As they watched, the strange executioner stood up from where she had been lounging. It was gracefully done, as if she was being set on her feet molecule by molecule, somehow seeming boneless. When she was standing, she seemed ridiculously relaxed; her hands resting on her hips, her head tilted back, her eyes only a sliver.
"Are you ready to die?"
The men stiffened when they heard her speak. Her voice sounded like two voices speaking at once; one the silky-smooth alto of a teenage girl, the other a softly guttural growl. It was creepy and addictive, strangely musical.
They got in position now, one on her right, another on her left, the third in front of her. She didn't move. 'Ready,' They tensed, she closed her eyes. 'set,' she took a breath. 'go.' They lunged, she disappeared.
The criminals fought with frenzied, desperate abandon. She danced, playing with them until the Master seemed to get bored. She started singing then.
The students of Logan's 9th grade advisory class leaned forward, holding their breath as they watched the public execution play across the screen.
'Take a breath,
Take it deep.
'Calm yourself', He says to me
If you play, you play for keeps.
Take the gun and count to three.
I'm sweating now,
Moving slow,
No time to think. My turn to go'
She was singing a song as she fought, the two strange voices she had melding to one.
Mari and Lucas walked quickly down the hall, changing as they walked. They were late.
'And you can see my heart beating
You can see it through my chest.
Said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving
I know that I must pass this test
So, just pull the trigger'
Her eyes slid closed.
'Say a prayer to yourself
He says 'close your eyes, sometimes it helps'
And then I get a scary thought
That he's here - means he's never lost'
She was crying as she spun.
The twins turned the corner, letting their hair out of it's constricting ties. A blood-spattered handkerchief found it's way to a conveniently placed trashcan.
'And you can see my heart beating.
No, You can see it through my chest.
Said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving
Know that I must pass this test.
So, just pull my trigger'
Her footsteps became an elaborate dance
'As my life flashes before my eyes
I'm wondering will I ever see another sunrise?
So many won't get the chance to say good-bye
But its too late to think of the value of my life'
Her weapons, silver fans.
The class stared, amazed and horrified with their amazement. They wondered at their new idols' ages. Surely 16 at least.
'And you can see my heart beating.
No, You can see it through my chest.
Said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving no
know that I must pass this test.
Her eyes flashed open.
You can see my heart beating.
Oh, You can see it through my chest.
I'm terrified but I'm not leaving no
know that I must pass this test.'
In reality, the executioners….. they were even younger than the students themselves.
She leaped
'So, just pull the trigger'
And brought them down with a haunting smile.
The twins knocked on the door.
The video focused on the Master and the other Executioner. A boy, they knew. He'd fought together with the girl about an hour ago. He was the other half of the pair.
Mr. Wilson opened the door, smiling to the new students.
Their title, kills, and years in service rolled across the screen.
Twin Terrors, 30 executions, 2 years in service.
Otherwise known as Mari and Lucas, 9th grade transfer students at The Academy for the Gifted and Talented.
Not that anybody knew that then.