PROLOGUE : THE KIDNAPPING

Rico the ripper

It was a cold and windy night, Early august. The moon was out and the leaves on the tree were being stirred gently by the breeze. Two figures walked back together from the cinemas. Unknown that they were being shadowed by things worse than shadows.

As they walked home, it soon became clear that the two figures were actually two teenagers- a boy and a girl. One of the shadows stopped to ponder this. He wasn't really a shadow but a man cloaked in shadows. He was an assassin from the brotherhood of skulls. Even now he wore a skull mask to conceal his identity. His name was Rico the Ripper and one the elite ranking members of the skulls and he had been sent to bring back this target. He absolutely could not fail.

William

William Smith was so happy that Mitchelle had accepted his invitation to watch a movie. This was one of the best days of his life.

He was oblivious to the shadows following them as he walked home with the girl of his dreams.

Mitchelle

The day had been going fine for Mitchelle. She had even accepted this movie date which was not something she normally did. She could not refuse Williams after all the trouble he had gone through to ask her. She had suspected he was a spy but after closer investigation saw that he couldn’t be one. Everything was going okay until this evening when she had noticed these six frigging shadows trailing them. She had to devise a way to escape with William as she could not let him become caught up in her problems. When I find that old man I will wring his neck for this, she thought.

Rico the ripper

Rico hated jobs or missions involving kids. They were so unpredictable and he hated offing kids too, not that he would hesitate if they became involved in his mission.

“Get the target. Leave no witnesses” he said briefly into his mic. Now all he had to do was to wait as the trap snapped shut.

Mitchelle

Damn. I should not have followed this road, Were the thoughts going through Mitchelle's mind as they strolled into a deserted road perfect for an ambush. Even as the thought was going through her mind. Three figures detached from the shadows and walked towards them. They were wearing tracksuits even without them wearing their customary assassin garment, Mitchelle knew that they were from the Skull brotherhood.

This was so not going well.

William

William felt a change as they crossed into the deserted street. His danger bells started ringing. He also noticed that Mitchelle had tensed up, which couldn’t be good. He suddenly noticed that three men were walking towards them and their very presence radiated danger. His warning bells started ringing louder. They looked like kidnappers to him. He grabbed Mitchelle's hand and ran back the way they came.

A car suddenly zoomed out of a side street and cut them off. About 2 more men streamed out of the car.

This did not look good. On the bright side, they weren’t carrying any weapons.

Mitchelle

Mitchelle was angry with herself. How could she have fallen for such an old trick in the trap book. The only advantage they had was that their would-be captors were not spotting any weapons but in the case of skulls that advantage offered little respite/ encouragement. She was wondering what to do when William stepped in front of her and blocked her from the would-be captors on one side.

Oh, what a foolishly brave boy, she thought.

One of the skulls who came from the car spoke

“Come with us and we will inflict no harm on you”

“And if we don’t?” asked William

“You shall regret it” the skull replied coldly.

They were surrounded by five (5) skulls. The two on the right were easier to attack than the three on the left. If they could attack the two on the right they might be able to break through and get to a busier street where it will be harder for them to be caught. A sudden blur of movement shocked her and she saw Williams charging the two skulls from the car. She was surprised, happy and annoyed but she knew he didn’t have the skills to fight a skull in close combat. She ran after him.

William

Williams charged at the two skulls. He was not very good at fighting but he was what one could call a natural. He knew how to come out from a fight with the least amount of injury. He knew their only chance to escape was to break through the net that their kidnappers had set and the two men from the car were easier to break through than the three from the deserted street. He only hoped that Mitchelle was behind him because he was sure that the three other uglies would not just stand as they tried to escape.

His attack came as a surprise and he was able to take down one of the kidnappers with a surprise left hook to jaw before the man could defend.

He turned to keep the other man busy while Mitchelle caught up to him. The other man seemed to have gotten over his shock and slipped into a fighting stance. The man came at him in a flurry of jabs, punches and kicks. He could barely keep up, only retreat and block while trying to protect himself from getting seriously injured. The fight was barely up to a minute and his arms were already bruised. He stumbled on a stone and before he could regain himself the man struck as fast as a snake and knocked him out.

Mitchelle

Mitchelle was surprised that William had taken down one of the skulls even without training. If they survived this she would surely teach him some things but first they had to get out of here, alive and in one piece. The three skulls drew closer to close the net around her.

“Surrender girl and come peacefully” said the Skull that put Williams down. “And we will not hurt you”

“You really should not have messed with my friend”

They were really getting on her nerves now, besides did Williams see her as some damsel in distress that he attacked alone. All men are alike. She removed her glasses, laid it gently on the floor, stood up and began to slowly roll up her sleeves.

“Come one, come all. I haven’t got all day. I should thank you for knocking out William at least now he wouldn’t get to see this” said Mitchelle clapping her hands. “So how about this we all fight with a handicap. No weapons. The first to draw a weapon I will kill”

The skulls were shocked at her change and stared at each other stupendously. This confirmed her suspicion the old man didn’t inform them who she was. He must really hate them. This would not be a fair fight but who cared about that because she certainly didn’t.

The skulls began to register her as a serious threat and spread out to come at her from different angles. A good plan but not enough. They attacked her simultaneously. Hmph. They just might take her down.

Hmmmm...

Nah,

Not in their life, she thought before her eyes turned red and she went into battle rage.

Rico the ripper

Rico the ripper was both impressed and surprised. That hardly ever happened. The boy was very foolish thinking that he could take on his skull brethren but he still took down one. He had to respect the boy grudgingly for that. He made a mental note to punish the brother that allowed himself to be taken down so easily. Maybe he would recruit the boy after the mission but the boy was not the target. The girl was. He did not like the mission where he was not properly briefed. They were only told to bring her back in one piece and the current chief head had implied an extremely painful death if they failed to bring her in.

The remaining skulls seemed to be closing the gap to capture the girl. This should be easy. Three on one side and one on the other should be enough. Even though she escaped from the current four standing skulls. The area for about a mile was surrounded by at least twenty more brothers. Everything was going according to plan.

Huh.

Something was happening. The remaining brothers seemed to have stopped. Wait, they were spreading out to attack from various angles. Why were they being overly cautious? Something was definitely wrong

They attacked simultaneously, everybody in the brotherhood was taught to fight in sync or coordination. The girl charged to meet them. That was sure intriguing.

And something astonishing happened. There were suddenly screams and grunts of pain. It was like watching a horror film. The girl was like a wolf among sheep dealing damages to the skull brothers as if they were kindergarten children. She punched a brother in the throat as he tried to grab her and disabled him with a well-aimed punch to the cranium as he wheezed for breath. She threw the disabled skull at the other brother and they both crashed to the floor. She ducked under the arms of the other two brothers as they made to grab. She kicked out and knocked one to the ground as the other jumped back to avoid being tripped. She regained her feet quickly and aimed a kick at the fallen brother's head which knocked him out. She advanced quickly towards the other brother but he retreated quickly. She suddenly veered sharply and attacked the brother that fell down with the other brother at the beginning. She aimed a flurry of attacks at him as he was still on the floor. She broke the skull brother guard in a matter of seconds and punched him in the throat. She punched him three more times in the face until her hands came bloody and the brother stopped moving.

She turned to face the last brother who was so shocked at her aggressive attack that he stood dumbfounded as she beat up his fellow brother. He took a step back as his mind finally caught up that he was next. He whipped out a knife and adjusted his stance. Rico was still shocked that all this was happening before his eyes. Who exactly was the target? She must certainly be from the family or be highly trained to take down the brothers so easily. Wait, he leaned out to get a better view. Her eyes were glowing a deep red like fire.

OH, NO. THIS WAS NOT GOOD.

The chief had not told him anything about this.

They had apparently been sent to bring back the chief's granddaughter.

THE RED EYED QUEEN.

This job just got complicated very fast.

Mitchelle

Mitchelle eyes were red and itchy. She was in the battle rage. The battle rage was a state she entered into when fighting that greatly augmented her speed, reflexes and reaction time. The only side effect was that she had this overwhelming urge to off her opponent. She could control it, which made her an unrivaled fighter in hand-to-hand combat or close-quarters fighting in the skull brotherhood.

She turned to take down the last skull but he retreated a bit. He seemed a bit shaken by her savage attack on the last skull. He took a step back when he saw that he was next and whipped out a knife.

"That is a very bad idea." Said Mitchelle.

He attacked her swiftly but she was expecting it. She sidestepped it easily and hit the skull's outstretched wrist, causing him to loosen his grip on the knife. She snatched the knife out from his hand and stabbed it in his forearm. The skull retreated quickly but attacked almost immediately hoping to take her by surprise. She twirled around him and came to his back and stabbed him in the back. She felt the skull's body go rigid as he slid dead to the ground.

Mitchelle slapped her forehead. This was why she hated fighting with weapons; it was harder to control herself and not kill. Sudden movement behind her made her turn around quickly.

A man clad in skull assassin brotherhood traditional garb stood behind her. He wore a skull mask that efficiently concealed his identity. He had two extremely long and slim double-edged swords and one was out hovering above the unconscious Williams throat. More skulls were pouring in after him surrounding her. They were equipped, unlike the first group and carrying weapons. Well, things were going to get bloody.

"Come with us quietly, Red Queen" said the man in a quiet and reverent tone. He must be an elite to have been able to walk up behind me unnoticed thought Mitchelle.

"What is your name?" asked Mitchelle.

"Rico the ripper, my lady"

he said, bowing his head.

She felt like ripping off his head. How could he be so formal with his sword inches away from committing murder? This was one of her reasons for hating the skulls and running away. She should kill them all and escape with Williams. No, that was just the battle rage talking. She should end this with the least amount of bloodshed. She closed her eyes to clear her mind.

When she opened them, her eyes were no more red. The battle rage had cleared

.

"Take me to my grandfather" Mitchelle said.

And as one the assembled Skulls fell to one knee and bowed to her,

"HAIL THE HEIR!!! THE RED EYED QUEEN."

TO BE CONTINUED............

Author note:

There will be more installments to the series. If you like please like and recommend to friends.

Thank you.