The World Ended In 2012

Part 2

I walk with my head held high. I try to ignore the whispers. They follow me like the wind trails along the lake front.

There she is.

Lady Bane. Devil's Snare. Lady of Poison.

Do you think she's here for one of us?

Did you do something?

Shh. She hears us.

Their fearful words sting, as they always do. I cannot help my ability. Yet to the public, I must maintain my façade. The carefully crafted mask of my face took years of work. Natalya would kill me herself if she saw anything but perfection. A Destroyer must never show emotion.

'Your job, Cin, requires you to appear strong and unattached'. I remember her words easily. She drilled them into my head every day for years. Strong and unattached. Still. It made others hate me. Fear me. It made me a bit of a leper.

I stuff years of build up misery deep down and focus on the task at hand. I need to get through this town as quickly as possible. Only a mile in length, Mooreville is one of eight towns within one hundred miles. The After doesn't promote large gatherings of people. Too many mouths to feed. Resources diminish quickly. Once I escaped the clutches of this tiny town, I would continue on my mission.

A mission. Finally.

I felt like suffocating back at the camp. Nothing to do, no freedom. No one really wants to interact with me on a daily basis. I try not to let it hurt too much. I've had accidents and they're legendary. No one wants a friend that could cause their death with an accidental brush of the hand. Or on the rare occasions death doesn't come, days of intense pain from the hairs lining my flesh?

Mince called me into the main house this morning and gave me the news. Grim faced, he told me that three Disfigured took Lucy and Sloan, two children from our camp. The news ripped through me. The disfigured wouldn't take a child unless they could smell mutant in their blood. Two more for the team. Natalya and Lucas would be pleased. Their parents might feel differently.

Lucas wished me to retrieve both children and to eliminate the threat. He thought I could handle it alone. Would I accept this mission?

Of course.

Lilith spotted the Disfigured two villages from our territory. I entered the first, Mooreville, at around midday. The village spots me before I spot them. The rumors spread quickly. Everyone knows of my poisonous touch.

I keep my face blank as I walk through the town. I don't stop. If I did, they might panic. I didn't want to hurt anyone. My gloves clothed my treacherous hands to keep others safe but accidents could always happen. The skin tight suit I wear underneath my clothing could rip without my knowledge. It's happened before.

I hear the whizzing noise just before the apple cracks me in the jaw. I feel the tear in my tongue as my teeth crack together. Blood begins to well in my mouth, quickly. The pain ebbs, abating only when the adrenaline rush kicks in.

The villagers stand at attention. A woman dressed in loose rags pulls her child near her tattered skirt. The men draw together, haunted looks upon their faces. They expect me to scream. They expect me to go on a rampage.

The tears begin to well in my eyes. Natalya would never forgive me if I cried. She would tell me to continue walking without a care. Mutants don't hurt the unarmed. We don't hurt humans.

But what about when the unarmed hurt the mutants? How do I defend myself? I blink away my tears.

The blood in my mouth becomes uncomfortable. I spit it into the street, uncaring of the rude gesture it gives. I glance down at my clothing. At least black doesn't stain.

I would give anything to be accepted by these people. And they didn't even deserve it.

I sigh and continue walking as if nothing happened. The men relaxed ever so slightly.

The village couldn't take any destruction anyways. I glance around. The dilapidated houses reek of filth and mold. The wood bends with decay. The air breathes harshly, thick with the stench of feces and urine. The children lack any sort of sustenance. Their clothing hangs limply from their bodies. The adults fair worse.

As I consider their circumstances, my feet carry me unknowingly to the edge of their town. The forest lays ahead, a vast expanse of brown, darkened wood. The leaves began to grow again, slowly, in some areas. However, the trees mostly withered and died before they flowered.

A tree is a rarity in the After.

The blood still freely drips from my lips. I gave up on spitting ten minutes past. It wells too quickly. Unfortunately, although I heal quicker than others, it is nothing like the usual mutant. Generally, most mutants heal almost instantly. You can watch the tissues connect back together. Not little ole me. I can blister someone's skin with a touch. I can cause a seizure with a little spittle,  but god forbid I heal a cut quicker than an hours time. My bitterness will never quite quell with my lack of healing.

The pain dulls over time. I quicken my pace several times, more and more Unsatisfied with my speed. I must reach the Disfigured before they leave. If they take Lucy and Sloan to another location...We will never see them alive again. I'll be lucky to reach them before they hurt the children.

A sudden realization causes me to take off my jacket and bite on the sleeve. I need to stop the bleeding in my mouth and it won't happen without pressure. How stupid, Cin.

After a while longer, it stops. I take the material from my mouth, cringing. Blood tastes like rusty nails mixed with warm death. I hate it.

I hear sounds from the second village. The Disfigured are close.