Phantom Assassin (2015 version)

Chapter 01

Hot, vengeful tears streamed down Mylo's cheeks. Pain shot through his arm, numbing everything below his elbow.

Mylo stood up, legs wobbling, and cupped his hand around his wrist, ready to pull it off. The hand was only connected by a piece of skin, so there was no way he could repair it.

"Kira," he sobbed, tearing his hand loose. He winced, collapsing back onto his knees. The bloody hand thudded onto the ground. Black spots corroded his vision, but he strained to see the girl's head at his feet. "I'll definitely bring you back."

He pulled his shirt off, ripping a chunk of fabric from the base. Then, he carefully wrapped it around the shattered bone stuck in the flesh of his wrist. It turned crimson red in an instant, dripping with the metallic scent of blood.

He rolled the head, matted with sweat, blood, and hair, onto his shirt and tied it up. It, too, soaked up the blood.

"I'll definitely bring you back," he repeated, his voice changing pitches randomly. He continued to say this as he lifted the little body off the ground, cradling it in his arms. The lifeless corpse limbs spilled limply over Mylo's arms, swinging side to side like some disabled pendulum.

He brought her through the forest, watching the sun slowly take place of the moon. He stomped on flowers that were lifting their heads up to feed on the sunlight, he crushed the insects that were crawling out of their holes. He swayed uneasily left and right, nearly hitting trees, rocks, roots...

His foot sank into a frigid stream of murky water, and he quickly hopped across, letting Kira's hands brush against the stream's water. The murkiness dissolved and the water was cleaner automatically.

"Kira, I'll save you," his shaky voice continued to repeat, as if he couldn't control it.

On the other side of the stream he set the girl down on a bed of rocks. Even without her small head, she seemed at peace. Her arms lay flat on the shiny rocks, her toes brushed with hints of dirt, and her delicate pink dress was scattered in folds around her, offering comfort.

Mylo stepped into the stream and bent down, letting the cool water rush over his wound. Redness grabbed at the water, heading downstream. His blood washed away, until the wound looked clean.

He wrung out the fabric with his useful hand and thwacked it against a rock to make sure no moisture was left before wrapping it back around his wrist.

The sun smiled heartily at the rushing water, and, in turn, the water smiled back with sparkling excellence. Rocks shifted around under the steady flow of the water, finding little notches to squeeze into.

Mylo turned, crawling on his knees, to his sister. The girl waited, a sleeping beauty, on the rocks. Mylo suppressed a frown. He couldn't stand to look at his sister, not until she was smiling back at him.

"I'll definitely make you live again," Mylo said sternly, resting next to her. He turned away from her and stared at the waving green grass, envious of how careless it was.

Mylo fought against the memory. He couldn't let it invade his mind, or he knew he would go insane. But even though he was aware of this, the memory found a weakness in his defense, and it took over.

~~~~~

The gloved hand closed around Mylo's neck, threatening to squeeze tighter. Mylo could feel something clawing at his lungs, trying to get out. He couldn't breathe.

"If you don't tell me where she is," the man threatened, his lips curled into a disgusting grin, "you'll die before you can say 'goodbye.'"

His threat didn't seem that credible, however, Mylo felt he was losing consciousness, so he nodded wearily, blinking the blackness away.