Artyom Dereschuk - Hate the Sin

“I don’t follow,” Corpse Eater finally admitted. “What do you mean what is going to happen? We’ll finally be free from this hell,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah? So what’s been keeping us in the brigade all this time, huh?” he asked, cocking his eyebrow. “Dude, haven’t you thought that when the brigade goes down, we’ll go with it? What if, when the war is over… we’ll become the war criminals?”

“No, that’s… that’s not right.” Corpse Eater shook his head. “We weren’t given a choice. We were made to go to war. People know that.”

“Oh do they?” Homewrecker asked sarcastically. “And if they know, do they care? Maybe we were forced to join against our will, but we still killed and pillaged, right? We still took our part in all of this madness. That’s why those devils are hunting us, remember? They killed Marlboro Man and they didn’t ask if he wanted to be a soldier or a fisherman. People look at us and they see rabid dogs… And when the dog goes rabid, it is put down.”

“Listen, what choice did we have?” Corpse Eater said, feeling his blood starting to boil. He was slightly irritated by the topic—mostly because the truth that it could reveal was highly uncomfortable. “I did not choose to be in the brigade. I did not choose to be named Corpse Eater—they chose this name for me because they thought that it would be appropriate. I’ve done plenty of messed up things, but I didn’t do them because I wanted to. And if I had a choice to leave I would. But where would I go? Who needs someone like me?”

“Precisely,” Homewrecker noted. “That’s what I was saying. We are not safe in a normal, peaceful world. We’re only safe here, in the brigade. As long as the General has enough people to do his bidding, we are safe along with him. We are his shield and he is ours. We’re only alive now and not torn apart like Marlboro Man because of the brigade.”

“We wouldn’t be prey right now if it weren’t for the brigade,” Corpse Eater noted.

“You think I don’t know that?” Homewrecker snapped at him. “I wouldn’t have to do a lot of things if it weren’t for the brigade.” He paused, as if thinking over his next words and whether or not they should be said, and then continued: “I killed a man just last week. I killed him over a bag of food. He wanted to keep his family safe and fed, and now his family doesn’t have a provider… If they are even still alive. But because he is dead… I was fed.”

They walked some more in silence. Finally, Corpse Eater asked Homewrecker: “Do you think we deserve to be punished?”

“…I don’t know,” the boy replied. “I mean, we had a choice to be like Puppy Slayer.”

“If we all acted like Puppy Slayer, the General would have long since made us into rations.” Corpse Eater shook his head.

“Yes, I guess you’re right,” Homewrecker agreed. “So, not really a choice.”

The boys stopped when the voice of General had reached them from afar: “My warriors! Tomorrow is going to bring us greatness!” The noise of the soldiers talking got quieter as they turned their attention to their leader.

“Now what?” Homewrecker almost moaned. Just like Corpse Eater, lately he was finding the General’s ideas especially unimpressive.

Seeing that he had everyone’s attention, the General continued: “Sons of Liberia!” he exclaimed, and paused for dramatic effect. Judging by the silence that surrounded him it had the desired effect; the soldiers, high on drugs, were an easy audience, and they instantly became so invested and absorbed in his speech that the boys had no issue at all hearing the General.

“Yesterday, we were attacked by the creatures conjured into this world by black magic. That witch that brought them into this world made sure to employ the dirtiest tactics available to her. She robbed those people of their deserved rest in peace! And she brainwashed the rest of the village to follow her with her enchantments!”

The soldiers took the bait; they always it enjoyed when their egos were satisfied and the blame shifted.

“You say it, General! Say it as it is!”

“They know no honor!”

“I don’t want the future of our country to be like that!”

“I bet it was her, along with that old bitch, who made those villagers so evil in the first place!”

“Such underhanded tactics,” the General continued, and the crowd instantly fell silent again in order to not miss a single word. “Is not something we’re used to. But I know you know no fear! I know that you will do your best to overcome these hard times!” The crowd cheered, and the General had to raise his voice as his soldiers, riled up by his words, would not go quiet anymore. The man didn’t seem to mind, though.

“As a former shaman of my tribe, I feel the responsibility to lift the curse that she has placed on us. But to do that, a great challenge must be overcome.” The crowd got quieter and its cheers started to sound more confused and out of sync. “Tomorrow, we will strike at the heart of this evil in order to get rid of this curse forever. Ancient rituals must be performed, and they can’t be done without the root of this black magic.”

“You can’t be serious.” Corpse Eater sighed. The boy had figured out where the General was heading with that, and the revelation was so shocking that he simply didn’t have enough strength in him to process it, nor was he willing to go through with it like the rest of the brigade.

“My warriors, tomorrow, we will have our first siege—we will conquer the Keep of the Giants from which the source of the witch’s black magic originated. We will find it and use it to reverse her curse, and seal it off forever, so that no one can use it against us again! I have already dispatched a group led by Undertaker to bring us the necessary equipment, and they should be here with it tomorrow morning. It will be a challenge unlike anything that we’ve faced before, but nothing in this world is achieved without a sacrifice! I promise you: if you follow me tomorrow into the depths of the underworld, we will finally be free from that witch’s reign of terror!”

The collective cheer let out by grunts was louder than anything Corpse Eater had ever heard. It wasn’t a cry of victory; the soldiers were exhilarated that there was hope for them, after all. It was a cry of relief that sticking to their leader (an idea that was heavily questioned by the events of the past few days) would bear its fruits.

Corpse Eater, however, did not share their enthusiasm. For him, it meant that they would follow the man to the grave in their quest to save themselves. Their morale was never so high, and it meant that the brigade, torn and shredded as it was, was nevertheless stronger than ever.

Somehow, he was not glad that they would all find a way out of their sticky situation. If anything, he felt demoralized.

His hope of seeing the General and his creation go down in flames flickered and became dim.

“Man, no wonder he wanted them to be high.” Homewrecker clucked his tongue. “No sane person would agree to that.”

“Uh-huh.” Corpse Eater nodded, staring at the General as the man was riling his troops up and basking in their support. “I know, right?”

“Something doesn’t add up about his rant though,” Homewrecker said. He glanced around and lowered his voice, even though they were alone: “He said today that he wasn’t aware of what kind of ritual the priestess had used to curse us.”

“And?” Corpse Eater urged him to continue. He wasn’t sure where Homewrecker was heading with that thought.

Homewrecker pursed his lips and tapped his temple: “Think! If he doesn’t know what we’re dealing with, how can he be so sure that it’s a curse? And more importantly, how can he be so sure that he’ll lift it when he gets the herb?”