Chapter Four:

Blue breathed, in and out. Steady and consistent, just as his Master taught him. Blue launched himself at the target in front of him. The dog snarled, and attacked back. Teeth bared and claws outstretched, they landed in a tangle on the stony floor. The crowd behind the metal grating roared with excitement. He bit at its arm, his fangs piercing the skin easily. It hissed, its claws scratching across his face.

Blue felt a sharp pain just above his eyelid ― far too close to his eye. He fell back, covering his bleeding face with a hand. The dog advanced, and Blue batted it off with a flailing arm. He could see his Master between the grating of the ring. His eyes set in a heavy glare. Blue felt shivers run down his back as it got back up.

He breathed, in and out. Steady and consistent. Failure wasn't an option. Not for him, not for his Master.

The dog ran at him again, ready to go for the kill. Blue put his arm out, letting it clamp down on his arm. He winced immediately, but let its fangs sink deep into his bone. Then, he grasped its jaw, with his hands, he pulled the animal's mouth apart, slowly.

Strength rippled through him, as the dog began to whimper, its top jaw unhinging from his mouth, but the bottom teeth stayed securely in place. Blue grunted, and yanked back hard. Instantly, the dog's mouth was split in two. It's blood was warm as sprayed across his arms, mixing with Blue's own blood and saliva.

The crowd's cheers was drowned out in Blue's ears as he stared at the dog that was crumpling at his feet. Blood oozed from it's skull and Blue could see bits of brain and muscle. The bone that was exposed was shattered and broken, a few pieces falling into the caved head of the expired animal.

Blue stared at it. He blinked slowly, and then turned away, moving to sit in his corner as someone stepped in and cleaned up the mess of the dead dog. The announcer blared on the speaker and Blue flinched, wanting to cover his ears with his palms. It was all so loud. It was all so bright. His arm felt numb and he didn't want to get up again, but he knew exactly what would happen if he didn't.

A tight cord wrapping around his throat as Blue gagged clawing at his skin as someone shoved a electric prod in his back. Blue spasmed, tears escaping the edges of his eyes, He kicked and bucked, until his vision turned black his fingers stopped moving. Then, they let go, and the next dog was led in.

Blue watched as the next animal was led into the ring. A big brown dog growled angrily at him. The announcer continued to scream into the microphone. Blue looked down at his numbing and rapidly bleeding arm. Failure wasn't an option.

Blue breathed, in and out. Steady and consistent.

m·a·v·i

Blue flinched as his Master stalked back and forth across the room, angrily mumbling to himself. Occasionally, he would take a bottle of alcohol and throw it at the wall behind him, causing him to smell of the strong, smelly substance that stung his eyes and made glass stick into his skin.

Blue clutched his still bleeding arm, barely able to keep his eyes open enough to hear what his Master muttering to himself. "Five days. . . not enough. . . kill me if I don't get him. . . Damn it!" Blue heard the last one clearly because he yanked a bookshelf down, letting the contents crash against the wooden floorboards. Blue flinched again, the small movement gaining his Master's attention.

"I have a job for you," He said, and Blue sat as attentive as he could, straining his ears to continue to hear instead of the white-noise that was beginning to fill them. His Master was scribbling down something on a notepad, before tossing it at Blue. "Go to this address and kill the man who lives there. You have three hours."

Blue grabbed the paper off the ground, his bloody, dirty fingers smudging the writing slightly. "Ma. . . Master. . . arm―?"

"Then, get your fucking arm fixed!" He snapped, and Blue flinched. "I need him dead tonight."

"Yes Master," Blue said quickly, scrambling from the room. He went to the room directly beside his Master's office ― also where his Master kept several duffel bags full of cash.

Blue's cage was behind a few shelves, tucked deep and hidden. Blue crawled in ― slightly bigger than the one he came in ― and grabbed a small, dirty roll of bandages. He quickly began to wrap up his arm. He was bleeding in other places, but he didn't have enough bandages to cover the rest of his body. His arm was a priority, and it hurt the most.

As soon as Blue finished, he crawled back out of his cage and looked at the address in his hand. He knew how to read, but he didn't recognize the address. It must have been a far from where his Master was located. He pulled out the map that his Master had given when he went on his first mission. He searched the map for anything that he recognized on the address. He recognized New York, but not much of anything else.

Then, he saw 'Brooklyn' on the map. He recognized that, at least, and he knew how to get there.

Blue put the map in his pocket, and crawled out of his cage, stifling the temptation to lay down and sleep. He only had three hours, and it would take him about and hour or two to get there, but killing the man shouldn't be an issue. He'd do it quickly so he could come back here and sleep.

Blue went back to his Master's office, to climb out his window. The office was in the back of the building, convenient for him to quickly come in and out. He waited, turing to his Master, who was leaning against a wooden desk, his eyes narrowed, "Go." He ordered.

Blue jumped out the window and was gone.

u·r·d·i·n

Blue stared at the address on the bloody paper. 480 Rogers Avenue, Apt. 149, Brooklyn, New York. Blue was lucky the apartment was adjacent to a mainstreet, or else it would've taken him forever to get to where he was.

Blue stared curiously at the building that was painted a light blue and glanced at the sides. He stepped up the steps and read the nametags on the buzzers. 149 ― G S. All of the other letters to 'G S' were faded away with time.

Blue looked at the building again, and then buzzed 140 ― WNDY. He watched and saw a light flick on in one of the buildings. He didn't wait to hear her speak.

Blue walked around the side of the building, watching and memorizing the floor where 149 was concerned. He walked around the side alley of the building, watching a few rats and rodents scurry away at his presence. The smell of rotting foods and left over junk attacked his senses, but Blue tried not to think about it.

Blue climbed on the dilapidated garbage can, and began to easily climb onto the building, his claws helping him hold leverage. His injured arm burned with every movement, but Blue didn't show it. He climbed to window 140 and counted silently, 141. . . 142. . . 145. . . 149.

Blue climbed up to where a skinny ledge ran along the building, stepping carefully and silently. He slipped down over room 149, hanging there for a second before letting himself fall. He snatched the window ledge just before he fell down four stories. He swallowed and slowly pushed at the window. It didn't budge.

Blue huffed in annoyance, clawing at the window's edge with his free hand, slowly making a hand hold. When he was able to securely place his hand underneath, he pried the window off. He carried it inside and set it softly on the ground.

The room was silent, the air calm, but the exposed window allowed the sounds of the street and the insomnia-inducing city noise inside. Blue glanced around the empty room, a few glass pottery sat on shelves and the appliances neat on the granite countertops. The floors were wood and a few areas covered in a rug ― including the hall where Blue assumed was where the bedroom was too.

Blue stepped down the hall silently, watching for any kind of movement. He gently opened a door, which happened to be a small bathroom. He did another, and it was a closet full of toiletries.

The last one was closed. Blue tried the knob ― locked. He held it for a second and yanked, pulling the door off the hinges, breaking the lock.

What he didn't expect was for the door to be pushed against him, pinning him against the opposite wall.

Blue grunted, trying to slide out, but the man was ready, keeping the pressure constant. "Who are you? What do you want?" He sounded furious. Blue didn't have time to answer his questions. He needed to be dead in the next ten minutes ― if that.

Blue dropped to the ground, and the man stumbled. He used this to squeeze himself around the door, and punch the man in the jaw. He let the door go and raised his fist. He was fast, aiming for his throat. Blue caught his hand before he could hit him, but the force of the attack sent him back a few feet.

Blue was shocked, he had never met anyone with strength on par to his own. He didn't have time to marvel. He attack, going for the man's torso, and he blocked. Blue tried to scratch him, but the man was far faster, ducking under and around his attacks. The man's fists flew at him, and Blue narrowed dodged them. He stumbled into the broken frame of the bedroom just inches away from an attack that would've probably broken his nose ― or caved his face in.

Blue kick, hitting the man in the side of his face. The man grabbed his leg and reared back, throwing him hard into the wall.

Blue's back hit the wall and he landed on his bleeding arm. Blue let out a hiss, cradling his bleeding arm with his good one. Breath in, and out. Steady and consistent.

Failure wasn't an option.

The man walked over, grabbing his shoulder, raising him to the light to see face. Blue watched as his angry, predatory blue eyes softened and then turned to something akin to confusion. "You're. . . just a kid. . .?"

Blue attacked, his fangs sinking into the man's hand. He let out a hiss of pain, dropping him. He jumped wrapping his legs around the man's neck, cutting off his air supply.

The man struggled, falling on his back, trying to pull Blue off. Blue didn't move, keeping his hold constant. The man reached out for the drawer beside him, his hand digging in for a moment. Blue saw the glint of the knife in the bedroom's dim light before it was digging into his thigh.

Blue let out a whine, falling back, and holding his leg. He breathed heavily, his hands shaking as he yanked the knife out. The man turned around, and watched Blue carefully as he squeezed his eyes shut. Breath in. . . breath in and out. Steady and consistent.

His hands were shaking as he looked up at the man, who was staring at him. He had to kill him. Failure wasn't an option.

Blue tried to climb to his feet, but his leg burned in pain. He let out another whine. His stomach was doing flips and he tried to breathe again. "Take it easy," The man warned stepping closer. Blue practically jumped back. His eyes darted around, looking for a way to escape. He couldn't stay here.

Blue tried to stand again, using the wall and holding the knife the man left in his thigh to him. His bloody hands smeared against the wall, accenting his struggle to stay standing. "You're hurt ― you can't leave. I need to take you to the hospital, okay?" Blue blinked, he didn't know what a 'hospital' was, but this man wasn't taking him anywhere.

Blue was fast. He darted for the door, limping as fast as he could. The man grabbed his arm as he stepped into the hallway, "Wait!" He stopped him. Blue tossed the knife to his other hand and immediately cut the back of his hand with his knife. The man's grip loosened and Blue continued to run. He jumped out the window with ease, his claws scraping down the side, easing his descent.

Blue took off as soon as he stumbled to the ground, limping as far and as fast as he could.

с·і·н·і

Blue didn't stop for hours, He got strange looks from passerby's ― mainly for the copious amounts of blood on his person ― but he wasn't stopped. He made it to his Master's hideout. With his leg, he couldn't climb up the side of the building like he would normally do.

Instead, he went around the back, and yanked the chain off that kept the door closed. Guns and weapons were brandished immediately, but Blue didn't pay any attention to it. He flopped on the ground, his eyes half-lidded and tired.

Someone yanked him up, and Blue hissed, curling up tighter. This didn't stop them. Two men carried him up the steps and dumped him on the ground of the office. He glanced up just in time to see his Master yank him to his feet. Blue hissed as soon as he put weight on his leg, gripping the crusted-over wound with his hands.

A sharp smack across his face made him fall back down. His Master was talking and Blue hadn't heard what the man was saying. "Report, you stupid ball of shit!" He demanded, his dark, stormy eyes were focused on him.

"Still. . . ali―" Blue didn't even get to finish the words. His Master threw him on the floor, and Blue curled gasping in pain.

"Failure is not an option!" His Master screeched above him. "Failure is never an option! You useless―!" His Master kicked him, and Blue inhaled, his ribs already sore and body exhausted. "I should shoot you right now!" His Master growled, yanking Blue up by his hand ― thankfully, it wasn't his bleeding one.

"Please―!" Blue begged, having trouble breathing. "Do better! Kill him - ple-please don't―!" His Master hit him again. Then he grabbed his bleeding thigh and squeezing. Blue screamed, nearly fainting with pain.

"You're not going to fail again," He growled in his ear. The heat of his breath made him shiver, his lip quivering and he tried not to let the tears gathering in his eyes slip down his cheeks. "Tomorrow morning ― you kill him. If you don't come back with his head, I'll squeeze all of the blood out of you." To prove his point, he squeezed his leg again. The wound reopened and stained his leg. Blue gasped, whining loudly and biting his tongue.

"Ye-Yes, Master! Yes! Please! Ki-Kill him! Please!" Blue begged. His Master stared him in the eyes and slowly, let go. Blue let out a breath of relief, holding his throbbing thigh gingerly.

His Master raised his hand and Blue flinched, waiting to get hit. "I want him dead tomorrow," his Master reminded. Blue nodded quickly, and his Master huffed and wiped his hand on Blue's raggedy shirt. "Get outta my sight." Blue scampered away as fast and as far as possible.