Calloused

37

"It was nice, getting to see you bond with my Nonna." I hummed against H's chest as he hugged me close. We had gone to our room a few hours ago.

"She asked some tough questions." He smiled.

"Get used to it." I laughed as I cuddled into his side. His arm was wrapped around me, and his hand rested on my hip. His fingers drew lazy circles on my exposed skin.

I listened to H breath. The steady rhythm settled my mind. I looked up at him, a wave of emotion flew through me.

"I love you." I whispered. He looked down at me, his emerald, green eyes lit up.

"I love you." H smiled. His perfect, straight, white teeth were out on display. 

We fell asleep shortly after. 

                                                                           ~~~*~~~

I woke up to the sound of gunfire. I shot out of my bed. H was gone. I started to panic as I rushed to the window. A group of men were outside. They were exchanging fire with another group that was on the dock. Several bodies littered the front of the property. A familiar man was amongst the invaders...

Vincent.

I released an angry scream as I ran out of the bedroom. I dodged bullets as I made my way down the staircase. I took a right and ran towards the back door of the house. Nonna had told me there was a cellar behind the house that held many weapons. 

"Sky!" I heard my father's voice cut through the loud, chaotic environment. I whipped around to see him running towards me. He had a large gun in his hands, a few men flanking him. 

"Where's H?" I yelled over the noise. 

"He's with nonna! They're in the cellar!" He yelled back. I nodded and took off to the cellar, my father right at my heels. 

We rushed down the stairs and into the old wine cellar, the sound of gunfire soon became muffled. 

"Sky!" H barked, coming to my side.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up!?" I asked angrily, going to the far wall to get geared up. I pulled on a bullet proof vest and grabbed a handgun. I pulled on a pair of leather boots. I tucked the handgun into the back of my waist band before I reached for a shot gun. It was heavy, but I held it firmly. I grabbed a few knives and tucked them into my boots.

I cocked it and made sure it was loaded. I grabbed a few grenades and clipped them to my belt.

I threw my hair up into a tight messy bun. 

"We had it covered. And I thought you were safer in the house." My father groaned.

"Clearly not!" I snarled at him. My Nonna came up beside us.

"We need to think this through carefully. We don't know what he has planned." She warned us. 

"We need to get him alone, so he has no escape routes or men to cover him." I agreed.

"We can destroy the boat." My father said, holding up a grenade. 

"We need to separate him from his men first. We need a distraction." I pointed out.

"We can have Fiero go to the roof, he can take them out one by one." My father suggested.

"Yes. That will work." My Nonna agreed. 

"Get your rifle and head to the roof with Fiero." My father directed two of the men. He exchanged a look with Fiero before they left. 

"Take the others to the boat out back. We need to be ready to evacuate the other women and children." My father told Nonna. I turned to look to our left. My cousins and their children were huddled against the wall. There was at least 30 of them. 

"I will. I love you all very much. Now go kill that bastard!" Nonna smiled, giving us a hug and a kiss goodbye. She started to help the other men move our family out of the back.

My father, H, and I left the cellar. We moved quietly and quickly. 

"Keep your eyes sharp." My father whispered. 

As we neared the side of the garden we heard women screaming and crying. I wanted to rush to them to help but I knew we'd be running right into a trap.

"Please! Stop!" I heard Ana, one of my cousins, sob to one of the intruders.

"Shut up! Don't worry, you'll be next!" He snapped at her. We heard him slap her hard though the tall hedges. It made my stomach twist as I heard more sobbing. I peeked through the hedge to see the picnic table. One of the unfamiliar men had a woman bent over it. He had her sundress up and her underwear down to her ankles. He was unbuckling his belt. 

I tore my eyes away from what I was seeing to count the men in the area. There were three. They had three of my cousins, two were held at gun point. The other was on the picnic table. 

"Papa." I whispered, pleading with my eyes. He didn't hesitate as he continued towards the side entrance of the garden. We stayed low to the ground, making sure we were concealed by the bushes and plants. I felt like a lioness, stalking its prey as the anger boiled inside of me as I heard my family screaming. 

He was raping her, right outside our family home. I wanted to torture him. I wanted to watch as the blood pooled around his body. I wanted him to feel every slice, burn, and rip inflicted to his flesh. He deserved to die. 

We used hand signals to communicate as we moved in closer. H stayed close behind me as my father went right. We snuck up, a few feet from the two men with the guns. My father got to the one in front of the picnic table. I slid my knife out from one of my boots, ready.

We all looked at each other one last time as we signaled the attack. I jumped at the man closest to me and sliced his throat open. He fell to his knees, gurgling and choking on his own blood. 

I looked to the side to see the other man H had attacked was also down on the ground. We turned to my father who had his knife at the third man's neck. He looked to me, waiting to see what I wanted to do. As if he had read my mind, he held him out to me.

I stepped forward, towards them. I took my knife and plunged it into the man's stomach. My father covered his mouth so he wouldn't scream out. I twisted the knife then left it inside of him. I looked down to see that his pants were still down. I looked to H; he held out the machete that was once on his side. I smiled evilly as I pulled it out of its sheath. The blade glistened in the sunlight as I inspected it. I turned back to the man my father still held. 

"I'll try not to enjoy this, too much." I sneered as I drew my hand back. In one movement I swung my arm downwards and removed the man's genitals. It fell into the grass with a thud. Blood flowed down his legs as his screams were muffled by my father's hand.

I took the machete and sliced his throat. I did it slowly so I could see the fear in his eyes grow even more. 

My father let go of him and let him fall forwards. I went to my cousins, making sure they were okay. I had been covered in blood. They continued to cry as we led them back to the old wine cellar. My Nonna took them and led them to the boat.

"This all ends, today." I promised her as I turned to leave. My father and H followed behind.

I was ready. 

Vincent will die today.