6 The little girl

When Andrei saw the girl he could feel that it was sadness that poured from her eyes, that

breathed from her lips. She looked kind and clever, perhaps that's what drew Red Devil to her. It was as if she knew she was born to be the queen of the garbage heap.

Her aura seeped into the cold air between her and her father. Her hair had deep hues of fierce crimson against her ghostly pale face. The girl was young and beautiful. Andrei looked back to Red Devil.

"Who tripped your fall? Did that blonde rebel leader survive?"

Red Devil did not answer. He looked as if he was already gazing into the abyss. Andrei hit him in the stomach. He could not hesitate when it comes to taking revenge for his friend, not even his friend's current well-being. Andrei wanted a singular truth. The truth.

Red Devil grunted angrily as if he was just too angry to die after getting hit. "There is an enormous gulf between us. Future generations depend on orphans like her... Unlike you, I don't require revenge... Love and peace... Love and peace..."

Andrei hit Red Devil's stomach again to make him talk. Red Devil was obliged to talk now, he did not need more encouragement. "After I realized the leader of the rebels was controlled opposition it was already too late... It's obvious she wasn't the real leader of the rebellion... Her purpose was to gather as many wannabe rebels as possible to the same place... and give a helping hand in giving us our doom... I did not see her face... I do not know who she is... I don't have any idea who she might be..."

Andrei frowned. He had a headache from crying and he felt as if his chest is about to collapse. "Do you want me to put you out of your misery?" The Red Devil had severe difficulty inhaling, due to hyper-expansion of the chest muscles and lungs. Therefore he had to draw himself up by the arms, leading to exhaustion. Once he is no longer able to lift himself, he would die within minutes. The goal of a crucifixion is - other than the obvious terror and intimidation - to achieve a prolonged, agonizing death.

Red Devil just nodded in agreement. Those who experienced similar situations know that once existing only equals to extreme suffering, assisted suicide is the right choice.

Andrei took out his gun, he started carrying it not too long ago. It was an old luger he picket up from the local pawn shop.

Andrei shot Red Devil through the roof of his mouth. Killing someone properly is a paced, disciplined certainty. Andrei didn't want to put his partner through more suffering. A bullet to the brain is the quickest death he could give.

Andrei started to walk in the poor girl's direction. He stopped in front of her. He now knew that her father was long dead. The father's emerald green eyes were wide open, and his irises held only sadness. His clothes were bloody and smelled of iron and liquor. Andrei started talking awkwardly while facing the father.

"I had... a girlfriend once. She kept trying to get me into her strange religion. But the relationship was doomed from the start. Every single time she brought up any of that karma, past life stuff, I couldn't stop myself from laughing. And yet I can't explain it why, but I knew when saw you that our souls were connected."

Her head lolled down to one shoulder casting her bobbed red hair onto the faded shirt that was at least two sizes too big. "What do you want?"

Her voice was arrogant like the noise of the Monday morning traffic. Yet somehow it took hold of Andrei, making him want to listen all the more. Her voice carried a strange sweetness. He didn't know how to talk to 14 year olds. In his mind, someone who lived 14 years could certainly be classified as an adult in this harsh age, so he should talk to her more like an adult.

"There is a natural order to this world, and those who try to upend it, do not fare well. He and my friend both died the moment they joined this so called rebellion. I'm sure your father knew you loved him very much, and that is the most important thing. Use it as motivation to let the people you care about know how much you mean to them. It's going to be a rough journey for both of us, but we've both got to let ourselves feel these big overwhelming feelings and trust that our bodies will look after us."

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Do you want to gather around and cry together and talk about it? I don't have a job, my father and sister just died. My family never had any reserves to begin with. I'll probably die in a remote alley not so long from now anyway. Just what do you want? Leave me alone."

Andrei smiled at her. "My name is Andrei and I knew your sister. She and I were very close... I told her that if anything happens to her I'll take care of you. So here I am."

She believed his blatant lies. Not that she didn't noticed, but she just went with the flow. It wasn't her time to die, in this day and age, when crucifixion came back to style.