Hood

CHAPTER 1: Welcome to the Jungle

I ran through the forest, careful of not making any suspicious noise. It was nighttime, and the winds were cold. Our only source of light was the moon and the stars itself, shining above us. I hid myself in a bush, and panted. Clouds of air were made as I breathe,
I looked up to see if my companions were anywhere near me.
I saw one, a figure swept against darkness, and I noticed that under the dark blue hood, was a girl with curly blond hair. It was Maria. I whistled a signal to come to me, and when she got it, she quickly dashed to my hiding place. "Are you okay?" she asked in a whispery tone, her blue eyes staring against my light green ones.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Where's Bliss?" I replied, hoping our third comrade was safe. "I thought she's with you." Her answer made my heart beat fast. I glanced left and right if there were any sign of her. Nothing. "We've got to find her now! If the Outcasts got her, she will be in big-" I cut myself off when suddenly a figure's shadow hovered above us. I looked up and saw Bliss, which made me sigh in relief, before she jumps to the tree next to where we're hiding. "Miss me?" she smiled, her gold eyes gleamed under her hood. I shook my head and said, "Bliss. Always making us worry..." she smiled again, only wider this time.

The three of us continue to run, hoping we can get to the wall sooner. We tried to be as quiet as possible, so that the Outcasts wouldn't hear us. What are Outcasts, you say? Outcasts are evil mythical creatures like werewolves, mermaids, elves, or even pixies. Every creature that are outside the barrier, are purely evil. We don't know how or where they came from, but all we know, when we see them, we kill them.

"We're near the barrier!" Bliss said. I looked forward and saw glows of light, becoming brighter and brighter as we ran.
"Ah!" Maria screamed as savage wolves pounced at her before we even know it. We shouted her name, as we turn around to save our friend. I looked back, we were almost there.

Bliss quickly took her bow and got ready to aim and fire. I unsheathed my two Japanese samurai swords, katanas, which it's cases were strapped on my back. When we reached Maria, we saw her standing in front of two big wolves growling madly. Their furs were black and streaked with blood, teeth so sharp that it could pass through a sheet of metal without any efforts at all. Maria stood there, her fierce blue eyes staring daggers at her opponent, her pale white skin gleamed through the moon beams. I also noticed her two fresh scratches on her face, dripping with blood. She pointed her spear at the two monsters, getting ready for an attack. The first wolf charged at her, and she fought fearlessly, trapping the wolf's teeth between the wooden handle of her spear, but when the second one pounced next, Bliss quickly took action and fired her arrow through the wolf's heart. Bliss, or Bliss Leonheart, is the best archer I've ever known. Her shots were effortless, always aiming straight and clean, never missing her target. Our first meeting was 2 years ago, when we were training to be a Hunter. Hunters are people that are given missions and responsibilities to go outside the barriers to hunt and kill the Outcasts. Whether you are going outside for a supply run or a hunt, you need to be trained first before going outside. If not, then you are handing your life on a silver plate. You can be a Hunter when you reached the age of sixteen, and you are trained by then until you are ready to go outside the borders. I met Bliss on archery class, which I'm not good at. I hate archery. I always hit the wrong places and my accuracy with the bows and arrows are not really bright. When Bliss name was called, I saw a girl who looks like fourteen instead of sixteen, with short dark hair with uneven chops, and slanted gold eyes. I saw the other trainees laughing at her and asking what is a small girl doing in here, but when she shot her first arrows, they look like they want to take back everything they said. Her grades on archery were perfect that I got a little envious. I most excel in sword-fighting or close-range attacking. Yin and Yang, my two swords which are a gift from my father before he went on one mission and never came back.

When I first talked to Bliss, her voice was sweet and kind. After that, we always hung out and talk to each other, and before we know it we were best friends. Then we met Maria Fernandez. She was also in our batch, but we almost never paid attention to her. She was known as the most beautiful of all among the female trainees, and guys would drool over her like crazy. But she excels in long-range attacks and javelin throwing, and she is also known to have a cold personality. We met her one day when we were paired by three on our first trip outside, and I went with Bliss and her. We realized that we worked together pretty good as a team, and that's when our friendship with her began. We also realized that she was not that bad, and she was not as cold that anyone had talked about. When we graduated, we never let each other go. We always go to missions together, and we always came back successful. Soon, our group is known as the Hoods, three strong female Hunters that never let go of each other, no matter what. We are also called Hoods; because our hoods are different from the others. While other Hunter's hoods are color black, our colors are different. Bliss's color is indigo; Maria's is dark blue, while mine is red. Because of that, I'm also called 'Red riding Hood'. I think it's annoying at first, but Bliss and Maria said that is pretty cool to have an alias.
While Maria is busy keeping the wolf's teeth between the handle, she took out her dagger and stabbed it continuously on the wolf's stomach. After her little 'tango' with the enemy, she almost collapsed on the spot. We caught her and asked her if she was okay.
"There were three of them." She said. Before I even turn my back to look for the third one, it already pounced right on top of me.

"Esme!" Bliss shouted. The wolf's weight dominating over me, its fangs only inches to my face, its saliva drooling all over me. I looked out to my side and saw my black sword, Yang, and tried to reach for it. But it was too far and I still need to keep the wolf from eating my face. Before the wolf's teeth sink into my skin, I heard a gunshot behind me and it killed the wolf instantly. Its blood splattered all over my chest and face, I pushed it off and tried to wipe to the red stuff which was all over me. I thought it was Bliss or Maria who saved me, but I realized that neither of them owns a gun.

"Well, well, well... lookie who we have here..." a familiar voice echoed through the darkness. I looked up and made a scowl, if my guess it right, I think my savior was the very first person I had on my 'I Want To Kill' list.

"I think you owe me one..." he said, his signature grin plastered on his face, "... Red Riding Hood."