Chapter One: Death of a monster

I won't deny the horrible things I have done, the families I destroyed, the armies I have slaughtered. There is no excuse for the innocent lives that I have taken, nor the destruction that I have caused. I am a monster that sold my soul to devils, and no amount of atonement could erase my sins. A monster like me deserves a never-ending struggle and an unforgiving end...

"Where is it? Did I drop it?" A little girl in front of me stopped and started frantically looking through her things. I moved to go around her, but then I stepped on something. My blood ran cold, and my body completely stopped. I slowly and carefully looked down.

Under my foot was a doll. I sighed in relief and relaxed my body. It's just a doll. This isn't a battlefield, so there shouldn't be any landmines around. I need to relax a little more. After all, I don't want to stand out too much.

"Hey, keep moving! We don't have time for this!" An annoyed elderly man yelled at us and pushed his way past us. "Come on, sweetie. We need to leave." "But mom." The little girl's mom ignored her and grabbed her hand, pulling her along.

I should have moved on and ignored it, but against better judgment, I reached down and grabbed the doll. The doll was old and worn, clearly showing signs of extensive use. It had a faded dress and a chipped crown. I guess it was supposed to be some kind of princess. Not that I know much about children's toys.

I stood up and removed my face covering. "Hey, miss!" The lady and the girl turned around. "Is this yours?" I held the doll towards them, and the little girl's face lit up. I may have blown my cover, but if I could at least give this innocent little girl one last good memory of Dustka, then it might be worth it.

"My doll!" The little girl ran up and took it from my hand. "Is that how you thank someone?" The mom scolded and grabbed the little girl. "Now properly thank her."

The little girl bowed her head at me. "I'm sorry. Thank you for finding my doll," The little girl said. "It's fine, don't worry about it," I said. Her mother looked at me with an uneasy expression. "Are you leaving by yourself?" she asked.

"Yes." "I see... I hope that a kind girl like you will find a peaceful place to call home. Where you can be safe from the scars of war." "This is Dustka. Everyone here has scars, even if you can't see them." She looked at me, then her child. "You're right, let's hope that..."

A loud thudding sound echoed around us. It was the sound of a military helicopter, and it seemed to be approaching us. The little girl ran to her mother's side and hugged her tightly. "Don't worry, sweetie, it's just...

She was cut off by the loud sound of a helicopter flying right over us. It was flying so low that the wind from the helicopter blew sand everywhere, and even managed to remove the cloth that was covering my head. The helicopter did a sharp turn and hovered in front of us. It was an attack helicopter, and its guns were pointed right at us.

What the hell is the military doing here?! This was supposed to be a civilian corridor. Don't tell me that.... Before I could even react, I heard a loud crack and saw a blinding light, then everything faded to black.

I woke up and my ears rang, and the entire left side of my body was throbbing in pain. My vision was blurry, and I couldn't seem to open my left eye without it hurting. I could feel a warm liquid drip down my face. I instinctively touched my face with my right hand and then looked at my hand. As my vision started to focus, I saw that my hand was covered in blood.

My hearing started to return, and I can now hear people screaming and crying. I've been hit, but I can't worry about it now. I shoved off the body that was on top of me and pushed myself up. I looked around as the dust around me started clearing, revealing a dozen bodies piled all around me.

I looked beside me and saw that the body that I shoved off of me happened to be that of the little girl. How many innocent lives must this war take? Why did she have to die and not me? I shook my head. I can't think about it now. I need to leave now.

I grit my teeth and start running. I nearly tripped over a body on the ground, but kept going. With the adrenaline kicking in, I felt no pain, so I don't know how bad I've been hit, but I can't worry about my injuries now. I need to keep pushing forward. This is my only chance... no, my last chance at getting out of here.

I stop dead in my tracks as I see the helicopter circle around and get ready to do another gun run. Then, some anti-air rockets start chasing after it as the helicopter pops flares and tries to evade. One of the rockets manages to hit the helicopter, setting it ablaze and launching it to the ground. I hear a loud explosion, and then a tower of smoke begins to rise from that direction. I start running again as I hear more helicopters in the distance.

Huff.... huff... I can barely breathe after running away, but I think I am safe for now. My left arm is throbbing, and blood is dripping down from the left side of my face, covering my eye. Reaching up to my face, I felt a sizeable laceration just slightly above my eyebrow.

I try to wipe the debris out of my eye so I can see, but there's probably sand or bits of metal stuck in my eye. Looking over at my arm, I see blood dripping all the way to my fingertips. I quickly grab a tourniquet from my belt and apply it to my upper arm, just as I've done many times before. Squeezing the tourniquet tight, I am hit with shattering pain.

It's hard to move my arm, and it feels like something is lodged in it. Inspecting my arm closely, I see that there are a few holes in my jacket where blood is pouring out. I rip one of the holes open to take a better look. My arm is covered in small holes, with some of the bigger ones having sharp metal poking out. Gritting my teeth, I grab some of the larger pieces and yank them out. I bite my lip to stop myself from yelling out.

Feeling light-headed, I decided to remove the other pieces later. Some of the shrapnel might have cracked some bones, or they are jammed so deeply that someone else will need to remove them. I try to reach for the bandages in my bag, but I quickly realize the bag is missing. Damn it, my bag must have fallen off after I was hit. That bag had what I needed to make it out of here. I might have to go ba... Before I could finish the thought, I heard distant gunfire and explosions behind me. Sigh, Damn it, this was supposed to be my ticket out of here.

Suddenly, a shadow quickly flies past me. Drone!!! I quickly run and hide under some concrete rubble. Crouching down, I try to stay still and keep hidden, hoping I wasn't spotted. This situation is only getting worse, and I'm running out of time. I need to keep moving. After all, this is my only chance to escape. I shook my head and remembered my mentor's teachings. "Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. Panicking or acting carelessly will result in death." Looking back on everything, those words of wisdom have been keeping me alive.

Sigh, Ok, the plan failed, and now the military is hunting me, and my opportunity to escape is ticking away. My injuries are bad, but I can still move. There is a clearing in front of me that has some rubble I can use for cover. I don't hear any gunfire in that direction, so it's probably my best bet to push forward. I will wait for the drone to circle behind the ruins and then make a break for it.

I wiped my face and readied myself. The shadow faded behind the ruins. Now! I get up and run as fast as possible to get out of the open. Moving cover to cover and hiding when the drone flies by. I need to reach the other side before... A few loud snaps came from behind me as the sand around me was kicked up from bullet impacts. All of a sudden, I trip forward and slam into the ground.

I try to stand up, but the most excruciating pain and discomfort I have ever felt hits me. Even with my high pain tolerance and messed-up nerves, the pain nearly made me black out. Turning back, I can see that my right leg is bleeding and bent in an odd shape. I grit my teeth and forced myself back up to my knees. My vision is blurry, and my ears are ringing. I move my trembling hands to inspect my lower leg and see a hole where blood is pouring out. It's a gunshot wound, and the bullet definitely hit the bone.

With my broken leg and other wounds, it looks like I won't be making it out of here. No, I need to make it out of here, even if it means that I have to crawl. I reach out with both hands, grab the sand, and try to pull myself forward... "Well, look at this trash we got here." A shiver runs down my spine as I look up and see three soldiers heading towards me.

"Well, I'll be damned if it isn't the Angel of Death herself." "No way, a terrorist like her has a large bounty." "To hell with that. Lieutenant, that monster killed my brothers. Let's just kill her already." "Boys, settle down. Why don't we have a little fun torturing her before..." On and on, they ramble like some villains monologuing. I guess this is the end, but I will not give them the satisfaction of capturing me or worse. Luckily for me, they're stupid enough to ramble on in the middle of a war zone. Well, if I'm going to die, then I'm going to die the way I lived. I quickly grab the handgun that I've hidden in my jacket and aim at the soldier in the middle. I squeezed the trigger, and a piercing crack erupted.

...Fortunately for me, I got what I wished for. My death gave me a never-ending struggle and even a chance for atonement. However, my path towards redemption is filled with pain, sorrow, and even more bloodshed...