Amaranth

Chapter 2: Orchids

"She's a pretty one," the man hovering over her said.

"She'll make us good money," another guy said as he high fived Mikasa.

Meanwhile, Mikasa was analyzing her surroundings. Her fight or flight instincts kicked in, and she was beginning to feel like a cornered animal. The men in front of her had killed her parents while she watched before tying her up and taking her away with them. She was pissed, and she was scared. Those were never a good combination.

With as little noise as possible, she managed to slowly pull her arms from the binds she was in. With the extra space, she knew she could easily slide out of the ropes that bound her. She just needed the right opportunity.

Soon enough, the men left the room without exchanging words. They must've been confident in their ability to bind her since they paid her no mind as they left. She quickly took this opportunity to pull the ropes off of her and search the immediate area for a weapon. It was a cabin in the middle of nowhere; there was no way there wouldn't be a weapon around there somewhere.

After a while of searching, she found a broom with a blade attached to the end. Score! She grabbed it before slowly prowling around the cabin. She knew that three guys had shown up to her house and at least two had left the room she was in. She was sure they wouldn't have left the cabin without leaving someone behind, so there had to be at least one of them around.

When she turned a corner, and felt an angry hand on her back, and she spun around, immediately impaling the person who had touched her. "You bitch," the man seethed as he tried to bind her hands again. Instead, she stabbed the man in the neck.

She had gone hunting with her dad enough times to know that a cut to the neck and any of the major arteries could have someone, or something, dead in seconds. She attempted to aim for the artery, but even hitting anywhere on the neck would kill him without help.

She had seen this cycle many times. Birds capturing insects in their webs before slowly eating them, bears killing anyone and anything that messed with their babies, birds fighting each other over females and food; it was the way of the world. Kill or be killed, and Mikasa had accepted that long before the death of her parents.

Hearing the commotion, another man showed up, and with no hesitation, she slashed the man in a figure eight, opening straight down to his arteries as he fell to the ground. Mikasa was sure the man had died before he even hit the ground.

The last man showed up shortly after with a knife. He managed to cut her a few times, but she stabbed him in the stomach over and over again until she was sure he had died. It may have been excessive, but that was the man who had killed her parents. She was angry and hurt. She just wanted a way to show how hurt she was, and with little to no moral compass, she lashed out.

She slowly stood up from the man's body, realizing she was drenched in blood, whether it was hers or theirs, she wasn't sure. Either way, she exited the building and walked back to her house. It wasn't far, but it took her awhile to get there since she was bleeding and tired.

When she arrived, she paused beside her parents bodies and sobbed. "Mika," her mother muttered as she attempted to lift her hand. The older woman managed to put her bloodied hand on her daughter's face, and despite the gruesome sight -or maybe because of it, Mikasa sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Mommy," Mikasa cried, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

"No, baby," Mikasa's mom cooed sadly, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."