Faceless

Chapter one

I was lying there lifelessly on the cold hard floor when I heard the " click " of the hatch on the door. I scrambled to my feet but not in time. He caught me slacking off again and he looked angrier than normal. I felt my cheek begin to sting as his hand connected with my face. He grabbed hold of my hair and yanked me towards the door. We walked down the hall and made a left. I didn't know where it led since this was farthest I had ever been out of my room. Suddenly he let go of my hair and shoved threw me at someone's feet. I looked up to see a slimy smile slip across the man face as he said " I think she's got potential." Though it was a compliment it didn't make me feel good. He then grabbed my arm, passed over a roll of cash to the man I once called dad and stuffed me into the back of a truck.

That was twelve years ago, when I was five.

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I remember that day quite clearly, the day I was betrayed by my own father. Since then I've had a hard time trusting people, but then again there is no one here worthy of my trust.

I sagged across the last mile stretch of my training course with two full bags of rice on each shoulder, one bag weighed about as much as a seven year old child. I was almost there, just a couple more steps. As soon as my foot crossed the temple gates I collapsed. Desperate, I reached out with all my might to grab a pail of water sitting near by, I didn't care if it was clean or dirty at least it was water. Instead of feeling cool water rush down my throat I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and ribs.

" No water for you! If you can complete the course in under a day you may have water but you took too long." A man said and then kicked me again in the stomach while emptying the pail. I had almost gotten used to the pain, I was so close to being able to turn it off just like that. No more suffering or pain, no more emotion weighing me down. After all I've been through, you become accustomed to the pain and the only way to survive is to kill or be killed. I learnt that the hard way.

When I first arrived at the temple, people crept telling me I had raw talent for these things and I could be the best. Know a days I get no such reassurance let alone a word from anyone because I am a fail, I am defective. I had trained hard for many years, I had prepared myself for any situation that could be thrown at me, but when it came down to it, I couldn't kill my pray. I couldn't look someone in the eye and pull the trigger. The only way I would ever be able too would be to turn off all my thoughts about what sin I was about to commit and become a cold-blooded killing machine, I was willing to try if that's how I was going to stay alive.

I woke up hours or maybe even days later, still lying on the ground, by the temple gates, where I had collapsed. No one had bothered to move me or even wake me, not like I was expecting them to.
After brushing off my rags and removing the rock imprints from my body the best I could I lugged my body up the temple stairs and up to my isolated little tower. I was almost at the end of the hall that led to the millions of flights of stairs allowing me to get to my bedroom, when I heard the voice of the temple master. Letting my curiosity get the best of me a crept towards the door slowly. I lean my ear closer to it so I could hear clearer.

" We must do something and quick or this temple will be run into the ground!" The priest said with concern.

" He's right, maybe we can sell some of the furniture or even our women." Another man agreed with him.

" I know a couple loose ends that we're still tied to that are showing no signs of any results." The temple master said and I felt a lump start to build in my throat.

" That's it, the Bennet girl!" The priest exclaimed. " We can sell her and if we play our cards right we can get enough profit to last us the rest of the year." Not a very good priest if he was willing to sell of a young girl.

Oh no! This is not good. Not that i like this place but there was always the possibility that I could end up somewhere worse. I turn around and scurry up the stairs. As soon as I reached the top I flopped onto my mattress and looked up at the ceiling. I drifted off to sleep yet again.

I could hear a stomping noise in the back of my mind. I wasn't sure what it was but the sounded like boots clattering up creaky stairs. I was too tired to care or even open my eyes to see what it was. Suddenly my bedroom door flung open and fell off its hinges to the ground. A wave of dust erupted into the air by the weight of the door. The stomping sound stopped as I squinted my eyes to see about eleven men dressed in black, heavily armoured. Three of them came over and grabbed me up from my bed. I then connected the dots, they were here to take me away and sell me. With that thought, I lifted my legs up with one swift movement and used the momentum to do a backflip, breaking their hold on my arms. I backed up into a fighting position, waiting for them to come at me. Two guys came at me, I let one run at me then dogged at the last moment bringing my elbow up and hitting him in the back of the head, just below where his helmet ended. The second guy aimed a punch at my face, I spun around his fist so I was next to his out stretched arm. I then brought my elbow down on his joint crushing it between my ribs and arm. I heard a breaking sound as the guy collapsed to the ground holding his arm. Another guy latched on to my back, I tried to remove him by running my back into the wall, squashing him. I was struggling to slam him off when I heard the click if the safety being removed from a gun. I looked across the room to the guy with one broken arm. He was using the other to aim a handgun right at me head. Quickly, I slammed the guy one more time as hard as I could, then ducked and reached for the his belt and snatched his gun. I shot the guy on top of me in the shoulder, not enough to kill him. A could hear the seconds tick in my head as my life was about to end. I had to do something quick, the only thing I could do was pull the trigger.....so I did. As the loud bang echoed through the room I felt something slip away as if I had just lost something very important to me. But the feeling, any feeling, soon left my body as proceeded to shoot another guy in the head, just under the goggles. I shot another two guys as my room soon filled with holes. I ducked behind my bed for cover from their counter attacks. All of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in my neck. Had I been shot? I reached up and pulled a small colourful dart out of my neck.
I became very sleepy as the remaining men marched over to me. They grabbed me and I tried to struggle but it was no use as the power to resist was being drained from my body. I wriggled and jolted but they weren't giving up. I screeched at the annoying feeling of being so helpless. I kicked my legs in the air, I was flailing my limbs in rage and frustration but I was soon unable to move as fatigue tugged at my eyelids. The men launched their bodies at me so I was completely paralyzed by their weight. I subsided to the sleep as I gave up on fighting.