Novels

Novellas/Short stories

The Inquisitor

The final part of The Inquisitor. I did think it would have a finish, but it certainly isn't a resolution...

Although I have now decided what I'm going to do with these fragements. The Inqusitior contains sufficient scope to be expanded to a proper short story, I think. It needs more of an introduction, and a slight increase in the tension, but I think it could be a fairly tight little story, given half a chance.

The Inquisitor - Part 3

“So.”

“So” I respond. I have tried defiance. I have tried submission. Today, I try a new game.

“Here we are again. You, and I. What do you want?”

“What do you want?” I spit the words back at him. “You tell me.” My arms are growing stiff pinned behind me, and I shift uncomfortably in the chair. The hood over my head is scratching at my skin. “Why bother with these bonds, this hood? We both know why I’m here, by choice, so the bonds are unnecessary. And I know you, like I know myself. So why hide from me?”

In an instant, my bonds are loosened, and the hood is pulled from my head. My eyes quickly adjust to the light levels, as the room is dark and gloomy. My captor walks around me, dragging a chair behind him, then places it in front of me before sitting down, and for the first time, he smiles.

“At last, progress.” He leans back in the chair as I lean forward, as if he is trying to keep a constant distance from me, in preparation for a verbal dual.

My arms and wrists have a dull ache in them from the confinement, yet there are no marks. This fact does not surprise me. These bonds are the strongest known to man, inescapable yet intangible, a force of nature more than a physical object. Still, I rub my wrists as if they had been cuffed.

“You have taken a step forward by recognising that you create this situation. This room, your restraints, your way out, even me. All these things are within your control, your provenance.”

“So what I have to figure out, is why do I bring myself here? Why do I think I can’t escape?”

“NOI” He brings his hand down on his knee swiftly, creating a slapping noise that echoes throughout the chamber. “It is not why you think you can’t escape. What you need to figure out is why you don’t want to escape.”

“But I do want to escape!”

“Then why are you still here? You are not bound. I cannot stop you leaving.” He stands, pointing behind me. “So leave.”

I look down at the floor, and my voice becomes a whisper. “I need your help.”

At this, he lowers his arm, and crouches down so that we are on the same level. “What did you say?”

"I don’t know how to leave. That’s why I always come back.” I look him in the eyes. “I need your help.”

He holds my gaze for a moment, then grins. “At last. You realise. You know.” He leans in towards me, closing the distance he had kept. I do not know whether it is to end the sparring, or to deliver the fatal blow.

“I can only show you the way, but you have to make the choice. Come with me.”

We walk towards the back of the room. There are two doors. He stands before me, and waves a hand towards the doors.

“This then, is your choice. One door leads to where you want to be, the other door leads to where you need to be. You have to make the choice, in order to leave.”

The doors look the same. How do I know? I am aware of him standing beside me now.

“I have to warn you, these are different destinations, with different consequences. Where you want to be requires courage, possibly more than you’ve ever displayed in your life. It is a wonderful place, you know that because you want to be there, but the path is treacherous, and once through that door you will wish many times that you had taken the other door.”

I turn to look at him. “And what of where I need to be?”

“That is just as difficult a path. It involves sacrificing what you want for what you need. Sometimes it can be a stopping off point along the road to where you want to be, other times it is a destination you cannot return from, and you know that you have to abandon where you want to be, because where you need to be is more important. Think of them as two sides of the same coin. Or a reflection of your internal desires, versus your external demands.”

“Which door is which?”

“It doesn’t matter. Each door will lead you on the path that you have already decided on. So, my friend. The question is, what do you want?”

He offers me his hand. I shake it, make my decision, and step through the door…

…into the room I had just left.

“What… what does this mean?”

He shakes his head. “You don’t know where you want to be yet. So the path took you where you need to be. Here. And here you remain, until you know. Goodbye, my friend.”

He walks out the other door, and I hear locks turn in them both.