Philip stepped outside his house to vape. He had never been so bothered as he was at that moment, standing with the life of an innocent girl hanging over his head. He tried all he could to forget the offer that the desperate father had come to him with but it was impossible to throw away such an opportunity to save a life.
He sucked in the vapor with his mouth and inhaled it, then he finally exhaled it causing the white substance to escape his nose and diffuse in the air. As he vaped, he remembered the time when he and his father went out hunting with a gun. They squatted in the bush and set their guns on big stones, before they began watching out for animals. Suddenly, a deer walked through the bushes with its baby and it looked as if they were searching for something green and edible to eat.
“Kill the baby,” his father said in a whisper and Philip turned to look at his father. He wondered why the man was suddenly demanding the killing of an innocent fawn but he faced his front and concentrated on killing the fawn as he wasn’t the type to dare disobey his father.
Little Philip aimed the gun at the fawn and exhaled before pulling the trigger. A sound was heard from the gun and the bullet went flying through the air before it finally hit the deer. It dropped down dead and its baby stayed by its side before running away into the forest. At first, Philip saw himself dead on the floor along with the deer but when his father suddenly slapped him hard on the face, he knew that his imagination would come to life in a matter of minutes.
“Bastard!” Philip’s father landed another slap on his face with a no-joke expression.
“I didn’t mean to miss the baby, papa.” Little Philip cried, while moving back but he never attempted to dodge his father’s slaps or run away. That would incur more wrath and the consequences could be severe.
“What did I tell you about mistakes?” The angry man said as he caught hold of his son’s ears and dragged them so painfully that Philip almost screamed. “Say it to me, boy!”
“Mistakes are made by humans….”
“Complete it!”
“Mistakes…. are made by humans…..” Philip cried. He couldn’t continue speaking because of the pain his father was inflicting on him.
“Farush, bring my whip!” His father said to one of the guys that had followed them to hunt. Farush ran fast to get the whip from their home which wasn’t too far away.
“Papa, please!” Philip begged but his father let go of the ear and slapped him on the face yet again. The worst came as Farush arrived with the whip and the man took it quickly and instructed his ten-year-old son to lie down on the ground.
Philip knew it was of no use begging, as his father was a merciless old man. So he laid down on the ground with his belly while his back was made available for the man to whip.
“Now repeat what I told you about making mistakes,” His father said while getting ready to lash his son on the back.
“Please, Papa! I will say it, please don’t whip me!” Little Philip’s eyes were red and swollen with tears and his cheek was sore after all the slapping. He could also taste blood in his mouth as a result of the constant slapping and hitting on the face.
“Say it, son. What did I tell you about making mistakes?”
“Mistakes are for humans….. and not for Mutants.”
“Say it again,” his father said and whipped Philip on the back, so deeply that the boy screamed and repeated what he had said before.
“What did I tell you about unconditional killing?” he whipped Philip again, expecting an answer.
“Kill without hesitation….” he screamed as soon as he felt another lash on his back. “Kill without regret…. and kill with…without conditions.”
“So what did you learn from today’s lesson?” Philip’s father asked, whipping his son again.
“I promise to kill without hesitation, Papa!” he cried aloud, having to endure another whip torture.
“Very good, my boy. You are learning,” His father said and lowered the whip. “Get up.”
“Yes, Papa.” the boy stood up, still crying but relieved that the whipping had stopped.
“You are my son, and you must follow my legacy of perfection, okay?”
“Yes, Papa.” Philip sobbed and wiped his eyes with his hands.
“Good boy,” His father said and handed the whip over to Farush, then he walked away from the bush with Farush following behind. Meanwhile, little Philip stood there crying and wishing that someone would comfort him.
Philip sucked up the vapour again and exhaled it out of his nose. He went to school, graduated out of university but within those times, he would go out to kill for top officials. The killing was what he knew how to do, more than anything such that he had the urge to kill more than the urge to eat or drink. He had ended up killing some of his college friends and coursemates as a result of those urges but he was never caught in the act because he knew how to clean up his mess.
Even with these thoughts springing up in his head, he never forgot the words that David said,
“Then kill to protect…..”
It was never in his nature to protect someone, especially a girl. His father had given him enough punishments and warnings relating to getting too close to females. He grew up following, learning and absorbing all of his father’s teachings and commandments to the extent that he couldn’t live or do anything without remembering what his father had said about that particular matter or thing. As for protecting, his father was totally against shielding anyone from danger. His father called it “trying to make the weakling stay a weakling,” and that was entirely out of his league as an assassin. He would always tell Philip to leave the protecting job to the police, while the Mutant Assassins do their killing job.
He was so stressed and his mind was so jumbled up with conflicting thoughts. There was no way he could dishonour his father by protecting a female and he also felt the need to shield the girl from the incoming danger that he had perceived even as David was talking to him. He exhaled the vapour out of his nose and walked into his house. At the end, it was only his choice to make and whichever he made, he would bear the consequences.