A/N: My Christmas present to you guys. Only two chapters left after this one. Victory's within the mile.
Cassie jumped away from the hole as the smoke began filling the room. She took a deep breath and held it. When Burak noticed, he quickly shed his jacket and put it over the hole, blocking off the smoke. He held his breath and looked over at his wife.
Derek saw his opportunity and elbowed the gun out of her grasp and tackled her...
BANG!
...but not before it discharged a bullet into the wall beside him. She pushed him off before he could tackle her to the ground and threw several punches to his face. She doesn't give him any breathing room and punches him in the stomach before flipping him over her hip. He lands hard on his back and she jumps on top of him with her knees. She grabs him by the back of the head and begins hammering it into the ground. He grabs at her hand and tries to push her off but she headbutts him and slaps him across the jaw.
She reached for the gun and aimed it at Derek before Cassie tackled her before she could pull the trigger. Cassie knocks the gun away and grabs her by the throat. Leyla quickly kicks her off and slaps her across the face. After one final burst of strength, she catches Cassie in a chokehold and begins squeezing.
Derek picks himself up and punches Leyla in the face.
Burak seethes through his teeth and presses his back the jacket against the hole with his jacket before taking out his gun.
Cassie charged for Burak and shoved the hand with the gun against his throat and began punching at him.
BANG!
There was a second gunshot, coming from the end of the hallway, where the Priest and Bethany were.
Bethany knew that she was no physical threat against a human, especially an adult male. She was thirteen and barely picked up a gun and she had no fighting experience. To be accurate, she has started fights occasionally at school but she has not trained in any formal martial arts aside from the techniques her uncle and parents taught her but she was still not a black belt.
Bedrettin was stronger than he looked - he was holding his phone in his right hand while his left hand was gripping Bethany's head with minimal effort and he still managed to restrain her.
I know that I am helpless in this situation, she thought. I am thirteen and I don't stand a chance against this old man.
Bethany knew that struggling was futile so she decided to save her strength. She looked slightly over her shoulder to see Bedrettin looking down at his phone, distracted by social media.
He is a horrible hostage-taker. Don't underestimate me because I'm thirteen.
Bethany quietly sighs and looks around her environment to see what she could find for a weapon. She didn't have the faintest idea what to use as a weapon and Bedrettin was armed with a firearm that fired live rounds. Regardless, she knew she had to do something.
I'll kick him in the balls then runoff.
BANG!
Bethany and Bedrettin looked up towards the doorway, shocked at the sound of the gunshot that went off.
Without thinking, Bethany kicked Bedrettin in the groin and ran off when his grip on her had relaxed enough to break free. She ran for the doorway and instead of taking a right as Cassie had done, she follows in the left direction without the lanterns, not wanting to run into Hasan or Arda, especially when her companions were still taken hostage.
Bedrettin follows at her but lost sight of her when she ran so deep down the lantern-less hall that she disappeared into the darkness. Bedrettin took off running, confident that he would catch her eventually. He sprinted for about thirty seconds when he dropped headfirst into the ground.
An unlit lantern had clocked him in the back of the head and flopped him to the ground. Bethany stood over the downed Bedrettin, panting with sweat on her face.
"I may not be a badass but don't underestimate me," she said with proudness.
Bedrettin kicked his feet out and hit her in the kneecap. He reaches for the gun that had slipped from his hand and aims it at the thirteen-year-old. Bethany saw this coming and without even thinking, throws the lantern at the base of his forehead. He went limp against the ground, his eyes open but motionless.
She grabbed his pistol and moved away from him. Strange, the pistol felt loaded in her hand. She told herself that the pistol was supposed to feel loaded when there's an actual magazine inside the gun. She checks the gun, looking not unlike the pistols she'd seen Cassie and Derek shooting at the wolves either. She already decided a long time ago that she wouldn't use a gun to maim and murder people but to save lives. She asked herself how she was going to save lives when all a gun could do was kill someone but she found her answer.
She aimed at the ceiling and fired.
Arda was initially confused as to what was going on, his mind trying so hard to comprehend the situation before him. First, he heard a gunshot coming from Burak and Leyla's position, and then he heard one behind him in Bedrettin's location. Were the Overlord soldiers done with the young adventurers and decided to pop caps in their skulls? The lack of an answer was making him anxious and he let his guard down.
That's when the Priest attacked.
The Priest grabbed Arda's neck and shoved him against the wall. Arda kicked him back and aimed the gun at his face, stopping the Priest in his tracks. "Because I knew you through Tariq, I won't shoot you in the face."
"Should I be complimented by that when you betrayed Tariq?" The Priest snarled at his enemy.
"Tariq was my friend," Arda defended, "I begged for his life to be saved and that Commander Uzun wouldn't execute him. When I saw the Uzuns spare Tariq, I knew it was a short-lived victory and they would order his execution later so I decided to spare him from a grim fate. I lured him to this mountain so I could kill him and spare him a slow death that Overlord would grant him."
The Priest stared at Arda, his gaze unwavering. "You really are a traitor."
"I would rather my friend die a quick and painless death than a slow and painful one, especially a Code: Black."
"You're still a traitor after everything you've done. I was going to let you off by breaking your bones but I realized that you were too far gone and you should be put out of your misery."
Arda looked at the Priest with a predatory look. "You sound just like those rebels who invaded my family's village." He kicks the Priest in the stomach. "We're heading back, you're no longer needed here."
He shoves the Priest back and escorts him to the tiles. The adjustable ladder was still there so he ordered them both to walk across. Just as they both touched down on the other side, Arda turned his head to see Hasan running for them.
"What's going on back there?" Hasan screamed across the hall. "Who shot that gun? What's going on?"
"Bedrettin," Arda answered, "I think he is having trouble with Bethany."
"Bethany?" He laughed. "I'd be more than happy to help Bedrettin out with Bethany." He steps onto the adjustable bridge ladder. "I'm coming over."
Arda's heart stopped beating in his chest. His eyes went wide and his lips pulled back to bare his teeth. His eyes had a glow in them that reminded one of an animal about to pounce on a lion and he turned to the adjustable bridge. "Stay where you are!" he threatened with vile in his breath.
Hasan stopped halfway across the bridge, his eyes instantly meeting his older brother's across. He stood on the adjustable bridge ladder, not moving a muscle and not wavering until he found his breath once more.
"What are you talking about?"
"I can't forgive you for what you did to Belinay Sadik!" Arda declared. "I can't accept what you are going to continue to do to other thirteen-year-olds; your rage-filled antics are coming to an end right NOW!"
"Really?" he laughed. "What are you going to do, push me?"
Arda said nothing, which was the answer Hasan needed to feel his heart pound in terror.
"You're going to k-kill me... your little brother?" Arda continued to keep silent, worsening Hasan's fear. "But... I-I thought brothers were supposed to t-take c-care of e-e-each other?"
"I am taking care of you little brother." Arda's foot found the edge of the adjustable ladder. "Goodbye, little brother."
Hasan shook his head. "N-no, p-please!" Tears spilled down his face at the betrayal set in and nearly made his heart explode. "BIG BROTHER!" he choked on a sob.
The scene happened in slow motion: Arda kicked the ladder to the side, causing Hasan to lose balance three feet after moving and fall forward. He reaches a hand out as far as he could, hoping to reach for the ledge but he knew that the edge was out of reach. He looked up to see his brother holding a hand out for him. Arda snatched his hand back at the last second.
Hasan fell on top of the tiles and smashed through, leaving a human-shaped hole in the ground as he fell into a deep abyss, fading from sight with only his screams echoing in the boat being heard.
The Priest gaped at the sight before him, rational leaving him as he stared at the back of Arda's head. Without thinking, he threw a punch aimed for his nape.
As if sensing his attack, Arda blocked the punch with his elbow before grabbing him by the throat and tossing him to the ground by his hip, and aims the gun for his forehead.
"How could you do that?" the Priest demanded to know. "You murdered your younger brother in cold blood!" Arda said nothing. "Brothers are supposed to take care of each other and you killed him like that when he was begging for mercy? You are pure evil!"
Arda snapped. "I busted my ass off trying to protect him. First of all, he kidnaps Belinay Sadik with the intent of torturing her and putting her through the same shit we did and planned on doing that to every thirteen-year-old. I joined Overlord with the pure intention of saving him and paying for his rehab bills and he betrays me." Arda grinds his teeth. "I'm so GODDAMAN glad he is DEAD!"
Arda started laughing. "My brother, the man who's been sabotaging my life is finally dead!" He said it a second time and it felt like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. "I have hated my brother the moment he was born and I have only been looking after him because Mom told me to. Tariq was more of a brother than he was." He screams into the gun like it's a mic. "I'm so glad you are dead and in the goddamn dirt, HASAN!"
CLICK!
"Let my uncle go!"
Arda silences himself and turns around to see Bethany holding a gun at him. He smiles at the young girl armed with the pistol and aims his gun at her. "If you have any galls in you, use it to pull the trigger."
"How could you kill your own brother like that?!" Bethany yelled. "My father would never do something like that to my uncle!"
"In case you forgot, Sadik, I'm not your father nor uncle and I've always hated my brother. You'll never understand it because you're an only child but I can assure you when you have a sibling, you hate them with all your guts. I have been dying for a long time to kill my brother and now that he's dead-"
The Priest cuts Arda off by lifting the soldier up and suplexing him on the tiles.
Arda barely had any time to register what was happening before he fell through the tiles, screaming as he plunged into the abyss his brother fell down.
The Priest looked at the human-shaped hole left behind in the tiles, registering the fact that he directly killed a human being in front of his niece before turning to her. His niece was staring at her with wide eyes, pale skin, and a shaky gun in her hands. He held a surrendering hand up.
"I shouldn't have done that," he said, "I shouldn't have killed him in front of you."
Bethany lowers the gun. "It's not the first time I've seen a dead body." Dad killed someone in front of me.
"The brother, Hasan, he was the one who kidnapped you."
"I know," she nodded slowly. "But it doesn't justify what Arda did. Siblings may drive you crazy... but siblings love you. Arda was just dealt a bad hand in his relationship with his brother; I know for a fact that if I had a brother, I would love him as my Daddy loved you with all his heart."
Not wasting another second, Bethany lowered her gun and ran to embrace her uncle.
BANG!
There was a second gunshot, coming from the end of the hallway, where the Priest and Bethany were. Cassie couldn't think straight and blinked rapidly. She wanted to gasp but her primal instincts reminded her of the situation she was in and punched Burak as hard as she could in the face before disarming him of his gun. She backed away as she aimed the gun at him. She held it up and aimed for the area between his eyes and was shocked when he laughed.
"Something funny?"
He pulled out a grenade. "Recognize this?"
"A paintball grenade?"
"This is the grenade you left behind in the SUV on the bridge," Burak explained. "Remember, when the truck swooped in and crashed, you jumped out but you left your journal and a standard-issued Overlord grenade behind." He wiggles the grenade in his hand. "All I have to do is pull this part and bing, bang, boom."
Cassie pulled the hammer back on her gun. "But what about your wife? Won't she miss you when you die and I live?"
"If I die, I'm taking you with me."
"And you won't get Aaron's Rod."
"If I don't get Aaron's Rod, another Overlord soldier will. Besides, I'd rather die than let you of all people get their treasure-destroying hands on Aaron's Rod." He points the grenade at Cassie. "Aaron's Rod will be a tool used to create a fair world for everyone. There will be no more conflict and everyone can live in peace and harmony without fear of injustice and unfairness destroying their lives."
"No," Cassie instantly snapped, "life is not meant to be fair and anyone who fights for a fair world is only doing it for themselves because one thing can't be fair to everyone else; it's impossible." Cassie held the barrel away from Burak. "You can still turn back and walk away. What say we walk out of the ark together and forget this ever happened?"
FIND NOAH'S ARK! FIND NOAH'S ARK! FIND NOAH'S ARK!
I guess my mission is not yet complete.
"Let's go back to our families and be with them." She remembered Leyla and Derek behind her. "Be with your wife while I'll be with my boy..."
She cut herself off but was unable to stop the next word from leaving her mouth.
"...friend."
Burak glared at her. "Impossible to be fair for everyone?" He considered the statement in his head before nodding. "Maybe you're right... but as long as this world is fair for our child... then screw fairness for everyone else."
He reaches for the pin. Cassie draws her pistol and shoots him in the finger. He howls and drops the grenade and clutches his finger.
"BURAK!" Leyla elbowed Derek in the face and charged at Cassie.
As if the world slowed down to view everything in slow-motion, Cassie turned around and saw the woman charge for her. She didn't have enough time to move out the way so she caught the woman when she bumped chests with her and redirected her path to her husband.
Unfortunately, Leyla had crashed into Burak harder than intended and they went crashing through the wooden wall and let the poison gas out.