The dim lights that lit the pavement flickered, dying out. The sun was already beginning to rise. Even a glimpse of the arched tip sent a small wave of radiance crashing against the cluster of buildings, the shadows sent flying back and stretching far. The city was about to be revived.

It started with a person, slowly walking under the shades of the looming buildings that circled the streets. His hands slowly moved up to his head, pulling down the hood that hid his face. It was suffocating him. He doubted anyone would be up so early in the morning.

The streets… it brought back memories. Pleasant memories, bitter ones. Flashes of guns and swords, blood spraying, death. There was also the glory. The glory that came after sacrifice on both sides. Countless died and only a few rose above them. He was one of those successful people… or had been.

Tossed aside by comrades for the sake of progression. He had nobody to blame but himself, though. It was he who had gotten himself in that much trouble. He had betrayed his comrades, but it was all for a greater good, wasn’t it?

“I see you came here to reminisce, ex-major Kryen.”

A low voice shook him out of his head.

Turning, he saw a tall man wearing the uniform that he himself had tossed away. Neat, blonde hair stood up with streaks of brown running along them. The bruised, bloodstained uniform that he used to wear. The symbol stood above a small chest pocket: a crest, a small shield with a long blade cutting across diagonally. A long, thin blade hung by his belt, swinging lightly along with him.

“Halter… You’re here to arrest me?” Kryen laughed. A short, genuine laugh.

“I don’t know… I might be feeling a little lenient today. That’s colonel Halter now, by the way.” He tapped his shoulder. A single star, proudly lying on his shoulders.

“Colonel Halter now, hmm? How long did it take you to get up there? It must have been easier, seeing as your competition was annihilated.” He stared at the star… it burned his eyes. The star he had longed to have for such a long time. It had been an arm’s reach away from him back then. He had thrown it away all too easily. A tinge of bitterness clouded his vision.

“Significantly. I really have to thank you and Erith, actually. On account of the great friendship we three had for so many years… it’s more than enough reason for me to let you go.” He scratched the back of his head. An old habit of his.

“You were the last of the three to join, yet the youngest. So, now they put you in charge of the Kerning department? Isn’t that a little too small for a colonel?”

“Well, I’m in charge of Kerning, Henesys and Ellinia.” He grinned.

“The three places that I’m most likely to appear in, huh? Mind you, I do search the other villages too. But, if you’re so hell-bent on getting me behind bars, why are you letting me go now, when you can easily seize me?”

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s a mere coincidence that I was put in charge of those three. Besides, even I know my limits. You always were the strongest of the three of us. You could just pull out your bow and finish me off before I even draw out my sword.”

“You’re letting something like that get in the way of seizing a criminal? What happened to your sense of justice?”

“Nothing much, really. I just don’t see the need to get myself scarred unless necessary. But you should know that I’ve been training very hard these last few years.”

“So have I.”

They both stared at each other, then Halter laughed softly.

“Well, I look forward to the day we’re forced to fight against each other. I couldn’t do it the last time, but I’ve hardened now.” He turned and left, leaving Kryen standing alone once more.

“I can’t believe a colonel let me get away… He should really take that role seriously and stop lazing off.” He muttered under his breath.

He slowly pulled the hood over his head once more. He wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflicts, which was why he had no choice but to suffocate himself with it. He slowly began to walk through the streets again.

Where had he left off? Oh yes, the revival of the city.

So, it started with a single person, slowly walking under the shades of the looming buildings that circled the streets. Slowly, it increased to two people, then ten, then twenty. It wasn’t long than before the streets became congested, bustled and people started to flood in. He squeezed through the crowds that stampeded through the narrow alleys, barely finding tiny gaps to stick his head into.

He had to find a decent viewpoint to being his daily search.

“Zeirona! Zeirona! Snap out of it!” Nera yelled.

He shook Zeirona’s shoulders. He blinked and looked at Nera.

“Yeah? Uh, sorry.” He said, in a daze. “Who is that?”

“She… How do I say this? She tried to assassinate us all…”

“Cool.”

“What!”

“Oh, I mean… how horrible.” He mumbled.

“What has gotten into you? Has your common sense been knocked out?” Nera nearly yelled.

“Yes… I mean no. No, it hasn’t.”

Nera turned to look at the girl once more. She was still garbed in her plain, black suit. Her eyes, they seemed to have regained some part of emotion, whereas when she had been fighting, her eyes were dull gray, devoid of life.

“… happened. Are you guys even listening?” She continued.

“Yes, I’ve been listening to every word you said.” Zeirona muttered. To Nera, he seemed hypnotized.

“Wake up, you idiot!” He slapped Zeirona’s back with all his strength.

“Ouch! Hey, I’m alright now. What, what is it?” He was back.

“She tried to kill me and Leah. We would have died if Kryen hadn’t helped us!”

“Kryen?” He asked, his head still half-tilted in the direction of the girl.

“Oh, an archer who helped me along the way. He just left.”

“Just left… was he headed in the direction of Kerning?”

“Yes, why?”

“I just saw him! He was in a cloak that looked really out of place.”

“Yeah, that’s him! You met him?”

“We just exchanged a line or two, that’s all.” He suddenly moved forward, approaching the girl leaning against the wall.

“H-hey! Zeirona!” Nera called, but he didn’t even turn back.

“Hey… what’s your name?” Zeirona asked the girl.

“I believe I said that a dozen times already. Altis.” She said.

“I’m Zeirona. So… where are you from?”

“I have no idea. The last thing I remember was… Perion… where I was watching myself… moving, and I couldn’t…” She trailed off, looking as if she was trying hard to remember. Suddenly, she clutched her forehead, gritting her teeth in pain. “Ouch… I’m having a really bad headache. I can’t remember… sorry.”

“It’s alright. Don’t force yourself.” He sighed as he backed off.

He turned, looking around for Leah. He found her lying by her bed.

“What really happened here? I would like to know exactly what took place around here while I was away. It was barely a day, and all this happened?”

“You just had to go away, didn’t you?” She proceeded to recount the events of the previous night, or at least, everything she had seen.

“So you’re telling me that all this happened just when I left the place? This girl lying by the wall is an assassin who tried to kill you all? An archer came just at the right time to help you? What? There were two people… so what happened to the other?”

“Ask Nera yourself. He pretty much did everything while I was unconscious.” She pointed back to Nera.

Zeirona lifted himself off his feet and went straight to Nera.

“Okay, Nera. Where is the second person who came here?” He asked.

“The pirate? He escaped. He left through the back door, off the branch. It’s alright, though. He couldn’t have flown off the branch, could he? He’s probably gone already.”

“Flown… pirates, you say? Pirate… a pirate… don’t they have this skill…!” His eyes widened as he remembered the tales he had heard during his training. There was one particular one about a pirate. A gunslinger… that was what they had talked about. Gunslingers had a certain skill that enabled them to delay their falls. That meant that…

He ran out the back door, leaving Nera call him again, his cries seemingly soft before the worries he was carrying. His eyes scurried around frantically in search of something that could give him more information. Anything… the trail of blood was nearly dried; it led off the branch…

He took a peek down. It was a long way down, but that was not what he was paying attention to. There was more. Blood stains on the branches below. He must have used the life energy he had left in replacement of mana to carry himself lower.

Mana was the energy that was created by the life force of a person. Therefore, the life energy itself would be an extra, more powerful source of mana… but using too much had dire consequences. It could have shortened his life span. Or even worse, killed him.

He ran left, finding the bridges that connected the single braches and leaves. Proceeding downwards, he ran further, reaching the bottom. Roots from the tree spread far, crawling beneath the ground and curling around the forest. They were huge, and there were small houses built on them, nestled atop the odd circles that appeared along them.

Looking around, he traced the bloodstains along the branches back to an area in the forest, somewhere deserted. He could only hear leaves rustling and dew dripping. He could also hear a slight panting amongst the tiny noises that composed the forest. Panting…

Turning, he walked slowly and cautiously, being careful not to make excessive noise. The coughing and groaning was becoming more evident as well, the more he headed south. Crunch. He had stepped on a pile of dried leaves, and the noise that would have been soft was amplified through the sleepy forest.

He looked around, hoping nobody had heard it. Turning he looked around for more signs of life anywhere.

That was when he found two bullets whistling past his face.

He stumbled backwards, his heart jumping straight into frenzy. He ran, turning to hide behind a tree. He did not know where the pirate was, but the bullets had come from his left. He wiped his face with his sweaty palms, noticing blood spreading along his fingers. He moved his hand over to his cheek, then winced in pain as he dropped his hands. It was only a minor cut from the bullets, but it stung.

It had only grazed him, but it seemed so pain. It must have been mana propelled bullets. Bullets shot forth with more energy and power using mana. Was he really trying to kill himself? He heard footsteps; frantic feet kicking the ground.

He looked around, then dashed further left, finding cover before a giant root that had penetrated the forest, splitting it into two parts. There was a small hole in between the root, made by the villagers to open a path. He could feel a large energy around, but he could not tell where it was coming from. It seemed to be all over the forest, like it was alive, breathing. There was something, and it felt dark.

Crouching down, he crept over the path, jumping up and sprinting once he reached there. A loud bang exploded in his ears, leaving him dropping to his knees with his hands over his ears just as another bullet shot past him. He shook his head and ran forward, looking for more cover. It was a bad move. There were no more roots or stems in that area, only a single large trunk standing right in the center. That must have been where he was.

He brought his wand back out, holding it in front in case someone tried to attack him with a surprise shot. If he was fast enough, he might be able to catch him. He stopped, listening for a reloading of a gun or the sound of the trigger clicking in place.

He heard it. The sound of bullets being put in place. He turned, preparing for a shot.

He stumbled back, finding a small hole in his right shoulder. He grabbed it, his shoulder already feeling numb from the gunpowder. It was too fast… too fast for him to have even seen it. Blood flowed down his shoulder. That must have taken up a lot of mana… how could he have gathered up so much mana? He fell to his back, his mouth still gaping wide open.

He saw a man walk out of the tree, having difficulty walking forward, but moving steadily. He pointed a gun right at his face, slowly revealing a second gun from his back.

“Where are you getting this energy! You should be half dead by now if you were using your life energy!” He asked, fighting back the pain. He had already gotten crucially injured once just a few hours back.

“I’m pointing a gun at you and you use such a defiant tone?” The pirate laughed, nearly choking. “I like that. Don’t you feel it? Don’t you feel the energy pulsing through this forest?”

“What are you…” He turned his head slightly, looking around. He felt it again. The breathing of the forest, the life that flowed through. It felt wrong… it felt misplaced. But it was there.

The pirate chuckled again, ignoring the fact that he was seriously wounded.

“The tainted mana this place is leaking out… it’s a giant stream of energy! Drawing that out was too easy. It’s providence! It’s the gift that god sent me!”

He looked closer, noticing something that disturbed him. His pupils were going white.

“How much… how much did you use…?” He trembled, wondering what had just happened.

“I used everything I could… I put every ounce of that energy into my shots. Couldn’t you tell? The dark energy this forest is giving out… I could hear the screams and cries of the dead souls chained to the trees and leaves. I couldn’t resist the temptation to use that!” He went crazy, laughing even more.

Dark energy. He could hear them now. Screams and pleas, coming from the trees and plants. There was something wrong with this place. Dark energy was from black magic.

“Can you see? Can you see anything?” He asked, his blood racing around as he began to realize what was around him.

“I don’t know! They told me… they told me that was the toll for using too much of that energy! It doesn’t matter! I can sense your energy from a mile away with my heightened power!”

He had drawn energy from the forest. He said it was dark energy. Even he could feel the darkness of the forest now. Why hadn’t he realized this earlier? It was… the forest was alive with black magic!

He saw him. He knew his body was about to fail him any minute now. He could see blood flowing down his mouth. His eyes were turning full white. His scars seemed to have opened in his chest, blood soaking his clothes.

“You can’t feel the pain your body is experiencing?”

“I can’t! It’s amazing, isn’t it? I can’t even feel any pain! My body is full of too much energy! I can’t feel anything! This is everything I could dream of!”

Even an idiot could tell it was over for him. His body would hold out for a few minutes at most, then he would probably die. He had to make use of the time left to find out more.

“Why did you come here? To kidnap Nera?”

“Not just the boy… you too. We were sent by the doc. Don’t you remember us? DCR-5 and DCR-11. The rest didn’t survive. We were the only four who were successful experiments.” He said, his panting getting faster.

He remembered the words he muttered out before he passed out that day. He promised he would rescue them. Yet, they were both turned into this…

“The other partner… was there anything wrong with her?” He asked, suddenly remembering that Leah said she had become someone else.

“Her? You must be talking about Miste. He’s insane, I tell you. I once heard him talking to himself. He’s mad. He’s crazy. It’s like there are two people living in him.” The pirate was still laughing. It was as if he was drunk… drunk on power. “He’s professional at killing others, but when it comes to himself, he doesn’t even remember who he is, or what he wants, or even which person he is. There are times when he becomes gentle all of a sudden… his voice begins to change. I don’t know what’s going on with him, to be honest. You should get rid of him too. Along with those bloodstained clothes and that mask.” He paused, gulping in a breath of air, before choking and laughing again.

He knew he saw a girl. Of course, if he had been under a mask, he might not have known. He said she was mad? Crazy? He did not know anymore. The first person he liked in such a long time turned out to be…

“I’m sorry, but even you can’t be saved anymore.”

Clutching his shoulder, he slowly got up.

“Where are you going? I can shoot you!” He yelled, frantically trying to get an aim of him.

“Aim well.”

“Damn you!” The pirate screamed. He placed a hand on the ground and Zeirona saw smoke rising. His skin got darker, his face starting crumpling up and more blood started flowing out.

“Stop!” Zeirona shut his eyes as he heard a sick scream followed by the sound of something dry crunching up. He turned and ran out of the forest. He wanted nothing more to do with this place.

Zeirona arrived back at the house not long after. He remembered the legends about Grendel toying with dark magic. He never knew that it was true and that the result was something this horrible. People he knew drew mana from the forest to help with their daily chores without even knowing what kind of mana they were using.

He entered the house, his hand still on his shoulder. Leah rushed over to him, gulping down a mana potion while healing him.

“There. That should stop the bleeding. It’s almost fully healed, so as long as you don’t strain yourself too much, it should be fine. Now, what happened?”

“Please, give me a second.”

He headed straight to the girl.

“Do you know who you are? Answer me this. Where are you from? What did they do to you? Try and remember.” He grabbed her shoulders.

“I… I… can’t remember…”

“Try harder! I can still help you if you try and remember!” He pressed on.

She shut her eyes, trying to remember. Nothing. Flashes of scenes and places, but nothing she could recognize.

“Nothing! I can’t!”

“Try!”

“A place…”

Lights flashed. Tools, medical equipment… she could see them all. People leaning over, holding tools, ready to do something. She tried to block those things out, but they were still there, lingering in her head. She screamed, a loud scream that caused everyone to grab their ears in pain.

“I…It’s alright. Forget it. I’m sorry.” He hugged her, hoping it would stop the scream.

“What were you thinking?” Leah ran over to him, just noticing him hugging her tightly.

“I was trying to get information. This girl and the other person… they were sent here to take me and Nera back. Back to the lab.”

“Lab? What?”

“T…there’s a lot I haven’t told you, Leah. Please try and hear me out. I hope you can keep this completely secret.”

He sighed as he told her everything. Everything that had happened, everything that was going on so far.

“I don’t believe you were hiding something this big from me… you didn’t trust me with this information?”

“Listen, I didn’t know you at all back then. Even now, doesn’t it seem plain ridiculous that someone was willing to let two complete strangers live with her for two whole months while volunteering to train one of them without asking any questions? I’d have to be an idiot if I completely trusted you at first!”

“What about now, then? Do you trust me now? Or was the need to tell me made under forced circumstances. For your convenience, maybe?”

“It’s not like that…”

“Enough. Just go.” She pointed out to the front door. “If it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t genuine kindness, then why don’t you stay paranoid and go somewhere else? As badly as I want you to stay, you can’t even accept that I was being kind enough to let you stay here! I swear none of information will leak out anywhere, so just leave!”

“What about the girl? She might become dangerous.”

“She seems fine to me! I’ll take care of her and inform you if anything happens, okay?” She snapped.

He knew he had just touched a nerve and arguing about it would only worsen the situation. He should have kept everything to himself.

“Alright then… I’ll leave. But… just so you know. I was already starting to trust you more. You could have just given me a little more time.” He sighed, heading over to Nera.

“Listen, Nera. We’re leaving this house. It’s up to you if you decide to follow me or walk your own path. It would be good if you started finding someone to train you. I’m sorry, but this is how it has to be.”

“Why? What happened? I could hear you guys arguing from over here.”

“It’s best you not know.”

“I think… I’ll find someone to help me by myself. When I’m strong enough, I’m sure we’ll meet again, brother.”

“B…Brother?” He mumbled as he watched Nera leave. So he regarded him as a big brother. How nice.

He had no items or clothes to bring along, so all he had to do was head back to the taxi. Oh… how long had the taxi been waiting for him?

“Wait… I didn’t mean that. Don’t go.” He suddenly heard Leah say.

“No, I was the one in the wrong. Sorry and goodbye, I guess. I’ll visit you again sometime in the future.”

He dashed out, running straight for the taxi. He silently said goodbye to Leah and the house, the last two months of his new life.

Kryen soon found himself back at his usual spot. The huge cranes that were once part of a large construction project that had failed had become the foundations of new buildings. Brick by brick, they turned the giant cranes into foundations for flats, shop houses and stores. The only remaining parts of the original cranes became tourist attractions, although people rarely visited them anymore. His left eye was trained to be extremely sharp, and he had been nicknamed ‘Eagle Eye’ in the force he used to work in.

He pulled himself up on the top of the cranes and sat down, looking downwards to pay an eye on the people below. He remembered Erith’s pleas at his deathbed. He begged him to look after his newborn son. He was afraid that people would come after his family for all the criminals he had apprehended. After all, he was a well known officer.

Kryen could not help but agree, seeing as Erith was one of his best friends. That brought him even further back, to the first day they had met. He was always being teased or his female-like name back then. They were made partners. They caught many well known criminals together, ones that many others had failed to do.

Then, that fateful night came. They were trying to catch a well known criminal. A warrior, who had slaughtered many to perfect the black magic. The bitter smell of blood was all over the air. They had cornered him. Kryen had dealt him some severe blows, rendering him immobile. Erith had handcuffed him and brought him out, but in a last, desperate act, he blew himself up by generating dark energy. A sadistic bastard he was. He had lost his best partner. He had also been injured that night.

He was pretty far away from him, but the explosion was huge. As a result, he had lost his right eye. He flipped the long strands of hair that covered his right eye to the side and pressed his hand to his face. He could no longer see, which was why he had to rely so much on that left eye. He had almost expected his vision to come back when he moved his hair, but it didn’t. His hair hid the bad memories that scarred his face so badly then.

He visited his wife and his new child. He spent many of his free days with them, keeping his promise to Erith that he would help them. Of course, nothing could have stayed peaceful. It was after another eleven years that it happened. Erith’s beloved son went missing. Did he run off, or was he kidnapped? Nobody knew what. But it was most likely that one of Erith’s enemies had come to get revenge.

He searched everywhere, but it was futile. Not one trace of the fact that he had existed. His room was completely empty. His things, gone. It was as if he had never been born. From that day on, whenever he was free, he would search the towns for any signs of him returning. He knew it was stupid and that the chances of him finding him were low, but if he sat around and did nothing, he would only blame himself more.

He probably couldn’t even remember his face anymore. No pictures, no records of him… how was he going to find him? He always thought, though, that if he ever came across Zeirona, he would immediately recognize him.

Now that he was no longer in the force, he had much more time, so he spent a few weeks in every town, usually more in the three towns nearest to where Zeirona had disappeared. That was why he had been loitering around Ellinia for such a long time. He knew he couldn’t give up, because he knew exactly how Zeirona’s mother felt. He, too, had lost someone close to him in the exact same manner.

“Mister Kryen!” He turned, frowning at ‘mister’. He noticed the same little boy he had helped not long ago running towards him.

“You! What are you doing here? How did you find me? Oh, and please do not use mister. It makes me sound old.”

“Sorry mi… Kryen. You were wearing that same cloak and I noticed it from way down there. So… can you take me as your apprentice? Please?”

“Apprentice?” He yelled. “Listen. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into by associating yourself with me.”

“Why?”

“It’s just dangerous, okay? Besides, I have important things to do.”

“Like?”

“Like… wandering around the town for two weeks.”

“Why is that important?”

“It will take up a lot of time for me to explain that.”

“Just explain it, please.”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m lazy!”

“Why are you lazy?”

“Alright! Enough! I’ll take you in! Alright? Happy? Just be prepared for hell!” He frowned again, his forehead wrinkling in dismay.

He sighed as he thought about it. He would have said yes in the end anyway. How could he say no to a young, childish bowman? It would be like he was rejecting his own brother. He always had a soft spot for people who were like that.

“Yeah! Thanks a lot! Can we start now?”

“No! I’m looking for someone and I can’t stop now. I can spare two days a week at most.”

“Two days?” He whined. “Come on, make that longer!”

“Three.”

“Four.”

“Two.”

“Okay, three! Can we spread that out? Like, a few hours a day?”

“Four hours a day, alright? Bright and early at six in the morning sharp. If you’re late by any more than fifteen minutes, the lesson is off. Find your own accommodation.”

“I have no money, no clothes or anything!”

“You should have thought of that before you looked for me.”

“But…” Nera stopped as he saw a small pouch flying towards him. He jumped and clapped his hands together, barely catching it.

“Fine… That’s enough to stay at a cheap hotel. They’ll probably charge you around a hundred mesos a day. The remaining money can get you a cheap sandwich for every meal, which will cost about 5 to 6 mesos. If you train with me for a month, that’s easily enough money for you to survive.”

Nera opened the pouch and counted the money slowly. Four thousand mesos! That must have been one tough monster he had slayed.

“Thanks a lot, teacher!” He smiled and ran off with the pouch in hands, carried like a precious newborn.

“God… How could I have turned down someone that resembles the young Gared so much…?” He found himself mumbling.

“Kill her. Finish her off, quickly.” A voice boomed.

“No… I… I don’t want to.”

“Do it!”

A slap. It burned her cheek.

“No!”

A hand on her wrist. It shoved her forward, thrusting her with the knife in her hand.

Blood sprayed on her face. She looked at the corpse with her eyes stunned open. The shocked, wide open eyes of a six year-old.

Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she felt a jolt on her shoulder. Flames ignited on the corpse, the flame spreading. An explosion around her… it was everywhere. More tears were coming down. The place grew brighter, brighter, the flames growing more. Everything was slowly becoming white.

Anxiety filled her. She had just killed someone!

It built up, growing, growing. It became a giant, black monster that started to build in her. She felt as if she was going to explode. Around her, everything just got whiter, brighter. Inside, everything became darker, black.

The light filled the whole place, everything becoming pure white. She felt something black inside her, struggling to break free. Growing more, more… it exploded within her.

She screamed. She rubbed her temples as she found herself lying on a bed. Looking around, everything seemed so surreal. It was as if everything was blurred, grainy. A fog was right in front of her, and it clouded her vision. Where was she? The place was so alien, bizarre. Everything seemed to be distorted. Black and grey.

She got up, two words flashing in her head repeatedly. It was the voice of someone else, someone in her head. She could see her. Then, she remembered. It was her… the one who was always stuck in her head.

Kill her. Kill her.

She moved forward, tripping over something on the floor. She fell, the room spinning from her vision. She could see a person approaching.

She got up, slowly, looking around for something. A kitchen. She stumbled over to see what seemed like a kitchen. The scenery was spinning, but it was definitely a kitchen. Why did it feel like she had experienced this before?

Her view moved back and forth, the only clear thing being the kitchen. She ran, barely keeping her balance. Her hand ran carelessly across the kitchen table, knocking over leftover dishes and utensils. They hit the floor, the noise ringing in her ears. She covered her ears, the sound getting louder. Leaning forward, she grabbed objects at random, looking to recognize a knife.

She had found one. The blade seemed big. It was distorted in her view, its length and size proportion warping. She held the grey metal in her hands, her surroundings beginning to shake again. She shook her head, turning back towards the room. There was already someone there; searching through the bed she had just been on.

She turned, looking at the person. She was now headed for the kitchen. Everything blurred, and she could only see a girl. A girl walking towards her. She clutched the knife tightly, moving towards the girl slowly. Why couldn’t she stop? Panic grew, grabbing her tightly. She was moving, but it wasn’t her. Moving slowly, but she could not even stop her.

She was useless. Fear grew, along with the rushing adrenaline. It gushed through her, her heart thumping wildly. It felt as if it was about to explode. So much discomfort. She felt so uncomfortable. She needed to scream, but the mouth she had wasn’t hers. She was trapped, a bird in a cage.

Her vision began to flash. It flashed, blacking out for a second then regaining vision for another second. She felt faint. Her breathing got heavier, slower, deeper and unable to catch the rhythm of her pulsing heart. Her hand trembled, the knife shaking wildly along with it. Her legs moved, each step sending a thousand needles through her feet. Her shoulders were still burning, burning. She didn’t know why, but she had to fight. Fight… she couldn’t run away anymore. She wanted to flee, but something invisible shoved her forward, the knife still in her icy hands.

She could only hear the two words ringing in her head.

Kill her.

Note: Special thanks to all those who had the patience to read crap like this. Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Oh, just for clarification… Miste is, indeed, nuts. =P