Epilogue
Day Thirty Eight; Continued
"Where is he?" Was the first thing Jade had elicited as she entered the camp building, unseen, with Trina flanking close behind her, her gun steadily prodding against the unexpecting man's temple from behind – he looked, with acne loitering his face and greasy blonde hair, no older than twenty years of age, and was rather scrawny for a guard. Her voice was laced with venom, full of vengeance, as if to get her point across. All nerves had gone now the moment she had stepped through the door, though the pit of guilt and tribulation still lingered within her like a dreaded looming cloud hanging overhead; and she wasted no time. She wanted this done already; and there was no going back now. And when the startled boy, whom had dropped his gun and held his hands up in surrender, did not answer she asked him again, lips very close to his ear and the gun pushing at his skull. "Did I stutter? I asked you a question. Answer it."
"I don't know who you're talking about!" The boy cried, attempting to move his head from being held at gun point, but she snaked an arm around his neck and tugged him down so he was at her level (which wasn't much of a height decrease, admittedly, he wasn't that tall) so he would not dare to escape. "Just, just don't shoot!"
"Yeah, the chances of you not knowing who I'm talking about is slim to none. So spit it out, greasy, I don't have all day." She snarled, her finger testing at the trigger, ready to press down upon it if she had needed to.
"The boss?" He asked fretfully, eyes following Trina as she cautiously stepped in front of him, observing his griminess with a well placed scowl of disgust, nose crinkled. "Or Vince? Who are you talking about, you crazy woman?" He continued to question, squirming imperceptibly in his uncomfortable locality; either that, she considered, or out of fear of being shot. She praised herself for this – she was glad she, though being told numerous times in less harming situations, struck disquietude into ones heart; especially an armed, supposedly dangerous man.
"Vincent is the boss, idiot! That's who I'm looking for; where the hell is he?" Jade rolled her eyes and spoke strictly through a clenched jaw, her teeth grinding together as her utter impatience wore incredibly thin, to the point in which it was no thicker than a noodle, or piece of thread.
"No – no he isn't! He's the boss's husband! Mira's the boss around this place! If you got somethin' to say" He explained with a shake of his head, "you take that shit up with her! Don't shoot me for it!"
"Well I want him" She retaliated quickly, though figuratively pocketing this new information this boy was spitting out at her, just in case she was to need it later on. "So, where is he? I won't ask you this again, got it? If I have too, I'll castrate you! Will that make you speak up?"
"Tell me what you want with him and I'll take you to him!"
"Can't do that; that's top secret." She sniggered, cocking the gun near his temple and, with the round barrel of it, pushing his skull to the side dangerously. "So, tell me."
"I'll take you to him! You won't find your way there alone, you know! There's other people here too!"
"Hey, dude! Yeah you, just tell her already!" Trina yelled impatiently, nearly knocking the torch into the wall beside her as she threw her arms up in annoyance, looking as exasperated as she had sounded. Jade's steely gray eyes bore holes into her own, as though she was signaling for her to be quiet so she could do all the work (she hadn't wanted her there in the first place), before focusing her attention back upon the male that was still, after minutes of useless squirming, attempting to move himself away from the gun that was dangerously wielded into the side of his temple, in which Jade's finger was teasing the trigger.
"Fine! Fine, okay? I'll tell you," He paused, looking at the Goth from the corners of his eyes with a slightly fretful expression. "I can't be sure it's where he is, but it's guaranteed his with Mrs. Mira. In that room in the basement where they made that one prisoner guy fix her machine! If she's not there, she's on the roof; she always does that when it rains, you know."
"And what if he's not there? Where else do I look?" She inquired, loosening her grip slightly, but keeping the gun firm against his skull.
"In his office, third floor and the last room in the hallway! He's got guards all 'round, lady"
Satisfied that the nameless man had finally given her the answer she's been looking for, she pulled the gun away from his head and roughly shoved him away and into the nearest wall and, just for good measure, kneeing him where it hurts. He groaned and hunched over, clutching himself with his hands as he fell flat upon the ground and curled into the fetal position. "Great." She said with a smirk, shrugging her eyebrows. With this new information, she could possibly get to Vincent without any trouble; the only obstacle, the guards. That was going to take some patience and time to formulate a plan around them, if needed.
"Now what do we do?" Asked Trina cautiously, as she side glanced at the boy still curled up on the floor, wondering how hard exactly, Jade had kneed him to make him this way.
"Well, I know what I'm doing. You're staying here, with this freak," She answered with a loud, annoyed huff. She reached down and grabbed his abandoned gun from the floor, lazily tossing it in Trina's direction. "Tori said you're good at martial arts or whatever the hell it is. If you need it, use it." The moment she had begun to walk away, her pace quick and stride rather large in order to reach her destination faster and expeditiously, without fault, the eldest Vega sister begun to speak again.
"Wh-Wait! Wait! HEY! Where are you going? Where am I supposed to go?"
"Can you shut the hell up and stop asking questions? Christ, I don't know. Think of something!" And with that, she was gone, sprinting down the hallway.
2
"Hey!" Jade shouted loudly, voice escalated to the loudest octave she could muster, drawled out some near the end as though that in itself would draw the attention of the woman not far from her. The rain pounded down upon her, drenching her within seconds as she stood upon the flat roof of the building, her gun at the ready and her posture rigid. She had searched long and hard for one of the duo in which ruled over this horrid, wretched camp; her first two routes had been unsuccessful. The room within the basement was terribly empty; it had looked as if it was abandoned ever since she had last step foot in it many days ago, though there was, in which she took to her own advantage, weapons aligned against one of the back walls; she took an exquisite pocket knife and a better gun to use at her advantage, one fully loaded should she have needed it.
The female sitting near the edge jumped and turned around, hastily pulling herself to her feet. "You." Was all she said, her voice venomous, as if the word alone, was a sin.
All she did was smirk in response.
If she couldn't have Vincent, she'd settle for his wife instead. It only made sense; Vincent had taken the two people who meant very much to Jade (if he had taken Beck too, she was sure she would have gone over the edge), so it was only probable that she had done the same thing. She could take his wife just like he had taken her stepbrother, her only real family though not by actual blood yet by marriage, and one of her best and only close friends.
"We've been watching you, you know." Said the other female, Mira, her voice escalated as the rain cascaded heavier upon the island, blonde mottled hair clinging to her face. "Looking for my husband for what, revenge? Ha. Jadelyn, is it?"
"Taking stalking to a new level, are you?" Jade chortled in response, her voice equally as loud – the two were separated by quite the distance, hovering high above the ground upon the roof – a fall would certainly kill, and she'd had to be very careful not to fall herself. She couldn't say the same for the other girl across from her. "Where's the hubby, Mira darling?" She asked, using her Judy Garland voice that she often used on Tori.
"Vincent is off elsewhere, Jadelyn. No one is holding you back, why don't you start what you came here for, hmm? Or shall I?" Asked Mira with a dark chuckle, the rain cascading heavily around them, sloshing about the roof, collecting and flowing over the sides, an inch high already.
"'Least it'll be a fair fight" Jade muttered to herself moments later, but before she had been able to make a sudden move, Mira was at her side within seconds, cleaning punching her across the face and tackling her to the ground. Her gun flew from her hands, many feet away, as the two skidded along the side of the roof, into the pooling water in a fit of flailing limbs. The latter was strong, undoubtedly, and Jade was at a slight disadvantage after being so caught off guard, but she had managed to get along just fine as well. She grabbed the other girl by her hair, fisting it harshly and tugging her skull to the side in order to hover over her instead of the other way around, meanwhile slamming the other, older females face into the cement roof as many times as remotely possible, legs straddling around her waist.
Mira made a sudden comeback, quick and almost spontaneous. The girl, equally drenched and sopping wet to the bone, swung out with a fist behind her and hit Jade quite impressively in the ribs, in which made her falter. She took this disadvantage as her own benefit as the other girl had spun around, attempting to get atop of her again by clawing out with her hands, grasping soaking wet brown hair within crinkled hands as Jade wrung her own around her neck, squeezing as tight as she could with a glare that could kill, attempting to ignore the handfuls of hair that were currently being tugged, as if the drenched tendrils had been caught on a moving machine.
It was a weird feeling, having someone's throat constricting beneath her own bare hands and Jade could not say that she had liked it. For one, it was almost as though she could feel the passageway closing and swelling due to pressure and the tightness in which she was squeezing, closing all airways for oxygen to pass through mercilessly. And two…well, there was no two, but she didn't like only having one reason. Regardless she kept her position without pity or remorse, throttling the throat beneath her with all of her might. Mira did not take this kindly as she choked on her own breath, fumbling around with her hands as if to find a way to get Jade to stop – the odds were looking out to her, it seemed, and she actually had a chance here.
That was until another fist pummeled against her face with a swift crack of her jaw, and her opponent then took the chance to shove her palm within her gut with a harsh thrust, shoving Jade cleanly off of her and to her side. Jade landed on her back with a thud, choking as her breath hitched within her throat and water splashing all around her. The precipitation pounded upon her face, clouding her vision as it dropped heavily into her eyes, and before she knew it, her own stolen pocket knife was being used against her. Mira raised her arm directly above her throat and above her own head, weapon grasped steadfastly within her palm, and with a swift movement, brought it down so quick Jade could not help but yelp as she caught her wrist with each of her own hands just before the blade had pierced her skin. Her thoughts were racing as she attempted to push Mira's arm away from her, so the knife was no longer pricking her skin and drawing blood – those outlandish odds she had thought prior, were suddenly against her.
"Not so tough are you now, huh Jadelyn?" Taunted Mira through pursed lips as she pushed down harder, attempting to break the younger girls grip upon her wrist, to plunge the knife within her throat, to slit it without mercy.
And then, ever so suddenly, both girls had gotten their attention divided upon something entirely spontaneous. A large tuff of smoke elicited from the building in which they were battling and a loud explosion wrung out from underneath them. Fire consumed the perch abysmal, licking the walls as it had climbed around the windows – it was just in their view, and not far off, and Jade could only think of one person who had done it. Trina, had finally shown her colors, and done something she was supposed to; it could not have been a better timing, either, as she had taken the moment to shove the other girls hand away from her profusely bleeding and stinging throat, twisting her arm and plunging the knife deep within Mira's chest.
Time appeared to have stopped the exact moment the blade had pierced the older woman's skin, right where her heart was located, the only thing expeditious around them, the rain, heavier than ever. She, with a snarl through clenched gritted teeth, blood seeping from both her mouth, the scrapes on her cheeks and the small laceration upon her neck, pushed the knife further into the woman's chest, making sure to take in every emotion upon her crinkled, agonized face. Mira's eyes were dull and lifeless as they, round in shock, glared daggers into her own – and then in the next moment, all contact was broken, time was at normal, and she fell to the roof's platform with an ample thud and splurge of crystalline water. Jade smirked in success, a sudden weight lifted off from upon her shoulders as she wobbly stood her soaking wet body to her feet, staring at the whimpering Mira beneath her.
"Not so tough are you now, huh Mira?" She mocked the taught previously said, and with that, pushed the older woman's body off of the roof entirely, allowing for her to plunge to her ultimate death upon the forest ground, where many people were evacuating the scorching building. Trina herself almost getting crushed by the falling physique.
Finally, revenge was made. Vincent had lived yes, but his dearest had not.
Jade couldn't have been happier.
Tori and Beck, who had gone along with her father and two other rescue professionals in the search for the two girls, did not have trouble spotting the explosion not far off. Their hearts leaped within their chest, Beck's especially she presumed, and she demanded that the pilot had flown the helicopter that way, no matter the extreme weather conditions. She was anxious to see if her sister was alright and ultimately, Jade, who though might have been her "frenemy" she did not want to see hurt in any way or form. She had already lost Cat and albeit she wasn't close to him, Brent, and loosing Jade…she couldn't explain it in words. She would feel bad, per say, that she had never gotten to know her better or actually become friends with her over time. It wasn't likely that the other girl had felt in the same way, and Tori wasn't expecting it; she could live without the two being friends, but she didn't want her dead. Or injured that could presumably screw up her entire life she had left to live.
"Do you think they're okay?" She asked, clutching onto Beck's arm with all she had, her nails digging into his tan, damp skin as she throttled his muscular forearm just a bit too tightly.
"Yeah, I think they are." He answered her dully with a nod of his head, though refusing to look in her direction, dark brown eyes focused upon the sight before them. They were nearing a rather large building that was currently scorching within the rain; a figure could be seen not far off, standing idly upon the building with something in their hands – but no one was able to make the person out correctly.
"Land there in that clearing!" David said loudly over the ample slashing of the blades that mobilized them in the air, "as far away from that building as possible! We don't want to get near that fire, got it?"
"Yes, sir!" Said the pilot with a firm nod of his head, and Tori clung to Beck's arm tighter as they had begun to land – she didn't necessarily like being in the air now, and the falling, terrible feeling within her stomach was not helping her any. She just needed to see if her sister and Jade were alright, and then they would be finally going home, to Los Angeles, where her mother was gradually waiting for her and Trina to arrive back, perfectly fine, but rather traumatized. She knew it wasn't going to be the same after this; things were rattled enough as it is, especially now with the death of their close friend, and she wasn't quite sure how Jade was going to be. Emotionless? More bitchy than normal? Kinder? Or would she take her own life?
Then that would mean, Beck would have done the same if she had killed herself. And no, Tori did not want to think these things at all; but it was like her own mind was playing against her.
"THAT'S MY JADE!" Beck suddenly screamed, hauling himself to his feet with his hands tightly curled around one of the clutches in which kept them steady upon their feet. "THAT'S MY JADE ON THE ROOF. THAT'S HER"
"Where's Trina?" Tori asked fretfully, her eyes going wide with relief yet at the same time, fright.
A piercing scream of: "YES. FINALLY!" could be heard no far off in the distance, and she had no longer needed an answer. Trina ran toward the helicopter with her arms flailing above her head and a broad smile upon her slightly marred face – she was covered in burns, she had noted. She must have either started the fire, or hadn't gotten out of the way in time. Either way, Tori could not help but smile. And Tori and Beck, ran simultaneously to those who had meant the most to them, except she only had to travel short way; she could not say the same thing to her tan skinned friend, who was instantly soaked as he ran to the side of the building, in which supported metal stairways one would say on apartment buildings in New York, and up to the roof to see his lover, to make sure she was okay, to gather her into his arms and kiss her passionately, as if he hadn't seen her in years.
Jade looked okay. But for all they knew, she wasn't.
3
"Is it strange, Andre, that I'm really not ready to leave this place?" Tori asked as the two stood upon the beach thirty minutes later, staring out into the vast ocean as the waves crashed mercilessly upon the shore in boisterous claps.
"No," he shook his head, grabbing her hand into his, "because leaving here is leaving them."
"But beside that…" Tori bit her lip, as if hoping to control the tremble in her voice as they were mentioned. "It kind of grew on me a bit. As weird, and psychotic as that may sound..."
"My answer still stands." Andre chuckled dryly and humorously, their fingers entwined.
And together, they joined the six of eight upon the awaiting boat. After thirty eight days of horror, they were finally going home.
Whoa daddy. Jade's such a bad ass.
Man, you guys are lucky I love you all! You want to know why? Because she (as in Jade) was going to die here. Yep, that's right, she was going to die; but since a lot of you guys didn't want me to kill her off, I didn't. And Beck was supposed to well, you know…kill himself and…yeah. I figured I already upset you all enough by killing Cat and Brent. I was feeling a little bit generous ^^
Well…this was it. That was the very, very last chapter of A Lost Hope! I hope you all enjoyed it (:
I'd like to thank you all sososo SO much for reviewing, putting this on your favorites or story alerts! It really means so much to me that you guys liked it and took the time to give me your feedback. All of your compliments and reviews made my day, I looked forward to each of them (like seriously, I would jump with joy on the inside, when I got a review from all of you). Every single one made me smile and made my day! (: See, I'm really self-conscious about my writing; like I don't think it's good enough, but you guys kind of helped me over come that :D
So, thank you guys, I love you all (: and I really hope you enjoyed the story and I hope that you might consider reading the next one I'm going to be posting shortly! If you'd like a summary or a brief description or something, just PM me and let me know! I said before, it's Candre. :)
Songbird341, Cece, Vampira Hannah, Jeremy Shane, Lily Jess, Jadie, Steff, Andrea1301 and Kikudog6, lankyafricankid, anons "j, t, sniffle" ImRightHere13, Titanlvr4evr and many more!: Bye everyone! :D Thank you for everything!
Much, much love,
-Liz (LiveWriteLove01)-
