Wow. Has it really been a month since I updated? No, it's been more than that. Dang, it feels like just last week.
Anyway. I promise to update sooner than that, okay? I can't promise when, but my goal is within the next two or three days. So look for it, okay?
Song to listen to while reading this, (or at least the first section): With My Own Eyes – Atonement Soundtrack (Can be found on youtube.)
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Kai swept across the icy alleyway, eyes focused on the service door only several yards away. Behind him, swearing in Russian with clenched fists while struggling to keep up with the other's fast pace, Tala glared. He hissed, slurred, and snapped at Kai to stop this at once, that they needed a plan, but Kai was undeterred. Dropping his native tongue, the red-head stopped short.
"God damn it, Kai, you've insisted on a tactical procedure until now, why abandon it?!" Tala hissed, teeth clenched. Kai reached the door and turned toward him sharply.
"Because of the news report we just saw about what's happening at the hospital where the others are, that's why."
Tala rolled his eyes. "Yes, you certainly seem to be getting a lot of your news from television repair shop windows these days, haven't you?"
"Don't play game with me Tala, I'm pissed off."
"When aren't you?"
Kai ignored him, crouching down on one knee to pick at the lock. In expert timing, Kai had the padlock on the pavement at his feet and was pulling the door open with a sharp jerk. Tala stood with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring. Kai noticed this and rolled his eyes up to the sky, stepped back, and motioned for Tala to enter first. The red-head flicked him off before stepping passed.
Once inside the pale light of the hallway, silence engulfed the pair. Moving with the silence and focus of predatory beasts, they slid along the walls and checked around every corner, preparing to draw their weapons at the slightest threat. They reached a case of cement stairs that extended upward three floors and began their climb, stalking around corners and restricting their arm movements so that their hands were always near their guns. Reaching the top, the two exchanged a quick glance before the door opened before them; Tala's gloved hands delicately gripping the handlebar.
The hallway revealed to them was a labyrinth of gurneys and wheelchairs, thin clear pipes connected to plastic sacks that hung from metal poles, carts full of syringes and wires, with red plastic biohazard boxes lining the walls. As the pair moved silently through it, careful not to disturb anything, Kai couldn't help but notice the heavy steel doors on either side of the hall, each with a small window to look into. As they passed, he allowed himself a chance to peek, and stole a look into the window of a door marked with V.
Inside, a small bed, a sink and mirror, and a toilet that made even the most grotesque prison cells look good. A man, wearing all white, sat curled on the bed, rocking back and forth. He couldn't have been older than thirty, but he looked as though he had seen no less than fifty years of life on earth. Kai felt a shudder run down his spine as he moved on, comparing this strange unholy place to the abbey in which he and Tala had been raised, and he was sure Tala was doing the same. Though it was sterile, the environment they were trespassing through was desolate and unforgiving, separating a human mind from reality and driving one insane. The chill in the air suggested that even though they were on the third floor, it was strictly off limits and the government had no idea what was going on here.
They came to another door, opening to find themselves in a much more civil hallway. Cautiously, as the signs of sane life seemed to be everywhere in this hallway, the pair glided along like ghosts, moving up a glass staircase and around several more corners. After ducking around a corner at the sight of two men clad in lab coats, they remained still with bated breath as the figures passed, talking to dosages and patient progress.
The building was made up of five stories, leaving only one above their heads. On the final floor, there was an office. In that office, there was a man. And in that man, a beating heart. It was their every intention to stop that heart from beating.
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Rei pressed his face into his hands, desperately searching for a way to overcome the dilemma he now faced. Beside him, curled in a ball in the corner and holding his stomach with nothing less than complete discomfort on his face was Kevin. The small neko-jin was holding back tears, shaking as he rocked, and Rei knew why. The confession that Matherson had spat out had re-awakened every vivid memory Kevin had about what had happened to him; the pain, the dread, and the feeling of utter helplessness. But what Rei was unaware of was the specific memory Kevin was re-living. And by the look on his face, it was not one of the less horrific ones.
"Kev?" Rei whispered. Kevin ignored him completely, a tear breaking free. Rei tried again with the same result before he pulled Kevin toward him, allowing the younger to use his chest for support. Kevin bit his lip, sobbing pitifully before Rei could no longer see his face.
"Kevin, it's going to be okay. I promise, I'm not going to let anything or anyone hurt you."
"That's…" Kevin gagged, before he paused to compose himself. Sitting back up and leaning against the wall, Kevin wiped his eyes with the back of one hand and sniffled.
"All these cuts? All this… poetry carved onto my arms and legs?" Kevin stopped and closed his eyes tightly, maintaining his non-crying state. Rei leaned away slightly. Kevin had refused to tell what had happened, saying that he had forgotten; an excuse the doctors believed because of the fever, but his teammates were skeptical.
"Mr. Dickenson let it happen. I was lying right there, and they were acting like I was a brand new toy, and they… Those women, the women that worked for him… They were the bratty little kids that all wanted a turn. And he let the one who begged the most take me into the other room a-an-and… Sh-she…"
"Rei put several fingers to Kevin's mouth, silencing the younger. Kevin looked up, eyes shimmering with tears, and as Rei silently shook his head, he found it in himself to take a deep breath and slow the crying to a stop. A long stretch of silence came over the two from their hiding spot in a storage closet, and as Kevin calmed down and Rei let the information sink it, some amount of clarity regained its position among them.
"But you definitely ruined that guy's nose." Rei said softly, daring himself a small chuckle. Kevin reluctantly felt his lips curl upwards.
"You think?"
"I know. I saw all that blood, and I heard the crunch. Both crunches. You can sure as hell do damage with that thing." Rei said, nodding toward Kevin's outstretched, casted leg. Kevin felt his face warm, and the small smile grew a little. He sniffled.
"Thanks Rei."
Rei smiled, ruffling Kevin's hair gently. It was then that they heard it; from outside the doorway to the closet, a distant thrashing noise followed by a crash. Kevin instinctively clung to Rei, who in turn wrapped his arms around the younger in a sort of brace for whatever was coming. Unwilling to rise and leave the younger, Rei let one hand wander toward the shelf beside his head where he withdrew a bedpan, recognizing that it was the only decent item in the small room that could act as a weapon. Footsteps now, approaching. It was an odd sound though, more of a clacking then a thump. Rei narrowed his eyes in confusion and this, though Kevin didn't seem to notice.
The footsteps stopped right outside the door, and the handle jiggled. Where Rei had made an attempt at pushing a chair before the door, it was easily shaken aside, and Rei lifted the bedpan before him and Kevin defensivly. But it was not the bleeding broken face of Matherson that Rei had expected to see. Rather, it was the smooth beautiful face of a certain Victoria Slade, peering into the darkness cautiously.
"Sweetie? Is that you?"
Rei's eyes widened further at the sound of her velvet voice. "Slade?!" Rei gasped. Kevin slowly looked up, confusion and fear evident on his face. The woman blinked.
"Kon?"
"What do you want?" Rei asked, wording the first legible thing that sprang to his mind. There was a pause before the door opened father. Kevin shifted in Rei's protective arms.
"I was hoping to stop Troy Matherson before he got to you, but the blood leading in here might say otherwise…?"
Rei was opening his mouth and gathering breath for a response when a voice came from his chest.
"My stomach's bleeding." Kevin mumbled. Indeed, in the pale light from the hallway, a deep crimson red stained the light fabric of Kevin's hospital gown. The floor was dotted with small drips of blood in a thin trail leading out of the door right beneath Slade's high-heals. Noticing as Rei suddenly took notice of the odd choice in footwear, she shrugged.
"They were in a locker in the nurse's station." She mumbled, slowly entering the room and moving forward. Rei refused to lower the bedpan at first, but as she moved closer and was posing no visible threat, he allowed her to approach without fear of being struck by a metal bowl. Thankful for the access, Slade knelt on the floor before them, delicately folding her hand-and-a-half in her lap. Rei noticed this now, and remembered why she needed the heavy bandaging on one hand; he had blown off three of her fingers with a single shot of his gun. Leaning forward, Slade raised her eyes to Kevin's from where she was looking at the bloodstain, and without words, Kevin shifted slowly and pulled away part of the hospital gown from where it crossed in the front, and allowed Slade to look at the tattered bloody stitches. Frowning, the woman leaned back and swept her eyes across the shelves, reaching for a roll of gauze, medical tape, and a white towel. Not once did Rei take his eyes off of her, aware that at any moment she could turn against them.
Still, why pick a fight when two are aiming for the same goal? If Slade wanted to help, she could only be beneficial. But then… What if…
"How can we tell you're not working for Matherson if you were last time?"
"I never worked for Matherson, he's an asshole." Slade stated simply, pressing the towel against Kevin's stitches delicately, frowning as the youth flinched and inhaled sharply in pain.
"That doesn't help your case."
Slade finished cleaning away the blood and reached in with one hand, carefully straightening the stitched and tightening the thin black string into the laceration. Though he didn't make a noise, Kevin flinched every few movements.
"I've only worked for Stanley Dickenson. And you know damn well how that turned out."
Rei raised an eyebrow. She certainly sounded angry. Slade began to go about putting a thick square of gauze over the wound, carefully attaching it to Kevin's delicate skin with the medical tape; a surprisingly clean job for someone with one hand.
"Are we gunna die?" Kevin asked, somehow finding peace in Slade's presence. Now that a new villain had reared his ugly face, the piercing eyes of this woman were almost comforting. A bad guy, yes, but a familiar one. Anything but Matherson of Dickenson, at least. Besides, she wasn't acting scary. She was helping him.
Slade looked at Kevin for a moment before smiling. "Now, sweetie, you're not. Neither is Rei. I promise."
Rei raised his eyebrow once more, and Slade saw it. She smiled – sincerely, softly, happily; something Rei had never dreamed of seeing on the woman's face – and shrugged.
"Well, it shouldn't surprise you. Remember what I said about you being the only one I give a damn about? And Rei, remember how I was asking you to just shoot me?" She chuckled and closed her eyes a moment before opening them and looking straight into Kevin's eyes. "I don't want to get locked away forever, and if I am to die today, I want to die for you."
And though Rei wasn't aware, and though Kevin would have a hard time admitting it and explaining it in the future, a makeshift bridge closed the gap between hostage and hostage taker; a bond of trust, like something between mother and child. Kevin nodded, and blinked several times. He believed her, every word, and she understood it. Taking a deep breath, Slade lifted herself up and offered Rei assistance in lifting Kevin up as well. Smiling, she turned toward the door.
"Well, a challenge awaits; no sense hiding out in a dank closet any longer than one has too."
Rei smiled half-heartedly. "You say this from experience?" He asked, wondering how many times she's waited for her pray in a closet. Victoria smiled, though Rei couldn't see it.
"Oh no." She said, walking toward the doorway and holding it open for the two boys. "I prefer to hide up in the rafters. By the way, I have a cell phone. You might want to use it."
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"At exactly six P. M. standard time, a threat was released via video feed that St. Vincent Memorial Hospital was to be blown up unless all patients were cleared. Reacting to this threat, the hospital cleared its campus and sent patients to neighboring hospitals and care facilities by bus. Complete evacuation has yet to be confirmed, but sources tell us that there is a possibility patients are still inside. This is Donna Pulaski with channel five news, reporting live from outside of-"
Tyson stood before the newscaster could complete her spiel, though none were disturbed by it.
"Why the hell aren't they out of the hospital then?!" He cried, fists clenched. They had spent all morning searching hospitals across the city for Kevin and Rei, but the pair appeared to have simply vanished in the madness that the group of bladers had woken up too. On the sofa across from where Tyson stood, Lee tried to comfort Mariah who leaned into him and cried. She had been repeating inaudible questions for some time now, though Lee was sure the nature of them pertained to the questions "why" and "how".
"You think they're still there?" Max asked, bringing to life that which each individual had been harboring in their minds for some time now. What if it was all a hoax? What if Kevin and Rei were still in the hospital? Kenny shook his head doubtfully.
"How could they be? They would have heard the commotion, surely. Someone would have gotten them out."
"Not Kevin, he was unconscious." Gary said solemnly. From Lee's embrace, Mariah sobbed at the thought.
"Well… Maybe they were intercepted during the transfer to a hospital?" Emily suggested weakly. None of their ideas seemed logical; everyone had been loaded onto buses, and there was no news of an entire bus being pulled over and Rei and Kevin being taken off. All the buses had arrived unharmed at their destinations.
Silence returned, sweeping a cold stare over the group and gliding into the center of the room, claiming all attention. A disorienting amount of time slipped passed, provoking Max to play with his watch, Michael to punch his hat in and out, and Gary to start picking at the end of the arm of the sofa. It was not the call of a nurse, or the anchormen on the television that broke them out of this state, but the ring of a cellular phone, to the tune of some song too common to be noteworthy. Much like that fateful evening at the restaurant, when the first call had arrived and the news of a hostage situation reached them, this call came without much significance, nor was it acknowledged by the majority of the people there. It was Lee who opened his phone somberly, expecting it to be a doctor or a detective who wanted to inform him about something depressing.
Oh, how shocked he turned out to be after a moment of surprise following the voice.
"Lee? Lee, it's Rei. Are you guys all right?"
"R-Rei? Where the hell are you?!" He cried, sitting upright. Mariah jerked from his arms, suddenly aware of what Lee just said, and in as short a time, all the bladers were focused on Lee.
"We're still at the hospital."
"And Kev?"
"He's alright. Dizzy, sore, but he's alright. Slade is here too. She's helping us, Lee."
Lee's head spun at the information. "Really? She's not…"
"No, this is her phone. Listen, Lee, send the police over quietly. This guy, Matherson… He's the one behind all of this. He's the reason why Kevin was the victim. He wants him for a test subject."
Golden eyes narrowed into slits. "A what?" Lee growled.
"You heard me. Kevin smashed his face up pretty good though. He haven't seen him since then, but he's not going to give up. Tell the police to hurry."
"Wait, Rei-"
"I can't, Lee. I'll call you back. And don't worry, I won't let anything happen to him."
Lee set his jaw and stared steadily ahead. Nodding slightly, he sighed. "I know."
And the line went dead.
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Can you start to see things tying together here? I can. It won't be long now, I'm sensing only a few more chapters. Please leave a review containing your thoughts about this chapter? They encourage me to update faster. Thank you!
