MLTO C1, P4

This is the fourth Part of "MLIV:TO" 's first Chapter.
It was released on 05.10.2022.
== Plot ==
Having managed to avert a terrible disaster, Geralt and Kaiden take it upon themselves to clean the rest of the mess and take out the rest of the train robbers who nearly ruined their entire lives.
But the troubles have only just started. No matter where they go from now on, evil shall lurk from every corner. No matter what they do, it might end in failure.
Will they be able to cope with their new lives?
== Story ==
Kaiden slumps to the floor, exhausted.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I think that I'll sleep like a baby tonight."- He says- "If we get home, that is."
Linus shakes his head.
"Don't get too relaxed, nephew."- He says- "I think that our fears might be true. Someone is stalking us."
Akira looks around.
"It is as if he's a coward, though. He hasn't attacked us yet."- She says- "Or maybe he's planning something more sinister than that."
Geralt nods.
"No matter who they might be, we are not afraid."- He says- "We have already defeated all of their comrades, so I'm sure that a single fool would not scare us."
Meanwhile, the mysterious person moves behind the window and smiles.
"Fear the darkness... "- He whispers in the boy's ear.
And then, just as his family turns around, he disappears again.
"Now that is extra creepy!"- Kaiden exclaims, having heard what the stranger was whispering to his brother.
Linus shakes his head.
"I don't know whether I should feel angry or impressed."- He says- "This person has been avoiding us ever since we arrived. We tried to track him down, but to no avail. It is as if he's one with the shadows and that he's using them against us."
Geralt looks at his uncle.
"Then what can we do?"
Linus sits down.
"We shall wait."- He responds- "Just like him, we shall wait for the perfect moment to unveil the shadows. We shall see who will be the lucky one."
Kaiden sighs.
"I don't like this."- He says- "But we don't have another choice. If we get out there, we might get surrounded by those goons."
Linus smiles.
"You're a wise one, Kaiden."- He says to him- "I'm glad that your dad taught you well."
The four of them sit in the ruined train. Hours pass and the sun is soon replaced by the moon. Neither sides dare to make their move yet and the Kaos family simply talks about how they ended in this situation, telling stories and contemplating about their common future.
"And so, Kiki went out there in the middle of the night and fearlessly jumped into the cold, dark lake, rescuing those little ducklings from the ferocious crocodile who was preying on them."- Geralt says- "It was truly a sight to see. She had finally grown up enough to be a hero herself. And I am glad that I was there to witness it."
Kaiden raises his eyebrow.
"So you're the one who taught her how to be good!"
Geralt smiles.
"I was pretty young back then, but my kindness was quite clear."- He says- "Kiki always looked up to me, even though I was a bit younger to her. She dreamed of being a hero and wanted me to teach her how to be one."
He sighs and shakes his head.
"Had she made it here with us, she would have been an incredible hero."
Akira smiles. A single tear rolls down from her right eye.
"You know, memories like those are what keep our family alive."- She says- "The things that we did together, they're the ones who remain in our minds. The ones who keep us going, even in the darkest of times."
Geralt nods.
"I just wish that I could spend more time with her."
Akira leans forward and hugs her nephew.
"We all do, sweetie."- She says- "Believe me. We all do."
A few seconds later, they hear the howl of a wolf. Although it isn't anything special for the Kaos siblings, Akira and Linus know better. They stand up and draw their weapons, as if expecting something (or someone) to arrive.
"It seems like the stage has been set."- Linus said- "Keep your eyes open. The servants of evil are on the run."
Geralt nods.
"You got it, uncle."- He responds- "We are ready."
As the four of them inspect every single window around the train, they fail to realize that the shadow of a person has managed to move elsewhere in the confusion. Having taken off to the north side of the train, he is now waiting for the family to make a mistake.
Fifteen minutes pass, but there is no sign of the outlaw. The family is relieved, but only a little bit.
"He's a good one."- Linus says- "I'll give him that."
Geralt nods and lies next to one of the windows.
"Perhaps we are only hallucinating."- He says- "I don't know what we're looking for, but I'm sure that no one would be crazy enough to go out at n-- "
Suddenly, someone grabs him from behind and holds him by the neck.
"Gotcha!"
The entire family springs to their feet and draw their weapons.
"Who's there?!"- Linus yells.
The mysterious person moves out of the shadows and smiles.
"You've been lookin' for me, haven't you?"- He asks them- "Well, you got me! Here I am!"
Kaiden points his gun at the man.
"Unhand my brother immediately, you fiendish outlaw!"
The man smiles and shakes his head.
"I'm afraid not."- He says- "There's a price for your brother's head in a certain community. And I guess that I'm the one who got lucky."
Geralt shakes his head.
"You are taking a great risk by messing with me and my family!"
The man shrugs.
"And I'm supposed to care about that?"- He asks- "Sorry, kiddo. I'm just here for the money. I don't care about any politics and stuff."
Linus looks closer at the outlaw. Something seems quite familiar to him.
"Hey! I recoginize you!"- He exclaims- "You're Kenneth Bolton- the renegade executioner!"
Kenny raises his eyebrow.
"What? You know me?"- He asks- "But... how? I wiped out all of the evidence of my past life!"
Linus shakes his head.
"You may have done that, but you can't erase the memories of those who knew who you were!"
Kenny pulls out a gun and points it at Linus.
"Don't act like a wise guy, bucko!"- He yells- "I'm gonna fill ya with bullets!"
Linus sighs.
"So, I guess that you're just as stupid as I thought."
Kenny continues to point his gun at him.
"I ran away from home because I didn't have enough people to kill. After you and your family killed all of the villains out there, my job was unneccessary. I was on the brink of poverty."- He says- "Ever since I joined Brad and his train robbers, however, I've become much wealthier than I was before. I got people who obey my command. I got enough time to practice my skills. And I have more than enough people to kill for disobeying us."
Kaiden gasps.
"So, you're the one who killed all of the innocent passengers on the train!"
Kenny smiles.
"I guess that some people are just to rebellious to live."- He says- "Yes. I was the one who killed the people here. I was the one who put them out of their misery. But it wasn't just me who caused this tragedy. My boys had my back, so they killed some of 'em as well."
Kaiden shakes his head.
"All of your pathetic friends are gone now, though."- He says- "Why are you the last one alive?"
Kenny clenches his fists.
"Argh! That's it!"- He yells- "I took all of the insults that you sent my way. But when you mess with my boys, then you've crossed the line!"
He points his gun at Geralt's head.
"I don't care about the money anymore!"- He yells- "I'm gonna blast this kid to bits!"
Linus raises his eyebrow.
"What happened with your "Dead or Alive" policy?"- He asks, in an attempt to persuade him into letting his nephew live- "Did you forget that Redmark's goons want to extract the information from his mind? Why did your attitude change all of a sudden?"
Kenny grins.
"Too late for that!"- He exclaims- "Yes, I'll bring him back! But his eyes won't be seeing anymore!"
Geralt is unfazed by the fact that Kenny wants to get rid of him. He simply stands still and looks around for his aunt.
"It seems like aunt Akira has some kind of plan."- He wonders to himself- "I will wait patiently, in case she figures something out."
Meanwhile, Linus continues to negotiate with Kenny, despite the fact that he almost never does such a thing.
"Listen here, friend. Geralt lost both of his parents in a series of traumatic events. All that you are doing right now is causing him a lot of pain."- He says- "Release my nephew and I give you my word that you shall be pardoned. Your crimes shall be forgotten. You can be integrated back into our society and you can live a normal life. Doesn't that sound good for you?"
Kenny shakes his head and continues to point his gun at Geralt.
"So that's your answer. I understand."- Linus continues- "In that case, I guess that I have to resort to more... questionable tactics."
He leans forward, grabs Kenny by the neck and points his sword at his chest.
"Unhand my dear nephew, you pathetic image of a bandit!"- He yells- "You're nothing more than a worthless piece of scum with visions of grandeur! You'll never achieve anything with your aggressive attitude!"
Kenny simply glares at him.
"If you don't leave him alone, you shall meet the same fate as the goons that you valued so much!"- Linus continues- "You're condemning yourself, you fool!"
As Linus attempts to rip his nephew off of Kenny, Akira sneaks behind the man and silently points a gun at the back of his neck.
"The stage is set, dear."- She whispers to Geralt- "It's your choice what to do now."
Geralt nods and glares at Kenny, waiting for the right moment to strike back at him.
"You don't know who you're messing with!"- Kenny yells- "I'm Kenneth Bolton- greatest of the train robbers and the best bandit all around the w-- "
Suddenly, Geralt lunges at him and bites his finger. Kenny yells out in pain as his finger is nearly ripped off from his hand.
"Ouch!"- He exclaims- "How dare you?!"
Geralt looks back at his aunt.
"Get him, auntie!"
Akira nods. She pulls out two sharp daggers from her pack and plunges both of them into Kenny's neck.
Writhing in pain and quickly bleeding out, Kenny stands on the window, struggling to keep living.
"Well done, Akira!"- Linus exclaims- "We got him right where we want him!"
Kenny shakes his head and points his gun at Akira.
"I won't go down yet!"- He exclaims- "Not until I've gotten rid of one of ya!"
He tries to shoot his gun, but Akira uses her mechanical arm to grab it. Both of them fight for the gun, but Akira uses her superhuman strength to squeeze the weapon and crush it into many metallic pieces.
Infuriated that Kenny almost killed her nephew, she lunges forward and lands a disturbingly powerful punch at his face. The force of the attack is strong enough to knock half of Kenny's teeth on the ground and heavily bruise his face at the same time.
"Is this what you meant when you said that we shouldn't mess with aunt?"- Geralt asks his uncle.
Linus nods.
"She's a fierce one."- He says- "It's best not to make her angry.
Even when gravely wounded, Kenny is still able to stand up. But Akira keeps punching him down, preventing him from fighting back.
And then, someone else enters the train. Everyone turns around, curious whether they are a friend or a foe.
"Grandpa!"- Geralt and Kaiden exclaim.
Jared stumbles into the train. He has a sword in his hand and rage in his eyes.
"I heard that some no-good bandits made their way to the train and came here as fast as I could."- He says- "Is everyone alright?"
Geralt nods.
"We think so."- He says- "But there is one who is still alive."
Jared gets closer and looks at the disfigured Kenny.
"Normally, I respect your kind. Bandits are smart and crafty fellows. I have to give them that."- He says- "But what I see over here, it's more of a sick imitation of a bandit than an actual one."
He points his sword at Kenny's skull.
"Either way, you brought this upon yourself."- He says to him- "You tried to hurt my family. You killed most of the passengers, people who just wanted to travel somewhere. And now, you pretend that you're the victim."
Before Geralt could ask, Jared turns around and smiles.
"Yes, my boy. I heard it all."- He says- "There is no need to explain it to me."
He looks back at Kenny, burning passion swirling in his eyes as he prepares to finish him off.
"I've heard many stories about the renegade executioner. The man who willingly left his post to join a gang of outlaws, disregarding any moral principles and killing those who would disobey him."- He says- "But those days of terror are over, as we shall be the ones to end your trail of athrocities against humankind."
He stabs Kenny with his sword, ending his life on the spot.
"Farewell, unworthy one."
As the ground around Kenny is slowly filled with the blood that drops down from his fresh wound, Akira lets go of him and he falls to the ground. His reign of terror is over and nobody else will be hurt by his horrible actions.
It is over. At least for now.
"I'm sorry that I did not come here sooner."- He says- "I should have known that those boys were trouble ever since I saw them for the first time."
Geralt smiles and hugs his grandfather.
"I'm just glad that you made it here, grandpa."- He says- "Thank you. You saved our lives."
Jared smiles and pats Geralt on the shoulder.
"And I'm glad that you and your brother are alright."
He turns to Linus and Akira.
"But our struggles have only just begun."- He says- "We need to take whatever we can and get away from this train. Now."
Akira raises her eyebrow.
"Why should we do that, dad?"- She asks- "Are more bandits going to arrive and kill us?"
Jared shakes his head.
"It's worse than that."
He points at a small explosive at the back of the train.
"You see, those bandits had another plan in case their initial one failed. If all of them died in the raid, they rigged this place with explosives."- He says- "It would seem like Mr. Bolton had already pushed the button, in case he didn't make it out. Thus, this means that the train has become an incredibly unsafe place to be."
Linus nods.
"We understand."- He says- "Then we shall collect whatever supplies we could and escape before we get hurt."
He looks back at Geralt.
"Geralt, I want you and your brother to search the front side of the train. See if the engineer was holding something useful in his pockets and check the cabin itself for what he might have left behind."- He says- "Me and Akira shall find out what the passengers had in their bags... as much as I hate to do it."
He looks at Jared.
"And you, dad."- He continues- "Well, you could try to cover us while we search the train. If that's not a problem to you, of course."
Jared smiles and nods.
"That is a very good plan, my boy."- He says- "Very well. I shall do as I am told. And I hope that it is the same for you."
Geralt and Kaiden nod.
"We shall go and explore the cabin, then."- Geralt says- "But the engineer... "
Linus sighs.
"I know how it feels."- He says- "To lose someone right in front of you, it's something that no one should ever experience."
Geralt shakes his head.
"We were so close. We could have saved him."- He says- "But the undead just rushed in. We were not fast enough."
Linus sighs again.
"Sometimes, you have to lose someone to understand how it feels to be hurt."- He says- "Even if that someone is just a stranger."
He looks at the corpses of the passengers behind him.
"Or strangers."
He sighs.
"Either way, we've got work to do."- He says- "Let's get moving."
Geralt and his family quickly walk up to the spots that they have to explore, taking anything edible or of actual value. It seems like they're in luck, as most of the passengers had taken loads of food and drinks for the road.
While Akira and Linus explore the back, Geralt and Kaiden go up to the front, in an attempt to see what is left over there.
"It's crazy, isn't it?"- Kaiden says- "One moment, you're safe. Happy. Satisfied. And the next one, you're running for your life, trying to race against time itself."
Geralt sighs.
"I guess that some lives are not valued enough, though."
Kaiden raises his eyebrow.
"What?"
He looks down at the deceased engineer.
"Oh."- He says and sighs- "Right."
The two of them inspect his body. While Kaiden is unable to find anything useful, Geralt manages to uncover a large wrench.
"Well, that's something that I could use right now."- Kaiden says- "Mind if I give it a try?"
Geralt smiles and nods.
"It is all yours."
Kaiden grins.
"Nice."
As Geralt and Kaiden continue to explore the engineer's cabin, Geralt finds a small picture on the wall. He removes it from its frame and looks at it.
"Kai, check this out."
Kaiden looks down at the picture.
"It seems like this man had a family. Wife, kids, probably a mom and dad, too."- He says and sighs- "It's a shame that they'll never be able to see him again."
Geralt looks around.
"I would like to give this back to his family, but I have no idea who they are."- He says- "And yet, something tells me that I should take it with me, just in case."
Kaiden nods.
"Go right ahead."- He says- "If you want to take it, I won't stop you."
Geralt raises his eyebrow.
"Why are you so passive all of a sudden?"
Kaiden smiles.
"Seeing this picture reminds me of the family that we once had ourselves. The happy moments that we spent with them."- He says- "Like this man, we won't be able to see those who faded away. And that's something that I deeply regret."
Geralt nods.
"And yet, you keep moving."
Kaiden sighs.
"I want to make a good example for everyone else."
Geralt smiles.
"And that is exactly why I am so proud of you."
Kaiden smiles as well.
"Thank you, little bro."
Now that they are done with their scavenging mission, Geralt and Kaiden meet up with their family.
"Is everyone here?"- Linus asks- "Have you gathered everything you could?"
Geralt nods.
"Our pockets are filled with goodies."- He says- "We are ready."
Linus nods.
"Then it's time to run."
He looks back and realizes that the explosives are starting to tick much faster than usual.
"And that time is now!"
The four of them escape from the train just as they are about to go off. They jump forward and barely manage to avoid the impact of the blast.
Looking back, they realize that the entire train has been ruined. Everything inside has gone in flames and whatever corpses were left behind were probably blown to smithereens by now.
"So, I guess that the robbers... have won?"- Geralt asks.
Linus sighs.
"There was nothing we could have done to prevent it."
Akira wipes her eyes.
"All of those poor people, subjected to this torture. They're all gone now."- She says- "What are we going to say to their families?"
Linus shakes his head.
"We're going to worry about that later."- He says- "First, we have to ensure our own survival."
He looks around.
"But where is dad?"
Suddenly, Jared drives toward them with a large caravan. He stops nearby and smiles.
"Are you ready to gallop out of here, kids?"
Akira gasps.
"Dad!"- She exclaims- "How did you find that?"
Jared smiles.
"There was a free caravan back in town. Nobody wanted to take it with them, so I volunteered to rent it for a while."- He says- "I guess that my kindness was finally repaid. We've got a chance to get away now."
Linus nods and hops on the caravan.
"Let's go, family."- He says- "We've got a long road ahead of us."
As the rest of the Kaos family hops on the caravan as well, Geralt looks back at the destroyed, burning train to the left of him.
"Once again, evil has shown its true face to the world."- He says to himself and sighs- "Let's hope that it will not get much worse than it already is."
Jared pats his horse on the back. It neighs and prepares to run forward.
"Yee-haw!"- He exclaims- "Here we go!"
As the horse starts to run, Geralt notices that the caravan looks a bit flimsy.
"This is not good."- He says to himself- "Maybe I should tell grandpa about it."
He looks at Jared.
"Grandpa."- He says- "I... "
Jared looks back and smiles.
"Are you enjoying the ride, my boy?"- He says- "Don't worry. We'll be home soon enough."
Geralt raises his eyebrow.
"Yes, grandpa. But no."- He says- "I just wanted to tell you... "
Jared shakes his head.
"You can tell me whatever you want once we get back."
Then, he turns around, staring at the road.
Geralt attempts to convince his grandfather to slow down, but soon realizes that he is too focused on trying to get them all out of here.
A while later, the caravan hits a large rock. It manages to shake the rest of the Kaos family a little bit, but it is much worse for poor Geralt. As soon as it hits, he is knocked out of the caravan and tumbles on the road below.
"Woah! That was a big one!"- Jared exclaims- "Is everything alright back there?"
Akira nods.
"We're okay, dad!"- She says- "Don't worry about us!"
Jared smiles.
"That's good to know."- He says- "But Geralt's been awfully quiet lately."
He looks back.
"Are okay, Geralt?"
He raises his eyebrow.
"Geralt?"
Meanwhile, Geralt runs after the caravan, in a desperate attempt to get back up.
"Hey! Stop!"- He yells- "I'm down here!"
And yet, the caravan is too far away. Nobody is able to hear him.
"Please!"- He yells- "Stop!"
However, the caravan soon disappears into the mist, leaving him behind on the road.
"Oh no."- He says as he falls on his knees- "What kind of a mess did I take myself into this time?"
At this point, the moon has almost disappeared from the sky. It is almost morning and Geralt is able to look around a little bit better.
As he brushes the dust and sand off of his knees, he inspects the area, in the hopes of finding a place where he could stay for the night.
"There must be some kind of an inn. Or a house. Or something to that extent."- He says to himself- "The residents of this region knew that things like those might happen. Perhaps there is someone who could help me out."
After staring at his surrounding for about five minutes, he sees something in the distance. A strange light, beckoning him to get closer.
"Is this... hope? Salvation?"- He mutters- "My prayers have been answered."
As he stumbles closer to the source of the strange light, he realizes that it is a large house.
"Hmm?"- He mutters- "What is a house like this doing in the middle of nowhere?"
He shrugs.
"Oh well. It doesn't matter."- He continues- "As long as they have food and a safe place to sleep, I will take it."
And then, he continues to stumble toward the mysterious house, determined to survive until help arrives.