Chapter 5:

Banks calls himself a law enforcer. I see him as a jackass twisted motherfucker. The boss is just some spoiled brat who doesn't have the face to show his face. My mother's not in her— Someone shoves me, bringing me out of my thoughts. I look up and stop in my tracks as I take in what's before me.

Firefighters run around, trying to put out the massive fire that's formed on the apartment building. It only grows bigger and stronger as it eats through wood, paint, and whatever flammable materiel the building's made of. Before I know it, I'm running past people, shoving and nearly tripping a few times.

Distant yelling tries to stop me, but I continue running. Before I know it, I can feel the heat of the flames on my skin. I burst up the stairs, yelling for the few people still in there to get out. I throw doors open, getting a few people out of this inferno. There's a screech of metal in the wall, alerting me of the falling elevator.

I finally get up to my apartment. I kick it open and nearly get scorched from the flames. Is this where the flames came from? But I swear I— Something tackles me, slamming me back into the hall and against it's burning walls. My mother scratches at me, her hair and clothes already singed. Her flesh looks melted as if she was made of wax. I throw her off and run towards the window at the end of the hall. Three stories down. Hopefully, I won't break anything.

I dodge my mother again, shoving her against the wall. I grab her wrists and try to retrain her. I look out the window and see some bushes at the bottom. That's my best bet right now. Before I have a chance of doing anything else, Mother headbutts me. I make the mistake of letting go. That mistake...It sends the two of us out the window.

I land first, landing in the thorn bush. I groan as the thorns pierce into my skin. There's a few scream which only increase at the sound of my mother announcing that she's taking her turn. I scream as her body slams into mine. I vomit blood and I'm pretty sure I broke a few bones. The thorns pierce and break into my skin. My mother just used me as a cushion.

"Of course, it was her!"

"She's dangerous!"

"I don't even know why they let those freaks in!" People begin to yell angrily. My vision becomes blurred from the pain, but I can see their fingers pointing at me. My mother gets off me, laughing like some hyena. I can't breath. It hurts so bad. And these thorns! I blink, slightly clearing my vision. Towering over me, Boss stares down. His eyes are wide and frightened. I try to say something, but I vomit more blood.

"Move! She's gonna die at this rate." All I see are blurred splotches of color surround me. Blue and red lights flash. I can't hear anything anymore. It hurts so bad. I've been stabbed before. But this is worse. Maybe the equivalent of...

I open my eyes and find myself in a huge bedroom. The room looks like those fairy tail rooms that you only see in pictures. The bed posts are high with fine fabric tied to them on either side of me. I can only see so much with the curtains covering most of the room. White walls, dark wooden floors, green curtains. Slight golden accents in the brown leather couches. White doors lead to a balcony.

I slowly reach up and notice the medical equipment on me. How long have I been out. Where's my mother? A hand reaches out and keeps me from taking off the transparent mask thing on my face. I turn and nearly jolt. Boss stands over me, wearing a black suit. His hair has been pulled back. He's wearing a blood red mask now. Same design as the same one from before. Different color.

"Don't move. They told me that even the slightest move can hurt you." He says. He withdraws his hand and sits in a chair beside me. I didn't notice it since it's so well hidden.

"What happened?" I wheeze out. I take a deep breath and wince. "Where's my mother?" I manage after a bit.

"Don't worry. She's safe. Here." Boss lifts my mask slightly, allowing a small white straw to reach my mouth. I take a sip of what turns out to be water. He fixes the mask back into place and leans back. What happened to him? He's not the same jerk from before.

"Shouldn't I be in the hospital?" Boss nods.

"Yes. But you were in there for two weeks. They didn't know if you were going to wake up. When you finally showed signs of improvement, I brought you to my home. It will take time."

"Why?" I ask, putting as much edge into my voice as I can with a dry mouth, pulsing headache, and a throbbing body.

"What?"

"Why help me? I only worked for you a single night. And you— You don't know me and I don't know you." Boss stays quiet, contemplating my words.

"What I did was wrong. And no amount of excuses will fix it. This is the least I can do. If you're willing, after you've healed completely, I do still want you to work for me. Until then, I will watch over you. Again, the least I can do after the piggish thing I did."

"I don't think I have much of a choice anyhow." Boss grunts.

"I relocated the people who lost their homes in the fire. You're very popular among them." I remain quiet. "I don't want to push you." He adds.

"Despite working as a bodyguard, I didn't have the funds to place my mother into the proper care. I wrestle with her every day. We have screaming matches and things often got broken. She sometimes managed to get out and terrorized the kids. I was shunned and mistreated. But it's all I could do."

"It's only a half truth." Boss says. He gives me more water.

"Yes. What happened to your face anyhow?" Boss doesn't respond. I laugh a little. "Exactly."

For the next few months, I slowly heal. I start to train in order to maintain my skills wherever I can. Banks visits every now and then, checking up on me. Boss keeps to his word and watches over me. I even woke one night to find him absently braiding my hair. Eventually, I started walking around with a staff. I don't completely walk around until Christmas. I train, getting rid of the flaws. I'm at the final healing stages now. Hopefully, I haven't lost my touch.

According to Boss, they had to go in with small tools for the thorns. One little sucker even went into my flesh to rest against one of my ribs. I broke a few bones, which surprised the doctors. I guess they were expecting more since I had dropped into a thorn bush from the third floor of a burning building. On top of that, being used as a landing cushion by my own mother. They did anticipate for me to possibly go into a coma since I did hit my head.

Honestly, I'm not sure what will become of me now. I'm lost and on edge. Boss has been awfully nice. I don't know what to think of it. Should I be worried? Is this a trap? What am I really up against?