Isabel ran deeper into the dark tunnels, running as fast as she could in the hopes of catching Thane before he would become lost or trapped beneath the earth. Thankfully, she was able to pick up on his scent quickly and followed along. She couldn't believe that he had managed to get away so far from his original spot before she noticed. Then again, she was very thoroughly distracted.
She shook away those thoughts, trying to focus on finding Thane. However, the thought of her mom continued to taunt her mind and heart, making her body tremor with anticipation. She nearly stumbled over rock because she was so distracted by thinking about being with her mother. Eventually, she had to stop and slap the side of her head just to stop her brain from rattling with perverted images of what she and her mom had just done, and what she wanted to do afterwards.
''Pull yourself together!'' Isabel said to herself, trying to breathe and get her composure back.
In that moment of silence, she could hear shuffling in the darkness and quickly prepared for the worst. She listened carefully and soon recognized the confused groans and the scent. She breathed a sigh of relief as she walked a little further and found Thane fumbling around in the darkness like a baby learning to walk.
''Thane!'' She called out.
Thane turned around sharply, flailing his arms around erratically to defend himself. Isabel merely sighed and walked through his attempts to slap her and grabbed his wrists to stop him from potentially injuring himself. He stopped and stared at her with wide eyes. After a few seconds, he mellowed and leaned against the rocky wall. Seeing that he was now calm, Isabel released him from her strong grip and tried to be as sympathetic as possible. While she didn't like the guy, she knew that he had been through a terrible ordeal and even had missing fingers to prove it.
''Thane, we're going to take you home,'' she said softly. ''Do you understand what I'm saying?''
''Yeah…'' he nodded slowly. His voice was harsh and ragged, as if he hadn't spoken a full sentence in years and was trying to remember how to speak without his voice cracking. ''How did you find me?''
''We captured the woman who captured you and she showed us the way to her base.''
His gaze dropped to the ground. ''I told them about the colony.''
Isabel sighed. ''Don't worry about that. You don't have to tell me what they did to you. Everyone back home is safe, and I can take care of those slave-traders if they try anything.''
Thane glared at her. ''You? You can take care of them?''
Narrowing her eyes at him, she took a step closer. ''Yes, I can.''
''No offence, but the last time I saw you, you couldn't even stand up to me. How can you defend our home when you can't even defend yourself?''
Every passing second was a test of Isabel's nerve. She grit her teeth and tried to push away her bubbling anger at his disrespectful tone. She wasn't expecting for them to become best friends, but she was hopeful for some kind of gratitude for saving his life.
''Things have changed since then,'' Isabel said. ''Do you remember the skeleton that grabbed me when you last saw me?''
''How could I forget?'' Thane replied. ''I was certain you were dead. You just disappeared in this pool of…something.''
''Well, you can see that I'm far from dead. In fact, I came out of it with weird abilities.''
Thane's forehead creased and he straightened his back, fighting through the pain as Isabel heard faint cracks beneath his skin. She winched for his sake, but his interest was all on her. ''What do you mean weird abilities?''
''I'm stronger and faster than a normal human. My senses are heightened. I'm like a Drake without the properties of a Dragon. I don't know exactly as I'm still experimenting with…what I can do.'' She quickly added, trying not to think about her experiments with her mom to test her stamina and…capabilities.
Thane shook his head in disbelief. ''That skeleton gave you abilities? How does that work?''
''I said I don't know exactly. Even my mother didn't know what to think.''
''But…'' Thane almost lost his balance as his legs shook and he nearly crumbled under the weight of his battered body.
Isabel held out an arm to catch him before he fell. Although he didn't look directly at her, she could see different expressions flash across his face in quick succession. Confusion, disbelief, revelations, disappointment, agitation. She wished that she also had the power to read minds, because there was no way for her to know what Thane was thinking now armed with the knowledge that Isabel could snap him in half if she wanted to. And there was a part of her that still wanted to.
''Listen to me,'' Isabel said, carefully guiding Thane up and back through the tunnel. ''We need to get back home. The colony is moving to a new location and we have to hurry before the slave-traders get there before us and…''
Then, Isabel's ears perked up as she heard a scream coming from behind.
''Mom?'' she gasped, listening carefully to the struggle happening back at the mouth of the cave. She faintly heard more than one set of footsteps stamping on the ground.
Without a word of warning, she grabbed Thane's arm and pulled him along with her as she ran back through the tunnel. She ignored Thane's confused cries of pain. She didn't waste a second as she hurried through the tunnel until she had become a blur. If the tunnel went on any further, she might have accidentally pulled Thane's arm off because of her incredible speed, but he managed to hold on all the way to the end.
Isabel stopped at the mouth of the cave where her mother was supposed to be waiting for her, but all that was left were footprints leading back outside. She let go of Thane and walked outside. She gasped and became still like a tree when she saw multiple silhouettes standing atop a sand dune under the moonlight. While Thane couldn't tell who they were from their great distance apart, Isabel could see that her mother was being held hostage. Tobias grinned at her as he gripped Helen's arm tightly and pressed a knife to her throat. If that wasn't bad enough, standing a short distance from them was Angelique with a long gun aimed at Helen.
''Don't do this!'' Isabel cried out. She dug her heel into the ground, ready to charge in after them when she saw Tobias push the knife against Helen's neck, drawing a drop of blood. Isabel froze.
''You're not completely mindless,'' Angelique said. She spoke in a normal tone, just enough for Isabel to hear from where she stood. ''I saw you get out of this kind of scenario before to save my life. But, I doubt that even you can close the distance in time to save your mommy. Either Tobias will slit her throat, or I blow her skull open.''
For the first time in a long time, Isabel felt truly powerless. She didn't know if she was going to be quick enough to save her mother. She thought about if she could run as fast as possible. But, was that a risk she really wanted to take?
''Please,'' she shouted, hoping Angelique would hear her. ''We're going to let your people go. All we wanted was to save our own. We can…''
''It's not about that anymore!'' Angelique retorted. ''You dragged me around like some kind of animal. You acted all high and mighty just because you are a freak. And then you think that you can just leave us empty handed with nothing to show to our boss? That's not how it works…''
As Angelique rambled on, Isabel felt like her world was sinking. Dozens of plans were fighting for control inside of her mind, but none of them would guarantee the safety of her mother. There was a reckless side to her that wanted to just go for it and hope for the best. Doubt shackled her to the ground. Even if she was fast enough to close the distance and stop one of them, the other would end Helen's life before she could do anything about it.
''Mind if I cut in?''
Isabel heard another voice. It was a male voice. Muffled and faint. She gazed around to find its source.
''Don't be obvious.'' The voice said. ''Keep your eyes on the bitch with the rifle.''
Too shocked and scared to comprehend what was happening, Isabel did as she was told, pretending she was still listening to Angelique rattling on. She thought she was going crazy for a moment, until she recognized the voice. It belonged to the Viper she fought the other night. Isabel didn't know if this made things worse.
''I can't hear you, but I know you can hear me, so shut up and listen,'' the Viper said. ''You seem to be in a bit of a pickle-jam, but we can help. We'll get you and your companions out of here, but only on the condition that you help us with something afterwards. We do you this favor, you then do us a favor in return. Simple enough. Stamp your foot twice if you want our help.''
It felt like Isabel's heart was going to beat out of her chest. The last thing she wanted was to be indebted to a group of people that attacked them not too long ago, but considering her situation right now, she didn't see what other option there was. She focused on Angelique again and realized that she had finished with her speech and was now staring down the scope of her rifle, aiming it towards Helen. The older woman struggled to free herself, but Tobias held her in place and pressed the blade harder against her skin, drawing more blood. There was no time for another plan, or for Isabel to even question what the Viper's plan was.
She took a deep breath and stamped her foot twice.
Tobias glanced at Isabel, noticing her foot moving and snickered. ''What's she up to?''
Suddenly, dozens of figures burst out from under the sand behind the slave-traders, letting out battle cries and brandishing an array of weapons. Tobias felt his arm being grabbed and pulled away forcefully, sending the knife flying out of his hand. By the time he turned around, he only just had a second to see the Viper lead swing a metal bat towards his face. Tobias didn't make a sound as the bat smacked against the side of his head, caving it in completely as chunks of blood spurted in the air. Helen dropped to the ground, free from the dead man's grasp.
Angelique aimed her rifle at a new target, but had to back away as more Vipers surrounded her and tried to cleave at her with knives and axes. She used her rifle to block their attacks and run away. The other slave-traders weren't so lucky. Caught off guard by the surprise attack, the Vipers stabbed, bashed and beat whoever they could get their hands on while the lead Viper stood by Helen and defended her.
''What the hell is going on?'' Thane shouted.
His yell brought Isabel back down to earth. Seeing a chance to get to her mom, she grabbed Thane's arm and they dashed around the carnage happening nearby. Out of the corner of her eye, Isabel could see the few remaining slave-traders, Angelique included, running out of sight with their tails between their legs. Isabel skipped over Angelique's broken rifle and the mess that was what remained of Tobias's body, and hurried to take her mother in her arms and hold her tightly. Helen wrapped her arms around Isabel in return. Isabel felt like crying on her mother's shoulder, and Helen responded by stroking her daughter's hair to comfort her.
''Who are these people?'' Thane questioned as he looked around to see the Vipers had them surrounded.
Isabel and Helen separated. As soon as Isabel clenched her fists, the Vipers appeared apprehensive and even took a step back. However, the leader stepped forward. He stared at Isabel with a nonchalant expression. Tobias's blood was painted across his cheek. ''I'm waiting for a thank you.'' He said.
Isabel and Helen shared a quick glance with each other. Isabel sighed and turned back to the leader. ''Thank you.''
''Good,'' he said and turned away from them. ''Follow me.''
''Hold on,'' Helen said. ''Why should we follow you?''
''Because your daughter agreed to help us for saving your lives. I believe the expression in the old times was…I scratch your back, you scratch mine.''
Isabel glared at the Viper. ''You know I could just go right through you and you couldn't stop me.''
''True, but I am betting on the hope that you have some shred of decency and honor within you and will at least listen to what we have to say. You can leave at any point if you don't like what you hear, but at least hear us out.''
Isabel couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Although, her emotions were already sparked because of the danger they just went through. She glanced back at her mother, who seemed just as hesitant as she was. However, the fact that the Vipers weren't forcing them to come left them more curious. If they left and didn't hear them out, they would forever hold onto that thought of what they could have missed. They had saved Thane. Their mission was nearly complete. The sooner they get through this, the sooner they could return home together. Then again, where was home at this point?
''Alright,'' Helen said, taking Isabel's hand in hers. ''We'll hear what you have to say.''
''Good, then let's be on our way. Cruise does not like to be kept waiting.''
XXX
HELLO THERE MY SWEET SUPERSTARS! IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER. I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED IT. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT? CAN THIS GROUP OF VIPERS BE TRUSTED? WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN WITH THANE? AND DO YOU THINK THIS'LL BE THE LAST WE SEE OF ANGELIQUE? I'M REALLY INTERESTED TO HEAR ALL YOUR THOUGHTS AND THEORIES. I DO HAVE THIS STORY PLANNED TO THE VERY END SO I AM CURIOUS TO SEE IF ANYONE CAN PREDICT FUTURE EVENTS. BEFORE I MOVE ON, I HAVE AN UPDATE ABOUT THE SCHEDULE. INSTEAD OF A NEW CHAPTER EVERY WEEK, THERE WILL NOW BE 3 CHAPTERS A WEEK. DRAGON SLAYER WILL BE UPDATED EVERY MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY. I HAVE THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS ALREADY WRITTEN AHEAD OF TIME. OUR WORLD IS A MESS RIGHT NOW, SO THE LEAST I CAN DO IS WRITE MORE AND GIVE YOU ALL MORE STUFF TO READ.
KEEP LOVED ONES IN YOUR THOUGHTS. STAY SAFE. TA-TA FOR NOW.
