Twin Devils
Chapter Twenty-One
(A/N: Hope you readers enjoy this chapter, because it will most likely suck very badly. Anyway, happy reading!)
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I blinked open my eyes slowly, breath coming out in short pants, and the world around me was just as it had been earlier when I left consciousness. Black.
Swirling lights caught my attention up above, making my head spin as they flickered and wavered, failing in their contract to provide any good lighting above the scene.
I was so dizzy, skin slick with sweat, matting my hair down to my scalp and nausea wracked me in sudden waves. I leaned my head back as a sudden rush traveled through me and a gasp forced its way through my lips, accompanied by a disgruntled groan.
"She's awake," A gruff voice warned, barking out at the two others standing by the car.
Shaking out my head, I tried to raise it and examine what was going on. Above me to the left towered a giant of a man, nothing but beefy arms and thick corded muscles. He sneered down at me, a scar webbing across his cheek and the side of his face, going into his hairline. He had dark eyes, and a shaven head, a bulky nose occupying most of his face. A raggedy old wife beater clung to his torso, his bottom half covered with thick canvas pants and oily black combat boots, scuffed from dirt and struggles. The handle of a gun glinted from his waistline, sparking dangerous imaginations of what was really happening here.
Behind him were the two accomplices by the car, one tall and covered head to toe in black leather, the other crouched and lanky. The tall one reeked of cologne and hairspray, even from this distance, and an underlying wispy smoke smell, implying he had recent encounters with cigarettes. The shorter one wore a black cloak with a silver swirling skull on it, the hood drawn up so his face was cast in shadows. Tan bandages spiraled up both of his skinny arms, and he wore baggy pants tucked into wooly boots. He was laughing like a madman, almost giddy in his work.
Both of the men were kicking and punching something to get into the trunk of their car. I heard a very distinctive voice shouting from the opposing side, and with an appalled feeling, I suddenly knew what their work was. They were busy stuffing Kaoru back into the trunk.
"Let me out!" Kaoru shouted, thrashing within the interior. "Haruhi! Get away from her! Let me- OW!"
The smaller man scampered up onto the car, shoving the hood down on Kaoru, laughing as he did so, "Hear that Viper? The little kitty said meow! Hahahah!"
The taller man, obviously Viper, growled, "Hey, shut up, Dark. He's still movin'!" He punched Kaoru in the nose, making him fall back a little, the twin's arm hanging over the side. Viper pulled the hood up and slammed it down repeatedly, over and over on Kaoru's arm until the ginger released a gurgled scream and the arm gave with a sickening crunch.
I winced and found myself looking away, not able to view the carnage of the scene. Viper shoved Kaoru deep inside the trunk, slamming it shut, and then turning and leaning on it, crossing his arms across his chest. Grumbling about arrogant children, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a metal lighter, huffing at the nicotine and smoke. It looked like a serpent leaving his lips, the smoke curling wickedly into the sky. The snake himself smirked at me from behind his thick shades, chuckling darkly at his deeds. The animalistic man behind him plopped down and sat crosslegged on the hood, holding his knees and laughing, rolling around slightly. They were quite a pair, the snake and the madman.
Blowing out more smoke, Viper snickered, "All eyes on you, Blade."
The giant in front of me, obviously named Blade, turned back to me, glowering down at me. Now to his nickname, I spotted a large, almost machete of a knife attached to the man's hip. It had a wickedly sharp blade from what I could see peaking out of the scabbard, and it's hilt was composed entirely of bone, aside from the green jewel encrusted in the pommel.
Blade growled, the sound coming from deep in his chest, and he scowled down at me again. "You've caused us a lot of trouble little girl. You understand? Our boss said not to hurt you… But sadly…" Blade smirked, a horrible thing like a shark grinning at you before eating you, and he unsheathed that horrible knife. "We got a new boss. And our peaceful boss isn't here. Oops." He breathed, sliding the blade across my chin, blood trickling down my neck. I flinched at the almost invisible touch of the knife, and then the burning.
Trembling in the chair, I clenched tighter onto the arms, the plastic ties doing a fantastic job of digging into my wrists. Sitting up a little straighter, I tried not to show fear as I spoke, steadying my voice, "Who are you? What do you want from me?"
A light flicked in his eyes, and I wasn't entirely sure if it was pity or surprise, but I was positive that it wasn't going to help me get out of anything. Blade leaned forward, his yellowing teeth shown in an ugly sneer, eyes narrowed and face split by that scar. His breath hit my face, rancid and smelling of trash, "You really don't know, do you?" He then chuckled, the sound like boulders rumbling together. "Oh, then this'll be so much fun." Sliding his fingers into my hair, he took a fistful, pulling my face up so it was looking directly into his. I bit my lip at feeling the blade dance across my skin. "I'll enjoy slicing you up into tiny pieces… I wanna watch you bleed, little girl."
"Me next, me next!" The hunched maniac howled from the atop the car, doing a little jig of excitement and cackling.
Blade growled, gritting his teeth together. "Shut up a second, Dark. I'm thinking."
The little man, Dark, was bouncing in anticipation, biting his blackened nails and making whining sounds like a dog who wanted so badly to chase a rabbit.
Blade slid his knife across my cheek, and I gasped at the sharp metallic kiss, it stinging horribly before warm liquid oozed from the thin line, already spilling down my cheek.
That was when a fourth person appeared from the shadows, completely catching me off guard. I heard him before I saw him, the sound of his voice as strange as listening to someone talk through water. It was odd, and off beat, seeming like it was stretched in some places, very monotone and breathy, "Now, now… That's no way to treat… A lady, Blade. You—Are scaring the young girlllllll."
The voice sent shivers up my spine, and I knew then what Eve must've felt when the snake whispered corruption to her, because this voice had the makings of true and utter evil. And when he stepped into the light, all my fears were confirmed.
The man couldn't have been that much older than Blade, maybe it was that, or he was just creepy enough to appear baby faced. He was tall and gangly, all bones and elbows, skinny as can be. His skin was stretched tight over his bones, all tin and waxy, pale white in such a contrast with his oily black hair. Grey teeth like tombstones and eyes so dark they looked pitch in the dim lighting, making him seem more and more like an apparition than a human being. Though you'd be a fool to think of him as mortal in the first place. He wore regular enough clothes: a white shirt with a ridiculous smiley face on it, and a long sleeved undershirt with some baggy jeans and a spiked belt. When he smiled, it was creepy, and he held his eyes wide, tilting his head to the side a bit. It was like looking Death in the face, yet you knew your fate was far worse than his name.
"Hello, Haruhi Fujioka," The man drawled, stepping closer as if the floor were a chessboard and each move was strategic. "I've been watching you for some time. Observing you, and your father, Ryuji, better known as Ranka. And all of your friendssssssss."
Something about him itched in the back of my mind, and suddenly, I remembered, "You… You were the one sending me those letters so long ago…"
The twisted grin on the sickly man's face grew. "Correct, young Haruhi. Hello, Haruhi Fujioka. Yes, I have been the one sending you those letters. I want to be," He paused, tilting his head a little, and giving a completely emotionless laugh. "your friend."
The sight of him 'happy' made me think of him as some disgusting parasite rather than a human being, much a like a cockroach who won't die no matter how hard you squash it. "That… doesn't sound very good…"
The grin on his sick face, faltered, and then he looked around at the others, shaking his head. He plucked the cigarette out from between Viper's lips, holding it out like a fragile thing, "I'd never hurt you. You're my closest asset now that a friend has been lost… You know. I knew your mother, Miss Fujioka. We wanted her to be my friend. She made a bad choice, a very bad choice, and sadly," He looked her, and raised the cig to his mouth, putting it out by rubbing it on his tongue. Flicking the cigarette to the ground, he frowned, as if disgusted, not with the taste but with his sentence, "time ran out. We don't want that to befall you, Haruhi. Do you?"
I don't think I've ever shaken my head faster, fear gripping me, "No! Never!"
His fists clenched by his sides, and I swore I heard the equivalent of leather tightening. Angrily, he gritted his teeth, and his hands clasped around my head, lifting me, and the chair dangling beneath me, up into the air. I cried out, my neck straining from the weight. His face was right in front of mine, breath cold, and airy as it touched my face, some spit mingling with it, "Give me an answer now… Don't. Be. Rash. Be… My… Friendddddd." He snapped his teeth in my face, inches from my nose, and he grinned, eyes wide as he awaited my answer. His obsidian eyes were so dark, it was like drowning in suffocating depths.
I closed my eyes, wanting to look away from that horrible gaze, "No! Ah- Ow! Let me go!"
Groggily, the trunk opened a little, like a gaping mouth, and Kaoru popped up, "Don't you dare…. Touch her…"
"Shut up," Viper sighed, hitting Kaoru in the temple with the handle of his gun. Growling from around the cigarette, he smirked as the nice twin crumpled down again, and Dark bounced, closing the trunk again.
The leader's smile was twitching, the skin around it convulsing, and he slowly began to look angry, mouth turned down, eyes on fire. He dropped me back down on the ground, jarring me back to reality. I gasped, looking back up at him. He spread his arms wide, throwing his head back, Adam's apple bulking against his tight skin, "Oh. I see. So, it seems that one of our friends has lost their way…. Hmm. My friends." He rotated his head to get all of the henchmen in view. "Brothers. How are we going to call back our long lost friend who has strayed off our wayward path? Destroy her!"
The man seemed to disappear back into the shadows, and the other three surged forward, crowding me. Blade clicked his teeth in my face, itching to slice me open, "It'll be fun to watch you scream, little girl."
Feeling brave, I spit in the giant's ugly scarred face.
Reeling back in anger, Blade, swiped his face clear, and backed away, "I'm done with her, hey Viper, Light her up!"
"Mmmm," Viper cupped my chin, squishing my cheeks together. His other hand ran down along my forearm, "I love your skin. So smooth. I wonder what it'll sound like as it burns…" Taking the cigarette from him mouth, he eased the killer from his mouth to my arm, and almost in slow motion, I watched him burn a cylinder into my skin.
They laughed as my shrill scream filled the air. Tears sprang to my eyes, and flinched, my whole body tensing at the feeling of the ashes burning into my flesh.
Dark rocked forward on the trunk, holding up a finger as he presented his own ideal, "Ooh! Ooh! Idea! Idea! Why don't we just cut her up instead?"
As if in unison, Blade and Viper groaned then said, "Shut up, Dark!"
Viper stood beside me, smirking and chuckling under his breath. Next thing I know, the tall man crumples to the ground, reeling back from being punched. Another voice rang out, "None of you punks are touching her!"
My head leaned back, trying to glimpse the familiar person. Hikaru stood there, bathed in fury, eyes narrowed and teeth clenched. "And if you do, I'll tear you limb from limb."
New tears, ones of happiness filled my eyes, and I cried out gratefully, "Oh Hikaru!"
"Not so fast, pretty boy," Blade sneered, and as my eyes found him, I saw his arm extended, gun in hand.
Before I even had time to scream, his finger tightened on the trigger.
Before I even had time to think, I heard it embed into Hikaru's flesh.
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(A/N: End of the chapter!
Cliffhanger, you suckers :3
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