Prologue: Mission to Kill

It was nearing midnight in Santa Cruz and the road went gravel from dirt. On the corner of a huge stone resting on a tall broad tree, she bowed down not because of leisure, but because of the mission they gave to her, she wore a black matte leather jumpsuit with geometric latex lines covering her whole body, her long dark hair was tied in a high ponytail, and her hands held the palmer cap-chur long-range projector .50 caliber rifle.

The highway that catered the fast-driving cars was almost empty, save for two cars tailing each other and was speeding fast trees after trees. She swallowed the lump in her throat and waited for the voice from her earpiece to say the signal.

“They’re approaching," a sweet but monotonous voice declared at the same time the noise of a speeding car hit her ears, she gripped the rifle tightly:

Focusing on the fast-approaching car on the west side of the road; two different types of cars were in view, one was a Cadillac and the other was a sleek black car. The one she was assigned was the person in the Cadillac.

Not losing her focus, she touched the trigger, ready to fire, when suddenly, another voice came sounding darkly mellifluous in her ear.

Who are you?

You’re not human, aren’t you?

You’re not like us, you’re a monster.

She closed her eyes harshly; it was another them, but why now?

Those words and so many other words they uttered before — they cease permanently in her mind, giving her a second of assurance.

Assurances that she killed them because she loved them.

“Ma, What are you saying?!” The little girl frowned when her mom took her by the shoulder and pulled her closer.

“Come on sweetie, you need to take this by heart. I want you to protect whomever you love, living or not, family or stranger because then you will feel assurance in your heart; Assurance that only they can give.”

She just turned seven back then. Knowing so little, she obeyed what they had told her, but why does it became different when she turned ten?

“Sis, you love me right?" a boy heaving with so much pain asked, blood scattered around the area and the boy clutched his chest tightly, the little girl kneeled and stared at him in bewilderment. That moment, she couldn't feel anything, as if the numbness went down in her whole body causing her to freeze on the spot. 

"So why don’t you kill me?” her brother breathlessly continued, holding on to her arms, forcing her to grip the gun.

That’s the time when she shed a tear. How can this be? How can this turn out to be like this? Why was her family was now drowning in red fluid that comes from all over their body?

She held her trembling hands to her mouth, unable to utter a word. Looking at her almost dead brother, pleading her to kill him—she shook her head. No. She couldn't take what was happening but...

The sleek black car took a sharp curve to its right and stop as if waiting for the other car to paced up. Alarmingly, she tried to turned her eyes to focus on the mission at hand. Like any other mission given to her before. Shoot to kill, with her hands; she was now given the chance to kill those she loves.

Albeit this mission was not the same as what she used to do. MTK: Alas Crowne; she studied the papers that were given to her by the organization and followed the man like a dog for months. He was rich, so rich that he takes flight every time to a different country.

“Hent, can you give me a sight inside the car?” She turned for her watch wherein a video of what was happening inside the Cadillac was on play.

“The one on the left,” replied Hent, she frowned when the rifle's nuzzle focused on the man, for a tall lanky guy he sure knows when to hide with a black jacket with a hood that covers half of his face.

She was in equivocation, but couldn’t ask to zoom the target in when she declared that the car was getting nearer to the curve.

With her frowned face, she looked back on the spot she would kill him. The curve they decided would be his final spot.

“Fire now.”

She refocused her gaze and shoot on the car’s front wheel. Slowing the car’s speed until it halted and four people in black suits quickly surrounded the car. When her task finally stepped out of the car, she pointed the gun on his head.

There he was with his black jacket that covers mostly his face. She heard a heavy single heartbeat pulled her chest making her insides somersault. It was unusual, but she tried to shake off the feeling, after all, she was hired to kill the bad guy who runs a syndicate in the country.

His eyes were covered by the end of the hood, only his white skin, roman nose, and tight lips were seen. Should she pull the trigger on him?

She averted her gaze back to her brother, her eyes widened as he traced the gun on his chest.

“I know you can do it. It’s what mom and dad said right? Protect what you love if you didn’t kill me at this point you don’t love me; think of it this way Lil sis, ‘you kill the people you love because you don’t want them to be hurt anymore from this cruel world. Isn’t that what they mean? If you don’t kill me now, I’ll be hurt, I’ll be beaten up, the organization will have me and put all the blame on me. They’ll treat me as inhuman can you imagine that? So if you love me, kill me, cause that what love is.”

And with that, she pulled the trigger.