Date: September 11
Place: Nagoya, Japan
[Shin]
My hands cower at the sharp feeling of the knife that was inching closer to my neck.
"Sure," her words triggered my tear glands as the thought of being left behind again lingered in my mind.
'Again?' was a question that kept repeating in my mind as unexplainable memories came flooding in.
**start**
"Leave me alone!" The picture of my mother hiding behind the car's trunk started to echo as I remembered myself in a forest at night. "Run and never look back!" she shouted again, throwing a necklace pendant to shoo me away with our reserved green edibles that we had gathered for a few days' worth of food stocks.
'What are these?' my mind kept making me run.
~~
"You're useless here," a man towering over me, weakly whispers in my ears. "Run!" Using the last of his strengths to push me, his saliva splashed all over my face as I found myself running again.
'What's happening?' nothing came out of my mouth as I kept shouting for someone's help.
~~
I stopped at one spot to catch my breath. But these horrible tricks wouldn't give me any chance to rest.
Brother Meon's disappointed face was plastered near my sight. "Run," his cold tone made me freeze on the spot. My breath fell short while I was surrounded by Meon, my mother, and the tall man. They were repeating the same exact words.
"Run," their voices sounded like they pitied me.
"Run," now it became more of an order.
"Run," my glances fell on my mother who was agitated and shook my whole body.
"Never come back," Meon suddenly pushed me onto the ground and I fell onto my knees.
They never ceased their chants, I gasped for air until those became consistent and rapidly increased the timing, breathing any oxygen I could get. The sweat on my forehead fell onto the ground where my hands started to dance, the floor shaking and swaying.
"And if anything happens—" a silent recording on a familiar watch was lying on my right. I forced my swimming hands to reach it. But before I could lay a finger on it, the wind took away its dust.
My arms fell onto the floor once again, grabbing the fabric around my neck as my chest tightened.
"Just scream my name," a figure of a girl started to drown the unpleasant chants.
My eyes fell between the tall man's legs onto the familiar girl which displayed the most forced smile in a situation like this. I found myself smiling back despite my difficulty in breathing.
"And I'll come flying," my hands suddenly lifted themselves without hesitation when her figure started to turn her back and was about to take the first step away.
My mouth burst open to call out the name she used to introduce herself to us.
**end**
[Rei]
"But you see," after his painful shouts, he was now hyperventilating. "These two will cry their eyes out if I don't bring him ba—," My carefree demeanor suddenly jumped out the window when his silent shout drowned out their laughter.
His left hand fell on his side as his right one stretched out to reach me, tears flowing down his eyes as he sobbed uncontrollably. "Rei!"
My legs walked me towards Shin while my fingers pulled the trigger consecutively; the first and second hitting the man that held him hostage on his elbow and his ear which led him to let go of his knife, screaming in pain while assisting his wounded spots. The third to the sixth shots missed each target but still caused them to panic and back away.
I grabbed Shin's arm in those slim thirteen seconds and was enough time to go back to my position near the other two.
The adult's retreat settled in mere seconds. "Get that girl!" The one that had a skeleton necklace ordered everyone.
"Sister!" Shin wailed, tugging my shirt at the sight of them running towards us.
"Close your eyes if you're afraid," I replied, dropping my gun and kicking it to the side, far away from anyone's reach as I gently removed his hands and took a step forward.
The sight of me letting go of my gun became a motivation for them to fight back, bringing out their own knives as I unsheathed mine as well.
"She's just one girl," the woman named Grace was the first to charge head-on. Swinging her weapon aimlessly which I only dodged easily. Her charging one swing in full force allowed me to lightly trip her and the gravity of her actions pulled her on the ground.
Not wasting any opportunity, I threw my left knife onto the head of the man that I shot. He was still so busy screaming over the pain, that he couldn't react fast enough to the blade that sunk in his skull.
One dropped dead while the other woman charged with her spiky metal rod which she held firmly around her stomach. Shouting her fierce will, I threw my right knife onto her toes. Now screeching in pain, I stole the metal rod in her palm, quickly jabbing it behind me without looking.
"You motherfu—," Grace's loud lust for revenge was cut short as her warm bloodstream reached my fingertips through the pole. Wasting no time, I pulled it out of her gut and stuck it to the mouth of the screaming woman who was too troubled by her wounded foot.
Three were already down too quickly that the remaining four couldn't dare to take another step while I stared them down.
"Please," one of the guys started to kiss the ground, whimpering and shivering. "Have mercy on us," eyes bawling with disgusting emotions.
"After everything, you monsters have done," I untucked my shirt behind me where another gun slept. He hearing me unable the safety switch, suddenly let out a screech and crawled his way back to the others. But my fingers itched twice before he could seek help. "Try finding mercy in hell," they flinched at the sight of their friend, swimming in his pool of blood.
"Rei, Cedrick here," his breathless and silent steps rang in my ear, "I'm on the second floor now, heading towards the pin you dropped on the map on the next floor," he reassured as the line got cut.
I slowly walked back to the kids, "Shin," with one call of his name, he opened his eyes and so did the other little ones. "Remember the pattern of my cloak?" They all nodded as I warned Shin about the removed safety of my gun before gently handing it to him. "My friend is running towards this location to come and save you," their eyes lit up while Shin stood up and pointed the gun behind us where the remaining three were about to scheme.
"But we made too much noise here so I need you to try and be as stealthy as possible back to the store where we first hid," they started to feel uneasy. "Protect each other until I catch up," I reassured.
"Can you do that?" they gave a nod before leaving, full of their will to live.
As soon as the door closed, screams engulfed the room as the two more lackeys launched themselves to punch me. One of them managed to land a successful hit on my cheeks. I stumbled forward, hearing the chuckle of their leader motivated the other two.
One of them hit my back with a rusting pipe which forced me to let out a groan.
"Now who's crawling away," their tone became confident as they saw me struggling to stand up and used my arms to distance myself.
The fresh and dried-up bloodstains on the floor got on my clothes. "You shouldn't have been too greedy," the leader boasted as I heard three footsteps closing in on me.
"Now as a punishment," someone grabbed my ankles and pulled me through the floor, only stopping when I was in the middle of the room.
"Not too feisty now are we?" Another man flipped me over while someone pinned my legs down with their weight. My soaked clothes revealed my figure as I saw all their gazes slowly shifting from my belly, up my chest, then my unbothered expressions, to the gun that was already pointing at the head of the person who sat on me.
"Wha—," I didn't spare the two lackeys to have the chance and immobilize me quickly as I buried each bullet in between their eyebrows. Kicking the dead weight away, the leader quickly changed his tone when I slowly walked towards him with the pistol pressed on his forehead.
"Don't be like this, surely we can talk this out," his foul mouth moved. "Please help me, I was only forced," stuttering, he backed away but I followed his every step.
"Yes! That's it!" He shouted as if he was convincing himself that he was a victim. "I had no option but to— I just wanted to survive like everybody else," he kept stuttering but turned silent as I pulled the trigger once more.
His weak chuckle made him believe that he was safe as I had no bullets left. But he soon fell to the ground after I sank another extra blade that I grabbed from my back pocket with my free hand.
"Disgusting," I murmured, pulling out the three knives I'd used during this fight.
"Cedrick meet us halfway," I wasted no time to run and catch up as I felt the ground rumbling from too much noise that we'd created.