The Children of Erebus

IV

I woke up just before dawn, my mind overcrowded with interment voices.

When will they stop? Why won't they leave?

The world was still dark; the stars flickered in a faraway world where everything seemed distant: unimportant.

I forced my sore body off the hard mattress. I supposed I could've gotten a more comfortable one, but it felt so wrong and it slowed down my reflexes. If one were to make the imprudent, suicidal choice to come barging in my rooms unannounced to murder me, I wouldn't be able to spring out of the bed as fast. Therefore, although I hated the rough mattress that killed my back, it stayed. I dragged my sorry self to the washroom and washed up. As I turned I noticed the tray of food that I'd left on my nightstand, untouched, disappeared and the book with the mysterious writing was no more. Sunshine's work, no doubt.

Disgusted and pissed, I entered my bath chambers to shower. The ice-cold water was brutal on my skin, but it provided a numbness and the agony deadened to a dull, throbbing ache. The lash on my face was barely scabbed over and the slightest provocation would cause it to gush all over again. The voices returned, but the rush of the water drowned out their words. They stood as silhouettes on the other side of the curtain but didn't cast any shadows, it was how I identified them from the "real-life" people. As such, I knew I could just walk through them, didn't shoot at them in a mission, or not to run them down for info.

Perverts... I thought to myself reciting the same line I recited for seven years.

I am the predator: not the prey: not the pawn.

A trail of dirt and blood ran down the side of my arms and over the ink located on either of them. Another stream ran down my neck and over the commander's tattoo that made most people wet themselves in fear.

With a sigh of disgust, I got out of the shower drying myself as I walked to my closet across the room. I donned on the first pair of clothes I touched, simple black slacks and pants, stuffed some into a backpack and climbed down to wake my darling. If I could get him to leave at dawn with me, then we might arrive at dusk, which would be ideal, since the next day would be a new week of school. I made my way across the library and to the main building.

Darling's room was on the second floor with the gaming quarters, the gym and Hawk's bedroom. I passed Hawk's room when whistling sounded. I spun around. I had forgotten – neglected – to wrap the injury on my face with a bandage, in hopes that it would heal much faster without it, though my shades bothered the healing wound.

Hawk towered over me, a giant of 6 foot 8: ripped in every sense of the word. His cropped dark hair stood on ends, while his dark chocolate like eyes studied me with wry amusement. He scoffed derisively: snickering at my state.

"Dar was right." He said his voice grumbly, he must've stayed up all night snacking and playing VR. "You look like hell." He continued, flashing me a toothy grin, that might send lower life forms scurrying away.

"Been there, have you?" I snorted. He chuckled the sound deep and reverberating. Hawk was the kind of person that will act all scary and macho just to piss you off. He was the predator that attacked his prey for entertainment. If the chase became too boring for him, he would just kill you. It was that trait in him that made him one of the deadliest assassins ever. If his prey resisted him it was more amusing. Having said that, he sought that entertainment in several diverse ways outside assignments, being chicks or just pissing us off. With me, he wants a reaction of any sorts, I presume. He said that I was too "cold" and so his goal where I am concerned is to get a reaction out of me in any way, sort, or form. He took it so far that he was the only one in my crew who volunteered to be there, apart from Dragon.