Creak. Creak. Creak. Slam!
I woke up, hearing lots of sound outside my room.
I looked at my clock.
[4.44 a.m.]
"That number again! Oui... This is going to be bad."
I silently walked towards my door. I opened the door slightly and peeked out. I saw several big sized people searching for something inside our house.
"...Project...General...Master...Orders..." That's all I could make out from their conversation. I tried to listen in more when suddenly...
Bang!
My bedroom door swung open, and I was thrown to the floor.
"Ouch, that hurts." I struggled to get back up.
A man with a large build and huge sword walked towards me and picked me up like a sandbag. "Woah, let go of me!" I struggled as he brought me to my Ma's room.
The man entered my Ma's room and placed me on the floor. "You..." I glared at the man with a huge sword.
Ma's room was dark. The light was not on, but the curtain was left opened to let the moonlight shine in. I looked straight and saw 3 tall and broad sized men and 1 slender looking woman standing around Ma. The man with a long sword had a slender body than the rest and was much taller; the other man was playing with his gun while whistling. The other man had a big body (horizontal) and was wearing a lab coat, squatting down and moving something into a box with dry ice. The woman, on the other hand, had a nasty looking whip with a sinister aura. I couldn't see their faces properly, but I knew they were not here with good intentions.
"Hello. Miss Llyne, was it?" I turned to the direction of that sound. The man with a long sword approached me.
"What? Who? Never heard of that name." I feigned ignorant. I tried to stand up, but the man with the huge sword pressed me down on my shoulder, making me kneel on the floor.
The man with a long sword asked, "Do you know what's in front of you, Miss Llyne?"
I looked at him and answered, "You?"
The man stepped aside and asked again, "How about now?"
I looked straight and saw Ma lying on her bed emotionless while the man with the lab coat placed a weird object from another box into Ma.
I stared back at the man with the long sword with a blank face. He replied, "She's dead, child."
I couldn't believe it. It's like a dagger pierced through my heart. I choked up, and tears dripped down uncontrollably. Ma, the bright and loving mother that everyone envied me for was now dead right in front of me. I wanted to deny it at first. I kept thinking, this must be just another nightmare. It can't be real. I pinched myself real hard, but to my complete horror, I was wrong.
Who knew one day, I would never get to experience Ma's smile, her hugs, Ma chasing me around the house with her broom, teasing each other, Ma making her delicious food and so many other wonderful things we shared in this house. My head drooped down as I was thinking,' I knew that one day she would go, but not like this. I thought we still have so many years together'.
After I had calmed myself down, I wiped my tears and decided this wasn't the end yet. I took a peek of the people standing around Ma. 'These people must be Ma's enemy. I got to find a way to escape. First, I got to let their guards down.'
The man with the long sword, asked the man in the lab coat. "When are you done, The Doctor?"
The Doctor nodded and replied, "Just done, Master Khun."
Master Khun moved close to me and asked, "Any last word, Miss Llyne?"
"Can I ask some questions?"
The man with the gun was annoyed and asked, "Why do you -"
Master Khun interrupted the man. "Sure."
The man with the gun clenched his fist in anger. "But -"
Master Khun glared at him angrily. "Master Jay..."
Master Jay gritted his teeth and turned away in discontent.
Master Khun pulled me to a chair and we sat next to each other.
"So what happens next?"
Master Khun smiled. "We are going to stage this murder like a suicide. We even prepared a suicide note with your handwriting on it." Master Khun showed me the note. I was baffled how it was so similar to my handwriting. Cursive and creative.
"Who are you guys and why are you after my Ma and I?"
"Hmm...Your mother never told you?"
"Told me what? She only told me, she and father had lots of enemies in the past." I sighed, not knowing anything of my parent's past.
"Yes, they did and all their enemies wished for their death. We are one of their enemies but we do not bear any grudge against them. We are just contract assassins. We were given a lot of money by our client in a form of contract, to execute not just your Mother, but your entire family." Master Khun replied wholeheartedly.
I gulped nervously. "What did you put in Ma's body?"
Master Khun looked at The Doctor. The Doctor replied in confidence, "An improved artificial organs, unlike what you see in the market. Ours are more realistic, difference between the original ones are close to 0 and impossible to be traced back where it came from."
My face grew pale. I looked at the window and said. "If I die, at least let me die next to the window."
Master Khun agreed. "Alright. I guessed I should fulfill a dying child's wish. Dying under the moonlight does give a more compelling evidence for suicide, after all."
"W-What?" I was stunned by what Master Khun said.
Master Jay sent a signal and a few men came in. They brought in a rope, chair and knife into Ma's room. One of the man stabbed Ma with the knife and blood was gushing out. The other man tied a noose and placed the chair below it.
"What a tedious act." The woman yawned.
"We agreed on this, Master Asha." Master Khun gave her a stern look.
"Tch!" Master Asha clicked her tongue.
I ignored their fight and asked Master Khun. "Why do I have to kill myself in my Ma's room?"
"Didn't you read the note I gave you before?" Master Khun asked.
"I did, but how am I supposed to read that handwriting?"
"It's your handwriting, brat!" Master Jay shouted.
"I know, but I can't read my handwriting."
Master Khun looked at me in shock and interrogated me. "How do you study? Do you play all the time? What are you going to do about your future?"
"Don't imitate my Ma! Her nagging scares me." I looked away in fear.
"Your Mother's nagging scares you, little gal?" Master Asha made a disgusted look.
"Ya 'cause once she nags, I'll become wiser. And you know what people say, as you grow old, you'll become wiser. I'M GROWING OLDER AS MA NAGS ME!!!" I wailed.
"I can't believe this brat is their child." Master Jay said in pity.
"You don't know how scary my Ma can be." I refuted.
"You can stop wasting time, Miss Llyne. Get on the chair quickly." Master Khun grabbed and placed me on the chair.
"I'm scared of heights. It makes me dizzy." I flapped my arms like a bird struggling to keep itself from falling to the ground.
"Just suck it up, brat. You're going to be dead soon anyway." Master Jay said.
"Can you open the window so I can breathe the fresh air one last time?" I plead with my puppy eyes.
"She's one demanding brat." Master Jay got super annoyed by my request.
Master Khun opened the window. "Here. Would that suffice, Miss Llyne?"
"Thank you, Master Khun." I turned to the window and jumped out.
Master Jay and Master Asha rushed to the window and screamed.
"Oii!!! Brat! Get back here!" Master Jay screamed from the second floor. While Master Khun was stunned by my act.
The Doctor mocked, "You all have been fooled by a child. Bravo."
Master Khun ordered his henchmen, "Catch the girl and bring her here. Make sure to do it as discreetly as possible. We don't want to alarm anyone. While you're at it, block every exit so she won't escape."
Master Jay said in rage, "Once I get to her, I'm gonna mince her."
"Don't keep all the fun to yourself, Jay. Let me torture her a bit." Master Asha sneered.
"What about you, Master Khun?" Master Asha asked.
"I won't do anything out of the ordinary. Both of you won't either." Master Khun gave them a warning.
Master Jay scratched his head and started to clean his gun to release his anger. Master Asha turned away and said, "Oh, how dull. That's why we can never get along."