The Greedy Frog
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Marvel: Chapter 84
🕑 Added 2023-03-24 08:35:57 +0000 UTCChapter 84: The Test
*Drip* *Drip* *Drip*
"*Arrgh*"
I was woken up by the dripping water droplets from the ceiling. And once, I opened my eyes— I was struck by confusion.
I was in a shed with a leaking roof.
"Markus! Wake up, you lil' shit!"
What?
"It's me Eric! Wake up!"
No.
I felt my heartbeat increase as I recognised both that voice and that name.
"I said wake up ya' tard!"
No no no no no!
My breathing became unstable as the pounding on the door got louder.
"Open the door before I break it, you piece of shit!"
Gulping thickly, I walked towards the door and slowly turned open the knob.
The door burst open as a scarred man came rushing in.
"What took ya' so long, fucktard?"
I shuddered at the look of the man.
The same man that kidnapped me as a child, the same man that tortured me, the same man that made me sleep in the rain and the same man that turned me into a criminal.
"I… I was sleeping."
He spat. "Sleeping you say…"
Punched me in the gut, nearly causing me to throw up.
"Sleep is for the privileged." He grinned. "And the last time I checked… you were a slave and a thief."
Eric Balder, a human trafficker and the one that kidnapped me.
I hated this man with all my being and I despise him to this date. It was all his doing that made me so miserable.
His voice alone made me furious, I wanted nothing more than to cut open his throat on the spot.
But I couldn't.
I was scared.
"Now go and do your job, ya' cunt!" He barked, throwing an empty sack towards me.
I was to steal… steal something valuable enough that Eric would agree to give me food.
I couldn't run. He had eyes everywhere.
But I remember… I remember that this is a test. So, this Eric cannot be real…
Right?
I shuddered once again as I realised the pain I felt from his slap was real.
I had no idea how to complete this test.
But I knew how to escape this place. I could live as a free man and find a proper job. Make my future brighter. And all it took was a little bit of courage… which I couldn't muster.
Picking up the sack, I followed Eric.
"Today, twat… you will be stealing some jewellery." He laughed. "My wife wants some fancy shit."
He picked out a knife from his pocket and gave it to me. "Use this if you run into trouble."
I remember this. I remember this…
This was the first time I had to kill. Something I did as a child that scarred me for life.
He was uncaring of the fact that I might use it to harm him. He was bigger than me but I had a weapon— while he was naked.
I could kill him… and he knows that.
But I cannot gather the courage… and he knows that as well.
As I got the knife, I heard a whisper in my ear.
'What will you do now, Marcellus? Live like a scared little brat forever or kill the bastard and be done with it?'
This man…
He made me a killer, he made me miserable.
'Fear or Freedom.' The voice continued to whisper. 'You can choose only one. One is the correct choice, the other is not.'
What kind of correctness are we talking about?
Moral correctness? Or correcting the past.
The answer is simple. Correcting the past.
Void is not a morally good character, all he cares about is entertainment.
It's either live a life of fear and regret.
Or live a life of freedom and happiness.
"Err… Sir." I called the man. "I think the sack is torn."
He seemed confused.
"Torn? What are ya' yappin' bout… I bought that one last night."
He walked towards me and frowned. "Show."
I pointed at the sack that was kept to the right of the table.
He nodded and went to pick it up…
"What the fuck do you mean by to— *Aggh*"
Blood poured out of his neck as I shoved the knife directly inside it.
I had to use all my strength as the body that I was in… Was barely ten years old.
Yes, I became a killer at the age of ten… in the past and even now.
"You bitch!" He tried to fight back, but I forced the knife even deeper inside neck. "You will pa…"
He was unable to finish his sentence as I ripped his vocal cord and he fell on the ground.
He died.
I once again became a killer at the age of ten. The only difference was the target, and this time… I held no regret.
My hands were still shaking. I just killed the man that had tormented my days and nights, my hopes and dreams… but now he lay dead on the cold hard ground.
"Hah… Hah… Hahahahahah!" I laughed like a manic as tears started to pour down my eyes.
"Finally, I am free."
'Good choice.' Void whispered. 'Now onto the next one.'
"Wha—"
And once again, I fell inside a dark void.
…
…
This time I was staring at the setting sun while sitting next to a pretty woman.
"What are you thinking about Markus?" She asked and I shook my head. "Nothing, Emilia."
Emilia… The woman that was like an older sister to me, and the woman that I had a crush on.
And the woman that took her life from this very building.
"You know that I am going to jump right?" She asked.
"Yes."
She was not the real Emilia. She was someone created by Void.
"I do."
She smiled. "Are you going to stop me?"
"Will you stop if I ask?" I sighed. "It took me years to figure out why you took your life, Emilia."
Years of search and madness.
She smiled. "No, I will not stop."
Life in the underworld was hell. Her sister was raped in front of her, mother killed right after that while her father was burnt alive.
And she was to marry that killer.
So, she took her life.
She didn't want to get me in trouble— I was weak. So, she chose what she thought was the best option.
Taking her own life.
I had no idea why Void brought me here. And he was not whispering anything either. I had to figure this out on my own.
"So, did you find anyone?" She asked as she kicked the air playfully.
Her beautiful blonde hair flew with the cold wind and her amber eyes stared into mine.
"Won't you answer?" She asked.
Her sun-kissed face glowed as she asked the question.
"I… think I did." I answered, thinking of Peggy. "But I am not sure."
She giggled. "You are not sure or do you not want to accept your love for her?"
She asked as I smiled. "A little bit of both?"
She looked at me sweetly. "Markus, sometimes you need to move along with your heart. If you don't, someone else might take her and it would be too late by then."
I looked down at the quiet city.
"Like you?" I asked and she nodded.
"Like me."
Emilia was the person I met while running away from gangsters. She belonged to a poor but hospitable family. She sheltered me and we became friends. She became someone like an older sister figure.
But as the days passed by, I fell in love with her. Yet I was scared because of my life… and I was never able to confess.
It was too late.
I had lost her.
"Did you know that I liked you?" I asked, not caring if she was real or a mirage created by the Void.
She smiled and looked at the setting sun, not answering my question.
"The sun is pretty."
"It is."
The two of us remained quiet for a very long time.
"I thought you were cute." She said. "I don't know if it was love, but I did like you. You helped me and my family. You brought us gifts and money when we needed it." She chuckled. "I knew how you got them, but I never saw the need to tell my mother. I wanted you to leave that profession but I also knew that it was not possible at that point."
She looked at me. "Thank you. Thank you for helping us."
My heart bled as I looked at her face.
"No, Emilia." I shook my head. "Thank you. You saved me from ending up like Eric. My life was full of pain, suffering and regret— but I am glad that I didn't end up like Eric. And I have you to thank for that."
She leaned her head onto my shoulder. "You are a good kid, Markus. Being selfish is required, but don't let the darkness… the Void consume you."
She kissed me on the cheek.
"You have to leave now." She said, a sad smile appearing on her face.
"Why?" I asked but she refused to answer.
"Make me a promise, Markus." She said. "Make me a promise."
"Tell."
She shook her head. "First promise me."
This made me frown but she kept her smile. "If you are worried that it might harm you in the future… worry not. If it ever harms any of your future plans— you are free to break it. But trust me, it won't affect your plans."
I couldn't say no.
This was the least I could do for her.
"I promise."
She kissed me.
"Promise that you will never try to bring me back to life."
I froze— pain, sadness and fear engulfed my heart.
"Why…" I asked, tears sliding down my cheek. "Why did you make me promise that?"
Her smile faltered for a second as tears welled up in her eyes. "It's for the good of both of us, Markus. I have no intention of being alive again, and you should not be stuck in the past."
She said, sobbing a little. "I am not asking you to forget me. Forgetting someone is not easy. I am asking you to move on."
"Moving on is just as difficult…" I said, clenching my fists.
"It is. But for your future… you have to move on." She sobbed on my chest. "I am your past, Markus. And you have a future— I don't."
She cried.
"Move on. Or I won't be able to be free either."
It pained me more than anything else.
"I don't think I can…" I said and she hugged me tighter.
"You will." She was quiet for a while, the cold wind hitting both of us. "We don't have time."
"Yeah. I know."
I felt the ground shaking— meaning it was time to leave.
"You will keep the promise." She said as I stared into her amber eyes.
"I… will."
The moment I said that, she kissed me on the lips.
"This is farewell." She said. "Maybe… just maybe one day we might meet. But even if we don't, you will be fine." She wiped her tears. "You are a good person, Markus. A kind person… remember that."
I am not kind, Emilia… I am not kind.
"Now go. The future awaits you."
I nodded and the world turned dark again.
.
.
.
And that was the last time I saw her.
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