a s t r i d
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Death too must be earned.
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Taylor Valentine is an enigma.
He ran his hands over my past- lingering over the dents and worn edges of my heart. And he didn't run away like I thought he would. Instead he told me that I was strong. He told me I belonged. He told me he would always protect me.
And for that, I love him.
But loving him is like a pure raw madness, which I know I'll never recover from.
He has the power to ruin me.
He swore to protect me.
But he couldn't swear something that he couldn't carry out.
I was a target, I've always been a target. But now I was a member of one of the most terrifying gangs in all the state.
And a part of me knew I wouldn't survive this war.
Taylor skimmed his fingers across my cheek, planting a final kiss on the corner of my lips. His touch left sparks in its wake, sparks that danced with lust and desire in my blood.
"I don't want to stay in the room Tay, I want to fight." I whispered to him, wrapping my arms across his neck and snuggling into his embrace.
"No matter what you do, I'll be by your side Astrid. But please, stay here. I can't fight if I'm constantly looking to make sure you're safe." He mumbled back, hiding his face in my hair.
"Okay." I replied softly, despite having no intentions of listening to him.
"I'll be back soon. Don't leave this room." He commanded softly, moving his face closer to mine.
His lips met mine with such a force that I would've staggered back if he hadn't have been holding me close to him. Our tongues fought for dominance as butterflies flew violently around my stomach, his fingers tangled themselves gently in my hair and somehow pulled my head even closer to his.
I pulled away from him, panting slightly as I tried to catch my breath. My fingers touched my now swollen lips automatically, gazing at the boy in a haze of desire and pain.
He walked away from me without looking back. And I knew why.
That wasn't a normal kiss.
That was his goodbye.
***
"You have no intention of staying, do you?" I turned around to see Scarlett looking at me with a matter-of-fact stare, her arms were crossed. Addy stood a few steps behind her, gazing at me with the same heartfelt expression.
"I can't let him die alone." I swallowed, tucking the gun into my waistband and securing the knives in my belt. "You guys are my family now, I'd rather die for something I believe in than live my life without reason."
"Do me a favor." She proposed, a hopeful glint in her sad eyes.
"Anything."
"Devil's out there fighting with Dylan. Save him, if you can."
I nodded my head at her, "I won't let any harm come to him. He's family."
I meant every damn word I spoke, I was going to get her brother back to her.
"Thank you for being my friends." I didn't go to embrace her or Addy, because I knew the tears would soon start flowing and I couldn't walk into a fight having a meltdown. They seemed to understand as their heads dipped in response.
I walked away from them in the same manner Taylor must've walked away from me- regretful and with a deep ache in my heart. A hand grabbed mine as I went to open the door, pulling me away and spinning me around.
"I know who you are, Ingrid."
I froze as my name left Xander's small lips, I stayed silent and waited for him to continue without breaking the grip he kept on my hand.
"None of us will survive this, Kensley, our deaths have been called for." He spoke in a clear voice, no sadness or pain entering at any moment.
"You sound like Dylan." I remarked quietly, trying to search his eyes for some shred of emotion.
"Promise me something." He let go of my hand, crossing his arms with a passive expression on his face. " Don't go searching for the broken glass. Run as fast as you can."
"Okay." I agreed confused, "I promise."
He wrapped his arms around my hips and unwrapped them in a second, not even giving me a chance to hug him back.
"Thank you Astrid, you made him happy."
Made.
I walked out of the door without another word, instantly walking into a room of blood.
Men fought relentlessly against their enemies, it didn't take long for me to notice River and Jesse fighting amongst the doomed soldiers. Sawyer and Shae stood slightly behind them, armed with nothing but knuckle dusters and their fists. I smiled at their bravery, it was a shame that it wouldn't be enough.
I jumped back as a fist made contact with my face, a shield of pain soon erupting from the point of contact. I hissed at the metallic taste of blood entering my mouth, the bitch broke my nose.
Without hesitating, I pulled a knife from my belt attempting to slash and stab at the large man's figure. He groaned as the knife opened skin surrounding his ribs, and fell as the blood began to leak out rather quickly.
I left him to die, taking Devil's advise.
No mercy.
I fought random people until my arms ached, I avoided using the gun hung heavily in my waistband as much as I could.
I fought for what felt like hours.
Sweat tickled my forehead as I stumbled into an empty room, I was back to near where I started.
A small body lay over another, a small sob leaving the person's chest.
They were both covered in blood, so much that it was hard to tell if I knew them or not. Either way, I felt an urge to try and help.
I moved closer slowly and quietly, looking up to see a familiar door wide open. The same door in which I closed just hours ago. My heart stilled when I realised what that meant: Addy, Scar and Xander were ambushed or they ran.
I internally prayed desperately for the latter.
But as I moved closer to the two bodies, I realised that one of them was no longer alive.
I kneeled down next to the boy, still not looking at his face. I ripped an unstained part of my shirt off, using it as a cloth to clean blood off the body's face.
My breathing hitched as I fought to stop the sobs arising in my body.
Scarlett.
My first friend, the first person to treat me as a teenager rather than an adult or a threat.
The same person who had pleaded for me to save her brother. She didn't question me when I left the Panic Room, because she understood.
I would honor her last wish.
I felt the urge to look at the sobbing figures face then, freezing as I did so.
Devil was crying over his sister's corpse.
The one thing I had soon learned when joining the Vipers was that, despite his age, Devil was the most ruthless and cold-hearted bastard I had ever met. He could still show kindness, yes- but he could slit my throat without a second thought.
He had witnessed his parents death, and I knew how terrifying and painful that very act was.
He was crying. The boy who never cried had broke at the sight of his sisters dead body.
"I will avenge her." He spoke suddenly, keeping his voice steady.
A lone tear escaped from my clutches, cascading its way across my face.
"We will kill every motherfucker who dared harm our family." I swore, gripping his hand. "No mercy for monsters." I repeated the same phrase he had muttered just weeks ago. His eyes locked with mine, showing me his agreement to the promise.
***
I knew joining a gang would have its repercussions. Little did I know that I would make friends with people who became family, and I would lose them in the same breath. I didn't know I would fall in love with someone.
I didn't know by joining a gang, I was signing my own death sentence.
How ironic, that my dear rescue by the Vipers was supposed to save me, yet it ended up cursing me instead.
I was ready to die. I didn't fear death. After all, why fear the inevitable?
Devil and I walked through the house as though we owned it. The fighting had calmed considerably, many bodies lay dead or dying on the floors. Some fights were still going on, we could hear the ragged breathing and grunts of pain from floors above us. In a way, we were searching for our casualties as well as any survivors from the enemies.
"No." I heard Devil mutter, spinning around suddenly my eyes landed on two idle bodies lay amongst the debris.
I knew Taylor Valentine would be the one to ruin me.
His body lay just metres away from Dylan's. Blood covered most of his face, but that smile was more familiar than anything in the universe.
A scream shattered the walls to my mind, it didn't take long for me to realize that scream was mine. Silent tears decorated my face like the blood decorated his. I fell to my knees, numbness spread over my entire body. I ignored the sound of Devil's cries as he pulled Dylan's head onto his lap, pulling his blood soaked hair away from his eyes.
I wished this was all a dream, a nightmare that haunted my mind at night. Yet the ache in my heart proved it wasn't some fucked up idea my mind had fabricated to make me suffer.
He promised he would never hurt me. He promised he would never let anybody hurt me again.
He broke both of his promises.
My tears hit his face lightly washing away specks of the blood. His forest green eyes were still open, the smile never left his face. I used my fingers to gently close his eyelids, sealing away the eyes forever.
No longer will there be comforting glances from across the room.
No longer will there be a spark in his eyes when he smiled.
No longer will there be a lustful demon dancing in the forest of his iris's whenever he glanced at me.
My happiness had shattered the moment his heart had stopped beating.
I wanted to scream, and shout, and cry. I wanted to rip someone apart for even looking at him in the wrong way. I wanted to resurrect him and kill him again for even thinking about dying on me, for kissing me like that and then walking away knowing he wasn't going to see me again.
But nothing came out.
I moved my head closer to his, letting the tears increase as the pain became almost unbearable.
"I love you. " My voice broke and I leaned my head on his chest, tightening my hands into fists in his shirt. I sobbed until no more tears came out.
What is the point anymore?
I would never see his eyes again. Or hear his laugh. I would never be able to melt into his arms when I felt like my mind was shattering.
And Dylan.
The boy like a little brother to us. The boy with a smile that could light up even the darkest of rooms. He was dead- gone. They had died together- fighting for family.
I stroked Taylor's hair until his forehead was clear, minus the blood. Moving my face towards his once again, I planted a small, final kiss on his temple and let the deadly tears hit his face as though they belonged there.
Looking up, I soon realised that the ruthless boy in front of me was no longer the one I had come to know. He was no longer Devil. I couldn't call him that anymore.
But Devlin? Yes.
Devil would never cry, or show this much emotion. He wouldn't show vulnerability, or hopelessness, or pain.
But I felt like Devlin would; Scarlett's little brother.
I often forgot that he, like me, was just a child. He's 14. I was only 2, maybe 3, years older yet it felt like decades.
"Thunder." A whisper broke the cries of agony.
"What?" I whispered back, catching Devil's torn stare.
He held a pendant in his hand, red from the amount of blood which covered it. A dark glint shone in the boy's eyes. Lily's. "Thunder was here. He killed them."
"There's no way Thunder could over-power Taylor and Dylan." I reasoned easily, shaking my head. "He would've needed help and only one person is strong enough to over-power these two with help and that's Rogue."
He's supposed to be dead.
As am I.
I scoffed, kissing my teeth as I continued speaking. "I'll kill him for even going near my family again." I cracked my knuckles, gently moving Taylor so his head was resting on the ground. "I'll be back soon. Stay here."
I handed Devil the knives in my pocket, making sure the only thing I had was my loaded gun.
"Where are you going?" He asked shakily, looking at the knives I had placed in his hands. I moved forward silently, holding Devil's neck protectively and kissing his forehead.
I moved my head slowly, inching towards his ear. "I'm going to show the bitches what happens when you fuck with a viper. Snakes always bite back."
***
I circled around my prey, holding the grip tightly in my crimson hand.
Rogue smiled at me in a way which showed me he knew exactly what my intentions were, "Don't make me kill you, Princess."
"I'm sure God couldn't even make you do anything you didn't want to do." I said without flinching, "If you kill me, it's on you. You ruined me anyway, so what's the point?"
"I wasn't the one who ruined you, Ingrid."
I flinched at the blunt bullet with my birth name wrapped around it. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I questioned dangerously, my finger lingered over the trigger.
"It means the people here now, the people killing your family. They killed your parents too. They are the reason why you don't have a real family."
This time I did flinch, the thought of my parents corpses littered my mind like a bad odour.
"You and Thunder killed Taylor." My voice came out quiet yet strong, I bit my lip in a pathetic attempt to stop the tears rolling.
"We did what we had to." A monotone. As if them lives meant nothing. Just a little speck of dust amongst a kingdom of dread and death.
"You haven't changed, Rio." I observed harshly, "You're still a coward."
"And you're still a shattered excuse of a Princess." The words weren't said cruelly, in fact they acted more like a reminder of all the grief I had overcome over the past years.
I held the handgun up in the air, moving forward and hitting him mercilessly with it.
He fell to the ground in seconds, giving me a perfect opportunity to grab his head and slam my knee into his nose.
I pulled up the handgun once again, pointing the barrel directly onto his head.
"Go on." The familiar voice rasped. His eyes met mine, his lips startlingly red with crimson blood. Slow, painful pants left his mouth as he gasped. "Finish it, Ingrid."
My hands wavered, my head span as adrenaline coursed nauseousness throughout my body.
His expression softened as he noticed my hesitation, "End it." His hand reached up to hold my wrist, my grip on the gun tightened. "You'll be a hero, Princess. The worlds has always been yours. You've fought amazingly. Your Mom and Dad would be so proud of you, kid. You can do it, it's alright. I forgive you."
"You want to die?" My hands shook at the thought of Dylan's dead body, caused by Rogue and his friend. My body was desperate to spill blood, to kill in vengeance for the lost children.
"Don't ask me that." His stare left mine, "I'd rather it be by your hands than theirs."
Theirs.
The Vipers or The Rivals?
I realized it didn't matter. He was just a mere pawn in the rulers game.
I kneeled down, looking Rogue in the eyes.
My voice come out quiet, but still so he could hear me. "You've been dead to me for a long time."
And with that, I pulled the trigger. Leaving him to rot and bleed out amongst the corpses.