Fan Fiction ❯ The Spirit Assassin ❯ One-Shot

The Spirit Assassin

 

Naomi walked slowly back from school. Today had been excruciatingly long. One of those days that you swore the clock was broken. After the extensive day at school, all she wanted to do was find a place to sit in the quiet.

 

She sighed, hefting her backpack higher onto her shoulder. The strap was digging into her shoulder, no doubt leaving a red imprint from its weight. Walking through the crisscross of streets, she turned away from the loud freeway from which she was following, opting for the serene quiet that was present still in parks. She meandered slowly through the foliage, hued many colors, of the forest, turning down an earth beaten path. Taking a deep breath, she let her worries wash away from her, replaced by a sense of content. It was only at times like this, when she was undeniably alone, that she let her emotions run freely across her face.

 

Shuffling along down the path, she turned off onto a less trodden one. She had always wanted to explore this path. It wasn't the one she usually took home, since it was farther out of the way. Back here the trees grew closer together, and if she looked closely, Naomi could sometimes see deer slipping past, or a raccoon scurrying away. Things she never saw where she resided—right in the midst of the city.

 

As her backpack slowly grew heavier, her shoulder began to sting periodically. Knowing that a full-blown dull aching was soon to come, she let it fall off of her shoulder, sitting next to it on a tree stump.

 

“D'you mind Hun? That was my sister.” Looking behind her, Naomi saw that the voice had come from the willow tree, its branches dancing above the ground.

 

“Oh, sorry. Just…resting.” Naomi grabbed her bag, hefting it back onto her shoulders and standing up. Resisting the urge to sit back down, she nodded to the tree. The tree's branches moved back and forth, waving her on. Slightly annoyed that she hadn't been able to read her book, she continued to trek down the path.

 

Just as Naomi was about to give up her search for somewhere to sit and read, her eyes brightened as she noticed a solitary bench ahead, sitting invitingly beneath the branches of a giant oak. Quickening her pace, she soon was jogging towards it, throwing herself down onto the hard, crumbling wood. Shoving her backpack off of her shoulders and to one end of the bench, she stretched out on her stomach, occupying the rest of the space. Unzipping her backpack, she grabbed out her book—a dog-eared, worn copy; and began reading. As she continued to get more entranced with its pages, she began idly twirling a strand of hair in her fingers, occasionally chewing it a bit. To Naomi, everything else had disappeared. It wasn't trees surrounding her; it was her book, the scene written playing out around her.

 

“Are you planning to stay out here all night? It's almost dark, and I won't be responsible if you get lost.” The oak shook its branches, showering her in a flurry of leaves.

 

Naomi looked up, seeing that indeed dusk had already snuck upon her, and that soon it would be too dim to see properly. She folded over the corner of her worn book, shoving it back into her bag. Giving the oak one last glance back, she yet again pulled her backpack onto her shoulders.

 

Walking along the path, she sighed in defeat. She had no other choice than to just go home, back into the chaos that made hell look inviting. Plodding along the mulched path, she came to a stop at the fork quickly looming ahead. Stopping in her tracks, she peer intently to both sides, then turned to glance behind her. Her eyebrows furrowed, trying to distinguish one path from the other. Slumping in defeat, she had to admit that there was no hope. Just like the oak had predicted, she was undeniably lost.

Feeling the tears begin to prick at her eyes, she wiped them away hurriedly. She may be lost, but she would not cry. Staring ahead her once again, she chose the path to the right, hoping that she would have a stroke of luck and end up in the right place.

 

As she continued to walk along even farther, she knew luck was not with her tonight. The trees had begun to thicken, instead of the thinning out that would signify her return to the city. Walking along, she stopped abruptly as she heard a twig snap behind her. She didn't want to look, to see who was there. Everyone knew the stories of the deranged freaks who roamed parks at night, looking for someone who would be easy to mug. And who could be easier than a defenseless, lost schoolgirl?

 

Getting up the guts to turn around, she calmed slightly at what she saw. It most definitely wasn't a mugger. The…thing standing behind Naomi wasn't human at all. Its arms extended far down, its fingertips brushing the ground lightly. It didn't seem to have any legs—rather, it was floating in midair. She recognized this creature as one of the spirits who roamed the forest, popping up here and there.

 

“You are lost.” Its voice was melodic, entrancing. It didn't ask a question, the spirit already knew she was lost. Naomi still replied.

 

“Yeah, I am.”

 

The spirit walked up to her, examining her eyes. Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the close proximity she was now sharing with the spirit, she took a step backwards, stumbling a bit.

 

“I can show you home.” The creature still stared into her eyes, but their intensity seemed to dull.

 

Naomi had two choices—go home with the spirit or continue to wander through the forest all night, hoping vainly to find her way out. It really wasn't much of a choice to make.

 

“Um…Okay.” The spirit bowed—an awkward movement when it didn't have legs, but the gesture wasn't lost on Naomi.

 

“Follow me.” The spirit floated so that it was now in front of her, and began leading the way, its translucent skin glowing slightly in the dark. This, Naomi found, was a good thing, as it was soon to dark to see her hand in front of her face, let alone the path that she was following.

 

As the girl walked along, the spirit gloated silently. It had been so easy to get her to follow him, piece of cake really! Now all he had to do was launch his plans. They were bound to work, how could something so intricate possibly fail? He let a smirk sneak across his face, careful that the oblivious girl behind him didn't notice. He had been waiting for weeks to find some innocent bystander, some naïve person whom he could trick into following him. And finally, all of his waiting had paid off.

 

The spirit led the girl to where his assassination attempt would take place; it was only a little farther off. Gliding methodically down the path he had memorized, as he passed under the tree his strategy revolved around, he pulled a hanging, tattered rope, letting gravity take its natural course.

 

As Naomi walked along, she jumped suddenly, hearing something crash to the ground behind her. Afraid to see what had caused the disturbance, she checked to see that the spirit was still in front of her (he was) and slowly turned around. Not being able to see anything, she knelt down into the dark, only have found that the fingers she had put on the ground to help balance her were now covered in a sticky, gooey substance. As she pulled her fingers away quickly, she caught a sniff of the mystery substance. It was a smell she knew all to well—honey! Deciding that there was no point in trying to figure out what had happened, she simply turned back around. Seeing that the spirit had already started to continue through the dark, she scampered after it, following the shimmering glow of its skin.

 

The spirit was furious. He was more than furious. He was positively livid, his oddly shaped face contorted into a mask of rage. His ingenious plan had failed. How could the tub of honey possibly have failed to hit her?! It had been placed precisely on the edge of a wooden platform so that, when the rope was pulled, it would land on the person right behind him. But it seemed that he had somehow calculated wrong. The girl had made it all the way under the tree before the honey had fallen, effectively stopping it from sticking her to the ground.

 

Luckily the girl was still following him. He needn't worry too much; he did have a backup plan. Though it had pained him to make one, he had, in case of a failure in the first. Now he was extremely glad that he had though ahead, he could still get the girl.

 

Naomi still followed the spirit. Although she was beginning to become tired, she didn't have much of a choice. It was better than wandering lost through the vegetation by herself. There could be any number of cruel, plotting assassins out there, just waiting for someone like her to ambush….

 

The spirit allowed a small smile to sneak across his face. They were nearing the site for his second attempt at taking this girl's life. He could faintly make out the outline of yet another strategically placed rope. This one, however, was not hanging from a tree, but was pulled taught against the path that they were following. Gliding smoothly over the rope, he waited on the other side for the girl to trip and fall. However, she wouldn't find herself falling onto the floor of the forest, covered in shaved bits of wood. Instead, the unsuspecting girl would fall straight into a 10 foot pit filled with glue—effectively falling to her death.

 

Seeing the spirit stop, Naomi did too. Shrugging, she walked to catch up to him. However, her legs had a different idea. As one of them abruptly gave out from exhaustion, she found herself veering to the right. Frustrated with her leg, she slowly arced her way back to where the spirit was standing. Giving him something of an apologetic smile, she yet again took her spot behind him, waiting for him to once more lead the way.

 

The spirit was almost apoplectic with pure, white-hot fury. Not only had this-this human girl managed to outsmart his original plan, she had somehow also escaped unharmed from his backup plan. And, having had a slight bout of optimism when creating the traps, he had not come up with a backup plan for the backup plan! That was simply ludicrous!

 

Harrumphing, the spirit finally gave up. There was no point in trying to kill her outright, he could never succeed. Turning around and facing the girl, all he wanted to do was remove her from his sight.

 

“That way!” He spat out, pointing his finger in the general direction that he knew the town to be. Seeing her leave, he disappeared, leaving no trace behind him.

Naomi was ecstatic. It seems that she had finally found her home. Running blindly through the forest in the general direction that the phantom had pointed in, she ignored the tree branches slapping at her face. Struggling to keep her balance she finally reached sanctuary—she could see the streetlight up ahead.

 

As she ran blindly out onto the street, she never once looked in front of her. Scampering onto the streets she had thought she would never see again, it never occurred that these painted roads would be her death. She almost made it across the street.

 

Falling. That was all she could comprehend. There was a darkened area in the blacktop, and then she was falling through it. It happened in a second and an eternity. It was the point in which her life was clearly defined to her, when she saw who she was. In shock, Naomi couldn't even remember to scream.

 

A businesswoman making her way home from a long day at work heard a splash coming from a manhole and walked over to investigate. A young woman, her face cut and arms bruised lay at the bottom of the sewer, her body twisted in an unnatural position. Retching at the sight of the girl, she pulled out her cell, dialing 911, hoping that someone would soon be alone to take care of her. She felt sympathy for the girl's family, but had her own to worry about. She would let the police sort this out.