Blood of Revenge

Chapter 32

I was taken to a room that looked similar to Rex's, the place reeked of blood and dead people. There was a window which barely let any light seep through since it was covered with wooden planks. A single bed on the left and a sink on the right. Beside it was a closet which could barely fit anything in it.

After analyzing the room, I sat on the squeaky bed as Rex stood in front of me, letting out a deep sigh.

"What's next?" he heaved.

"You know what's next. We talked about all of it."

"Yeah, but. . . . . . are you sure you want to get your hands dirty, cover them with blood."

I nodded anxiously, though the worry in his eyes didn't go unnoticed.

Standing up, I made my way to him. "Rex, what's wrong? Is something bothering you."

His hazel eyes met mine which were somewhat blood shot. Grabbing my hands gently, he whispered, "Astrid, do you remember the day you saw a lot of crows attacking something when we were on our way home from school?"
I nodded.

"You let go of my hand and ran there. You scared away all the crows when I didn't even move from my place. You came back to me with a smile on your face while holding something. It was an injured sparrow. You took care of it every day, helped it eat, walk and fly again."

He turned my hands so that my palms were upwards. "These hands—they always helped and nurtured, always took care and gave love. These hands weren't meant to be covered in blood, Astrid. They were meant to bring good to this cruel world. It's something that isn't very common anymore."

Looking him right in the eyes as he bit his lower lip, I pulled my brother into a hug.

"I know, Rex. But tell me, did you not do the same for me? Did you not agree with Tim Parker just to keep me safe? I would've done this either way. To get you back as well as my husband. He took such a good care of me, never let me down. I hurt him. He always had trust issues; I wish I saw this coming."

Rex slowly brushed his fingers through my hair as a few tears betrayed me.

How I wish to know how Blayze is doing right now.

*

"Again!"
"Keep trying! You're almost there!"

I huffed as I ran through the grounds, trying to dodge the big guy chasing me aka Chase. That's his name.

He was huge, larger than Blayze even, with his hulk form. His skin was dark, his hair of a little lighter tone, his eyes being the same brown as mine.

And this was my training.

Before coming here, my training was limited to still objects or people who had no idea that I was going to shoot them. That's what spies are.

However, over here, they already had enough spies so I had to train with people who were actually after me while trying to shoot or hurt them.

And I was already terribly wounded.

Making a T sign with my hand, I asked for a timeout as I clutched my sides which were aching. My jeans were already ripped and my shirt was also torn from my shoulder when I was trying to escape the clutches of Chase.

"You're weak," he said as he reached towards me.

"Geez, thanks for the revelation. I wouldn't I known if you hadn't blessed me with that piece of information," I huffed.

"Keep your wits to yourself, girl. It won't do you no good here."

"Thanks for the advice. I really needed it."

Lately, I had been really edgy and Aaron thinks it's because of my hormones which are still adjusting. It hurts every time I try to remember that I lost my baby.

"Snap out of your thoughts, girl. We have a training to get to."

"I need a break. A long break."

He nodded. "I give you five minutes."

Is that supposed to be a long break? Ugh, my life is terrible. My brother's gone god-knows-where and here I was trying to catch my breath when an arm nudged me to stand up.

"Begin again. Keep your shoulders locked and tight when your shooting someone behind you. And you must be able to predict where your opponent will run towards if he's moving fast. Place your gun there already and fire."

I groaned. "Got it. Just do me a favor and run slower this time."

Chase scoffed and replied, "I can do you this favor but your opponent won't be nice to you and listen to your pleas. His aim is to simply kill you. Since I don't want your death to be blamed on me for not training you well, I'm not going to run slower."

Here we go again.

*

"So, how did it go?" Rex asked as he bandaged my knee.

"Awful. A heavy dose of awful," I answered after flinching. "I can't take this. I mean, if you get hurt so bad in training, what the hell will your actual enemies do?"

"Don't worry, you need this training and you know it."

I reluctantly nodded just as someone knocked the door. Turning my head, I looked at Aaron leaning on the door frame, an eerie kind of darkness covering his face. His eyes didn't meet mine as he looked towards my brother. "Aren't you gonna come for lunch?"

Rex nodded. "We'll be there in a minute. Just finishing this up."

Aaron's eyes flickered to mine as he narrowed them but said nothing, turning around and then exiting.

After a couple of minutes, Rex took me for lunch in their cafeteria. I hadn't been here before since I was given something in bed to eat but now. . . the place was a mess, men everywhere eating like this would be their last meal on which they had to survive for weeks on.

My brother showed me the way to on of the corners of the place, slowly setting me down as he sat next to me. A tray of food was place, rather harshly, in front of us.

I couldn't help but shudder as I felt many of them staring at me as if I was their new toy. Made me fell insecure about myself until Rex grabbed my hand and patted it.

To my misfortune, one of them approached Rex, telling him that Tim Parker was asking or him so he left.

And I didn't plan on staying any longer, not caring if it meant to starve a little while longer.

Just as I was about to leave the cafeteria, someone grabbed my hand insensitively. Snapping my head back, I was face-to-face with none other than Aaron himself who stood there, glaring daggers at me.

"Others might not see it but I can," he started, his hold on me turning into a painful one.

"What on earth are you talking about? And let go of me before I kick you hard."

"You do that and end up in Tim's bad list. And you know what I'm talking about very well. It's not everyday someone's sister comes here and swears fealty to her husband's enemy."

"I am not answerable to you. You know what happened, Rex told you everything. Now let me go!" I hissed.

"You plan on killing Tim." He stated. "Do you think it'll be that easy? Do you think you'll get out of it alive? You won't be able to get away with this." He said as he let go, making me tumble just a little bit.

"So, what if I want that? What are you gonna do about it? What do you want from this?"

He paused, making me uncomfortable in his deadly gaze. But his words scared me more because I didn't expect them. "I want in."