Chapter 13: Mae Kazimi

As my knees hit the floor, the two bottles from my hands drop to the floor and shatter. The liquid pours onto the floor and I move my hand out of the way just in time.

I can feel the second hit coming before it touches me and I move away. As I slowly get to my feet, my eyes make contact with a man, his face wrinkled with years of dirty work and his small prudy eyes are locked onto my face, mouth cocked in a snarl.

But you see, there's only one issue.

He's huge.

I pull out my knives and take a deep breath.

"You're going to die tonight," I say calmly. "Any last words?"

The man attacks me like an animal, jumping towards me with both hands and I jump away onto a crate with both feet, praying I've cracked nothing inside the boxes. As he reaches for me once more, I jump down, rolling and slicing low. Blood gushes from the man's calf but he does not let out a single sound.

I don't have time to be surprised because he kicks out with his feet, hitting me straight in the ankles. I hardly have time to register the pain before he's moving again at great speed.

I try to find his fighting technique or open ends as Hale has taught me, but there's nothing. There's no pattern he fights with and all I can do is avoid his hits.

This is not how Shadow fights.

I pull out my gun, cock it and point it straight at his head, "Who do you work with?"

The man stares at me dumbly and for a second I think he has no idea what I'm saying. That moment of hesitation costs me everything.

The man jumps on me, my gun flying right out of my hands. He weighs a million tons and his large body squashes mine and I can't breathe. I try to let out a loud shout, but his hands clamp onto my mouth and his horrid breath fans my face.

"Dumb bitch," he growls, spit flying from his mouth.

I want to throw up.

He pulls my hair and I try to kick with my feet. But I can't move and his weight is crushing me.

I reach towards the crate closest to me, fingers reaching for anything as his hands wrap around my throat. My fingers scrape against the inside of the box, wriggling around desperately for anything, anything.

Please, I'm screaming inside my mind. Please.

I know I don't deserve to live, but guess what? I don't give a shit.

My fingers make contact with a small bottle of Botox and I grab it with everything I have inside of me. And then, I bring it up and shove it into the man's open mouth and watch as he chokes on the small bottle. His hands fly off my throat and his body rolls off of mine. I get to my knees, pulling my knife out of my boot as he grabs his throat, choking and coughing, desperately clawing at his neck as he lays on his back.

Idiot.

I raise my hand and bring the blade down onto the man's throat. Blood sprays everywhere, including my face but I don't care. I stab him over and over, a scream ripping out of me.

"Ayo!"

It's Rashid.

I look up, eyes slowly taking in my mess. There's blood everywhere, and I'm soaked in it. I can feel my neck burning and my eyes stinging with….tears?

"Mae," Rashid chokes, stepping towards me. "Mae."

"He….he almost killed me," I whisper, staring at the man's vacant open eyes.

Rashid says nothing. He drops down beside me, wrapping his left arm around my shoulders and kisses my forehead, "Did you get it?"

I point to the crates to our left and he gets up to pick up two bottles from the crates and makes his way back to me, "Avery and Kai should be waiting for us outside. Let's go."

I nod, slowly getting to my feet.

What the hell is wrong with me?

"Rashid," I say, turning to him with empty eyes. "You go on. I'll be right behind you."

He flicks my shoulder once like he used to when we were kids before walking down the hall and I love him for this. He knows I am capable of making my way out on my own and I love him for believing in me as much as he always has.

I turn back to the large crate and reach into my right pocket and pull out a lighter. I flick it on, watching the small flame glowing in the darkness. For a second, the small flame is almost hypnotizing and I'm no longer in the warehouse.

I blink and I'm back.

I clench my jaw and then toss the lighter into the spilled poison on the floor. It instantly lights up, flames licking the dead body on the floor and the sides of the crates. I don't have much time to admire the fire because it's eating up the room so quickly, heat already fanning my skin.

And so, I turn around, fix my mask on my face and walk out of the room.

The wait for the elevator is short and by the time I get to the first floor, it's a mess. Kai, Rashid and Avery are in the middle of a fight and gunshots are raining from all sides. I grit my teeth, my mood already on an edge.

Avery notices me and pulls out another gun from her boot, raising her hand and throwing it in my direction.

I run towards it before the men shooting catch me, right hand grabbing the gun out of the air and sliding behind the large crates and stopping beside Avery.

"Knives are sucky in a gunfight," Avery elbows me hard in the ribs as shots rain upon us. "You never listen."

I elbow her back, hard. "Shut up Avery."

"Fine," she sucks on her teeth, an evil glint in her eyes. "Whoever gets more kills tonight owes the other a whole yes day."

"A yes day?" I scrunch my nose as the shooting suddenly ceases.

"A yes day."

And with that, Avery jumps from behind the crates and runs towards the shooters, gun blazing.

I groan loudly but follow after her because there is no way in hell am I going to let her win. I can still remember the horrible things she used to make me do on yes days when we were younger. Yes days were when I'd have to say yes to everything she said for a whole day, no matter what it was.

No exceptions.

She'd made me call my grade five crush once and asked if he wanted to bang.

He snitched on me to the principal the next day.

Now, I throw my knives at the nearest man who points his gun at Rashid and slice his throat before tossing his body out of my way. And then, I'm onto the next man.

I've lost count on how many I've killed and I'm beginning to get tired. My hits have gotten sluggish and my concentration is disappearing.

"Mae!" Kai yells from the exit, "The fire is spreading! Hurry!"

The fire?

Oh yeahhhh, oops.

I turn as Rashid covers my back, shooting at any stray men or woman trying to shoot at us. As soon as I make it to the door, Kai shoves me out the door and I hear him hiss in pain as a gunshot goes off.

"Kai!" Avery shouts from her motorcycle.

I don't have time to look back, so I only push Kai towards his motorbike. Rashid is already climbing onto his and making his way down the long ramp as the fire ravages the building behind us.

"Mae! Hurry!" Kai bellows, following Rashid down the road. Avery is behind him, and she looks pissed.

I clench my jaw, turning my head back to the fire that is licking the outside of the building, smoke rising and reaching for the sky.

I did that. I set the building on fire.

And I'd do it again.

I climb onto my bike and roar down the streets of New York after the three most important people in my life. The three who have been there for me ever since I was a kid. The three who are more to me than blood.

And as the smoke envelops the sky behind me, I smile because if I wanted to, for them, I'd set the world alight.

And I'd do it over and over again.