Heroes

One Hell Of A Loss

I sat in the darkness with my friends for a while. Then eventually Lizzy walked out, and gave a terrible excuse.
"Got to go for a bit." Original.
I left after a few minutes, explaining that "I've got to go see Walter."
Jun shouted after me.
"Yeah go on! I bet Lizzy's waiting for you!"
"Get lost Jun!" He had no idea!
I walked through the cold air. My spine shivered. Our first act as leaders was to scrap the curfew, and the streets bustled with life. Neon signs flashed, people walked, laughing and smiling. This is the world I wanted to live in. I couldn't keep a grin off my face, I was so pleased with what I'd done today. If all the other Scalleti towns were like this now, I was happy.
Eventually I ended up at Jun's house. The door was flying open in the wind.
I headed inside, and Lizzy was told inside.
"Hey Rivio. I just wanted to say thanks.... For everything."
"No problem. It's what friends are for, right?"
"By the way, what are we actually going to do? Just stay here? Run the Scalleti's?"
"Leave it until morning. Then I'll tell you and the others."
"Okay."
The two of us went back to Lizzy's house. Jun smirked at me as I walked in, and I mouthed a "Piss off" at him. However, I couldn't help but notice that Lizzy seemed nervous about something.

My head was pounding when I walked in. I was lying face down in the kitchen, and Jun was slumped on one of the counters.
"Hey Rivio....my head hurts.."
"Same. Damn.."
After recovering, I got dressed and headed out with Jun. We had to go to a place called "The Summit". It's where Scalleti politicians go to talk and plan all these things. Today I planned to reveal my idea of peace. There would only be the five of us, me, Jun, Aria, Lizzy and Walter. The building was rather small but modern, with glass windows and two meeting rooms.
"Jun! Rivio!" Walter ran over and gripped me in a bear hug.
"Ugh...hey Walter."
"We've got a meeting today! Lets go lads!"
Me and Jun exchanged a smirk as we walked into our first meeting as leaders.

Two hours. Two damn hours of Walter rambling on about war. Finally he asked for our opinions.
"Look, don't flip out. But I think we should fight for peace, not war."
"WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Walter's pale face exploded into crimson red.
"War doesn't solve anything! It just gets people killed!" I was shouting now.
Jun intercepted.
"Walter! Let the guy speak!"
"We campaign, bargain with the other families for peace terms. We show how peace can help the country thrive, and now working together can also help us fulfil our views, and let the families talk instead of fight."
He was about to erupt with rage, but something interrupted him.
A bullet. To the head.
His blood matted the floor as his body crumpled.
"Everybody down!" Jun bellowed.
I ducked down next to Aria. Poor Walter. He didn't deserve to go out like that.
Aria gripped my hand tightly. She was scared.
"Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine."
She gave me a shaky smile.
Jun took control. "Okay, everyone just stay down, and the guards will deal with it."
When he finished his sentence, a homemade bomb crashed through the window. I shielded Aria and Jun from the blast, but I was knocked out in the process. The last thing I saw was my own blood.

My eyes opened casually a while later. I was in Lizzy's house. Jun walked over. I was numb, my hands and legs frozen.
"Rivio! Holy hell, you're alive! I thought we lost you for a minute. We took you to a hospital to help ya get patched up."
"Are the others okay?"
"Yeah they're fine, but Rivio....you were hurt. The guards found two sets of footprints, meaning two people had attacked us. Apparently they were Coldhearts."
"I'm fine Jun. Honestly. My fingers feel funny, but that's it."
"Rivio....you lost your hand."
It took me a second to grasp my head around what he was saying. I then pulled my left hand up, and it was there, other than a few scratches. Trembling terribly, I raised my right hand. Or should I say stump.
I stared at it with shock for what seemed like forever. Some bastard has sniped Aria, attacked the hospital, and killed Walter. Now I'd lost my hand too. The first two attacks were Lui and his soldiers, I assumed. But this new one?
"Oh well. I'm left handed anyway." I was broken inside, but showing my friends that wouldn't help.
"Haha, that's cold Rivio."
I grinned at him, and we talked about our role as leaders for a while. Suddenly, however, two masked figures wearing white and Coldheart emblems burst through the back door.
"Don't move! Don't fucking move!" One had a female voice, while the other had a gruff male voice.
The man held a gun, and pointed it at Jun's head,
Then a gunshot went off. And then the day became terrible.