The Beasts Within Us

Here they come

SIX YEARS LATER

Looking out the window, I came face to face with the dull grey London sky. The heavy clouds made it look too dark for summer, but not even that could break my hopeful anticipation of my escape which was to happen in exactly 30 minutes. I folded my arms on the windowsill, rested my head and waited, thinking about the next place I would run off to, Belgium home of the delectable, creamy, satisfying chocolate. Smiling, I think about how I always wanted to taste their chocolate as a child. The screams of the cars below bring me back to what I was suppose to be thinking about, where I'm going to stay. I resided to local motels and inns using my family's unnecessary fortune after that unforgettable crime I had committed. Every time I moved it was like a new beginning. I had to change my name, dye my hair a different colour and hail from a different country. And whenever that happened I am always scheming a plan for when they catch me. And when I mean they I mean The Vantaa. They are the highest rank of in my world Luvangarde and they will not stop till they find me-considering I killed their most prestigious leaders. I may have been staring for more than 10 minutes completely spaced out, when my door suddenly crashed open. I quickly stand up in a self defence position, thinking that I had stupidly miscalculated the timing of my escape. I relaxed when a lady with long black hair sashayed into the room with some cake and small pitcher of milk.

"I thought you would want a break from studying the clouds for an hour and enjoy some birthday cake!" It was my Aunt Elsa, who didn't even know that I existed till six months ago when I came from hiding in Russia and showed up on her doorstep. And had it really been an hour?

"Thanks Aunty" I replied taking the tray out of her hands, remembering that it was my 18th birthday. The day they came to take me away. She stared at me, looking into my green almond shaped eyes. She knew that I still thought of the memory I lived six years ago, and that it still haunts me till this very day. I sit back down on my bed and dig into the cake as Elsa sits besides me. I realised that she looked so similar to my mother, and scrutinised her in my head as she flicked her hair behind her shoulder. Silence filled the air. "So the time has finally come to let you go..." she mentioned unwillingly. "Have you been practicing?" I nodded as I still had my mouth full of cake. She took my bandaged hands and folded them in hers. "Can you control it?" "Yes, but the flames burn my hands more and more every time."

Still looking at my hands, she nodded understandingly and finally looked at me. "Here, take this" she pulls off a necklace that I had seen her wear since the day I got there. It was silver with a crest of fire encircled into a ring. "It'll help you in desperate times". I held the necklace, tilting it from side to side and examining it to see what kind of magical aura this necklace beheld. "I will" I replied looking up at her. A crackle of voices broke the silence. I picked up the radio that helped me know The Vantaa's every move, and listened intently. "Any sign of her?" A male voice questioned. "No... not yet. Hang on the dogs have picked up a scent!"

Bloody bloodhounds, how did they find me?! They're trained so that when they need to find a difficult person like me, they're used. But I confused them for such a long time, how did they find me now?

I have to go, NOW. My eyes filled with tears as my Aunt pulled me into a fierce hug. "Stay safe my child." I pulled away and gave her a stiff nod, I've never been great when it comes to feelings. I then grabbed my bag and jumped out the second floor window. My name, is Jacquelyn Ember. And I am a lethal bounty hunter.