Twin Tormentors

VERNERO POVThe drug they used on me was slowly wearing off, and I was slowly slipping back into consciousness. However, my body was so damn sore that I could barely move a muscle, probably because I’d been chained to a chair for over 71 hours now with no food, no water to drink, or anything to keep me sane. I had been careless, careless to let my guard down, and actually thought I got my shit together.But I’ll give them; the Sicilian men had been clever and swift this time. They managed to capture me.I groaned softly and winced as the wound on the left of my groin oozed with blood. The fucker’s did me a good number there.I engaged my ears to pick up all the sounds, since my eyes were failing to pitch in; I decided to settle with hearing. There was laughter coming from the left side of where I was chained. The conversation among the people seemed to be an easy one, but the smell of pot was intoxicating and I knew I had an easy pass out of this place. If they were really smoking pot,

LORENZO POVThe meeting with our partners was rather annoying, provided the fact that I was having a very rough day already. And what made me want to scream and yank my hair off my scalp was the fact that they thought they could cancel our collaboration with just a word of mouth like what the hell did they take me for?Apparently, they didn’t feel “safe” with CAT Holdings after finding out it was involved with Turantello Familia, and I wanted to laugh in their faces because Turantello Familia controlled 80% of the country GDP. Little fuckers with small brains.I remained quiet at my seat as I listened to them bickering around how it’s not healthy to continue our collaboration. However, my mind was elsewhere as I tried to think of all the possible ways to reach Verzi. Knowing him, he could be trying to escape from captivity and when he did, I knew things weren’t going to be pretty for whoever dared to capture him. And I prayed for th

VERNEROOnce again, I was 19 years old. I found myself in the glacial, bitter lands of Japan, one of the bases where I was currently under my “remodeling” phase. According to my father, Lorik Cattanio, I was a weakling. I was not even fit to be his son thus needed to be reconstructed, to be remodeled into something perfect, something he would take pride in. So he took me here, to one of the Turantello bases.The mountains and the thick heavy forest created a false scenery to the viewers, feigning the beauty of the lands of green, hiding the cruelty of what was at the feet of the mountains and deep within the thick forests.The whir of the gelid frosty air of winter morning sang along, adding to the fake beauty of white coated lands and swallowing the bitter cries of the distressed, creating a nice but harsh tune that bit the earlobes painfully; also giving a crisp, but cold air to breath. The land under the 4 meter thick snow was inconsolably hard ag

LEIGH-ARI POVDriving home from the doctor’s appointment felt serene. I was relaxed from head to toe and the usual painful pounding of my head was gone. I was listening to smooth slow music as I swerved and maneuvered through the heavy evening traffic. At long last, I arrived outside my flat and packed the car, then rode the elevator to the first floor where my apartment was.Upon arriving on my floor, I realized a whole new commotion of gazillion boxes stacked and piled outside the flat opposite mine. Curiosity had me walking stealthily and sneaked a peek inside. There were orders barked from the inside as a feminine voice commanded some men to decorate the house however she saw fit. One, I was happy that I had a new neighbor. Two, I was nervous as to what kind of a person she would turn out to be. Right when I was about to leave, a voice called out; telling me I was caught red handed:“You can come in. I might need your help with all these.”

LEIGH-ARIThree full days passed and my new neighbor and I continued our newly formed routine. I would wake up in the morning and go to work, and then come back at night to have dinner with her. Laura joined us two days back and like I, fell in love with Valerie. She was such an open, easy-going person that made everyone feel comfortable around her. Although she was way too classy and fancier than us, she was really a nice person.Last night we had plans to go out for drinks, only to pull an overnight shift. I had an 8 hour surgery and by the time I left the OR, I was just ready to hit my bed on the bed and get done with the day. I arrived at home to find her preparing to leave.“I am just going to pick my boss from the airport. I will spend the night here and fly over to Italy tomorrow morning.” She explained when I looked at her questionably.“And you dress like that when you go pick your boss? From the airport?” I gestured to he