THE HUNT

Seventeen

Kill someone today.

I tremble as I stand beside Ren, hand rolled around the centre of my staff as we watch the stormtroopers turn the city over, forcing citizens from their homes and checking their identification cards.

I don't want to kill someone.

"No?" Ren's voice curls inside my mind, and I flinch, having forgotten his ability if only for a moment. "It's either someone here, or Imrie when I find him."

I stiffen.

Stay away from him.

"You truly care for him." He murmurs. "I don't want you to lose that."

Liar.

"I've never lied to you."

    Somehow, I believe that.

    A citizen shoots us a look as he passes. Ren stares the man down, pulling the hilt-like object from his belt, and I flinch as three red beams of light snap out from it. The weapon crackles and pops, sending a bolt of fear through me.

    What is that?

    "A lightsaber." He angles his head, but still looks straight. "You've never seen one?"

    No. My stomach churns. What does it do?

    "What do you think it does, Hunter?" His voice curls exasperatedly around me. "Honestly, for someone who grew up in the Resistance, you truly know nothing about what you were fighting for."

    Of course I know what I'm fighting for. I think. Justice for the people you've killed and conquered.

    "Are you sure?"

    I glare underneath my mask, opening my mouth to bite back a response just as a shot rings out, echoing in the air. I see a red bolt of energy shooting towards me, but Ren throws his out his hand, and the blaster shot freezes in the air.

    How did you do that? I whip my head towards him. He offers me a look which clearly means 'not now'.

    "Ben!" A woman emerges from between two buildings, dressed in loose dark grey clothes. She grips a staff like mine, but more rugged.

    "Rey." He says. There's a sharp tenderness to his words. "Once again you feel the need to intervene." She scoffs.

    "I feel the need to intervene?" She takes a few steps closer, shortening the lengthy gap between us. "Tell me truthfully, Ben. You came here trying to find me, didn't you?" Kylo Ren grits his teeth, rolling his hands into fists. She takes his silence as an opportunity to look me up and down. "New friend of his, are you?" Her voice twists. "Tell him what you do to your friends, Ben."

    "I have no friends." He spits.

    Who is Ben? What does she mean by that?

    "Shut up." He hisses into my mind.

    "No? Then why did you kill Snoke?" She closes the distance between us further and Ren steps in front of me, lightsaber angled towards her.

    "Because I wanted his power." He snaps. "If you've been living all this time in belief that I killed Snoke to save you-"

    "You killed him in hopes that I would rule the galaxy at your side." She says flatly. A memory from months ago rises to the top of my mind.

    'You could offer me the galaxy, and I wouldn't help you.' I had said. I had hardly given a thought then as to why he reacted the way he did, but now I wonder if it's because of this girl.

Clearly there's something going on between the two of them. She pulls a silver hilt of her own from her belt, another lightsaber. She activates it, and a bright blue beam of light extends. Another shot echoes, but this time it hits me in the back before I can react.

I grunt, falling to my knees. Ren turns, eyes wide. The girl takes his distraction as an opportunity to strike.

"Ren!" I shout out a warning, not quite sure why. He throws his hand out, and she flies backwards. He kneels beside me.

"Are you hurt?" His voice is low, and I shake my head.

"Blaster-proof cloak, remember?" I take the hand he offers, standing to my feet.

"Yeah. One of my better decisions." He flashes me a tight smile, surprising me. The girl stands again, baring her teeth. With a shout, she leaps towards him, and he pushes me out of the way, blocking her attack. I move to help Ren, but yet another shot ricochets towards us, thankfully missing. "Handle that." Ren orders through gritted teeth and a clenched jaw.

I nod, looking to see the direction that the attacks came from. I see a woman duck behind a ship, her orange jacket a sharp contrast to the electric blue ends of her black hair. Resistance. My heart beats quickly as I follow her, slinging my staff over my shoulder.

I duck behind the ship, and when I stand I come face to face with her blaster. She angles her head, curls bouncing.

    "You're a new creature of his, aren't you?" I say nothing, and she lets out a heavy breath through her nose. "Zilla?" I freeze. There must be someone else on the inside. Someone a part of the Resistance, or sympathetic to our cause. "That's you."

    "Put the blaster down." I say, heart pounding. "I just want to talk." She hesitates, chewing on her cheek.

    "Take the helmet off first."

    "I plan to." I lift my hands slowly, deactivating my mask. She blinks.

    "Hunter?"