Little Lila

one | nightmare dreams

A guard unlocks my cuff. I pull my legs away, and stand up. The others are quickly changing. I throw on the uniform that hasn't changed since my first day here. 

One of the newest arrivals, a small girl who can't seem to stop crying, catches my eye. I smile at her gently. 

She smiles back, blinking away unshed tears. 

We walk silently down the hallway in two lines. Then we're sorted into who deserves breakfast and who doesn't. 

I don't deserve it. 

Instead, I'm sent to Sir's office. 

My heart rate accelerates with each step. I stand in front of the metal doors for only a few seconds before Sir calls, "Inside now, 102!"

I step inside. 

Sir is agitated. He narrows his eyes on me as I enter. 

I see horns stick out of his skull. 

So he really is Satan? 

Or is this a hallucination? 

Where did his office go? 

"You're quite the little problem, aren't you? Oh! The problems never seem to cease with you. I should've left you at that asylum, hidden away forever." 

I frown. 

Hidden away? That's not right. 

I'll only be here for a little longer. My punishment will only last a little longer. Then I'll be whisked back to my real home. Living with my real family. 

That's what I tell myself. 

Anywhere is better than here, is what I say. 

I bite my tongue. 

Sir begins to walk on lava. The floor is made of lava? I look down, but I see carpet. Why is it so hot in here? 

"But there's still a use for you, don't worry, doll. Tonight, I'll be needing you to kill the Monet Mafia's heir—Alexandre. Age twenty-seven. You know him, right, doll? You've studied him, hm?" 

I nod. "Yes, Sir." 

All of the assassins know about the Mafia Empire. The French, the Italians, the Spanish, the Greeks, and the Americans. They rule the underground. 

Sir hates them. 

He tells us they are brutal. They will kill all of us for no reason. They will laugh at our begs for mercy and skin us alive. 

But we do that already. 

I have killed children. 

I have tortured random people. 

For no reason. 

So I don't see how we're different. But apparently they're worse. 

And that's something worth fearing. 

"You'll go tonight, doll. You'll be useful to me one last time, alright? You're becoming a hassle. But don't fret. I'll send you off somewhere else after this mission." 

I nod.

This is my biggest request yet. 

Of course I've killed many Mafia members. 

But never a next-in-line Don. 

I walk down the hallway, towards the canteen. 28 will be there. I haven't earned a meal in two days, so the sight of gray slush makes my mouth water.