Calloused

38

We ran through the garden, taking out men in our path. H was on my right, my father on my left. We left a trail of bodies behind us as we continued forward. This was what we had waited for, to finally kill Vincent.

"It's starting." H said as we reached the front entrance of the garden. The sound of sniper rifles firing overhead was loud. 

It echoed around us. 

"We have to wait for an opening." My father said, peeking through the tall hedges. 

"We need to get closer, if we can sneak along the shoreline, we might be able to get close enough to the boat." I suggested.

"We better get going then, our window's going to close soon." H agreed.

We ran towards the edge of the island, making sure to avoid the enemy. It took us several minutes to reach our destination. Once we were a few yards from Vincent's boat, we huddled next to a bush.

The snipers were still shooting which meant we still had a few minutes to spare. 

"On the count of three." My father said as he held two grenades in his hand. I felt my heart pound against my chest as the fear nipped at the back of my mind. I felt H rest his hand on my thigh. I turned my head to look at him. He gave me a reassuring look and squeezed a few times before he let go. 

"One..." My father started to count as the sniper's shots got more spaced out. They were almost gone; all of the men Vincent had brought with him.

"Two.."

H and I were crouched in a running position, ready to take off as soon as he pulled the pins from the grenades. The adrenaline that coursed through me made me feel jittery. I was ready to go, ready to attack. 

"Three!" My father roared as he pulled the pins and threw them onto the boat. He dove forwards and hit the ground hard he got to his feet quickly. H and I took off running with my father close behind us. 

The explosion went off, sending us forward from the blast. My ears rang as I looked behind us. The mid-size boat was covered in a mass of orange flames. Black smoke polluted the beautiful blue sky. 

"WHAT HAPPENED!" A voice boomed through the air. It was Vincent, he wasn't expecting us to blow up his only form of transportation. I prayed that Nonna had gotten everyone off of the Island and escaped the looming threat that had clawed its way onto our shores. 

Vincent had always found a way to be one step ahead of us, now we were the ones ahead of him. 

We moved in closer towards the sound of Vincent's voice. My father led us through the bushes. I was light on my feet, careful to avoid and branches or twigs. My heart was beating a mile a minute. I was afraid this would be a trap, but I forced myself to push onward. I needed to be courageous, I needed to control my emotions. 

It had taken me a long time to face my demons, my fears, my emotions. I had to learn to use them to fuel me, and not mask them or turn them off. 

They weren't a weakness, they were power. By feeling the things all of the loss had made me feel, I was finally able to accept everything that was laid out in front of me. All of the love, loyalty and forgiveness H had eventually shown me made me want to fight harder. 

It sparked the once small, simmering fire inside of my chest. It caused it to turn into a raging, undying light. I was reborn, like a Phenix rising from the ashes. I was stronger, ready for the fight of our lives. 

It made me realize that I was on the right path. The one I was destined to follow. I was afraid at first because I knew one day, I would become the queen of our empire. Compared to my father, I felt like I would never measure up. In my mind, at the time, it felt like I had big shoes to fill. At that moment, in the middle of war, I finally saw my worth. I was more than worthy and strong enough to keep our business going. 

I was my father's daughter.

I didn't have to be afraid anymore.

My father used his hands to signal to H and I that there was three men left. Fiero had stopped shooting, which meant either something was wrong, or he was out of ammo.

We peeked through the small bushes we were concealed in. Vincent was angrily pacing. He was vulnerable, exposed. 

"We need to kill her! Don't give me excuses! Give me results!" He ranted at his men.

"Sir, there are only four of us. They have destroyed the boat; we need to consider our options." One of the men spoke up as he looked around at the surroundings. He was on edge; you could tell from his tense posture. 

"He's right boss-" Before the other man could agree with the first, Vincent raised his arm and shot him in the head. Blood and brain matter splattered all over the grass. His body fell to the ground with a thud. 

"Do either of you know what will happen if we surrender?" Vincent asked through his teeth. When the last two men didn't answer, he continued. 

"Hm? No? Well, I'll tell you. We'll be tortured until we are begging them to kill us. They will remove everything from your body. They will skin you alive even!" He snapped as he began to laugh uncontrollably. 

I looked at my father; he was still waiting to attack. I was getting impatient; we could have easily taken them out by now. Why was he waiting. 

As if my father could read my mind, he held up his hand. He motioned for me to look back at Vincent. 

I frowned and did as I was told. As I watched them continue to interact, A small red dot hovered on one of the men's head. I perked up, slightly confused. I looked back towards the house to see Fiero on top of the house. He was on his stomach, a different gun sat in front of him. 

"Then what do we do?" The first man asked Vincent. 

"Kill them all!" He snarled in response. 

"We don't-" 

BAM!

Fiero had taken the shot. Vincent took off in our direction. I pulled my knife out, ready to pounce as he got closer. Another shot echoed. As the last man hit the ground with a hard thud. 

I sprang forward and out of the cover of the bushes right before he smashed into me. I knocked him over as H and my father ran to me to help hold him down on the ground. I kneeled next to his head; a dark smile spread across my face. 

"Fancy meeting you here. You're not so bad now that all of your men are gone." I said nonchalantly as I played with my knife. I traced his jaw with it.

"I'll fucking kill you!" He screamed at me, fighting to free his arms and legs. It was no use since H and my father had a good grip on him.

"You kill my wife, and you threaten my daughter. Then you come to my family home, here in Italy!" My father hissed at him through gritted teeth. 

"You don't deserve to live. None of your fucking family!" Vincent said back, spitting in my father's face. My father glared at him with so much hatred, it made my blood run cold. 

My father knocked Vincent out with a single blow to his head.

We moved him inside the house and dragged him down to the old wine cellar. 

He's going to wish he was dead.