The Birth of Madness

Chapter 5 - Checkpoint

A stone wall a good five or six feet tall, topped in tangled metal string, ran as far side to side as she could see. And, if her eyes followed the road, it went straight through the wall, yet somehow was the most unwelcoming spot to attempt crossing it - a checkpoint. Somehow, all her walking had brought her to the border of another nation. Had it really always been so close?

She was positioned about half a mile away, as she had paused as soon as the checkpoint came into view. Now, she leaned against a nearby tree, looking at this new form of obstacle. But also, opportunity. She had considered briefly turning around and trying the other fork, but that would take too long to reach, and there was no guarantee the other road wouldn't just lead to a different nation's border instead. But critically, there should be no chance the people here would know to detain her, so this was her best chance to make the crossing normally.

Unfortunately, she had no idea how to conduct herself across a border. In her mind the words 'identification' and 'toll' brushed past. If they wanted money, she could pay, as long as it wasn't much - she had very little to her name, and most of it would need to go towards food as soon as possible.

Identification would be the real problem. She'd never gotten any for herself, never seeing the need. Now, it seemed, foresight could have made this very simple. Though she had no way of knowing this would happen to her, she admitted. She never had plans to travel anywhere.

Though, if something went wrong...

How many people could be there anyway? It was hard to tell, but the two-story building set into and passing through the wall didn't look big enough to house more than a handful of people. Unless they had an expansive basement.

Nothing for it then, she decided. No matter how long she stood and thought about what might happened, she wouldn't know what would happen. And, linger too long, unpleasant things might catch up to her. With those thoughts at her heels, she resumed her walk.

As she approached, she noticed not far away from the building was a fenced in range, where three horses roamed, grazing. And, inside the gate - which was very open - two people sat facing each other. Two people, three horses; there was someone else somewhere, presumably in the building. Easier for her to deal with if things went wrong.

One of the people on the ground got up as she drew new and stepped out of the gateway to acknowledge her.

"Hello ma'am," they greeted politely.

"Hello," Ashi returned, putting on a natural smile.

"Can I see your identification?" and immediately Ashi's heart fell, though it didn't show on her face. Though in the end, perhaps this would work out for the better, she realized, already knowing what she wanted most from the building.

"Sure," as she kept the smile, she pulled her bag off her back and plopped it onto the ground, kneeling down and opening it.

There could be no nervousness now. Only action.

Her hand swiftly moved to hilt and swung it out, before lunging forward, piercing in and up into their chest. Their eyes met for a moment, joy reflected in shock, and they fell to the ground. Before the second had a chance to fully scramble to their feet, mouth opened as though to scream, she leapt even further and repeated her attack, angled down. The second fell as well.

She stood tall, stretching out her arms, tail lashing excitedly. Inside the building was motion. Scraping, walking, talking. It wouldn't be right to leave half-finished. They could send out an alarm. And her other goal, of course, was inside.

She swung the door open, and saw a dining-living room combination with a kitchen set in the corner, homey. And, spread throughout the room, three pairs of eyes turned to see her. Her blade. Her smile. Her eyes. The blood, a beautiful frame.