Colour Kill

Chapter 8

The next morning, by the time I wake up everyone, is awake, chatting and sitting on the logs. "Hiya Gaia, we had an idea," Jevi says. "We were thinking that maybe you could go hunting again today, as you seem to be so good at it, that way we can really stock up"
"Yeah okay, I don't mind" I tell him.
"Okay you can go whenever you want then"
I go and sit down with them. Royce passes me a piece of bacon, which I scoff down in seconds, then wipe my greasy hands on my jeans. Looking up, my eyes fall on Mel who is staring at me with a side glance, her face all twisted up, as her eyes judge me. "Do you know what this bacon needs?" Roy asks as he holds it in front of his eyes looking down lovingly at it. "What ?" Kerry asks, suspiciously waiting to see if Royce is going to say something stupid or not. "Pancakes and syrup, back home in New Orleans, there was this amazing restaurant that Mum used to take Mel and me to. Their pancakes were the fluffiest, mum took us there almost every day after our son of a bitch dad left" Royce explains. My eyes flick over to Mel who breaths in a haggard breath uncomfortably. "Your dad left?" I ask. I'm not sure If it too much of a personal question, but I did not really think before I asked. "Yeah he did, he was a dick our dad, used to beat up our mum, once when I was eleven, he punched me in the face, that was when mum lost it, she got a glass bottle and smacked him over the face with it. The prick was fuming, he did not even try to hit her back, he just stormed out and left, like a little bitch and we never heard from him again, Thank goodness" Royce sighs.
"Oh shit I'm so sorry, that must have been so horrible, for you guys" I tell him thinking about little Royce and Mel helpless against their dad. I was so lucky that my parents were so great. Of course, they were not perfect, my dad worked a lot and he was always stressed putting him in a foul mood when he got back from work, it used to drive my mum up the wall. She always told me she was worried that he overworked too much and that it was affecting his mental health. My mum got mad because she loved him a lot. Looking back you never notice how lucky you are to have a family that loves you even if they are not perfect.
"Okay, I guess I better get hunting then" I announce to them as I stretch my arms. "Okay, good luck!" Kerry chirps.
Once I have the spears I make my way into the forest. Today the sun shines in the sky but the thickness of the leaves do not allow light to penetrate through. I continue to walk through the forest, listening intently to any noises in bushes nearby. A noise comes from behind a tree, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. To make sure I don't scare any animals away I turn around slowly, not taking my feet off the floor until the last minute. I look at the bush that the noise came from, from what I can see there is not an animal nearby. The air around me becomes thick, suffocating my skin. Whispers flood into my ear. I'm not here alone. Behind me a twig snaps, I whip my head around, my heart now getting exceedingly high.
Enormous hands clamp over my mouth, instantly I try to scream but the large hand muffles my voice. Pulling my arm free, with all my force, I elbow my attacker in the face. And push free ready to run, but he comes and jumps on me sending us both to the floor. I kick him furiously, but it is no hope the man is massive and my stature seems overly skinny compared to him. Finally, after a few more moments of trying to fight back and not getting anywhere, I let myself calm down so I can think of a more intelligent plan instead of thrashing myself about like a spoilt toddler.
From behind the trees, more people come out. Straight away I see who is the authoritarian. Leading the group of five people, who are all middle-aged men, is a woman with hair closely shaved. She is all muscle, just as muscly as some of her male accomplices. She strolls with her feet turned out towards me with her hands shoved in her army pants. She comes right up into my face, so close, I'm able to smell her terrible stench. "Good job Bertie, you caught one of the brats" She sneers, not taking her icy eyes away from me. "We have been stalking you and your friends for days, we saw that massive dear you caught yesterday and you seem to have lots of resources, so we are going to go back to your friends then we are going to take all your stuff okay?" She growls. If my mouth was not covered I would have spat on her or even tried to bite a chunk of her cheek off. "Right let's go!" She barks as she continues to walk. Bertie, the man holding me captive, pulls me along with them so effortlessly it seems like I'm a doll in the hands of a greedy child. Nearing the clearing I try to start screaming again to warn the others but my attempts are pathetic. "What are you doing you, idiots?" The woman snaps. "Go and catch them by surprise!". The rest of the men run into the clearing. Screams spark in the air, Tearing through my gut. Bertie drags me into the clearing. Mel keeps shouting at her captor to let her go. Kerry look terrified her whole face trembling. The boys are trying to fight back but with their hands behind their back, it is no use.

Our captors lay us all out in a line. I exchange a look with Royce who is next to me. "Oi Sands, look what I found!" Shouts one of the men from the tent. The man walks out with my gun in his hand then hands it over to Sands. She inspects the gun turning it around in her hands. "My my my" She mutters removing her gaze from the gun onto e. "Where did kids like you get a gun like this?" She asks smirking. "What you jealous, are you sad that you only have small guns, " Royce asks. I look over at him and our eyes meet. He tilts his head to one side. I follow the direction of his head and see what he is trying to direct me too. A pistol points out from the waistband of my captor. "Pardon me, little boy?" Sands snarls at him, as she stomps over to him. Royce looks up at her. "I asked if you were jealous?" The woman breathes in one sharp breath then whacks Royce across the face. I wince at the sight of it. Royce groans and blood starts to dribble down his tan face. "Don't touch my brother you bitch!" Screeches Mel
"What did you call me brat?" Sands snaps at her as she begins to storm over. This is my opening, so with all my force I pull my arms out of Bertie's grip whilst he is distracted by Mel. I then elbow him in the cheekbone. The short moment when he grips his head in pain, I pounce on him and grab his pistol. Bertie's oversize shape runs clumsily almost like an elephant toward me. I hold up the gun to his face so he steps away. Sands comes running over with my gun in her hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jevi release himself and punch his captor in the face, then grabbing his gun.
The woman holds her gun and prepares to shoot. I go darting to the trees. She fires a bullet, that pierces through the sky. Whilst she tries to shoot again I take cover for a second behind a tree, then I shoot at her. The bullet goes through her foot. She screeches horribly as she falls to the floor."You little bitch !" She screams, curled up on the floor grabbing her foot. I run back into the opening, the gun up, as my hand trembles. The man holding Mel runs to the woman letting Mel go free. Then its chaos, Everything is a burr of bodies. Gunshots fly back and forth. I don't know if anyone gets shot or not. I just keep fighting whoever comes near me. Then the man who is holding Kerry runs pushing her to the floor, to help the man, that Jevi got the gun from. Before he even gets to Jevi I shoot him in the leg. He falls to the floor with a groan. Hurriedly, I run into my tent and grab the rope. Then run to the man who I just shot. In a complete insane mess, I tie his hands and feet together. He tries to fight back but the pain I have caused him is just too much. I run up to Jevi who holds the stolen gun up to the man. "On your knees!" I shout at him. The man goes down with his hands up. I then rush over and tie up too. Ten minutes later every one of the attackers is tied up.

"What do we do with them now?" Royce asks, but I can barely concentrate on his words, adrenaline still flows through my veins. "No idea" With the pistol in my hand I walk over to the attackers that we have to arrange sitting on the floor in a line, just like they did with us. I stand above the women and look down at her. She looks up with her lips pursed together tight. "Well, what should I with you now?" I ask folding my hands across my chest.
"You might as well kill me you little bitch" She snaps, spraying spit everywhere. The other men look hopeless, with their heads bowed down like submissive dogs. "Maybe I should kill you" I snarl coldly at the woman as I bring the gun up to her face. "Ha! You don't have the guts to do that, little girl" She scoffs.
"You don't know me so don't test me !" I shout at her.
"Why the fuck shouldn't I, you and your minions came here with guns and you were so willing to kill us, what makes you think that there is enough good in me to let you live?" I hiss at her. Sands does not answer but just stairs up into my eyes. "Any last words Sands?" I ask her. The gun in my hand, feeling heavy. "Gaia no !" Shouts Kerry, her face is dirty giving her skin a brownish is hue. There are streaks of clean skin from where tears have rolled down. "Don't kill her please !" She begs. Kerry runs up to me and shoves something in my hand. It's a picture. "This fell out of her pocket, I think it his her daughter" I lower my gun and take the picture away from Kerry. This picture has obviously been through a lot with a tear situated at the top. But it holds home to a smiling blonde girl no older than seven. "Is this your daughter?" I ask Sands.
"Y-es" She crocks.
"Is she alive?"
"Yes, though not for long..."
"What do you mean?" Kerry buts in, her voice heavy with tears.
"She is... starving" Sands replies, her head dropping down as if it was too heavy to carry any more. "How can I believe you?"
"You can believe what you want" She snaps at me.
"Okay, how about I make you a deal, if one of your men can bring me this girl, I will let you go," I tell her.
"P-please... please don't hurt my daughter" Sandy cries, tears rolling down her cheeks. My stomach clenches as I look at this woman cry by my feet. "Gaia" Kerry mutters cautiously placing her hand on my arm. "I won't hurt her" I tell the woman. Though I don't know how convincing I sound.
I storm over to Bertie who looks up hatefully, I untie him from the ropes. "go get the girl, if you don't come back or you come back without the girl, I will kill everyone" I hiss in his ear. My hand gripping his shirt. He pushes away from me and shares a look with Sandy, she just nods at him. Bertie begins to walk into the woods and when he enters the trees I shout out. "You have until nightfall" Then he is gone.

"Do you believe them?"

Royce asks as he comes up to me sporting a
busted lip. "Yes I think I do"
We wait for hours, just patrolling around Sandy and her guys, exchanging nothing except a few words. It is not until the sun begins to set when Bertie reappears, with a blonde dirtied girl, who is clearly malnourished, attached to her hip. She looks around eight years old has her eyes are pooled in tears. "Mummy!" She cries, freeing herself from Bertie then running over to her tied up mother. She falls to the floor embracing her mother whilst, crying on her mother shoulders. "Oh Lillie, I'm so happy to see you" Sandy mutters, a sad tear rolling down her cheek. Lillie lifts her head up from her mother shoulder. Her eyes fall on me and widen in fear as her lips start to tremble. Lillie says nothing to me but just looks up to me paralysed in fear. "Let's untie them" I shout to the others. As we scramble around untying our captives. Lillie walks ways has buried her head in Bertie's bulging stomach. I untie Sandy and straight away, her daughter comes running back. "Mummy, I was so scared you were not coming back. I was so so scared" She cries. Sandy silently cries as she holds her daughter stroking her back. "It's okay honey I'm okay and so are you, are you ready to go?" She asks. Lillie nods her head. Sandy begins to turn away. "Wait!" Shouts Kerry, Sandy turns back towards us. "What?" She snaps.
"Take... take our deer" Kerry mutters.
"Kerry are you insane ?" Questions Mel, who points her head out like a meerkat. "Its okay Mel, let them take the deer, I will go get another" I add in then sharing a look with Kerry. She smiles thankfully. "Are you sure, this is not a trick?" Sandy enquires with a raised eyebrow. "No trick, take the deer," I tell her crossing my arms across my chest. "Thank you" She whispers, quietly trying not to let any more tears go. Then her and her men walk away, just before, he enters the forest, Bertie stops and flings the deer over his shoulder. Sandy does not turn around as she walks away, but Lillie flings her gaunt face towards me and gives me a weak smile and wave which I return. Then they are gone. Eaten by the trees.

"Well... That was quite a day" Jevi exclaims with a yawn as we tidy all the mess in our camp as best as we can, but it still remains quite messy as we can't see well in the dark. "She was so desperate just to feed her daughter" Kerry explains, as we all sit around the fire the adrenaline in our bodies dying down creating a false sense of calm. Kerry is right, Sandy was extremely desperate, so desperate that she was willing to kill a bunch of teenagers to make sure the only person she really cares about lives. Maybe three years ago sandy was a completely different person, who would not dare do something like murder, but when put in intense situations, everyone loses who they are. I'm not the person I was three years ago, I was so close to shooting Sandy in the head and not even thinking about it. It is almost certain fact that I would have, if not for Kerry. And that scares me, no it terrifies me how much I change and how... evil I can become...

Everyone is too tired to even bother having proper conversations so soon everyone is back in their tents except for Kerry and I. We sit around the glow of the fire in silence. "Thanks, Kerry for stopping me from killing her, I don't know what I was thinking" I tell her my head bent down. "It is okay G, you were scared for us under crazy situations no one can ever be expected to think straight" she tells me with a weak smile. "Thanks, Ker"
"When I saw that photo" She carries on. "That is when I lost it, It just reminded of my mum..." Kerry mummers a tear rolling down her cheek. "She died before the Wendigos, of ... Leukaemia. Before her death, I was a right bitch, a massive bully. Me and some other girls would terrorize this girl, we told her she should lose weight and wear make and she should just kill herself. Luckily she never did. But when my mother died, I was so heartbroken, I just looked at everything differently just realised how easy it is to lose someone" Kerry whimpers just looking down on the ground. It is hard to imagine Kerry as the bitch she says she was, but just three years ago, all I cared about was clothes and boys but now I could not care less. I heave myself up from the log I was sitting on and I go over and wedge myself next to Kerry and take her hand in mine, I allow her to cry on my shoulder. Kerry talking about her mother makes me think of mine. It has been a long time since I have thought of her or anyone else in my family, but looking down at the deep blue jewel ring on my hand I recall how she used to play with it constantly as she tried to concentrate, just continuously, spinning it around and around her finger.

The days and weeks after the attack we fall back into our usual ( Though sometimes quite boring) routine of waking up, doing chores, such as Cleaning, hunting, and cooking. Having some chats then doing to bed. It is repetitive, but it some ways I love it, it helps me keep my thoughts from wandering into dangerous territory.