"Must have been a massive operation. Lots would have died?"

"How do you know that?"

"You saw Death."

"Sorry, wait, what?" 31 asked.

I sighed. Idiot. Always asking questions. Keep up already. "Once a generation, a Serafer is born with golden wings. We- they- are so good at killing they become 'Death'. At first it was just a nickname, now it's a rank. A general with so much power they are in charge of the entire army. And so, they only carry out the most important tasks."

"Is that why you ran away? Because you have golden wings?" 31 asked.

Yes.

I elected to not answer. "Interesting, though, that he didn't use the whistles. The sound kills any who hear it. I think maybe he sensed you in there, and chose not to kill you.."

"Are you saying I owe Death my life?" 31 asked.

"The universe works in mysterious ways." I replied.

"Fuck you and your philosophical response."

"Well I think we learnt you don't have philosophies. You're a murderer just like I am, yet you criticise me for it."

"Only because, when out of the action, at least I realise it's wrong."
I snorted.
"So, why did you run away then?" He asked.

"There are some things, 31, that you'll never understand. So don't try pretending that you will."

"Don't patronize me, feather brain. I understand more than you think. You were born to be Death. Raised to be Death. I bet you didn't even get a childhood. You're just expected to become the best murderer out there, you don't even get a choice in the matter."

"No Serafer gets a 'childhood'." I retorted. "And no, you still don't understand, mud man."

"Oh for fuck's sake. My name isn't 'mud man'. Or 31. Just call me Zion."

I remained silent.

"This is the bit where you tell me your name..?" He said after a while.
I shrugged.
"Well I'm not going to be calling you Death." Zion decided.

"Good. Because I'm not Death. And if you ever call me that.."

"Okay, okay." Zion held up his hands in mock surrender. I wasn't paying attention, though.

I could smell it again.

Zion chased me down the street. "Where are you going?!"
The street widened into a massive park, but I didn't even notice. I looked around for my target.
There.
A man was sat under a tree, going through some notes. Almost as if he could feel my gaze on him, he stood up, and started striding across the park.
Zion finally caught up with me, breathless.
"You run fast." He complained, before following my gaze. "No you don't." He muttered, putting a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Do you know where we are?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Sacorria. A few years in your future. And that man- he's going to make universe news tomorrow. He kills the president, the minister of defence, and several others. Just because they put a stop to his experiments. On people."

Zion took his hand off my shoulder, and swore quietly. "Go kill him, tiger." He muttered, almost grudgingly.

I nodded, and continued running, Zion at my heels. I caught up with the man, and before he could even make a sound, strangled him to death.

I turned, noticing the strange look on Zion's face. "What?"

"Nothing." He replied a bit too quickly.

I dropped the body, and squared him up. "Tell me."

"Easy, Tiger." Zion grinned. "I'll tell you when you're older."

I couldn't be bothered to fight him. All the running had made my wounds hurt.
Zion must have noticed the pain on my face. "Sit down. Take a fucking rest already." I nodded, sliding down a tree trunk until I was sitting with my back against it. He sat down next to me, but I hardly even noticed him put his arm around me, I was so tired.

I woke up back in my bunk in the cell.

"Morning, sleepy. It's actually about midnight, but hey, details."

"Shut it, Zion." I muttered, my eyes still tightly shut.

"Aww, you tired, Tiger?" He asked, and I felt my bunk move as he sat on it.
"We're going to have to work out how that all happened."

"Yeah, you actually let me kill someone."

"It was for a good cause. But I meant the travelling."

"I don't know, and I don't care." I muttered. "I want to sleep."
I lay there for a few minutes, trying and failing to sleep again.
"Tell me about your planet?" I muttered quietly.

"There isn't much to tell. The shorelines are breathtaking, though. Waterfalls tumbling over cliffs. Hidden caves. There's a place where the rocks are hexagonal. Placed there by giants for cobblestones, my mother used to say. The sea is cold, but we swim in it all the same. Jumping off short cliffs into the water, diving off waterfalls into plunge pools below. It is... it was, a great place to grow up. How about you?"

"The sky's a burnt orange.." I whispered. "But I'll never see it again, so it doesn't matter."

"Why not?" Zion asked.

Looking back at it, I blame opening my mouth on my exhaustion. Whatever the reason, though, I still told him.
"You're not born Death. You're made Death. That's part of how they know if you're good enough, if you survive the surgery."

"What do they do?" Zion asked quietly.

"Remove your emotions." I replied quietly.

"Fuck. Promise me you won't let them catch you, Tiger?"

"Not planning on it, Zion." I whispered.

"Good. We'll fight them, you and I, if we need to."

"You wouldn't last 10 seconds." I smiled weakly. "But thanks for the thought."

"Any time, Tiger."

I was quiet for a minute.
"Ajax. That's my name."

Even in the dark, I could see him smile.
"Well, Ajax, I think I'm done fighting you." Zion muttered.

"I second that opinion." I whispered.