Who Is the Real Monster Part 4

Xavier opened his eyes again and couldn’t see a thing. He did remember where his last location was before passing out. He remembered getting smacked in the back of the head with an assassin’s gun, he definitely got a terrible headache from it. His friends tried to turn to him for help but he could not due to his injury so he had to sit it out.

“Boss!”

“You’re alive!”

“For fuck’s sake, of course, I am,” He grumbles to the excited voices calling for him. All of the voices echoed in this shipment container and that made his headache come back in small spurts. The next thing he hears is a bunch of guns being fired from outside the container and shouting. Some of the voices were recognizable but he could not place them; the van stops in its tracks feeling like it is veering toward the ditch. Everyone stood in silence for a few brief moments before a loud thud erupted from one side of the container, a sharp instrument pierced the side and started sawing away at it. The noise that emitted from the saw was the last thing that Xavier needed but it was over as quickly as it began, with the cut-off side falling with a loud clang on the road.

Everyone gathered around the hole and found a group of men and women dressed like ranchers standing in front of them. The group was a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes with one tall man standing in the center.

“Well, holy shit, if ain’t the Black Bears,” The man shouts excitedly, jumping into the container with ease. “The name’s Arnie, and the group of fine people outside? We are the Broncos, we live a bit outside the city. One of my people was just inside the city when she saw y’all get loaded up. She told us and I thought to myself “Why not help out a neighbor?”

The Black Bears look at the man with great confusion and surprise.

“Why the look on your faces?”

“Our boss is injured,” Rodney rushes forward to Arnie.

“Oh, holy shit. Why didn’t you say so? We have a personal doctor who can help him. Follow me,” Arnie gestures to the Black Bears as he jumps down from the container.

“Excuse me!”

Everyone turns to the source of the shout, and sees a woman with blonde hair carrying a baby in her arms. “Our car broke down, my husband is dead, and we are desperate for help. We heard some noise and thought that you could help us!”

“Who is with you right now,” Arnie asks as he walks down the side of the road.

“A woman named Cassie.”

“Cassie!?” Xavier says springing to his feet, he jumps down from the container nearly falling face first. Damn, that headache was really bad. He still tries to run up to the woman, he grabs her by the arms. “Where is she? Is she safe?”

The woman is frightened by the sudden outburst and falls backward.

“I am so sorry but I have been looking for a woman named Cassie for days now.”

“Oh, are you the abusive boyfriend she has been talking about?”

“What?!?”

“Settle down there, boss man. We don’t know if you have a concussion or not.” Arnie grabs him gently by the shoulder and leads him back toward the road and into a medical van. Arnie walks back to the woman with a grin

“Now miss, where is your car?”

The woman pointed out into the woods, “it’s out there. I asked Cassie to start a fire so that I could know where we stopped.”

“Alright, let’s go get Cassie and that car,” Arnie waves to his comrades to move forward into the woods.

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I finally got a fire going with a small bundle of cotton balls, baby vaseline, twigs, and the last remaining matches in the pack. The flame slowly started growing and smoke billowed up into the air as I slowly blew air into the pile. Trudy went off to try to find someone to help us since she saw that we were a few miles away from the road. I did hear gunshots in the distance, along with what sounded like a saw and metal clanging. I hope that Trudy and Leo will be okay, traveling all those miles. I hear a lot of conversation from ahead of me, many of the voices I don’t even recognize except for Trudy. A large group of people dressed as ranchers and city people are walking toward me and the car.

“Cassie! I got someone to help us,” Trudy yells running toward me with Leo in her arms.

“Who are these people?!”

“We’re the Broncos, Ma’am and those city folks trailing behind us are the Black Bears,” Arnie thumbs toward the small group of people who looked different.

“The Black Bears,” I shouted, realizing what was happening.

“You’re Cassie? Our boss has been looking for you,” a tall, pale red-haired man says.

“I want nothing to do with him! I am trying to get away from ALL OF YOU!”

“Cassie, come on.” A short brown-haired man approached gently.

“Look, you don’t have to even interact with the man. We can’t stay out here otherwise we will die out here,” Trudy said abruptly.

I glare at Trudy, hoping that this look would make her change her mind but Trudy is more stubborn. I let out a loud sigh, I felt guilty for dragging Trudy into something personal.

“Fine, goddamnit. I will go with you if Xavier stays away from me!”

I follow Trudy and everybody else close behind until we reach the road. I climb into the cargo bed of a big red truck with Trudy and the members of the Broncos. The truck speeds forward to a huge acreage, with several houses that were set up in a circle. The farmyard was off the side with a barn that connected to the yard, with steel fences. Cattle moo-ed away happily and horses ran around the field that was behind the fence, kicking up dust as they came.

I jump out of the cargo bed, with the others following behind me. I look around the farm and I am not sure how to take in all the sudden sensory information. I feel a hand on my shoulder and see a tall man in plaid looking up at me, smiling.

“Sorry, I didn’t really introduce myself. I am Arnie,” He said, extending his hand to me.

“I am Cassie,” taking his hand gently, being afraid of offending him.

“Lovely to meet you, Cassie,” Arnie grips my hand tightly, almost holding it a bit longer than needed, he lets go of my hand finally. “Let me know if you need anything,” He says, waving me goodbye; walking toward the barn with the other members.

I am looking around the farmyard wondering what is even going to happen now that I am back in the same vicinity as Xavier. The anxiety is bubbling in my stomach as I am trying to make sense of it all. Why would Xavier try to find me even though I have put him in danger, I was the one sent to kill him.

I did see Xavier being carried to the emergency room to have their doctor take a look at him but I did not think much of it. I still felt a twinge of pity for him since one of the gangsters mentioned that he was struck in the head with a gun. I do not know how to really feel about this, on the one hand I feel guilty for what happened to Xavier but on the other that was the reason I ran so I did not want to deal with the consequences of “sleeping with the enemy” even though I technically did not sleep with him.

This was all just too much. I wonder how everyone else was doing. I can’t look at Xavier right now, not after what my stupid ass has caused. I still can feel the warmth of his kiss every time my mind drifted to that night, when we danced. I try to shake off the warmth but it clung on to me and refuses to let go.

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Xavier woke up to a room that he was not familiar with at all, he quickly sat up but soon felt a shooting pain on the back of his head. I gave a yell at the shock and laid back down on the soft bed. The bed felt so soft against him, he felt around his head and felt the soft fabric of a bandage wrapped around his skull. He looked around the room and recognized that it was the infirmary for the Broncos. A man in a white lab coat, blue button up and brown pants walked in with a clipboard, and he approached Xavier’s bed.

“Ah, you’re awake. That’s good. You were out for a while,” The man said while writing on the clipboard.

“Where’s Cassie?”

“She is fine. Please do not stress yourself. You will only make that concussion even worse than it already is.”

Xavier sighed, the doctor was right. There would be no point in worrying about Cassie if he was not in the right state to protect her. It had been a few days since the Black Bears and the Broncos found Cassie and that woman in the woods. They were stranded and with a baby, the woman went on to explain that the assassins killed her husband and that Cassie was able to help them get away. Xavier smiled at this, Cassie outsmarted them yet again.

“How long have I been out?”

“For almost a week, everything is looking fine so far but I would not test my luck if I were you especially with how serious that injury was.”

“I can barely remember what happened in between that raid….what about everyone else?”

“The people who are here right now, they are fine and recovering quickly. As for the rest of them, we do not know.”

Great, now nobody knows where Marcus, Bridget and the others are. This was turning into a shitshow of a week.

Xavier heard some muffled footsteps slowly coming up the hallway, not only could he barely remember most things, his hearing was also gone in some spots. Just perfect.

Cassie turned the corner and froze right at the doorway after seeing Xavier on the bed. There was an awkward stillness in the air as Cassie quickly turned from Xavier to the doctor. “So, how is everyone?”

“Everyone is fine, Cassie. Much like how I was telling Xavier, there is no need to stress yourself now. Everybody is safe.”

“Almost everyone,” Xavier mutters to himself.

“Look, I did not want to be here! I was doing just fine until you saved my life back at that cafe.”

“Oh, did you want to die that night? You didn’t fight me when I pushed you out of the way.”

“I was defenseless!”

“Which was why I pushed you out of the way,” Xavier yelled in pain and gripped the top of his head. He laid back down moaning about the pain in his head.

“Cassie, I think you need to leave for now. Xavier needs to rest.”

Cassie ran out of the room, trying to hold all of the tears back.

“Damnit,” Xavier grumbles to himself.

Xavier isn’t sure what feels worse: the headache he was now getting or the broken heart that he was trying to hold together. He knew that Cassie would try to run from him, wanting nothing to do with it all. To be honest, he can’t blame her for it. All of this, couldn’t stop him from feeling the pain of rejection. At least he has some confirmation that she was safe. That was all he really needed, he could finally move on. It will be difficult but better to move on then chase someone who clearly doesn’t want you.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasha stood tall in a red jumpsuit and heels as she was listening to the blonde-haired man give a presentation on the evidence that he had gathered on the night of Nina’s death. It was all somewhat convincing. Nina and Cassie did have a fight the day before that involved Nina getting tired of Cassie’s weird behavior and wanted to make more “normal friends.” Cassie was sending Nina some very angry texts the night before as well. Sasha already did not like this Cassie girl from the tone of her texts, and the samples of her journal entries were also very suspect. The footage from the vehicle detection camera also showed a person with a hoodie over her head shoving Nina into the street.

“As you can see, Miss Benter, we had been keeping a close eye on Cassie for a long time through our organization. We had been observing her behavior, seeing how she interacts with others. She seems to be the type that doesn’t quite get along with our more…top-quality members.” The man pauses almost trying to find a more polite way to critique Cassie.

“From the look of these texts, and school records, she looks like a loaded cannon.”

“She seems to behave very meekly, but that is a facade.”

Sasha raises a brow at this observation. She wasn’t willing to believe some lovestruck dumbass over first-hand accounts and evidence. It is the perfect trade-off, helping them find their supplier and she gets her justice and the top-spot in the organization. She will make that girl pay for what happened to her baby sister that night.

“If you will kindly follow me, Miss Benter,” The man says walking toward the sliding exit door, Sasha follows close behind. The man leads Sasha into a room that is lined with guns, pistols, and all kinds of weapons behind a huge glass case.

“You understand what you must do, Sasha?”

“Very much so, yes,” Sasha gazes longingly at the small pistol closest to her. The glass lowers, and she pulls it from the display. She fingers the sleekness of the gun, and points it in random directions. “But what are you going to be doing with Bridget and Marcus?”

“Don’t worry about them. We have a very special place for them in our organization.”

“Good, because both of them will be useful enough.”

A whirring sound emerges from the distance, Bridget walks in with a brunette woman behind her, holding a gun to her head. Sasha is somewhat surprised by this.

“It looks like this one doesn’t want to play along, what should we do?”

“Sasha, listen to me. They are using you for their own gain. Do not trust them,” Bridget sputtered as quickly as she could.

“What a shame. Dear Bridget, you could have a place at our organization. All of the benefits plus comfortable living! Those Black Bears make you sleep in a dump, and you refuse our hospitality. How rude,” The man leaned forward, holding Bridget’s face up with his hand.

“You are scum and you know it,” Bridget sneered at the man.

“Sasha, what do you think we should do with Bridget? She is your best friend is she not?”

“For quite a few years, we had been through everything since we joined the Black Bears. Brid, you were always willing to call me out on my shit even when you knew I was right.”

“Sasha, are you serious?”

“But I have my own reasons for joining the Assassins.”

“We are your family, Sasha!”

“Were…you were my family,” Sasha raised the gun to Bridget’s head and, before she had the inkling to stop, she pulled the trigger. Bridget slumped forward after taking the bullet to the neck and gargled on her own blood for some time before collapsing in a pool of her own blood. Sasha suddenly felt regret over what she had done but there was no time for that now. Justice needed to be delivered and anyone who stood in her way will be taken out.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marcus is typing away codes on his computer, in an unfamiliar office. His eyes are starting to strain from the glow of the computer. He is afraid to look away from his work due to the camera that was watching him from behind. The lines of code are looking like gibberish to him after such a long time.

A door slid open from behind, and Marcus jumped. Maybe somebody was coming to help him. Or kill him. He welcomed either at this point.

“How is the new weapon going, Marky,” The familiar man said quickly walking up to him.

“Don’t call me that,” Marcus said with masked disdain.

“You don’t like the name? You are one of us now. I am just showing you my welcome.” The man said dripping with condescension.

Marcus could literally smell the contempt off of him but he thought better to say anything about it. They needed him but they would have no problem replacing him. He did hear a gunshot down the hall, some time ago and thought the worst. Either Bridget or Sasha was dead. He just needed more time, he already had a plan in mind, just needed an opening to spring the trap.

“It-it’s going well. Almost done,” Marcus said quickly, not looking the man in the eye.

“Good. Very good.”

Marcus leaned to look behind the man and saw that Bridget was being dragged by the brunette.

“Bridget! What the hell did you do to her?!”

“Oh, she didn’t want to join us after all. How sad, she was quite the weapons expert if our intelligence gathering is correct,” The man shrugged, treating Bridget’s demise as casually as a date canceling at the last minute.

“What did you do with Sasha?”

“Nothing bad, she is going to be one of our top Assassins in this organization. And you could be our top technology expert as well, if you play nicely.”

“She would never agree to something like that. What did you do to her?”

“Oh, I guess we are just that good with recruiting. No no, we just had the same values that Ms. Benter possesses. We also see that you have our values as well!”

“You seem to have been mistaken.”

“Mark, please. I beg you, do not test my patience,” The man said, grabbing Marcus by the collar of his shirt.

“I understand, sir,” Marcus said apprehensively.

“Please, call me Josh,” Josh said, letting go of Marcus’ shirt. “Get back to work,” Josh turns to leave the room, off to do terrible things one would presume.

Marcus sat back on his computer after the doors locked in front of him. Marcus looked back at all the code on the screen, and he still felt ill about it. He suddenly remembered what his teachers taught him back in University during his coding courses. He remembered that the code for a weapon can be engineered in a way where it can backfire if you hack into the system.

All of his education fell right into place, this was the perfect opportunity to use the training he received at the military for other purposes. He will have to be very careful to not get caught by the Assassins for creating this code. All that needed to be done was to make a few small adjustments and he would have a perfect weapon for the Assassins turned against them.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few weeks has passed since I was found by the Broncos and the Black Bears, with hardly any sight of the assassins. It seems like they had given up trying to look for me. Meanwhile, I have been focusing on sharpening my other skills that either seem to need work or have not been used for a long time.

I learned how to become more effective at stealth, as well as learning how to blend in with crowds. Those were my biggest weak spots and I was so glad that the Broncos took the time to help me learn these important skills. I have been feeling so welcomed and included in almost everything they did for their small community including soup kitchens and hosting dances.

I am close with some of the members including Arnie who has shown me so much kindness since I got here. Xavier has been giving Arnie some looks of jealousy but still keeping his distance from me. I still get warm feelings whenever he passes me by but I still cannot face him after what I had caused, all of the pain and hurt.

The Black Bears have also been kind to me despite my avoidance of Xavier, and we get along quite well. I was practicing my aim with a handgun at the shooting range when Me and everyone else heard shouting from one of the scouts.

“Arnie! Come quick! Jill and I saw something in the woods close by!”

“What is it?”

“The most horrific shit I have ever seen. Pardon my French around the little ones,” Liam said through shallow bursts of breath.

Arnie rose from his lawn chair and walked past Liam, “We need to investigate this now, follow me.” Arnie says over his shoulder to some select people. I decided to follow since I want to be a part of the lookout team on certain days. Xavier joined along with members of the Black Bears and Broncos.

We took some four-wheelers and horses out into the woods that Liam pointed to that they found something “horrific.” There were quite a few hills to climb but nothing that couldn’t be overcome. We finally reach the spot that Liam was talking about and almost vomit from the site.

It was a tall wooden beam in the middle of a field and at the very top where a sharp point was, there was a body that was pierced through the point and hanging limply.

“Bridget,” Drew approached the beam with a shuddering voice, he fell to his knees. He looked very unsure of how to even process the scene before him. We all felt the same way.

“Those damn Assassins did this.” Xavier said with contained rage. “They’re trying to scare us.”

“But that must mean they know where we are,” I trembled.

Arnie chewed on his cheek before quickly turning back to his horse. “Okay, we need to step up our security until we have some answers. Somebody get that body down from that beam, we will have Sierra analyze it for any clues that they left for us. Move out!” Arnie rears his horse and speeds forward toward the base.

Several Broncos approached the beam with equipment that would help them lower the beam and get Bridget’s body down. I feel so sick to my stomach that I have to turn away, it is so disturbing and overwhelming all at once. Whatever the Assassins have up their sleeve we have been several steps ahead of them as the Broncos have also been watching the Assassins from every angle but this revelation is very unexpected.

Xavier had a very dark expression on his face, almost thinking of the many ways that he would get back at the Assassins. I do not care to know what exactly he plans to do, it still doesn’t stop me from the anger that was also brewing inside of me.

The sound of a branch snapping made us turn to the source. We see a woman in a red jumpsuit take off toward the trees.

“Who the hell was that,” Liam asks.

“Probably one of the Assassins watching us,” Xavier responded.

“Didn’t know they allowed Assassins to wear red, I always thought they wore black,” Lance says while carrying Bridget’s body.

“She did look familiar,” Charlie squinted.

I could not get past the familiar feeling as well, like I met her or have seen her in another place or time.