Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit! This was supposed to be a clean job. Scam a few brown-nosers out of some dirty money, use the cash to pay the contact's bail money, use the contact to get the jewel. Complicated, but clean.
Clean, dammit!
How was I supposed to know that I had a bounty on my head? No one told me! No one told me there'd be gunfire and smoke and—
Fuck all the blood! He just— I didn't mean to— I just— Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh—
"You."
I don't jump. I don't. I turn, but I wish I didn't. Holy shit. "Wh-who are you?" I take in the wings practically sealing me inside the warehouse. Windows, doors? No, no. I can't reach them. Too high; too far. I look back. "Y-you're not Casey—"
She walks towards me, but I can feel something oppressive coming from her. Shit. She's a threat!
Casey told me what to do with threats.
Okay, but last time I did that, there was so much blood! And… oh, god. She's blonde. Same as that little girl that cried the last time—
"You!"
I don't have time. I don't have time. The gun is useless tucked into the back of my pants, and some… large… thing just slams into me. I can't breathe! Agh! Ow!
I'd thank god for boxes, but she's coming closer. Blonde, and… wait. She's young. Young, like…
The large thing slams into me again, and I go flying again. More boxes soften my fall, but it hurts more this time. It hurts, it hurts!
I try to scramble, but she's too fast. She's across the warehouse one moment; she's at my throat the next. Her hands are small, but they're powerful. She's dangerous.
It hits me right then.
I'm going to die.
She's not here to collect whatever bounty. She's here to kill me. She's here to kill me!
"Are you afraid?"
Yes, yes I'm afraid. I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm—
"Princess!"
Princess? Like royal— air! Air, air, I need air!
"Let him go."
Yes, please. Please, I'll do anything. Let me go; your grip, it's too tight! Please!
"Train, you realize who this bastard is."
Please!
"Yeah, I know."
The girl turns, and she moves me just enough for me to get a lungful of air. Oh, thank god. I can't see who this guy is, but he's got to be better than this!
"Please!" I have to ask for help. I can't be at the mercy of this kid! I can't! "Help me!"
The only thing I see are the glint of orange. Full, bright eyes that make me stop. Oh, god. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no…
"I'm not here for you. You can rot in prison for free."
He says that, but his body screams danger, and I know he's dangerous. He was dangerous when we fought, and I was lucky enough to escape.
Wait, where's the third… oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit.
"Prison?" The girl's voice hurts. Her hand hurts. Everything hurts. "Train, he killed Sven!"
Oh shit… this was supposed to be clean… blood was one thing. An injury was one thing. A wound was one thing…
Oh god…
…I killed him…
"I know." Oh, god, I'm a murderer… "And I get wanting to kill him," he's talking about me—her grip!, "to make the balances equal. It would be really easy, honestly."
Not helping! Not helping! Her grip! Spots!
"…I thought you'd want to stop me." I have to try and get out of her grip. It's useless, and my kicks are getting weaker, but I have to keep trying! I killed a man! They're going to kill me! "Why aren't you stopping me?"
"Two reasons. One, I know exactly how it feels, and being told 'don't kill him, it's not worth it' doesn't do anything. If there's one thing I know, it's that." Shit, everything feels heavy. But I can't stop! I… have to keep…
"Two," continues the guy as if I'm not literally dying, "You've been keeping him alive yourself. I thought you'd kill him when you got here, but you're keeping him alive and just as angry as ever."
"He killed Sven!" She shakes me, and the spots get worse! Worse! I can't! "I can't just let this guy walk free!"
"But you can't kill him either."
But she is killing me! Everything's heavy! It's scary! I need to breathe!
"…why can't I do it? I used to… I used to…"
"Because you already know Sven wouldn't want you to."
I… can't…
Darkness comes, and the last thing I hear is a bloodcurdling, agonized shriek of pain.