[•◊•||Prologue||•◊•]

I ran… there was nothing we could do but run.

The panther was a species that lived only on the planet Kronos, or at least that's what she said…

Oh God, I have to keep her safe. We can't run forever, and we definitely can't outrun the Klingon Panther.

I turned around, wielding the knife and her makeshift bow and arrows.

"What are you doing?" she screamed, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Run! I'll keep it company…" I insisted, loosing an arrow and wincing when it missed and the shot went wide.

Panicking as the Persian got closer to us – closer to her – I threw the bow at it in frustration and willed for her to run… run… I wish she'd just fuckingRUN God Damn It!

"I'm not leaving you!" she screamed, still standing ahead of me.

She was so close to safety, why won't she run?

I shook my head, she won't run because she's stubborn… and she's stubborn because I taught her to be stubborn.

This is my fault…

It's all my fault…

I let out a loud battle cry and jumped at the Persian just as it lunged at me and it pinned me down to the ground.

I wrestled with it for a while, prying my knife from between my teeth and pressing it against the side of the monster's neck.

But I knew better, I was the monster here…

My gaze landed on the girl… on her. I pleaded for her to run with my eyes, my blood red gaze telling her to please just run… run.

The Persian caught on and realized I was distracted. It lashed a giant paw towards my face. But I knew it was coming. I ducked. But the creature's claws managed to graze my forehead… drawing blood.

I heard her scream…

She was scared.

If she's scared… she'd run.

But – like I said – she was stubborn. She forced herself to stay and wait for me to beat the Persian.

I grinned; she had so much faith in me.

She had too much faith in me…

"I can't win… I won't win. So I need you to run…" I tried to convince her.

But she shook her head even when the tears streaming down from her eyes betrayed just how scared she was…

Then, I realized she wasn't scared for herself… she was scared for me.

"No. I'm not leaving…" she said.

The Persian jumped, acknowledging her presence it lunged at her…

But I wouldn't let her get hurt. Too many of the kids already died because of this monster.

I grabbed the creature's tail and restrained it, my knife once again in my mouth.

I felt it draw blood as it sliced through the skin on edges of my mouth and I gritted my teeth from the effort of preventing the Persian from getting to her.

I spat my knife out along with blood from my mouth and screamed at her.

"RUN! NOW!" I yelled, glaring at her.

I don't know if it was the blood, my glare, or the near death experience that made her run but I sighed in relief as I watched her leave.

The Persian glared at me through slitted eyes, I let it's meal get away.

I merely smirked and grabbed for my knife, pointing it at the Persian challengingly.

"I'll kill you. And then, I'll stop being violent…" I said, quietly, as I lunged at the Persian and buried my knife right between its eyes.

I looked up, half expecting her to be there… but then I remembered—

"Violence… endangered her, you know?" I muttered as the Persian thrashed beneath me.

As the animal finally stopped and slumped under me, I kicked its corpse away and stared at my hands…

Bloody and red… like my namesake.

"Violence is what will kill me… Violence, turned me into a monster"

Thunder echoed above me as the rain fell, clear and blue… like her namesake.

I let the rain envelope me, I felt it wash away the red and leave me cold and alone…

I only hoped that she was safe… and that she knew I was sorry.

→ To be Continued… ←