The full moon shone onto the open parade square like a search beam. A pair of black eyes spied at a group of friends having dinner from behind the cover of a broken brick wall.
“No… please… let my son go! Take me instead! Don’t hurt-”
The spying figure covered her mouth to stifle her scream as a woman’s head rolled on the ground, her eyes still wide open. Blood dripped down from her open neck and seeped into the soil as her killer held up her dismembered head.
“Dibs on the eyes!” The man in a bloodied military uniform shouted cheerily, setting his axe down and casually tossing the head into a large pot of boiling oil. His fellow soldiers laughed loudly, gnawing on what seemed to be the remains of a foot. A young boy scrambled backwards, tears streaming down his face as they threw the bones into a pile in front of his cage.
“Come on guys! We caught a large group this time. Let’s feast!” The soldier beckoned.
Movement increased behind the inconspicuous person hiding in the shadows. Her ears pricked at the sound of footsteps, discerning their direction while looking around for a new hiding spot.
“Can’t save everybody.” Masako clenched her teeth in frustration as she silently slipped away.
She crept along the tight corridor of the small military camp, carefully avoiding the moonlight. I’m not here to fight cannibals, I’m just here to steal a key. Masako repeatedly reminded herself, desperately trying to forget the disturbing scene she just witnessed. Just need to get this job done and I won’t have to worry about finding food anymore.
Two people suddenly turned out from a corner at her blindspot, forcing her to quickly duck into a tight corner. C’mon Masako, pay attention to your electrical senses. She silently scolded herself as she slowly wriggled further in, using her small frame to fit in between two barrels.
“-And those dumb kids just fell off the roof, one by one. Easy catch, dude… Hahaha- hey what’s that?”
Masako’s blood froze.
Clicks resounded from their rifles as the safety trigger went off. Beads of sweat rolled silently down Masako’s forehead as the two soldiers inched slowly, aiming their rifles forward.
“You saw that too, right? I could’ve sworn a figure just ran past the roof there.”
“I didn’t see anything. We’re on the tenth floor; I don’t think anyone can reach the roof, let alone run on it. You’re probably just jumping at shadows. Did the Red Clover really scare you that much?”
“Dude, you weren’t there. That demon just appeared out of nowhere and killed everyone in seconds. Luckily I wasn’t spotted…”
The soldier’s voice faded away in her head as Masako heaved a slow sigh of relief. Her heart was still pounding. Gosh, can’t you have your conversation somewhere else? She thought to herself, now acutely aware of how numb her legs were getting from squatting in that dark corner. Masako slowly turned her head around, trying to distract herself from the pins and needles in her calves.
And came face to face with a rotting skull.
She flinched, knocking her head against a barrel.
“What the-”
The two soldiers turned around swiftly and pointed their guns in her direction. Closing her eyes, Masako dashed out of her hiding place and pushed hard against one of them blindly. His body flipped over the edge of the railing, screaming as he fell to his death.
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Masako took out a knife from her back pocket and stabbed the other soldier in the arm before he could fire his weapon. He grunted in pain as the rifle dropped to the ground. The soldier quickly crouched to avoid being thrown over the railing, but Masako had other ideas. She flung him to the other side of the corridor and pressed him against the wall, releasing a surge of electricity. His body convulsed violently.
Masako let go after a few seconds, leaving the man spasming slightly on the floor from what was the equivalent of a violent tazing. She dragged him to the side where the half eaten skeleton was and lay his paralysed body beside it. Masako walked over to the railing, peering at the mangled body of the soldier she accidentally pushed off the building.
Oh gosh, I didn’t mean to kill you. It was an accident. I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry… She fought back tears of guilt as she continued running along the corridor.
I wanna go home.
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The parade square was crowded with hungry men. Most of them were talking loudly while some were tending to a large pot of boiling oil.
“Alright settle down, settle down,” a man spoke into a military megaphone, standing on top of an abandoned car. “The gods are merciful to us today, for we have for ourselves a large feast!”
Roars of cheering filled the air.
“And as tradition dictates, the feast shall begin by spilling the blood of a cub!” He signalled to two other men, who opened a cage and dragged out the young boy. The soldier jumped down from the roof of the car and picked up his axe. He walked towards the boy being pinned down by the two men.
“No hard feelings, kid.” He knelt down and whispered in the struggling boy’s ear. “It’s not our fault you’re the only animals we can find here.”
The man raised his axe, his eyes glinting with a wild look as he prepared to swing it down onto the boy’s head-
Thwap!
The axe clanked loudly on the floor as the man collapsed onto the ground, an arrow sticking out of his head. The other two men’s eyes widened in recognition at the shape of its quiver.
“IT’S THE RED CLOVER-” One of them yelled before he too, was struck dead by another arrow. The cannibals scrambled to pick up a weapon, pointing them frantically around.
“Where is it?! Where is- Huh?” A soldier stared at a different looking arrow which had just struck the ground beside him.
It exploded without warning, releasing a bright flash of light and flooding the area with smoke. A shadowy figure landed in the middle, darting around under its cover.
Screams filled the air as the people dropped dead from arrows and stab wounds.
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“Found ya!” Masako said gleefully as she picked up a blue coloured key in the midst of a messy table. Alright, time to go- Is that the sound of people screaming? The room turned dark again as Masako ran out, losing her focus on the electrical current in the lights. She ran to the end of the corridor, following the sound. Masako coughed, her eyes watering at the smoke filling the air. But she still sensed it; the slightest hint of-
One of us.
Masako continued running down the stairs towards the parade square, occasionally skipping entire flights of steps. The signal was getting stronger and there was no mistaking it now; the bio-electric signature definitely belonged to an enhanced like her. She leapt off the second floor, landing in front of a familiar figure standing in the midst of the dead bodies that littered the ground.
“You again…” Masako gritted her teeth as she slowly backed away, trying to recall if there was an alternate route out of this place. Her hand fumbled in her pocket, outlining the shape of a small device. The Red Clover stood imposingly in front of opened cages while people fled behind him. He raised his crossbow, firing an arrow straight at her.
Masako raised her hand without thinking and managed to catch the arrow before it connected with her face. She laughed out loud, both in surprise and relief at her increased reflexes. Masako charged towards the Red Clover, bolstered by the rapid increase in her self confidence.
She closed the gap within seconds and focused electricity into her hands. Masako swung around wildly, attempting to at least touch him with her electrified fists, but the Red Clover dodged all her attacks with ease.
It did not take long for her to be humbled as she slammed against a wall after only exchanging a few blows with the vigilante. Masako groaned as she struggled to get up, but slumped to the ground.
Her vision faded to black.