Scars Ch. 8
#8 of Scars
Lucan was raised in a guild as an assassin at a young age along with his brother, Drake. After breaking one of the guild's laws, Lucan ran away and sought out by the guild's leader, Conway. After being saved from homelessness by a friendly Dingo named Chris. He tries to protect his new-found friends against his former family.
In the middle of the night; Lucan, Chris, and Patrick have all gone to bed. In an alleyway close to the their apartment, Victor stumbles around, holding his right arm in pain. Victor stops and leans against a trash dumpster, wincing slightly from the pain in his arm.
"And to thing I once feared you as a child," A voice says in the shadows. "What happened to that blood lust you had coming here?"
"I still have it," Victor says. "The little shit caught me off guard." Out of the shadows, Drake walks toward Victor, their bitter eyes stare each other down. After much silence, Victor breaks his stare and looks at the ground. "Why have you come back, I thought I told you to scram."
"I've come back to give you a message from Conway," Drake says. "You will bring Lucan back alive."
"So we're going lenient on the traitor," Victor spits onto the ground. "Not like I saw it coming, you being the boss's bitch."
"You mistaken everything," Drake says coldly. "Conway wants you to bring Lucan back to be executed." A large smile crosses Victor's face.
"And who get's the pleasure of his head?" Victor asks
"Conway has appointed me Lucan's executioner," Drake says.
"That must be eating away at you then," Victor laughs. "
"I hold no brotherly bond to him anymore," Drake said coldly, his stern eyes looking straight at Victor. "Lucan is a traitor to his family; why should I show sympathy to a traitor."
"I like what Conway has turned you into," Victor grins, a small chuckle sneaking out of his mouth. Victor stands up and turns to walk away. "I'll bring him back to the guild alive, but not without taking something away from him."
Chris sits up from his bead, rubbing his eyes. Scratching the back of his head he turns his head to see the time on the clock, his eyes widening to the sight of the time. "Oh fuck I need to get to school!"
Chris jumps out of bed, taking and putting on cloths in record time. Just as he's about to turn to the nob on the door to the living room, the memory of Victor and how close he came to dying comes back to him. Chris gulps as he reconsiders going to school after the incident so soon.
The very idea of that guy showing up at his school and attacking him scared the Dingo close to tears, but the college he was going to was paying for his apartment bills and food. If he skipped school he would be out on the street, and that sword-wielding maniac isn't the only criminal in this city.
With all his strength, Chris opens the door and walks out into the living room. There, he sees me sleeping on the couch, the balcony door closed and locked. After drinking a cup of O.J. to calm himself, Chris gets his backpack, opens the front door, and just as he makes his first step, he suddenly trips on something and falls to the ground hard.
The fall, along with Chris's yell, wakes me up from me sleep and I jump up and come to my friend's aid. As Chris recovers from the fall, rubbing his head which was where he landed, looks to see what he tripped on.
Right outside the front door to the house, a long katana lays on the ground. Me and Chris both look at the sword with bewildered stares. Who put it there? Why would they put it there? I had no allies left in my old guild, save Ollie and maybe Tonya. Ollie deals with staffs and spears while Tonya handles knives. I have seen Tonya use a katana once or twice in sparing matches between her and other members.
Chris stands to his feet, patting away the dust from his jeans. I slowly pick the sword up from the ground. Who's it from?" Chris asks.
"I don't know?" I answer. "It could be Victor trying to get us into a trap."
"If that's so I don't think you should keep it," Chris says.
"I have to protect ourselves somehow," I said. "Victor always liked a challenge. Never killing an unarmed person unless he needed to."
"So what do we do now?" Chris asks.
"Well now that we have a sword we can now defend ourselves against Victor," I said. "You should get going to school. If you think anyone's following you or you see Victor, call Patrick immediately."
"Right," Chris says. After we say our goodbyes, Chris leaves for school as I go back into the living room. I sit on the couch and look at the sword in my hands. It's in pristine condition, I retract the blade from the sheath and the entire blade is polished and razor sharp.
Victor couldn't be that merciful to us to give us a sword, especially after what we did to him. Who gave me this sword?!
Chris reaches the entrance to his school. Stopping to look at his watch, it reads 10:50 a.m., just a few minutes before the morning bell rings. The entire walk over, Chris looked at every person walking near him like they were about to attack him. His suspicions died out as he walked into the school, where he'd be surrounded by students and teachers.
Unknown to Chris, Victor was watching him from atop a nearby apartment fire escape. A smug grin etched on his face. He pats the hilt of his blade and quickly walks down the fire escape and towards the college.