Chapter Twenty Nine: Free
Stacy followed the path of destruction to where she believed Salvador was. She walked through a massive hole in the wall, then jumped down a hole that was made in the floor. She landed in some type of basement area and noticed a body on the ground.
She slowly walked towards the body and knelt down beside it. It was Salvador's body. She could not tell if he was alive or dead. She pulled his head off the ground and turned his body over so he was facing upward. She placed two of her fingers in his neck searching for a pulse. She felt nothing. She grabbed his right wrist and placed her fingers on his wrist, still searching for a pulse. She still felt nothing.
She stood up and looked down at his body for several seconds before turning to walk away. She took one step when she felt something grab her ankle very tightly. She turned around and saw Salvadors hand wrapped around her ankle.
"Salvador" she said looking down at him.
She bent down and used the force to give her enough strength to pick him up off the ground. She needed to get him to somewhere safe. She lifted him off the ground and slowly moved him out of the basement level, up a set of stairs and to the main floor where the entrance was located.
She moved him out of the castle and down the walkway leading to the main gates. She could feel him slipping in and out of consciousness. He
was in terrible condition, his face was all bloody, he had several broken bones and probably internal bleeding.
If he didn't get help soon, he'd most likely die. She was at the main gates when Salvador finally spoke. "No" he whispered. "Back…to…the castle"
"Why?" she asked confused.
"Healing…tank…third…floor" he replied slowly.
"Now you mention it" she mumbled turning around and heading back to the castle.
She made it back into the closet and started her way to the third floor of the massive castle. The hallways of the castle were decorated with gold trimmings, expensive looking paintings and what looks like ancient swords and shields on the walls.
After several minutes of walking up stairs and down halls she somehow managed to find her way to the third floor and found the room with the healing tank. The healing tank was exactly like the one the Jedi's had. A four meter tall tube like tank that was big enough and wide enough to fit any human being in; she used the force to lift him up into the tank. She walked over to a control panel next to the tank and hit the start button. Crystal clear blue water started to pour into the tank and fill it to the top, submerging Salvador in it. A breathing mask folded out of the side of the tank and was placed over his face so he could breathe.
Several wires came out of the bottom of the tank and attached themselves to his chest and a few to his arms. A display screen attached to the front of the tank lit up and showed his heart rate, blood
pressure, and gave a three dimensional view of his skeletal structure and inner organs.
She studied the display screen. One of his lungs were punctured and was bleeding badly. She hit a button on the control panel for the tank and an electric current ran through the water in the tank. Salvadors body flinched slightly then floated lifelessly in the liquid. His heart rate flat lined, he was dead.
"Now the bleeding will stop" she muttered to herself. "When your lung is healed by the process of the liquid, I'll take you out of this temporary death state" she said to Salvador in the tank. "Until then, you'll have to stay dead or else you'll end up choking on your own blood"
She turned her back to the tank and walked across the room and sat down in a chair across from the tank. She folded her legs and stared at Salvador.
She felt sad for him after all, he is her older brother. Even though she has tried a lot these past few days to force herself to realize that Salvador is not her brother, that Mike is. But seeing him in this vulnerable position, she came to realize the truth: Salvador was her brother, no matter how much he has changed. He still shared some of her blood, they were brother and sister nothing would change that in the end.
Her thought traveled back to the Jedi. She could never go back to them even if she wanted to. She had sworn her allegiance to her brother now, not the Jedi. Maybe now that she was no longer one of the Jedi, she could start engaging in some of the pleasures that the Jedi frowned against: love, lust, jealousy, anger and physical relations with others.
She was now free from the chains that the Jedi placed on her. She never noticed the chains until she could see them clearly. Until her eyes were opened. Salvador had opened her eyes to the chains that shackled her to a half life that she now realized she could not lead.
She closed her eyes to fantasize about what she would be able to do now that she was not being held down by the Jedi. She smiled at the thoughts.
Meanwhile, a long ways from the castle of the Sith the Jedi have just received news of Joes fall.
The Jedi stood in a circle, their heads bowed to pay respect to their fallen comrade. Crystal stood near the middle of the outer ring of the circle, tears rolling down her face. No matter what it took, she would bring the one who killed him to justice. She would make sure that he did not get away with this senseless murder.
