by Andre Pisco
She just stood there watching me, the blurred makeup all over her face. Her eyes hid behind the black that surrounded them and her cheeks glistened under the fire.
It took a while but Ashen coughed up, a hoarseness in his voice due to his lungs that were probably filled with smoke, and then he spat on the floor.
"Calm down, calm down. It's okay. It's OK. You're safe." I told him when I saw him trying to get up, trying to close his fist even though he couldn't do it.
"They took... They took Gordon." He told me, almost without the strength to speak, "A human robot. I couldn't do anything."
"Don't speak Ashen. Rest. We have time for this later."
I didn't tell him we had dealt with one too. I could do it when he got better enough to call for help. I didn't want to be the one to do it, to tell someone on his cell phone that we needed help. A gasp coming from the trail that led us there sharpened our senses. We thought somehow the robot had come back to finish us off, to get his revenge. Elisa raised her arm at a 45-degree angle, as high as she could, and pointed to where the sound came from.
"It's us. Help me." Maggie said, after carrying Kendra over there through the muddy ground.
I hadn't noticed on the way there, but their clothes were torn, stained with grass and dirt. Even Kendra's white clothes seemed to have been attacked by a bear.
I got up and hurried to them, helping Maggie carry Kendra and placing her on the ground next to Ashen.
"Lipa called." Maggie said, "Elisa, the attack on the council..."
"What happened? Just tell me. Say it now. Don't just stand there." Elisa answered her, raising her voice and punching the ground.
"I'm sorry... She wanted to know if we were still alive. I don't think anybody survived to tell a story."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Lipa said it was a decoy. The whole council and whoever were attacking them were wiped out. There's no one left. I'm sorry."
"Shit. Damn it. I had friends there. It had to be what the albino was talking to your father about. I knew he had crazy ideas and wanted more than he had, but I never thought he would dare to do it. No one's ever tried to do it out of fear of the consequences. Just because they killed their leader doesn't mean that all the assassins who were under someone's orders will join the ones who survived. Loyalty is valued. Other leaders will emerge but will not have the same strength and support. It'll be anarchy until new bosses are established, and that takes years. The albino will be able to control the entire black market until then."
"Is that what he wants? Only Lenetius weapons on the market?" I asked. We were brainstorming, exchanging ideas and possibilities. The truth was uglier than that. We didn't know anything, we were in the dark, and it twisted our insides.
"Probably. I feel like I have to apologize for my father being so ruthless." Maggie said.
"It's not your fault. What we have to think about now is what to do. I won't stand still. I can't. I want to cause them as much pain as they caused us." Elisa said.
"We have to call somebody for help and be picked up. Besides, we need to show the recording to someone and get a new watcher." I said, speaking along the way, nonstop, "I know someone. A girl who was with me at the academy. She is excellent at this."
I groped Ashen's cloak pockets until I found his cell phone. The screen was scratched, but it still worked. It was only 12% battery and the image were hazy.
"Three. Cardinal." Ashen murmured.
I pressed those buttons and a soft male voice asked me who I was when he didn't recognize my voice. He also asked me who was the leader of my squadron and why I was calling him. Apparently, the rules said only Ashen could communicate with them. I didn't have time for bureaucracy.
I gave him a summary of what we'd been through. I told him about the human robot, Kendra's and Ashen's state, and I ended by saying that the base had burned to the ground until there was no more than charred wood and ashes left.
"I've already sent someone there. They will take your colleague and Ashen to our hospital. You and the rest will be brought here. If what you say is true, the rest of the groups will have to be informed." The man said, the voice getting more serious as he spoke, "It should take 15 minutes. You did good, Crash. That's your Hunter name, right? I already have my list of names here."
I told him yes, thanked him and waited for him to hang up.
There I stayed, with an arm wrapped around Elisa's warm body, under the fireflies that had not yet departed and the flames that dissipated throughout the air. The world was rotten. Being a Hunter hadn't become as hopeful as I expected. I hadn't put a smile on more people's faces than the ones I'd found out caused the harm. I had wounded friends and success was a long way off. But I still hadn't given up. I couldn't. Because as long as there was something I could do, as long as I could fight, I wouldn't let the world plummet into darkness.
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