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[05-PAST] “
I want to tell you about my past, and all the things I’ve done.
You deserve the truth.” The two were wrapped
up in some of the blankets I Cammy’s pile, and were sitting
on the rest. Mr. Sagat was happily
kneading away at Mark’s knee, not quite putting his claws through
the fabric. Mark waited patiently,
letting Cammy tell her story at her own pace. “I
don’t remember my parents, or anything beyond 6 years ago, but
I guess I grew up in England.” She
shrugged. “I wish sometimes that I knew my parents, I wonder
what they were like, how they looked.
Maybe if I knew them, it would help me know more about who I am…I
don’t know, it’s just a silly
dream…” “…the
first thing I remember was waking up in some sort of hospital room,
I was really sore, I had bandages
all over me, and there was a drip going into my arm. The room smelt
funny, and it made my
nose itch, I remember that.” Mark nodded, and Cammy continued. “later,
a doctor came in and told me I’d been in a car accident, and
that my parents had died I the crash.
He told me not to be sad, because they were in heaven with the angels.
I wasn’t very sad, because
I didn’t understand who he was talking about. He told me I was
very brave, and it was ok to
cry. The only thing I could think to do was nod.” Mark
shifted a little on his blanket. “that must have been terrible
for you…” Cammy
shrugged, “Not really, I was only nine, and because I had no
memories, it all just seemed very
strange, sort of surreal. I didn’t know how to act, so I just
sort of accepted what people said, and
tried to figure out what was going on by myself. The feeling is hard
to explain…” “the
old doctor told me I was in Taiwan, and that they were trying to find
relatives in England for me to
stay with, but were having trouble tracking them down. I liked the
old doctor, doctor Chiu, his name
was, he as very kind to me, and was the only person who spoke English
at the hospital, even though
his accent made him hard to understand sometimes. Each day I had to
talk to a social worker
with even worse English for a few hours, but I didn’t like that.” “I
was soon in good health again, and took to wandering around the hospital,
which was the first time
I saw him. Vega. He was very tall and big, and he wore a red uniform
so dark it was almost black.
To me, he looked very dangerous, and when he turned and looked straight
at me, it terrified me.
He looked like he was weighing me up on some big set of scales. I
didn’t like it.” ‘That
night, a nurse who spoke very good English came into my room, and
told me that doctor Chiu wanted
to see me, and that I should follow her. I was still groggy from sleep,
and I followed her down
the hall and out of the hospital without thinking. We got into a car
and the lady drove for what seemed
hours. When I asked how much longer to doctor Chiu’s, the woman
would say that it wasn’t
much further. Eventually, I fell asleep. ” “when
I woke up, it was in another hospital room, this one even more sparse
and cramped than the last.
All that there was were a narrow bed, and a sink with a small mirror
above it. I felt ill, my head was
sore, and I needed to go to the bathroom. I tried the door, but it
was locked, so I just sat on the bed
and waited for someone to come.” “When
someone did come I almost wished they hadn’t. I heard voices
outside, one was the social worker
from the hospital, the other was very deep, and I didn’t recognize
it. I heard the door unlocking
and stood up, and when it sung open, I saw the social worker and the
tall man in the red uniform.
The tall man didn’t talk, but the social worker introduced him
as Master Vega, a powerful man
who had adopted me. The social worker told me I was very lucky to
be adopted by someone as
important as Master Vega, and that I should be very grateful. He said
that Master Vega only deals
with strong and hard working people, and I would have to work hard
to show my gratitude to Master
Vega..” “I
was overawed by all this, and just stood there, quietly listening,
bursting to go to the toilet. Finally,
Master Vega spoke. “Are you Strong, girl?” I wasn’t
sure what to say, so I just stood there, mute.
“Well?” he obviously wanted an answer, so I gave him the
only one I could think of “ I don’t know,
sir.” It seemed expected that I call him “sir” or
something. He just turned to the social worker, told
him I was in his hands, and walked out.” “The
next day, my training started. I was given an odd blue uniform that
resembled a swimsuit, and they
set me to learning martial arts, how to use all sorts of weapons from
guns to crossbows to knives
to missile launchers. It was very difficult, and at the end of the
day, I was tested on what I had
learnt. If I hadn’t done well enough, I was punished, and made
to study and practice until I had mastered
my lessons. I soon learned to pick things up very quickly, and to
not question what I was told.” “one
of the trainers I had for martial arts was a giant named Sagat. He
was different to all my other teachers,
he was still strict, but he also was fair, kind to me when I did well,
and patient when I didn’t
understand. He taught me a lot about honor, courage and perseverance.”
Cammy smiled at a
fond memory. “He called me Little Bumblebee. He was the only
person I trusted at all.” Cammy
took a deep breath. She’d gone into far more detail than she
had intended, but it felt a relief
to finally be able to tell all this to someone. It felt like lifting
a dark cloud from above her life. She
looked over to Mark, he appeared both enthralled and moved by her
story. He extended his hand,
and put it on hers, indicating she could continue when she was ready.
Cammy bolstered her courage
and continued. “all
during my training, I was given injections, and hooked up to strange
machines. Sometimes it made
me very ill, and all I could do was lie in my bed and shake uncontrollably
in my own vomit and…and
worse…I hated It.” Cammy was silent for a moment, trapped
in a frightening past. Mark gave
her hand a reassuring squeeze and a smile. It seemed to help. “When
I was 13, it finally became clear what all my training was for. I
was taken from the base, which
I hadn’t left since arriving that strange night 4 years ago.
I was taken into a jungle, and brought
to a position overlooking a military encampment. I was then told I
must kill the INTERPOL officer
by any means possible, and to reach the rendezvous point without being
followed by 0500 hours
the next morning. Then they left me there.” “I
could have escaped. I could have disappeared in that jungle, and never
been found. There was no
reason I should have done what they told me…and every reason
to disobey Shadoloo and just…vanish.” “I…murdered…seven
people that day.” Cammy was again silent, but quickly continued.
“As I waited
for them to come and collect me at the rendezvous point, I wondered
if what I had just done was
what had happened to the parents I couldn’t remember…”
Cammy hesitated, then continued her
story to the end, having gone to far to stop now. “after
that, most of what I did was assassinate – murder – Lord
Vega’s enemies, and receive more of
the injections and treatments. The treatments weren’t making
me as sick as before, but the things
I was doing made me sick in a different way.” “That
was when I did try running away.” “But
it didn’t work. Shadoloo had implanted a tracking device in
me. The hunted me down, took me back
to the base, and punished me for my transgression. I couldn’t
walk for a week after hat, but it had
strengthened my resolve to escape.” “It
took me months of snooping, listening to snatches of conversation,
and looking for the bug myself,
but I finally found it, embedded in my left calf, a small bump near
a tiny scar.” “So
when they sent me out on my next mission, to Hong Kong, I removed
the device with my knife, put
it in a rat, and stowed away on a cargo ship headed for America, and
here I am.” Her
story finished, Cammy felt an odd sense of relief, but also apprehension.
Mark had been very quiet
when Cammy had spoken about the assassinations, and hadn’t said
any thing yet. “I…I
wanted to tell you all this…because…because you deserve
to know what I am, and all the…all the
things I have…done…if…if you don’t want to
be my friend anymore, I…I’ll under-“ Cammy was interrupted
by mark suddenly leaning forward until their faces were very close,
almost touching. “Cammy,
your story has only confirmed what I already knew, what I felt!”
startled, Cammy stared wide-eyed
into Mark's sincere, serious face. “I
knew that whatever made you into a warrior was against you will, and
that it hadn’t killed who you really
are!” Mark’s face moved even closer. Cammy couldn’t
help going a little cross eyed, trying to focus
at this proximity. “…Inside, you are still a good person!
And that part of you will always fight to
be free of the things that were done to you, and the things you were
made to do…which is why…” Mark
leant over even further, and brushed Cammy’s cheek with his
lips. He leant back, blushing. “…I
…love you…” They
both sat there quietly, blushing, not sure what to say, but happy,
none the less. “Oh,
yeah!” Mark broke the silence, remembering the white package
he’d been carrying around all this
time. He handed it to Cammy, grinning. “I almost forgot it.
Merry Christmas!” Cammy
took the gift, puzzled. “What is it?” she asked, taking
a small box out of the white paper bag. Mark
grinned. “Never got a Christmas present before? Open it!” Cammy
took the lid off the small cardboard box, revealing a thin silver
necklace with a small ornament
of a cat hanging from it. Cammy held the ornament up to the dwindling
light, studying the cat,
fascinated. “I saw it and immediately thought of you and old
Mr. Sagat.” Mark said, blushing again. “It’s…beautiful.”
Cammy said, turning to Mark. He got up and helped her put it on. It
sat neatly in the
hollow of her throat, shining in the dim light. This time, it was
Cammy who leant towards Mark, “Thank
you, for everything.” As
she drew back from kissing Mark on the cheek, a sardonic voice sounded
from the doorway. ”How
sweet,” Cammy turned to the familiar voice, feeling her previous
dread all over again. There, she
saw Barlog, nonchalantly leaning against the doorframe, spinning a
long thin knife, a mocking smile
on his face, and 20 Shadoloo soldiers behind him, armed with stun
batons. “The truant, and her first love!” |
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[INDEX] |
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