Pure shock iced over my blood. My eyes zeroed on the sticky, wet bullet that was now squished between my legs. A scream begged its way up my throat, but my vocal chords remained cold.

The driver turned her head around. “What’s going on back there.” Her glance darted towards the bullet resting in my lap and then at Cray. “Don’t tell me you did it in front of her.”

His lips parted, yet no words projected.

She let out an inhumane growl and hit her wrist on the steering wheel before fuming back to the road. “He’s gonna kill you, Cray. He told us twice, twice. He said not to...” Her voice faded as her voice crinkled into grumbles and murmurs.

Not that I was paying attention. My mind was too focused on the bullet that just slipped out of Cray’s flesh as if it were butter.

“You okay?” His eyes roamed my colorless face, searching for a response.

His voice woke up my blood flow and I suddenly felt the bubbling sensation burst from my throat.

It was my scream.

The car veered off, and my body swayed with Cameron’s. We snapped forward, our seatbelts catching us as we snapped back. A curse broke through the driver as she regained control once again, shouting demands at Cray that my ears refused to hear.

My screams were the only audible noise I accepted.

A sudden jab pierced into my arm. My scream heightened as stings rushed through my veins. My gaze fell to the needle stabbed within my arm.

I failed to squirm away, the more movement equalling greater pain. Cray whispered a rough, “Sorry,” before everything in sight was eaten by darkness.

‡‡‡‡‡‡

I winced as the white light trickled slowly into my eyes. The moan stretched past my cracked lips. The entire small room was drowning in white: the walls, the ceiling, and the chair I was on, the chicken.

My heart pounded against my chest. I shot to my tied hands behind my back, the silver chains wrapped around the chair. Panic stood my hairs on ends. I swung my body to move, but the chair was cemented to the ground.

Frustrated, I cocked my head to the side and nearly forgot about the white chicken. Skinny and full of pale feathers, its legs were chained to the chair, restricted as much as me. It eyes. Dark. Eerie. Red.

Red?

Creak!

My neck craned towards the door.

Dimensions of perfection curved around this man, his square jaw sculpted, dark brows narrowed, and honey glazing eyes. His age was hard to make sense of, the young adult range the mere fact I could grasp.

I swallowed hard and did a poor job shifting away as another God followed after him. The first man had a sleek black suit groped along his body. The other was clothed with a tight black t-shirt and midnight coloured jeans.

Intimidation rocked my stomach and I mustered to glance away as the door slammed shut, the outline of the frame disappearing into the walls.

Their black shoes halted under my dropped gaze. From the reflection off their shoes, I watched the suited man trail his glance between the chicken and I like he was going to eat us. Not in the kinky way, people.

“So what’s the creepy, bird nosed, feathery, boney thing?” he spoke.

“Jessie Daniels,” his friend said.

He nodded. “So who’s the chicken?”

“Your dinner, sir.”

A grin crawled up his mouth. “Wonderful.” I lifted my head, and saw him staring. A sharp scar ran across his left brow, danger flashing off of him like sirens. His bottom lip had a cut, making the puckers beat red like he was back from a workout.

He gave another once over. “Jessie Daniels, hm?”

An awkward feeling settled among the air as my name bounced off the walls, his crispy voice nearly making me jump out of my skin.

I sensed his stern gaze rake from my toes to my head. “This is Brian’s daughter?”

The mention of my father broke my gaze.

“Yes, sir,” his friend answered, his eyes trained on mine as well.

Remaining mute, the black suited man stroked his find six o’clock shadow along his chin. “Are you scared, Jessie?”

I straightened my back. Authority rang in his tone, and I noted if I wasn’t tough, my chances of living were in the deep pits. “It depends. Are you going to beat me?”

He chuckled. Different from Romane, but still held that pinch of smug amusement. “Nono. Of course not. I don’t believe in beating.” He casually shoved his hands down his pockets. “If the person deserves pain, they mind as well die instantly. Besides, like Adam Sandler says, 'I don’t even believe in beating my little cousins. I make them wear a Justin Bieber shirt and Crocs to school so the other kids will do it for me.'”

I curled a coy smile, but killed it instantly. “I’m glad I make you want to share your childhood memories. Do tell, did your parents make you have the Bieber cut too?”

His friend stifled a laugh while the suited man glared at him. “Sorry, it’s just that”—his friend waved over his hair—“the image of you wearing a Bieber shirt, purple Crocs, and the Bieber cut is hilarious.”

“Ha-Ha.” He gave a fake laugh, and then lashed out a gun from his jacket, shooting right between my feet.

I caught a scream on the brink of my throat, and only flinched. I smelt the burning bullet melt under my nose, struggling to suppress a shriek.

“Now, Daniels.” The man carelessly swung his arm as he spoke. He lifted my chin with the barrel, meeting us at an eye level. “You might not think I’m as dangerous as Romane. Believe me, I can be more ruthless than that scum bastard. My gang saved your life.” He raised the barrel, cranking my neck back more. “You owe me.”

A discreet shiver crumbled down my spine as the word ‘owe me’ slithered off his tongue.

He pressed the barrel to my bare throat. I hitched a gulp, the cold weapon sending my body temperature into shock.

“Romane might be your greatest nightmare. He might rule the lands of North America. But darling, you’re not in North America anymore. You’re in Asia. In a facility full of highly skilled assassins, filthy killers, brilliant seducers, clever drug lords, experienced liars, heartless players, who are all on the other side of that door.”

He slowly crawled the barrel of the gun up my throat. “And they work for me. They listen to me. They know if they want to survive, they do what I say and get what I want. You’ve entered Snipers territory now, darling.” The barrel reached my chin and plunged its way into my mouth.

My eyes popped, and I nearly gagged at the bitter steel taste. He leaned in if even closer, his forehead brushing against mine. “I am the leader of the Snipers,” he whispered. “A gang made up of the world’s most wanted, most dangerous fugitives. And you, darling, have something Romane and I have been fighting over for a very long time.”

He locked the bullet in place. The chains yanked as I attempted to free my trembling wrists. My heart was ready to jump out of my chest, the thud thud thud drumming louder.

This was the Sniper’s gang leader my father told stories about. Honey eyes that were sweet at first, but if you got too close there was no leaving; once you were stuck, you were stuck.

Three gangs ruled the world of illegal doings. Romane Eagle, Slein Adnairb, and Levi Sniper. The Bloody trio. Each leading a gang packed with incredible people with unimaginable thirst for revenge, greed, and power.

I swallowed a whimper and stared hard into his sinful honey eyes. “You know who I am,” he said. “I know who you are. Romane wants you, I want you. We both have. Our families both have been waiting for your entrance into this world. You have a choice.”

Shock struck me hard. I have a choice? I’d never expect I would have a choice.

He sensed my overwhelming and grinned. “A choice, I know. Wonderful, isn’t it?” He pressed the gun further past my lips, and I gagged, swallowing a cry.

Stay strong, Jessie. You can’t break in front of him. Not now.

"Choice A: Prove your value for us; if you’re worthy of becoming a Sniper. But if you fail, I’ll shove a bullet down your throat.” His face brightened. “Choice B: I pull this trigger and you die.”

Fear chilled me to the bone. Prove my value? I had no talent.

Levi released the gun from my mouth, not bothered by the wet end. He arched his brow and spread his arms. “Your choice, darling.”

“Why the fuck do you want me?” I couldn’t comprehend why my voice was so uncontrollable today. “How would I prove of value to you people? And how do you know my dad?”

Levi exchanged conceited grins with his friend, and glanced back. “To your second question, we would put your skills to the test of course.” Worry slumped my shoulders, but I kept my chin boasted. “You would get a taste of our gang and see if you can handle what we do as Snipers. If you have the strength to be one of us.”

Doubt snuck its way into my mind. “To answer your third question,” he continued. “Let’s say your daddy was a very... special man. But since my heart is pretty cold, I’m just gonna say it.” He shrugged. “He promised us your life.”

I was appalled, the news smacking me square in the face. “H-he what?!”

He did a short laugh. “Yah, your dad was like”—he changed his tone to a Chicago gangster voice—“Homie G, you want ma first born?’ And my dad was like, ‘Hell yah, let’s make a deal.’ Your dad was all, ‘Cool, yo. When she born, you can take her and you give me the thing to save my life.’ And my dad was all like, ‘You wanna make a deal on your motha too?’”—his voice smoothly switched to normal—“Then they laughed, got drunk, hangover and did shit. The end.”

I gritted my teeth, anger pumping through my blood. My own father traded my own soul just so he could save his own sorry ass life. Yet that didn’t make sense. My parents always told me they were two high school sweethearts that fell in love off of the suburbs of Canada in a little town called Beaverton where they first met at a daily grocery store.

Yeah—how cliché can you get, right? Talk about boring way to meet someone.

But that wasn’t the point. Either this man was lying or my parents had been keeping secrets my whole life...

“Tick, tock, darling,” Levi said, clucking his tongue. “I don’t have all day.”

I furrowed my brows, scowling at this man’s impatience. You’d expect this choice was easy, ‘Choice A: possible chance of living or Choice B: death,’ but I noted I could get information out of him before I did anything. He was throwing facts; I was already up for grabs.

A sceptical look danced across my features, eyeing Levi carefully. “Why am I so special to keep alive?” I asked.

He poked the barrel of the gun to my chest. “Because you, my darling, are the one thing Eagle’s and Sniper’s have been fighting for the past two generations. Once you’re dead, millions of dollars would burn and I’m not a happy person when my money gets put to waste.” His eyes flickered playful glint. “But I can make exceptions for some particular reasons.”

I raised my voice, fighting back the urge to cower. “But why me? You still haven’t answered my damn question.”

Not conflicted by a smidge of feistiness, he grew an arrogant smile and said, “Darling, as an expert killer, professional seducer, specialized liar and massive millionaire, and as terrific as I may be, there is one thing I have in common with Romane that doesn’t deal with you.”

I straightened my back, and in a cavalier fashion asked, “And what’s that?”

His grin widened, amusement washed over his face. “A drug.” A small frown—only a tiny curl—appeared on his mouth which I expected was a fake frown. “Unfortunately for your case”—he poked the tip end of the gun with my nose—“You have ‘em.”

“No I don’t!” I snapped, infuriated.

Holy mother of hell. Was this going to be one of those cliché kidnaps where the kidnapper asks the hostage for something, meanwhile the hostage has no fucking idea what or where it is? Agitated by the high possibility of that, I shot an exasperated look towards Levi, mentally demanding him it wouldn’t come to that.

“Don’t lie to me,” he said, in a light tone as if he was ready to scold my actions.

“I’m not!” I racked my brain for an idea of where any of my family members stashed things, but only thought of my mom’s secret chocolate stash under her bed.

Suddenly, a flash of bewildered slapped him across the cheek. I gaped to see his face register a shocked look and wished I knew what he just connected. Then he masked his throw-off, and merged back to his normal, mysterious face. His friend however, noticed this and nudged him if he was all right.

“Don’t,” he harshly growled, causing his friend throw his hands up in surrender. Levi matched my same intimating glare, and it started to feel like he could see right through me. That was when I remembered Cray’s bullet incident.

My ribs tightened against my stomach. What if these people weren’t even human? I was tempted to ask except I thought it would be best if I didn’t, waiting perhaps till the time was right and he wasn’t holding a gun.

“I don’t have the drug or whatever you want,” I repeated, pushing for answers.

“Oh, darling,” he purred in his normal, dark state. “That’s where you’re wrong. You do have the drugs.”

“No I fucking don’t.”

“Jessie, Jessie, oh sweet Jessie.” His knowing grin sent another shiver down my spine. “Daddy hasn’t told you, has he? You have the drug”—his warm, soft hand grazed my cheek, his thumb hooking on my chin—“You are the drug.”

My mind raced. The confusion was ready for a round two until it hit me. I followed from his honey eyes, down to his arm, straight to where his hand was, all the way to my skin.

The drug was inside of me.

A hazardous unknown chemical was running through my heated blood.

“So what’s your choice, darling?” he murmured, his gun already pointed on my forehead.

Then I remembered. If Romane and his family have been fighting over the drug inside of me for years, he wouldn’t kill me just after I was in his possession. He wouldn’t waste millions of dollars.

But he could make an exception.

I didn’t belong to anyone. I didn’t want to obey him and I didn’t want to give Levi anything he wanted.

But I want to live.

I sucked in a sharp breath. I had to take my chances.

I put on a smirk, meanwhile my heart was pounding a thousand miles per second. I flashed my sweetest smile, and slithered, “How about you kiss. My. Ass.”

His grin caught me off guard, and before I could say anything, he gladly spoke, “I guess that answers that.” Then he zeroed on his target and pulled trigger.

‡‡‡‡‡

To let you all know I never watched Lucy (it's not even out in my country yet) or read Mortal Instruments or the whole series of the Hunger Games and Divergent (I read the first one 4 years ago), so don't tell me my book IS JUST LIKE THAT or is VERY similar. Don't bother commenting on it because you're wasting my time reading it. I find it insulting because I spent a lot of time brainstorming and writing this which is all my own original work.

Thanks for reading my story though! :)

#24 on Science Fiction and #44 on Action? You guys rock mah banana boat ;)