(Maiores 16, 55 / 9:13AM)

  A day ter.

  Clouds bnketed the morning sun above the town of Dodgerock, casting a dark shadow amongst the bustling buildings. The mood was mencholic, and its citizens moved like zombies from one pce to another since a cloudy day wasn’t common for them.

  Everyone in the town felt sucked dry, especially the people living on top of the hill overlooking the small city. A white adobe castled and firm, the garden’s leaves couldn’t even ripple, as the dry wind couldn’t deliver itself to the town. The trees unable to sway, nor did the clothes of all the men and women who circled together, their eyes pinned to…

  A wooden crucifix dug deep into the red dirt below.

  In the center of the group, a man with white spiked hair had his hands clenched together while having them pced behind his back. His eyes darkened, all the rest of the young soldiers stood and watched with unbroken silence.

  (Kenji) May you find soce…

  Next to the old man, three young kids sniffled and tore, their eyes and noses trailing out water that drenched their cheeks and lips. On the other side of the kids, a dark purple-haired woman pced her hand on her father’s shoulder, her eyes pushed down.

  (Iris) But we can’t confirm his death father…

  (Kenji) He was taken by the hands of a cartel group. That’s what scares me most … whether or not he is dead or alive.

  (Pacithiest Soldier #1) But Manny’s strong.

  One of the Pacithiest soldiers behind Kenji spoke out, his voice frail and meek as a barn owl. His eyes averted from the tombstone he set his eyes on, he had them hover on the patch of dry grass littering beneath his boots.

  Both Kenji and Pacifica were unwilled to gnce from behind, their thoughts and silence focused on the funeral at hand.

  (Pacithiest Soldier #1) Stronger than all of us. He could punch or fight his way out if he—

  (Pacithiest Soldier #2) They have curses or blessings. Against Togo, we’re the weakest in terms of combat power…

  Another soldier spoke next to the other, their faces unwilling to parch from the reluctant dry air that usually came in this hour. A different day, different than any other one they had ever been through, was like a dark page they were experiencing.

  Kenji lifted his head and unclenched his hands, letting them rest on his sides before turning around. Gazing at the many mourning soldiers, all of their eyes were darkened or pushed down, combined with the cool air blowing from the North.

  (Kenji) Soldiers!

  Everyone tilted their heads up in unison, their eyes trailing directly into Kenji’s cold monolid eyelids that could stop a savage pet bear. His back and neck straightened, followed by his feet and legs pushed together, he unveiled a load of air from his mouth.

  As well as through his nostrils.

  (Kenji) Track down where the cartel members have gone. They couldn't have fled that far.

  Like sheep, the rest of the Pacithiest soldiers turned around and began walking out of the garden, silently and calmly moving through the doors that led into the house. Seeing them begin their track to finding Manny’s takers, Kenji noticed three kids who were reluctant to go.

  But there were still kids, so of course they wouldn’t go.

  Gncing down at the oldest one of the kids, he had a cowlick on the right side of his hair, and his skin was tan but not pale or dark. His body shivering under Kenji’s pushed-down stare, he took a step to the right, nudging his body closer to his brother and sister.

  (Kenji) I ain’t the one who shouldn’t be speaking of this, but…

  Pcing his wrinkled hand onto the teen boy’s shoulder, he had his fingers rest on his colrbone, his thumb nestled onto his shoulder bde. Setting his eyes down on the boy next to him, he let his words trail out at the end of a fading song.

  Gncing down at the boy’s hands, his fingers already dug deep into his palms, streaming blood onto his youthful skin.

  (Kenji) At the cost of revenge, one will either sacrifice himself, or sacrifice down onto others.

  Christian let his hands drop to his thighs, allowing his fingers to rest on top of his pants.

  Both Pacifica and Chris huddled themselves closer to Christian, the two of them wrapping their arms around his waist. Christian, feeling his stomach and side warmth from their bodies, slowly let his arm wrap around both of their backs.

  Seeing the dispy of Christian’s rebellious nature crumble like dust, Kenji turned around, his sandals crunching on the yellow grass beneath his soles. Following suit, Iris walked alongside her father, her eyes taking one st look at the wooden crucifix.

  (Iris’s thoughts) Rest assured, we’ll bring peace to your grave.

  Leaving the three kids to cradle each other, both Iris and Kenji reached the wooden door that led to the house. Opening it wide, they closed it shut, their eyes trailing the wood as they dictated their moods with the clouds above.

  (Iris’s thoughts) But who knows when?

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Reverence 6, 59 / 8:00PM)

  (Christian and Pacifica)

  Back to the present.

  Both women thrusted toward each other. Pacifica, who had nothing but her fists, as well as her acid coated knuckles, had hooked her eyes dead center onto Vivy. Vivy doing the same, she pulled back her right hand and pced her left arm forward, having the shield right in front of her.

  Pacifica’s fist smmed right onto the center of the shield, her knuckles cracking the yer of hardened bleach. Both liquids steamed onto each other, and droplets of salt water trickled down on the catwalk below.

  Having the upper hand in weaponry, Vivy immediately threw her javelin straight toward Pacifica, the tip of the spears aiming directly into her stomach.

  Without thinking, Pacifica dug the tips of her toes into the metal walkway, only for a split second before she lifted herself off the ground. The heels of her feet barely touched the bottom of the bridge, she had her lower body be the one on top, while her fingers dug deep into…

  Vivy’s shield.

  (Vivy’s thoughts) What the?!

  Her shield lifting Pacifica’s body, while her right hand was in the middle of making her javelin, she was vulnerable to the crazed woman. Unable to speak or mutter a voice, she watched as Pacifica twisted her body downward, sending her feet straight to where her palms were.

  Using just her heels, it made it seem as if a sledgehammer banged onto her shield. Feeling the ripples with her body, all of her bones shingled and shivered under the force of Pacifica’s kick.

  So much so, that her shield broke.

  Pieces of hardened bleach shattering in all directions, Vivy gawked her mouth wide, as she stared at the same heels directing toward her like a bullet. Unable to move or lunge, she tried to, but…

  Her stomach convulsed.

  With Pacifica’s heels digging deep into Vivy’s abdomen, she kicked with enough force for her to walk several steps backward. Her mouth wide, a spat of saliva and drool clubbed out from her throat, leading her to clutch her hands onto her stomach.

  Unable to breathe, she wanted to bend her knees and grovel, but her right hand wielded her javelin.

  (Vivy’s thoughts) A-Ah … I need … I need to get over it.

  Biting her lower lip, the tips of her teeth dug deep enough for blood to draw out. Letting them trail down to her chin, it stained her pale skin red, while narrowing her eyes at the wide-eyed girl.

  Dropping her left hand down to her thigh, her palm began to form her shield, but Pacifica thrust her body toward Vivy again. Without letting Vivy think, the turquoise-colored-haired girl lunged back with breathless lungs, her right arm pulled back with her javelin in tow.

  (Vivy’s thoughts) How can I defeat this bitch!? She’s supposed to be vulnerable to attacks because of her bnk anger!

  If a person blindly attacks out of pure rage and anger, they’ll fail against a person who attacks calmly. But in Vivy’s case, the logic in this statement wasn’t adding up.

  Like a desperate goril, she repeated a motion of punches toward Vivy, thrusting and garnishing the air around them. With every punch she threw, a bit of air was stung by the acid coating her knuckles.

  Letting her feet travel herself back, the javelin on her right palm tightened, leading it to crack and creak as she focused on Pacifica’s punches. All of them missing, some of them barely grazed the strands of her hair, as well as the edges of her jawline and nose.

  (Vivy’s thoughts) I just have to defend.

  Having her shield ready, she let the water-like substance from her left palm sprout out and grow like a tree, and harden like a rock. Molding and carving it into her regur shield, the center of the shield was dented yet again by…

  Vivy was like a turtle.

  Unable to go on the offense, the shield in front of her was her only bastion of not getting hit. Not soon after, Pacifica stopped halfway, letting her knuckles to her sides.

  Widening her eyes, Vivy peeked the top of her head out from the shield, and she widened her eyes even more.

  (Vivy’s thoughts) Wait that—

  Both of Pacifica’s palms glowed and circuted a greenish liquid, swelling and cultivating something out of a fantasy novel. Her palms facing the ceiling, the acid she controlled was condensed into two liquid balls, glowing and radiating under the orange sunset to the west.

  In an instant, she extended her palms to the turtled Vivy, flushing out a fire hose of acid at her.

  Taking a step back, the acid pressure of the liquid was enough to crack and tear off chunks of her bleach shield. Like old skin wrinkling and crinkling off from someone’s hands, every ounce of her shield weakened the more Pacifica’s acid flew at her.

  (Vivy’s thoughts) That bitch!

  Taking another step back, the bottom of her heel felt the air gap.

  Without gncing down, she knew she couldn’t take a step back, otherwise she would fall to her death. With no railings to hold her up, she pushed the tips of her toes to hold her weight, along with the pressure and strength of the acid in front of her. Having her life just on the tips of her feet, what can she do?

  Jump forward? Accept the burning acid to her face? Jump off the catwalk?

  But her hand still gripped her javelin.

  Meanwhile, Pacifica felt her body weaken and tear apart as if every muscle in her body screamed and soared like a banshee. Continuing to flush out more of her acid, her palms felt as if they might burst free, like a damn on the verge of cutting itself free.

  But as she dug her heels deep, even the simple act of backing off wouldn’t be enough for her.

  (Pacifica) Chris…

  It was the only thought that drove her, drove her to the border of sanity and madness. Fshing dust and echoes, with every memory of him repeating continuously like an old record pyer, only drove her to…

  Push her entire body forward.

  With no other choice, Vivy succumbed to the strength of Pacifica, allowing herself to tilt back. Loosening her grip on the flooring, gravity began to take hold, setting her body at the breaking point of dropping down to the canyon—

  She plunged her javelin onto the floor of the catwalk.

  Bending the javelin, every minuscule ounce of muscle bulged and clenched firm on her weapon. Dangling from the edge, her feet kicked back and forth, hitting the air while looking up to see the acid ceasing.

  As if luck had brought forth to her, she cmped her other hand on the javelin. Pushing her upper body to drag her lower, her scrawny biceps bulged from the weight of her bony legs, biting her lips to gush out blood inside her mouth.

  Despite her attempt to save herself, Pacifica pced her foot on the javelin.

  (Vivy) Wait! You aren’t going to kill me, are you!?

  Pacifica’s eyes softened at the dangling woman, allowing her hands to settle down to her sides. Strands of her hair covering her eyes and forehead, her foot which cmped on the javelin shook immensely.

  Leading the weapon to loosen.

  Sweating, crazily chuckling, she swayed her head back and forth as she cttered her teeth. Trying to sink her fingers deep into her weapon, she tried to push her quivering lips to form a mendicant smile.

  (Vivy) I-I was just doing my job! Honest! It’s my father you want! He made me do it!

  She remembered the st breath he took before he slept forever, his scrunched-up and fearful eyes that didn’t welcome death. The blood he spilled, the goals he had … he just wanted to explore the world.

  And he couldn’t even achieve that.

  Like breaking a scrawny stick, her entire face soured and wrinkled, as if she smelt the insides of a garbage dump. Her voice was husked and low as if she smoked ten packets of cigars.

  (Pacifica) Then I guess he made me do this too.

  A hand softly clenched down on her shoulder.

  Knowing it was Christian, she kept her foot on top of the bleach hardened javelin, the heel of her foot firm and steady. Unwilling to gnce back at her, a low breath of air swept out from his nostrils, leading it to graze her jacket.

  (Christian) I know you want to kill her. Every cell is telling you to.

  Christian took a step forward, his fingers loosening their grip on her brown jacket. His face pushed down along with his eyes, he looked down at the dangling woman, his eyes full of pity as he narrowed them.

  (Christian) And I know I want to smoke her too, but …

  His other hand was loose, having it resting on his thigh.

  Having his eyes pinned into Vivy’s irises, he took in the turquoise color, swimming and indulging in them like a pool. Unable to see beneath his eyes, Vivy swayed her head up and down, nodding as she pushed up both her lips.

  (Christian) Revenge is not a game to be taken lightly. I don’t think … killing her is going to solve our problems…

  Her boot still nudged deep into the bleach hardened weapon, Pacifica kept it frozen as she trailed the woman like a hawk. Analyzing her fingers, hands, knuckles, she even swept through her hair with her brown eyes.

  Remembering the advice Kenji gave to Christian, Pacifica loosened her heel on the javelin.

  Pulling her foot and leg next to her other set, she took a step back as she wallowed in the pity of Vivy’s strength. Seeing she was getting back up, Vivy pced the butt of her palms onto the edge of the catwalk, the metal shivering and cmming her skin like an oyster.

  Laying down on the metal, Vivy’s right cheek reddened from the extra pressure indulged in it.

  (Pacifica) …What do you want me to do now?

  (Christian) I’m 1/4th done with the dynamite, just help me—

  Pacifica thrusted her body toward Christian.

  Tackling him to the ground, she did it in less than a second. Wrapping her arms around his back, she smmed his back on the ground, turning her head to look toward the…

  Turquoise colored haired woman, her javelin piercing the metal leg next to them.

  Seeing she wanted a round 2, Pacifica squeezed every tooth and nerve like lemons, giving her the strength to stand on her own two feet. Letting her hands down, her fingers nudged and wrinkled as if she tried to py the piano, tapping the fabric of her pants as she saw Vivy stand up.

  (Pacifica) I’m done with this hearty-heart no-revenge bullshit.

  Panting heavily, her heart beating against her chest, her lungs squeezed and pulled out air from the deepest of her airways. Her palms facing the metal walkway below, she eyed the red-eyed woman who began forming yet another javelin.

  The two women were exhausted. Despite their tiredness, their anger tripled, more so than ever before.

  As the second round of acid and bleach commenced.