Chapter 8: Different Paths
"Okay, we have a deal", she said with disappointment in her voice.
"I will send my men tomorrow after moonrise", Mariko said this time without turning his face upward.
Winston and Silvia were walking back to their home. Both of them were silent.
" I don't like that man", Winston said.
Silvia looked at him, she was angry, "you don't have to like him, he is just a broker, who buys my hunt", she shouted.
"Why are you shouting? Do you think it's my fault that he offers less than you asked?"
Silvia stopped and turned towards Winston and said,
"Look, Winston, this is not some game for us, it's about survival. It's not the same as when you're alive. You just die there when you don't have enough, but here you turn into something else, you lose your memories. Every half a bottle decides in which species you will live here and be born again".
Silvia was palpated with anger and disappointment. She felt like Winston is not serious about everything as she is. But Winston was serious, it's just that everything that's happening around it goes against Winston's character. Winston wasn't the person who gets dominated by others. He is the one who dominates others.
"You are right, it's not about survival for me. I can't live being dominated by others or at someone else's mercy. I never have, I don't have that quality", Winston replied with a calm voice.
"This is not earth Winston, where you can point a gun at someone and they will start dancing at your beats. This is hell, we are like puppets of their play, it doesn't matter to them, who do we play? It's us who have to suffer", her voice was trembling with the rage in her heart.
Winston stays silent for a while and says, "Perhaps you didn't understand earth then, it's the same everywhere. They do what their masters tell them to do. It's because they are too afraid or to keep getting what they are getting from them, it's the same. And I know how to control such people. The only thing I am good at is leading, and I am going to do that here too, and I don't care about the consequences, I never had".
A long silent fall between Silvia and Winston. The moments when they felt close to each other now seem like a distant past, like a thousand-year ago. This is different from what both of them are looking for, one is too scared to live and the other too scared to not live. The two sides of the same river walk across each other for their whole life but are never destined to meet each other.
They reached their home but before entering Silvia stopped Winston and asked him,
"you need to decide Winston, either you live with us our way or you know".
" It's fine, I already made my mind", Winston said looking at Silvia.
Silvia understands what he wants to say.
"Okay then, see you someday", Silvia said, her eyes wet. It's been a long time since she has started to trust someone and felt something about someone. It's fine when you don't have anything, but when you find something which makes you happy, losing it is terrible. It makes it hard for you to get attached to anything again.
Winston starts walking down the stairs with heavy feet, and a bleeding heart. But he knows that this is for the best, he knows that he can't live like this and it's not the first he has felt this way. He has already walked through this path and knows how it ends. In the beginning, it all seemed good and sweet. But along with the time when this honeymoon period gets over and the time comes for hard decisions, it won't last. Either you could be free or everything else. It's the freedom that he is used to, it's the freedom that allows him to be himself.
As walking down the stairs he put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it with a lighter. Smoke entered inside his soul, his imagined lungs, and giggle. As usual, some doors were open and some were closed on every floor. Winston passed them and came out of the building on the narrow street.
What a coincidence. The man he met before was walking on the narrow street. As he saw Winston, he giggled and kept walking straight. Winston also walked straight, both of them met at a point. The man was about to push Winston aside, but before he could place his hands on him, Winston grabbed them. The man tries to free his hand but Winston's grip was too tight.
"Not this time you fucker", Winston said while grinding his hand. The man starts whining with the pain. Winston leaves his hand and before the man could do anything Winston punches him in the face and the man falls to the ground.
The man was about to stand up, "if you try to stand I will punch you on the ground again", Winston said firmly.
The man kept lying on the ground, Winston stepped on him, the first leg between the legs and before putting the second leg he waves It for a second in front of his face. The man sobbed with fear. Winston jumped over his face and crossed the narrow street.
Most of the people were on the hunt in the city. Some rich brats can be seen on the streets sitting on a horse and high with toxins. Winston walks opposite the side of the jungle, inside the main city.
At the centre of the city, there is a big house where Lanark lives, he is the demon of the city. The house looks like a Chinese castle and has three floors including the ground floor. Lanark lives on the third floor and does all his business on the ground floor. He has an army of deadly soldiers lurking around his palace.
People from all the tribes come for business, to sell human and animal souls in exchange for nectar. The soul cannot be killed by anyone; only the one who has the feathers can kill the soul and remove encryption from it.
Lucifer, the king of hell, gives feathers from his wing to Devils who are the head of dynasties. Which gives them incredible powers. And these devils give feathers from their wings to demons, which gives them power like opening a portal to travel anywhere, and also some other magical powers.
The more encryption you have the more powerful you will become, so these feather bearers are always in a fight with each other for more and more human souls.
Winston until now has understood that nectar is the source of life and humans are the source of power. And whoever gets control over this thing will be the most powerful person.
Winston reached the sophisticated area of the city. Here the houses have newly painted colours and design works. Beautiful hotels and people eating meat in the restaurant without hunger just for the sake of taste.
Winston stopped at a place named Malik porn bar, the name makes Winston curious. There are pictures of a nude woman holding a red drink with the name board. He entered inside.
He was inside the hallway, there were two men with heavy build standing at the inside gate. Both of them were wearing a black suit and there was one fixed expression on their faces, it was not anger but neither less than anger, it was hard to know what they were thinking about.
Winston walks slowly towards them, he puts out a cigarette from his pocket and stands in front of these people.
"Can any of you gentlemen have any lighter?"Winston said casually.
None of them replied with anything.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone