A Murderer's Era

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST... LITERALLY.

SHIRO

I felt weak and unable to do anything, the adrenaline in my body was gone, and the energy was drained from me after I attacked that man. But now Rei is being kidnapped, not by the police, but by someone else. I saw Rika's look of terror integrated onto her face and I gave a nervous chuckle, and I shut my eyes closed. I remember how the man glanced to his right, sending a slight nod of agreement to do something. It all made sense. How could I not catch it before? This grim reality is becoming all too real, and who knows what the present may bring? I heard Rika's uneven breathing become louder, making a slight pattern. I know I am much different from Rika; Rika would have wanted to flee since there was no choice too. But me? I will come back for Rei, now that I know it isn't the police. Rika knew this and tugged onto my shoulder, the look of concern on her face was oddly contagious. "I have to go..." My voice seemed to ring in Rika's ear, and she clenched onto my sleeve, "You can't... You can't! I don't want to be alone, to have two of my friends dead!" Her voice cracked and her tears were at the brim of her eyes, her chocolate-brown eyes glimmered from the moonlight. I am tense; I am not going to die. That is what I think, but will I actually? My voice needed to be strong, it needed to get to her, to send a message. "Rika, I swear I'm going to come back... I promise." My voice was steady and strong, and her tears seemed to clear up.

"But listen... You're injured, aren't you?" She sniffled slightly, "You're going to die." I shook my head; I know I am not going to die. The look of hope glimmered into her eyes, and I quickly took Rika into a tight embrace, feeling her warmth. I know this warmth of Rika will not be her last. She is going to live, Rei's going to live, and I am going to live. We are all going to live together, and I won't let anybody die. We both separated from the embrace, and I quickly stared at her before I went. The look of hope, but disbelief was on her face. "Believe in me." I said with a wink. Did I just say that, after all that just happened in this past hour? Rika grinned at me and did a silent thumbs up. I was sure her belief wouldn't go to waste. Even though my energy is drained, I still have my elegant but deadly knife on me. I quickly took the knife out of my pocket and felt the carved flowers and thorns onto the knife. I inhaled, I made it sound easy to Rika, but will it really? I shrugged my shoulders and kept walking towards the alley, I made my way towards the alley without hesitation.

I smelled the smell of blood once again and scrunched up my nose, "I really hate that smell." I sighed and looked around the alleyway. Nothing was there, just traces of blood and struggle. Struggle? I glared at the trail before me. I remembered Rei trying to mouth something at Rika, her terrified look. Was she trying to send a message? My thoughts were eagerly telling me to follow the trail, to find Rei, and get the heck out of here and return to Rika. I followed through the temptation and followed the trail with confidence. The trail wasn't with bloody footprints but just scattered blood all over, it was the person who kidnapped her, dragged her along the floor. This trail seemed to last forever, until it came to a sudden stop. I heard muffled sounds coming from my right and saw Rei on the floor--bloody-- and blood trickling from the side of her mouth. It didn't seem like the kidnapper needed to cover her mouth when they could already kill her voice themselves. I felt the adrenaline flow through me again, gripping my knife with my right hand. My face felt flushed with pink, and my mind was only filled with one thought: Kill them.

The sudden interest intrigued me; how should I kill them? Just slitting his throat peacefully, no... They tortured Rei, so how about cutting their tongue off so they couldn't speak, and then slitting their eyelids? I grinned, but I heard Rei give a cry. Her voice sounded muffled, and it seemed like she had been screaming for a long time. I quickly saw her hand with cuffs, and I raised an eyebrow. Her voice didn't seem like she was screaming for help but screaming for another cause. It's a trap, isn't it? I nodded to her and saw another pair of eyes emerging from the darkness. His face was deeply scrunched up with confusion, and it formed wrinkles, but he seemed young. Oh, I see now... So, you think I pity the young, is that it? If so, then you thought wrong. I quickly brought out my knife, leaving me with an advantage. He has no weapon, so it seemed like he was relying on his pitiful trap. I raised my arm, leaving me with an open stab. He's going to die, and I will make sure of it. But sometimes a happy time must end.

A gun appeared on my forehead; frozen in place, I breathed softly. Was he expecting this? I felt his gun pressing harder onto my forehead. Rei tried to scream, "Shut it!" His voice was raspy, it made me quite irritated since it made me want to clear my throat. I glared at the man; good thing Rei was making a good distraction. I quickly inserted the knife into his abdomen, leaving crimson red stained onto his shirt. He quickly toppled over, shooting the gun above him. He tried to speak, but all that came out was blood landing onto his shirt. It was over. Finally. I ran to Rei, looking at her handcuffs. I looked back at the man--his eyes wide open-- and declared that he was dead. I put my hand through his left pocket and felt a key in there. If he were taking vengeance from me, he could have at least tried to do a smart strategy instead. But this was all in favor of me since I could easily leave Rei free now. All of this... It's over now. But this still feels off... Why do I get the strange feeling that he-- or possibly... They wanted me? What could they want from me...? It was a silly thought, but it's possible. Is it because one of "their" men tried to kill me--killing my friends in the process-- but I killed them? This whole thing started because of me... But it's not entirely our fault, and it's not entirely theirs. I inhaled and snatched the key out of the man's pocket, stuffing it into the lock of Rei's cuff. Her face quickly showed signs of relief, while also spreading that relief to me as well. "Thank you." Her voice was soft, a whisper.

"You're welcome, Rei... Now, let us get back, shall we?"