The terrified guard surveyed his surroundings, seeing so many people he once knew, now reduced to mangled corpses, and did a quick revaluation of his life choices. He quickly pointed to a locked doorway. Adam dropped him to the ground, then reached to his left, taking a revolver from a nearby corpse. He wiped the blood off of it on the guard’s clothing and handed it to Jacie.
He walked to the doorway and once again, kicked it down. He strolled through, and Jacie followed him quickly. Before she passed through, she got one last glimpse of the guard Adam had spared. Across his face, a look of complete and utter fear stayed. It would remain that way for a month when he would take his own life.
On the other side of the passage was a beautiful throne room. In the middle sat the Waster Queen, adorned in simple clothes. On her left and right stood lines and lines of guards and soldiers, all looking a bit scared, training all of their weapons at Adam. He smiled when he saw her. He pulled out his weapon, and Jacie saw a few soldiers flinch. He unloaded it and laid it on the floor. He did this for each weapon he carried but left Jacie with the revolver he had given her. Once this was completed he spoke.
“My Queen, I have come to bargain.”
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