Bellatrix - The Dark Shadow

Bellatrix - Chapter One

My name is Brogan Bellatrix.

I’m 17 years old and I live in Broken Bow, Nebraska.

I kill to live.

I live to kill.

That’s my purpose in the world. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told to do so since I was 10. I’ve grown used to the idea: people are only killed if they are meant to be killed, and that’s what I’ve been listening to for the past 7 years.

Yes, it’s a bit morbid and depressive having to wake up in the morning and repeat that motto to myself over and over till it starts to make sense. Till I start to think alike.

I never knew my destiny was to be a murder, not until I was told by my parents. At that time I was so oblivious, I had no clue what they were talking about and to be quite honest I was scared. Now admitting to be scared it’s almost a sin, you get punished for being scared and for feeling fear. You get thrown into the solitary and you spend endless days with no light, living with the dark as your roommate and the screams in agony from your fellow neighbors.

We are called Et Tenebrea, which means dark shadows in Latin. This institution has existed for two centuries, and was created originally in Rome, but back then people knew about our existence. Kings would pay us to kill people or to set fear among them, just to set boundaries and establish fear.

I guess you can call us mercenaries, but we don’t really go for that name, even though it is what we are… It’s complicated.

Its 6am and from my window, in my tiny room, I can see the sun rising. I don’t use an alarm clock anymore, I got used to waking up without one. You really don’t have a choice, its part of the training. Organization.

I go straight to the shower and once I get in I count 15m to get ready and go take breakfast. Over here everything has its time: sleeping, getting ready, eating, practice, break, more practice, lunch, more practice, free afternoons, dinner, lessons and then it starts all over. After those 15m I head downstairs. I see a few people walking towards the same destination. I’m not friends with everybody, I know their faces, and for some even their names, but I’m only friends with five people. Needless to say I have trust issues and that’s actually part of the training. Don’t trust everyone.

Once I get downstairs I head straight to the cafeteria where the food, as always, is worse than prison food… or so I heard.  I’ve grown used to it as well, and after a few throw ups and a few days without eating (the food comity heard about my complaints and as punishment they stopped making me food) I learned how to appreciate their food. ‘’You’re not in a hotel, you’re here to defend people’s honors’’ said the head’s institute as soon as he heard about my private punishment. I nodded and apologized to the food comity. It was hard, because apologizing is something I don’t like to do, in fact I avoid doing it.

‘’Good morning’’ I said to the lady who was serving breakfast today. It seems to me that every week there’s a new person behind the counter, and I used to wonder why, but then I remembered where I am.

‘’Good morning Brogan’’ The lady answered. She had a very kind face, delicate lines and very big bright eyes. She looked young, about twenty years old, and had tattooed on her neck 9 digits. Her brown hair was up in a bun with a net covering it, keeping the hair from falling in our food. They all seem to know our names and we’re about a hundred people over all, how can they memorize it so fast? I shake my head and push the question away. ‘’the usual?’’

I nodded with a weak smile on my face.

She handed me my tray with a mini cereal box, a bowl, milk and a plastic cup. I thanked her and before I left the line I picked up an apple then headed down to the table were Alec and Stefan were seated. ‘’Morning’’ I said in between a yawn while I sat down on the bench.