THE HUNT

Twenty

    I sit beside Ren as he pilots his ship into yet another mission. This is the fourth one he's taken me on, forcing me to take one life each time.

    I've taken three already.

    The Knights of Ren are coming on this one, too. They're taking a separate ship, their own.

    "What's on your mind, Hunter?" He asks, not turning to me.

    "Why don't you take a look for yourself?" I snap.

    "That's against our deal." He flicks a switch, pulling us out of hyperspace. "You've done quite well recently."

    "I hate you." I announce. "I'm only doing this for Imrie."

    "You must truly love him." Ren says quietly. "Have you gotten through the hard nights by imagining he comes to save you?"

    "Stop." I roll my hands into fists.

    "Have you imagined a future with him on a nice planet? Far away from the war?" I grit my teeth, looking away. "Canto Bight?" He guesses. "One of the villages on Endor?" He shoots me a sideways glance.

    Naboo. I think, not meaning to. He chuckles.

    "No, Naboo isn't quite what you would expect." He makes a face. "Unless you're fairly wealthy, you'd live in the slums." The planet, our destination, seems to get larger as we approach. "Maybe you have even thought of starting a family with him?"

    "No!" I snap my head towards him. "He's like my brother!"

    "I'm sure he is. In your mind, at least." He pointedly keeps his gaze ahead.

    "What does that mean?" I snap. "You don't know anything."

    "I know quite a lot, Hunter." He flicks several switches, and we begin to advance. "You just don't listen to me."

    "Why would I be interested in what you have to say? All you do is lie." We enter the atmosphere, and I grip the edges of my seat. "I don't want to do this, Ren." I whisper. "I can't keep doing this."

"Yes you can." He clenches his jaw. "You're strong enough."

"What is even the point of this?"

"Reconditioning." He says flatly. He brings the ship to ground, and I stand immediately. "It will get easie-" He catches my staff in one hand as I swing it towards his head. "Oh Hunter, I thought we were past this." He shakes his head, pulling the weapon from my hands without any effort, despite my attempts to hold on. "I thought you were wiser."

    "Apparently not." I hiss. The black leather covering the back of his hand stings across my face as he hits me. The impact has my knees buckling, but he grabs the front of my cloak, keeping me up.

    "We had a deal, Hunter." He growls. "I have upheld my end without reciprocation long enough." I say nothing as he drops me, and I regain my footing. "You vowed to be loyal and to fight until your last breath." He shakes his head. "I've given you every opportunity to better yourself." He turns, rolling his hands into fists. "You're just rebel scum through and through." The door slides open, and he steps through, dropping my staff. "Come. This will be your last mission." I grit my teeth, but activate my mask anyway and follow him.

    The battle has already begun by the time we exit the ship. He ignites his lightsaber, ordering me to follow him. I do, hoping that he won't order me to kill anyone this time. He shoots me a look, and I know that's he's in my mind. The deal is over.

    He's right. I never participated truly in the agreement like he did. A small, wicked part of me feels guilty.

    He was kind, and I threw that away.

    But he's also a cruel man. I argue with myself. Kindness is not in his nature.

    Which probably made it hard for him to uphold the bargain.

    "Shut up." Ren rolls his eyes, a surprisingly boyish gesture. "You can argue mentally with yourself once you're back in your room." My cheeks flush, and I grip my staff. "I know you remember the rule."

    Of course I do. It haunts me.

    Kill one person, save Imrie.

    He's making me into the monster he is.

    "Sweetheart, there's no way you could become the monster that I am." He cuts down a young man, younger than me. "You're free to try, though. I'd like that."

    "Shut up." I say out loud. He reaches out, grabbing my arm. I look up at him, baring my teeth behind my mask as he holds me tight. Too tight. "Let me go, Ren."

    "You will respect me while we're out here, Hunter." He orders. "Your defiance is distracting."

    "Good." I bite. "Maybe someone will shoot you right in the back of the head, and I won't have to worry about doing it myself."

    Almost as if on cue, a blaster shot ricochets towards us. Ren moves to deflect it with his weapon, but he't too late. It embeds itself into my stomach, and I drop to my knees, holding a gloved hand to the wound. He bends down, hand on my arm.

    "Get back to the ship." He snaps. "You stupid, stupid girl." I sneer at him through the mask, but he uses that power of his to control me again. My feet carry me towards the ship in a quick jog. The pain in my abdomen hasn't registered yet. I only know that I've been shot because it feels like a punch to the gut. He's trying to get me back onto the Echelon before the adrenaline wears off.

    Before I become useless and die.

    I can feel the numbness and the soreness already setting in. My body hasn't realized what's happened yet. Slowly, though, as I ascend the ramp, blood begins to seep in thicker trails between my fingers.

    Only once I get into the cockpit does he release his hold on me, letting me collapse in a heap on the tiled floor. The impact of the fall jarrs my body into reality, and the pain begins to radiate through every bit of me.