"Talking"

Thinking

"Phone Call"

I know it's a quick update from last time, but today is the last day of spring break for me, so I wanted to get one more chapter in before the break ended. Enjoy!

&: Chapter 10- Abscond &:

They all looked to Kai.

"I don't know."

And with Kai's three simple words, their resolve crumbled to pieces again.

Something was groaning, a low, tired sound. Rei wearily blinked open his eyes, adjusting to the darkness. Stone walls surrounded him, dirty and covered with grime. He slouched against one, and then took a shaky breath.

He realized the groan was coming from himself, along with the person beside him. Looking just barely to the right, Rei saw the broken and battered form of Tala. His read hair hung in bloody clumps in front of his face and his head lolled awkwardly to the left.

Rei shrugged his shoulder up, trying to reach Tala, and found he couldn't: his arm felt like a dead weight, half asleep and numb. Again he tried, but all he could accomplish were a few twitches from his fingers. His other arm could hardly be considered better.

He sighed again, a low, hissing sound. Rei sat in a puddle of something wet, and the dim light in the room wasn't much help in identifying it. Something scuttled in the corner, and then squeaked high-pitched. Rei felt like he was trapped in some kind of horror movie.

"R…ei…" Tala breathed out. The Russian didn't move, didn't look up.

Again, Rei glanced over from the corner of his eye. "I'm her-" Rei broke off, his throat dry, and a cough erupted from his chest painfully. It wracked his whole body and he groaned; it felt like his chest was burning.

"Where… are…we?" The last word came out as a quiet breath but Rei got the gist of the question.

"Don't know. Can't see." Rei decided to keep his answers as short as possible to keep from coughing. Still, even the slightest breath scratched his throat. Neither boy could remember the last time they had food, much less water.

"Well now, look whose woken up," a voice said suddenly. Rei glanced up and saw the faint silhouette of Lee standing above him. "I hope I didn't cut your conversation with Kai too short, but we had to wrap things up." Lee had his eyes honed in on Tala, and his eyes had a smug glint to them.

"Go… to hell…" Tala said, his voice still barely audible, but he somehow sounded fierce even in his weakened state.

Lee's face quickly contorted to rage. "Shut up!" he yelled as he swung his foot out and planted a strong kick into Tala's stomach. The redhead gagged and spit blood out, clutching at his stomach feebly. Rei cringed.

Lee grinned again. "That's better."

"Lee, leave him alone," Rei said. His throat burned but he ignored it, trying to be strong for Tala's sake.

Lee turned his gaze to Rei. "Do you want a kick as well, Rei?"

Rei shrunk back in fear, covering his vital body parts. Lee smiled. "Thought so. Sorry, but I have to leave now. Got a little business to take care of." Then he turned and left, walking out of the area and turning a corner. A moment later a metal door slammed shut. Lee's last words left an icy feeling in the room.

"Rei…" Tala gasped out, and Rei turned to look at him. The redhead was battered and broken even more than Rei: both his arms were covered in bruises, his skin hung limply from his bones, and from his silhouette, Rei could tell there was something wrong with Tala's ribs. But when the Russian looked up, his blue eyes held determination and resolve. "We have to get out of here."

"We have to help Tala and Rei!"

"Kai, what're we going to do?"

"What if Lee comes after one of us next?"

Dozens of voices shouted at the Russian standing in the middle of the room. There hadn't been any silence for almost an hour straight. Kai stood calmly, taking all of it, waiting for the swell of voices to calm. Still, he could only take so much. So finally, Kai stomped his foot loudly and clamped his hands over his ears.

"Shut up!!" he roared and silence fell on the room. For a few brief seconds Kai allowed himself to enjoy the silence before he began to speak. "I don't know what we're going to do yet. Our first priority is to make sure the rest of you stay safe, and then work on getting Tala and Rei back.

"Captains, do a count up. No one leaves anymore. I want everyone to stay here," Kai ordered, referring to the numerous times others had left to 'get some fresh air'.

Immediately everyone began counting heads, looking for all of their team members. Miguel was back on his feet, not as lively as before but willing to step up as captain. His body ached more than anything, but he understood his obligation as captain. As such, he began to panic when he found one missing.

"Kai, Claude is gone!" His voice brought silence to the room and the bladers glanced around each other, looking for the missing Barthez blader. Mathilda and Aaron were frozen in a corner of the room, their eyes wide. Mathilda immediately began to cry, fearing the worst.

"Anyone see him?" Kai asked the group, and got a general and despaired 'no'.

"I can't get him on his cell either. He's not answering," Miguel said, wide awake now. Dread was filling up the Spaniard fast. First Tala and now this…

"All right. Garland, Robert, Michael, stay here and watch after them. Miguel, come with me and keep trying to call Claude. Garland, I'll call through you," Kai relayed his orders quickly and they moved into action.

Miguel walked over to the door, eager to find his missing teammate. Kai pulled out his cell phone and dialed Garland's number, ready to stay in touch the entire time. Robert and Garland moved about the room a bit, where they could see everyone clearly. Michael walked to Aaron and Mathilda, placing a comforting hand on Mathilda's shoulder.

"All right. Call if something happens." And with that Kai and Miguel walked out, shutting the door behind them. Silence fell over the group uneasily.

Kai and Miguel treaded slowly, the Russian leading the way. Miguel continually tried to call Claude but repeatedly got no answer. The dread in his stomach grew, and Kai too began to get nervous; they could both see the probable ending to Claude's disappearance.

Still, they didn't give up hope and continued moving forward. Both refused to accept the truth. They searched the entire building floor by floor, only to come up empty. Finally, all that was left to look on was the roof.

"Ready?" Kai whispered to Miguel, making sure the Spaniard was prepared for whatever was behind the final door. Miguel nodded, his body shaking, but firmness in his eyes.

Kai threw the door open, glancing around warily. And there, sitting in a chair and partially facing the ledge, was Claude. They could only see part of his face, the rest hidden by the angle of the chair. His eyes were shut. Miguel immediately began running forward to get his now-found teammate, unlikely hope rising in him, but Kai grabbed his arm quickly.

Claude should have turned around.

Miguel didn't try and fight Kai. And somehow, he knew they were too late. He knew Claude was…

Kai reached the chair first and spun it fully around. It was Claude all right, but the back half of his head was missing. His blood was pooling into the chair, parts of it already caked over. One eye, they eye they could see, was closed; the other was open and lifeless, a single bullet wedged in between them. Kai let out a shuddering sigh.

He remembered how determined Claude had been not twenty-four hours ago. How sure Claude had sounded that they had a plan and were going to get Rei and Tala back. And look what happened to him for it.

Kai reached his hand out, shutting Claude's dead eye. Miguel was shuddering but didn't cry. He just stood there, dead silent and impossibly still. It was almost as frightening as the dead Claude.

"Miguel?" Kai called to him softly.

"We've found him. Let's get back; no need to keep the others waiting." Miguel's tone was choked and quiet. Kai nodded.

It went unspoken that Claude would have to stay there. No way they were going to lug around a dead body. And where would he go once they took him back to the hotel room? It was clearly a waste of time and energy. Claude would have to stay there until the police could get him down.

The two captains turned together and began the slow descent back down the stairs. Claude's lifeless body rested behind them, sitting in the chair.

Rei groaned silently and dragged his body forward just a bit more. The space was unusually cramped and Rei, skinny as he was and even skinnier now, was having a difficulty making it through, but he was getting there.

Tala had forced Rei to go through the small gap they had found in the brick. The Russian had pointed out, quite bluntly, that even if he made it through the hole, Tala probably would have died before he could get to the other bladers. It was best that Rei go so he could get help.

And so here Rei was, inching ever so slowly through the gap, trying to go fast enough so that he would be gone before Lee came back. He didn't like leaving Tala there; there was no saying what Lee would do to him. Still, Tala insisted that he would be fine and that Rei had to get out. And with Tala being as stubborn as he is, Rei had lost.

Still, fitting through the hole was no easy task. It continually got narrower, and the bricks were sharp and jagged; the hole had been hastily cut and nothing had been smoothed out.

Something clanged open behind him suddenly, echoing in the stone, and Rei froze. A chill ran down his spine. It was the door. Lee was back. A moment later, he heard the yell.

"Where the hell is Rei?!" Lee roared.

"Gone. Away from you," Tala shot back, his voice fierce; he had regained some of his lost energy.

"How? How could he have gotten out?! You let him out!!" The accusation was ridiculous, as Tala was quick to point out.

"If I let Rei out wouldn't I have let myself out?" he asked sarcastically. Something collided with another solid, and then another impact, and Rei winced, picturing the scene. Lee had slapped Tala as hard as he could, then pushed the Russian's head into the brick wall.

Rei continued inching forward, trying only to focus on the task of getting out. He had to get out and find the others. For Tala's sake. The Russian captain was risking everything to get Rei out; Rei knew he couldn't fail.

Sunlight was shining through the end now, filtering across Rei's face. It was an omen both good and bad. Rei was almost home free, but it showed just how trapped Tala really was, alone now too.

Just before Rei staggered out into the sunlight, Tala let out an agonized scream.

&: End &:

Uh-oh… What happened to Tala? Guess you'll have to wait for the next chappie.

R&R

--blueXXphoenix--