I was on the hunt. Not for game, not for sport, but for revenge. A long time ago, he killed my parents and I had to be raised by the Amazon women I called my “sisters”. They trained me to be fierce, angry, and not to show mercy. Finally, when I was eight, they told me what happened to my parents. I grew enraged and upset; this also marked my goal in life: to hunt down the beast that killed my parents. Yes, I said, “beast”.

This thing was inhuman, having the exterior of a wild animal and yet maintaining human qualities. My rage burned for him day and night and I even dreamt about finally killing him and bringing him back as a trophy. I tried to capture, maim or kill him multiple times, but I failed. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong; I was careful with my methods and I was always filled with anger, but he always seemed to evade me. Trust me; there wasn’t a moment I wouldn’t like to destroy him.

In the midst of my lifestyle and hunting for my parents’ killer, I had my more vulnerable moments. There were nights I stayed awake and looked blankly at the night sky, wondering if my parents were there resting in peace. I rarely ever cried, and on the most occasions I do, it would be about my parents. I lamented about how I never got to spend as much time with them as I should have. I also wept over how I would never know what they were like. I cried most often on the one day of the year: the anniversary of my admission into the sisterhood of the Amazons. Don’t get me wrong; admission is supposed to be a very important time for me, but as my sisters also told me, that was also when my parents died.

My training required that I never let my guard down, never surrender willingly, and absolutely NEVER feel for someone. I kept these rules in mind, and they were especially hard to adhere to. According to my sisters, I was expected to complete my training if I passed the tests that came with turning 16. I made it my goal to kill the beast by my 16th birthday. But becoming a full-fledged Amazon would prove to be difficult on one fateful day…