Heroes

Jane's always giving me that look like I'm the stupidest motherfucker on this planet. I think she just has a problem with men in general. It's good for me to be on her side; if I wasn't, I know that she and Kathleen would be hunting for me at night, just like we hunt the others.

My shotgun keeps poking my shoulderblade every time I take a step. It's uncomfortable, but I don't dare complain. I don't need another reason for Jane to wonder why I'm still here.

"I hope you don't accidentally shoot yourself in the back," Kathleen murmurs from beside me. She speaks out of the side of her mouth; it's a trick that her dad taught her during one of the few times he wasn't in prison. Now he's in for good and Kathleen can sidetalk like the best inmates. It's a good skill to have, especially when they manage to corner us.

Despite myself, I let out a snort of amusement. Jane is right there, smacking my arm so hard that I can't feel anything below my elbow. It's a good thing it's not my shooting arm that she hit. "Be quiet!" she hisses, gesturing up ahead. From what I can see, we are just on the outskirts of one of their camps. There's only one fire going, so everyone has already gone to bed and left the watchman to do his job. It's almost a shame that he'll have to fail them tonight, I think, but then I remember that they killed my mother. They locked Kathleen's father away for the rest of his life. And worst of all, they brainwashed Jane's parents. They made them believe that their daughter needed to be "put down" because she was a nuisance to society. They've caused so much pain and anger in this group, too much to ever be forgiven. And so, when I look at the watchman again, I see nothing but red clouding my eyes. He will only be the first of many to die tonight, and I have absolutely no guilt for killing these people.

The three of us start moving in, careful to dodge things like twigs and leaves that crunch. Giving away our position is not an option; right now, we have the advantage, and if we give that up, we lose everything.

Kathleen barely grazes a twig, but it snaps anyway. The watchman is alert now, and I hear both of the girls cursing under their breath when he gets up to come investigate. I skirt around a tree that's beside me, and Jane melts into the bushes on the other side of the path. Kathleen is alone now as the watchman approaches her.

"What are you doing?" he calls gruffly, holding his lantern up. I resist the urge to snort; they haven't even upgraded to flashlights yet.

She looks around like she's lost. "I don't know, sir," she says in an even tone. But that's Kathleen, always calm and collected under pressure.

The watchman makes a disgusting noise in his throat, jostling the lantern as he does. "You shouldn't be here. This is a private camp," he explains, sounding slightly less gruff. His guard is coming down, and around Kathleen, that's the worst thing possible.

"If you could just give me directions back to the main road, I'll be on my way. Sorry to have bothered you, sir," she says.

He looks at her suspiciously, but then his shoulders fall and he points behind her. "Back that way about a hundred and fifty yards, then thirty paces to the north. Watch out for the cabin though, I hear there's rebels hiding out there. You don't want to fall into the wrong hands, girl."

She bows slightly. "Thank you, sir. Those rebels are terrible people; I promise not to head towards the cabin. I'll just be on my way now."

The watchman turns his back, beginning to whistle as he walks away, the lantern swinging at his side. He doesn't make it even one step before Kathleen pulls out her dagger and lunges after him, slicing open his throat. He gurgles for a few seconds, and then the night is silent again as Jane and I step out of our hiding places.

"Those rebels are terrible people?" I tease, hoisting the watchman's body up over my shoulder. I stagger a bit under his weight, but keep my face expressionless.

Kathleen rolls her eyes at me, wiping her dagger off in a clean area of the watchman's uniform. "Oh please, like you could do any better, Andy."

Jane gives us both an annoyed look. I'm beginning to think that's become her default expression. "Just get rid of the body," she grunts, pulling out a lighter and a pack of crushed cigarettes from her back pocket. She takes a few steps away from us to smoke, and I jerk my head at Kathleen.

"So where should we dump this fat bastard?" I ask her.

She looks around the path, then points west of where we are. "I think there's a ditch down that way. I came out here a few days ago to learn the land in case something like this happened, so I'm pretty sure," she tells me.

"Then let's go." I adjust the body so I can actually walk without stumbling and follow her off the path.

"Hold it right there," a voice commands. I let the watchman slide off my shoulder as I turn, hands in the air.