Midnight Murderers

Chapter 6: Fascination

I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. Everyone one of my moves monitored. I had to be more suspicious of everyone and anyone that approached me. I often snuck out to throw knives in the arena. I was moved from the recovery ward into solitary confinement after I attacked another one of the children here. I didn't attack him for the sake of it, I caught him stealing my knives. I still don't even know what this place is. I have never seen an exit. Whenever I try to ask questions I'm either ignored or avoided and I'm getting sick of it. The only people that I talk to is Eric after he was assigned to train me and his apprentice Aiden. I don't mind him, but he's annoying. If I'm not in my room, I'm down in that arena. I'm always numb, never feeling anything. The only time that I ever feel alive is when I'm throwing that knife or fighting, or even the adrenaline when I shoot a gun. Although the adrenaline coursing through my body is only temporarily and most times short-lived, it is a relief from the empty pit of nothingness that I always feel inside.

I wandered into the training arena with a smile on my face. I saw Eric sparing with a large male in the ring. I could clearly see that Eric had the upper hand and I was openly analysing the weaknesses of his opponents, a task that Eric always made me do when others were sparing. It is something that I just subconsciously do now. The fighter is skilled but still needs lots of training in hand to hand combat. I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder and I quickly grabbed their hand and flipped them over my body, causing the stranger to land on their back with a huff, winded. He looked up at me, wide eyed, then narrowed his eyes once realisation dawned on him. The arena was silent, waiting in anticipation. I offered my hand to Aiden and he wearily accepted.

"Was that really necessary?"

I shrugged, "don't sneak up on people."

"I didn't sneak up on you!"

"Fine then! Don't touch me."

He grinned mischievously and went to touch my cheeks but I wacked his hand to the side. He tried again and I wacked his hand the same. A determined look overcame his face and I got into a fighting stance. He ran at me and I sidestepped him and kicked him in the back making him fall on the mats with a huff of annoyance. He got up again and a faint angry glint could be seen in the specks of his hazel eyes. He ran at me one more time and went to punch my face but I dodged with both hands behind my back. He tried to kick my gut but I grabbed a hold of his legs and raised it til he became unbalanced and fell onto the mat, again. I was distracted by Eric laughing, I looked to him with a grin as his arms crossed over his chest casually. His eyes widen slightly before I felt a sharp pain to my cheek. I showed no emotion and turned my head to Aiden with a glare on my face. He gulped and started taking small steps backwards waiting for my response. I ran to him and faked a kick which made him hunch over to protect himself before I right hooked him in the jaw making his head spin sideways then I raised my knee to his face and brought my hands to the back of his neck and brought his head down to connect with my knee. He groaned and when I released him, he dropped on the mat groaning in pain. I stepped on his stomach as I went to go and stand by Eric who looked at me with amusement. I looked to everyone else in the arena and once again all eyes were on me. I was getting so sick of the eyes. I was fed up. I walked to the range and grabbed a dagger and walked back over to Eric, stepping up onto the ring, all eyes were still on me.

"If you all keep looking at me, I will use this dagger to gouge your eyes out of your head then wrap the optic nerve around your neck to strangle you until you take your last breath! So advert your eyes elsewhere!"

They all quickly adverted their eyes downwards and then continued doing what they were doing before I entered. Aiden was still groaning in pain, one hand trying to stop the bleeding from his nose and another on his stomach where I stepped on him. Eric wrapped his arm around my shoulder, chuckling and led me to the centre of the arena. I looked up to him expectantly.

"What are we doing today?"

"Sparing."

My eyes lit up in excitement. He whistled and a boy several years older than me approached the mat and entered with a cocky smirk on his face that I wanted to wipe clean off. Eric held out his hand and I groaned in annoyance and then handed him my dagger. The boy let a chuckle escape at my child like tendencies which only made my hate for him grow. The fact was I didn't care who he was, I was told to fight him and I will, I will win. I won't win to satisfy another, but to satisfy the bloodlust that grows from within me.

While the fight went on and my diverse range of skills were put on display, what I didn't know, was that in the corner of the room sat a one-way mirror, leading to an observation box. The people inside this box, these people were the ones hidden from me, the one's that everyone avoided telling me about. The leaders of this place, this cage. One woman in particular, the ruler of her kingdom, had set her sights on me, had big plans to bring usefulness to my skills.

After I had beaten the boy, left him face down, blood dripping out of both his mouth and nose. Eric walked up to me with a panicked expression.

"She wants to see you!"

Tilting my head to the side in confusion I answered, "who?"

He started walking away, which I quickly followed at his heal.

"This place, all of this, is not as it seems. We aren't trained for self-defence and safety. Right now, the woman you are about to meet, runs this entire organisation."

"What organisation? Eric... tell me."

"She takes children from the streets and turns them into child assassins. Children are easily manipulated and therefore won't know the difference between right and wrong. Everyone you see around you has been through the same. Training day in and day out until she sees fit to put them into the field. If she wants to see you, then she sees what everyone else sees. Someone who is different. Someone who could be the best."

"I don't want that."

"If that is what she sees fit then it is what will happen. Once she is invested in a new project, a new person, she will not stop till her fascination is satisfied."