Chapter 1

The streets flooded with loud sirens and dozens of guards and special operations teams to examine the mangled, defiled body left in the cross walk. I stood directly behind the yellow tape and stared down, directly into the bloody mess of a human. His eyes were left empty, expressing nothing but fear. He knew he was dying however; it was very imminent so I couldn’t help but wonder about what exactly he was scared of...

            It was wrong to examine a case once it's been filled out. A taboo even to some in my line of work... But something about the chilling night and ease of it was frightening. It was the beginning of a long process. A job with unknown answers, consequences, and roads was surely not what I signed up for. DEATH was what I had my heart set on, so anything else was usually an unnecessary distraction. I was here for a better reason.

            Letting the thoughts disband I tried to focus, my body trembled. Hearing the officers shout and growl at the screaming bystanders was skin crawling. Loud noises proved to be my Achilles heel but I endured it long enough to get my next task. A man wearing nothing but a smug grin situated himself next to me. I let the awkward linger before rolling up my sleeve long enough to let him glimpse the black marking that lined my veins. He nodded, shoved several papers into my pocket, and then disappeared into the crowd. Relieved of my stress I was finally able to leave the scene and venture off to complete my other business.

* * *

 

            Sitting in a circle all was silent, everyone each other. I spread the papers onto the table and let the conversation unfold gradually starting with Master, the leader of our operation.

            "Well done tonight everyone. C-37.B is vanquished and the verdict to Council will be left unknown and held back once again." He chuckled recalling the past three days. Day one was filled with a sick series of slaughters... leaving brands among the ones who died that day to ensure we were discovered as a form of cult. The Council were casting votes on how to systematically obtain more information from the people, without them consciously knowing... using various tools and any psychological means necessary. The public would be blind to this detail, and be fed nothing but bullshit to cover their tracks and bask in more power. We were insects compared to the system.

            So, Master development a plan, and slaughtered the voters. This ensured no one could be contacted to even hear a mutter about the trail, burned any hand written copies, deleted and destroyed the hard drives of computers and devices holding any leads, and all were branded with a piece of the puzzle: "We watch."  It was a long process, but successful nonetheless.

            "Piper… I am more than please with your execution as well. Knowing you were successfully able to hack and completely make a mess of the key systems we desperately needed cleared will help us move more smoothly and efficiently from here on out." He smiled. Emma blushed slightly at her praise. She also successfully infiltrated the public computers and two broadcasting signals, blocking their screens out with the next piece: "We Move" for several minutes before disappearing, and overriding their systems so we would have total control whenever we pleased,  leaving Council in the dark as to what happened or where it came from. Then Day three was my murderous scheme of killing the messenger himself of the trial answers... Leaving my piece: "We Pray" for the public to see. He was a very respectable man, always on time and loved by the people through a false alias…

            Maybe that’s why he was scared. He was scared because someone knew the real him.

            I stared at the papers the mystic man had given me and examined the information carefully.

            "Barker," Master said throwing a sharp tone in my direction.. He was silent, eyeing the table. "I need you and Emma to work together from here on. Neither of you make a move without the other hearing about it... Though you’re both impeccable, this task is key, and a one shot deal." He snarled, fingers tapping the glass. "You are going to infiltrate a government building. Not a major building, oh no... But another more specific watch tower. There you will with my signal, truly begin this revolution... Nothing will get done, until the Mind and Eye become one. Ca'peesh? Good... Screw up, your heads are gone." I let the tension build slightly knowing he was nothing but serious. I watched him walk over and grab another members shoulders and squeeze immensely. They swallowed hard but had a look of amazement spread deep into their features. Master was a heavy and well equip manipulator… That’s how he found all of us. He was eager and easily filled our minds with hopes and dreams. I never cared either because he really did give me hope… More hope than I thought a person could ever have.

            "This is only the beginning my children... we haven't even scratched the surface yet... We will soon be free. We watch, we move, we pray… We kill with thrill?"

            “To die another day.”

Author's Note

Critique is much appreciated