Nation Assassination

Chapter Twenty-One

(YOU GUYS I AM SO SO SO SORRY! IVE BEEN SICK ALL WEEK AND I TOTALLY SPACED OUT ON MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY'S UPDATE! ILL TRY TO PUT UP TWO CHAPTERS TODAY SO I CAN MAKE IT UP TO YOU GUYS!!)

Jean and I stood perfectly still. Once again, it was a game of predator and prey...but we weren't exactly sure who was what. In fact, we didn't even have an idea on what we could do.

Ambush was out of the question. Two unarmed, one being injured, against at least two or three hundred, armed, healthy bloodthirsty killers. Then again... i never said i wasnt bloodthirsty.

These men... the 'Maruaders' as they seem to call themselves, ruined my life from the start. If they hadnt killed my mother, my brother and i could have escaped and built a decent life on our own, find honest work somewhere for a wealthier person... but they killed him to, in cold blood and point blank.

I was left alone in the world, and being alone, homeless and starving will force you to do things you never could have imagined. Hell, i not only was pushed to thievery, but into contract killing, just so i can eat another meal.

Really though... deep down, i know it was my fault. Not my mother dying... i couldn't control that. But my brother... Phoenix was his name, i could have saved him. We were leaving the house we grew up in, escaping... but they grabbed him. Those god damned 'Marauders'. They tore him away from me... and really, i could have done something. But i didnt. I just turned and kept running, leaving Phoenix behind so i can save my own skin... and for what? A few more months on hell before i died of starvation?

He was named Phoenix for a reason... Instead of the soft amber hair my mother and i both had, his hair was red. Not bright red, but fire red. His eyes blazed with yellow, always shining with hope and happiness. He always dreamed of flying, and he grew to love the bright flame, heat and light fire could offer him.

Truly, i believe he was a Phoenix... but unlike the mythical bird, he didn't rise up from his ashes to make a younger, stronger version of himself. No... he stayed down. But to me, he will never be human, mortal. He will always be the strong-willed, entranced boy i always knew him to be.

One of the real monsters seemed to have made a joke, and the others sitting around the warm fire slapped their knees and laughed as they drank beer.

Jean and i stayed in silence, standing by our horses and using the few trees around for cover. I hate silence... no matter how much i had gotten used to it in my previous line of work. Silence drove me insane.

I began to fidget a bit, my eyes darting around the camp.

A marauder threw something into the fire, making it flare up with a loud hiss, spooking Marie.

Jean's horse drew back on her rear legs, nearly bleating and stomping her hooves on the solid ground.

Of course, Jean tried to calm her down... but she just wouldn't shut up, and it wasn't long before the Marauders came to investigate the noise.

"Son of a-" i began to say, but a large hand was wrapped around my mouth from behind me. I watched as another marauder grabbed Jean as well, attempting to silence the same way they did me... but Jean wasn't going to have it.

He kicked and tried to headbutt his attacker, then even tried to run up the back of him and flip behind him, but another monster came up and held him tight. With two or three now holding him in place, Jean looked at me hopelessly. I had a feeling though.... He's a trained assassin. If he really, truly wanted to, he could get free. And then what? I believe his fear was not ability... but sheer numbers. 

I fought tooth and nail to get my attacker to let go, literally. I tried biting his hand as hard as i could, and i did. Drawing blood, even... I dug my nails as deep as i could into his flesh, breaking the skin. He was now bleeding all over his hands, his arms, and his right cheek... but he would not let go.

I had more tricks up my sleeve... dirty tricks, but reliable tricks. But i wasnt going to use them. If word got out that i, the first Marauder escapee, was in enemy camp, then Jean and i would be royally fucked. The Marauders would realize who i am, and then slaughter Jean and i in cold blood, just as they did to all the others.

He stopped struggling soon after i did, looking at me with a puzzled look. I wish i could tell him my plan, but i couldn't with a bloody, dirt covered hand covering my mouth.

There are so many things i could do to get free. Although i know i couldn't take on all of these brutes, there was a chance i could slaughter them all like pigs if i could just get into hiding. 

Im a predator of prey, yes. But that's just how the world works, does it not? Bloodshed declares peace, torture prods for answers, hangings draw gatherings in the cold, hard streets...

On the outside, im an innocent, underestimated, petite little girl... but on the inside, im a killer. A murderous brute, just like the people i despise the most... really, im just like the monsters i despise the most.

But why should i apologize for being a monster, when it's not my fault i was made this way?