a s t r i d
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We must always fight for what we love. As long as we remember that what matters most is who we are when our war is over.
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"I want teams deployed all over The Scars territory. At the moment, they're outnumbering us. We're shooting to kill."
I study Rebecca Clarke carefully, my brows furrowing. She's worried, visibly worried. Rebecca had been acting weird since Asher died, understandably so, yet this woman was completely different to the one I met.
She was scared, but she was still a bitch.
"Didn't you hear me, Cleveland?" She snaps, "You're with Addy, Devil and Hayden. Hurry the fuck up, and don't mess this up."
I step forward, narrowing my eyes at her. Rage leaked into my tone, "You might have everyone else bowing down to you, everyone's respect. But I promise you, you won't be getting any off me. Not now. Not ever."
I walk off, pausing at the weapons display. I shove a pocket knife into my sock, a gun in my waistband and knuckle dusters into my pocket.
There are no winners in this game. Only survivors.
***
" Xander?" My brows furrow naturally as the young boy stares at me.
He leaned forward and whispered, gazing at me curiously. "You're gonna fix everything, I can see it - like a shooting star on a stormy night. You're not like us, are you?"
I don't reply to his question, visibly swallowing as his words shock me.
"Taylor, Rebecca, Alexi, all of them, even me, are products of a corrupt society. We were born into a war zone and made to play soldiers. We're all past saving. But you, you're not like us. You're better. You'll save him, Astrid. You're going to save all of us, for better or for worse."
I turn away and then look back, only to find nothing left where his small form once stood.
His words baffled me. How was I better than any of these people?
They was born into a war zone? Well, I was the reason for the war zone occurring.
How can he say I'll save them all when I'm the reason their lives are so messed up?
"We're all gonna die." I finally spoke, addressing my 'team' and looking at the rivals base apprehensively.
I heard someone cock their gun and I spun around to see Hayden, stood with Devil and Addy, with an eyebrow raised in my direction. "Forever the optimist, my dear Astrid."
I let out a small chuckle, shaking my head. "You know me very well, Denny."
"Denny?" He counters instantly, raising his eyebrow at me.
"My new nickname for you." I smiled widely and turned around fully so my back was too the building.
"Hey, Devil?" I spoke quietly but loud enough for it to echo slightly.
"Yeah?" Devil studied the area around us, pushing his knife out of his sleeve by a millimetre.
"2nd building. 44th floor. Silent sniper in the left corner of the window aimed at Jesse's group in the 1st building. 1 bomb planted 5 metres behind me which is activated when stepped on. Their explosives guy is smart but not smart enough. They're not too good at camouflage either seen as I can clearly see 3 men stood about 250 yards behind you with knives." I informed, quietly but quickly.
Hayden discretely pulled a gun out of his waistband. I pulled my phone out and sent a quick alert for everyone to get undercover.
"Addy and Hayden get the sniper, Devil and I will get the jerks behind you. Then I'll set the bomb off. It's short distance so it won't blow anything up." I added as Hayden went to disagree. " You ready?" I whispered. They all nodded their heads in reply. "Three. Two. One. Game on, Motherfuckers." I shouted at the top of my lungs.
Hayden and Addy began firing as the 3 men moved towards Devil and I.
I slashed against two of them expertly, leaving them on the floor as they tended to their wounds. Devil took down his target instantly, sending a fatal stab to the heart.
I raised my eyebrows at his raw demonstration of pure callousness. "No mercy?"
Devil spat onto the corpse in front of him. "No mercy for monsters." I flinched back as he violently jabbed his knife into each of the withering men, slaughtering them like cattle.
For some bizarre reason, his words bothered me.
Not every monster was as horrific and savage as the world portrays them to be.
"What about the monsters who want to redeem themselves? That no longer do monstrous things?" I quizzed, wiping my knife on my jacket.
Devil pulled the knife out of the man's heart, shaking as much blood and skin off it as possible. "Just because a monster stopped behaving like a monster, doesn't make it any less of a monster. Monsters are like energy. They can't be created or destroyed. They can only change characteristics and shape. "
"You really believe that? That no one can be saved?" I hold my breath, anxiously awaiting his answer.
He pauses for a second, considering his answer. "I believe that every person is guilting of something."
"And is the only payment for that death?"
"For people like him." He points to the contorted corpse sprawled across the ground elegantly, "And people like me." He points to himself. "Death is the only payment and the only way to prevent any more pain."
"You don't believe you can be saved?" I ask hesitantly, studying him carefully.
"I'm too far gone, Astrid." He smiles, yet it appeared too cold and accepting to be genuine.
His eyes zero in on something behind me, and it didn't take me long to realise that that something was a person.
Thunder to be exact.
I swing for him, missing as he dodges at a rapid pace. My teeth grit unconsciously and my fist closes around the knife handle.
My blood pulses through my veins, harder and harder until I could physically feel my body shaking from the adrenaline. My nose twitched as the bittersweet scent of blood attacked me,
I see his legs shift and I prepare for the kick coming my way, already calculating how fast I can move and throw another punch. His foot flies out towards my ribs as I dodge and get one good punch in his inner thigh, throwing off his stance.
My fist flies towards him once again but Thunder was true to his name, quick and faultless. He defends his face against my uppercut and delivers a right hook to my face, sending me to the ground and causes the knife to skid across the concrete.
Blood is streaming down my face as I stare up at him. His face is equally as mangled, if not more, yet his eyes show no hint of retreat or surrender.
He hasn't said a word, hasn't attempted to make me acknowledge I killed his childhood sweetheart, despite it being mentioned in nearly all of our meetings.
He knows it, I know it. Our fists speak louder than words.
His fist tightened again and Thunder aims it towards my face. But before I am able to retaliate, or before his punch meets its target, one voice echoes throughout the base and silences all other fights.
" Stop."
I smirk internally, watching Thunder instantly follow Rogue's command. "Not so tough now, are you? Still following orders like a little bitch."
Following Thunder's gaze, I study his leader silently.
He doesn't appear to be carrying any weapons, and his smile is too self-assured to be planning anything risky.
Or at least, I think that.
Until I look at his hand.
"Rogue..." I warn, narrowing my eyes on a photograph held in his hand.
He's dead.
"Why the fuck do you have that?" I snap, stepping forward threateningly.
His eyes flash with an emotion that I couldn't decipher, yet I didn't care.
I wanted his blood.