~Chapter 4: Tears over blood~
It had come.
They had been gathered in the hall and Kat had watched with a shattered heart but steady mind as Anderson gave out the orders.
To kill.
These men had come with the specific order and nature to do damage to the orphanage and they were not to be shown any mercy. A small part of Kat always regretted it, but the majority of her agreed. She kept thinking of the children and Anderson. Her friends. Her family. She would do anything to protect the life she had now.
She'd been sent out in a small group, only having to disbanded as two members became wounded on small landmines that had been planted and had to be taken back by the other two, and the other was currently lying in the midst of bushes, unconcsious and awaiting Kat to return and have help with her.
She was left.
She trudged through the dark forest, her heavy boots hitting the hard ground under her feet. Surprisingly, it hadn't rained in over a month (even approaching autumn) and the ground was like hard concrete.
This was her territory. Her land. Her home. She knew her way around and wasn't about to be put off by invaders, looking to destroy and pillage where they went. She needed to stop this.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound flew past her and she raised her long, heavy sword up just in time, as a mysterious object collided with the metal and a tiny puff of smoke came forth.
She hadn't a chance to wait until the smoke resided when a large figure burst forth from the shadows, two blades in his hands, aimed straight at her. She dodged and rolled, quickly regaining her balance and ready with rage in her eyes for a good battle.
Kat could fight, she was quick, that's why she was chosen. But the punch that had hit her in the side of her head knocked her sideways and she couldn't regain her fighting stance. The blades in her hands slipped from her fingertips and she saw a mixture of black and red clooding her vision.
It was only the cold, hard hands that clasped her arms behind her back and pulled at an awkward angle that she seemed to snap back into reality a little, the pain giving her the concentration she needed.
She tried to right herself, only to have her ups pulled back and up, twisted the way they were. The only way to get out, would mean a likely broken arm for her.
"B******S! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" She cried, struggling fresh, shaking her head to get rid of the dizzy feeling she had.
"Tough talk," another voice came from infront of her and a new figure emerged out of the way, "for a trapped animal. Filthy scum. Beg for your life and we may only take your legs and not your head." He sneered at her and produced a knife that was the length of her butter knife she regularly used.
"Beg? You b*****d! NEVER SURRENDER! ISCARIOTS NEVER-MMHMM!" She was cut off as the man infront of her singled to the man behind to shut her up. A firm, hard hand crushed against her mouth and her jaw instantly ached from the pressure he was putting on her.
"Struggle and you'll never see out of those beautiful eyes again." The man in front leered at her with his cold, harsh eyes, spinning the knife slowly inbetween his fingers, purposefully catching the moonlight off the blade as he pushed it closer to her eyes.
She wasn't scared.
She still felt dizzy, but the reminder of that punch just made her blood boil.
As the assailant in front of her stepped forward, she again struggled, wiggling the best she could against the angle at how her arms were held.
The man behind jolted her back against his front and she stilled again, her attention momentarily on him as his hand pulled her face back more and she gazed up at him angrily.
Her attention wasn't on him for long however.
Kat screamed against the clasped hand over her mouth, as a knife was dug into her shoulder and metal twisted.
It was released a few seconds later, pulled out viciously and she closed her eyes as she felt the burning sensation as the open wound bleed profusely and she urged herself not to cry. She choked on the hand as she urged herself to concentrate on breathing and opened her eyes back up towards the man infront.
"That's what you get when you don't behave. Now," he stepped forward and lowered the knife to her chest, "be good little girl."
Kat reminded herself not to sob, not to beg and not to give in. She would rather die before that. That was what being an Iscariot was all about. The only thing she could think of, was wanting to live. No matter what her faith was, she wanted to stay alive. For one reason: Alex.
Just as the knife slipped under one button and plucked it off her coat easily, something happened.
The noise stopped.
No fighting, no yelling. Not even rustlings in the bushes of the animals. Nothing.
Everything stilled as the atmosphere became thick and heavy. Kat was actually more scared of what she felt rather than the man who was holding the knife infront of her, or the man behind her threatening to break her arms.
The atmosphere was thick with something. Something murderous.
Kat didn't even catch any movement when the man in front of her let out a groan. He seemed to slowly fall to the ground, an unseen cause of his downfall having struck him in the back.
Not a second before his knees hit the ground, Kat was giving a wonderful view of the gashes in his body as the blood quickly spurted free.
She closed her eyes and turned her head slightly as the hot, sticky substance hit her face. Another second later and the weight on her arms and pressure on her mouth was gone as the body behind her feel away and the second man also groaned. She kept her eyes shut as the body hit the ground with a sickening thud and daren't open her eyes. Something had just saved her life. She was hoping that it hadn't been an accident and whatever it was would claim her next.
"Kat." A voice infront of her spoke amongst the silence.
Kat's eyes prickled with tears and she slowly opened her eyes to the welcoming voice.
That voice, that many times had made her laugh, given her comfort and haunted her deepest desires.
Alexander stood before her, his bayonets hanging loosely in his hands as he stared at her.
Her mind whirled and she smiled at him.
"You came." Tears trickled down her eyes and her voice was hoarse and her body burned with pain and dizziness, but she didn't care. She was so happy.
Even when her legs gave out, she felt so warm in the knowledge he had come to her. That it wasn't too late.
"KAT! OPEN YOUR EYES! KITTEN! OPEN YOUR EYES NOW!" Alexander had caught her in time and was yelling at her frail and fragile body.
A tightness gripped his heart when he'd first seen what those men were doing to her. What they were about to do to her. All his anger disappeared when she fell to the earth and he clasped her body so close to his. He dreamed of doing so for such a long time, but not this way. Not like this.
"KAT! I DEMAND YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW! OPEN YOUR EYES!" He clasped the back of her head and pulled her face close to his as he gazed at her body below his. Ever so slowly, her eyes opened and she gazed at him, fresh and quick tears pouring forth.
"You....you came for me." Kat said hoarsely, thinking she was speaking fine, only for it to come out as a whisper to Anderson.
"Of course I did. Kitten...Kat," he leaned over her and rested her head on his arm as he picked her body up carefully, "it's over now. We can go home. But...you're going to have to bear with me. You need to stay awake for me until we're there. Keep your eyes open little one." He began to walk at a steady speed, being so cautious not to jog her as he headed towards the direction of the orphanage.
"But...I'm so tired...I...I just feel like falling asleep here." She whispered yet again, wincing as a fresh sting of pain came to her shoulder as the wind rushed past it.
She gazed up at the sky, watching as the stars and moon went past her vision. She felt so safe and comfy. She really did feel like falling asleep in this man's cushiony soft arms. She closed her eyes for a brief second and when she opened them, everything seemed to be different. She could have sworn she was dreaming with the haziness surrounding her vision, but truth be told, more blood had come from her head and was causing her dizziness to inscrease.
"Father....Alex...you have...beautiful eyes." She said in her dreamlike state, not really caring what she was saying. Normal and logical Kat had been thrown at the window when she had been punched in the head.
She smiled when she looked up and Anderson had glanced down at her, blushing, obviously a little shocked.
"And....your heart," she said, rubbing her face like a content cat against his chest, "it's beating so fast."
"Ay-'aye Kitten. I am running." He wasn't lying about the running. He had purposefully sped up, hoping to take his mind off of what she was saying, remembering that it was not alright to just drop her and fall to his knees begging forgiveness before he done something to her he knew God would definetely disapprove of.
"I just...I...Lo-AHHHHH!" She cried and suddenly straightened her body out as she tried to move her arm over her, the pain coming back. It felt like it had just been ripped back open.
"Kitten! It's ok, we're nearly there. Look! There's the orphange! I can see it, we're nearly there, just...," he glanced back down at her to see her eyes already closed.
"Kat?! KAT?! KAT!" He yelled, casting glances down at her as he ran, being careful not to it anything. He was really going at full speed now, knowing, that if he didn't get to the orphange soon, there was a chance...NO!
He couldn't think about it. He wouldn't. He finally made it to the field of the ophanage, jumping past all the fences and stone benches and making his way towards the building.
As soon as he was met by the candlelit doorways and hallways, he marched inside and towards the hall, knowing that was where the first aid and hospital had been temporarily set up for the casualties.
"BOYS!" He yelled towards the two on guard in the hall and shifted Kat's weight so her head lolled on his shoulder, "GET THAT BED READY! WE NEED BANDAGES AND THE KIT!"
All throughout, he had placed her own the bed, taken apart part of her uniform and cleaned her wound. He never once left her side.