Arrow : Shado of the Past

For I am Lost, For I Am Bratva

I drop my bag to my side, closing the door behind me as I enter. The taste of blood stains my jaw. Ow.

The bratva, a Russian mafia essentially, I work for them now. Or with them... probaly for them is a better description.

To join the bratva, you must prevail through three trials of varying difficulty. These trials, I do believe you should heed every detail of this warning, are not to be taken lightly.

But, save the anticipation over what I have lived through recently, I'm sure you're wondering what situation caused me to become a criminal... a criminal on a larger scale than I already was.

Well... I have to set things right. Fix the score. Make the game even again. Essentially, do what Oliver would. Save Starling City. Though my method on how to save everyone... I still don't know yet. So I just figured I'd help someone else out first. Maybe learn something. Or die... finally. I don't really intend to die anymore, mostly because I have a purpose I'm finally acknowledging, that being the list, but it doesn't mean I don't think I deserve death. I may as well command it with my recent actions.

Mind you, the reason I'm here almost demands some temporary survival. The reason I'm here... is Taiana... and her reason for coming back here... is just as important.

How I got into the Bratva... well, I saved a certain man a few years back. Anatoly Knyazev. Following the destruction of Nanda Parbat, I know he went home. Russia. Sara would tell me some minor stories about our mutual Russian friend.

He's Bratva, criminal, yeah, but a saviour to some people. The organised crime provides stability. If Oliver were here, he'd wish that the Bratva were in Starling to help the Glades out. Maybe they are... the Bratva hardly knows any bounds nor conforms to them... Either way, Antaloy was my way into the bratva... and the bratva was my way to kill Konstantine Kovar.

***

The first step of entering.

Ring the bell.

"Ahhhh! Fuck!" I whined as I flexed my hand that had just been twisted behind my back. I got up off the floor, the dark, damp, dissimisive grey floor stilled didn't sit right with me, though it fit the atmosphere of the challenge perfectly.

"Again." The Bratva captain says. Anatoly, an ally and companion who had saved me once I began this crusade, stood begrudgingly beside me. He thoroughly disliked watching me get beaten over and over again, though he couldn't intervene. I and several other participants reunited and returned to the starting line, shrugging away whatever pain and issues we had in this moment. I know the others are praising a god that the two men don't have weapons, but I debate assuring them that a hand can outrank a blade depending on who is behind each.

In this case, the two large 250-pound men who outscale me in size, height, and strength are the larger assets and can very easily handle this little gang.

Stupid initiation tests, I'm a crook already. I kill, I hunt, and I fight. I don't need some phoney and fake tests to prove my worth.

"Go!" Yells the captain. I suppose Anatoly, who is a captain, can't interfer or participate as he could possibly give me an edge. Yay...

Me and 3 others charge forward, three of them all attacking the same man, and only me attacking the remainder. Our goal is to slip past them and get to the bell.

I've got to be at least a little smart. "Left!" I yell, causing the hulking man to look to his left, I continue my sprint, hurriedly squirming past his right side and getting behind him. I can make it! Im actually going to make it!

"GAAAH!" I squeal as a large hand grabs my mouth and another my left arm. I'm tossed, literally thrown through the air, and I hit the ground hard. Thankfully, my right arm is the primary area of contact. Otherwise, my back would be ten times more sorry than it already is. Still, that hurt a lot.