They broke into my cell.
"Good morning. Have you already decided, or do you need one more day?" Orion asked.
"I will speak. I won't let you kill more humans," I replied.
All three smiled ominously but pleased. I felt desolate, abandoned, as I had been since my parents died.
"Are you sure? You could put off your death if you let that scum die first."
"No thanks," I mumbled, tightening the edge of the mattress I was sitting on.
How did he dare to scoff? It was hard enough for me. I felt breathless, still wanting to cry, but I had no idea where I had drawn the strength to accept my death.
"Excellent. Don't worry. I'm a man of my word," he assured.
I nodded cautiously. The three crossed their arms while waiting.
"Well, it was found in the stool of a person with botulism, an ancient disease, so good luck trying to find it," I said with some sarcasm. "To summarize: it causes fatal paralysis in the victim."
"And how much is required?" Orion asked.
"Two billionths of a gram of this can kill a man, we don't know how much is required for you, but I assume it doesn't vary too much."
"And the way to expand it?"
"A special missile, which is still under development."
"Where is it located?"
"In some secret base in the capital, but I don't know where exactly it is. It is also not part of the deal," I finished.
Orion smiled. Altair gave a short sinister laugh, and Sirius stared at me with those still beautiful flashing green eyes. I would never see them again, and it pained me to know that they would be the last.
"Humans are so easy," Orion scoffed. "I was hoping I'd have more fun, anyway." He sighed heavily. "Sirius, it is all yours now. You can kill her."
I was startled. Orion leaned against the wall next to Altair.
My body betrayed me. After having believed that I would be able to accept it, I felt horror invade me. Sirius approached me, and the others prepared for the show. I stood up and instinctively backed away. I was lost.
"Sirius... please..." I whispered, trembling.
"Don't worry. You won't suffer. I promise," he assured, but I found no mercy in his face or tone of voice.
He did not even care, and that destroyed me.
"No!"
He pounced on me, and I managed to dodge him just as I did long ago when he was trying to teach me how to defend myself.
I ran to the door, but Altair blocked my path and pushed me down. I stood up and ran to the wall aside. Sirius was glaring at me. They would play with me like cats with mice before they killed me.
"What happens, Sirius? I've seen you do better," Orion complained.
"Who would have thought you taught me how to dodge well," I said with the bit of courage I had.
Sirius growled at me and grabbed my neck but still not squeezing, my pulse hammering in my head.
"Hurry up, or I'll do it. I wanted to see blood," Altair demanded.
"Yes," I whispered. "You are very slow. You should feel embarrassed," I said again with a bit of roughness. I felt rage and pain because he would be my executioner.
Sirius showed me his fangs along with a loud growl. Altair and Orion chuckled, satisfied.
"This gets good," Altair exclaimed. "She is asking you to make her suffer."
"Enough! Get out. You distract me!" Sirius growled at them.
He released me, shoved the two evolved men out, and slammed the door shut. I heard them walk away laughing, and Sirius looked at me. My time had come. I could see the fury burning in his eyes. In fact, it was the only thing I could see before he pounced on me. I closed my eyes and let out a scream as I felt his strong thrust against me.
Nothing was happening...
I opened my eyes. He had me tightly hugged. I felt his muscles tense around me, and I realized he was whispering something.
"Sorry... I had to do all this. Please, forgive me. I will get you out of here, I swear it. I'm so sorry..."
I was in shock. What was all this? Another dirty trick? I couldn't stand it. A trick or not, my body vibrated, and I broke into a silent cry. Maybe I was already dead, and this was my paradise.
"Don't worry, don't be scared, please," he whispered.
He took my arm and gently ran his tongue over the small cut Altair had caused me when he pushed me hard. My tears continued to flow. My heart was pounding with shock, and panic, seeing Anthony back. It was him; it was his eyes full of so many feelings. He looked at me with a lot of remorse and hugged me again.
"Forgive me," he asked with a sigh.
I held on to him, and a strong feeling hit me. I had missed Anthony too much. I thought I was dead, this couldn't be real, and I didn't want to let him escape. I could wake up at any moment, and it would be my end. I would die of pain.
This had to be another one of those horrible dreams where I was happy. I drowned my tears. I didn't want to wake up if it was a dream or a hallucination. If this was death, I didn't want to return.
He stroked my hair. Without a doubt, this was my brain saying goodbye to this life. I wanted to clarify everything going through my mind, to my hallucination, to end that unfinished chapter before disappearing from this world.
I took the collar of his shirt with my right hand and kissed him at the level of his collarbone. His scent surrounded me and made me gasp with happiness, so I gave him another kiss on his neck. He looked at me, and I gave him another kiss on his chin. Before he could react or disappear, I leaned closer, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him lightly.
Electricity ran through my body, and my heart skipped hitting my chest. I gave him a fleeting glance, and he looked confused, as I supposed he would be, maybe wondering what the hell I was doing. I went back to provide him with another short kiss on the lips, but I couldn't wait any longer, so I opened my lips against his and kissed him softly, feeling his warm texture.
He opened his lips a little demurely, and I felt that he froze when I took advantage of that, kissing him intensely, completely possessing that mouth I had wanted so much, besot with his breath and his heat.
I held him tighter as I kissed him, and he reciprocated somewhat insecurely. I wanted to merge with him. My fingers ran through his silky dark hair, and I used my lips to gently tug on his bottom lip, enjoying its perfect thickness.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me tightly without separating a bit from my mouth, lifting me off the ground and bringing me closer to his height. He gave a low moan surrendering to me, and I kissed him with more passion and ardor, enjoying every second, even feeling the soft touch of his fangs from time to time.
"Sirius, how are you doing?" Altair asked from the other side of the door.
We both stopped short and looked at each other in surprise. I started shaking again. Was it real?!
Anthony cleared his throat.
"All good. I'll be right out," he replied as he released me. "Bring me the black bag."
"Sure," said Altair, and I could detect glee in his response.
I was blushing, breathing hard, and my heart was racing. Anthony looked at me with concern.
"Lie down on your bed and stay there. Pretend to be dead, okay?" he whispered.
I nodded slowly, still flying in my kiss reverie. I lay on the bed, feeling the beat of the kiss on my lips. I wanted to smile, but at the same time, I was petrified. There was a knock on the door, and I was startled and closed my eyes, trying to stay as still as possible, absurdly praying that my heart's intense pounding wouldn't make the bed vibrate.
"What's up?" Altair asked, apparently smiling.
"She gave a good fight," Anthony replied as he approached me.
I heard the characteristic sound of plastic, indeed one of those body bags, I couldn't say. I let myself be manipulated by him because I knew Altair was still around, and I had to be careful. He put me in the bag and closed it. I heard him move some stuff, then he picked me up, and we left the cell.
We advance through the building. I could hear the echo of their steps. Altair was behind, so I remained very relaxed. It sounded like we passed through a larger room.
"Well done, Sirius." It was Orion. "Your mom can stay easy now. You have cleared her name. Did the girl implore for her pathetic life?"
"Oh yes, she did," Anthony replied.
He sounded pleased, and I could swear he was smiling at that moment. I felt chills.
"Perfect, you like that."
I didn't like hearing these things. I couldn't and didn't want to think about how many had died at the hands of Anthony while he gave them that satisfied predator look and an evil smile. It was horrifying.
I shuddered involuntarily. An assassin was carrying me. He had brought me here, he had hugged me, I had slept in his arms, I had felt safe at his side, and I blamed myself for continuing to feel secure as he pulled me out of there.
I reminded myself that he was not Anthony, which had never been his real name. He was Sirius, another evolved savage assassin, just like the others, a formidable killing machine. Now I knew that nothing he had said was probably true, and I had kissed him. I had kissed a stranger!
We had already left the building, and nobody seemed to be following us. Sirius quickened his pace and walked a good stretch until he stopped. I could hear the running of a nearby river. Indeed, he would leave me there, and I would have to run away while he returned to that place to continue his life.
He opened the bag, and I saw his worried look.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes," I replied dryly. I stood up, and he helped me, but I quickly let go of his hand. "Well, thank you. You can go now. I must get to the capital," I said, still trembling.
He looked at me, confused.
"Do you know how to get there?"
"I don't care. I don't want you with me!" He tightened his lips. I couldn't believe that a ruthless EH could feel sadness, but he could fake it. "You don't have to keep pretending, okay? I know you don't feel the slightest appreciation for me. I must admit that you pretended perfectly. Orion is proud of you."
He looked at me with a frown.
"You are wrong. I have not pretended anything with you. I have pretended before them."
"Oh my, what a relief," I said sarcastically.
"What was that? I feel that you are not serious."
"Well, that's the idea!" I replied.
The fury I felt for the deception had just come to be present.
"I know. I deserve your hatred," he murmured.
"Yes, keep that in mind. Now disappear from my life!" My voice broke at the end. "Damn," I exclaimed in frustration.
I covered my mouth as treacherous tears filled my eyes, ruining my brief moment of dignity.
"Don't cry... please," he asked in a soft tone.
"Shut up!" I managed to sob. "You hurt me a lot," I added, still crying.
The bitter cry began to flow uncontrollably. My silly body now decided to vent all the horror I had felt. Sirius approached me, and I instinctively walked away.
"Don't touch me. I hate you!" I screamed while crying.
He wrapped his arms around me, and I gave him a couple of blows to the chest, but it didn't work. He pressed me more against his body, and I ended up giving up and hugging him tightly, almost digging my nails into his back.
"I will take you to the capital. I promised," he whispered. "Then, I will disappear from your life."
"I don't need you to keep your promises now after what you did to me."
"Well, I promise it again now. I promise."
"Whatever," I replied dryly and with a broken voice.
"Please, you must remain strong. You are alive and have to see what to do with what you have now, understood? Come on. We must go. We are still close. We must camouflage our aroma with something."
He broke away from me, and I just stood there hugging myself. He returned in a few minutes with the seeds of a Molle. A local tree that expelled a strong smell from its seeds, which hung from its branches.
"Pass it over your body."
We covered ourselves with that powerful aroma as much as we could. My hands still trembled, and tears welled up in my eyes. I never liked that smell very much, but now it was a kind of salvation. He rubbed my backpack too and gave it to me. I looked at him, confused, he turned around and motioned for me to climb onto his back, so I had to do it reluctantly.
He ran as fast as he could to get away from there. The Molle was abundant in that area, so it would take a long time to locate our aroma when the trees were no longer present.
He slowed down several miles from the place. He had good resistance. He didn't let me get off his back and kept walking through the woods.
"If Orion finds you..." I murmured.
"He will kill me," he replied casually.
I couldn't help but worry, lightly tightening my grip around him. I laid my cheek on his shoulder again, closed my eyes, and fell asleep, tired of crying.
***
When I woke up, it seemed that the afternoon had already begun. I felt starving. Sirius noticed that I had already woken up and looked at me.
"We are far enough. Put me down," I asked.
He stopped, and I got off his back, moving away without looking at him. We continued walking, he took the backpack from my back, and I gave it to him still without looking at him.
"Thank you, how considerate... That reminds me of how considerate you were in taking me to meet your adorable tutor and your peers."
He kept his serious gaze straight ahead.
"Don't think it was easy for me," he said. "It wasn't. I was dying to break Altair's face, although that would have cost my life, and worse, your life too, after Orion finished me off."
"I'd have liked to see that," I replied.
"Don't worry. You will likely see it in the not-too-distant future. But I am ready to pay the consequences."
"Don't think I feel better, Sirius. After all, they killed that man. And then you really tried to kill me."
"There was nothing I could do for him. The world is like that. It was him or you, and I will always choose you. As for the other, I just looked for a way to get them out of there so they wouldn't see that I wouldn't actually kill you. I didn't think you'd turn out helping me with that."
"Wow, good for me then," I said sarcastically. "I saved myself, and you didn't have to enjoy killing me while I implored for my life."
"What Orion said is not true... I do know hunting and killing animals without making them suffer, but..."
"Shut up!" I cut him off, looking furious. "He told me himself that he trained you and that you were an effective and bloody murderer, so stop trying to lie to me."
He didn't change his expression, but I could see a certain sadness in his gaze.
"It is true, he trained me, and it has been hard to pass his tests, but I am not a murderer. I will never understand why my mom was forced to hand me over to him. She said it was to clean up her honor, and of course, I would do anything to help her... but I don't know what she did because as a kid, you can't ask, you can't judge."
"All I know is that you are full of lies."
"Sorry."
"I don't forgive you, not this time."
"You were courageous to decide to speak so that we would not hunt for more humans. I was relieved because I didn't want to do it again and would get you out sooner, but... Those are things that stay with you. I won't be able to erase anything, and I'm sorry you saw it." He huffed, frustrated.
This time I couldn't answer. I clenched my fists, wanting to cry again. All his life, they had shaped him to be something he was not... He seemed to notice it and wanted to get closer, but I moved away.
"Don't come near me, Sirius," I warned him.
"They had me tracked; they knew my position at every moment. If I deviated, they would come for both of us. And also, before leaving, they began to watch my mom; if I failed, I'm sure they would do something to her in the main square. That's why I went to see her as soon as I came back. A parent is responsible for what the son does, so I didn't want her to be made to pay more for me. Now that I am done, they can't touch her anymore..."
"You could have told me."
"I didn't know how you would react; you could do something that would have made them realize or something... Forgive me."
"Stop asking for forgiveness because I won't, okay? I will not forgive you."
"I know... but I try..."
"Besides, you pretend so perfectly that I don't even know if you're telling me the truth, so I'll assume no, for now." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that he looked at me for a few seconds. "I'm hungry," I commented.
He stopped, took a can of food from the backpack, opened it, and gave it to me. I didn't say anything to him and started eating.