The Zombie Reaper

Lynuel had long since given up trying to leave the compound. The first day that they had come back, Lynuel honestly hadn't cared. He hadn't wanted to eat, let alone leave the compound. Now he wanted to be able to go out amongst the people and walk, to feel normal if only for a single moment in time. This single pleasure was denied to him however. He should have paid more attention to Father Thomas when he said that his life belonged to the Order.

Moving silently into the lounge that had been appointed for the "Nzombiy Task Force" as they had been so named, Lynuel was surprised to see Silence staring out a window absently rubbing at the red band around his neck. He had only seen the man twice since they had returned and never had it been alone. Looking around the room anxiously, Lynuel bit his lip before he moved forward cautiously. "Honored Father?" he called gently.

He wasn't sure if he or Silence was more startled as the man spun around, swiping Lynuel's legs out from under him and using Lynuel's cane and left arm to pin the younger male to the ground. Lynuel lay breathing heavily as he watched Father Silence simply watch him in a tense silence before he slowly began to relax and stood up, holding his hand out in an offering of peace. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you that it's not wise to get within striking distance if you want to startle me like that."

"Duly noted," Lynuel agreed with a slight nod. He pushed himself up, releasing his cane as he reached up and took Silence's offered hand. "Not that I actually intended to startle you in the first place," Lynuel admitted. "I actually..."

Silence sighed. "I know why you want to speak Lynuel," he said. The two men grew silent allowing the room to simply grow thick with the anticipation of one man and the anxiety of another. "Lynuel do you know what the claim that I made was?" Silence asked swallowing heavily.

Lynuel shook his head slowly. "I can't say that I do," he admitted. "I know of the priest's claim, but that is not the claim you made or else the others would have been able to refute it, especially Father Marcio. Speaking of him, I think he's still furious with you."

Silence snorted. "Father Marcio is furious with everyone. He's a bitter man," he said shaking his head. "The claim that I made was the claim of the Honored Fathers. It is a claim that only we have right to and a claim that only another Honored Father has the right to refute once the claim is made. Since none of the other Honored Fathers were present, no one can now nor ever refute the claim I have made except for, perhaps, the council, but they usually do not care to do such things. It makes them feel as if they are intruding too much and they fear us and what we will do if denied."

"Should they?" Lynuel asked. "Fear you all that is."

A smirk seemed to touch the man's invisible mouth for a moment before vanishing once more. "They have every right to fear us," he admitted before he looked back out the window. "The claim that I made Lynuel... it is not like the claim of the priests," the man said cautiously.

"I had gathered that much."

Silence wished, for a moment, that his eyes were visible so that he could have cut the impudent boy a sharp look. He deserved it, at least in that moment. And yet at the same time, he was glad that he couldn't. After all, there was something about that pride and that typical flippancy tempered by caution and street smarts that made Silence actually admire Lynuel. If only he could tell the boy all the truths that his world hid from him. "Watch yourself," Silence advised in a calm tone instead. "You see, the claim that I made is a claim that a man makes when he claims..." Silence trailed off trying to find the best way to say exactly what had happened without utterly infuriating Lynuel. "When he claims a companion."

Lynuel looked at Silence blankly. It took a moment, but finally a light of understanding began to show in his hazel-green eyes. Eyes that went wide as the light grew brighter and turned into something furious. The fist to his jaw was surprisingly quick. He had anticipated such an action, but he had also expected the chance to be able to move before it reached him.

Silence's head jerked to the side and he staggered back a step or two, glad when Lynuel didn't follow him and capitalize on his opponent's current weakness. Reaching up, the priest tentatively touched his jaw, finding it to be tender already. He looked back at Lynuel and bowed his head. "I'll grant, I deserved that," he allowed. "But you won't get such a shot like that in again. I simply won't allow it," Silence explained. "Now, I know that you do not like nor do you care for what I have done, nor the claim which I have made but I did and nothing can change that now. Just be grateful that because of that claim, no one can touch her."

There was a look on Lynuel's face that said that he felt that fact included his as well. And Silence knew that he was right. That hurt him most of all. He wanted to tell the boy that everything would be alright. He wanted to fix it and make things as if this incident had never happened. But it didn't work that way. Their world was too complicated. Their world was too closed off. And it would never change. "What are we supposed to do?" Lynuel asked quietly.

"For now? Nothing," Silence advised shaking his head. "We cannot risk doing anything. To try would make it much worse. Of that I can assure you. Marcio and the council will be watching us carefully if I know them and I do." There was an edge to Silence's voice that he couldn't quite take away. He hated them all for the position that they had put him in. Sometimes he even wanted to hate Lynuel, but even as a grown man, the boy was just too good to hate. It would have been annoying had it been anyone else.

Lynuel's tongue flicked across his lips before his eyes darted up to watch Silence. "And... and Imani? I have to tell her father-"

"You think they'll honestly let you get a message out?" Silence asked, the bitterness in his voice now impossible to contain. "You know the truth Lynuel. Father Thomas told you how they treat us, I already know that much. I saw it in your faces that day. No, what you have to do is earn their trust back. Once you've done that than you'll be able to get a message out to Father Joquay. Until than, you can chance nothing. You can trust no one. Even your friend Brooks."

"Brooks wouldn't betray me," Lynuel snapped, stepping forward. His eyes started to burn with a bright green fire that demanded retribution for the words being spoken. "He only did-"

"What he thought was best," Silence cut him off. "The boy's heart is in the right place, that is true," he agreed. "But that doesn't mean that he won't make mistakes. It is in human nature to make mistakes and to trust the people that we shouldn't. That is the way that it has always been and the way it always will be. Brooks is not exempt to that."

"And you?" Lynuel asked quietly.

Silence sighed and looked away. "I wouldn't be in this situation if I was exempt," he whispered. "Just trust me when I say that the best thing you can do is leave Imani in my care and wait until you can deliver the message yourself to Joquay. You never know who will betray you." Silence was proud at the skepticism he saw in the boy's eyes. Lynuel was right to not trust him. After all, if he was given the choice, he didn't know what he would do if the Councilor ever ordered him to kill the boy. "I will, however, if you are very worried, find a way so that you can see her. She's still not lucid. She'll need more human contact before her mind can fully rebuild itself."

Lynuel nodded rubbing his hands together. "Yeah, she always did need to feel," he murmured looking away. "I can't help... I can't help but feel like this is my fault somehow."

Silence furrowed his brow, looking at the boy confused. "How could it be your fault?" he asked. "You weren't involved in this. Whether she did-"

"She was forced," Lynuel snapped. "Don't ever think that she would do this willingly. Imani isn't the kind of person who would hurt others or put them in danger. This had to be forced. And I'm going to find whoever did it."

Silence shook his head. "You have too much faith boy," he admonished. "How can you be so certain you know this girl? When was the last time you saw her?"

"I know Imani," Lynuel insisted. "And you're wrong about one thing. I don't have faith anymore. Did you know that Imani means faith? I lost it and her when I chose to try and become a priest for this order to make my mother smile again. It was stupid and I've regretted it ever since. But I can't take it back. I might not have seen her in seven years, but I know her. I know her better than almost anyone. You have to trust me when I say that she would never have done this willingly. And her father would have come to me if he even thought she might be considering it."

Scrubbing his face, the honored father nodded. "Why don't you get something to eat?" he suggested. "I'll make sure that Imani comes back to herself... and to you. Somehow," he promised.

A smile touched Lynuel's face and he nodded. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll... I'll try to speak to you again later."

Silence nodded stoically and watched the boy walk away. He stared at the door, withdrawing into himself as he rubbed his jaw. He was wrong about one thing. He knew exactly what he would do if the councilor told him to kill Lynuel. He would kill the son of a bitch. No one would ever make him hurt his own blood