Soul-Bound

Chapter 5 : Forgiven

Mann and Ella found their way to the outskirts of Tristantown. From a distance it looked underdeveloped and fragile but up close it was a shelter from all outside beings. Creatures, beasts, animals and other humans.
The walls stood nearly 50 feet tall and at the very top were barbed wires that were sharpened to kill. Bullet holes had scattered across the metal walls but did not penetrate them. At the gates of the town were two sniper towers. Within them were gun nests and had two mounted guns per nest. Probably 50 caliber by the looks of it but neither Mann nor Ella were experts.
They reached the beginning of the No Man's Land, a half-mile long stretch of open land with a road down the middle. Though the roads and both neighboring fields were filled with trenches and holes. Some of barbed wire and sand bags. Just from a quick glance Ella would count about ten dead bodies and that was only what she could see.
"Well this is a very welcoming image, isn't it?" Mann chuckled.
"Very." Ella then stepped forward. "Come on, it's a fair walk as it is. Might as well see if they notice us."
As they walked, Mann noticed how distant Ella was acting. He knew he was in the wrong from yesterday. His soul ached for answers within himself but couldn't hear his soul speaking to him. Not very surprising. His hands may have been stained with blood, but he knew his heart was still in the right place. At least he hoped.
Ella walked steady and fast through the trenches and barbed wires. She delicately stepped around while Mann stepped over. Once they had reached three quarters of the way to the front gates were they stopped.
"Stop moving!" A Guard said. "Present your arms now."
They complied.
"What business do you have?" Another Guard asked.
"My husband and I are looking for employment and shelter." Ella spoke loud and clear. She chose her words carefully and precisely not to agitate the Guards.
The Main Guard responded, "We don't take moochers nor do we take anyone who is lazy."
"We know that well. We're hard workers and willing to do whatever is asked." Mann exclaimed. He was a bit nervous, his hands were sweaty and a bit shaky.
There was a long pause between communication. Ella and Mann glanced at each other often wondering what they would be discussing.
BAM!
A bullet landed just next to Mann. "You pull anything and I'll blow your head off. Understand?"
Mann and Ella nodded, "Fair."
There was another moment of silence. Mann and Ella were finally able to take in the air without need to worry. It was a huge weight lifted off of their shoulders. "You think we made it?" Ella asked Mann.
He shrugged his shoulders, "Remember we gotta go through the interview process."
"Ah shit I forgot." Ella sighed. "I hope we have a comfy bed."
A loud clank echoed in the air followed by a loud moan by the metal doors. Slowly and I mean slowly opened. To Ella it was like walking into Heaven's Gates with angels walking out to retrieve her. Though they were just mercenaries and holding military grade weapons and armor. Bullet proof helmets straight from a military base with Kevlar vests, but their leg armor was made out of scrap metal welded over multiple times to create a thick layer of iron. Heavy, but useful.
Mann and Ella were stripped from their bags and weapons and taken inside through a large camouflage tent.
They were then separated from one another and interviewed.
Ella sat straight, hands open and body language was still. She knew not to show signs of nervousness nor aggression.
"My name is Saul. I will be the one interviewing you for a proper analysis on where to place you for work or chores, do you understand?" He said in a very proper English accent. The last letter of every sentence was strangely enunciated heavily.
Ella nodded.
"I'm gonna need you to state your name, age and your most valued qualities." Saul never looked directly at Ella. He kept his eyes glued to his clipboard and wrote with a very clean pen.
"Ella Geterson. I'm 22 years old. Im a great cook and when I'm in the field I can be a good scavenger or hunter. I'm not great at building but I'm good at repairing which doesn't make sense but I dunno." Ella explained and almost went into a nervous ramble before catching herself.
Mann was sat with a female interviewer who didn't give her name. She had a very blunt attitude in her movements and seemed like she didn't even want to be there.
"State your name, age and anything that could be useful to us." The woman sighed and glared at Mann.
Mann sat up in his chair but kept a very loose profile in his movements and tone of voice knowing it would potentially set her off. "Mann Geterson. I'm 21 years old. Inside walls I'm good at cleaning, repairing weapons or structures, I can create new hand weapons and bows. In the field I'm a pretty good scavenger, hunter and killer."
The woman noted what he said and continued writing further past the words he had spoken. She finished writing on the clipboard and let out a soft exhale before looking Mann in the eyes, "So killer. What have you done?"
Mann swallowed the little spit he had in his mouth and shifted in his seat, "What haven't I done?"
Not long after their interviews were they placed in this small room almost like a quarantine zone. It was a nice and clean room to their surprise but small and strangely designed. The windows were one-way so they couldn't see out of the room and there was a pipe in the far corner of the room.
Mann scratched his chin, "I wonder what that pipe is for."
Ella quickly noticed as well, "If this is a quarantine room then you know that it's for."
Mann nodded in agreement, "If that's the case then there needs to be some form of a gas they use."
"I wonder where they'd get it. Not many chemicals are left in any stores or plants I would assume." Ella stretched her arms. "Maybe bleach or something really irritating on the lungs."
Mann gave Ella a look of surprise, "You'd kill someone with bleach?"
Ella shrugged her shoulders, "Anything's a weapon isn't it? You taught me that one."
"Yeah but bleach?" Mann chuckled at the morbid conversation. "That's horrible."
Ella scoffed and then laughed, punching Mann in the arm, "Says the one who blew people to bits."
"You were just yelling at me about that yesterday and now you're laughing about it?" Mann scoffed.
Ella nodded with a smile, "I worry about you and what's going on in there. Though you're not wrong at what you said to me. I know this world is harsh but I still have this hope that we'll keep our body counts below a hundred."
"I know baby. Killing has just become something normal to me. Something so cold and heartless has become routine in my mind so I don't really think about it anymore. I see an opportunity and I take it." Mann said with remorse in his voice. He had thought about it a lot within the past 24 hours but still couldn't find the right words to say. "That priest told me I have a demon fighting inside of me. Something prone to violence and I don't know if he's wrong."
Ella watched his eyes. For as long as he knew him, she knew his eyes always told the truth. "We all have a demon inside of us, my love. I didn't want to tell you about mine, but it's only fair we understand each other."
"You mean about enjoying torture?" Mann abruptly chuckled.
"I- yeah. Yeah about that." Ella bowed her head, ashamed.
Mann let out a big sigh, "I noticed back at the shop. The way you spoke. Your movements. That's when I noticed, and it's funny how I hadn't seen it sooner."
"It's wrong and I don't want to like it but—" Ella almost teared up but the door flung open and two men stepped inside.
The tall one almost had to bow his head underneath the doorframe. He had this long coat that hovered two inches above the ground. Around the collar was a cheetah pelt that draped behind his back. "You've been granted access. He will guide you to your living quarters and you'll be assigned a role in the morning, do not let us think this was a mistake."
The second man was rather short in size but bulky in muscle. He gave them a smile and beckoned them to follow after the tall man left the room, "Come on you two."
From that room to their home was a 30 minute walk and it only enhanced the idea of a whole community living there. They passed by cafeterias, playgrounds, schools and even a big church. There were all kinds of people there from policeman to businessman though thy probably forgot what they went to school for.
"Hey listen, don't worry about that tall guy he's just the enforcer around town. Deep down he's really caring about the people who prove their worth around here. If you do what you're told and keep out of trouble then you'll be just fine in here." The short guy said and handed them a key to the house they would be staying at.
Ella and Mann quickly adapted to their new home which was small but good enough for them. The room was more rounded than squared off with a nice bed, dresser and trunk. The walls weren't stained and looked freshly painted within the week.
There was a bathroom with running water both hot and cold. Though it wasn't stocked with anything they knew they could get the things necessary.
"What do you think?" Mann sat on the bed.
Ella sat on his lap and gave him a kiss, "Finally a moment alone. No elements, no death, just us."
They fell back on the bed, enjoying one another. For all of the stresses, worries and nervousness they needed their release. So without much else on their mind, they dropped their clothes.
The air felt pure against their skin and each other's warmth.
The rare moments of intimacy they had were like stepping into heaven. And so their heaven was a deep intimacy until filling their bodies with ecstasy.