[Anatox]

The condition I have isn't some normal disease or defect. I don't know what it is. I just... woke up one day, and I was like this.

I can recall a few things from beforehand. Playing in the woods, my parents watching from the side. The explosion, the explosion that, surprisingly, didn't destroy my eardrums. Screams, screams of pain. From me, my parents.

And then... nothing.

One thing I do know: my eyes weren't glowing green beforehand. That's a new thing. I mean, kind of cool, not gonna lie, but also a bit inconvenient when I'm trying to not be seen in the dark. And I could sleep. It felt good to sleep, to rest. To not vomit acid blood every five minutes when I'm trying to stay still. To not always feel this endless fatigue that I know will never go away.

I miss those days. But I can never go back.

My feet pounded the pavement as my walk transitioned into a run. I pulled the hood of my hoodie over my head, keeping my hair tucked in the back of my shirt so it wouldn't go flying everywhere. I ran past the random citizens scattered on the sidewalk, none of whom paid any attention to me as I swiftly flew by them (except the one guy I accidentally ran into, who then swore at me as I left).

The bright lights and busy streets soon turned darker, more abandoned. I was down an older road, cracked and filled with potholes, neglected. Buildings here were dark without light within, and green ivy vines grew up the walls. I slowed down as I came nearer to the parking garage on the far end of the street.

It was a tall, four-story garage void of vehicles or cars. Random scraps of litter were blown around by the gentle wind. The lights that weren't either broken or burnt out flickered weakly, not doing much to light the dark space. When I entered, there was a door to my right, the entrance to the stairwell. Knowing well that they were locked, I knocked on the door twice. I waited a moment before knocking once more.

Now someone came to the window. A tall man with a stubble on his chin and dark brown hair. His dark eyes observed me for a moment before he opened the door, letting me in. Once the door was open, I nodded to him, and walked past. I heard the click of the door as he locked it again behind me.

I walked down the stairwell, brushing my hand against the cold concrete wall as I went. It was rough and damp, and the place had an underground smell, mixed with the scent of old cigarettes. I shivered as a chill went through me, the damp air cutting through my skin as I went.

Soon I made it to the bottom of the staircase. It opened up into the bottom floor of the parking garage. This floor was more well lit, and a few people milled about. Silent chatter floated about small groups, each not regarding my presence. I wasn't here to talk to them, though. I continued on through the lot.

Soon I came to another small room, similar to the stairwell room, only the windows weren't boarded or blocked. I knocked on the door, and waited a moment before it opened.

On the other side of the door was a man, not too much taller than me, with black hair and brown eyes. His black hoodie had a red logo, two knives crossed to make an X, stitched into the top right. He smiled when he saw me.

"Anatox!" He said in greetings, "Come on in!"

He moved out of the way, and I walked into the office area.

I couldn't remember what the room used to be for, but it was a nice little room. A desk had a bunch of papers on it, like files, with different people's pictures on them, as well as a bio on the person. On some of them, the name was crossed out in red. Those were in a separate pile, neater than the ones without. A gas lamp sat on the desk as well, on top of two books. A bit of a fire hazard, but I knew no one messed with this guy. He was the leader of the small clan, organization, whatever you wanted to call it. Though "organization" really wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind, we're anything but organized. Like this room.

"Sorry for the mess," The man said, "We just got a few new targets sent in. Hatred's going around, y'know?"

I shrugged. "It's fine, I get it. So, Dagger, how are you?"

Dagger obviously wasn't his real name, like Anatox wasn't mine. When we joined, we had to create a code name to go by, to stay under the radar of the authorities. Most of the names were like his, either named after a weapon or just trying to sound threatening.

Dagger groaned. "I feel like I haven't slept in weeks, but other than that I'm great."

I stifled a laugh. "Now you know how I feel."

"I guess I do."

I looked back over at the desk with the papers. "Anyone interesting?"

"Not really, it's mostly the norm," Dagger shrugged. "Some exes, enemies... the occasional felonist that got away with a crime..."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Funny sending someone to commit a crime because someone else committed a different crime."

"Yeah, I laughed at that, too," he laughed with me.

Suddenly, a flash of white overcame my vision.

-x-

"Anything new?" the scientist asked.

I sat down, observing readings on a computer screen as he talked to me. It had been a long day, but here I still was, working a late shift. Had to be done though. Someone had to make sure nothing exploded.

"Not that I see," I replied. I yawned.

The scientist patted my shoulder. "Are you sure you can handle this? Like, I can take over if you need to rest."

"I'm fine," I assured him, "I'm gonna grab some coffee in a minute, though. Just to chase away the fatigue, y'know?"

The scientist laughed. "Alright, you do you, Aaron. I have to head home, though. See you tomorrow?"

"Yup!" I said, looking over my shoulder and waving at my friend. "See ya, Jacob!"

Jacob smiled and turned the corner, leaving my field of vision as he rounded the corner.

Suddenly, the scene changed.

-x-

"Jacob... no..."

I knelt over the body, Jacob's body. Or the remains of it. I'm surprised he wasn't obliterated by the explosion. Most of his corpse was a bloody, fleshy mess, white bone poking out here and there. The only really recognizable piece of him was the quarter of his face that was still attached to his skull. Even his organs were basically gone.

Through my tears I gagged, the smell, it was awful, the sight made me sick...

I turned away and vomited. My screams were gargled, oh it hurt, it hurt, the pain. Blood, that's all that came out. Like my stomach had nothing to give, so blood was the only alternative.

I don't know how I lived. I don't know how I'm here, or why I'm throwing up blood that burned like acid in my throat, why every part of me was in this agonizing pain... I can't remember anything, I just know that Jacob was my friend and now he is gone...

It's all my fault... it's all my fault...

-x-

I gasped as my vision blinked back to the present. Dagger looked at me, his gaze worried.

"Another one?" he asked.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Yeah."

"What was it this time?"

"Still that same guy, Aaron," I replied, "And his friend, Jacob. We... they were talking, and then..."

My hand slipped over my mouth as I recalled Jacob's corpse. I wasn't bothered by death, but it was sickening seeing a body ravaged like that.

These "visions" were becoming more frequent with each passing day. It was either sights like this, like old memories that nagged in the back of your mind, or it was more of a present-day action. Like I was seeing through someone else's eyes. And always, always, it was that guy, Aaron. Sometimes Jacob was there, and sometimes it was someone new. They were quite unpredictable, and came at the most random times. Dagger and I both guessed that it may be my mind trying to create dreams without me sleeping, but they seemed too real to be dreams.

Dagger was the only one who knew about the visions. I'm sure David will find out eventually, though. Others questioned me when I randomly zoned out in a vision, but somehow we've managed to keep it secret.

"Are the meds not helping like you thought?" Dagger asked.

"No, they're helping," I snapped back, a bit too quick with my response.

Dagger raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

His tone dripped with skepticism.

"Y-yeah," I said, "I-I think so..."

Dagger bit his lip, exhaling. "If you say so."

He turned around and shuffled through the papers on his desk. "You want a target? I have a few I've been wanting to assign you."

I nodded. "I'm up for it. Got nothing else better to do."

Dagger grabbed three papers from the desk and handed them to me. "These guys came in this morning. Have fun with them."

I looked down at the papers.

The first one showed a girl, her shaggy brown hair up in a messy bun. Her hazel eyes stared blankly back at me from the paper. Sara Newman, 35.

The second was a girl with curled blonde hair and grey eyes. Her smile was almost too perfect, probably one of those spoiled rotten kids. The name was Jennifer Lylas, a twenty year old girl.

The last was a boy, a black haired kid with glasses. Looked like how I imagine a computer nerd. He was seventeen, his name was Kyle Drory.

Each paper also had their addresses, jobs, and even license plate numbers.

I nodded. "I can do this."

Dagger nodded. "I hoped you would. Now, let's get to it."

-x-

She an assassin >:3 and mwahaha I wrote like six chapters of this already

1740 words (longer chapters go brrr)