7 Hours

5 am (Memories)

The wounds in my leg have healed quite significantly over the past hour. The bleeding had stopped and it didn't pain as much. I ripped off my jean and found a horrific sight. My legs were nearly mangled up. Broken and twisted in places, blood gashing out in others. I stared at the sight of my disfigured legs as I ran my fingers through my wet hair. Tears start to leave my eyes. They glistened like diamonds on my face... Sliding down and into my lips. They tasted like a drop of the ocean. Sigh.

"She slumped in a dark hoodie, with snow white colored jeans and. She seemed to be in deep thought... "
The scene changes....
"She was wearing a grey T-shirt filled with holes and cuts. They were coming anytime soon. They would know she failed them. They would know she had betrayed them. She shivered.

The scene changed again...
She tracked down the empty roads at a fast pace. Following behind, we're two tall men in business suits. They had broad shoulders, and a large body with meaty hands. One had hair slicked over to the side, while the other was bald. They walked in a constant pace behind her. The boots made clinking noises on the pavement. Soon, she stopped at one of the brightly lit houses. His house. The one place where she had found sanity. Yet. She couldn't explain why she was doing this. It wasn't the reward money that attracted her, had it. Then the answer clicked in her head, and she looked away in disgust. It was the thirst to prove herself, that had put her into this mess.
But she couldn't back off now. They had won again, at this game of chess. She unwillingly walked up towards the entrance. Her fingers ran up to the bell and pushed. The ring echoed in the silence. A few footsteps later, a familiar voivlce called out... 'Who is it? ' She replied, painstakingly, "S'me" the door opened up quite quickly.

On the other side, stood a boy of about 15, with ruffled hair, dark brown eyes and a babyish face wearing a malevolent, but cheeky smile. He wore a pale grey t shirt with dark jeans which had faded from constant wash. His smile quickly faded as his eyes laid sight upon the men. Still, he didn't ask much questions.
If they came there all the way by her, it's obvious that any questionare or talking would shake them off. His smile quickly returned again, as he warmly welcomed them into the vast house. The two men walked across the room and sat down on one of the comfy sofas. He sat on the other, while I sadly returned to a seat opposite to him. It hurt to even try to think about being close to him anymore.

Then, I decided on something insane, yet it was the only way. I would NOT let them torture him. I would NOT let them take him away like that. The creepy men were talking about something that was fuzzy in her ears. He was replying with a eased face. A few minutes later, he got up and walked across the room towards the kitchen. I seized by chance. I like off from the couch and ran off towards him. He looked foreign, distant and something from the future. Here I was, betraying the only person whom I had ever trusted in my life, and there he was, completely unfazed. I hugged his back, and the warm feeling filled me up like helium. He ruffled my hair, but didn't say anything. His smile hadn't erased, but the warm glow in his dark eyes were replaced with manical, insane ones. I've only seen him like that once before. He smelled of blueberries and almonds... My eyes widened.

There weren't any blueberries in this house. Poison berries. Surely he didn't think the men would be stupid enough to drink did he? But I knew well enough than to question him now. He poured the tea into a white ceramic teapot. His hands worked so furiously, I could barely see him squeeze a dozen berries and drop the blood red liquid into the cup. Then, he filled the sugar cup with cubes, and against did something even more queer. He gingerly held up dark black cubes and dropped them onto the container. I was stunned at the way he planned his captor's deaths so easily with a cheerful smile on his tanned face. He pulled something out of a container overhead, a net filled with white cubes that smoked. Dry ice? Has he gone mad or does he have something in mind? I held onto him, desperate not to let go.
He quickly arranged the things in a neat tray and brought it over to the men still sitting in the couch. He sat down again, continuing conversation. The bald one if the two, reached for the cookies, as he exclaimed, "Ah, you'll like them, it's my grandma's recipe." The man shrugged and took a bite.
I was seriously doubting him now. If he had poisoned the cookies, it wouldn't saved him much easier. Yet, he seemed to wait patiently. His hands rolled over to the sugar cup as he kindly asked them about their preference of sugar.
I could've sworn his manical eyes glinted ruby red as he dropped the first cube along side a darker one in both cups. He didn't put any in his. And to my utter horror, he put the cup to his lips and took a sip. My whole body shook violently and I wanted to scream. But the words were stuck in my throat.
The two men on the other hand were obviously suspicious, and so merely pretended to take a sip. His eyes glowed with more insane power. For a few wild moments, nothing happened, the men enjoyed pretending to take sips from their cups of hot tea. So hot in fact that white smoke billowed from it. They realised just a bit too late. And time slowed down. The cups fell from their meaty fingers, and shattered as they hit the floor. Their vacant expressions were enough to say that they were beyond help now. Not that anyone would want to help. They slumped onto the couch with shocked expressions.
I smiled at him. "Carbon monoxide poisoning? You've out done yourself this time." I learnt forward to kiss his lips but he shook his head. And realisation hit me as my eyes chanced upon the glistening red liquid dribbling down his front. "Why?", I asked helplessly. "It's game over for me, honey" he exclaimed as he became still. The wide smile still etched on his face...

The scene changed...

I stood in an attic, wearing nothing but a ragged loincloth. Voices could be heard from below. Curious, I put my ear against the floor, and the voices became a bit more discernible, "We can't keep her for long." said one voice. "Then we'll start with her family, capturing them will destroy her. " said a deadly calm voice. "What about Malice and Cootes?"
"Well, there wasn't much use to those two anyways. "
"So we'll reach her place tomorrow, sharp at 7. Any questions?"
"What do we do with her?"
"Sigh. Let's just say we'll give her a taste of a lifetime... "
The scene shifts again...