The Target (Complete) - Watty Awards 2014

Chapter 19 - The Final Showdown Part 3

"It's about time you showed up," I acknowledged. "But you're too late. They're already gone."

"You act like this is over," Lily marveled. "Remember, I still want you dead."

I lowered my hands and turned around to face her, "Then, kill me and get it over with."

"That's no fun, if you give up." She lowered her gun, upset. Then, she shrugged. "All well. I guess we're doing this the hard way."

She tucked her gun into her pants, behind her back. I took the explosive vest off and tossed to to the side. My lip curled into a smirk and she lunged at me. She was throwing kicks and punches. Nevertheless, I blocked each one of them, totally on the defense. Anger flustered on her face as she continued to try and fail. We were evenly matched, especially since she didn't have the upper-hand. We danced across the rooftop, swinging and dodging.

I finally decided to take the offense, and punched her square in the face. She stumbled backwards, completely caught off-guard. She pushed forward again, not even noticing the blood dripping from her nose. Lily ran at me, as I tried to hit her again. She grabbed my arm, elbowed me in my ribs, and flipped me to the ground. I landed on my back with a thump. I immediately flipped onto my stomach and scurry to my feet. Luckily, I did. She was attempting to get her gun and shoot me while I was down. That cheating loser. I roundhouse kicked the gun out of her hand. It flew a few feet away from us and we continue to throw punches at each other.

I was getting sick and tired of this girl playing dirty. It was time to be the bigger bitch and do what most girls do in a fight. I grabbed her hair, pulling Lily back towards me. She yelped as I tightened my grip. She continued to elbow my ribs, but I wasn't going to let that little bit of pain get the best of me. I snaked my arm around her neck, and squeezed. She swung her arms behind herself, failing to hit me. She gasped hard as her air supply was shortened. Her swings lessened and her body fell numb. Eventually, she stopped moving completely. I released her and she fell to the ground.

I slowly walked over to the place, where the gun rested. I leaned down to pick it up, but something didn't feel quite right. An eerie silence took over the roof. I creeped towards Manuel, with the gun by my side. I raised it as I got closer to the spot he was last seen. He wasn't there. I walked back over to Lily's body and got the shock of my life.

Lily was still alive and aiming a gun at me. I narrowed my eyes at her. She was watching my every move like a hawk.

"I knew our dad picked the right kid," she mumbled. "He said I was the best."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, still gripping the gun at my side.

She grinned, "You are so stupid. Our father is still alive." I gasped, as she lowered her weapon to explain. "Those jerks at The Company lied to you. After dad's 'accident' that they setup, he had to go in hiding. The company needed new recruits so they took his kid and trained her. They didn't know there were two of us. Seeing how I am the best, Dad came back for me. You was just a carbon copy, tainted by The Company."

My father...was still alive. This whole time. I shook my head, trying to get a grasp of what I was hearing. Is what she's saying true? Was I working for the good guys or the bad ones? She started laughing as my head spinned out of control. Imagines of the my past came to light. I remembered the fire that took my mother's life. My father carrying me to safety. It was so long ago that I can't even remember their faces. I remember the day the police came to the babysitter, saying my father was in an accident. And, the day The company selected me to be the next Best. But there were gaps, big ones. And each gap was replaced by these words: 'I can't fail. I won't fail.' They repeated in my head, as if it was a trigger. I felt like I was brain washed. Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I was so out of it that I didn't even notice Lily raised her gun again. I didn't even have enough time to react, when a bright flash knocked me to the ground.