Forgotten

Smoke curled from my fingertips, enveloping me in a fog. I held myself against a wall, and felt for my dagger. I was ready to murder. A man passed me slowly, and to him I was all but invisible. Brushing his ginger hair out of his eyes, he laid a briefcase in the middle of the empty courtyard. It felt a waste to kill such a pretty man, but I hadn't really been given another option. The man entered a code, and the briefcase unlatched itself, fire erupting from the inside. Ginger Man was mesmerized by the flames, a rookie mistake, and that's when I pounced. I leapt onto Ginger's shoulders, and as he reached for his gun, I drove my knife through his heart with a sickening squish, I jerked it around, before dragging the serrated blade out of his body. I pushed off of him, and landed with a thud on my back. Not my most graceful mission.

In a swift move the briefcase was in my hands, and I left the sight. All I had to do now was face Levu. It was his call. It was always his call. No matter what the decision was based upon.

Levu had been praised in that instant for stopping the "bad guys" from blowing a bomb up. Levu had also pushed me in the corner when he was rewarded. He was always the hero, and no one else could ever be.

I watched myself move in the mirror. I saw a deadly force. A woman you'd know better than to offend. A woman so powerful, she burned everything in her way. Yet at the same time, I was nothing. Nothing but a sidekick. Given no glory, no love, no fame. Levu insisted I was being noble. Hiding in the dark, as he squandered every penny he was ever given to gamble, to drink. He used my skill to win, and left me in the dust, when he was done.

None but Levu knew I was the one who accomplished every mission.

I was keen on changing that. If Levu died, I'd be but a thought scattered in the wind. He was the only one who knew my true name. I wouldn't let myself be a Forgotten. Glancing at myself once more, I adorned myself in a cape, and exited my tent.

I tied my chestnut hair in a bun, and decided I would give Levu a chance. One more. If he failed to deliver, well, that would be the last time he would be allowed to fail. I slowly approached his tent, painted a smile on my face, and peeled the flap back.

I took a deep breath, "Hello Levu," I greeted, keeping my voice a neutral tone.

"Keyann," he muttered, not looking up from his scrolls, "to what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked, clearly stating that my visit was anything but a pleasure.

I began, "I would like to give a suggestion-"

"Tut, tut, tut," he cut me off, throwing a cloth at my face. It reaked of spoiled milk. I could feel the edges of my face burn up. Smoke began to fall off my fingertips like a waterfall, and I internally chastised myself. I wasn't supposed to show my true intentions yet, "Keyann, are you but a new recruit? You know more so than anyone. I make the plans. You execute them," his lip quivered in excitement, "say one more of the thought, and I'll have you drowned. Do you understand?"

"Yes." I would kill him.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, sir," I muttered, before shuffling out of the tent.

He had no more chances.

I sat on a mat in my tent, the course felt digging into my skin as the sun began to set west. When the moon rose north, I crept out of my tent. I walked through the camp grounds to where Levu was bunked. I picked the several locks he had, and unsheathed my knife. Walking slowly through his cabin, I spat on his bed.

The light clicked on.

I whirled around, and saw Levu, as pale as a ghost standing by the door.

He shook his head, "Keyann, I thought you were wise."

"Yeah," I agreed, "I thought I was too." I threw the dagger at his face. He simply ducked. He closed his eyes and disappeared. In one moment he was behind me. I grasped another dagger and threw it behind me. It missed again.

"How are you doing this," I screamed, enraged. I never missed.

"Keyann, I'm sorry you thought you were stronger."

He held out his hand and the dagger came flying back to him. How was he doing this. I glanced back at him, and my gut dropped. He was grey. His skin was grey, and his eyes were white.

He was a Forgotten. A Forgotten never had a permanent body. It wasn't possible, "How?"

"After the last person who knew me, died, I became this," he roared, grabbing my shoulders, “I wandered around aimlessly, moving with the breeze. I came upon an unknowing man, and wrote my name on his car. Once he read it, I became this. Now, I will never die, never!”

That's when I saw it the cracks in him. He was hollow. He had barely been able to fight me. That's why I had always been the strength, and him the brains. I laughed. The next person to fight him, would destroy him. The next person to oppose him, would make him hurt. He would never stand a chance.

I smirked at him, "You're weak."

"I don't like that," Levu gripped onto the dagger and in one swift move he brought it down on my stomach. At first, a feeling of shock rolled through me, and I felt nothing. Then a burning erupted inside of me, as he jerked the knife around, the serrated edges slicing through my organs. I could feel a burst in my stomach, and the world turned black. A thought went through me, and I wished I hadn’t stabbed Ginger.

Levu pulled the blade out, and stabbed me again, eliciting a moan from me. Each time the knife punctured my stomach, all I could process was a horrible squish. Again and again. I could taste the metallic taste of blood. My blood.

"Was it worth it?" He whispered in my ear, "Was it worth it to pry, to know my secret? Was it all worth it? Because in the end you die."

I wanted to tell him it was worth it because I knew, I knew that Levu would never be living. He would always be a shell, and when someone were to face him again, he'd be too weak to defend himself, but I wouldn’t. He would be caught off guard, and he’d become pieces floating in the wind.

"You," he growled, "will never be more than a shadow."

"You," I managed to mumbled, "will always be forgotten."