007 • No. 3

Hot tears pool out of my eyes as my grip on her hand tightens over mine when I almost tripped over my own feet. At this point, I'm just running on pure adrenaline along with rushing thoughts in my head that can't seem to shut up at all...! 

I can feel her grip on my hand tighten like a vice, a clear panic in her voice as she speaks out after I turned my head a little to look behind me.

"Don't look back!! Just keep your eyes forward, forward, Izana!!" She yells through the loud pitter patter of the rain plummeting to the ground, soaking our clothes and hair. Why does it have to be like this...? Why did this happen..? Everything.. everything was completely fine.. why...? Why did it have to change????

The thoughts running rampant in my head, run just as rampant as the stormy rain we're desperately running through. I can't even hear my own breathing while I'm desperately trying to piece together where it all went wrong... would it have just been better if I was able to pull the trigger back then..? Would Adi and I have to try so hard to just survive like this???

Before I can even formulate a coherent thought something sharp flies past my cheek, lightly grazing it and hitting Adiva on her side, which started to bleed and soak her shirt with her own blood. She yelps in pain, staggering in her step, yet her grip on my hand doesn't falter whatsoever. It took me about a solid two seconds to actually process what just happened, before utter horror washes over my face. 

"ADI!!" I scream out, quickly fumbling to her other side in attempts to support her. It's then that I hear several shots from a gun, and I did my best to react accordingly, calling my blade quickly to block the bullets before they can hit the both of us. 

The rain doesn't help at all with distance, I can't see what's more than 20 feet in front of me, and my heartbeat is practically pounding like a fist, violently in my ears as I pant loudly. Both in fear and from the adrenaline rush. 

"It's okay... it's okay, I can walk, Iza..." She croaks out meekly before she hisses out in pain, her other hand reaching out to grasp her side with her in an attempt to stop the bleeding. 

"No— no no no, you're not okay— I— I can fix you, just— just hold on a little longer..." I can't think rationally, all my thoughts are a jumbled mess, and before we can get anywhere at all, there was a flash in the corner of my eye. I'm not able to fully even register what happened before I feel a sharp sting going up the right side of my face. 

What...? 

Blood was trickling from the wound.. at least I think it's blood... I can't tell, because of the rain pooling down before us. I can see his eyes, staring at me wildly and completely focused and sharp... yet they weren't for me... as quickly as his eyes met mine, they flicker over towards Adiva, his fingers calculatingly grasping for his gun, which I quickly clocked with my knee, kicking it up in the air and away from him. 

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" I scream at the top of my lungs, both rage and betrayal filling my eyes as I swing at him. He parries it as we exchange several more hits. I manage to kick his gun away from his hand, but before I can swing at him again, he kicks me violently in the stomach and lands several brutal hits on my body with his own cheap dagger. The after effects of being hit heavily with his blaze-infuzed dagger are detrimental. I stiffen greatly, trying my best not to squirm in pain, as I can feel what felt like fire crawling against my skin in the areas he managed to land on. 

A low chuckle escape his claggy lips as his gaze slowly meet mine. At that, I took a quick step forward and lunged at him, I swear at that moment I saw see red.

But wait, before I move, I see a quick flash of light for a split second. A blink, before a stinging pain ring down my right eye. I don't even get time to recover before his knee meet harsh contact with my stomach, having the wind violently knocked out of me. 

I double down onto the ground, crouching in pain as I gasp for air. I don't get any time to recover until I hear struggling not too far from me.

"Traitor—... you're a traitor, ꚩ𖢧𖤗ꚳ!" She screams out at him in agony, and clear betrayal in her voice, along with what sounds like seething hatred, before I heard a bit of fabric tearing.

"You know, I always thought you were kind of pathetic... always the first to back away from any real danger, before pretending you contributed at all during any hunts..." 

No... no that's not right... she's always been there for us all! Why.. why does he sound like that...? His voice isn't supposed to be like that, I don't understand... why is he like this? Has he always been like this??? Why is this happening????? What went wrong that—

BANG

.....

The silence is loud... it's like I can feel the very essence of the rain pouring down onto me in my very bones, along with the ringing in my ears. Everything feels like a blur, or at least it feels like everything's suddenly gone still. Like someone hit the slow-mo button, and everything just slowed down, or pause entirely.

I get up and manage to grab the gun that I had initially kicked away from him earlier and shot at him without aiming whatsoever as I scurry off towards Adiva. I think I managed to nick his face a little, but I can't really tell from how blurry everything feels. 

"Ngh—!... you stupid girl..." He mutters out as I went to grab Adiva's body, shaking her a bit in my arms. My heart's pounding violently like a hammer against my chest as I can feel my breathing quicken exponentially. 

"Adi...? Adi hey, this—.. this isn't funny Adi, open—" I'm not able to finish my sentence before I felt the leather on his shoes make hard contact with my cheek, nearly sending me toppling over onto the ground whilst holding her body closely against mine.

Before I get a chance to even try to get up on my own two feet, let alone sit up again, he grabs a fistful of my hair into his palm, yanking me upwards. His eyes piercing like daggers into mine.

"You...you," He draws out "... have always been such a fucking nuisance to me... such a pathetic girl you've always been, Izana. Trying so hard to do her best, and failing, as always."

My words— no, it feels like my voice is lodged in my throat. I can't speak, no words are forming from my mouth, nor is it even escaping it whatsoever. I just stare at him with wide-eyes, like a dumbfounded goldfish of some sorts. I don't react when I felt the cold metal barrel of his gun press against my head.

"I thought about killing you, but now I'm not too sure if it's all that worth it... hmm.. decisions, decisions..." His own voice didn't sound kind and gentle anymore like that of a warm uncle.. but now that of a complete stranger with intentions not so adequate. He began tapping the front of the barrel against my forehead... almost like he's mocking me...

"Hmm... you know what..? Maybe I will let you live... yes, I'll do exactly that." He muses with a disgustingly wicked smile on his face. 

"Live, so that you'll remember this moment for the rest of your pitiful life. Remember this bitch of a woman's face, and everyone else's faces that day that I killed them..." He pauses mid-sentences for a moment as his other hand went to harshly and quickly grab my face, his fingers digging painfully into my cheek as I whimper and groan in pain.

"Live, Izana. Remember this. Remember it, so that every time you close your eyes, see her face, see their faces. See mine. Live with that guilt, that if you had just pulled that damn trigger on me" He halts again, letting a crooked smile fall onto his lips, before he let out a low, spine-chilling chuckle.. almost as if this is... amusing...to him. "...none of this would have ever happened..." 

...And then he— he just left...? Just— just like that...? I—

The sound of his foot steps feels like they echo in my mind for longer than they should be. Just— him. Walking away, as if he didn't just—... do all of this!

My gaze slowly drifted down to Adiva's body in my arms. Her body's cold.... No... it can't be cold. She's—she's always so warm... so full of love, she— she can't be. 

The only warmth that I'm able to feel from her, are the warmth of her blood soaking, and drenching her shirt and clothes, wetting onto my hands as I grasp desperately onto her body, shifting her head so it rested against the crook of my neck. Hoping that maybe this is all just.. a really bad dream...

Maybe... maybe I can wake up and she's.... She's asleep beside me again...

That's right... this... is just a really bad nightmare... isn't it..? I stumble to my feet while carrying her limp body in my arms. I don't know where I'm planning to go, or if I even had a destination in mind. Sooner or later, my walking pace soon turned into a jogging pace, and then eventually into a full on sprint.

"Help.. help me... help us please... please..! Please..!? Anyone..!?! CAN ANYONE PLEASE HELP US!!??!"