Misdeed

CHAPTER ONE: MISDEED

The world is painted in layers of crimson red. Not even the rain could wash it away. The sky is dark and only one stream of light shines through. But even within the darkness, you can still see the result of humanity's eradication. Holes carved into the earth, bodies piled on top of each other, rummage scattered to every corner, and fires start to dwindle into a dark cloud of smoke. Life seems to have ceased, but then came a sound.

A man desperately crawls away with motionless legs and a crumpled up piece of paper in his hands as the lurking hunter slowly approaches him. Tears fall from his eyes as he realizes the truth �" he cannot make it. The one light creeping through a crack in the clouds shines on him as he rolls onto his back to face the predator. His brown orbs is stared down by hazel ones, but his gaze then concentrates on the gun pointing directly at his head. Before the scream of terror could be let out, a bang echoes into the silence. His body went still and the light shining down was taken away by the clouds.

The one who possessed the gun fell to their knees as watery streams leaked through the eyes. It yanked the hat on top of it's head and threw it to the ground and brushed back it's hair to reveal a face of a young girl. She looked around the age of twelve, covered in dirt, blood, bruises and scratches layering on top of old scars. Her eyes filled with negativity as she looked down at her hands stained in red. They began to shake and her right hand let go of the gun. Desperately, she attempted to wipe her hands clean but the crimson red seemed to have sunk into her skin like a tattoo. The more she wiped, the more red her hands became.

A terrifying shriek echoes into the sky and tears continue to fall. Her eyes tried to close tightly but even the darkness was consumed in red. She turned to the large puddle beside her so splash water onto her face. But when her hands went to reach out into the filthy water, she faced the enemy �" herself. Staring back at her was her, but someone else at the same time. This reflection held a dark, sinister grin as its eyes filled with bloodthirst. And as she raised her hand to her face, the reflection copied as it's hands wiped blood on the cheek.

The young girl screamed and backed away, ripping off her uniform jacket to roughly wipe her face. She is living in a nightmare where she can not escape. The skin on her face was raw from how intense she was at attempting to wipe away the blood that only she could see. She looks up gaze into the world that surrounds her, and closes her eye to think back to when the clouds did not hide the sun.

Two children run as fast as they can to race to the finish line. They darted through the crowded walkway. People walked in all directions, people wave over others to their street carts filled with good, men yell out with a newspaper in hand about the latest news, "Hide Your Children", and children played outside in joy.

There it was, the finish line! The two young ones were neck in neck until the girl leapt as far as she could and landed on the finish line. The other one, a young boy, lowered his head in defeat but laughed.

"Good job big sister!" He congratulated. She gave him a smile as a reply then they hugged each other. But when a shadow casted over them, they stopped and look up. They shriek as they are raised into the air, but it was a shriek of joy as they were held in the arms of their mother.

"It is time to go inside," she told them both and got aw's in return.

The day continued peacefully, but then news came. A mother of three from next door stopped by with tears flowing down her cheeks. She began to speak of the horrible events soon to come. As she continued, the two young children's mother looked back at them.

"Adira, take your little brother and�"," before she could finish, shrieks and gunshots filled the air. She ran to the door as the neighbor left in terror. Adira peeked outside without her mother knowing to witness the bloodcurdling scene. Men in uniform barged into homes, children of all ages yanked from their parents' arms, and those who kept resisting were shot.

Her mother slammed the door shut and frantically moved the dresser against the wall to the side to reveal a hidden compartment. She opened it wide and put her young boy inside and began to climb inside. But when she looked back at Adira, she was shoved inside. The poor mother looked back up as Adira began to close the small compartment, and then it became dark.

Adira quickly moved the dresser back over the door before her mother could try to bring her inside. And when the compartment was hidden, the front door was kicked down. Two men grabbed and brought out Adira to where the other children were kept. Children wept for their parents as confusion and fear overwhelmed them.

A man dressed in a high-class uniform stood upon a platform and announced to the people, "These children will fight in the name of war! They will rise to become the best soldiers for the war that is soon to come! Those who dare to oppose will be shot dead!" The man turned to the guards keeping the children in place, "Move out!"

All the youth that filled the town was loaded onto caged wagons and sent off to an unknown destination. And as Adira's wagon began to move, she shoved through the others inside to look back at the home she may never see again.

Tears began to fall as she whispered softly, "Goodbye mother. Goodbye brother."

The next nine years she went through brutal training. Her mind was brainwashed into a war god's. All the good things children used to enjoy was wiped away. Their minds were trained to only know war strategies, weaponry, and to show no mercy. They only lived by one phrase, "Kill or be killed". No longer did they hold on to the innocence, but drowned into a dark world where they went mad. Without war, they would have no purpose for all they know now is to fight till they die.

Adira became one of the best, and fell victim to the mind of war. Praised by her superiors, she was granted more freedom than the rest. And with that, she took the chance to see her family once more. They were set to be positioned at a new base near her home. Without needing a guard to watch her every move, she ran as tears of joy fell from her eyes. All she could think about was seeing her mother and brother once more.

A tall hill was in sight, and over that hill would be the town. Her heart was racing, just a little more, and she's there! But all that emotions of joy vanished in a blink of an eye. The town that stood proudly, was in ashes. Adira fell to her knees in disbelief. Her world has crumbled and all she can think now is, what is there to live for? She continued her life of destruction, aimlessly walking, and being completely turned into a puppet.

The world she had surrounding her vanished, and she is brought back into reality. The battlefield covered in death surrounds her in complete solitude. She cried so much that her tears dried up, and now she stares off into the distance.

Her heart skipped a beat as the demonic voice from behind alerted her, "No matter where you run or hide, you'll always be a monster," She quickly turned to face the same image in her reflection. Without warning the reflection stabbed her within the stomach. Looking from the wound to her own eyes staring back at her, she was paralyzed with fear. Her reflection leans down to her ear and whispers, "Time for you to face reality!" The knife was pulled from her body, and then shoved back in her heart.

A scream was let out as the young girl rose up from her bed, sweat dripping down her face.

A nightmare, she thought.

It has been a while since that day. Yes, that nightmare was a past memory that is partially true. Though her life is at peace, the darkness still lingers as the sun hides behind her clouds.

Adira laid back down to rest. The past began to resurface in the back of her mind, but she shook it off.

Forget it. Forget it all. They are all gone.

Author's Note

**rough draft**