Chapter 3

Alissa wanted to die.

She thought a quick death was better than living in a world where she was discarded. Where she didn't have to bear the shame and humiliation foisted upon her by that man. That her parents, didn't need to know. That their was only one way to fix this.

She was wrong.

The men dragged her, shattering her notion of dying, as she saw the cold hunger in their eyes. No. Not this, she thought. She screamed as they tore her dress, lust oozing from their eyes. The dread rising from her feet as they licked their lips.

Her piercing wails. The pounding of her heart. The tightness in her eyes. The flow of tears. Her trembling body. It was then when it happened but she hadn't realized it yet—because the fear was holding her down—one of them was killed.

She felt something warm hit her cheek as she opened her eyes. And when the light hit her pupils all sound escaped her mouth. The scene was surreal, she had never seen anything like it.

There was a fountain of blood as one of the men hit the ground, one hand holding his neck, his eyes glittering shock and confusion. And the man responsible smiled as he ripped and tore his way through all of them. It wasn't an eerie smile, Alissa thought. The man went through them like a knife through butter, and eventually the two were alone.

But now…he was on the ground.

Alissa was at a loss for words.

The stranger, face flat to the earth and covered in blood left a strange sight. This man had saved her when she was danger. Despite being afraid she knew it was the right thing to help. She stared at him for a few seconds and finally opened her mouth.

"Um…h-hey," she said. "Hey! Are you okay?"

"…"

Alissa slowly approached, hoping that he wouldn't jump and attack her.

"Hey," she nudged his head.

"…"

"…"

She looked at the moon, trees, carriage, and then the corpses. It was quiet as the cold night air brushed against her face; reminding her that they were alone in the wild. Realizing this, she thought the blood might attract monsters. She looked back at the carriage, it was still intact, she might have to hide in there. Risky, but what else was there? She looked down at the man.

"This… is harder… than I thought," she panted as she dragged him towards the door.

Alissa gave one final look outside before shutting the door. She eyed the man.

His shirt? Barely intact. His hair? Long and dark. And his hand? Missing. She wondered what the story behind it was, but now wasn't the time.

So, she leaned against the soft velvet cushion, and watched him as he slept.

...

When Radyn opened his eyes it wasn't the soreness, hunger, or even the taste of iron in his mouth that bothered him. It was the feeling of shame. Gritting his teeth, he tried standing, nearly falling over—cursing as he fell.

"!"

Glancing at his side, the girl from yesterday was curled up against the corner.

"Did you bring me here?" His gaze was ablaze with a fire that burned right through her.

"…" she didn't respond.

"Did you bring me here?" His gaze grew sharper.

"Yes," she said meekly.

"… I see." Hearing her, he turned his head away from her and said, "you should have left me outside."

"…What?" She was dumbfounded by his rude behavior. Shouldn't he have said thank you?

The air between them was tense. Not knowing how to handle this, Radyn looked around the small space. His eyes landing on the picnic basket she was clutching.

Noticing his gaze, Alissa asked him, "Um… would you like something to eat?—"

Radyn snatched the basket out of her hands, ripping it open with his bare hands. And started stuffing his face.

"…"

She didn't know what to think or do. The man who saved her was dirty, crude, and just plain rude. So, she decided to follow her manners.

"Thank you, for saving me last night," she bowed her head slightly.

"I didn't save you."

Huh? She didn't understand. Again, she wasn't sure what to say after hearing something like that. Was this man going to hurt her?

"The fools were unlucky," he said as his lips curled upwards. "And you—just didn't matter. You were saved, but I didn't save you."

What…what a sinister smile, Alissa thought.

"Still… I owe you." She fidgeted a little as she thought about what she was going to say next. "My parents they—"

"Find your own way back," he cut her off, "I have better things to do."

"W-Wait please!" She quickly got up and almost tumbled forward, "My name is Alissa M—"

He turned around and stepped out of the carriage before she could finish. She watched his back disappear, hesitated, and scurried along after him.

"Wait!—" the stench coming from the rotting corpses almost making her puke. "Ugh."

Radyn, ignoring her existence kicked over one of the bodies and started rummaging around. Using his left hand, he snatched the satchels off, gathering everything valuable.

He jumped from corpse to corpse, taking the spoils from his victory.

Alissa waiting by the door watched as he struggled putting a sword into the scabbard. And then as he tried removing the belt. His movements were slow and clumsy.

She had an idea.

"Your hand! If you help me get home, my father can give you a prosthetic hand! It'll be just as good as a real one, the doctors there can do it!"

Radyn stopped unfastening the bent, and turned towards her. His eyes shining with a kind of madness that would make even the devil gulp.

"Really?"