Ruin Me (Cindara Chronicles #1)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER

That bitch.

She had been aiming at me this whole time; eliminating me was clearly her only goal. Well, I wasn’t about to let her win.

She shot me on my left foot, orange paint clinging to it. How invested were we in this again? Was I supposed to jump around on one foot and pretend that I was injured?

Screw her.

I kept to the shadows, the corners of the ruins that were part of the playing field. This was another evaluation, another test to see which candidates would make it to the next round, to see who would be able to survive and become a mage-killer.

Why would I want that? Because it was my ticket to actually become something in this godsforsaken village of Crowrun.

Each year, the military held competitions and pretend-wars in order to find new recruits.

Versatile, stubborn and strong—all attributes needed to shape us into their weapons, into the soldiers who make a stand against the magic-wielders who threaten our land.

If you weren’t cut out to be a mage-killer, all that was left was being a farmer, doctor, map-maker or regular foot soldier which was the path I had started off as—who were only used as cannon fodder or to carry out simple tasks, not quite worthless but not far off; only worth something because they were the ones keeping the important people alive.

Mage-killers were treated like royalty. They were the only ones who stood a chance against the magic-wielders, the only ones who were able to protect the defenseless. Those with magic abilities were killed on the spot, sentenced to death as soon as they were revealed.

Using magic exposed them to the other side, to the demons… Magic-wielders were able to connect with them somehow, making it possible for demons to cross over into our world.

A shot went off, pulling me back to reality as I gritted my teeth. She was getting closer, stupid Eve Miller… I peeked around the corner, seeing her almost skitter forward, her brown hair dancing with every step.

She was obnoxious and popular with everyone just from simply breathing the same air as them. Eve found joy in pretending to be the damsel in distress, when really, she was probably able to hurt her foes way worse than her protectors.

Slowly, I pulled my gun and lined up my shot; she was getting closer, and I planned on ending this, once and for all.

She stopped in the middle of the empty space, listening, like a deer frozen in the forest, sensing the presence of a hunter close by.

But it was too late, I aimed right at her chest and shot three times, spraying her with purple paint.

“That’s not fair!” she pouted, bringing up her gun and firing right back at me, hitting my shoulder.

“You’re already out, this doesn’t count,” I hissed, trying in vain to brush off the paint.

“Well, who’s going to believe you anyway…?” A smug smile appeared on her lips.

“Oh, I’ll make them believe me, once I break one of your arms,” I stepped out from my shelter and she stumbled backwards.

“Freak,” she spat, before turning around and dashing away.

It was fair to say that these games put everyone on edge if we missed this chance, we would be forced to wait a whole year for another and age was a time limit after all.

I glared at the orange paint on my right arm, my dominant arm. Like she said, who was going to believe me? To avoid unnecessary questions, I shifted the gun over to my left hand. Maybe I would miss my targets, but at least I had a chance at continuing.

Jolting at the sound of footsteps closing in, from the same direction that she had disappeared towards.

I slid into the shadows again, keeping against the ruin walls, trying to become one with the darkness.

I heard shouting and guns going off as other contenders cursed each other and kept running.

The air stilled, silent except for the wind singing along its path.

Carefully, I glanced out; it was cloudy, and the sun was heavily obscured making it hard to tell the time.

I had a gnawing feeling, like someone was watching me, but there was not a sound to be heard, no breathing or footsteps. Taking a deep breath before I continued along the walls, I climbed some of the stone piles, trying to get to a higher point and give myself a better view of the field.

Suddenly, loud footsteps sounded—someone was coming at full sprint behind me. I swung around, meeting eyes with a man who seemed to have not even noticed me.

Right as I grabbed my gun and pointed it at him, his eyes caught mine and widened at the sound of my weapon going off.

Got him.

“Shit.” He gritted his teeth, annoyed, his eyes narrowing on me like he wanted to beat me to death.

“Walk away, loser.” I flashed him a daring smile and he flinched for a quick moment.

But he remained still… I arched an eyebrow at him confused, at the smirk creeping slowly forward, as his features darkened. “Over here guys!”

My pulse raced, he was luring whoever chased him towards me, as revenge. I wasted no time and leapt over the rubble, landing sloppily, before I continued my dash.

My right foot was hurting, a slow and painful ache rising inside of it, I must’ve sprained it when I landed; another one of my flaws—my body wasn’t as tough as my words, or as enduring as my patience.

But I was stubborn enough to push through it. I had to, I’d rather die than miss my chance of getting chosen to become a trainee.

The further I ran, sparser the ruins I had used for cover became; the wilderness completely had taken over the area. I heard the echoing sound of voices behind me.

Were they teaming up!?

Was that even allowed?

Frustrated, I swung the strap of the weapon across my shoulder, letting the gun rest along my back as I climbed one of the thicker trees.

I used to do this every day as a kid, so even with a sprained foot, this was nothing.

Only once I had leaves covering me did I dare to still, letting myself blend into the canopy.

A few seconds later I saw a group of three; two men I had never seen before and…

Eve of course… They had wrapped bandages over her chest, covering up the purple paint I had splashed all over her.

Sure, if someone shot and missed vital organs they might’ve been able to stop the bleeding and survive, however, I had not missed.

There was no mistaking it—if this had been a real war, her lungs would’ve been flat.

Instead of talking, I saw them signing between each other, Eve telling them to split up and search for me.

Clever.

Luckily for me, I had the front row-seat to their plans.

They divided to conquer, yet I was having a blast seeing Eve’s blazing rage kick in.

Once the area became silent, I waited a few more moments before making my way down and back towards the ruins.

Points were gathered by surviving, but also by taking others out.

I took the same path back into the ruins I had seen Eve go down, hoping to find her for another round of embarrassment. But it was quiet, still, almost as if the air itself was holding its breath.

My pulse was starting to echo through my ears, I had to focus. One sharp turn to the left and… nothing?

It was a dead end.

The air shifted and a pair of feet kicked me in the back, sending me forward. I found my balance right before I was about to smash my head into the stone wall, my head snapping back.

“I knew you’d come for me,” Eve smiled, as vicious as a viper.

I straightened myself, keeping our eyes locked. “Oh? And here I was thinking you were going to confess your love for me, considering how you’ve been chasing me through the entire course.”

Her eyes narrowed and a smile spread on my lips at the taste of victory. Revenge—it was always bittersweet.

She flung her gun up, pointing it at me and I was too late chasing after my own.

“Hey!” another voice sounded, but it was too late as gunfire filled the air.

Yet, I wasn’t hit. I blinked and saw how Eve was covered in pink all over her attire. A figure stepped out and pointed their gun directly against Eve’s temple.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” the voice whispered, the coldness in it could’ve frozen the hells.

A shorter woman, but considering her boldness, it didn’t matter to her. She blew her blonde hair back from her face, revealing pink highlights in it. Her eyes were amazingly light, like ice itself.

Eve’s eyes were still glued to me, hatred filling them, as she gritted her teeth. “You’re here for revenge?” She cocked a brow at the girl next to her, before smiling teasingly. “Not my fault he—”

“I’m seconds from blowing your head off, I’d rethink my words if I were you.” The girl pressed the gun tighter against Eve’s head as her other hand grabbed the collar of her shirt.

“These aren’t real guns you know.”

A smile played at the strange girl’s face. “How cute, you mess with me without even knowing who I am?” She chuckled, before her eyes met mine and realised they had an audience. “Oh hello! I’m sorry, this kill is mine.”

“I don’t mind,” I shrugged, smiling right back at her.

“I like you already!” the blonde chuckled.

Eve huffed, as she swiftly moved her arm, firing her gun at me. Luckily for me, she had no time to aim, she still got me on the hip.

“Bad Eve!” the girl shouted as she took something from her pocket, quickly tucked it into Eve’s shirt and shoved her off.

She lunged for me, grabbing ahold of my wrist and pulled me along with her.

“What the-” I heard Eve’s voice behind us.

“They call me the Bomb Girl,” the stranger smiled at me as we ran together.

My eyes widened in surprise, before I heard something go off behind us, gravel sprayed and dust billowed from where Eve was standing.

“You didn’t kill her, right?” I asked, taken aback by what had just happened.

“Nah, it wasn’t powerful enough, I just wanted to ruin that ugly face of hers.”

We continued for a while, before she pulled me into one of the ruined houses, hiding us from the open areas.

Our eyes collided, as doubt filled the space between us. We were supposed to battle each other as well.

“Truce, just this once?” she winked at me, before she slipped out of the ruins, leaving me behind.

I hadn’t even had time to ask her name, or give her an answer before she was gone. She seemed… experienced. Perhaps this wasn’t her first year trying out? That or she had no worry in her bones about whether she failed or passed.

I took a deep breath, collecting myself anew, before continuing on. I preferred stealth, that way I had more time to think, aim and calculate. Perhaps it was of all the thievery I had to lower myself to that had made me excel at these things.

The people who weren’t soldiers were poor, constantly on the verge of starvation. No one cared for them; they had failed at advancing into higher society. Now they were workers, providing for others, not themselves.

I had no intention of ending up like that for another year.

As I rounded a corner, I bumped right into another woman. She looked frightened and I was just lucky enough that I recovered faster than her to shoot her purple before she got me.

She sighed when she missed, and strolled away defeated, without uttering as much as a word. It almost made me feel bad. Almost.

Suddenly I found myself in a long corridor inside the ruins, how had I ended up here? I hated being in enclosed spaces like this—no hiding spots, nowhere to run.

I glanced around the corner at the end of the hall and saw a man gripping his gun hard, scouting the room ahead. He was making his way to the other side, to a doorway that led back outside again. Should I take him out first, or what if he has people outside waiting?

Before I was able to make up my mind I felt a gun at the back of my head.

My heart almost stopped before I heard:

“Well, look who I found.”