Brotherhood of Cain (Werewolf/Mafia)

Chapter Eighteen: A Dark Gladiator

"In the aftermath of any war or genocide, healing and reconciliation are ultimate aspirations." - Janine di Giovanni 

Chapter Eighteen

Ethel's POV

  Draven was right, the recoil wasn't bad at all.

I felt a hand push be forward and I stumbled.

"Pull yourself together." I watched Tamal's mouth move but the torrent of gunshots echoing around me made hearing him impossible.

Wipe the blood off yourself and pull yourself together.

I nodded, rolling my shoulders and heading past Tamal. I skimmed the ridged warehouse walls and looked around me. We entered the warehouse on an uplifted platform that spanned the entire length of the room. An opening was on each end of the platform and they disappeared into darkness.

A small set of metal stairs led down onto the main floor. Dozens of wooden crates were stacked throughout. Draven's men were everywhere, taking their time popping off shots and ducking to avoid any coming their way. I watched Draven's dark form climb up the crates and vanish on one of the balconies.

A body rolled off from overhead and crashed down onto the floor.

I turned away from them and jogged to my right, straight into one of those gloomy halls. I pulled the gun back into me and kept my finger near the trigger. I walked straight into the darkness, blinking to adjust my vision. I kept my steps quiet and even. Even though Musa's men were human and young, I had no doubt I was the underdog here.

A sliver of light peeked through under a door. A few locks were on the outside, keeping whatever was in inside. I pushed it open and froze. The room was dark for the most part, a meager barred window was at the top of the walls and the fading sun tried uselessly to brighten up the place. However, nothing could change what I was seeing.

On top of a ripped mattress lay two children. They were both girls in short, frayed dresses. Their heads were pressed together and a mop of black and blonde greasy curls lay atop a lumpy pillow. They were both incredibly small, with skeletal arms wrapped tightly around each other.

I could see the stark outline of their ribcage under the thin fabric of their dresses. Spatters of red covered the faded cloth and across the mattress. Their feet were tucked close to them but I spotted a thick rope tied around both of their right ankles. The rope led up to a metal pole behind the mattress. Despite the tanned skin of the both of the girls I saw purple bruises across their bony legs. There wasn't an ounce of muscle on them. They were just a sack of bones covered in a thin layer of skin.

The girl with the long, inky hair turned towards me and blinked, rubbing her hand over her eyes. I brought a finger to my mouth when her mouth trembled.

I rushed forward, dropping to my knees and cut the rope with my KA-BAR. The little girl shook her blonde friend awake and they both looked at me. They were both no older than eleven. I looked into the dark pits of their eyes and felt a stinging behind my own. How could someone do this? How could someone be so...evil?

"I'm going to be right back," The little blonde girl gave a small cry. "Shh! It's okay! I'm going to lock the door."

The black haired girl nodded hesitantly.

"I need to find the bad guys first, okay? Do you know where Musa is?" The blonde girl flinched back like I'd just slapped her. Her dark eyes watered and the color leaked out of her face.