I was moments away from slumber when my earphone buzzed on. I groaned and sat up straight.
“What now?!” I asked in a menacing tone. I didn’t like being woken up especially when it’s about work.
“Sorry to interrupt,” the operator said with no emotion, “but we have an assignment for you. We’ll send you a picture through your watch.”
I looked at my watch, waiting for the picture to take view. They messed with everyone’s wrist watch so that it could tell time, get mail, and grab pictures.
When the picture showed, I shook my head in frustration. “You have got to be kidding me.” It was a guy that looked totally average. He looked about my age maybe older, but there was something in his eyes that made me shiver. “I’ve worked with maniacs, murderers, and psychopaths. This is the best you can do?!”
“Orders are orders, Demetra,” the operator said, “I see them, you accept them.”
“Fine,” I grumbled as I got up and walked to another room. “but do you mind telling me why I’m doing this?”
“He’s been an enemy of the underground army for a while now and is extremely dangerous. He carries two swords on his back and is planning to take down the government at all costs. He was last seen wandering around the mountains in the area.”
“I’m on it,” I said buzzing out.
The floor boards creaked as I walked into the damaged place that was my room. The curtains were ripped and charcoaled at the bottom. The bed was covered in cobwebs and ash and dust. I went over to the closet where I stored all my things. I went into my bag and pulled out my mask. It covered every part of my face except my left eye so no one would recognize me. After that, I put on armor that guarded my arms. If I’m going to fight someone with swords, it’s good to prepare, I thought as I left the closet.
I tighten my gloves, flexed my claws, and went outside into the heavy rain.
As I hurdle myself through the thick forest, rain and wind continued to blockade my way. I began to get irritated and annoyed. I never liked having an opponent that can hide his scent. Demons have a superior sense of smell and track down anyone by sniffing them out. Just by knowing an unfamiliar scent or the smell of blood on their clothes. But because I had a mask over my nose, I couldn’t smell a thing.
I finally landed in a small clearing. I looked around, trying to find my way toward the mountains when I heard rustling leaves in the trees. The wind had stopped. I looked in the direction of the noise and drew my claws long and sharp.
“Come on out,” I said to the intruder, “No use hiding now.”
It was deathly quiet and the rain had lighten up, but then he finally fell from the tree and onto his feet. He had silver hair and lime green eyes. His face matched the picture and description on my watch. He had two swords sheathed and strapped to his back and had that same cold stare in his eyes that made me shiver.
“Thank you,” I said coldly, “you just made my job a lot less complicated now that I’ve found you.”
He laughed silently, “I’ve been hunted by you demons for the past four days and no one was able to defeat me. What makes you so different?”
“Cocky aren’t we,” I said, “you may have faced amateurs but you’ve never encountered a pro like me.”
“A girl?” he asked in mock humor, “you’ve got to be kidding me. What’s your name anyway?”
“I believe it is worthless to give one’s name to someone who’s going to die,” I said menacingly, drawing my claws.
He laughed again, but then unsheathed his swords, “Fine, I’ll fight you. But just to let you know, don’t expect me to go easy on you just because you’re a girl.”
“Just the way I like it,” I said, then rushed toward him.
He quickly held up his swords and blocked my claws. I backed up and tried to find my line of attack. But then he attacked without warning and sliced my shoulder. I quickly got up, ignoring the pain in my right shoulder. I straightened and picked up speed. He seemed to notice and matched it. I hadn’t met anyone who could match my pace. I wasn’t sure if he was human.
I finally did some damage, making four cuts in his chest.
He smiled menacingly, “You are different. I haven’t met anyone who could actually slice me up. And for that, I’ll tell you a little secret. This new government of yours, the reason why you’re trying to kill me, it’s all a trick. You’re being deceived.”
What he said shocked me. I knew he was trying to trick me.
I spat at the ground, “And you expect me to believe that pack of lies? Not likely.”
He shrugged, “Fine. Suit yourself.”
We continued to brawl after that. I didn’t know how long exactly but when we stopped, I was breathless.
I heard the sound of helicopter blades whipping in the air above us. When I looked up I could faintly see a sniper’s gun poking out of the window. Normally I would yawn at the sight of the gun, but then I did a double take and my heart seemed to stop.
It was a Nightshade shotgun. It’s a special kind of gun that could inflict major damage on a demon. It could even kill me.
Before I had time to react, the gun fired, it’s bullet piercing through my left shoulder. I fell to the ground in throbbing pain.
“Hey! You just shot one of your own men!” someone said.
I listened to the sound of the helicopter, then my vision blackened.
When I finally came to, I found myself back at the apartment. I looked down and saw that my cuts were bandaged and clean, but the gunshot wound was still fresh. When I tried to get up, it hurt even more.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I heard an unfamiliar voice. My mind went blank when the stranger walked in, carrying my bags.
It was the same guy with the swords still strapped to his back. His eyes were calm and peaceful and when he smiled there was no hatred, no malice.
“I managed to remove the bullet from your shoulder but the wound is still deep,” he said sitting into a crouch. That would explain my sleeve being torn off.
I looked at him suspiciously, “Why did you help me? You do know I can easily rip your head off if this is a trick.”
He shook his head, “It’s not a trick. Your own comrades shoot you down and tried to capture you. Turns out that they don’t want the idea of you turning on them because of the thought I gave you before. So I just grabbed you and ran.”
“How’d you know to take me here?” I asked still suspicious.
“You smelt of ash, soot, and burned wood, so I took a wild guess,” he said taking my arm and cleaning my shoulder.
I flinched a little, but then relaxed and let him do his work. After he wrapped my arm in gauze he packed up everything and put my bag to the side. He turned around and caught my wondering eye and smiled, “You still don’t trust me do you?”
I shook my head. “No, I trust you a little. It’s just that you seem so…different when we were fighting back at the clearing.”
He shrugged. “It happens all the time. It’s like I have two different personalities. At one time I’m calm and cool and the next I’m a murderous fighting machine.”
I nodded. That explains the change in mood. I still didn’t understand why he rescued me in the first place and why he’s telling me all of this. I decided to just play cool for now until I could truly trust him.
“Demetra.”
“What did you say?” he asked.
“My name is Demetra,” I said removing my mask and tossing it aside. I could smell that his scent was scattered everywhere. He must have been exploring while I was passed out. That wasn’t the only thing I found out. He didn’t smell…human to me. He didn’t smell like a demon either. I wasn’t sure what that scent was.
“I’m Ryu,” he said interrupting my thoughts. “How old are you anyway?”
“Seventeen,” I said, not caring.
He nodded, “No wonder you looked so young.”
“So do you,” I retaliated.
“Yeah but I’m eighteen. I’m an adult,” he said.
“Just because you’re eighteen doesn’t automatically make you an adult,” I said, “Plus you’re only a year older than I am. You’re not officially an adult.”
“Whatever,” he said sitting several feet away from me.
The whole apartment went still. My mind began to wonder through my thoughts, trying to find some sense into what just happened. I went through them one by one. I was assigned to kill a boy named Ryu who wants to destroy the government, the same daily routine. Then I find out that I was being tricked and the government is just using me for their own selfish reasons. I was shot by one of my own and was rescued by the person I supposed to kill. And he didn’t smell human. It didn’t make any sense. Nothing made sense any more.
I let out a hard sigh and shook my head. When I turned, I realized that Ryu was staring at me. “You got a problem?” I asked, getting annoyed.
“No, it just that…that scar,” he said, “how did you get that scar on your eye? Did I do that?”
I shook my head. “No. I highly doubt that you could ever land a cut on my face. This was done by a demon I ran into years ago. His name was Vladimir. He was in the same squadron I was and we got along pretty well sometimes. Which is unusual with demons. Normally demons would get into fights and stuff but he tried his very best to avoid conflict between us. Then people began to think that he might have fallen in love with me. I thought it was true and went to go ask him one day. Then I over heard that he went out of control and started to attack everyone including his own team mates. I couldn’t believe it and continued to look for him. But when I found him….I couldn’t believe my eyes. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands smelt of human and demon blood. I tried reasoning with him, but he wouldn’t listen and just attacked me without warning and made a deep cut in my right eye. Then he ran off. This scar will never leave my face.”
Ryu didn’t say anything. I knew I shouldn’t have told him.
“Thanks,” he finally said, “for telling me.”
I looked at him, shocked and confused.
“There’s one more thing I want to know,” he said. “What kind of gun was that? You know…the one that made that deep wound.”
I looked at him suspiciously.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone,” he said sounding sincere.
I sighed. “It’s called the Nightshade. It’s the only gun that can pierce through a demon’s flesh with no problem and cause major damage. If it were to go through the heart, it would instantly kill a demon in one shot. I was lucky it didn’t pierce all the way through,” I shifted toward his direction, “Now I have a question for you…why did you save me?”
He was silent for a moment as if trying to find the right words.
“I saved you because I know on the outside you’re a demon…but on the inside you’re someone who’s just as innocent as anyone else in this world. You were shot down by your own team mate in cold blood and you didn’t have a clue why so it was my job to save you.”
I was astonished. I looked over at him, trying to see any signs of trickery. But when I looked into his eyes, he seemed sincere and truthful. I hadn’t met anyone who didn’t have any signs of deceit in their eyes before.
I quickly looked down. I didn’t want to believe it was true. No one ever treated me like that ever since Vladimir scarred me. It felt weird to have the feeling back again. I struggled to get to my feet but the pain in my shoulders prevented me from getting up. Ryu gently took my arm and held me by my waist and lifted me onto my feet. I stared at him then walked to my room.
“I’m going to rest for a while,” I said, “You’d better head back to where ever you came from before you get in trouble.”
I’m wasn’t sure he listened or not but I didn’t turn around to see. I went toward the corner of the room where there was a mat and a pillow. That was where I slept every night. I lay my head and closed my eyes.
