Assassin

Cliff

I followed the men, not knowing where we were and where were going. The man who talked to me seemed to be the leader, and we all followed him. I could not run away, as they could clearly catch up to me and I was now surrounded by the gang; the hovered over my every movement.
Inside I was shaking with fear. Everything I was holding in was beginning to wobble, shake and shatter with every thump of my heart. I was on the edge of tears. I wanted John with me. I knew they were not going to hurt me now but the idea still scared me, and I was scared for my baby. They could hurt me, but not my child.
I was pleading silently for John to shake me and wake me up from this nightmare. I must be still sleeping. It was not true. It all seemed like things that would only happen in books. I should not have opened the door. I should have made sure it was John. I was frightened and I was about to lose my mind. My legs that were carrying me forward were the only things about me that could still work properly.
We walked under the dim moonlight and trees surrounded our path. We seemed to be in somewhere remote. I could hear waves crashing against the cliff faintly.
It was getting colder and colder, and I began to shiver. The men seemed to take no notice. I wish I had John’s arms around me, keeping me warm and safe.
At one point I could not help but made some noises because I was not feeling well. I was cold and tired, and terrified. The leader turned and looked at me.
“You’re going to be okay soon,” he kept walking and told me, “We won’t hurt you… We only want John.”
“What – what do you want from him?” I stuttered, not because only of the coldness, but also because panic was starting to build up in me.
“He killed our men before he left this place,” I heard the leader grit his teeth, “We want revenge.”
“He—” I tried to say something, but was scared that I would drive them crazy or something. Who knew if they had anger issues, after all, they were not good people. And things started to get clearer. I guessed these men were the ones that John saw yesterday. Maybe he was out to search for them. I was getting more and more impatient and panicky.
“Once we get what we want, we’ll send you back,” he continued, “You’re just the bait.”
“You can’t hurt him!” I could not help it anymore; I had to do something, maybe I could stop them.
“Don’t worry, all we want is him, and we will make it up to you; you’re innocent, and we know it, we’ll give you money if that’s what you want,”
“All I want is John,” I said desperately, but the leader did not once turn his head to look at me.
“Then he shouldn’t have killed our brothers,” he hissed.
I tried to argue, but I could tell he was getting really pissed off just talking about it, so I just stayed quiet and tried to think of something.
We reached an opening and I could see we were near the edge of a cliff. I could see the moon clearly from where we were, hanging right above the wide sea. The sound of waves hitting the cliff sounded louder now. From the sound of it, we seemed to be in quite a high position. I shuddered.
“We’re almost there,” the leader said, “You just have to stay for a couple of days until we get what we want.”
“Please,” I said, barely audible, “Don’t.”
The leader howled with evil laughter and ignored me.
Suddenly, I heard someone getting closer through the forest. I could hear someone shuffling through the thick bushes and trees. I looked to the source of sound and a few seconds later someone sprang out from the greens.
It was John, holding his two swords. All the men turned to him with their armors ready.
“John!” I screamed, “Run!”
“(Yn)!” John ignored my warning and ran towards us. I ran towards him and gestured for him to run.
I had just got a few steps further from my previous position before I was held back by a pair of strong arms.
“Let go of me!” I struggled against him, trying to break free. Of course, it was no use and the man just dragged me backwards.
“Get your hands off her!” John shouted, and dashed towards us.
He was blocked midway by a couple of men. They held their armors out, threatening him. I screamed.
I heard someone laugh and turned to see the leader walking towards John, who was blocked by the men.
“So I guess you’ve figured out what’s happening when you return to an empty house?” he assumed.
“I know it’s you yesterday, you bastard,” John hissed, “Let go of her. She’s innocent; you only want me.”
“She’ll be free when we get what we want,” the leader smirked at John.
John hissed again and stepped closer, but the men just held their armors higher up against him, forcing him to stop advancing.
John looked at me, and I mouthed to him to go, and that I would be okay. He looked away and narrowed his eyes at the leader.
“You’re getting no one today,” John said, his tone full of warning and threat.
The leader laughed loudly and disgustingly. John yelled and attempted to swing his swords at the men beside him. The men seemed to be good fighters, and dodged his attack.
The fight began, and what I had been holding in all spilled out and I screamed on top of my lungs.
“John!” I screamed, tears welling around the rims of my eyes. The pair of arms tightened around my arms and pulled me backwards.
“Let go!” I yelled, struggling with all my strength. The man just held me tighter and I gave up, letting my tears fall freely down my cheek, blurring my sight.
I blinked away the tears furiously, and I could hear the sick sound of metals crashing together. Shadows dancing under the moonlight, and I could just about to make out which one was John, as everyone was good fighters; they were all moving fast.
I kept shivering with fear, and I could do nothing to help John. He seemed to be fighting harder than usual; I had never seen him like this before. I caught his teeth biting on his bottom lip hard, and he was extra-focused. I was starting to get scared. This was not an easy fight like the ones that I had witnessed.
“John,” I croaked, feeling tired and hopeless. My limps went weak and I could barely stand.
I kept praying and praying, hoping that John would be alright and that he would win. But to my horror the fight began to edge closer and closer to the cliff, with John backing towards it.
John was now defensing himself rather than attacking, which was unlike what he usually did. It seemed that he was not in a good situation. Everyone was attacking him in various places. Although he could dodge all the armed attacks, he still got a few punches and kicks. Watching this was like having a million blades stabbing me.
The gang was so strong that the men kept pushing and pushing John towards the cliff.
“John!” I shouted, “Look out!”
He was just two meters away from the edge, and I felt like I was about to faint. I could not make myself think of what might happen if this kept going.
John sped up his movements and tried to fight back furiously. But there were too many skilled people; John kept being pushed and he was now just a meter away from the cliff.
“John!” I screamed, “Be careful!”
I fought against the man behind me with all my might, trying to break free and just get to John. Maybe I could distract the people and save John. John was just standing on the edge when I got panicked and stepped on the man’s foot as hard as I could manage. The man released me, yelping in pain and I ran forward to John.
But I was too late. I tripped and fell onto the ground, and when I looked up, John fell backwards down the cliff. I screamed on top of my lungs and got to the edge of the cliff. It felt like the entire world was spinning. I looked down, taking in the frightening height underneath and gasped aloud. I could see nothing but the cliff and sea. I could not see John. He was not even hanging onto a jutted out stone. He was nowhere to be seen.
My world collapsed and my sight went all black. I passed out.