Bloodline Bearer

Thump Thump…

One. Two. Three. Four. Five…

Thump Thump…

Five hundred feet away. I take a moment and place a hand over my chest and feel the shape of my locket. A few moments pass as I feel my own heartbeat. Waiting again for the locket.

Thump Thump…

The locket's four chambers expand and retract as though it’s alive. Unfamiliar muscles pull at the sides of my face as I realize I’m smiling. Memories flood back through my mind of my siblings. The muscles relax, and the memories fade into renewed focus on the present. I scratch at my chest as I survey the area. No one around… I have to be more careful not to draw attention to myself.

The heart shaped locket continues to beat against my chest. A constant reminder that another Bloodline Bearer was nearby. The knife sheathed on the back of my belt moves to the front of my consciousness. It calls for action. An almost magnetic pull links my hands to its hilt even while it remains sheathed. Muscles in my arms and legs begin to pulse with the memory of attacks and counter attacks that have been trained into them. As my eyes scan the crowds of the city streets, my mind imagines the strangers assaulting me.

“Don’t just imagine how you might win the fight. Imagine how you might lose. Keep running the scenarios until the chances of something being missed become impossible.”

My eldest brother’s words echo in my mind. I allow myself a moment for the memory and hear my reply.

“What happens when I know I've planned for everything?”

“At that point, you might as well kill yourself. If you think you can reliably consider everything another human would do to save their family. Then you will find yourself and all of us to be one of their sacrifices.”

He was right. We weren’t that far into this event and I’d already heard of a dozen examples that I wouldn’t have seen coming. I had to stay vigilant.

The crowds swelled and pushed against each other in the streets. I looked for an opening, a pathway in the swarms of people to get from this alleyway to the small building a few blocks away. I’d made my home in an abandoned factory. “Abandoned” I should say, there hasn’t been room for anything on this planet in decades. A community had made the factory their home after the owner died and the workers stopped receiving their paychecks. Now the former workers and their families live there rent free. I don’t pay either, but they find me valuable to have around.

Clearly a path wasn’t opening. I push my way into the crowd, every nerve ending monitoring my belongings. Within moments my feet match pace with the others. Weight shifts from one leg to the other as shoulders and arms press against my body. I keep a hand near the hilt of my knife and another an inch ahead of me, redirecting those in front of me to either side as they press back.

Thump Thump…

One. Two. Three. Four.

Thump Thump…

Whoever they are, they are getting closer. Not rapidly though, they don’t know who I am yet. They might be watching from afar though. I’ve been here for a few weeks. Have I revealed my locket to anyone? No… did someone at the factory find out?

“You can’t let your anxiety and fears overwhelm you.”

My Older Sister this time fills my mind. I feel chills coat my body as even the memory of her voice comforts me. I can almost feel her arms embrace me as I let go for a moment. The embrace of the crowd around me helped to mimic the memory.

“Don’t forget them though. Those are your primal instincts trying to protect you. They are just there to remind you of your surroundings. You have to be the one to find the answer to those questions and concerns. Think of your anxieties as stones. Carry them and you’ll be weighed down. But fashion a sling, and they become weapons to help you survive.”

I shake my head for a moment as though it will knock the upsurge of fear to the side. The slight effort of such a simple ritual works as well as it can. My mind is back on the crowd around me and my path. A block has already gone while I relived the moment with my sister. My comfort is short lived as I feel the crowd constrict around me. Strangers to each side press against me to gain some leverage to push back against the flood of humans crashing against us. In front of me the back of a stranger pins my arm against my stomach as I regain my footing…

Thump Thump…

The world stops for what seems like eternity. The only beat I can feel is that of the locket. It was almost as though the fear caused my own heart to stop. As though it would be some sort of camouflage to the beating of the locket.

The stranger turns and meets my eyes. I recognized the man immediately. His face goes pale with recognition. The folds of his face showing a long life of sadness and fear become more pronounced as his mouth opens and his eyes widen.

I don’t believe he’s a bad man. Most days I would pass by him on the way from or back to the factory. I would give him a brief smile. A few times I helped him fight the crowd enough to get into his home. Up to this moment, we were two strangers.

This is a new moment though. A moment where this man now knows that I am a Bloodline Bearer. A ruthless contestant who will do anything to save my family and bring them to paradise. The biggest threat to me… is anyone knowing that I am what I am. In a single look of terror I could see him process all of it.

I know who he is.

I know where he lives.

He knows who I am.

He knows where I live.

My knowledge of him means he’s not safe if I feel threatened. His knowledge of me means I feel threatened. The right people would pay anything to know where to find me. All of this added together in both of our minds at the same time. We reached the same conclusion.

I would have to kill him.

Advantage was his however as he pressed hard against me and surged through a small opening in the crowd. I fell backwards into the person behind me and was shot back up by the responding shove of 3 different people. I reached my hand out to grab at the man but was immediately blocked by the colliding waves of strangers. My eyes clocked every detail of him, clothing, hair, how he moved. My eyes were laser focused on him to not lose him in the crowd as I pushed hard against the sea of people.

One thing you learn at an early age is that it’s nearly useless to fight against the crowds of people. You have to treat it like a body of water. I needed a wave to ride towards him, something to distract everyone else from the erratic behavior. I reach in a pouch on my belt. A small cloth like paper bundle the size of my fingertip comes out. I don’t have many of these…

“Don’t be afraid to use what you have, even if you think you might need it later.”

A smile almost starts to form before I return to the moment. My younger brother's voice from a silly memory of playing video games. You don’t choose where you learn important lessons I suppose.

“How many times have we reached the end of the game with 100 potions left over. You don’t have ‘continues’ in real life. So use what you have, don’t chance a game over because you might need something later.”

I toss the small object in the opposite direction of the man running from me. Immediately a stranger's foot steps on it and a loud BANG comes from beneath their feet. It’s harmless, but it’s alarming. Suddenly the ocean of people all moved out and away from the explosion. As planned. I am thrust forward towards my target, the crowd adjusts pace so quickly I’m almost running.

He breaks free from the crowd and into an alley, sprinting away from me. I’m precious seconds behind him as I finally squeeze out of the crowd. Stumbling for a second as I adjust to the freedom of movement. My feet quickly find their rhythm. Hand on the hilt of my knife we fly through the alley. The old man’s adrenaline gave him a fighting chance. I reach my free hand out to grasp his clothing and finish things before we reach another crowd. My fingers outstretched, but as I feel the cloth graze the tips of my fingers I hear a familiar scream.

My eyes darted over to see one of the children from the factory screaming as they were lifted by a giant of a man. He waded against the sea of strangers with an enviable ease. I see the child’s parents fight the same waves to no avail…

It’s not uncommon for children to be taken now… they are easy targets. Population is so rampant that lost children are the least of any law enforcement concerns. It’s why I’m valuable to the community at the factory. I saved one of their children when no one else would... I didn’t ask for payment, but they gave me a home.

I realized in this split second the old man had gotten ahead of me. Not unreachable, but the kid… I have to think about my own survival though. The old man had to be dealt with.

“I’m scared…”

I’m stopped in my tracks as my youngest sister's voice fills my heart as much as my mind.

“You’re gonna have to do bad things to save us aren’t you…”

A tear in my eye, both in the past and this moment as I remember saying.

“Yes..”

“Don’t… Don’t be bad just for us. Even if you have to do bad things… do them to make things better for everyone. Only do bad things to bad people. PROMISE! Or I won’t forgive you.”

I slide in the mud of the alley as I let the old man get away. My head shoots in the direction of the giant. I wipe the tear from my eye as I finally pull the knife from its sheath.

Thump Thump…

One.

Thump Thump…

I rush towards the giant, and ignore the locket. The Giant moves directly towards me, one hand wrapped around the screaming child, the other pushing anyone in his way. Our eyes connect for a moment as recognition of my intent causes a smile to cross his ugly face.

Thump Thump…

Thump Thump…

His eyes go wide as he looks down to the center of his chest. The moment he broke his gaze, I jumped. My foot gets traction on a dumpster and I leap again. When he saw me before I was below him. When he looked up though… One eye saw my look of determination, inches away. The other saw only darkness. As the tip of my blade sunk into it.

I pulled my knife and sheathed it as I rode the giant's body down to the ground. The child was released and ran back to their parents.

Thump Thump…

A chain showed around his neck, I reached down and pulled it free of him.

Thump… Thump….

…

The heart-shaped locket ceased it’s beating in my hand. I smiled. One down. Three more and I’ll see you all again… I’ll get us all to paradise, and out of this hell.