Humanity's Weapon

11

I tried to pay attention in class but I honestly couldn't care less about this stuff that they're teaching. I've learned it all before, and I'll learn it again after I graduate high school. I'll go back to high school, and repeat until I am either destroyed or ordered to return to the headquarters. But I don't want that, I killed innocent people and I don't want to be Arma Exitium ever again. I had finally escaped. I would say that I wanted to be human, with their cute little families worrying about minuscule tests but I don't want to be human, they are too pitiful. My face contorted into annoyance and I slid my head down to the desk top.

"Miss Crossfield, I'm sorry, since you clearly know so much about square roots, please answer the problem on the board." I raised my head and shifted my eyesight to the whiteboard behind Mrs. Devon.

[Square root sign] 34,596

....

"One hundred, eighty six."
A look of astonishment spread across Mrs. Devon's face.
"Okay, how about... eighty five thousand, eight hundred forty nine?"
"... Two hundred ninety three."
She then crossed her arms, shifted her weight onto her left leg, and cocked one eyebrow.
"One million, five hundred twenty five thousand, two hundred twenty five."
"... One thousand, two hundred thirty five."
"How-" she was cut short by the school bell signaling that it was time for fifth period. I gave a small smirk to myself before grabbing my two notebooks and walking out the classroom door.

The day seemed shorter than most, seeing as it was already supper time. The sky had turned a beautiful mixture of hues: A gold-ish brown, like pure sunshine shinning through a glass of fine whiskey; a pink, like the most festive cotton candy; a beaming blue, like the calm, sunny oceans of the Caribbean; and a purple, like the fake coloring of summer, grape flavored Popsicles. While everyone was walking to the cafeteria, I stopped. I was the only one to walk over to the bench, sit down and stare at the sunset, appreciating the view while I had it. On the left, the bark faintly held on to the trunk of the birch tree. On the right, there was a cluster of small maple trees with red leaves, more vibrant than the tips of flames.

Three knocks, evenly timed out, came from what sounded like the other side of a tree, ripping me out of my relaxation. Not again. I stood up, prepared in the "fight or flight" position.
"._ ._. _ _ ._ " My breath hitched on the Morse Code- translated to my birth name-Arma.

Flight I decided.

I kicked off, running as fast as I could towards anything or anyone. Taking as big of sprints as possible. I was too slow, I could feel a dark hand reaching out to get me from the corner of my eyes. The fear added adrenaline to my blood stream. As I ran faster, the dark hand began to fade from my line of vision. My lungs began to burn from the frozen, September air. I can't give up, I'm not going to be Arma Exitium again! I can't let them- My thoughts were cut when I tripped over a groove in the dirt. I attempted to stand up, to keep running, to escape, but all attempts were futile. The dark hand grabbed my left ankle, dozens of smaller hands, resembling talons, branched out from the larger one. I was going to be dragged to my hell.

No! I won't let myself be beat!

I start clawing for a rock, a branch, anything to rip myself away from the shadows. My hands scraped across plenty of roots, causing my hands to become raw and bloody, along with my fingernails. My knees scratched up and uniform tattered. I started kicking my legs. The shadows didn't like that seeing as they threw my body in the air like a tennis ball. My head slammed onto a rock, most likely giving me some sort of head damage, but I won't give up. Not yet!

I gripped tight on a bench leg, pulling my body closer to the bench but was useless. I was going to be pulled into the shadows, punished for being a traitor. I'm... I'm scared?