ECHO [Rewritten - NaNoWriMo '16]

Chapter 22: Echo

She should've felt bad. But it felt good in a way.

She wanted to do it again.

It wasn't the hilt of a knife that her fingers wrapped around, but a nail. There was a hammer lying next to the pile of nails. It was too heavy; her arm throbbed after grabbing the sledgehammer. So instead she walked over to the man, nail in hand. He eyed her, her and the nail, and begins to laugh. Wincing at the pain. "They sent in a child? One that can barely stand on her own two feet?"

Rage. She was always the overlooked one. Too tall, too gangly, features that were too plain, with no outright skills. She was decent at everything. Always had been just the average one. She had survived the nightmares. She had killed them all with her bare hands. She was tired of being nothing, she deserved more. She might be only a child but she still had the right to be respected. Rage flared through her, stealing her breath. And she drove the nail into the bone of his forearm. The nail crunched the bone, slid through skin and muscle like butter. Blood spilled over the arm and dripped to the ground.

He bit his tongue hard to keep from screaming. She reached over and grabbed another nail. And another. And another. He began screaming then. Tears were falling over her cheeks; her hands were covered in his blood. She reached for another nail, but there wasn't one. She looked at his arm. It wasn't enough. Her blood was still boiling. And the name...his name. She needed it. She looked at him. "You wouldn't want to tell me your name, would you?"

"Go to hell, bitch!" he snarled.

Her teeth grinded together. Without thinking, she grabbed his wrist, and pulled up. His bones continued to crunch and snap, blood sprayed everywhere. He cried out, "Jack! My name is Jack."

She stopped pulling. And instead looked into his eyes. Eyes that were full of tears and agony. She reached up and touched him gently on the side of his face. Her fingers left a trail of blood along his cheek. She cocked her head at him, the emotions in his eyes. It was such a curious thing. She had looked like that once. Once when she was separated from her family. And once when she ended up in a place where children didn't belong.

Anger flared within her again. He didn't have any right to be afraid; he hadn't gone what she had. He hadn't seen what she did. This pain, this tiny flicker of fear that he felt right now. It was nothing. She brought her face close to his, "You are such a fucking coward. You give up your name, you give up everything just because of a little pain." She could feel the bandage stretch taught against her skin, the stitches pulling as she climbed to crouch on his lap. "You have no idea what it's like to be so incredibly fucking scared every single moment. So afraid that you couldn't even close your eyes to sleep. So afraid that it felt as though breathing was an effort because that monster called fear was holding you by the throat. Let me show you."

The anger within her flared, a fire throughout her veins. He stiffened, his eyes glazing over. Terror, pure overwhelming terror filled his eyes. She smiled. He was seeing. He was actually seeing. But suddenly he began to shake, his eyes rolling back into his head. She frowned as blood began to mix with the tears coming from his eyes. As blood began to spill from his nose and ears. She recoiled, leaping off him. But it was too late; he was in a full seizure. Blood was spilling everywhere. And just as suddenly as it started, it was over. He was motionless, blood still dripping on to the floor.

It seemed like hours. Hours before the door behind her clicked. There was a soft scratch of the hinges as it opened slowly. It revealed the woman, but this time, next to her was Thorn. They eyed the man in front of them. The woman's lips pursed, almost as though she were surprised. Thorn walked over to the girl and cupped her face. He was smiling. "You are such a good girl, my Echo."

She frowned. But she didn't object to the name. The woman though seemed to disagree but she didn't say anything. She watched Thorn for a few moments, before she focused on the girl. "Echo, you are officially a student. Congratulations."

She clicked her tongue. And suddenly men came in, carrying a machine between them. Thorn ran his hand through the young girl's hair. "It'll only be a moment."

She frowned when suddenly he grabbed her and held her in steels hands. Fear curdled in her stomach like sour milk but under the eyes of this woman, she schooled her features into blankness. Even as a needle pricked the delicate skin of her shoulder. Even as ink was burned into her skin, grading against her bone. Sweat formed in beads upon her skin. Soon, Thorn wasn't holding her still. He was simply holding her up. But her eyes never left the woman. After what felt like an eternity, the needle left her skin. Thorn helped her stand up straight, but despite herself she had to lean against him in order to remain that way. His eyes watched her face carefully before looking at the woman's as well, a hint of a challenge in them. She raised her chin. "Echo."

And then she turned on her heel and left, the men following her. The little girl collapsed, but Thorn caught her, and lifted her up. He cradled her close. He looked into her eyes, smiling. "I'm so proud of you Echo, you've done such a good job."

"Yeah?" she smiled softly.

"Yeah," He pinched her cheek. "Now come on, time to get you settled into your new room. You need some rest before training begins tomorrow."

As he began leading her to her new room, she asked. "Who was that woman?"

"Your leader," he said. "Viper."

Slightly ironic that her name would be that of a snake. "And what are you, if not my leader?"

"Your mentor," he smiled at her.

They made it to her room at the very end of the hall. It was already set up with clothes, blankets, pillows, and other small things. She looked up at him, her shoulder still burning. Her side hurt slightly, probably from her moving too much with the stitches. But this was important. "I'm afraid to go to sleep."

He frowned slightly. And then realization hit him. She wouldn't reveal this in front of Viper, or anyone else. He pulled her close, "I'll protect you. All right? I'll always protect you."

She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he held her even tighter. And for the first time in such a long time, she felt safe. She was safe, as long as his arms were around her.

And he had given her a name. A new name. A new start.

Echo.