Once Upon A Star

"Where did he go?!"

"How am I supposed to know?! That was your job!"

"If boss finds out, we're both screwed you dumb f.u.c.k...just make sure not to mess up this time."

"Yeah, yeah... "

The pair of footsteps sounded nearer to where a huddled body lay, slightly quivering in a small dark corner. The boy lifted his head up and flinched at the harsh curses flowing out of their mouths, biting his lip before using what was left of his energy to scamper inside a cast aside wooden container. The smell of explosives hung strongly in the air, and the boy's dirty rags didn't provide him for much protection against this region's cold climate.

The two henchmen outside looked around for a bit but still couldn't find the wretched thing. "Where the f.u.c.k is he?!" one of the men soon exploded with impatience and distress. The other one was much calmer, and his gaze eventually landed on the wooden container. A perfect hiding spot for a rat. He gestured for his stupid partner to make more noise and quietly approached the box with a metal bat in hand.

An ugly smirk creeped up onto his face. He couldn't wait to thrash the kid. Although his boss asked them not to, a few invisible bruises here and there wouldn't be a big deal, so long as he was still breathing right? With that thought in mind, the man simultaneously raised his bat and opened the lid. A curled boy covered his head in fright, repeatedly saying, "please, don't."

The man brought down his bat in triumph. 'Haha, you're mine!' In a split second though, the boy pounced from his cowering and unexpectedly lunged at the man. He went straight for his raised arm and wrapped his legs around it. With a quick twist, a crisp snap was heard and the man began to wail. His bat dropped and the boy grabbed hold of it to fend off his attackers. He smashed the bat against the man's head, who was still holding onto his injured arm, and withheld his urge to puke.

The man's body was limp on the floor, a pool of blood gathering around him. His partner was frozen to the ground, confused at what happened. How the hell...? The man roared and ran over to tackle the boy. The boy's cold eyes focused on the man's bulky muscles and backed away. He took a deep breath. 'All or nothing.' The boy ran towards the man with his bat poised to attack. It seemed like he was intent on facing him head on despite the power difference.

The man chucked in self assured victory. 'Boss said not to harm him, I'll just break his twig legs and make sure he can't run again.' Before making impact, the boy directed the man's eyes to his bat and suddenly dropped it. Everything went in slow motion then. The boy jumped onto the man, using his arm to snugly twist around his head. His leg kicked out the man's legs from underneath him, causing him to fall back.

They collided onto the hard ground, and the boy exerted all his left over strength and energy to perform an arm triangle choke, suffocating the older man. If he could just lock onto the weak spots, which were the fragile neck, then he could safely walk out of this relatively unharmed. The boy's threaded arm around the man's neck was slowly strangling him, and minutes trickled by with the man's last struggles gradually fading away after his final breath was taken.

The boy stood up on shaky legs and stumbled to the side, vomiting out the contents of his stomach. He heaved but soon adjusted his breath, biting his cheek until he could taste blood. He had no time to waste on his first kill. He had to get out of here before the others came. It took a while but the boy managed to drag the corpses behind the storage boxes, where they couldn't be seen.

Next, he opened the boxes of explosives and a good idea came to mind. Today would not be the day he died. A chilling smile appeared on his face.

..........

A huge fire could be seen crackling in the distance. It consumed the warehouse and men scurried around, trying to put it out. A man in black paced back and forth with many men looking on in panic. He stopped and turned around. A calm voice filled with bloodl.u.s.t rung out. "Find. Him. Find him or else."