Heroes

I drop my cigarette and roll my eyes. Of course that fat bastard had been whistling a warning. If Kathleen had just gotten him sooner, none of this would be happening.

"Put your hands above your head," the man with the megaphone says to me. Andy and Kathleen have already cooperated, but that's because it gives Andy quick access to his weapon and it makes Kathleen look like an easy target. I don't need to do either of those things, and so I don't plan on lifting my hands.

"Put your hands above your head, miss," he repeats. I don't move.

"Put your hands above your head or I will be forced to treat you as hostile," he says finally. I shrug and cross my arms.

The soldier nearest to me looks like he's about to wet his pants. I don't know why. We're just three rebels trying to hide a body and catch a smoke in the process. It's not like we came to kill them...well, not yet anyway. Even with his gun pointed directly at my face, I can see his hands shaking, and it makes me smirk. I push off the tree towards him, startling him so much that he accidentally pulls his trigger.

The other soldiers seem to suck in a collective breath, but they don't even know the half of it. I catch the bullet between my teeth, my smirk stretching wider as I watch their confused faces.

"You can't kill heroes," Kathleen drawls, her face expressionless as she stares at the firing line.

I spit the bullet onto the packed dirt beneath my feet and look at the leader. Even he looks scared shitless now.

"You can't kill something this great," I say, watching the looks of fear turn into complete terror. They don't know how to handle us, and that's exactly how we like it.

Andy laughs from behind me, like this sad bunch of men is the funniest fucking thing he's ever seen. I barely have to blink before he's pulled out his shotgun and begun firing, taking advantage of their complete shock to knock off at least six or seven of them before they start firing back.

I turn and run into the woods, glancing back once to see Kathleen shoving two daggers into a soldier's stomach. She and Andy have the physical weapons; they will fight the soldiers back on the path. I can feel one soldier who's broken off from the group to chase me; he will end up with a much worse fate than the others because I don't kill quickly.

I step behind a tree, catching the soldier around the wrist as he tries to run past me. I twist his arm behind his back so he can't move, smirking when he glances over his shoulder to look at me.

"You won't get away with this, rebel scum," he grunts angrily, but I twist his arm further and bat my eyelashes as he cries out in pain. I turn around and pin him against the tree, grabbing his throat with my free hand.

I push my fingertips further into his windpipe, watching his face turn blue as he struggles for air. But it's no use; I'm not letting him go. I have no pity for these men, these people who turned my family against me. They made me who I am, and now they must all suffer the consequences for it.

Finally, the man stops wriggling. His eyes flutter shut and I feel his pulse slowing underneath my hand. A rush of pride runs through me as I drop him to the ground, his body folding up like a ragdoll. One more tally mark for the rebel side, I think, leaning down in front of him.

"Haven't I mentioned that you can't kill heroes?" I say sweetly, kicking his head as I straighten back up and head towards the cabin. I have to meet up with Kathleen and Andy.

We still have work to do.