Storymania - State Of Consciousness by Reid Bryansmith

State Of Consciousness
Reid Bryansmith

"You have a week to find him. If he is not dead with in a single week you get no pay. Deal?"

"Yea sure."

"And for God's sake, try not to blow up the entire city trying to get one man this time!"

She walked out of the room, and out the front door. The people in the street looked at her as she walked down the street. As she made eye contact with someone, they would look away. No one knew if they were going to be next.

Her name was Vivian Moran, but everyone knew her as "The Phoenix". Rumor has it she leveled an entire city, its buildings, homes and churches. It collapsed on everything including herself, but she arose from the rubble and debris and lived again.

Vivian's story begins with tragedy, which may explain the life she chose. At the age of 9, Vivian's parents died in what the police called a domestic terrorist attack. All Vivian recalled were the flames that took her parents. Her 17 year old brother was not there to witness it. They were orphaned, and after attempting to live in homes for orphaned children, they decided to make it on their own. They moved from town to town in search of quick jobs to earn them a buck or two. Vivian was usually too young to work, and so she spent her time picking up loose change, and checking phones and snack machines for quarters left by unaware consumers. They stayed in the city of Casse for the longest time, but Vivian was unaware what lied ahead of her.

Her brother sat at the edge of the rock, looking to the east, overlooking the city. "Sis, we live in difficult times."

She stopped eating her day old turkey sandwich and looked at him, but he continued to look out over the city.

"Everything in this world has become a challenge. You have to fight just to find something to eat. Everywhere you turn, there's another crime taking place. People are greedy and they'll kill anybody they have to make it to the top. One must be strong and skilled if they are to make it in this world and keep themselves alive. Survival of the fittest has finally come true for the human race."

"Caron, what are you talking about?"

He removed an item from his coat pocket and stared at it. He rubbed it with the back of his hand. "Vivian, I want you to take this." He presented a silver gun with a wide barrel and a deep black handle.

"What the hell? A gun?" she said as she moved closer to it. "Why are you giving me a gun?"

"Because Vivian..." he turned and faced her, "when you have power, you have choice."

She took the gun from him and cradled it in her palm. It felt as thought the gun had been crafted to fit her hand.

"Now we have a family crest", as he pulled out his and showed the same exact gun, and showed me the symbol of the praying mantis on the bottom of the handle.

"Why a mantis?"

"The mantis is an amazing creature. It represents grace and beauty. But it also possesses unexpected power and strength. This is who we will be."

That night, Vivian slept very peacefully. Caron promised to show her how to use it and teach her everything she needed to know. For the next two weeks he instructed her on how to aim, fire, reload, and how to take care of her gun. One target practice, Vivian had shot all the green beer bottles without hesitation.

"Damn sis. You're a fast learner. That's a shame, since I don't have anything more to tell you." He moved to the edge of the rock, looked over at the mountains beyond the city, and then turned back around and looked at her. "Tomorrow we leave. We better get some sleep now to make sure we have enough energy to make the trip."

She nodded in agreement, and they both turned in for the night.

The next morning, Vivian awoke to a fire, already brightly burning. Caron's sleeping bag was lying a couple of feet away, but there was no sign of him.

"Caron!!!" She looked around the hills, and all throughout the mountains on the west side of the city, but he was nowhere to be found. No note of where he was headed, nothing. She was alone. All alone. Not sure where to go, she headed for the mountains he had mentioned the night before. She packed up her belongings and moved through the town. As she walked, a blunt object kept poking her in the back. She stopped and unzipped her bag to fix the problem.

"Somebody stop that guy!" Shots rang out from the building right in front of her. A man was running barefoot with two large sacks of money that was weighing him down. He started to run towards the mountains to the east that Vivian was headed for, but a team of horses rode right in front of him, blocking his path. He quickly turned around and headed the other way. Vivian ducked in the alley when she saw him coming her way. Her bag flew off her arm and landed next to the wall, spilling out the contents, including the blunt object, with the tiny picture of a mantis on it.

"Somebody stop him! He's getting away with our money!"

He was moving pretty fast as Vivian steadied her arm. She waited patiently for him to cross her line of vision. He came into vision with his head over his shoulder, looking for any cops chasing him. She got him in the crosshairs and fired. The bags of money dropped to the ground spilling out across the town of Casse. It floated to the ground, landing in the dark red puddles of his blood.

"From then on, I wandered from city to city looking for my brother Caron. I taught myself how to use my gun, and mastered the art of gunmanship." She showed me the numerous badges and pins she wore on the inside of her trenchcoat. Everything from amateur to professional awards was there, for events such as marksmanship and dueling. She was the first woman to ever win the Rol City Dueling competition. Only the greatest gunmen competed in Rol City. If you weren't good enough, you would surely die, instead of getting a bullet lodged in your arm, as was the case with most amateur events. "After that, I was approached by a man by the name of Harry Spatinger. He offered me a job and I took it. And that's how I got into the business. Bounty Hunting gave me a chance to travel around the world in search of my brother, make money, and improve my skill." She took a swig of Jack Daniel's. She had nearly killed half the bottle, but she still talked with perfect pronunciation.

"What about Nester Town?" I asked Vivian.

"Well, you see," she took another quick swig, "when I set out to start a duel with a young man of about 24, who said he had information about Caron, the entire town showed up and tried to chase me out. Said they didn't want any trouble, and that I should leave right now. I don't know who shot first; all I can recall was the grenades that took out an entire block of homes. Then they trapped me in the town square. Rocket launchers on all four corners of the rooftops. The last of the town's buildings fell."

"How'd you get out?"

"Luck I guess. I guess it just wasn't my time."

"What about the population of Nester Town? You killed about 300 people in a single day! Was it your decision that it was their time to go?!?"

She took another swig of JD, and rocked back on her chair, staring down at the edge of the table.

"Answer me! What gives you the right to take another person's life just to find your brother?"

"He's the only damn family I have in this world. I'll do whatever it takes to find him."

"Well you don't have to kill innocent people!"

"Those with the answers have all the power. Dueling is the only way they'll talk."

"No. That's not your only option. Haven't you ever simply tried talking first?!?"

"It's much easier to persuade them with a bullet."

"Your impossible. I give up."

She was as stubborn as a friggin ox. She refused to budge or even to listen to someone else's opinion. She always said that the decisions she makes are hers alone, and no else's. What she does is what she was here to do.

I was sent to track down Vivian Moran and watch her activities and wait for her to do something illegal that she can be charged with. Fortunately for her, dueling outside of Central City was legal. Before I had stood in the shadows and watched her actions. She caught me in Radil and told me she knew I was following her since the beginning. With my mission failed, I tried, as any good citizen would do, to keep her from killing. But the only way to stop her ��was to kill her.

She left the next morning as she always did. She would fix the bed even though she didn�t have to, and she would leave the room looking as it did when she first walked in. Then she would pay the hotel double what they charged, and she would leave without saying another word. She was headed east again. I knew where she was going. She had completed her last "assignment" and headed out to her boss, The Millionaire. He was a man with many enemies, but just as many guards. He hired bounty hunters mostly to collect payments or take out a scheming foe. All his hits had a purpose. We got about 5 miles outside of the city when a rogue bus caught up with us and offered us a ride. I accepted and urged her to get on. Well, more like carried her on. She had a will made of heavy metal, but in a 100-pound frame.

She sat at the back of the bus, looking out the side window, resting her forehead on the glass, letting the breeze whip right over the top of her hair, blowing it up and into my face. Even for such a cold-hearted killer, she still had an unusual beauty to her, like a spring shower.

The bus came to a stop outside of the city walls. Vivian had fallen asleep with her head against the window. I watched as the rest of the bus turned and stared at me, like I had done something wrong.

"Hey, isn't this your stop?" yelled the busdriver.

No one else had gotten off the bus yet. They continued to stare at us. Vivian stood up.

"Yes it is. Come on."

She walked past the rest of the passengers, and each of them turned their heads towards the windows and moved their children closer to the side. Vivian walked off the bus, but I paused for a second on the first step down. I turned to the bus driver.

"How'd you know she was getting off here?"

"Everyone knows this is where The Millionaire lives, and everybody knows that�s The Phoenix. So I took her where she needed to go."

"You stopped for us even knowing who she was?"

"Everyone deserves at least one chance. What kind of world would it be if they didn't?"

I stepped off the bus and saw her walking through the gates of the city. I ran to catch up with her.

Inside the Millionaire�s Estate, there were men lined up all around the lobby. Some were digging into the free buffet, some were looking at each other's equipment, some were smashing beer bottles over their head to test their strength and endurance. I felt like I'd seen each one of them behind bars before.

She stood casually at the right side of the room, leaning on a huge vase.

"Hey Vivian, what do you think you're...."

"Shh! He's coming."

She stared at the top of the stairs, where there was a small hallway with two doors at the ends. A man dressed in a white suit walked out and held his gun out at the audience of bounty hunters. He signaled with his free hand for someone to come forward. It was The Millionaire. A tall slender man of about 45 or 50, he wore a dark suit and dark tie, as well as dark slacks and shoes. The only thing warming about this guy was his smile, which made him look like a million bucks.

"Gentlemen..."

"Ahem..." Vivian coughed out loud.

"...and lady, welcome to my home. Please make yourselves comfortable. I will start by having private conferences with my favorite employees. The rest of you may wait here, and please feel free to take advantage of the buffet."

With that, Vivian moved up the stairs, following two other men, up and to the right through the door.

She walked into the room she had been very familiar with. Another guard in white stood at the entrance to the Millionaire's office, and asked that one of the men enter, and asked Vivian and the other guy to take a seat.

"He always saves the best for last," she said under her breath.

She waited for 10 minutes for the first man to walk out, and then another 5 for the other. Finally the Millionaire walked out and asked Vivian to come in to discuss business.

"You know, it's impolite to keep your best lady waiting so long."

"I'm so sorry dear, please come in."

She sat down in the red leather chair as she had done before.

"So what can I do for you this time?"

"I'm having difficulty getting a priest in Gadey to pay the rest of his debts. I want you to take him out and see what he's keeping from me."

"A smash and check job? You could give to that to one of the newbies downstairs. What do you really want me to do?"

"Haha. No, Vivian that is your assignment. You are the most qualified for the job Vivian."

"Oh really? Why is that?"

"Because you, my dear, only believe in taking chances."

She walked out of his office and out into the small hall at the top of the stairs. She saw me standing by the side of the buffet, trying to grab the last piece of watermelon. She took a one Ida piece out of her pocket and flipped it at my head. She hit the very tip of my ear. I turned and saw her walking down the steps. I put down my plate and followed her out the door.

"Where are we going now?" I asked her as she took out her curved dagger.

"Umph!" She cut the wires under someone's car. "Gadey...we're going to Gadey."

She drove the whole way there, not saying another word. Maybe something was on her mind. Maybe she just didn't feel like talking. Whatever it was, I left her in her peace. And she let me sleep.

She found us a hotel for the night and asked the clerk for the room safe keys. We left the bags in the trunk, and we headed for our room. I unlocked the door, and she walked in and fell right down on the bed. She was dead asleep. I picked up the safe key and looked around for the safe. But there wasn't one.

The next day she was up before the sun. Dressed and ready to go, she took off for downtown Gadey in search of her target. She let me sleep. She left with a single automatic and a silencer. She drove around looking to see if anyone else was up and wide awake. After a 10-minute drive through of the town she headed for the priest's home, just outside the downtown limits. She pulled up to the house, on the other side of the street, pulled her gun out of the driver side compartment and attached the silencer. She put the gun at her right hip and covered it up with her coat. She stepped out of the car, and did a final check of the surrounding area. No one was up yet. She looked at the priest's house. The front door was open, and the top hinge was split in half. She took out her gun and slowly crept up to the side of the building. She moved inside, and made her way silently up the stairs. At the top there was a small window overlooking the city, and a hallway that led to two doors. The light was on in the door on the left. She crept alongside the right wall to the door. She took a deep breath.

She kicked in the door and faced her gun at the man standing in the middle of the room. He was standing over the priest, dead, two bullets to the side of the head. He dropped to his knees and put his hands over his head.

"I'll go quietly. Go ahead and arrest me."

"I'm not here to arrest you. I'm here,...well basically to do what you did."

She looked around the house for the money the priest was keeping from the Millionaire. The man sat in the chair by the priest's desk as she continued to look. She found the black duffel bug, filled with fresh Ida coins.

"What's that?" the man asked.

"None of your business." she shot back. "You wanna get something to eat?" She held up the duffel bag, "My treat."

She ordered for a table outside, and was seated at the corner of the patio. She ordered a shot of whiskey and some orange juice, and a glass of water for him. She sat in silence with him for a minute, as he stared down at the edge of the table.

"So, who are you?"

He looked up from the table straight at her. "My name's Kayja."

"Okay, um Kayja, what do you do for a living?"

"I do construction, some architecture on the side."

She leaned back in her chair and scratched the back of her head. "And umm...why did you kill the priest?"

He leaned closer to her. "It's a long story."

"Please, I've got all day."

They both sat upright as the waitress brought them their drinks. They looked back at each other and he started to speak.

"I'm not who you think I am. Several years ago, I had to move to this town to get work. Back in Lehart, there was nothing left. I was getting poorer by the day; I gave up meals to feed my children. So I looked for a house here. But there was no place to live. I went to pray to find the answer. The priest overheard me praying and asked if he could help. The priest said that if I would pay him, he would clear up some room in the city. I promised to pay him in installments, with a little upfront. Everything was fine for a while, but then he started demanding more money. He said that if I couldn't pay him, he would go to the police and tell them that I hired a hitman to kill the previous owners. Then he started following my 12 year old son. I tried to get him arrested, anything to get him away from my family. But the police wouldn't listen."

She was sitting there intently listening to him, watching him spill his entire story, when I walked up to them.

"There you are! Where the heck have you been? Where you the one that priest this morning?!"

Kayja turned his head, and faced down back at the table. Vivian gave a small head nod towards him. She then put a finger to her mouth, and I quietly joined them at the table. The waitress asked me if she could get me anything, and I declined.

Vivian filled me in on the story as the three of us walked back to Kayja's home. We entered the front door, and a young girl ran up and jumped into his arms. He carried her into the kitchen, where his wife was making some tea.

"Honey, this is Vivian Moran." His wife took a step back, and she looked at Vivian with huge saucer-like eyes.

"Well its goo..ood to have you heee..re" she said nervously.

He took us to the porch on the south side of the house, as he watched his children play in the backyard.

"You have a beautiful family." Vivian said.

"Yes, I am very blessed. I don't know what I would do without them."

"Did you have to kill him?!?" I shouted out.

Vivian smacked me across the back of the head and told me to keep my voice down.

"What other choice did I have?" asked Kayja

"Well I don't know! You should have been the one thinking about it! Am I supposed to take care of your problems? Killing a priest should not have been your only choice!"

"Are you saying I could have just run? Took my whole family and some of our things, and simply run, and try to find a new place to stay?"

"That would have made more sense than killing an innocent man!"

"Well he's not that innocent.." Vivian interrupted.

"But he didn't deserve to die!"

We all sat in silence for what felt like an eternity.

"Look," Kayja said, " I didn't want to kill him. Believe me, I tried to think of something else. But there's a point where you have to do whatever's necessary to protect yourself or the ones you love."

"No! You're wrong!", I screamed at Kayja, "There's always another choice! You just have to look harder for it!"

"Well that's all nice and everything, but we don't have that much time. There are decisions that you have to make within a second's notice. If you wait and try to think of another solution, you'll end up dead."

The pitcher of lemonade shattered, spilling juice all over the table. She knew where the shot had come from. She saw him, just past the yard.

"Everyone get inside the house." She ordered.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just go!" she screamed.

Kayja ordered his kids to get inside and they all, including myself, went to the basement. She waited at the steps of the porch for him to shoot again, but he didn't. He continued to walk up into Kayja's backyard.

"That was just a signal shot. I needed to get your attention."

"Well you got it. So what do you want?"

"I'm not looking for something myself. I'm here to help you get what you're looking for."

"Oh. And what's that?"

"The location of your brother."

"Where is he?!?"

"Haha, you didn't think I would just tell you. "The Phoenix", simply being told what she wants to know? No, it doesn't happen that way. And I am under orders."

"What orders?"

"Your brother wants to make sure. You are to fight me in a duel. If you win, the location of your brother is written on this paper." He pulled out a small white slip of paper that had blue ink on it. He put it back into his coat pocket. "If you lose, I am to kill you."

"Sounds like fun."

They lined up in the middle of the town. People at their windows watched as they wondered who was fighting at this time of day. The shops had all closed up without warning, and homes were locked and children kept away from the windows. They lined up back to back.

"10 paces. Turn. Fire when my Ida hits the ground. Go."

They took their ten paces. They turned each other. He took the Ida from his pocket. Placed it at his fingertips, and let it flip up into the sky. The sun glistened on both sides of the Ida. They both had a firm grip on their guns. They waited patiently for the Ida to land. It felt like gravity had stopped working, as the coin refused to land. It got closer though. Closer and closer. Ping.

One shot rang out across the town. Ping, the coin landed on its second bounce. His trigger finger lay next to his right boot. The blood flowed freely out of his knuckle. He wrapped up his hand with his shirt. Vivian walked over to him, reached into his coat, and pulled out the paper.

"You are good. Your brother will be proud."

"I could have killed you if I wanted to, but I didn't want to take a chance in ruining the note."

"He knew you would do that. That's why I was ordered to do this."

He pulled the gun out from his coat with his left hand and shot.

He slumped to the ground. Blood started to mix with the dirt on the ground, forming a black sludge. Vivian walked away, and read the note.

"Dear Vivian,

So you beat him huh? Congratulations. You are worthy enough to see me. I found it odd that I would have to send someone to find you and bring you to me. (Don't feel bad that he had to die, that was his destiny.) I thought that I laid enough clues down for you to follow. I underestimated you. However, I am glad that I will see you once again. Come to the Osiris Gardens tomorrow. I will be waiting there.

Love, Caron"

"Clues?"

That night, Vivian and I stayed with Kayja and his family. She stayed in her room all night, skipping dinner. No one bothered to check on her. We thought she might be sleeping. However, she couldn't sleep. She stayed up all night thinking about the letter. She thought about everywhere she had been, and what clues that he had left her. She couldn't think of anything that she had saw that could be related to her brother. But she still tried. Questions kept popping into her head. Why would he send someone to die just to deliver a message? Why can't he come see me himself? What do I say when I see him?

She didn't bother to sleep that night. She stayed up and stared out of her window, looking over to the east, towards the Osiris Gardens. I woke up at about 7:35 in the morning, and went to check on Vivian.

"Good morning, Vivian. How are you feeling?"

Her bed was made, and a sack of Ida rested on the pillow with a note pinned to it. The money was from the priest. It was to be given to Kayja and his family. She asked that no one look for her for at just one day. And that was it.

She stepped up to the gate at the Osiris Gardens. A giant black gate with personal engravings on each pole, mostly to loved ones, and a few by gangs. The gate swung open as she stepped towards it, and she walked along the paved path. She looked around and noticed a couple of birds sitting up in the tree. She continued to walk along, admiring the beauty of nature. She stopped in front of a small section of plants set aside from the others. It was a bed of Venus Flytraps. Vivian watched as a fly landed on the edge, and slowly moved to the center. The fly paused for a second to enjoy its meal, and the plant let it enjoy the last seconds of its life. Then it closed in around the fly, engulfing it, and quickly killing it.

"Amazing isn't it?" said a familiar voice. It was Caron. He had on a black trenchcoat over a black suit and tie. His face looked no different from when he was a teenager, except for a small scar under his left eye. "A plant with the ability to kill. They are surely the strongest of all plants."

"Caron..." She wanted to run up and hug him. She wanted to ask him a million questions. But he stopped her before she could move.

"It's been a long time sister. You've grown, as have I. It's funny, but I never imagined either of us ever turning out like this." He took out a chain with a silver Buddha charm on it and rubbed its belly. "Karma huh?"

"Caron...wha.."

"I know you have lots of questions. Where to begin? Well, after I left you, I went to the Millionaire and asked him if I could join on as his bodyguard. But he declined, and said that he knew of a family that was looking for someone like me. I went to live with the Rosettas."

"The owners of the Young Guns?"

"Yes, the most notorious crime family in the world. They took me in, trained me, gave me a couple assignments. But I wanted more. After a couple of quick kills and a forged will, I took what was mine. I became the owner of the Young Guns. From there, I expanded, I started recruiting and training hundreds of possible employees."

"...Why??"

"You really have no idea? Geez sis, I thought you were brighter than that. I trained them so they would find you and challenge you to a duel. All those people you killed, were my employees. I had to make sure that you became a great fighter. I wanted to see you become stronger than any man alive."

"What the hell are you talking about? You abandoned me, and you sent people to try and kill me? How is that supposed to help me?"

"You had to do it alone. Relying on somebody else makes you weak."

"What next? Are you gonna tell me you blew up our house and killed mom and dad to make me stronger?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

He lifted his eyes and looked at Vivian. A cold dagger shot from his eyes and stabbed her in the heart.

"No...."

"I had too Vivian. They were making us weak. They were giving us everything. If we had stayed with them, we would be the weakest humans on Earth."

"Fuck you!" Tears ran down the corner of her eyes. "I don't give a fuck about your goddamn plan!"

"It couldn't have happened any other way," he said as he looked down at the Buddha on his neck.

She pulled out the gun from her holster and pointed it at Caron. "Shut up! Just shut up!"

"You want to skip right to the end, eh Sis? Alright then, shoot me."

"No!" She lowered her gun.

"It is why I brought you here, it was why you are here."

"No! I won't do it!"

"I thought you were strong, strong enough to kill your own brother. I trained you for this moment! Don't fail now Vivian! Prove to me, to yourself, to the entire world, that you are the strongest being."

She raised the gun and aimed it at his forehead. She struggled to raise the gun and keep it steady.

"Yes, that's it. Kill me."

Vivian's heart couldn't keep up with the brain. She lowered the gun again. Memories of her family, her brother, every experience in her life was flying inside her head.

"Those with the answers have all the power."

"No. That's not your only option. Haven't you ever simply tried talking?!?"

"Did you have to kill him?!?"

"What other choice did I have?"

"What gives you the right to take another person's life just to find your brother?"

"There's a point where you have to do whatever's necessary to protect yourself or the ones you love. There are decisions that you have to make within a second's notice. If you wait and try to think of another solution, you'll end up dead."

"What are you waiting for?" Shouted Caron. "Just do it already! Do what you were born to do! Ignore your emotions! They mean nothing!"

She slowly raises the gun and points it at her brother. Beads of sweat run down her forehead. The gun shakes violently. The laser beam moves up and down his body. The gun is cocked and ready to fire. Still she hears the voices. People shouting at her. Her brain in the middle of a battle for control. No side is winning. She is breathing uncontrollably. Her brother is waiting patiently, not bothering to breathe in any air. She shakes her head. Her eyes are closed. Her teeth clenched. The hand holding the gun is burning. Her other hand is in a fist, her nails digging into her skin, making blood flow from her palm. Her abdomen tightens; her legs shake but try to hold the weight. Her feet are dug deep into the earth. Every vein in her body is pumping blood without oxygen. Every synapse is on full alert. Her bones are struggling to support the muscles, which are tightened and ready to snap. Adrenaline is released by the gallon. She finally inhales. She screams.

Her brother falls to the ground.

"Dead", she says.

She looks at the Venus Flytrap, as it waits for its next victim. Hundreds of flies are gathering above the Flytrap bed. Blood is flowing at the base of the flower, being absorbed by the vascular tubes to be used as food to keep the plant alive.

"Is that...all I can do?"

She stares at her deceased brother, who lies with his head facing to the west, watching the sunset. She turns away, and drops to her knees, unable to take another step. She collapses on the ground, and is barely able to pick herself up to sit. She can�t breathe. It hurts. Her hair feels heavy. Her head weighs a ton. She rolls her eyes to her hand, watches the blood pour out. She lifts the gun to her head. She lifts her hand to her mouth, and wipes her hand clean with her tongue. She swallows and lets the cold blood sooth her throat. She closes her eyes, and pulls the trigger.