The plan set, Elise engages Ryker and Lance at the front gate, only to be confronted by Jorum. Can she and her men survive long enough for the others to come? And can Rolek get to Annastaria in time as Lance ruthlessly hunts her?
Dylen led Rolek, Oden and Bastillina northeast, and by now, they had all heard the airships approaching. All they had to do was follow the sounds of the propellers and engines. But Rolek feared he was too late at this point, and what was worse, Oden and Bastillina were with him, making his hasty flight impossible; he would not make it to Elise and the others before they made contact with Ryker. All he could do was hope that somehow the chaos would prevent Ryker from being able to escape; that Jorum would somehow be slowed, long enough for him to reach them in time, or else Erene would disappear, and possibly for good.
“So what’s the plan when we get there?” asked Oden as they dodged trees and bushes in their flight through the woods.
“I don’t do plans in situations like this.” Rolek answered, “It’s all gone to crap anyway.”
“Well that’s encouraging! So what are we supposed to do?”
“Me? Dylen and I are going in. You two need to hang back until we get Erene out.”
“What!?” Bastillina blurted out, stopping and forcing everyone else to stop, including an irritated Rolek. “No way!” she continued, “We’re going in there with you! We didn’t come all this way just to be tossed to the side!”
“It’s too dangerous, kid.” said Rolek, “That Jorum character is gonna run right through you both.”
“I don’t care! I’m still coming with you!”
“Dammit, Bella!” Rolek stormed towards her now, and for the first time, Bastillina felt a parental-like scorn that silenced her, “You don’t get it, do you? That thing called a master wants you! It wants you and Erene! And it wants the artifact!” he looked at Oden for that last remark, “All three of Ryker’s key items are about to converge on each other, right at his doorstep–all at once! This is why I told you to stay in Mennix!”
“You told me to stay with Bella.” Oden attempted to argue.
Rolek fired back before Oden even finished, “I told you to stay with her, and I meant to stay put. Now I got both of you here, dragging my ass down, making it even more difficult to reach Erene in time.”Bastillina wouldn’t stand anymore of this and fired off past Rolek. “Then stop wasting time!” she shouted as she ran past him.
Rolek instinctively went to grab her, but she pulled away and was now sprinting towards the airships. “Hey!” he snapped, “Get back here!”
“We’re coming with you, Rolek!” Oden replied as he, Rolek, Dylen and the other officer followed after Bastillina, “There’s no arguing the matter anymore!”
Rolek rolled his eyes, wanting to scold them further, but he knew there was no point anymore. His sinking heart began to sink faster it seemed when he now began to hear gunshots faintly somewhere where the airships were. Rolek sprinted, knowing he had to get ahead of Bastillina and make sure she did not rush into any grave danger. “Stop!” he ordered as he grabbed her by the shoulder; she threw his arm off, but stopped nonetheless. “Calm down!” he scolded further.
“Stop treating me like deadweight!” Bastillina fired back, “We’ve gotta save Erene! And I’m coming to help you!” Her words silenced Rolek and the others. Rolek didn’t know whether to grow more angry or to actually admire her passion, but he smiled slightly regardless. “I like the attitude, kid.” he said, catching his breath, “But that isn’t going to save Erene, and it’s not going to make sure you walk out of there alive.”
“No it isn’t.” Dylen said, stepping into the conversation.
Rolek looked at him, “Sounds like you got an idea.”
“Just one… I mapped this whole area out before we even got to Mennix. From the sound of it, we’re headed to a pair of warehouses that sit on the river that goes into the Rip and eventually the sea. That’s a perfect place for Ryker to try and use the river to escape. So if we go straight into the fight, we’re not gonna reach Erene in time. Hell, we’ll be lucky if he doesn’t have any boats already going out to sea.”
“Is there a plan on the way here?” Rolek said, “Because you’re not helping right now.”Dylen sighed, “What I’m saying is we should try and go around the flank. If I know Elise well, and I do, she’s not gonna have her entire force rush straight through the front. She’s stubborn but not stupid; she likes to sneak one or two splinter groups around the suspects to force a quick surrender in case things go bad.”
“You think there may be a group doing this?”
Dylen shrugged, “It’s worth a shot. If no one’s doing it, then at least we are.”
“Lead the way cat-man. We need to free Erene ASAP; there’s no way anyone’s taking down that Jorum guy unless both of us are there.”
“Follow me.” Dylen said, taking point.
Elise with the SIU and the Cymroyl police had cars to help provide moderate cover, and they used the old rusty cars, piles of crates, and some large metal crates for cover as they overwhelmed Lance’s thugs, forcing the survivors back into the immediate perimeter of the warehouses. The gunfire echoed off the crates and metal, and off into the open wilderness, with silent intervals randomly that often allowed them to hear each other cry out to one another to move over there, or that an enemy had been spotted in that area and other things, like curses for the intense gunfire. Some cried out and cursed from injury, but that was mostly Lance’s men. They were bold, but reckless, and did not work together like the Cymroyl authorities could.
But Elise’s group came into complications the closer they drew to the warehouses. They began to take fire from the upper floors, which could mildly look from overhead down over the crates that provided cover. “We don’t have the firepower to penetrate that brick wall!” shouted one of the men to Elise.
“We should have reinforcements coming in a few minutes!” said another.
“We wait for them!” Elise replied, “For now, make sure these guys keep their heads in the warehouse!”
“What about the boats on the other side? Ryker could escape through the river!”
“Let’s hope Gerdan and his men will do their thing!” Elise answered, finishing a reload and turning from cover behind a metal crate to fire at one of the doors to the warehouse. But as she stood out from cover, she heard the cry of an officer, “Take cover!” and looked to see a car like a missile charging at her and her group in their cover. She nearly froze at the sight, but dove from her spot with her men behind her just in time as the metal missile threw aside all the barrels and crates they were behind. As Elise pulled herself up, she noticed there was no engine on as it barreled towards them, and she saw a figure approaching from between both warehouses. It was Jorum, boldly walking out as the others would not.
He was not one of the others, she could see that. But she stood up with her men, who staggered up. “Hands in the air!” she ordered, but he gave her no heed and instead leaped into a formation that resulted in tremors going out like veins all through the ground around them, knocking them off their feet and leaving them unable to return fire, including Elise, who tumbled to the ground. She turned back around to keep her eyes on Jorum, who was gone. Her head turned left, right, up and down to find him, but she couldn’t focus as dust and debris obscured her vision, and harassed her airway.
A cry went out, staggering Elise. Her eyes darted to the source, and saw one of the men flying through the air like a ragdoll, and slamming into a metal crate. Several gunshots were heard, and quickly ceased to the sound of more agonized men and thumps upon wood and metal somewhere in the area. Elise picked herself up again with her weapon drawn as the other group of officers continued to put fire on the retreating Intero and Ryker’s men.
Gerdan and his men were in position, looking down at the warehouses from the west as the gunfire started. His men trembled slightly at the sound. “Keep focused, boys.” Gerdan said, “We’ve got a job to do here.”
“That’s sounding like a warzone, Gerdan.” said one of them, “We’re not soldiers. I didn’t sign up to the Mennix deputies to kill people.”
“Actually we did.” said another, locking a rifle round into his bolt-action long rifle, “We’re supposed to be ready to deal with the worst threats to our land, and here one is. That elvish girl they got in there was a nice girl, and we gave her a place to stay. I intend to help get her out, and I’ll shoot whoever I have to to make sure she’s safe.”
The others looked at each other with those words in their minds. “I can’t argue with that,” said one of them.
“Good.” said Gerdan, “Then let’s get ready. Kelvin, you and your men know what to do.”
Kelvin nodded and gave a signal, and six men began to spread out on the hill and readied their rifles.
“Give us some cover fire as we move up.” Gerdan continued.
Before they could set off, footsteps of a multitude began to patter behind them. The entire group was startled, and turned quickly, some even aiming their rifles.
“Whoa!” said Rolek as he beheld the sight, “Friendlies coming up.”
“Lower your weapons!” ordered Gerdan, and the others quickly followed through. “Rolek?” he continued, “What are you doing here? And how’d you find us?”
“Long story we don’t have time to explain. To your second question, we just followed the instincts of the cat man here.”
Dylen stepped forward, and was only a more welcome sight to Gerdan. “We could use you guys here.” Gerdan said.
“I’ll say.” said Rolek, stepping up to look at the warehouses with Gerdan, “What’s the plan? Sounds like it’s half-way in motion already.”
“Lieutenant Elise is down there. Half of us are going in from up here; the other half is staying to provide some sniper cover.”
Rolek nodded, “Sounds good. But do you know where Erene is?”
Gerdan shook his head, “Afraid not. But my guess is she’s going to be in the hangar port in the far western building; to the back.”
Rolek set his eyes on it, and began to scan the area around to plot his approach. “Good.” he said, “Dylen and I will assist you.”
“With all due respect,” Dylen said, “I think Elise needs me. You guys go get your elf friend. We’ll keep them busy at the front.”
Rolek paused, but nodded and Dylen dashed off towards the main gunfight in the front, to their left.
“What about us?” Oden said.
Rolek turned around to him, and especially Bastillina, who had the look of an eager warrior on her face. She couldn’t sit still, and she could see his reluctance to let her go. “You two better stay close to me.” he said, “Don’t do anything I don’t tell you to do, got it?”
Bastillina gave a satisfied nod. “I’m ready!” she said.
“Everyone move out!” Gerdan ordered, and Kelvin’s men got in position. Rolek, with Gerdan, Oden, Bastillina and the rest made their way down the hill and to the chain link fences, with an approach that did not appear to have been seen by anyone. The element of surprise was with Rolek after all, but he feared it may have been too late for Elise and her men. If Jorum was not in the warehouse, he was surely tearing her and her men apart. He half hoped that was the case, if it meant he was getting Erene out alive.
Jodel and Harris could hardly sit still as they waited in the warehouse with Annastaria. She nearly had her chance to break free, knowing it was only the two of them, but neither were within striking distance; both were at least ten feet away, looking up at the floodlights coming through the windows, and listening to the gunshots from outside. “Dammit!” cursed Jodel as he strode in irrational directions, “I knew this was all a bad idea! I should never ‘ve gone through with any of this!”
Harris didn’t know what to say or do; he felt similar to Jodel, but he also felt he had to calm him down in some way. “Maybe…” he said with hesitation, “Maybe we should just give up. These guys are in serious trouble to get this amount of attention–and the elf? What in the name of the gods is a bloody wood elf doing here anyway?”
“You think Lance and Ryker are just gonna let us walk? No bloody way! We’re buggered!”
“Maybe you’re not.” Annastaria said, against her own internal advice to remain quiet. The two of them looked at her, as if they only now realized she was standing there. She looked at both of them with a short pause before continuing, “If you free me, I may be able to help you escape.”
An unsettling silence followed as both Jodel and Harris went blank. Annastaria wasn’t sure what to think. “No way.” Jodel suddenly spoke, shaking his head, “No way! I ain’t trusting a bloody zealot!”
“If you do not,” Annastaria replied, “you will either be taken into custody and be punished, or you will be killed. If Ryker and that other are what you say they are, it is sure they will seek your death if you are caught. But free me now, and I can help you to escape.”
“I don’t know, Jodel.” said a shaken Harris, “I think that might be our third and better way out. She’s got a point.”
“Are you blank in the head?!” Jodel scolded, “In case you forgot, that’s a zealot! They’re always thievin’, connivin’ and cunning fiends! She wants us to release her, and the moment we do, she slits our throats and buggers off!”
“Fine then.” Annastaria interrupted, “Keep my bonds on me, but allow me to lead you out.”
Again, Harris and Jodel were forced into silence, ravaged in their minds of what to do, as their time was fading by the second. But so was Annastaria’s. Finally, Jodel exhaled with a roar that echoed across the warehouse, as if trying to relieve intense pressure in his body. He bent down as though exhausted, pausing as he stared towards the floor.
“You must know,” Annastaria said, hoping to capitalize on Jodel’s unsurity, “I am a daughter to a royal and high priest. I am not the only one among my clan out in these parts. When the others learn of this–and they will, you will not be free men. They will hunt you all the days of your life… But if you do this good deed and allow me to go free, I swear by the gods they will know of your courage and my people will let you go free… My quest is nothing to do with you. Let me go, and I will ensure it stays that way.” There was a level of desperation in her voice, almost pleading with them.
“Come on, Jodel!” Harris said, “That’s a sweet deal right there! This whole thing ain’t worth dying over, right? Please, mate! Please!”
“Just shut it!” Jodel snapped, “Let me think!” His snap forced Annastaria and Harris into silence, and their eyes fixed on him to see what he would say or do; he was still bent down, with his hands on his knees, elbows locked, holding his upper body up on the support of his knees. He continued to stare off, seemingly in a daydream. Finally, he sighed, as if he was calm now and looked at Annastaria. It was a promising look, or so she hoped. “I swear, elf,” he said, pointing a finger at her, “if you do anything to doublecross us–”
“I am not without honor, aenman.” Annastaria interrupted, “I wish to be away from here just like you.”
Before another word could be spoken, the front door burst open, and a swarm of Lance’s men came through, tired, beaten and bloodied. There was also much less of them than what went out. “Get the door closed!” one shouted. “We’re so dead!” another complained. Annastaria recoiled, stepping backwards, with an instinctive desire to run, but she stopped herself, knowing her plot was foiled, or at least gravely delayed. Among the men was Lance himself, the last person she hoped to see.
But while Annastaria was ready to wait patiently for a better window, Jodel and Harris drew near to her to grab her by both arms on both her flanks to begin leading her towards the back, where the boats were. “What are you doing?” Annastaria whispered at them.
“What do you think?” Jodel whispered back, “Gettin’ you outta here, remember?”
“We cannot do that right now! There are too many of them to see us!”
“Hey!” Lance shouted, with a snap that felt like the crack of a whip. It silenced their whispers as he stormed at them, “What the hell is going on over here?”Jodel attempted to choke back his horror, but Annastaria could feel the sweat from his palms, and the shivering of him and Harris. They were giving themselves away. “We’re taking her to the boats.” Jodel stuttered, “Boss’s orders.”
“Is that so? Where is the boss, then? I’d like to verify that with him.”“He said to meet him there, right now.”
“No way! Not until I hear it from him myself!”
Annastaria didn’t know what to do but remained silent and hoped for the best as she was directly in between two parties of evil men who wanted her for their own purposes, and all she desired was to be free. For the first time, she was in an intense struggle with fear pouring out of her body and face.
“He went to make a call.” Harris said, “Over that way.” he pointed, away from the boats and to the rear exit, “You can go ask him over there. But we have orders!”
“You just said he was at the boats.” Lance said.
A deafening silence followed as Harris swallowed. Annastaria could even hear their hearts beating now, and saw long before anyone else the twitch from Jodel before he drew his revolver and aimed it at Lance. “Get back!” he shouted as he held his pistol out at a frozen but enraged Lance, and also grabbing Annastaria by the right arm to begin stepping backwards. “I mean it!” he ordered again, with Harris following.
“You little rat.” Lance grumbled, “You’re a dead man, you know that, right?”
“Just shut up!” Jodel snapped back, “I’m done with this! We’re gettin’ out of here, now!”
An explosion rumbled from outside as the gunfire intensified, and sent a quake through the warehouse. It drew everyone’s eyes to the bloom of light that came in through the windows towards the front entrance, and in the second it came, Lance drew his own pistol and a loud crack rang through the warehouse. Annastaria’s ears, just as before in Levaan, were pierced by the intense sound, dazing her and sending a pounding ringing through her head as she gasped and dropped to the ground. Small splatters of blood sprinkled over her face as Jodel collapsed like deadweight.
She looked up, and saw his skull slam to the ground, one eye wide open, staring off to nowhere, and the other with a blackened, smoking hole through it.
She nearly froze at the horror, but knew the others were converging on her and Harris at that moment, and she felt her mastery return. Though her hands were bound, she still had her feet, and she dug them into the ground and swiped her right leg as though to draw a line, and a blistering tremor burst out from her vicinity, sending concrete and debris exploding out into the faces of Lance and his mob.
She leapt up with Harris, “Run!” she shouted and the two of them left his dead friend behind, fleeing for their lives to the back of the warehouse, through a maze of old, wooden boxes and cars.
All the while, they could faintly hear, amidst the echoing gunfire from outside, “After them! Get the elf, and kill the rat!”
Neither Annastaria nor Harris thought where to go, unfamiliar with the whole place. All they knew was they had to run. Harris had made so many sharp turns in and through the back, where it was darker, that he didn’t realize until it was too late that he lost Annastaria. “Elf!” he whispered, but loudly, hoping she would hear. Nothing but his echo returned, and the unwelcome sound of voices communicating somewhere behind himself as they spread out and searched. His breathing intensified, and if he could not control it, they would hear it, even over the chaotic fighting outside.
He was ready to call out again for the elf, but caught a gasp from slipping from his mouth when two voices like loudspeakers began communicating only feet away from him, on the other side of a group of old cars.
“Thought I heard something over here.” said one.
Harris forced himself to take in only half capacity of air to conceal his breathing, but doing so only exhausted his body further. With shaking arms and legs, he slowly got on his stomach, with his hands flat on the ground to spring up when he was finished, and he peered under the cars to see the two pairs of feet. He stood up slowly, restraining his body’s desire to gasp for air, and slipped past another stack of boxes just as the two went around the car. He was fortunate to have enough darkness to aid him in his cover, and he could only hope that the elf was safe in the dark as well. By now, he could hear the faint voice of Ryker.
“What the hell happened?” he said, “Where’s Lance? And where is the elf?”
Something Harris wanted to know more than anything. Lance being unfound, even by an enraged Ryker, was not a good sign. But he saw hope as he came from the clutter of the area he was in, and saw past a stack of crates and old tarps, the small engine boats, tied up but waiting in the warehouse harbor. Four men were there, hastily moving to ensure they were refueled and ready to move out.
“Don’t move!” a voice demanded, and the sound of it stunned Harris so much, he felt his heart ready to burst out of his chest. He turned slowly and saw one of Lance’s thugs, aiming his pistol at Harris. “I got Harris!” he shouted. Before he could speak further, Annastaria dropped from the dark and onto him, and only a second later, he was knocked unconscious by a vicious kick from her.
Harris was both relieved she was alive, and terrified that she was even still here, with Lance prowling somewhere, seeking her violent death. “We must move.” she said before rapid footsteps came close. From around the corner, the other two who nearly caught Harris a moment ago appeared with their weapons drawn. Annastaria had her hands still trapped, but she fought with mostly her feet against them, knocking their firearms away, and using her legs almost like two arms in combat, except her legs were far more powerful than her hands.
But the two thugs together were ready to overwhelm Annastaria, and in such tight quarters, they could grab her quickly. Harris leaped up from his fear and barreled into one, slamming into and tumbling over a pile of crates, battling in a bitter brawl, and taking pressure off Annastaria. The thug Harris brawled with was faster and more experienced than Harris, but Annastaria was even better than both of these thugs, and being allowed to fight just one, she quickly dispatched of the other, getting him into a headlock with her legs before breaking it. She leaped from there with a butterfly twist that sent an airburst out, blasting the last thug before he could completely overwhelm Harris. The two stood in front of each other for a moment, to make sure the other was okay. “Go–now!” said Annastaria.
“We gotta get to the boats. They’re our best chance out.”
Annastaria shook her head quickly, “No. The others will know clearly we went with the boats. Rivers can go only one way; people are easier to track on them than they think. We must depart into the woods, where we can disappear faster–follow me!”
Before she could say or do anything further, she felt a surge of electricity once more pulse through her body, stiffening her and causing her to fall. In an instant, her mastery was once again paralyzed. “No!” Harris shouted as he ran to her, but he stopped when he saw Lance approaching behind her with his pistol in one hand, and the remote device to her bonds in the other, as well as an unwelcome smile on his face.
“Well look at you two!” he taunted, “Thinking you were gonna just walk away… I’m afraid there is no walking away, not for you two anyway–”
Annastaria took a few deep breaths with Lance standing over her, and she sprang up with her bound hands, and with the metal bonds struck an unsuspecting Lance in the nose. The blow sent him back, half-unconscious, and blood from his mouth and nose flung out, as well as something Annastaria, nor Harris recognized until it slapped onto the ground in front of him. It was the tip of Lance’s tongue. When Annastaria stood up to see him, he still had his gun in hand, but the remote he dropped to hold his bloodied face, which had streams of blood coming out of the webbings of his fingers. He mumbled a gurgled curse through the muffling of his hand tight on his face.
Annastaria stepped backwards, with her eyes on Lance, as did Harris, as though he was some kind of wild animal you never turn your back on. They braced themselves as Lance slowly stood up and looked at his bloodied hand. “You…” he slurred, with blood still pouring out of his mouth, “You little wench!” Another pause as he began to slowly approach, with his eyes set on her, who was still struggling to catch her breath.
“We need to go, now.” Harris stuttered.
“Not yet.” she replied, “The remote–I need it to release my hands. He will come for me now. You get the remote.”
“No way!”
Before they could argue further, Lance charged at Annastaria. “I’ll kill you!” he screamed, spitting blood out. Like a rabid dog he threw aside his own pistol to grab Annastaria. But she dodged his violent charge and darted back into the convoluted, old storage area. Lance recovered; like a ravaging hurricane blowing anything aside in its way, he knocked over barrels and crates. “I’ll kill you!” he continued to repeat, and managed to grab her leg, tripping Annastaria and she fell. Her hands were bound, and could not help her recover; she let out a gasp as she came down, feeling his hands begin to squirm and grab her legs as she tried to break away. Like a constrictor, Lance overwhelmed Annastaria and pulled her out from the midst of the crates, grabbing her by a leg and throwing her out and against a group of barrels.
Harris nearly froze at the sound and raving of a man who had completely lost his mind, but if he didn’t get the remote, Annastaria would not survive his madness. He saw it on the ground, next to several small pools of blood and ran after it, but a gunshot blasted through the interior of the warehouse, and he felt a sharp punch right in his shoulder. He fell over, and tumbled to the ground, knowing what had happened, feeling an intense burning in his shoulder. The shot came from his right, where the boats were. He turned over and saw blood coming out of the gunshot wound in his shoulder. He almost cursed, but kept himself from it, and instead drew his own pistol and opened fire on the boat men coming up the steps towards him. He nearly unloaded his entire magazine on them, striking the railing of the small staircase to the docking area, and one shot managed to hit one in the neck and another in the chest before the rest fled for the cover of the lower level again.
They raised their weapon hands over the lower level and opened fire, preventing Harris from being able to reach the remote, and forcing him to crawl and take cover behind a set of wooden crates, the likes of which would not provide him cover for long. Fortunately, something heavy was in these crates, heavy enough to hold his back against it as he bit down on his teeth to the pain of his wound. But he could hear, other than Lance’s irrational screaming, the others communicating. “He’s behind those crates!” one was heard saying. “He’s wounded!” another said.
Annastaria attempted to crawl away again, but once more, Lance grabbed her legs and this time pulled her towards himself to grab her by the hair. But Annastaria set herself up on her feet, sprang up, and whipped her bound hands again in a vicious backhand that cracked across Lance’s right cheek. He stumbled back again, and grumbled in a fit of rage, now having a large gash in his cheek. He roared again and barreled into Annastaria, who gave out a loud cry as the air was pushed out of her lungs. Lance plunged and pinned her against a wall. There was no escape for her at this point, and for the first time, Annastaria panicked, trying to squirm her way out of this madman’s grasp. Her grunts turned to desperate shouts, and all methods of combat vanished as she tried to shove Lance away by sheer power. Lance locked both hands around her throat to choke her to death with his bare hands. But Annastaria pushed her head down, keeping his hands from a successful lock around her neck.
It didn’t stop Lance, who with his sheer adrenaline rush, lifted Annastaria up with his hands around her neck, slamming her into the wall once, then twice, and then three times. Before he could go for a forth, Annastaria managed to get his right hand in her mouth, and she bit down as hard as she could, grunting with fierce hate as she did. Lance screamed in agony, ripping his hand away, and pulling Annastaria with him for a short second. She collapsed and spat blood out of her mouth, as well as her own hair, breathing uncontrollably. The adrenaline was fueling through her body like she had never experienced before as Lance looked at his bloodied hand. The more she made him bleed, the more insane he seemed to get. He roared again and charged at her, reaching out with his left hand to hold her, while his right hand was cocked back for a vicious blow.
Her chest burned, and her body shook, but Annastaria kept enough focus to keep her eyes not on his left hand, but his right, and sure enough, it came like a missile ready to crush her face. She ducked beneath it, and screamed as loud as she could while she drove her bound hands into his left thigh, which was flexed in front of her; the blow therefore was intense, and Lance’s leg gave out as he cried out in pain.
Annastaria attempted to flee, but yet again, Lance managed to grab her by her shirt, pulling her back and throwing her into the wall again, and once more, he began to strangle her, picking her off her feet and throwing her to the ground. Annastaria slammed on her right side, and could feel unnatural pops in her shoulder and elbow. The world around her suddenly seemed to split apart, and uncontrollably move left and right. Her head was pounding, and she was beaten to exhaustion.
Lance drew out a well-polished knife from his vest that was at least a foot long and three inches wide. “I’m gonna cut you into a bunch of little bits ‘n pieces.” he said, once again, slurred. As soon as he spoke, he felt the sting from his severed tongue. He bent down and raged at the pain. “Gah!” he blurted out. His brief moment of calm was gone and he was ready to stick the blade in Annastaria’s right kidney when he looked up and saw Harris with the remote, ready to set her free.
Lance froze, but only for a moment, and reached down instead to grab Annastaria, and lifted her off her chest with her own hair. She screamed as he pulled her up, trying to grab his hand, but unable with her bound hands. Lance then wrapped his left arm around her, with her bound arms folded and within his grip, holding her tightly, while pressing his knife to her neck. “Drop it!” he ordered, “Or I’ll cut her throat, and it won’t matter if you free her chains–you’ll have let her die!”
Annastaria tried to force strength and resilience, but she could feel the tears well up in her eyes. Harris hesitated, with his eyes darting back and forth between the battered and terrified Annastaria, and Lance. “Don’t be stupid, boy!” Lance continued, “I know you didn’t come all this way just to get her throat cut now!” Lance began to taunt then, “Come on, boy–don’t you wanna be a hero? Save the girl and all that crap? Now’s your chance! Toss that little remote over to me, right now!”
Again, Harris hesitated. His heart was racing, seemingly all over his body. He knew he couldn’t do anything Lance said; but if he didn’t, Lance would end her, and Harris failed her. And if he pressed the release button, not even she could react in time before he slit her throat, and he was next. And yet, if he handed Lance the remote, there was no telling what he would do, other than the fact that he was going to kill Harris.
“Damn you!” Harris screamed, “You killed my friend!”
“He should’ve made better life choices.” Lance coldly answered, “Be better than him by making better choices right now.”
Harris looked at Annastaria, who didn’t know what to say, if anything at all. All she knew was she didn’t want to die like this. Tears welled in her eyes. Harris wiped his nose and then tossed the remote to Lance’s feet. Lance paused, looking down at it, and then at Harris again with a wicked grin. “Smart man.”
Upon those words, the prick of the blade released from Annastaria’s neck, and a short gasp came out of her. Lance threw her at Harris, and she tumbled into his arms as Lance reached down and grabbed the remote before walking towards his gun several feet away. “Seems you care about the girl after all.” He looked at a beaten and exhausted Annastaria with a grin, “That’s the kind of boy you’ll want to mingle with, little lady.” he said to her.
Harris helped Annastaria up as Lance reached down and grabbed his gun, and the other thugs surrounded them both. Then Lance whipped around, aimed and shot Harris in the head. The gunshot was piercing as ever, but it was the last thing that stung Annastaria.
“No!” she screamed as he dropped dead like Jodel before him.
“Bloody hell!” Lance taunted, “What a shame! You don’t get to live long enough to be a hero!”Annastaria’s horror turned to rage as she set her eyes on Lance, who though bloodied and missing half his tongue now, was satisfied to see her anger.
“Ean mashe’kadraka!” she cursed, and charged at him, but he pressed a simple button on the remote, and Annastaria froze as surges of electricity blanketed her entire body and she tumbled to the ground. Lance kept the button pressed for five long seconds before letting go, and Annastaria gasped for breath, coughing and choking on her own saliva.
“Make no mistake, elf.” he said, standing over her, “I’m gonna kill you, and you get to experience the whole thing.” He paused to send a kick into her side, forcing out a loud exhale of pain from her as she tumbled over to the ground again. “But I gotta say,” he continued, “I want you to live a little bit longer.” He turned to two of his men, “Get her back to the front.”
As the two went to grab Annastaria, fresh gunshots blistered through the warehouse, forcing Lance and the others to take cover, their hearts going into a panic to find where it was coming from. Muzzle flashes came from the east end of the warehouse; they were single shots, not semi-automatic, but they were too loud and potent for simple pistols. “Where the hell is that coming from?” one thug shouted before a shot burst open his chest and came out his shoulder, and he dropped dead.
Lance looked to the shots and saw several men, not officers, moving through the back of the warehouse and firing rifles at him and his men. He raised his pistol, keeping his head down and opening fire, but forced back to the boats. Gerdan appeared from amidst the men ambushing Lance, and behind him was Rolek, who was anxious to leap into the action. He scanned the area, seeing Lance fleeing to the boats. He was ready to charge after him when he saw Annastaria next to the body of Harris. She was huddled up and still on the ground.
“Over there!” Rolek shouted over the gunfire.
Gerdan looked and it took only a few seconds for him to spot her, only twenty or so feet into the warehouse, through a maze of boxes and barrels, but between gunfire. “We’ll push these bastards into the boats!” Gerdan said, “You get her and get the hell out of here!”
“No need to tell me twice!” Rolek answered, “Go!”
Gerdan called out to his men to move forward, and they increased their fire, some of them shooting even arrows, which were impossible to see or hear in the chaos, terrifying Lance’s men even more, especially when one or two of them suddenly began to choke on blood when an arrow flew out from the dark and slung into their necks and chests. Gerdan’s men were not simply trying to scare Lance’s men, but were deliberately aiming, and aiming well. Even Lance was startled as he saw one of his men coming towards him and an arrow plunged into his right temple and out his left. The thug went stiff as though he drew a sudden blank thought, and he coughed before he fell dead.
“By Rojas!” Lance shivered. He turned to his men, “Get in the boats! We’re getting out of here!”
Gerdan and his men continued to pour the pressure on what was left of Lance’s men, who cowered into the boats, even pushing each other out of the way to save their own lives. They started the engines and blazed off as quickly as they could, shooting blindly into the warehouse to try and keep Gerdan’s men off.
Oden came right after Rolek with Bastillina to Annastaria’s aid. “Hey!” Rolek said as Oden held her head in his hand, “Wake up! Erene? You okay?”
“Erene!” Oden added, “It’s us!”
As she slowly opened her eyes, her head in Oden’s lap, she looked and thought herself to be dreaming. “Are the gods cursing me with a kind dream before I die?” she said in a weakened voice.
“Hey,” Oden said with a hand on her soft cheek, “you’re not dying, and you’re not dreaming–we’re here, and we’re getting you out.”
“What in the world are these?” Bastillina asked as she looked at the metal bindings on Annastaria’s hands.
“Special handcuffs.” Rolek said, looking around for something, “meant for masters–there should be a remote around here somewhere to release them.” He and Bastillina leaped up to begin searching the area.
“Oden,” Annastaria said, “I must tell you something.”
“Don’t talk.” Oden said back, “You’re in pretty rough shape. Let’s get you outta here, first.”
“I am fine, just… I am just tired is all… I need you to know something.”
“You can tell me later.” Oden said, sidetracked, and frantically looking at Rolek and Bastillina scouring the area.
“Here!” Rolek blurted out, holding the remote up in his hand, which had crusted blood on it. He and Bastillina ran back to Oden and Annastaria, both looking carefully at it to find the right button. “We need to be careful.” Rolek said, “Some of this is supposed to… well it’s going to electrocute her.”
“Electrocute?” Bastillina said, “Like, shock her?”
“Yes. It’s one of the ways the device works; us masters don’t do well with electricity.” He looked at Bastillina then, “And that’s something you should take note of, little master.”
“Oden, wait!” Annastaria said, now trying to stand up.
“Erene, stop!” Oden nearly snapped, “You need to save your strength–”
“My name is not Erene!”
Everyone went silent. The chaos around them seemed to fade away into an abstract dream. Even the panic to get Annastaria out seemed to disappear when she blurted the words out.
“My name is not Erene.” she repeated more softly, and her voice became shaky again. Her eyes began drowning in tears and she struggled to speak further. It was not fear that kept her, but something else, something she felt when she hugged her father. It was the warmth of truth, of confession; to him, it was the confession that she was his daughter, no matter what, and blood was no barrier. For these three, it was the confession that they were her friends, and maybe even family, despite where they were from. “My name…” she began, but her voice nearly collapsed again, “My name is Annastaria.” she managed.
Once more, the others were silent, and now they looked at each other. “I come from the tribe Juresh’durr in the Sarke region… I am one of them… I was sent on a quest on their behalf, to find someone… Only it was not family. I was to use the aenmen as tools to get to that goal. But they were never to be trusted… The mission was going well.” She was forced to pause once again, but the others waited. She looked at them again, “Then you came along.” She looked at Bastillina, “You came,” and then Oden, “And you, Oden.” She hesitated, but looked even at Rolek, “And even you, Rolek… You all were not supposed to happen… But you did… The more I lied to you, the worse I felt… I am truly sorry for what I have done, and all I want now is to be truthful to you, and hope that you will forgive me.”
Again, the room became silent. Rolek and Oden looked at each other. Bastillina was quick to hug Annastaria, a hug she welcomed with a broken smile. Annastaria looked up at Rolek, who only smiled back. She welcomed the smiles, but she waited to see what Oden would say. It felt too long, but he smiled as well. He pulled her up into a firm hug. She was caught off guard, and coughed by the sudden move, but she smiled through her broken eyes, and hugged him back.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Annastaria.” he said. She wanted to speak, but his words soaked her in emotion again, and she gasped for air in the midst of the wave of emotions, which seemed to consume her in the flash of a moment. She never thought she would be so glad to see him, an aenman, and the other two as well. Finally, Oden let go and looked her in the eyes.
“Now.” he said, “Let’s get you the hell out of here.”
Masters of Eldreon 