Breaking The Gates: Part 2

Chapter 15, Tale Seven: Breaking The Gates -- Part 2 pic and text

He had finished his task. He had run the switches as needed and it seemed to have worked. Music blared from the speakers, fire shot into the sky, and the lights of the Madre began to turn on, one after the other. He had been set a task and it was complete now, so what was his next task to perform? She had not told him anything past the switching station, he had no orders from her on how to proceed from here. So what should he do? He was still in control, should he return to his cage? Should he follow the others into the Madre? There was nothing for him in there, he felt no pull to go inside the place. But he was still collared, and so couldn’t leave. Whatever was happening now, he was not free of it yet.

From the lights of the sky-rockets he could see moving shapes down the streets. Ghost people, drawn by the sound of the music and rockets. He was not safe here, he had to move. The gate that locked him in was two hundred years old, and he was strong, it broke off at one fierce tug. He slipped into the alleyways, silent as a ghost, the gift of the nightkin. But he still had no clear direction to go, no further orders or tasks to accomplish, and that was dangerous. It was when they had nothing in front of them to do, no clear goal, that the division grew worse. It was important not to think, not to think about the other, always dwelling below. Not to think about that, but to think about what to do, where to go. There only two choices, really. To hide in the villa or make his way into the Madre. There was nothing in the villa but his cage, and as soon as he found his cage it would grow worse, the division, back to where it had been before she had come and found him. His two masters, the old man and the woman, they would both be in the Madre. The old man had promised him that he would be released, once they had made their way inside. Promised the other, not him, of course. The old man only cared about the other. But the woman, what she had promised him. . . . A chance to end the division and torment? It terrified him, the fear that what that meant was his destruction, but it drove him on as well, nonetheless. The idea had penetrated into his mind and it wouldn’t let go. The possibility of being. . . whole.

Dog forced the legs moving and started to sprint down the street towards the Madre, snarling softly. It would go there, go find the mistress, get her to help him. Mistress promise dog greatest want, be whole. Get rid of the other, other that torment Dog so. Lock Dog in his cage. Get rid of the other. Dog want that so much, could force way forward, knock other back down again. Not think on the other, not let other come back up again. Other no goal, nothing to do, weak. Dog had goal, to be whole, strong goal. Dog stronger than other right now. Find the mistress, get her to tell Dog where to go to be whole. Get rid of God.

He came back forward snarling with effort. That had never happened before, the other just taking control of the reins, with no warning. He was stronger, was getting much stronger. He had to get back to the cage, or he’d lose to the beast entirely. But then he noticed, with fear, that the body had not stopped moving. The other had been forced down in the mind, but the body was not under his control. It continued to move towards the Madre, under the command of the other. With every fiber of his being he tried to get it back in his grasp, driven by his fear, and he felt it slowly, very so slowly, start to bend to his will again.

“Dog.” The old man’s voice came out of the collar, very faint past the new static and music. “Dog, I have need of you.”

Dog whimpered softly.