#cageevent

The entire day, Malakai felt like something was off.. It was an intuition he’d learned that was usually right, but he brushed it off. This was the first time in months that he’d settled in with a group, especially one with so many faces he recognized. Mal didn’t like a few, one in particular, but the ones he did.. They pretty much made up the difference. It wasn’t easy for him to trust anyone, but the least he could do was act humane, at least until he felt like he’d served some kind of purpose. Unfortunately, at the mention of a bonfire, the male immediately regretted his decision to stay. The smoke from the fire would signal anyone near it of their location, day or night. To say he was considering leaving the group before the ‘party’ even started wouldn’t be a huge leap. But, he stayed, despite everything in him screaming to run. Maybe it was just nerves; he had just joined a group. Whatever it was, he wanted it gone - so he drank.

Malakai could easily down one bottle of most home made brews himself, emptying half in just one giant gulp. And that’s where he started. But the last time he’d drank was so long ago, he could hardly remember who he was even with. Halfway through his own bottle he’d saved from a heist he’d pulled with another outlaw, Mal could feel his senses begin to dull. Right. His stomach was basically empty. He’d hardly eaten within a week, and the effects were still hitting him. After just another small drink, he finally closed the bottle and stored it back into his pack. If he had any more, he would have definitely been inebriated, but he knew his limits. Bright blue eyes flashed behind eye lids. They tried to focus on the people prancing around by the debris that was gathered for the bonfire. He hadn’t lost his vision, and he wasn’t even close to seeing double, but the edges were starting to blur a little.

A real smile graced Mal’s face as he thought of Addison. He’d always loved her as if she was really family, and she knew that. It had hit him a little when he’d first bumped into Addie. Time had gone by so slowly.. It had been, what? Years since they’d last seen each other. Honestly, he would have looked for her had he not been so wrapped up in his own twisted thoughts that she was already gone. Seeing her was like a smack to the face, but not in a bad sense. It reminded him that good things did happen, and not everything he cared about crumbled away. If it wasn’t for her, he probably would have left the same night he’d come across the fire. Malakai would have taken what he could from the sleeping group before disappearing back to his temporary hiding spot without a second glance. But, she pulled him in, as much as he disliked working with others.

While thinking of her, Mal noticed he hadn’t really seen her since the bonfire started. It wasn’t odd to him that she wasn’t spending time with others. He knew how she was about social interaction. The boy just shrugged, figuring she was off in her own world, and decided to do the same. It was a long week, after all, seeing all these faces.. new and old. As much as he hated to rely on people, Mal was glad to know he still wasn’t alone. But, some good quiet time was always nice especially when you have to take a leak. Malakai got to his feet, wobbling ever so slightly before wandering away from the bonfire and into the brush. He found a nice and secluded spot, checking the area a few times over to make sure he was alone.

Just as he was finishing up, his ears caught wind of what sounded like a rustling in the brush. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Mal went on, pretending he wasn’t trying his hardest to listen as he turned back toward the bonfire. There it was again. It was faint, almost silent. That’s when he heard the laughter coming from more than just one person. Each noise was still faint, so Malakai knew he hadn’t been seen, but curiosity always got the best of him, so he followed the sound. Once close enough, he could faintly make out a few men through the dark, several yards ahead. He sunk down, pushing himself as tight against the nearest tree as possible. Something wasn’t right. Something definitely was not right. It looked as if they were watching something struggling on the ground. Mal sunk lower until he was laying flat on the ground as he crawled closer. Stealth was never his strong suit and he knew he could be seen at any minute by whoever they were.

The men were definitely not from the group; he could tell as soon as he got close enough. And the second his eyes adjusted to the dim light from the moon, he knew he’d been right all day. Blue eyes were glued on the patches that littered one of the soldiers uniforms. Every ounce of alcohol that was still inside of the male immediately evaporated, and he was all at once forced into sobriety. He stayed completely still. Of course he wanted to help, but being this far from the rest of the group.. He knew his chances of getting away alive. These men were obviously from sector one. They had weapons strapped to their sides, large muscles that swallowed their arms and neck, and it was almost impossible to miss the emblem that said so. His immediate reaction would have been to run in, knife out, yelling as he ran toward them to alert the others.. But with the looks of them, he knew he’d be dead in a heart beat. So, Mal pushed himself further against the earth, almost trying to become one with it, as he watched.

His eyes were fully focused on each of their faces, hatred and anger causing his heart to palpitate ferociously. Malakai almost feared them hearing his heartbeat, but it all stopped the second he saw them leave the clearing they were in, heading in the opposite direction. But what really caught his eyes was the body one of them had over their shoulder. Was that person dead? Who had they taken? Another surging wave passed through the male as he suddenly became angry with himself for not doing anything more to help, though he knew better. He waited a few more minutes, making sure they were gone before sliding out of his hiding spot carefully. Maybe there would be a clue as to what they wanted and who they’d taken with them. His eyes quickly scanned over the grass, knowing they could come back any second. If it had been any darker, his eyes would have missed it, but a small flash of light reflected off the edge of a wet blade.

Malakai quickly moved to it, picking it up off the ground so he could get a better look. As he eyes focused on the handle of the blade and the designs engraved into it, the anger inside him turned into much, much more than that. It was Addie’s. Her favorite knife that she’d had since he could remember. Rage engulfed the tall brunette, making rational thoughts completely impossible. All at once his hands were shaking, firsts curved into tight balls - the knife still in his hand. Mal’s chest tightened to the point he felt like it was going to pull itself open. A loud, jarring yell fell out of Malakai’s mouth. It wasn’t a mistake, and he knew it was dangerous to do so, with those soldiers still near by, but he didn’t care. He’d just lost another sister to them, and he was ready to die, right at that moment, fighting her killers.

The sound of rushing footsteps made him spin around so fast, he almost fell. A soldier was charging for him at full speed, their hands reaching down to pull out whatever weapon they had fastened to their hip. But Mal’s rage made him move faster than he ever had and before the soldier was able to say a word, he had used the same blade that Addison usually kept at arms reach to slice a deep line across their throat. He watched them drop to their knees, clutching their throat as blood painted the grass before them. A wide and crooked smile crossed Mal’s face as he leaned down, his lips hovering by their ear.

“I will kill every last one of you until my last breath if she is dead. I will not stop until Addison Norman is avenged.” The words were slow, crisp, and clear. Immediately after his last word, Mal pulled back the hand that still held that special blade and stabbed the soldier in the back of their shoulder. “And each time I kill them will be worse than the last. See you in hell, you utter piece of shit.” Malakai twisted the blade, knowing the soldier was most likely barely, if not already dead, able to feel what he was doing. He let the now lifeless body slump to the ground before pulling the blade from their back and paced in a circle around their body. An even stronger bout of rage kicked in and he didn’t hesitate. He chose to sit on the back of their hips and repeatedly dive the knife into the corpse that lay on the ground, stabbing at them until his arms were too weak to continue, the knife still pushed deep into the middle of his victim’s back.