Zero
Lord of Altera
*note: nothing to do with Altera
*warning: Blood and langue
“Spider squad right?” The small Black hair girl asked as she was waved into the building. The guard at the door looked down at her. His head was shaved and bare, a small spider was tattooed onto his cheek. With a nod he pushed the door open and made a quick jab with his gun pointing into the room. The girl started slowly walking into the building before getting a hard shove from the guard outside. Landing on the floor inside the light from outside was quickly cut off as the door closed. Tilting her head up to look around the building all she could see were other kids not much older than herself.
Another guard soon came over to her and grabbed her arm and pulling her up to face him. “You new here or something spit-for-brains?” His tone was harsh and cruel, but not knowing what else to do she nodded slowly. “Figured. Got a squad yet?” Shaking her head “No?” it wasn't long before she was being pulled across the room to a group of older boys that stood in the corner. Tossing her in front of them he grinned. “Welcome to Fang squad. This will be your new home.” With that he turned and went back to the door where another kid had just been “dropped off” inside.
One of the boys, probably only ten or so pushed himself off the wall and knelled next to her curled up form. “Hey, bitch! You got a name? Or do we have to beat it out of you.” Her eyes suddenly got very wide at this. She had never heard anyone threaten her before. Her mouth tried working out a name but nothing came out but the quickening of her breath. The boy smiled and stood up again. Quickly his foot made contact with her stomach. Whatever air was in her lungs was quickly forced out with a cough and a gag. Pushing her over and planting his foot down on her chest. “Name now. Or are we going to just have to call you bitch for the rest of our “wonderful” time together.” A small spike of laughter came from the other boys at this.
Looking up at him she somehow whispered her name to him before another kick landed against her side from one of the other boys. “Thorn...What a stupid name.” He mocked as he moved his foot off her chest and started kicking her again. Quickly she tried curling up into a ball to protect herself from the kicks that soon came more rapidly as the other boys joined in. This went on for what seemed like forever to Thorn, but soon the boys grew bored with her and left her to stay curled up on the ground. They went back to telling their stupid stories to each other, never minding what this new girl could be planning in her head. Yet really, Thorn wasn't thinking anything against them. Her mind was still in shock from what all just happened. To many things were new. The guards at every door, the kids crying and screaming only to quickly be silenced by a guard with a beating. All of it seemed too much for Thorn.
The days seemed to take years to pass now. Everyday the guards would come into the bunk houses and wake everyone up at no later than three in the morning. Anyone who didn't get up would be beaten on the spot. Thorn quickly learned that when people were to get up, you better get out of bed and dressed quickly. One the one day a week they had time to themselves, Thorn would go off alone and look over her bruised and beaten body. The purple blue flesh stood out strongly against her pale tan skin. They were always there too, never really having time to heal before a new one came along. Still she always told herself every morning. “Things will get better...They must get better...Right?” But now even those words seemed hollow and empty.
Well it was that way till the new girl joined her squad. She was older than the other boys and didn't take anything from them. The one time they tried beating her down into her “place” they all ended up in the infirmary with broken arms, ribs, and legs. Thorn thought this was great someone would was willing to get down and dirty with the other members of the squad. Quickly Thorn tried making friends with the new girl, but things did not go well at first. Anytime Thorn thought she was close to becoming friends with the new girl the guards came over and pulled one of them away for something. When that first “free” weekend came Thorn made a promise to herself that she would learn to be friends with this girl, she even knew her name now. Mist. A calming name it seemed and more reason to get to know her.
“M-mist?” Thorn asked walking up to her from behind. Mist quickly turned around and leveled a small knife against Thorn’s neck.
“What do you want Thorn. Did it really take you this long to learn my name?” She asked coldly drawing the blade back and holding it tightly in her hand.
“I...I just wanted to talk with you...You know...About things. We are the only girls in our squad and we don’t even really know each other.” The statement or invitation seemed to catch Mist off guard. Still she smiled and agreed.
Walking off into the woods near the base but still within the fence, they sat on a log near a running stream. They talked and laughed quickly becoming friends. Thorn told her the story of her first day here and what the boys had done to her. Mist frowned at this and started ranting at Thorn about the fact she needs to learn to stand up for herself.
Week after week past and the two of them became very close. Some of the other squads started making fun of Thorn when Mist wasn't with her. “Where is your Mother? Is the little bitch lost without her Mother!?” They would go on and on. Yet none of it really bothered Thorn. Maybe its because it was true. She had started to think of Mist as a mother figure in her young life. She made her happy and kept her safe from the others.
Still a “perfect” world where there is always someone to protect you can’t last forever. When that day came that Thorn’s world shattered in front of her changed something deep inside. Waking up early on their “free” day Thorn quickly ran off to see Mist again. Bursting through the door she found the bunk house empty. No one was there the only sound was that of Thorn’s panting after running there. Making her way inside and over to Mist’s bed, she found a note stuck partly under her pillow. Pulling it out she saw only her name on the outside of it.
Slowly unfolding the note she read it slowly taking in every word written in it.
“Thorn, child. I know what the others have done to you. I know what they say when I am not standing next to you, but I must leave now. I can not tell you why, but I leave you will a small gift to remember me by. Also dear child. Stand up for yourself now. You are ten now. Keep safe.”
Tears were rolling down Thorn’s cheeks now, but the ending to the note is what made her freeze up even more. Mist had not signed it off with her name, but with “Mother”. Taped to the bottom of the note was a small blood red necklace with silver wire wrapped around it. Slowly picking the tape off it and holding it up to the fake lighting in the room. Thorn could see bubbles in the crystal making her think it wasn’t real crystal but crystallized blood. Holding it tightly to her chest Thorn made one last promise to Mist. One she swore to keep till her death, whenever that was.
Opening her eyes slowly before closing them again from the harsh light shining down into her face. Turning her head to the side before opening her eyes again. Thorn was looking into the face of her new commanding officer, Russell the tag said. He had been training her since a few years ago after a trip she had to the infirmary when she got into a fight with the rest of the boys in her squad. Despite the loss of two of the boys Russell and the other guards and officers seemed rather happy with Thorn. She could never figure out why but she didn't care. She knew that the rest of her squad had done something to Mother and she wasn't about to let them slide off with that “win” unharmed.
“Rise and shine Metalfang.” He said in his normal tone. Which compared to most other officers was a lot quieter. She liked that. Meant you didn't have someone yelling at you when you were just having a nice talk.
“I...I thought I asked you to stop calling me that, sir...” She was still trying to fight back the drugs that she knew were in her system from the night before. Another fight with another squad. Something that happened a lot now that Fang squad was just her.
“Whatever, but come on. You still have a lot of training to do. After all if you want a day to yourself for your seventeenth birthday tomorrow you better work hard today.” He smiled and stood up.
She looked over at him surprised. No one ever remembered her birthday. Still if it meant a day off then it was all worth it in the end. Sliding off the bed in the medical room, her feet landing quietly on the cold tiled floor that made her gasp. “D-do you people ever heat these rooms!?” Walking quickly to catch up with him while pulling her gear on over the few clothes she had on. He said nothing back to her, just the small smile that creeped across his face showed he got a little amusement out of it.
The day past quick as they went from one place to another. The gun range, sparing pits, mess hall. back to the range. It was all just a big loop now to Thorn. Nothing ever changed around here. Just the normal new batch of people showing up. Still it made Thorn sick to know she came here as an eight year old and was now turning seventeen tomorrow. All that time she never had a true childhood. It had all been drilled out of her. Now she was nothing but a killer who liked seeing blood pool on the ground from her enemies. That and her temper was a lot worse. Some around the base called her short fuse now, but never within ear shot after she beat an officer for calling her that. She grinned looking back at the memory of it all. It was something that should have happened long ago to that officer.
By the end of the day she was tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Still even this didn't come easily to her. The heat of the night was something she never had really adjusted to either. The heat that never seemed to go away. The dry air that made it hard to breath. Even just sleeping through the night would be a hard things to do on a normal day. But it would be even harder now that Thorn’s birthday was tomorrow. Tossing and turning on her bed, it was harder tonight for her to fall asleep even with how tired she was.
Before long Thorn was looking out the window at the morning sun rise. Not finding any real reason to sleep or her body even letting her fall asleep. She had gotten up and just watched everything out her window. It had been odd though. The other “Kids” had been moved out of their bunk houses in the middle of the night under the watch of the other guards. Yet no one ever came to get her from her bunk. Rubbing the back of her head a little she leaned in the window sill and looked outside again.
That was when Russell slammed open the door and rushed into the room. The noise made Thorn jump and land on the floor with a thud. He looked down at her in surprise. “Your up? Whatever its time to go. If I can’t you out of here soon then we both will be counted as K.I.A.” His words made Thorn shiver and she could feel it in her core. He meant what had been said. Quickly she ran over to her bunk and pulled a case out from under it. Flipping it open she pulled a MP7 from the case along with twin P99 pistols. Slinging the MP7 over her shoulder so it rested at her side then stuffing the pockets of her shorts with the magazines from the case. She turned to face Russell who was now against the wall near the side of the room where he had entered.
“You sure look ready.” He added as he looked over at her. His tone was that of a joke but he still meant it. She was always ready no matter what happened when she was around. Moving over to the door next to him she closed her eyes for a little longer then what a normal blink would be. Exhaling softly she opened her eyes. Her icy blue eyes looked at the guns in her hand as if they were just fingers and part of her body. Training was something she hated more than most of the people around the base but now she wasn’t holding it back. She was a puppet and was happy to know this. Because now, she knew that she would live to see another day after this.
Without another word they both ran out of the building toward the docks. There were few times that she had been down there, but every time there was always a boat. If not a boat then a car or something that could be used to get somewhere. The paths were empty and only the sound of birds could be heard as they moved, but even those sounds soon died away. Then there was only the sound of their breathing and the clicks of their shoes hitting the metal grated floors.
As the minutes past Thorn seemed to enter her trance even more. Leaving Russell behind she rushed forward to the docks. Moving up against the doorway that led to the docks she looked around the doorway. What was inside made her eyes widen. They were everywhere Other mercs with the symbol of the snake. The snakes were always trying to remove the spiders at any chance they could get. The pieces were starting to make sense now. The spiders had not come to wake her up for a reason. They wanted her to prove that all the time they had spent on her was not going to waist. They wanted her to take out the snakes.
This thought now made Thorn grin with blood-lust. Taking a little under a minute to double check the magazines of her guns. She held them close to her chest before ducking through the doorway and onto the docks. Moving behind a crate, she looked over the top. What was in front of her would have made anyone else jump. One of the snakes was right there with their back to her. His knife pointed up on his shoulder. Moving her arms quickly she set her twin pistols on the ground and placed her hand over his mouth while grabbing his knife. She could feel his hands trying to pull her’s away from his mouth. Spinning the knife around in her hand once before driving the blade into his neck. His body tensed once before going limp and falling to the floor with the knife still there.
Ducking back behind the box and picking up her guns again. Taking a deep breath she stood up and fired once at a snake standing over by the boat they came in on. The crack of the gunshot echoed in the enclosed space. His head snapped to one side before his body followed and fell into the water. Already on the move again, Thorn could feel the eyes tracking her as she ran to the far side of the docks. More gunshot cracks rang out as the snakes started shooting at her. Everything seemed to become a blur at this point to Thorn. The movements, the reloading, and the shooting. The bodies falling into the water made no sound to her. She was numb and doing what she was trained to do. Take lifes.
The gunfight didn’t last longer than a few minutes. Finally coming back to reality, Thorn looked down into water. She could see the blood splashed against her face. It dripped over her eye and down her cheek. The vision in her right eye was slowly turning red from the blood. Taking a deep breath she could taste the iron from the blood on the air. It was unlike anything she had tasted before. It flooded her mind and made her want more. Moving to the middle of the room she kneeled down on the ground. The wind that blow into the covered docks moved the smell of blood around clearer in the middle. Thorn stayed there till Russell came running in. He stopped looking around before turning his gaze to her.
“Did you do all this?” His voice was cold but not harsh. She could hear his footsteps getting closer. All she did in reply was nod. Coming over he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Then I think you are ready.” He grabbed her arm and started pulling her up to her feet. Letting go he started walking out of the room.
Taking another deep breath, She shivered. The smell of fresh blood was something Thorn would never forget. Maybe even something she could never give up. Turning and following Russell off the docks, she ran a little to catch up with him. She could still feel the wet blood on her face from when she shoot the last snake who was begging for his life. Looking back on that moment gave her the chills as she remembered the blood splashing against her face. Russell never said a thing as they walked.
The other kids were already being brought back into the base. Either the dock was the only place taken or the other guards had already dealt with the other snakes. The kids looked at Thorn with scared looks. She could only think of how at one time she may have looked at someone else in the same way. They were scared of a killer. Still they didn't know that they were looking on what they would one day become.
After ten minutes they had reached a smaller building in the back of the base. There were a few other there, many of them just gave quick nods to Thorn and smiled. This made her uneasy but still she knew after what happened none of them would try something stupid. Entering the building there was a small table in the entryway. Russell waved Thorn over to a chair and went to a desk and got on the phone. After a minute a door opened and a slender woman came out. Looking over at Thorn she smiled. “You are Thorn right?” She asked in a soft tone that made Thorn even more uneasy.
“Yes ma’am.” She said standing up.
The woman laughed and looked at her. “Dear don’t worry about formalities here. After all you are our child now.”
Thorn looked over at Russell confused. “I don’t think I understand ma’am. When did I become your child?”
“Well. Just now really. You just showed that all the time we spent training you wasn’t put to waist.” She stepped forward and grabbed Thorn’s arm. “After all you are a spider.” She smiled and pulled Thorn into the back room where she came from.
The room was darkly lit. Just candles burned in the corners of the room. The windows had been painted over with just black paint and then covered by black sheets. The woman walked Thorn over to a chair and told her to sit before she went to the back of that room to get something. Sitting down the chair was hard and didn't really have any patting. When the woman came back she was holding a tattooing needle in her hand.
Grabbing Thorn’s arm, she pinned it to the armrest of the chair. “Don’t worry dear. The sooner you hold still the sooner we can make you a true spider.” She dug the needle into Thorns forearm. her arm twitched but soon fell still. The ink spread under her skin. Taking deep breaths she closed her eyes and tried not to move. After an hour, her arm was red and hurt, but the inking was done. A rich dark black spider had been tattooed into her forearm. It’s legs wrapping around to the back of the forearm. She looked down at it with a smile. She knew what she was now. A true spider of fang squad.
*warning: Blood and langue
“Spider squad right?” The small Black hair girl asked as she was waved into the building. The guard at the door looked down at her. His head was shaved and bare, a small spider was tattooed onto his cheek. With a nod he pushed the door open and made a quick jab with his gun pointing into the room. The girl started slowly walking into the building before getting a hard shove from the guard outside. Landing on the floor inside the light from outside was quickly cut off as the door closed. Tilting her head up to look around the building all she could see were other kids not much older than herself.
Another guard soon came over to her and grabbed her arm and pulling her up to face him. “You new here or something spit-for-brains?” His tone was harsh and cruel, but not knowing what else to do she nodded slowly. “Figured. Got a squad yet?” Shaking her head “No?” it wasn't long before she was being pulled across the room to a group of older boys that stood in the corner. Tossing her in front of them he grinned. “Welcome to Fang squad. This will be your new home.” With that he turned and went back to the door where another kid had just been “dropped off” inside.
One of the boys, probably only ten or so pushed himself off the wall and knelled next to her curled up form. “Hey, bitch! You got a name? Or do we have to beat it out of you.” Her eyes suddenly got very wide at this. She had never heard anyone threaten her before. Her mouth tried working out a name but nothing came out but the quickening of her breath. The boy smiled and stood up again. Quickly his foot made contact with her stomach. Whatever air was in her lungs was quickly forced out with a cough and a gag. Pushing her over and planting his foot down on her chest. “Name now. Or are we going to just have to call you bitch for the rest of our “wonderful” time together.” A small spike of laughter came from the other boys at this.
Looking up at him she somehow whispered her name to him before another kick landed against her side from one of the other boys. “Thorn...What a stupid name.” He mocked as he moved his foot off her chest and started kicking her again. Quickly she tried curling up into a ball to protect herself from the kicks that soon came more rapidly as the other boys joined in. This went on for what seemed like forever to Thorn, but soon the boys grew bored with her and left her to stay curled up on the ground. They went back to telling their stupid stories to each other, never minding what this new girl could be planning in her head. Yet really, Thorn wasn't thinking anything against them. Her mind was still in shock from what all just happened. To many things were new. The guards at every door, the kids crying and screaming only to quickly be silenced by a guard with a beating. All of it seemed too much for Thorn.
The days seemed to take years to pass now. Everyday the guards would come into the bunk houses and wake everyone up at no later than three in the morning. Anyone who didn't get up would be beaten on the spot. Thorn quickly learned that when people were to get up, you better get out of bed and dressed quickly. One the one day a week they had time to themselves, Thorn would go off alone and look over her bruised and beaten body. The purple blue flesh stood out strongly against her pale tan skin. They were always there too, never really having time to heal before a new one came along. Still she always told herself every morning. “Things will get better...They must get better...Right?” But now even those words seemed hollow and empty.
Well it was that way till the new girl joined her squad. She was older than the other boys and didn't take anything from them. The one time they tried beating her down into her “place” they all ended up in the infirmary with broken arms, ribs, and legs. Thorn thought this was great someone would was willing to get down and dirty with the other members of the squad. Quickly Thorn tried making friends with the new girl, but things did not go well at first. Anytime Thorn thought she was close to becoming friends with the new girl the guards came over and pulled one of them away for something. When that first “free” weekend came Thorn made a promise to herself that she would learn to be friends with this girl, she even knew her name now. Mist. A calming name it seemed and more reason to get to know her.
“M-mist?” Thorn asked walking up to her from behind. Mist quickly turned around and leveled a small knife against Thorn’s neck.
“What do you want Thorn. Did it really take you this long to learn my name?” She asked coldly drawing the blade back and holding it tightly in her hand.
“I...I just wanted to talk with you...You know...About things. We are the only girls in our squad and we don’t even really know each other.” The statement or invitation seemed to catch Mist off guard. Still she smiled and agreed.
Walking off into the woods near the base but still within the fence, they sat on a log near a running stream. They talked and laughed quickly becoming friends. Thorn told her the story of her first day here and what the boys had done to her. Mist frowned at this and started ranting at Thorn about the fact she needs to learn to stand up for herself.
Week after week past and the two of them became very close. Some of the other squads started making fun of Thorn when Mist wasn't with her. “Where is your Mother? Is the little bitch lost without her Mother!?” They would go on and on. Yet none of it really bothered Thorn. Maybe its because it was true. She had started to think of Mist as a mother figure in her young life. She made her happy and kept her safe from the others.
Still a “perfect” world where there is always someone to protect you can’t last forever. When that day came that Thorn’s world shattered in front of her changed something deep inside. Waking up early on their “free” day Thorn quickly ran off to see Mist again. Bursting through the door she found the bunk house empty. No one was there the only sound was that of Thorn’s panting after running there. Making her way inside and over to Mist’s bed, she found a note stuck partly under her pillow. Pulling it out she saw only her name on the outside of it.
Slowly unfolding the note she read it slowly taking in every word written in it.
“Thorn, child. I know what the others have done to you. I know what they say when I am not standing next to you, but I must leave now. I can not tell you why, but I leave you will a small gift to remember me by. Also dear child. Stand up for yourself now. You are ten now. Keep safe.”
Tears were rolling down Thorn’s cheeks now, but the ending to the note is what made her freeze up even more. Mist had not signed it off with her name, but with “Mother”. Taped to the bottom of the note was a small blood red necklace with silver wire wrapped around it. Slowly picking the tape off it and holding it up to the fake lighting in the room. Thorn could see bubbles in the crystal making her think it wasn’t real crystal but crystallized blood. Holding it tightly to her chest Thorn made one last promise to Mist. One she swore to keep till her death, whenever that was.
Opening her eyes slowly before closing them again from the harsh light shining down into her face. Turning her head to the side before opening her eyes again. Thorn was looking into the face of her new commanding officer, Russell the tag said. He had been training her since a few years ago after a trip she had to the infirmary when she got into a fight with the rest of the boys in her squad. Despite the loss of two of the boys Russell and the other guards and officers seemed rather happy with Thorn. She could never figure out why but she didn't care. She knew that the rest of her squad had done something to Mother and she wasn't about to let them slide off with that “win” unharmed.
“Rise and shine Metalfang.” He said in his normal tone. Which compared to most other officers was a lot quieter. She liked that. Meant you didn't have someone yelling at you when you were just having a nice talk.
“I...I thought I asked you to stop calling me that, sir...” She was still trying to fight back the drugs that she knew were in her system from the night before. Another fight with another squad. Something that happened a lot now that Fang squad was just her.
“Whatever, but come on. You still have a lot of training to do. After all if you want a day to yourself for your seventeenth birthday tomorrow you better work hard today.” He smiled and stood up.
She looked over at him surprised. No one ever remembered her birthday. Still if it meant a day off then it was all worth it in the end. Sliding off the bed in the medical room, her feet landing quietly on the cold tiled floor that made her gasp. “D-do you people ever heat these rooms!?” Walking quickly to catch up with him while pulling her gear on over the few clothes she had on. He said nothing back to her, just the small smile that creeped across his face showed he got a little amusement out of it.
The day past quick as they went from one place to another. The gun range, sparing pits, mess hall. back to the range. It was all just a big loop now to Thorn. Nothing ever changed around here. Just the normal new batch of people showing up. Still it made Thorn sick to know she came here as an eight year old and was now turning seventeen tomorrow. All that time she never had a true childhood. It had all been drilled out of her. Now she was nothing but a killer who liked seeing blood pool on the ground from her enemies. That and her temper was a lot worse. Some around the base called her short fuse now, but never within ear shot after she beat an officer for calling her that. She grinned looking back at the memory of it all. It was something that should have happened long ago to that officer.
By the end of the day she was tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Still even this didn't come easily to her. The heat of the night was something she never had really adjusted to either. The heat that never seemed to go away. The dry air that made it hard to breath. Even just sleeping through the night would be a hard things to do on a normal day. But it would be even harder now that Thorn’s birthday was tomorrow. Tossing and turning on her bed, it was harder tonight for her to fall asleep even with how tired she was.
Before long Thorn was looking out the window at the morning sun rise. Not finding any real reason to sleep or her body even letting her fall asleep. She had gotten up and just watched everything out her window. It had been odd though. The other “Kids” had been moved out of their bunk houses in the middle of the night under the watch of the other guards. Yet no one ever came to get her from her bunk. Rubbing the back of her head a little she leaned in the window sill and looked outside again.
That was when Russell slammed open the door and rushed into the room. The noise made Thorn jump and land on the floor with a thud. He looked down at her in surprise. “Your up? Whatever its time to go. If I can’t you out of here soon then we both will be counted as K.I.A.” His words made Thorn shiver and she could feel it in her core. He meant what had been said. Quickly she ran over to her bunk and pulled a case out from under it. Flipping it open she pulled a MP7 from the case along with twin P99 pistols. Slinging the MP7 over her shoulder so it rested at her side then stuffing the pockets of her shorts with the magazines from the case. She turned to face Russell who was now against the wall near the side of the room where he had entered.
“You sure look ready.” He added as he looked over at her. His tone was that of a joke but he still meant it. She was always ready no matter what happened when she was around. Moving over to the door next to him she closed her eyes for a little longer then what a normal blink would be. Exhaling softly she opened her eyes. Her icy blue eyes looked at the guns in her hand as if they were just fingers and part of her body. Training was something she hated more than most of the people around the base but now she wasn’t holding it back. She was a puppet and was happy to know this. Because now, she knew that she would live to see another day after this.
Without another word they both ran out of the building toward the docks. There were few times that she had been down there, but every time there was always a boat. If not a boat then a car or something that could be used to get somewhere. The paths were empty and only the sound of birds could be heard as they moved, but even those sounds soon died away. Then there was only the sound of their breathing and the clicks of their shoes hitting the metal grated floors.
As the minutes past Thorn seemed to enter her trance even more. Leaving Russell behind she rushed forward to the docks. Moving up against the doorway that led to the docks she looked around the doorway. What was inside made her eyes widen. They were everywhere Other mercs with the symbol of the snake. The snakes were always trying to remove the spiders at any chance they could get. The pieces were starting to make sense now. The spiders had not come to wake her up for a reason. They wanted her to prove that all the time they had spent on her was not going to waist. They wanted her to take out the snakes.
This thought now made Thorn grin with blood-lust. Taking a little under a minute to double check the magazines of her guns. She held them close to her chest before ducking through the doorway and onto the docks. Moving behind a crate, she looked over the top. What was in front of her would have made anyone else jump. One of the snakes was right there with their back to her. His knife pointed up on his shoulder. Moving her arms quickly she set her twin pistols on the ground and placed her hand over his mouth while grabbing his knife. She could feel his hands trying to pull her’s away from his mouth. Spinning the knife around in her hand once before driving the blade into his neck. His body tensed once before going limp and falling to the floor with the knife still there.
Ducking back behind the box and picking up her guns again. Taking a deep breath she stood up and fired once at a snake standing over by the boat they came in on. The crack of the gunshot echoed in the enclosed space. His head snapped to one side before his body followed and fell into the water. Already on the move again, Thorn could feel the eyes tracking her as she ran to the far side of the docks. More gunshot cracks rang out as the snakes started shooting at her. Everything seemed to become a blur at this point to Thorn. The movements, the reloading, and the shooting. The bodies falling into the water made no sound to her. She was numb and doing what she was trained to do. Take lifes.
The gunfight didn’t last longer than a few minutes. Finally coming back to reality, Thorn looked down into water. She could see the blood splashed against her face. It dripped over her eye and down her cheek. The vision in her right eye was slowly turning red from the blood. Taking a deep breath she could taste the iron from the blood on the air. It was unlike anything she had tasted before. It flooded her mind and made her want more. Moving to the middle of the room she kneeled down on the ground. The wind that blow into the covered docks moved the smell of blood around clearer in the middle. Thorn stayed there till Russell came running in. He stopped looking around before turning his gaze to her.
“Did you do all this?” His voice was cold but not harsh. She could hear his footsteps getting closer. All she did in reply was nod. Coming over he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Then I think you are ready.” He grabbed her arm and started pulling her up to her feet. Letting go he started walking out of the room.
Taking another deep breath, She shivered. The smell of fresh blood was something Thorn would never forget. Maybe even something she could never give up. Turning and following Russell off the docks, she ran a little to catch up with him. She could still feel the wet blood on her face from when she shoot the last snake who was begging for his life. Looking back on that moment gave her the chills as she remembered the blood splashing against her face. Russell never said a thing as they walked.
The other kids were already being brought back into the base. Either the dock was the only place taken or the other guards had already dealt with the other snakes. The kids looked at Thorn with scared looks. She could only think of how at one time she may have looked at someone else in the same way. They were scared of a killer. Still they didn't know that they were looking on what they would one day become.
After ten minutes they had reached a smaller building in the back of the base. There were a few other there, many of them just gave quick nods to Thorn and smiled. This made her uneasy but still she knew after what happened none of them would try something stupid. Entering the building there was a small table in the entryway. Russell waved Thorn over to a chair and went to a desk and got on the phone. After a minute a door opened and a slender woman came out. Looking over at Thorn she smiled. “You are Thorn right?” She asked in a soft tone that made Thorn even more uneasy.
“Yes ma’am.” She said standing up.
The woman laughed and looked at her. “Dear don’t worry about formalities here. After all you are our child now.”
Thorn looked over at Russell confused. “I don’t think I understand ma’am. When did I become your child?”
“Well. Just now really. You just showed that all the time we spent training you wasn’t put to waist.” She stepped forward and grabbed Thorn’s arm. “After all you are a spider.” She smiled and pulled Thorn into the back room where she came from.
The room was darkly lit. Just candles burned in the corners of the room. The windows had been painted over with just black paint and then covered by black sheets. The woman walked Thorn over to a chair and told her to sit before she went to the back of that room to get something. Sitting down the chair was hard and didn't really have any patting. When the woman came back she was holding a tattooing needle in her hand.
Grabbing Thorn’s arm, she pinned it to the armrest of the chair. “Don’t worry dear. The sooner you hold still the sooner we can make you a true spider.” She dug the needle into Thorns forearm. her arm twitched but soon fell still. The ink spread under her skin. Taking deep breaths she closed her eyes and tried not to move. After an hour, her arm was red and hurt, but the inking was done. A rich dark black spider had been tattooed into her forearm. It’s legs wrapping around to the back of the forearm. She looked down at it with a smile. She knew what she was now. A true spider of fang squad.
Awesomeness!!