The Tainted

Chapter 1

  "We were just eating dinner. It was a normal night just like every other night. I don't know how it went so bad so fast." Robin wipes the spilling tears from her face as she stares thoughtfully at the ceiling.

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     "How was school, Robin?" asks a man appearing in his forties cutting his steak.

    Robin wipes the sauce off of her mouth with her napkin and places the napkin back on her lap. "It was okay, I guess. The same classes. The same boring lectures. Not really much happened." Robin then proceeds to eat her macaroni and cheese.

     "Something fun or interesting must have happened, dear," says a woman who just finished her glass of wine. "Did something make you laugh today?"

     Thinking for a moment, Robin finally came with one memory. "Well, Max did fall-"

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     Covering her face with her arm, the girl laying in the chair struggles to speak between sobs. "The last thing I can clearly remember from that night was the doorbell. It was so sudden and out of the ordinary." Robin pauses for a moment to collect herself again.

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     "I'll get the door," a little girl around five years old offers as she hops off the chair and makes her way to the door.

     Robin watches her little sister waddle to the door and chuckles to herself. "She's getting more responsible. Before you know it, she will be a mature little version of you Mom."

     "Oh my! Don't say that!" laughs the woman. "I want her to stay a child for as long as possible. You grew up too fast." The woman slightly nudges her daughter, and they both laugh. However everything stops when a scream is heard from the door.

     "Mary!"

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     "I couldn't get to her fast enough. I just couldn't." Robin starts breathing rapidly as if something heavy is sitting on her chest. "Before I knew what was going on, three men came barging in with my little sister squeezed in one of their arms. I was paralyzed everywhere. My parents jumped up, but I couldn't. My parents, though. They were like from a whole different world."

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     "Robert! Get Mary! I will deal with the other two," yells the woman. "Robin! Get out of here. Now!" With a combination of kicks and punches, the two men go down in a matter of an hour.

     Meanwhile the man named Robert battles with the one that holds his daughter. The little girl cries from the man's arm, "Daddy! Please make the bad man let go of me!" Her weak breathing only infuriates her father more. "I can't breathe Daddy!"

     "Let go of my daughter!" demands Robert; however, all the man does is just laugh. Robert finally clicks. "No. How dare you laugh at me you repulsive son-of-a-b***h. Sweetheart! Close your eyes. It will all be over soon. I promise."

     While all of the commotion is alive around her, Robin can't seem to process what is going on. She frantically looks around to only to see her mother fighting two men who are three times her size and her father battling the man who holds her sister. Why can't I move? I have to help somehow. Who are these people and what do they want? In the midst of her thoughts, she hear three gun shots.

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     Robin jumps in the chair at the imaginary sound of the gun and suddenly shrieks. "No! Stop! Stop! Stop! I can't continue." Robin slides off of the chair and onto the floor sobbing oceans that the carpet graciously absorbs. "It's too painful. I'm sorry Mrs. Jade."

     The woman with short curly red hair quickly grabs Robin from the floor and positions her against the chair. "Dear child, I understand your pain. I didn't expect for you to finish today. You made great progress today, Robin. We can just continue next week." Robin wipes her face with her uniform sleeve and gazes into her therapist's hazelnut eyes. "Same time next week?" Robin nods her head and makes her way back onto the couch. "It will take some time for the pain to go away especially since you waited five years to finally open up instead of coming here immediately. Nonetheless, I can see that you are a strong, young woman, Robin. I can see great potential in you with all of these emotions and experience you have."

     A confused look creeps onto Robin's face. "What do you mean, Mrs. Jade?" The therapist shakes her head, tells Robin to not mind what she said, and bids her a good afternoon. Still confused, Robin says her goodbyes and leave the therapists office. "Great potential?" she whispers to herself as she heads for the bus stop. Once the bus arrives, she boards, scans her bus card, and finds her a seat in the back of the bus by the window. 

     I can't believe that it has already been five years since the attack. How is it that I can still remember everything so clearly? I tried so hard to forget, but the dreams...those horrible, horrible dreams...they haunted me for so long. I had to get this off of my chest. Robin looks at the time and realizes that she still has three hours before her sister comes home. I still have time to go to the shooting range to clear my head. Maybe this time I might be able to get to the Ruger AR556. I'm getting bored of the handguns. It's no fun when I can hit the bullseye in every shot. Robin pauses for a moment to do some thought collecting and silently laughs to herself. I think I have been spending too much time at the gun range. I am fifteen years old, and I can hit the bullseye without fault with handguns. It's not like I'm going to kill someone or anything.

     At that moment, the image of a bloody gun in Robin's hands flashes before her eyes. "Ugh!" Robin grabs her head and gently rubs it. I guess I have the attack to blame for my gun addiction. At least something useful came out of that experience. Sitting back in her chair, the girl with long wavy black hair shuts her eyes and peacefully enjoys the rest of her bus ride to her stop.

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                                                                 Bang!

     One shot from her Glock 19 straight into the middle of the target.  As she sets up for her next shot, the boys in the stalls next to her watch and mouth to each other about how to get Robin's attention. Robin notices the boys around her but doesn't pay them much attention. Why is it always like this when I'm here? Can't they just mind their own business? Gosh! It's so bothersome. After she shoots her second shot, she feels a tap on her shoulder. As she jumps, Robin grabs the person's arm and throws him over the barrier counter.

     "Jeez Robin! A simple hello would have been better." 

     When Robin realizes who the person is, she immediate helps him back over the counter. "Max! What the heck is wrong with you?" Robin yells as she punches her friend in the shoulder. "You should know better than to randomly tap my shoulder especially when I'm focused. Are you okay?"

     Laughing, the boy named Max dusts off his pants. "You sure can switch from being mean to the most caring person quickly." He ruffles Robins hair and puts his arm around her shoulders. "Hey, there is a new BBQ place down the road. I was wondering if you would want to go for dinner with your sister."

     Looking  at her watch, Robin thinks for a moment. Well, I don't have any plans. Mary likes meat. I don't see why not . "Sure. I'm down. What time?"

     "Yes! Does six o'clock sound good?" Robin nods her head and smiles. "Great!" Max picks up Robin and starts heading to the door.

     "Hey! What are you doing? Put me down!" Shaking and turning, Robin tries to wiggle herself out of her friend's arms with no luck. "Max!"

     When Max makes it to the front desk, he sets Robin down, and she gives him an annoyed look. After she returns the gun and gets her school ID back, the duo head outside. "The boys at the shooting range were bothering me, " Max starts to suddenly explain. Robin looks up at her friend in utter confusion. "They were staring at you. I didn't like the way they were looking at you." He glances over at Robin to see if she was listening and notices her staring straight ahead. "I know that you know how to handle and take care of yourself, Robin, but don't just let them stare at you with lovey eyes." After a few minutes without and answer, Max stops walking and grabs Robin's arm. "Aren't you going to say something?"

     At that moment, Robin laughs and shakes her arm out of Max's grasp. "Lovey eyes? Really Max? You couldn't think of another way of saying that?" Max chuckles back and continues walking. "Thanks for your concern, Max. I think I can handle a few 'lovey eyes' for an hour or two." Bruh~ I know you like me and all but that was over the top. You could have just held my hand or glared at them. There was no need to pick me up like that. Curious to know what her friend will say, Robin nudges Max's arm to get his attention. "Dude, we are only freshman in high school. You suddenly got serious. That's unlike you Max. What's are you thinking about?"

     What am I thinking?!  You have known me for how long now, and you still haven't noticed? Jeez Robin...for someone who is so smart...you are really bad at seeing the feelings of someone  who you are around everyday. 

     "Max?"

     "Oh!" Snapping back to reality, he punches Robin in the shoulder. "Nothing, Robin. Let's just get home so that we can get ready for dinner. It will be on me tonight, and I'm not going to take no for an answer. You need to save your money since it's only you and your sister. Don't you dare touch the check." He flicks Robin on her forehead. "Got it?"

     Rubbing her forehead, she grabs her friend's arm and twists is behind his back. "You are going to get enough hitting me, Max. Who is top dog here?" Max yells in sharp pain. When Max doesn't answer, Robin pulls his arm farther behind him. "Who's top dog, Max?"

    "You are!"

     "Who?"

     "You are!"

     "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you clearly."

     "Robin is top dog! Now let me go!"

     Robin releases Max's arm and stands in front of him. "That's right. Don't you dare forget that." She smiles teasingly at her friend as he tries to regain feeling in his arm. "By the way, I was going to make you pay for dinner anyways. It's going to be your way of making up for carrying me out of the gun range before I got a chance to finish." 

     Max jerks his head up and sees the cute evil smile on Robin's face. Dang...she knows what she is doing... "Okay, okay. I guess I deserve that." He puts his hand on Robin's shoulder. "Come on. Your sister should be almost home now." Robin looks at her watch and realizes that her sister will be home in thirty minutes. She pushes Max and starts running. "Hey!" He calls out to her. "Wait up!"

     "Hmm...interesting..." A shadowed figure leans against the nearby wall and crosses her arms. "She moves quickly. She could make a great addition to the organization. Her parents wanted to wait on having her in, but I think she is ready now." The figure slowly follows behind the two friends.