Episode 5B: Hangman Has a Heart

A Chapter by Xerclipse

Logun still continues on with Tanya after his heart attack. Conversations between several people begin to reveal some facts and histories.

Episode 5
Hangman Has a Heart
Part B

The day was sunny as always. Acrisius could not be more clear and calm as it was. Downtown, both Tanya and Logun were in a diner together. It wasn’t too fancy, it wasn’t too cheap, but it was just right for the both of them. The sun shined brightly towards the window seat Tanya sat in. She clearly received more sun than Logun. Of course he didn’t receive the sunlight at all, he could only stare at the light. He was in the dark side of the table.

“What exactly happened in that train Tanya? I was completely blacked out at that time.” asked Logun.

“Well you were not looking so healthy when you first boarded on. You were sweating heavily. I mean it was just plain obvious that you weren’t well. So anyway you looked so tired as if you stayed up past midnight. Then you had that heart attack. I don’t know how much you remember but you’re screaming didn’t scare anyone. They heard it, they were there, but they didn’t turn around. Except for the ones who did were the ones who didn’t move an inch.”

The answer did bring a thought to Logun. This was no ordinary thought, this thought made him realize something about the subordinates of Acrisius. He always knew something was missing in the society of Acrisius. Tanya is a subordinate after all but then she was different. He realized there was something in her that nobody had. Logun was grateful to have her around.

“You know what I find interesting? You seemed to heal pretty quickly from that heart attack. I wonder how. Because usually it takes days, weeks or longer to recover. I don’t know why the doctor let you out quickly.” said Tanya in a suspicious matter along with that smile.

“I honestly don’t know.” replied Logun who did really know how he got healed.

“Oh well I asked because recovering from heart attacks can take a long process. Usually you have to make big changes in your life. Start some exercise programs or medication. Oh did he give you medication?”

“No, he didn’t. He said there was no need.”

Logun realized that Tanya was not oblivious at all. It was as if she was a doctor herself. There was only one best source of healing regardless of the hospitals in Acrisius, and that was Crimson.

“Hhhmmm, that’s interesting Logun.” said Tanya who felt proud that Logun didn’t have to go through a longer amount of rest or medication.

“So Tanya, we see each other on the train a lot. We both know our stops, but where exactly do you go everyday?” asked Logun.

“I go to the PRO News building because I work as a journalist.”

“That’s an interesting job Tanya.” said Logun.

“Yes, but then it is a lot of work, because it has to go through censorships, and has to be rewritten several times, and all that stuff.” stated Tanya who put her hand over her forehead. She looked down on the table because of the memories of stresses that her stories went through.

Logun then said. “Well PRO News shouldn’t twist and turn the facts around!”

In response to his words, Tanya put up a fake smile and stated “That’s what it’s all about! I bet Dick Bobber doesn’t even know what I really wrote!”

Logun heard the sadness and disappointment that came out of her mouth. It wasn’t very hard to realize that but he took his time for his next words. His next words were not a complex sentence, but simply just.....

“I’m sorry about that!”

“It’s okay but then you have to do what it takes to serve Acrisius Logun!”

“Well Tanya, I’m interested to see your stories and what you have seen in this city. Besides I wouldn’t want to hear Dick Bobber report it anyway! He’s way too big for his boots!” Logun continued in a lower voice. “ He just rambles on like ‘This is Dick Bobber for PRO News, Messenger of Heaven. What I say is true you little puppets of Acrisius. And don’t forget to worship our Carnegie Spree!”

Tanya had laughed mildly, but it was big on the joy. Logun didn’t know what to expect from her laughter. He had to take it in a very cool manner but he did begin to laugh with her as well. Of course he then realized what he had done except in the fact he was embarrassed. He first facepalmed himself but then laughed a bit as well. Once the laughing had stopped, Tanya then looked at Logun in the eye and asked him a question.

“How come we haven’t talked to each other before? Out of all the times we seen each other in the train, we never said a single word!”

Logun then answered “I.... I don’t know, its just that......Well it doesn’t matter. What matters is what happens right now!”

“I guess you are right!” said Tanya with a joyful smile. “But then we will probably be talking to each other more through that train filled with silence everyday to our workplace!”

“Yes.... I believe so too! said Logun. “I wonder what will happen when we talk to each other in there. Wouldn’t people think that.... we.....are.....weird?”

“Don’t you think I’m weird Logun?” asked Tanya in a curious manner.

“What.....NO!” answered Logun which caused Tanya to laugh a bit.

“Well then, I know you think of me as something else!”

“I...I just wanna say....that you’re different! Different is the word!”

Tanya had taken advantage of Logun’s slow way of putting words and laughed. She thought it matched Logun’s character very well. She actually thought it was cute too. She shied away just like she did at the train. Logun did too with his hand on the back of his head which dug under the long hair he had that flowed free. He realized that he had been more open to her than to anyone else genuinely. Sure he was a “what you see is what you will get” type of person but he couldn’t help but be his true self to her. This was a whole new experience to him and was a great relief from the other hangmen business.

Logun had difficulty reading Tanya as much Tanya was able to read him. She seemed like an open book but he wasn’t able to get much. Logun didn’t seem much as an open book but she was able to read him. He knew who he was talking to was a lot more capable of anything than he was. He was afraid to say the wrong thing. He was afraid to say the worse thing. Logun didn’t want to lose the next opportunity to talk to her but he enjoyed the laughter and the conversation.

“Logun, I can tell we will have stuff in common. I mean you clearly don’t like the PRO News that I work for. But Logun, don’t be telling this to anyone!”

Tanya then looked around then looked down and held her forehead. The excitement had degenerated into self disappointment and fear.

“Oh gosh.... Logun...... I shouldn’t have said that!” said Tanya.

Logun looked around knowing why she should have not said that. He tried to point out the other hangmen or the other factors that could kill the both of them.

“It’s okay Tanya.... I know a little bit more about the city being in Carnegie’s tower. You are safe here! No hangman had ever set foot in here or ever to plan on being in diners like these!” said Logun who only tried to cheer Tanya up.

“Really? How do you know?” asked Tanya.

“It’s a long story. I know some trends and some patterns the hangmen make. But you’ll be fine.”

Tanya and Logun had looked at each other with shyness and happiness. After they both had been calmed down and the anxiety went away, they took their own time to glance at each other. Clearly this moment was what he enjoyed more than his job.

Meanwhile in the Tower, there was laughter. This laughter was composed of excitement, passion, and happiness. In the hallway was that room that no subordinate, or hangman had ever set foot in. Only Carnegie Spree was the one who had that direct access to that room. Not a single voice besides Carnegie’s could be heard behind those doors.

Unfortunately, whatever fun was in that room had to be stopped. For Crimson’s blood had dripped from the ceilings of the hallway. Not a single drop of the blood dripped near the door, just at the corridor. The raining blood accumulated speed until all the drops from the ceiling came in contact with the ground. Then the blood circulated and intertwined to form his body. There he was, with his robes and knives. His fingertips had petted the edge of the blade as if it were a mere razor just being used for shaving.

“Boss.... I have acquired the information from the prisoners!” said Crimson.

Crimson just sat back by the wall when he pulled out his chocolate. He opened one bar and took one bite. One bite wasn’t enough. Three bites, seven bites! They consecutively gone higher. Of course he was the most addicted compared to everyone else.

“Oh Persephone.....!” said Carnegie through the doors.

Persephone? Wait who was Persephone? Crimson began to get familiar with the name. The name was only just a word to him. It didn’t mean much but it meant a lot to Carnegie by his tone. He heard more laughter..... laughter ….. and laughter! It got increasingly louder! Crimson did have patience but he did not know how long he would have to wait.

“Persephone..... that was a name in the Hermes Library!” said Crimson to himself. “Of course he would know more about her than I would.”

Creak! The door has opened and Carnegie walked very casually with his cane towards Crimson.

“Oh.... I am so sorry to keep you waiting Crimson! But go on... what have the prisoners said?” asked Carnegie Spree!

“Names Boss. More Names! I’m not sure if I was able to get all of them but they at least were able to reveal some information! Too bad they died after I gave them..... too much of my therapy! Plus Ryan had finished them off as well.”

“Ha ha! Silly boys, they don’t know how much they could handle! But I’m so happy that we got names from the Ascension! At least we got more people to kill!” laughed Carnegie. “What are the names? Any locations and places?”

“Names.... ahhh yes! They wrote them down on this piece of paper.”

Crimson reached for his pocket which was covered in blood. This blood was more of a maroon color. It wasn’t fresh like Crimson’s but it oxidized a bit. Carnegie took the paper and scanned the names. He saw one name all the way in the bottom. In that little smirk of Carnegie’s face, he began to chuckle.

“Is the list not as big as you expected?” asked Crimson politely who adjusted his glasses.

“Oh no...no it’s not that. It’s... just one of the names! I knew it.” laughed Carnegie Spree with excitement.

Crimson asked curiously with his fingers holding his mildly scruffy chin. “Which one?”

“The bottom one!”

Carnegie faced the list towards Crimson with laughter. The joy in him accumulated every second. Crimson saw the name but he didn’t seem to gain anything out of it. No sudden realizations, no reactions. Just a name written in blood.

“Hhhmmmm what is so special about that one?”

“Oh you silly boy! You will find out later!” stated Carnegie who then folded the piece of paper and placed it in his pocket hastily.

“When will the list be given to Vixen? I mean you did say that you wanted to see the list first before she would send them out to PRO news or the Hermes Library!”

“Not yet Crimson boy. Not yet! We can’t give it to Vixen!”

“Well boss, I just asked because the hangmen seem to want to play that game again!” said Crimson who then chuckled. “When she gets the names, then people get sent to the underworld.”

Crimson was right at that moment. When a person is a lawbreaker of Acrisius, or a member of the Ascension for this case, Vixen would receive the names of the lawbreakers. She would then have wrote the names down in the Hermes Library. There is a special book which contains the names of those who broke a law of Acrisius. Any name whose written in that book will be sent to the underworld as a one way trip. Unless if they were a hangman, they could exit out of free will if there was a pentagram on a wall. This book was labeled as “The Damnation“.

“Of course they do! But is there anything else you know other than the names of the members of the Ascension?” asked Carnegie Spree.

“Yes! They do have a hideout but we have an interesting fact Boss! Their system of travel is almost identical to ours! We use pentagrams to jump into the underworld.”

“What do they use Crimson? I am curious my boy!”

“They have crosses! The cross of Christ!” said Crimson who laid back on the wall looking down on the ground with a grin.

SLAM!! Carnegie’s fist had smashed through the wall in the corridor. He screamed in his demonic voice as his face shifted from that innocent childlike face to that demented face of his. He held his head with his hands which revealed to have a harder texture. The nails grew longer and darker.

“A subordinate in Acrisius who uses alternate routes that involves different dimensions are to be f*****g killed!” screamed Carnegie in his demon voice. Crimson stood back casually since Carnegie’s demon side was not news to him. It never bugged the hell out of Crimson, but hey he shouldn’t be afraid of anything.

Carnegie’s rage had then reverted back to his normal angelic self. His skin texture turned smoother and his face transformed back as a human. His teeth were not as sharp at this instant anymore. He then said “But then we need the hangmen to punish them. However it’s a shame Logun isn’t here!”

“You are right about that boss. But I healed Logun already. Can’t he just come back now? I definitely gave him more health than what is required to counter a heart attack! Are you sure you still want him off for tomorrow and the day after also?”

“Of course Crimson boy! He has to take a break!” stated Carnegie joyfully. Crimson was slightly confused by Carnegie’s decision but he still had to go with it.

“Logun doesn’t have anything else to do in Acrisius but to kill subordinates! What else is in the city that will......”

SPLAT! Carnegie had then transformed into his inner demon self instantly again. He punched Crimson in the face, but this wasn’t just a punch! This punch could create a hole through a tree. No one should ever try to block this punch at all. The right side of Crimson’s face splattered into bits. The blood had then painted the corridor. His right eyeball had turned into squash when it impacted on a wall. His skull turned into fragments and his glasses shattered everywhere. The dangling exposed jaw allowed the bone marrow to drip out of his mouth. Crimson’s remaining face was covered in blood. An artery was broken from the neck that sprayed furiously creating an abstract piece of artwork for the corridors. His body had then collapsed onto the floor but he was kneeling to recover.

“Logun shall have his time off from the hangman job! Whether he enjoys it or not!” shouted Carnegie in his demon voice. “You are dismissed you f*****g dipshit!”

His head had turned backwards in expense of some of his blood that splattered from his neck. The price of his one eighty degree head turn also cost his spinal cord. Were those really big expenses? Bones, blood, body or any anatomical part of his body? He could get them back at anytime! What did he care for?

“Sure thing boss” laughed Crimson whose tongue had difficulty moving to one standard position.

The voice that came out of Crimson to respond to Carnegie was not clear, but clear enough for Carnegie to understand. He had then disintegrated into a bloody puddle after half of his face had turned into a sunken hole with the partial organ that remained in his head. Eventually there was no more blood at all. He had disappeared from the corridors and went somewhere else. Carnegie transitioned instantly into his more human self, but he wasn’t very much human in the first place now was he?

“Silly Crimson boy. He doesn’t know why I gave Logun those days off” Laughed Carnegie to himself. “But soon he will know! He will be back to learn what goes on!”

In the dining hall of the Tower, there was Vixen who held her tray that had a juicy steak with mashed potatoes and peas. She walked away from the dining hall as she wore her mask. In fact she was the only one who wore the mask out of the hangmen. Isn’t it a bit odd?

The rest of the hangmen stopped their meal to observe Vixen’s walk. They all didn’t seem suspicious, but instead were attracted and blinded by the motion of her body. The only question they had was what was beneath that mask.

But then Crimson’s blood had crepted through the walls. The drips stalked Vixen as she walked away from the dining hall. Once the doors had opened, she turned to another room, and then to another room, and then to another room. The extended corridors did not stop Crimson’s blood from creeping towards her. The stalking blood never rested at all. Once she had stopped walking, she stood still and looked straight forward.

“Crimson, I know it’s you! How ya doing doll?”

“Doll you may call me? More like a bleeding rag doll Vixen. Isn’t it you that is the doll?” asked Crimson who reformed his own body back together. His clothes were stained but cleaned quickly. He adjusted his glasses to get a better focus on her. Vixen had then placed the food at a nearby table and turned to Crimson.

“Aaww Crimson boy, don’t make me blush like that!” said Vixen who made a feminine pose.

Crimson walked closer, closer, and closer to her. His right wrapped hand had almost came in contact with her left shoulder. His exposed fingers had slid towards her arm, then to her fore arm, and to her wrist. He gently held her wrist and lifted it up to him. Crimson stared at the arm as his thumb rubbed her palm.

“Crimson, what... what are....?” asked Vixen.

“I remember that day Vixen. You..... you should have told me!”

She had delayed her words once she knew what Crimson was talking about. This had bothered her tremendously. No other person could understand what was in her mind. The moment she had remembered was not one that would leave her alone.

“Why Crimson? Why? YOU WOULDN’T CARE! And that’s because that you wanted me to be a better HangGirl?”

“Vixen! Every hangman, and HangGirl you see have been hurt in some way!” said Crimson in a calm way.

“But no one understands me! No one even understands what you did to me!” shouted Vixen who leaned towards Crimson in a childish manner.

“That’s why you should have told me! I still see that face Vixen.” stated Crimson. He looked down upon her arm and said. “I think you looked prettier at the day you didn’t have this left arm.

“YOU’RE A GOD DAMN FREAK CRIMSON! A F*****G FREAK! WHY? WHY DID YOU TURN ME INTO A FREAK? WHAT WAS I SUPPOSE TO DO WHEN I TOLD YOU I HAD SKIN CANCER THAT HAD STARTED ON MY FACE? I SHOULD HAVE DIED CRIMSON!”

“Vixen, I wanted to....”

“NO! I don’t want more of your blood you pervert! Get away from me! We are the only ones who know about my face!”

“That’s not what I was gonna say!”

“Then what were you gonna say you f****n monster?” shouted Vixen in a angry tone. She took her arm away from Crimson and placed both of her hands on her mask. She cried and wept over the conversation and her lost mind.

“I am terribly sorry for what I have done! The blood can’t heal the facial cancer, but my blood was at least able to stop the spread. Scar tissue and cancer are very hard for me to heal.”

“What? That’s it? Sorry? You should have said that right after the car accident! Maybe I could have had a little revenge to kill that driver instead of you dragging him to the underworld and having him for yourself!”

Vixen then kicked her food and created a giant mess on the corner of the corridor. In fact Vixen’s mind was more of a mess than the mess she created with her food. She cried and ran away from Crimson. In this moment, Crimson too shared some of her insanity. His teeth had grinded each other. His tears were red, and his fists had tightened. The veins on his face had bolded and his bloodshot eyes grew. The pain grew rapidly in his chest. He tried to inhibit his pain but it grew stronger consecutively. Crimson’s hand had contracted and formed back to normal. This stage of Crimson was.... his withdrawl symptoms from the chocolate.

“Chocolate.... give me more f*****g chocolate...! Vixen.... Carnegie...anyone? CHOCOLATE! F**K ME!!!!” shouted Crimson to himself.

Feeling regret or negative emotions plus withdrawl symptoms were not the best times for Crimson at all. His body type was obviously very different from the others. He suffered from his own body type and his own blood. The blood had worked against him violently. He forgot which was up and which was down. His mind had went completely haywire even though his body had knelt down and his fingers had clutched the ground. There were multiple blood branches that clutched onto the floor. These blood branches had splattered from his fingertips.

“CHOCOLATE! I DEMAND IT NOW! GIVE IT TO ME! GIVE IT TO ME!”

End of Volume 1
To be continued

prev chapter

© 2013 Xerclipse

Author's Note

This took a long time. I do hope that I will be able to add as much episodes to this as possible but does anyone know the limit or capacity before I get cut off? Anyways I hope you enjoy as much as I worked hard on this!

So what do you think about Logun and Tanya, or Crimsons interactions?

My Review

Would you like to review this Chapter?
Login | Register

Reviews

Writer #00

Some suggestions:
crepted-->crept
After a while, to me at least, the profanity began to sound redundant..but that's just my opinion : )

Review:
Thanks for the cliff hanger ending -_-, now I have to wait for the next episode to find out what happens to Crimson...I'm beginning to worry that he'll actually die if he doesn't get any chocolate. Does the chocolate keep Crimson's blood from hurting him?

Logun and Tanya seem like their relationship will surely blossom into more, so good job setting that up. I liked their interactions (it was so cute seeing Logun act shy around her), but now I'm worried that Acrisius will somehow have heard what Tanya said and send her to the underworld....I guess that would be interesting, actually. I wonder how Logun would react if he had to kill her? Oh no! I just got an idea....what if the name on Crimson's list was Tanya?! I guess I could see her being an Ascension member, then again I could also see Logun being an Ascension member.

Interesting. You're keeping the theme with Christianity/Religion by representing the corrupt government of Acrisius with pentagrams and its enemies with crosses. What will happen next?