Amnesia Justine: Freedom 4
Malo and Alois turned to Basile slowly. In an instant, the light expression on his hollow face was wiped away. His eyelids were squinted threateningly, and he was breathing much more rapidly than before. "Now, Basile…I'm sure we can work this out…" quivered Malo, holding onto a struggling Abby with minimal effort. (Don't run, he'll only kill you quicker) he thought, shaking.
Basile seemed not to hear him. One lumbering step towards Abby. Saliva started to drip from his lips, twisted in a grimace of mutual hate. Alois tried to catch him by surprise from behind, to snap him out of his trance, but Basile simply whipped back in the blink of an eye and raked him harshly across the head. Alois fell to the ground, and Basile turned back just as quick as before. Another step forward.
"Basile, calm yourself!" said Malo more harshly. Basile turned his head to him for a moment, staring down threateningly into Malo's black voids. In response, the other suitor jumped to his feet, grinding his teeth-made sharp with years of brutality-in anticipation. For what seemed like minutes, the creatures stood, staring, neither showing any signs of faltering. Abby could do nothing but watch as her life hung in the delicate balance.
Suddenly, Basile lunged at Abby, diving to the side with a hoarse roar. Malo caught him by the wheel just as Basile was about to rip her head off. The beast's claws sliced through thin air as he was pulled back quickly. Malo tossed him with as much strength as he could muster, sending Basile soaring through the air until he collided forcefully with the wall.
Abby quickly grew worried and was about to run to Basile's aid when Malo stuck a hand out in front of her. "What are you doing? Get to the shadows-quick!" "But there's no way he could have survived a collision like that without an inju-" Well, you don't know us! Just get to a hiding spot!" spat Malo, trying to be as intimidating as possible. It worked. Abby rushed to an alcove filled with empty potato sacks and squeezed herself into a corner. She watched, wide-eyed and terrified, as Basile rose and shook off debris from the wall.
Malo had disappeared in no time. Basile, an enraged demon, began to patrol the room, his footsteps hasty and heavy. "I will find you…I will KILL you, cunt…" Abby turned her head to the side-just glancing made her dizzy-when she saw another strange occurrence. A row of phantoms, all hiding with the same amount of fear she had, were all crouching in the niche.
They were all clothed in aprons or suits and dresses. Eyes wide and chests heaving, each of them looked filled with terror. But then she saw a last figure, a black-haired woman. She was smiling back at the other phantoms, and there was an unmistakable hint of madness in her eyes. When she spoke, it was heavily accented, almost fake,"…Ah, you can always count on my staff to get the job done. Clarice sure is doing better than I expected. But poor, poor Antoine. I'm surprised he made it this far…"
Just then, one of the well-suited men finally broke. He ran out of the niche, straight into the path of a phantom of Basile. Basile ran at him, and Antoine made the mistake of looking back. The suitor was on him immediately, bringing him down with one hit. The phantom woman laughed hysterically. Abby, absolutely horrified, turned to the wall. (Don't faint, don't faint! That's exactly what he wants…he'll be able to catch you…) She heard footsteps coming her way, hasty and heavy. Raspy breaths. "Yes, keep making those sounds…"
(Don't look…don't faint…) He was at the niche. (Don't do it…) He paused. (Don't…) He was right beside her. (Do-) "AAAAAHHHHH!" Abby screamed to the top of her lungs, and Basile smirked behind her. "I have you now!" he shouted, raising a chained, bloody hand. Suddenly, the breath was knocked out of him. Malo stood atop the downed suitor, throwing down punches and scratches with such force it made even Basile cringe in agony.
Abby felt a tap on her shoulder. "AH!" she shouted, and turned hastily around to see Alois staring back at her. "Come on, I'm gonna get you out of here!" he said, then without so much as a warning, hauled Abby onto his shoulders and took off for the water room. Abby clung tight to the wheel, unable to reach the other side of his neck for support, and held on for dear life.
Alois was running back the way they had come, ankle-deep in the filthy water. Only this time, it was a bit different. She saw phantoms again, only with much more haste than they had in the potato room. Some were carrying cogs across the room at full speed, some were pulling down levers or spinning cranks, and one unfortunate soul was curled in a ball in the corner of a waterlogged room. Alois sprinted quickly through a narrow hallway. Phantoms ran by at full speed, sweat dripping down their foreheads, screaming at the top of their lungs. She didn't turn around to see what it was, but heard some gnawing and psychotic laughter behind them. It sent a chill up her spine, and she closed her eyes tightly. Alois ran through the crypt, and despite his blindness, managed to weave around the obstacles in their way.
"I know this place like the back of my hand, Abby. Don't worry, were almost at the exit," said Alois, leaping over a large grave. When the pair made it to the open doorway at the end, Alois came to a sudden halt and dropped Abby unceremoniously. "Um, thank you, mister…mister…" "Alois. Now go! Don't worry, Malo can handle Basile, just focus on getting…"
Alois' voice trailed off as he appeared to stare out the door to the hallway. Warm light trickled out of the open passage. For a moment, his facial expression took on the same primal nature as that of Basile's when he realized the truth about Abby. But when a loud roar sounded from the depths of the labyrinth, he was snapped out of his trance. "Come back tomorrow night. I can't go up there with you…I need to help Malo."
Without another word, Alois bounded off into the darkness, leaving Abby alone with the lever that had closed the stone walls. (This is my chance! I could pull it right now, and trap those monsters down there! I'll never have to see them again!) thought Abby. But for some reason, when she reached for the switch, she felt something hold her back. Abby stood before the lever for a full minute before finally giving up and running upstairs to her room, overcome by a feeling she could not name.
…
"Well, do we have to go through this again?" questioned Malo, standing above a defeated Basile. Basile crouched on the floor, sweaty and exhausted, a bloody mess. Alois walked up to him. "That was awfully stupid, what you did there. Why would you, of all people, completely lose your head like that!" The defeated suitor turned his head up, panting. "Because…*pant pant*…that girl…*pant pant*…is HER spawn!"
"She's not a demon seed, she's just a little girl!" said Malo, clenching his fists. "And you should be completely ashamed for trying to KILL her, of all things!" Basile simply shook his head. "I was just trying to scare her away…besides, she would have betrayed us all in the end. That's what those wretched Florbelles do!" Alois knelt before him to speak at 'eye' level. "Give her a chance, Basile. She's young, she probably doesn't even know about her ancestor's actions. I told her to come back tomorrow night, anyway, so you'd better get your act together by then."
"WHAT?" shouted Basile, leaping to his feet. "Are you insane? She'll…she'll…" The other suitors simply waited quietly as Basile's voice trailed off. "…*sigh*, I guess…I guess you're right. We'll need her to inform us of what's going on in the world, and how to blend." Malo nodded. "I understand that her family has done things, Basile. And I understand that you mistrust her for a reason. I'll admit that I don't want to do this either…but we need to compromise. We can't just pass an opportunity like this up." He reached out his hand to Basile. "Are you with us on this, ami?"
The tired suitor hesitated at first, staring down at the hand as though it would bite back. After a few long seconds, however, he finally put his hand on top of Malo's, palm down. "I suppose it's worth a try…" Alois put his on top of Basile's. "If it brings us any closer to a normal life again, I'm in." Malo took a long breath. "We are going to escape; we are going to live, at any cost. And so begins, gentlemen, the end to our search for freedom."