• || Chapter 36 || •

༄                      •☆•                     ༄

The night was young, thick droplets of water cascaded down the heavy grey clouds that resided on the dark sky, the moon was hiding behind the grey blanket of clouds, hiding It's moonlight from earth. Probably because Earth does not deserve such a beauty from him.

Tired huffs escaped her tiny lips that were parted, tears trickled down her puffy eyes, the tip of her little nose was taken over by a deep shade of red. She was tired, that was no lie. The images of her parents being swallowed by the rage of the fire was painfully fresh.

Giving up on running she fell on her knees and sobbed louder, the rain shattered over her drained form, her blue pyjamas were a muddy mess. What can a mere six year old do to stop the fire that killed her parents? What can she do to stop those men from hurting her precious parents?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

She felt so useless, so weak, so pathetic. Her heart had never felt so heavy, she had only seen the beauty of life, beauty of the dreams that resided in her parents eyes, beauty of love and warmth.

Never had she ever thought of loosing the only thing that she loved, her parents, her brother. The reason for her happiness had vanished in mere minutes. Just by a click of a finger, they were.....

Gone.

Forever?

She screamed in agony hoping that what she witnessed was just a nightmare, she hoped that someone would hear her screams, someone would run for her aid, someone would call back her parents and ask them to embrace her in their warmth.

She could only hope.

But hope had left her the minute she lost her parents. She didn't know that a storm was ready to pull her down, to drag her into hell and bring a monster out of her.

"Little girl" someone spoke behind her and she Immediately snapped her gaze at the man, her eyes grazed over the tall figure that hovered above her. Adrelime rushed through her veins when the man crouched beside her and held her face in a strong grip.

"Are you lost?" He asked, the corner of his lip pulling up into a smirk, she was too naive to understand, she was too young to understand what the words meant, she was too innocent.

"I am" she sniffled and nodded, the man clicked his tongue and caressed her soft cheeks.

"Where are your parents?" His questions left her sobbing hard again, emotions rushed through her like a gush of wind and overtook her mind.

"They're dead!" She answered in a cry, the fact that she wouldn't be seeing her parents anymore made her want to plung her heart out.

The corner of the man's lip pulled into a wicked smirk, and she didn't notice it. A fake softness crept onto his eyes and he cupped her face, "oh you poor thing, it's okay, you can come with me" he said and smiled at her warmly.

And she fell for the lie, all because her little heart wanted affection, she was in too much pain. She wanted Someone to assure her that everything was going to be alright, that she has nithing to worry about.

"Never get into a strangers car even if they treat you with kindness" her father's words rang in her mind, despite her father's warning she just followed the man and got into his car.

Even if she did listen to her father's words, would she be able to escape her gruesome fate?

Again what can she do to escape them if she disagrees to follow their steps? They would've manhandled her and snatched before she even escapes.

That's how weak she was. Just a mere six year old not knowing how to save herself from the cruelty of the world.

Next she found herself tied up in crusty old place with few more children, some of her age and some older than her. She blamed herself for trusting a stranger easily, tears trickled down her puffy eyes as she tried to scream over the cloth that was tied over her mouth.

Her hands were tightly tied at the back by ropes, the rough material of the rope bruised her soft skin ever so quickly. Her gaze fell on the boy at the far end of the room, he hadn't moved an inch since he was thrown into the room.

His gaze was focused on the dirty ground, he seemed to be in a daze. He glanced up as if he felt someone staring at him, their gazes met and her eyes softened. And for the first time she saw his eyes tearing up.

He seemed to be a little older than her, maybe six years? All the other children in the room were bawling their eyes out while these two kept staring at each other, as if they are convincing each other that everything will be alright.

The door burst opened and the children flinched badly, they started crying over again and again as the men who entered started counting heads.

This time she didn't cry, she simply glared at each one of them, storing all their features deep in her memory, anger bubbled in her at the thought of them hurting these little children who were too innocent for this world.

"Fourteen Chipmunks!" A man clad in black spoke up and tucked his hands in his pocket, and then he pulled out a gun. That left the children trembling in fear, they screamed and bashed around trying to get away from the men.

"There there there, no more screaming or I will not hesitate to kill you" the man smirked and tilted his head then walked towards the first two children that were tied up in a corner.

"Too skinny aren't you?" The man snickered leaned onto them, "I hate skinny children" he rasped and pulled the trigger twice, the bullets landed on their foreheads killing them instantly. The loud bangs echoed through the halls leaving all of them drowning in more fear.

That was the first time she ever witnessed blood oozing out a bullet wound, the two bodies fell limp on the ground and a pool of blood embraced them. Her head ringed as she stared at the sticky crimson red liquid on the floor.

She was too focused on the blood that she didnt hear anything else other than her raging breaths, tears cascaded down her eyes, rage built in her. How could they take a life away without hesitation? Were they some kind of monsters?

"A brave one" the man's voice broke her from her trance, she immediately looked at the direction and found the man pointing his gun at the boy. The boy wasn't crying, his eyes didn't quiver, he didn't tremble. He looked so tough from the exterior.

"I like this one" the man backed away and motioned the other men to garb him, the boy glanced at her side for one last time as he was rushed out of the room to god knows where. She watched as more children were killed before her eyes.

Another two more were selected and rushed out the room and then finally it was her turn, her eyes were red and puffy, they were brimming tears, but her gaze was no where near fear. It was pure rage. Hatred to these men.

The gun was placed under her chin, the man raised her chin and smirked at her form. "A little beauty" the man spoke up and she wanted nothing but to pull his brains out, "where did you find her?" He asked looking at the man who had brough her here from the streets.

"In busan, crying because her parents were dead" the man snickered and that made her sick. How much more horrible can this men be?

"I see" the man held her under gun point but she didn't flinch, "I'll take her as the final one, kill the others" the man himself picked her up by gripping her hair and pulled her towards the door. The last thing that she witnessed before leaving the room was the other children being murdered mercilessly.

She was thrown into the van packed with four more children, her eyes earched for the boy and when it landed on his she immediately scrambled towards him and hid in his arms. He was startled by her sudden moves, when her soft fingers tangled with his, he immediately calmed down.

"I'm Matt" he spoke up softly and she slowly looked up at him.

"I'm- I'm someone" she answered, she really wasn't ready to give her name out to anyone. Not even this boy who had warm eyes.

--•☆•--

Sadly they parted ways, fear had clouded her mind once again. She had gotten used to his warmth during the few hours of traveling. Now without him by her side, she felt weak and vulnerable.

"This is the servants quarters" she was led into a small hall which was absolutely messy, beside her was another girl who was with her in the van. "All you have to do is help them clean the house and serve food for boss" the man beside them left them alone and walked away.

At such a young age she was forced to learn how to clean washrooms, Kitchens and gardens. She had to work sixteen hours a day with no rest inbetween or she would be taken to the red room where horrible things happen.

She had been to it only once and she hated it, what the boss did to him was painful. She didn't know what he did, all she knew was it hurt too much.

Working for this boss for an year, she was only able to find who he was. People around said that he was the education minister, although she didn't know who a minister was, she knew he must be a famous public figure. She had met him twice, once at the red room and the second at his bed room.

Both encounters left her traumatised, she would tremble as memories flood through her mind on cold nights, since no bed was provided she could only sleep on the cold floor with a blanket half her size.

A day came, a day she never thought would come. A day where she was sold to someone else, "I hope she is worth the million" the masked man spoke as he passed a briefcase filled with money.

"She is, if she isn't then send her back, I can use her very well" the minister smirked and checked her out from head to toe, her gaze was lowered as she nibbled on her lower lips in fear. What could she do at a moment like this?

Again Nothing. Cause she's pathetic and weak.

She was pushed into a black can with more children in it, she fiddled with her fingers and looked around the familiar faces, she was back again with the children who were forced to come here. When her gaze landed on Matt's she froze.

It been an year since they met, she even wondered is he was alive. Matt scooted close to her and pulled her into his arms, "Hello someone, Don't worry, I'll protect you this time" he whispered and caressed her bruised palms.

--•☆•--

This time she found herself in a wide open area, the sun hanged brighter in the sky while they were led towards some red markings. Their gaze fell on the cardboards which were trimmed in a human shape.

"Aight, we are here" the masked man stopped and they halted their steps, "Now now, let's see if you guys wpuld do well" he made the children stand in a row and them handed them heavy iron guns.

Their hands trembled as they held them, "shoot the target and then you'd be given basic needs, miss the shot? Then try again until you get it right" the masked man sat on a stool nearby and motioned them to shoot.

Her fingers trembled as she wrapped her finger around the trigger, flashbacks of blood pooled around dead children ran through her mind and tears brimmed in her eyes. She raised the gun and aimed at the target.

Her shoulders felt heavy, and her heart was on fire. She took a deep breath in.

One.

Two.

Three.

BANG!!

She pulled the trigger, the bullet soared in midair and landed straight on the bullseye. The masked man stood up from his seat in disbelief then glanced at her trembling form. A smirk came onto his face.

The other children were shook by her shot too, nevertheless they shrugged their shoulders and focused on their target. The masked man walked towards her and crouched beside her short form.

"What's your name?" He asked tilting his head, her eyes were puffy and red, rage and fear could be clearly seen in them.

"I'm Angelina Scott" she lied, she didn't want anyone to know that she is Choi Aera, Choi Aera had died in the fire with her parents,

now it is Angelina Scott,

a new her,

A child who has seen the horrors of the world in a young age,

A child who has experienced too much pain.

"Well then Angelina, how about we make a deal?" His words left her confused but she made sure to not show it through her expressions.

"I'll be your Master and you be my Witch, yeah?"

• ☆••••••••••••••••••☆ •

𝙸'𝚖 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔!!!