Tame The Caged Beast

Chapter 5: Aftermath

We had cleaned ourselves well but left the four other boys bloody. We sat them at the table and just watched them. I had sent Alden out to go get Irwin and other officers to get these boys arrested for what they did.

"I didn't expect for this to happen," the brunette said without his front teeth, "You're not as weak as people say you are. The people around here pity you."

Nicolai just looked at the boy while he tore apart his piece of meat with his teeth. This was the fuel to the fire. Mess with us and there will be hell to pay. If he had the chance he would tear you apart like the very meat between his teeth.

His right eye was starting to turn purple and swell. His upper lip was busted and he kept licking the blood off. His knuckles were raw and bloodied. The skin was torn on all of his knuckles but he acted like it didn't phase him when in reality it hurt like hell.

I was in worse shape if anything. I had a slit just above the bridge of my nose. It was swollen and wouldn't stop bleeding. My upper lip was busted and kind of turning an odd shade of blue. I had bruising on my chest and upper abdomen. My left eye had some discoloration around the brow and my fingers kind of hurt.

I had a warm damp cloth to my face. It was no longer white but a tinge of pink. I leaned against the kitchen counter as I pressed the wet cloth to my face. The brown haired boy had tried to make a break for it. Nicolai tore into his meat and bashed his own head into the other boy's forehead. He fell back as Nicolai tried to regain his footing. He stumbled and adjusted himself on the table. The other three boys were in shock as they saw their friend grip his head in pain. He moaned and clasped his hands on his forehead.

It took awhile for Alden to come home and when he did he had four officers with him. They were all big and beefy. At least we know our taxes was being put to some use.

Irwin caught sight of me and almost had a heart attack. "Bracken your face!" he exclaimed, "Are you alright?"

He caught my head in his hands and was squeezing slightly. Even if he did it softly, it still hurt like a bitch!

"Ow ow ow!" I cried, "Don't do that! I'm fine alright!"

He took his hands off and apologized. "I'm sorry but I'm just glad all of you are alright." He ruffled Alden's hair and patted Nicolai's back. They both cringed in pain. He then turned to the other officers. "Sasha, Morin, Kotetsu go take these boys to the wagon. They'll be sleeping in a nice warm cell and see Judge Steinfield in the morning." Irwin smiled mischievously.

The funniest thing happened. The three boys began to cry. No wait! They bawled like babies. They pleaded with the four officers for them not to send them to jail but if only they knew that since they were still minors they would only do community service and not go to jail or the military.

The four boys were dragged of to the wagon by the four officers and Irwin stayed with us. He didn't say anything until the last officer had officially left the room. He no longer had a worried look on his face but instead a cold hard serious one.

"I saw your names on the list," he said not looking at either one of us, "What are you thinking? Are you sure that's what you want to do? I mean with all you've been through."

"We'll be fine," I said, "If you haven't noticed we're kind of hard to kill."

I know I shouldn't have joked about that but we've been through worse and we still manage to crawl out with less injuries than our opponents.

"The training starts in three weeks and you better believe we're going," I said to him.

He sighed. He didn't bother arguing because he knew there was no talking me out of it so why waste your breath. He wasn't our parent or our guardian but he cared too much.

"I made a promise," he said, "to your parents. I'll protect no matter what it takes and even at the cost of my own life."

"Stop," I said, "Just stop." He was caught by surprise. "You have you're own family to worry about. Your own kids to scold. Please for once." He heard the annoyance in my voice. "Just stop worrying. We're not weak children anymore. We can protect ourselves. We're almost adults. We're all grown up now."

He didn't say anything but instead he just gave me a lopsided smile. He put a hand on my head. "I know. I keep forgetting. You are not my children and will never be my children. You are your own person now and you don't know how much it kills me to see you guys grow up." He exhaled a painful sigh and squeezed my shoulder. "Marcus would be proud."

He stopped saying this after a while and now since he said it made me sad. That he saw the pain in my eyes every time he mentioned my parents. My dad would have been totally against my joining of the Hunting Regime. I was his only daughter and he didn't want me doing anything that would put me in danger.

Oh well. This is my life and I'm going to live because no one will do that for me.

Irwin removed his hand then made his way to the door. Before leaving he turned to us, "Stay alive." He left.

It was practically night. No one was out anymore. Nicolai and Alden had gotten ready to go to bed. I decided to bathe. I wanted to see my injuries before I went to bed. I stripped down to my underwear and looked into the mirror that was leaning against the wall.

My shoulder was purple and bruises lined my chest. Old scars marked my body. From knife cuts to nail scrapes. I was a canvas of war trophies. My eyes moved to my neck where my first scar was. The bullet graze from my father's gun. It had healed but the skin was smooth and uneven like melted wax. The split above my nose looked like it would leave a scar too. Another to add to the mantle.

The water had filled the tub. It was warm and murky and as I sunk my body in pain shot through it. As the warm water licked my wounds, it felt as if someone was trying to reopen with a knife. I gritted my teeth until I was submerged below my neck. My brown hair floated lazily in the water. It had gotten so long and it's been so unkempt. It would have to be cut anyway when I join the Regime.

After sitting there awhile thinking about my decision, I got out. I dried myself and got into my sleeping attire. The lights were all off so I assumed Alden and Nicolai went to bed. My hair was sopping wet and had made my shoulders damp and cold. I would freeze tonight because of this. Just nice.

I crept to my bedroom in the dark careful not to bump into anything. When I passed Nicolai's room I noticed the moonlight had illuminated it greatly. I could see him sitting up in bed. I figured he couldn't sleep. I then remembered he hadn't been sleeping well these past nights. I've caught him sitting up in bed numerous times but I never called him out on it, so I decided to just let him be. Alden on the other hand was out like a light. Nothing could disturb him while he slept.

I just crept to my own bed and crawled under the covers to keep warm.  

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A/N: Another chapter done! Whoo! This took awhile. Love to all my readers. Vote comment recommend, please! Check out some of my other stories, too!