All Chapters of THE RETURN OF THE RED BUTCHER : Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
12 chapters
11
Varen’s voice shook harder. “Please. Name your price. I’ll pay double for your stall… just let me live.”Simon stared down at him, but all he could see were Toma and Elik.Their small bodies lay in his mind, blackened by smoke, their hands still, their mouths no longer able to call him Boss. They had been boys with no parents, no protection, no safe place in the world until he gave them work. They had trusted him. They had waited for him to return after he had given them instructions to look after his stall.And Varen had burned them.Simon’s breathing grew heavier. “Why?”Varen blinked through sweat and blood. “What?”“Why did those boys have to die?”Varen’s lips trembled. “I didn’t mean for—”Simon stepped closer. “Do not lie to me.”Varen swallowed hard. “It was business. A message. You touched my men in public. You embarrassed the Iron Fangs. I had to answer.”“You had to answer by burning children?”“They were not children,” Varen said quickly. “They were workers. Your workers.
12
Three days after the fire, Simon buried Toma and Elik.He did not make it small. He bought proper coffins, paid for clean clothes, flowers, prayers, and a quiet place in the cemetery where the grass was soft. There were no parents to cry for them. No siblings came forward. Simon stood alone beside the graves, his face was hard, his hands folded, carrying the weight of being the only family they had left.By afternoon, Simon walked into the University of Betford. The campus was bright and full of life. Students sat under trees, laughed near food stands, shared drinks, and talked loudly about exams, relationships, and football. The noise felt strange to him after the silence of the cemetery.He had come to see the owner of the university cafeteria. Before the fire, Simon used to supplied fish there every week. Now there was no stall, no freezers, no boys, and no business left to supply anymore fish.As he crossed the relaxation spot, he stopped.A young woman sat alone on a bench near t