Chapter Text
Crystal blue eyes looked out on the destroyed street from under the abandoned car that she had taken refuge under, holding her long blonder hair to her in anticipation of making a mad dash to the other side of the street. In the past, her long streamers of hair had successfully tripped her up on a daily basis, and she did not need one of those occurrences happening now.
Usagi heard the sound of marching boots coming down the street where she was hiding, and the small teenager shrank further into the shadows under the vehicle, making herself as inconspicuous as she possibly could.
She could see the green fatigue-clad legs encased in military grade black boots pass by her shelter, the men pausing and combing through the area to make sure there were no survivors. Usagi knew there were two men hiding against a side of an abandoned building not even twenty feet away from her, the same area she was about to run to before the mercenaries had come down the street. The men all had their guns ready and loaded, just waiting to kill someone. They broke off in groups, searching under fallen slabs that made lean-tos, and anywhere else that could be used as a hiding place.
Usagi tensed and covered her mouth in fear of giving herself away with her breathing, her eyes not even blinking as she followed a pair of boots getting closer to her hideaway under the truck. If he found her, there was no way she could get away without being shot. The black boots got closer and closer to her, and the blonde-haired girl felt her world crumbling around her. There was no way they wouldn't look under the truck; it was too obvious. She mentally cursed herself for choosing the abandoned truck to hide under, sweat sliding down her temple and falling silently to the broken ground.
A clanking noise rang out close to where the other two men were hiding, and the man, who was only five seconds from looking under the truck and finding Usagi, headed towards it, leaving the girl to let out a silent breathe of relief. The breathe of relief changed to horror only a split second later as she realized that there was no escaping for the two men, more mercenaries joining the one already heading towards the impromptu shelter, guns ready and bullets already loaded into chambers.
Tears welled up in blue eyes, her hand pushing harder against her mouth to quell the sobs threatening to burst out and give her away as well. She could do nothing as the mercenaries unleashed a torrent of lead into the opening of the gutted building, not even able to turn her yes away from the carnage. She heard the faint thuds of bodies hitting the ground, and the horrid sound of discharging guns cut off. The air was horribly silent afterward, only the dragging sounds of the band of soldiers pulling the bullet-filled bodies of her fellow refugees into the street. The bodies were quickly stripped, and anything valuable was kept.
Usagi kept silent through it all, silent tears streaming down her face and over her hand. She felt a faint pain from her fingernails digging into her cheek, keeping down any sound that tried to burst forth from her mouth. There was a short discussion between the killers, a silent command leaving them to march away from the naked bodies on the ground and disappearing around the corner.
There was no movement on the hidden girl's part for at least five minutes, waiting to make sure there would be no more activity on the street. Usagi crawled out from under the truck, stumbling slightly as she stood up straight. The front of her dingy tank top and jean shorts were covered in white dust from the broken up concrete, her hair dragging in a tangled mess as she stumbled forward. She rested her eyes on the bloody corpses, her breathe shuttering in her chest as she tried to keep from sobbing.
She hadn't even known them, not really. They were simply trying to get out of the city alive, and found each other by chance. They hadn't even exchanged names. They were only a little older than herself and she was thankful to find people her own age to travel with. Not anymore, though. Usagi shakily bent down and picked up one of the bloodied jackets, bundling it up and holding it against her chest. It would get colder as it got later in the day. She just hoped the blood would be dried by the time she needed to use it.
Usagi sent one last glance towards the unfortunate men, pushing her dirty blonde hair away from her face as she turned away. She locked her gaze on the forest that appeared to be at least a mile away from the desolate city, setting a steady jogging pace towards it. She need to get out as soon as she was possibly able, not wanting to end up like her unfortunate comrades.