Thick Blood

Chapter 1= Tragedy

Tragedy has always been close to me. It's a part of me. I just haven't quite figured out how to use it to my advantage yet.

My Mum died when I was seven. She just wanted to protect me from my Dad. From myself.

My Dad wanted to mark me. You get 'marks' for every kill. My first was an accident. There was a hooded figure pointing a gun at my Dad's face, and I panicked. There was a rock on the floor and I tossed it at his head. He lost too much blood to survive.

So that evening, my Dad sat me down and brought out his knife. He told me how proud he was of me. How I was the youngest to ever get my first mark. Then he took my wrist and started my first tally.

Mum went ape when she found out. She noticed how weak my wrist was and the drops of crimson blood that splattered the carpet.

I saw her approach Dad. They screamed at each other, and both side put up a good fight. But to him, she was so small and fragile.

He had snapped her neck before she had even blinked.

And I had seen it.

My Dad had died four years later, when I was eleven. They say that he was killed in action, fighting for our economy. They say he was a hero. But to me, he was just the guy who killed my Mum.

After that, I just drifted around aimlessly. I never had a purpose. No home.

Then, I met an organisation that was kept out of the public eye. They dealt with the world's most dangerous tasks and were recruiting. Apparently, I was an ideal candidate for 'Elite ' .

So I became their ideal spy.

My fists clenched together, leaving imprints of my fingernails tattooed into my palms. I punched continuously, smacking my knuckles into a brick wall. Sprinkles of cement crumbled to the ground.

I drew scarce for breath; my knuckles glowed a painful scarlet. I couldn't help it, given the day I'd had. Instead, I just pounded my heart out on to the wall.

Mum was sketched in my mind, splashed in a watery paint. I remembered earlier that day when a co-worker asked me how I got my first mark, it had given my a flashback of when I was huddled in my Mum's arms.

Her honey hair and rose perfume nestled into me. She was so soft and inviting. Brushing her hand through my hair, she giggled gingerly.

"You need to be careful of your Father, mija."

"Why Madre? "

"He is not a good man. He wants to turn you into him, and you cannot let that happen. OK?"

Mum's eyes were firm but watery. I'd never seen her so serious.

"OK."

"Oh, and mija, one day you will need to stick up to your Father, and I may not be around then, so when the occasion arises, you need to remember..."

My thoughts were interrupted by a voice that crept up behind me.

"Wow, what did the wall ever do to you?"

My reflexes kicked in, and I had to take a deep breath before I backflipped my friend. His voice was sudden, surprising me.

I shot Cameron a playful Comment. "The wall was looking at me funny." I drawled. He grinned at me, before sitting down on the fighting mat and patting me a space.

Hesitantly, I sat down next to him. Due to the fact that I was rather tall, my legs were hunched up. My blond hair was bunched into a ponytail and I wore loose, fighting clothing.

"You OK? I heard what Agent Chambers asked you earlier."

"I'm fine."

"She didn't realise, you know."

I took a huge sigh, shrugging it off. I didn't know if Lois was just trying to be horrible, or, if like Cameron suggested, she really didn't know. Agent Lois Chambers was the latest recruit to task force Black. She was meant to be the hacker.

Task force Black was the highest and most lethal organisation within Elite.

"Yeah I know..."

I turned my wrist around to look at all my marks. All of them. They were lined up along my arm. I never counted them. It just depressed me. My finger traced a long to the last one, the newest one. It was freshly carved from this morning. My stomach churned at just the thought.

Raising an eyebrow, Cameron asked me. "Why do you still mark the deaths?" I replied with the easiest answer. "It's in my blood."

I didn't exactly know why I still marked deaths. Back when I was little, my family was the leader of the Cayea tribe. It was a tradition to mark your arm then, and I grew up with it. Most times, I did it without even thinking. However, I wasn't exactly going to explain all this. My excuse was always:

It's in my blood

Cameron brushed it away. "Anyway, Brookes wants us in the quad room." He informed me. I nodded. Standing up, Cameron joked, "So, take a shower." I poked my tongue out at him as he left.

Closing my eyes gingerly, I relaxed my muscles as I cooled down. Cameron was right, I was very sweaty so I went to my room and cleaned up.

The shower was warm and soothing. I liked showers- they gave me time to think. Afterwards, I pulled on a vest top, leather jacket, jeans and steampunk boots.

I arrived in the quad room a few moments later. The quad room was a large round meetings area on the task force Black plane.

Agent Brookes was at the head of the end of the table. He was dressed in a sharp suit and wore small glasses.

Agent Chambers was stood by the many computer screens that were hung on the wall. She was very young, only just an adult, with auburn hair tied in a messy bun and sun kissed skin.

Agent Lewis was in his lab coat, his pockets were filled with test tubes and multi-coloured chemicals.

And then Agent Hacket (Cameron) nodded at me from his place behind the the table. Cameron and I had been friends since I was little. His Dad had been my Dad's second in command within the Cayea. We had been friends since we were tiny.

Brookes welcomed me before clapping, alerting a hologram on the table to pop up. The picture showed a little girl of about ten on a missing poster. She was Latina and tiny.

I recognised the girl almost immediately. Her name was Camilla Delgado. She had been missing, presumed dead for almost three years. But that wasn't why I almost stopped breathing.

Camilla Delgado was my cousin.

Brookes's eyeline skimmed over me as he revealed, "HQ has received more info, we are going to find Camilla Delgado..."

A/N: I will be adding a chapter every week or whenever I can. It will be in co-ordination with other stories that I am currently writing (a.k.a the Hunter series) . I normally do a lot of fanfiction and this is my first original so I am giving it a try!