THE MISSION

"This is your only chance to leave alive."

Ceres looked at the photo that the man slipped at the bottom of the curtain. She didn't want to touch it. She didn't want to believe her eyes.

"In exchange for your freedom, kill Gen. Joaquin. That will be your last mission before I let you go."

She was rooted on the floor, not moving an inch or saying a single word. What could she say? What should she do? He's the man that made her want to leave the Raptors and now, the leader was asking her to kill that person. How the hell should she do that?

"Ceres?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking that this mission is quite difficult even for me. We have heard of his reputation and I feel adamant about this."

"Take it or leave it."

With trembling hands, Ceres picked up the picture and stared at the face of the man that she loves so much. She could still remember the calloused hands that saved her from the precipice of death when she was drugged and lost her way. She never told anyone about this, not even Xhylan whom she treated as her brother and best friend.

"I'll think about this. Give me a month."

"Good."

Ceres turned around and walked into another room which was a sleeping quarter for the top 10 assassins. In that vast room, there were 10 rooms that each of them occupied. Hers was the room at the east corner. Not long after she closed the door, it was opened and Marcus came inside with Xhyan following him.

"You are joking, right?" Marcus questioned with arms crossed over his chest. "There is no way you'd do that. I mean, how will you earn money after quitting here?"

"I'll think of a way. I'm smarter than you so I am sure I'd find one."

"Stop boasting about your brain you dumby."

"I'm not dumb."

Before their argument turned serious, Xhylan stepped in between and raised his hands to stop them. "So, what's the deal? I saw him slip something on the floor."

"It's my last mission. I'll get to leave alive if I accomplish this."

"And that is?"

"I am still thinking if I should do this or not. Can you give me some space? I really need a quiet time."

"She's asking you to leave." Marcus expressed and even pushed Xhylan away.

"You are included. Idiot! Come out here."

The two of them pushed and pulled all the way out which brought a smile to her face. Since they were assassins, they never really trusted anyone because they knew that they will be betrayed in the end. At the same time, being human, they made few exceptions. As for Ceres, she trusted Xhylan and Marcus. Even though Marcus and she seemed like ice and fire, when she needed someone she can count on, aside from Xhylan, she would turn to Marcus and not anyone else.

Ceres placed the photo inside her drawer and went to get some sleep. She felt tired just thinking about her last mission.

One month later.

Words of the general's death traveled far and wide. The city mayor heard about it and acted as if this news was alarming. He even told the police to investigate this matter thoroughly since the man died in his territory. And following this news, a woman jumped down from a building and died.

The mayor only showed a look of worry and surprise even though he knew that this would happen. As someone who leads a group of assassins, he made sure that he got all of their weakness tightly gripped in his hands. He would never let anyone escape from him, not even the first of the ranking.

A few hours ago, before her death, Xhylan came to give Ceres her rifle. He wanted to tell her something but the mayor called for his attention and he left. He thought that she would be able to notice something and would surely understand his plan. He worked on this so much from the time he found out who the target was.

Who would have thought that he would hear not only the death of the general but her death as well? He thought it was a joke. He thought that his ears were playing some prank on him. And yet, here he was, watching the pictures that the netizens uploaded on their social media account.

Xhylan was devastated. He could not speak. His world was crumbling. He didn't know what went wrong. Why would she jump off the building if she wanted to leave the organization alive? Why would she kill herself if she wanted to be with the man she likes?

His heart was screaming in pain as his brain slowly processed everything. He wanted to die. He wanted to follow her. He just wanted to leave the world as well. Why is she gone?

Marcus was also shocked by what happened. He never expected her to kill herself when she wanted to leave the organization alive. He felt that something was missing but he couldn't point it out. [Who am I going to annoy now?] He asked himself and found no answer. Locking himself in his room, he cried silently - mourning her sudden death.

Ceres was gone and it was a mystery to Xhylan. How could she just die when he already sacrificed a lot to give her a way out?

***

[It hurts. My body hurts. It's cold.]

She wanted to open her eyes but she can't. She felt so weak and cold. Her head was throbbing and she felt sore all over her body. She could hear the sound of the river, too.

"River?" She muttered as she opened her eyes a little to see what was around her. "Where the heck am I?! Who threw me into this raging river?!" She wanted to get up but she could not. Currently, a huge log was blocking her upper body, and her shirt was caught up by a sharp stone. Only her lower body was submerged in the river. The strong current was a little scary even for an assassin like her. She never liked waterbodies because she almost fell into one and die as well.

"Die? Right. I should be dead now." She tried remembering things but the memories that flooded her mind were from a different person. And this person was also in love with Joaquin!

'Wait! Isn't Joaquin a general? Why is he a doctor in my memories? Does he have another identity that I don't know?'

"JUST WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

Memories after memories attacked her brain and most of them were painful. So painful that the owner of the body gave up her hope to live.