Chapter 61

Anya gasped for air, her quickened breath materialized into brief puffs of mist that vanished as quickly as they came. Her hand touched the pulsating bruise that scarred her neck and immediately, bitterness and rage surged.

“You!” She called out, staring at the woman with caustic hatred. “You tried to kill me!”

“They lied to you...” a familiar voice suddenly entered into her mind.

The child stood up and aimed her rifle at the woman’s head.

“We made a deal and you lied!” Anya shoved the end of the barrel against the woman’s forehead. 

“They cannot be trusted…”

“You’re one of them!” The girl’s finger slowly tightened around the trigger. “I hate you all!”

PUM!

The loud crack of the rifle rang in her ears and Anya stepped back. After a  brief moment, she glanced down. The bullet entered cleanly through the woman’s forehead, splatterings everything in its path to the ground below. Her body laid limp and lifeless with blood rapidly pooling to the side.

Anya took a deep breath.

It was strange, the anger she had felt before disappeared, yet she did not feel relieved. The child began to wonder why she fired the shot. After all, the woman was no longer a threat.

“They don't deserve mercy…” The voice echoed again.

“No…” Anya shook her head. “She didn’t deserve a second chance…” she muttered under her breath. “And neither did he…” The girl clenched her jaw as she remembered the jittering man. 

Anya stashed the rifle onto her back and surveyed her surroundings. Surprisingly, there was no one around. Despite the loud noise, not a single person dared to show, not even for a curious peek. The child then gazed at the body in silent contemplation.

Had Anya left the woman alone, the woman would have transformed and scurried off on command. But as it was, there was a desecrated body in plain sight. Though currently veiled by darkness, once the skies shifted gray, the corpse would be open for all to see. 

“They will find it…”

“I know…” the girl whispered under her breath. “Stupid...!” Anya then cursed herself for her brash actions. If she had chosen not to open the door, then none of this would have happened. She turned her head toward the patrol station. Since the gunfire elicited no reaction, she could assume that Ol’ Keep was still fast asleep. The child glanced around once more, checking for witnesses before she nuzzled the deceased woman’s legs between her armpits. She pulled and tugged, dragging the body across the coarse ground.

At that moment, she felt her heart race. This was not the first time she had ended a life, yet moving the body made her incredibly anxious. She peeked over her shoulders, constantly on the lookout. After a period of struggling, she was far enough where she was comfortable with the distance. The girl then hauled the body into a small opening between two standing shacks and covered it with a few metal sheets that had fallen off the old buildings. In her opinion, it was pretty well hidden. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary considering the dilapidated surroundings.

Her attention then shifted to the blood tracks that led straight to the body. Anya kicked the ground several times, scattering dirt and pebble onto the dark red liquid. With the poor lighting conditions, the trail was already challenging to see. With some additional debris, it became incredibly difficult to distinguish. She continued to cover her tracks until she reached the station, where the girl stared at the pulp-laced puddle of blood. Unlike the rest of the blood trail, which became invisible with a few kicks of grime, this pool of blood required much more effort to camouflage. 

The child sprayed a layer of gravel over the affected area and stood back with dissatisfaction. Even though not immediately apparent, the evidence would prove easy to uncover. She tried adding a few extra layers, which only surfaced another hurdle: it created a mound that was just tall enough to elicit curiosity.

Anya racked her brain, it was too obvious that something was buried. She needed to somehow make the landmark less noticeable. While turning toward the outpost, another idea emerged.

Maybe… She thought. Maybe if I could just wash it away…

As she grabbed the door handle, a sudden realization gripped her.

“The door…” the child muttered, “it’s locked…” She punched the door in frustration.

“The body will be found…” The voice uttered. “They will know…”

“GHAAA!” She shouted. “Why does nothing ever go my way!?” the girl tousled and tugged at her hair. “I hate this place! I hate this place! I hate this place!”

After a few huffs, Anya stared back at the pile. All the work she had put in to conceal the body was for nothing. 

“You must leave…”

The air was frigid and she felt her hands numb by the second, Anya knew that she could not stay. There was blood on her clothing and when the patrol returns, they are going to have a lot of questions. After a few more deep breaths of air, the girl turned around and departed the patrol station. She followed the road adjacent to the building. From what she had remembered, the pathway to the gate was very straightforward. Just follow the road and she will eventually reach the outskirts of the slums.

...

It was not long until the girl started shivering. Among her many regrets, one of them was that she did not bring the warm coat along. Her cloak provided some protection against the elements, but not enough to make her comfortable. In an effort to distract herself from the cold, the girl began to scan her surroundings.

Her current location was just as dead as any other part of the ghetto, mostly quiet with the occasional pestilent coughing that haunted the ear. A few shacks leaked a soft, flickering light, and a few more were downright falling apart in front of her. Anya started to wonder whether some of these makeshift shelters were downright empty, as they did not even seem livable.

The further she was from the patrol station, the more erratic the buildings became. Before, the scrap-made structures at least had a form and resembled shelter. Everything around her now seemed to be just bolted together, chaotic and without forethought. Some of them did not even have doors, but cloth-covered holes where people crawled out of.

Within several more minutes of walking, the large gate slowly came into view. It was not as tall as the outer city walls, but they rose high enough to be infeasible to climb. The gate was sealed shut. It stood at about two-stories tall and wide enough to pass two vehicles at once. Behind the walls and gate were watchtowers that extended another story higher. Each had their own spotlight, which shone upon the proximity of the walls. The gate itself was just two mesh panels, metal fencing, tied together by a metal chain in the middle. Everything else was made of ugly concrete, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Anya grabbed the gate and pulled, which rattled the chain that strung them together. A lock secured the two segments of the chain together and ensured that the gate remained shut. The girl searched around. 

The location was well lit, yet there was not a single person in sight. 

“Hello…?” she called out,  “Anyone there…?” She rattled the gate some more. It was strange that the gate would be abandoned, after all, it was the only way in and out of this decrepit wasteland. The child had imagined that security would have been much tighter.

As the cold further seeped into her skin, Anya huddled her arms closer to her body to preserve what little warmth she had. She huffed her breath into her hand in an attempt to thaw her freezing fingers.

“Helloooo!” she shouted, this time kicking the gate repeatedly.

Luckily, someone responded.

“Hey, stop that!” A man’s voice shouted from behind the gate walls. “The hell are ya doing?!” Beyond the gate was a scruffy, middle-aged man wearing a coat that was near identical to the ones worn by the patrol. 

“Please open the gate!” she pleaded.

“Uh-uh, that ain’t how this works missy,” he responded, adjusting the gun on his back. “You ain’t just gettin’ in.”

The man was not about to just let anyone through and Anya knew it. Given how easy the gate was to find, she would've guessed that she was not the first one to attempt to get past. She needed to convince the guard that she belonged on the other side of the gate, that was her way out. The child placed her hand upon her chest and took a deep, calming breath.

“I was kidnapped.”

“Wha-?” The man seemed startled, having taken a step back. “Come again?!”

“I stayed in one of those tall buildings.” Anya pointed her finger off into the distance. She then quickly dug into her satchel and pulled out the sapphire card. “See.”

The man stepped in closer for a better look as Anya continued.

“A boy…” She muttered, concealing her anger. “He... tricked me… sold me for money… I… I escape.” The child handed over the card, to which the man inspected with care. “My… my mom… she’s bound to be looking for me…”

The man returned the card and stared at the child with suspicion.

“I… I bet she’s willing to reward you well!” Anya nervously voiced as she looked up at the man with widened eyes, “So… are you going to let me in…?”

The man scratched his chin in contemplation before reaching for his keys.

“I’m gonna have to take ya in for some questions.” his eyes then shifted to her rifle. “Better keep that on ya back or we’re gonna have a problem… got it?”

Anya nodded and sighed in relief. The man opened the gate and immediately locked it once the girl had gotten past. He led her through the arch of the gate where the area opened up to another fenced perimeter. Not far from the gate were several buildings, larger and better decorated than the outpost within the slums. The area was very well lit, and the man was not the only one to take point along the walls. Anya counted at least eight others out in the open, which ruled out her plan of just making a run for it.

The man opened the door to what seemed to be the main structure and signaled for her to enter. Once inside, the guard promptly reported to an older gentleman that sat at a sturdy looking desk. He explained the situation to the older gentleman before saluting and leaving through the door. 

The girl stared at the man in silence as he continued with his paperwork.

“Just a moment, please.” He said in a soothing voice. “I’ll be right with you.” And just as promised, the man got up soon after and led the girl deeper into the station. He stopped at one of the doors, opening it with a key before hinting for her to enter. The room was plain, populated by just two chairs and a table with an overhead lamp.

“Here, please sit down.” he gestured toward one of the chairs. “And if you would, please empty the satchel on the table.” The old man did not speak like the others: his accent was barely present while his deep voice rolled off his tongue like melted butter. 

Anya nodded and did as she was told, withdrawing the contents of her bag, one by one.

“The rifle as well, if you will.”

The girl slowly placed her weapon on the table and sat down.

“Alright, I’ve got a few questions for you. If you could, please answer them to the best of your ability.” The man sat across the child and pulled out a small notebook along with a pen from his coat. “No need to be nervous, just be honest and everything will be fine.”

Anya swallowed her saliva, careful to hide her uneasiness from her interrogator.

“Let’s get started with an easy one. What’s your name?”

“Anna.” She responded immediately.

“Anna, is it? Judging from the way you speak, you’re not from around here, are you?”

“...” She hesitated, carefully thinking over her words. “... no, I’m not.”

“I’ve heard of that place,” the man picked up the card again. “Decadence, isn’t it? Never been there, but I do hear that it caters to specific tastes.” He leaned back. “Regardless, your place of residence isn’t my concern. What I want to know is how you got from there-” he placed the card on the table and slid it toward the girl. “-all the way here.”