A/N: Second prologue up. I'd like to concentrate on this story before I concentrate on Angeluses and Daemons. There's just one more couple to go (and you know who they are) and I hope I can write that down by this weekend as I edit the other stories I owe. Please be reminded that… I like killing characters off. So… NO, I'm not sorry. HEHEHE! I'll keep you guessing as to REAL ending of Advent of the Storm. What will happen to the Nostalgia and Romantica Couples? Will they all end up dead (because I'm a sadist and I like to see pain) or… You just have to keep on reading, ne? I'm trying to come up with a good label for Aki and Raiu, what should I call them?
But for now… usual disclaimers!
Chapter 36-Prologue 2: The Sacrifice of an Angel.
The intruders came barreling into the mansion, guns at the ready, kicking doors down looking for its occupants. They had disabled the security cameras outside and it will be a matter of minutes before the main trigger resonated through Homeland Security and the police precinct downtown. The billionaire didn't waste a fortune over security for nothing. It took them awhile to figure out the combinations of the security code and it took them longer to disable the second code for the electric fence. They had no time to waste; they were only presented a narrow window to pull off their mission. Wearing ski masks and bulletproof vests, footsteps thumping around loudly and quickly, going from one empty room to another, they had one mission hammered into their minds: kidnap the two brunettes their anonymous patrons had paid handsomely for and kill whoever was left.
"No one's in the main house," rasped a burly man the size of a wrestler behind his ski mask, his eyes were slightly manic, the clock was ticking, "Let's check out the outer house. Intel says Mr. Moneybags might be using the bungalow,"
"Why all this trouble for a couple of Asian punks?" another man rasped as they made their way in twos towards the backyard.
"Beats me, a million a head is a whole lot of money. Shut up and let's get on with it,"
From the near distance they could make out the outer house. Silently, blending into the shadows, the men covered every possible route of escape. On the count of three fingers, the burly man kicked open the door and a slight shrill resonated through the bungalow; security had been breached. The men began to curse but rampaged through the house nonetheless…
"Aki…"
The name barely left Raiu's lips. Her breath caught in her throat as tears began to flood her eyes.
On the floor of the living room, like a broken china doll tossed about in a shipwreck, naked from the waist down was her lover, her partner, her wife. Aki was sprawled at an awkward angle, her blouse in tattered pieces, exposing bare breasts to the world, her face barely recognizable under the bruises that marred her perfect porcelain skin. Her silver hair was matted with blood. There were rude angry marks on her arms and legs as though someone had gripped her flesh tightly with brute hands. There were strangling marks around her neck where imprints of two large hands were clearly visible. Her legs were spread opened obscenely, tied each to the twin pillars that supported the high ceilings while her arms were tied above her and secured to another pillar.
There was a pool of blood between her legs…
Oh god… Please god… Please don't… don't do this to Aki…
Flashes from a camera caught her eye. The police were on the scene and they were taking photos of her wife in such derogatory position. Raiu snapped and suddenly found strength in her legs as she forced her way towards the woman she loved, pushing the photographer out of her way. Her mind screamed at her to look away but she couldn't take her eyes off the horror that had taken precedence in this house. I should've stayed, I should've protected her, and this is my entire fault… Raiu cursed herself inwardly. Her Aki had been shamefully desecrated. Her angel, her guardian, her beautiful and innocent Aki…
Taking off her coat, the swell of anger rising like a beast within her, Raiu covered her lover's body before the police had a chance to stop her. She quickly untied the knots binding Aki's arms and legs to the pillars and picked her up as gently as she could onto her lap. Angry tears made their way down her cheeks, she clenched her teeth and her lips trembled in rage as she hugged the body of the woman she loved to her heart. She forced her mind to memorize every single bruise mark on Aki's skin into her memory, fueling her rage.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry ma'am, you've got to let us do our job," the crime photographer hedged behind her, his voice cool and collected.
"No…" Raiu whispered, her eyes snapping up in fury at the policeman but her voice was the voice of a broken soul, "No…" Raiu repeated, her lips trembling even more as emotions threatened to choke her, as reality dawned on her, and as she looked down to her wife, her voice broke even more, the swell of sadness in her overpowering her anger, "Not like this… Aki… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I shouldn't have left you at home, I should've protected you, baby… I'm so sorry,"
Raiu shut her eyes tightly and placed her forehead against Aki's cold ones, her tears spilling onto her lover's porcelain cheeks. Her skin felt cold to her touch and Raiu feared the worst. Hugging the broken body to her soul, Raiu finally let her sobs have their way.
"Please don't leave me baby…" she whispered between clenched teeth, rocking the silent woman in her arms as her tears and sobs tore through the heartstrings of everyone present there.
"I'm sorry…"