Betrayal Narrative

Betrayal

 

Chapter One Lillian        

In the city of Emberson and planet of Metalika, Achklan, or Lillian as Reed calls
her in his English translation, woke warily lying awkwardly in the arms of her
human husband Reed on their metal cot. Reaching for her crown with her black and
purple hands, placing it on her head. Waiting in suspense for the time when the
execution ceremony started twenty minutes before the suns set.

The Royal Guards had found five members of the terrorist group IKA
(International Killing Association) hiding quietly behind the crater wall,
that guards the city Emberson from the terror of the molten iron lake, Megaton.
The lake surrounds the city walls  bubbling away hot enough to melt anything like
candle wax, except the triple layered iron walls. IKA had been planning to bomb
the wall with major explosives to let the lake flow into the city of Emberson,
melting everything.

During the ceremony for the executions the Imperial Guards will chain all prisoners
arrested in the past six months to special cranes that are able to withstand the heat
of the lake. The choir will wait till the fiery suns start to set and they will sing the
ceremonial song that is supposed to cage the prisoner’s souls in Megaton for
eternity.

After that the General Guards dunk the prisoners bodies in Megaton and watch them
burn in fascination, their flesh dripping off their skeletal frames and into the lake,
the three suns illuminating the skeletons gruesome forms.
Secondly everyone starts dancing and feasting happily,
celebrating the release of the evil souls into Megaton.
Lastly the skeletons are branded into the walls, cautiously as to not burn a hole in
the actual wall, with a red hot iron plate like giant stamps, as a reminder to
Emberson to avoid being a terrorist.

“Is it time to get ready?” Inquired General Topaz tentatively, her most trusted
officer.

“Yes, get the prisoners ready, make sure the choir is ready and bring me my white
dress robe. Actually, bring me the black one since this is Reed’s first execution I
have to dress up properly, oh and get Reed a suit while you’re at it,” answered
Queen Lillian briskly. “Yes ma'am, right away,” Topaz rushed out of the room
yelling instructions to the Metalakans beside her excitedly, leaving Lillian to
prepare her speech.

                                           

Chapter 2 Reed.

Reed awoke to find Lillian confidently repeating her speech for the executions in
the bathroom.

“Good morning hon,” He whispered as he rose slowly from their bed, stretching
his arms.

“Good afternoon more like, hey could you put that suit on and make the bed before
we go,” She replied from the bathroom.

“Why?”

“Because we have the execution ceremony to start,”

“Really?, I completely forgot about that,”  he replied in surprise, but Lillian had
already gone back to her speech and make-up. Twenty minutes later he had the
black and silver suit on and he and his wife walked arm in arm onto the balcony,
strolling confidently in front of the few million subjects and started the ceremony.

“Today is a special day for multiple reasons, we have a new king who has been with
us for all of three months King Reed. We also have my two children, James and
Rose, who will be the executioners for the day. The prisoners we are executing
today are as listed, IKA members Jackson, Sila, Melissa, Raevyn and Lila. These
are the traitors that my guards caught. This proves that the Royal Guards are here
to protect the city of Emberson. Let Megaton cage these souls, let these people be
reborn as good citizens of Emberson, and be forever loved. Let the ceremony begin!”
The queen ended the speech with a flourish. The choir started singing as Reed
backed slowly into the shadows.

“Sir?” asked someone behind the door. Reed jumped in fright, he didn’t expect
anyone to be in there until the suns set.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” He barked.

“It’s only me sir, Chopper,” said Chopper quietly as not to frighten him again.

“Holy smoke Chopper, what are you doing here? I thought IKA was holding off for
a few days due to the failure at the crater wall, why aren’t you hiding out with
them?” He queried the young terrorist.

“I was told to see how you were holding up being with the royal family, it was bad
luck they chose you for this disguise position. Anyway have you learnt anything
about future positions of the Guards?” Hurried Chopper.

“No, but I do know…,” Started Reed, when suddenly he heard footsteps coming
down the hall.

“Honey is that you? Who are you talking to?” Lillian was walking cautiously down
the hall the fluorescent lights flickering, the clitter clatter of her black heels
echoing throughout the hallway. He had to think quick.

“Yeah, uh I was just talking to myself!” he called out hoping she would turn around
when she heard his voice.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes I’m fine,” he shoved Chopper roughly into a random room, just as Lillian
turned the corner.

“Are you not watching the ceremony?” she asked, noticing the beads of sweat
running down her husbands forehead, and the way that his hands were twitching.
She just thought he was a bit queasy from the ceremony, as he didn’t have this type
of thing when he lived on earth.

“Yeah I was just stepping away for a moment, as I get stage fright sometimes.”
He replied nervously.

“And I hate watching my partners get melted,” He thought bitterly.

“Well okay then, uh just remember to come with me to congratulate the choir and
to help James with the controls for the crane,” she reminded him, curiously
wondering if he was really okay.

She walked down the spiral staircase to where the choir was positioned.

“Phew that was a close one boss!” Chopper exclaimed in relief, back with Reed
now the conversation with the queen was over.

“You’re telling me, right you go back to IKA’s hideout and I’ll see you tonight,”

Chopper climbed down the stairs wordlessly and hurried away. Reid joined Lillian
with the choir.

Chapter 3 Chopper

As he hurried through the back alleyways of Emberson he wondered what the other
members would say about him sneaking out. He had told Reed that he was told to
check up on him, but the truth was he missed him, when IKA had invaded earth
around 30 years back Reed had been found as an orphan toddler.
They had decided to keep him and raise him as a terrorist.
While he was thinking about this he was suddenly grabbed by someone in the
shadows and pulled roughly into a shed.

“What are you doing, out here with these barbarians?,” hissed No Name furiously.
No Name was found as a child when his parents were taken by people from earth as
study objects, he didn’t yet have a name so they just called him No Name.

“I was just checking on Reed to see if he had any information on the positions of
the guards,” Chopper struggled against his temporary captor earning a painful flick
to the head.
“Ow! What the heck was that for?,”

“Shut up!,” No Name put a hand over Chopper’s blabbing mouth in an attempt to
quieten the frustrating child. Then they heard the sizzle of melting flesh and
people’s cheers, and they knew that their friends had been killed.
The mood turned somber in the little shack as Chopper remembered the good times
he had with his friends.

Bombing houses was their favourite activity.

No Name pulled Chopper along with him to their hideout, his friend following
him absentmindedly. As they passed a food stand for roasted duck-billed
turtlepusses he swiped three for dinner that night and tucked them slyly into his
oversize jacket.

“Oi, those kids just stole my food!,” yelled the shopkeeper furiously

No Name broke into a run dragging Chopper behind him in a flurry. Chopper felt a
heavy weight on his back and was tackled to the ground by a nearby police officer,
his face smashing into the ground. About five meters ahead of him, he saw that his
companion had been tackled as well. As his hands were being pulled behind his
back and being locked in handcuffs, he felt a taser being pushed into the nape of
his neck and felt a very painful electric pulse. Everything went black.

When he woke up next he was in a damp cell in the local jailhouse. After he saw
No Name asleep across the room from him he tried to get up and found he had
been handcuffed to his bed. After five minutes of trying to get out of his handcuffs,
he suddenly realised that his friend had stopped snoring.

“Hey,” he said as No Name tried to get off his bed, “You’re handcuffed to the bed,”
No Name dropped down on the bed.

“Oh,” he sighed in defeat. They stopped talking as they heard the guards walking
cheerily down the eerie, damp, dripping corridor, their footsteps echoing loudly.

“You two are in big trouble,” the guards say in unison.

“Now, normally the king or queen would be here to sentence you but since they are
not here you will stay in the cells for the night until they are available, which won’t
be ‘til tomorrow,” explained guard number one. They talked with each other.
The second guard shoved two trays of cured duck-billed turtle-puss and yillywheat
which is a kind of bread. One of them walked away whistling a cheery tune.
The first one went into the cells and unlocked the handcuffs.

“No funny business, alright?,” he said gruffly.

They nodded wordlessly. When the guards have left Chopper gets up and walks
over to the trays then starts dishing out the food. They lie on their beds and fall
asleep. In the morning they were woken up by voices.

The guards walked in with the King with them.

“So what do you think is the appropriate sentence?,” asks the first guard excitedly.

“Well I think that they should be freed without sentence because it is the day after
the executions and it is time to celebrate, but I need to talk with these two alone,”
said the king regally.

The guards nod and walk out.

“Due to the circumstances I am pushing the demolitions to tonight” Reed explained
hurriedly, “do you understand your positions?”

“Yeah, but why tonight?” Chopper questioned with confusion.

“That’s for me to know,” Reed answered briskly, standing up to leave. The boys
followed silently, their minds whirling with the new information.

IKA had set up the explosives and were waiting for the king's command to run
through the walkie talkies. Meanwhile the king was in his chambers trying to get
the queen out of the castle.

Chapter 4 Reed

“You really should go for a walk outside, it’s a lovely night,” he said pleadingly,
slyly inching her toward the door.

“Why won’t you come with me?,” she asked suspiciously.

“Because I don’t feel well and I have a headache,” he answered with the practised
excuse.

“Okay then I’ll see you later,” she said uncertainly. After she left he waited ten
minutes then made the call.

As he looked out of the window he saw a large explosion but didn’t hear anything
as he was so far away from where Megaton flowed into Emberson, but he did hear
the screams of the metalakans as they realized the danger. He saw babies crying
and people dying, he saw whole families perish, their queen slaughtered in front of
their eyes. But what hurt him the most was when he saw his friends being dragged
into the lake by angry civilians. He was then escorted into a helicopter and flown
away.  The next day he woke up in the faraway town of Firestone. But that wasn’t
what surprised him, what surprised him was the fact that he was handcuffed to the
bed that he lay on. His questions were answered when his guards walked in with a
judge.
“Reed Anderson you are being sentenced for the complete annihilation of the
former city of Emberson and high treason, do you deny any of these accusations?,”
stated the judge with a bored voice.

“Yes I do,  how dare you accuse me of high treason when you know I have been
king for a long-ish period of time and I have sort of proven myself worthy to
remain your respected and loved king! Secondly why would I burn a city that I love
to the ground? That is an absurd accusation!,” ranted Reed angrily.

“Are you done?,” asked the judge who had clearly not been listening.

“Yes I‘m done!,” snapped Reed in annoyance, struggling against his bonds
ineffectively.

The jury’s representative stepped up.

“Mr Anderson, can I call you Mr Anderson? We have video footage that clearly
shows you and members of the former terrorist group IKA collaborating with each
other in dark alleys. We even have one that shows you talking to a single member
in the halls of your castle during your barbaric execution ceremony three days ago,
do you have anything to say about that?,”

“You’re bluffing,” stated Reed swallowing nervously, “we don’t even have cameras
in our castle!,”

“Then we will have to play the security footage,” said the representative, feigning
disappointment, he went to the tv and slid in a tape.

There was the whir of the tape starting, then silence, as they all watched what was
on the T.V.

On the tiny screen Reed saw himself talking with Chopper and exchanging tiny
explosives. He also saw himself by the crater wall running from the guards just as
Raevyn and the others got caught. After the video was done he admitted to
everything and got dragged away by some police officers into the underground
cells. The following day he was brought out to a stand in the town square on public
display.

Once there he was publicly whipped 21 times, then he had salt rubbed in his
wounds, after that they brought out the guillotine and put him in it. Just as he
thought he was done for he heard a voice.

“STOP!!!!!!!!” cried out the last person he expected to be there. “Chopper!”
Reed called out in surprise, “what on Metalika are you doing here?!” Chopper
said nothing as he advanced slowly, cautiously approaching them, his hands in a
gesture of surrender,

“Please, you may as well kill me as I am the second in command of IKA,” he pleaded with the executioner. The executioner nodded silently and and motioned for the people holding Reed down to pull him up and remove him from the guillotine.

They replaced him with Chopper. The executioner let go of the rope and brought
the blade crashing down on Chopper’s neck, passing through like butter.
The head rolled to Reed’s feet, the face turning up at him. He saw Chopper’s
expression, almost peaceful with a tiny grimace. Then Reed was dragged into the
guillotine and tied down. He felt the whoosh of the rope being released and felt
the blade passing through the skin, the muscle and finally, the windpipe.
He had a moment of peace, then darkness.  

King Reed spent the rest of eternity in nothingness and suffering, in case you
wanted to know.