The Regulator (Complete First Draft)

Chapter 72: The Bedlam - For All Your Battles Mean Nothing

“It’s been a long time coming.” The Bedlam smirked as he stood on the raised platform of the barn, just a little bit in front of a the wide window he had stood in not but a day earlier. He listened to the slow and loud thuds as The Regulator entered the barn. “Hasn’t it?” He said, turning around.

“Where is he?” The Regulator demanded. There was no tremble in his voice, no sense of doubt. The Bedlam smiled again. The Regulator was here. He was finally here.

“He’s safe Regulator. That I promise.” The Bedlam smirked again. The Bedlam stepped forward and off the raised platform, right onto the head of a rotten corpse underneath him. The Bedlam relished in the feeling as the corpse fell apart under his foot. The Regulator continued to stare at him, however, un-phased by The Bedlam’s distracting behavior. He tossed the can of gas he held in his hand out into the center of the room, and The Bedlam watched as the gas leaked slowly but surely out onto the floor of the barn. Drip by drip, it gurgled out of the mouth of the tank, quickly spreading across the entire floor.

“Where. Is. He.” The Regulator demanded, in a much more commanding tone. This was no longer the boy The Bedlam had found not long ago. This was the man he needed him too be.

“He’s safe Regulator, but take heed. Your actions against me may have unforeseen consequences.”

“You touch him, I kill you!”

“I will do no such thing. I don’t need too touch him for him to feel the pain. I just need you too.” The Regulator screamed and rushed forward. He was younger yes, but he was a strong man. The Bedlam was fairly frail, and The Regulator was quick to grab him by the throat and stare him right in the eyes. “Have you ever felt loss Regulator? Had the things most dear from you ripped away? Imagine having a part of you torn out and thrown away, stomped into the floor like it never meant anything to you. Stomped and stomped and stomped until they are nothing but dust. Now imagine that multiple times. Over and over again. What would you be Regulator?” The Bedlam stared with desperation into the Regulator’s eyes, but he only stared back with hate. The Regulator lifted his revolver out of his holster with his free hand and pointed it at the gas puddle. “Do it, Regulator. Burn away your burdens.”

“I plan to burn much more than just that.” The Regulator said, firing the gun at the puddle. A small flame started, but quickly erupted over the gas into a fairly sailed fire. The fire quickly spread to a couple of the bodies that were strewn around the floor of the barn, and The Bedlam could even see the flames begin too eat away at the wooden floor of The Barn.
“Regulator, you and I will soon be the same. Crushed into dust, destroyed.” The Bedlam felt the force of The Regulator turning him around putting his back to the fire. The Regulator pushed The Bedlam forward, leaning him over the flames.

“Why?” He hissed.

“Because, Regulator. Your sheep is dead.” The Bedlam stated cold and blank faced. He saw The Regulator hesitate for a moment distracted by his emotions. He was still weak, still too attached to the world. This would cure that. This would break him. The Bedlam used the opportunity to slide the knife out of his sleeve, knock the gun out of The Regulator’s hand, and slice him across the face, leaving a clean, small, and deep gash on The Regulator’s cheek. He stumbled back, injured and in shock for a brief moment. “Do you understand now, Regulator? Do you understand what this world is? It is nothing but pain. It is death and destruction and chaos. It needs someone who can stop the pain, control it, prevent it. But to do that he must first understand it.”

The Regulator looked up, blood dripped down his face. He watched as the Bedlam picked up the revolver and tossed it out the wide window. He watched as the flames spread around the barn, igniting everything in the building. As the heat built, and the smoke rose, The Regulator looked at the Bedlam and could only manage to say, “No, no.” He spoke through rushed breaths, “I’m going to kill you now.”