Chapter 10
Phil stirred groggily. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring at a tile floor. He looked to his left and saw Rayen propped up against the wall, bound and still sleeping. He tried to move his own arms and found that they were tied as well. Not a problem; he could break them easily. He looked up, and found himself staring at the barrel of a revolver, pointed straight at his forehead.
"Try anything funny and I'll blow your brains out."
"Déjà vu," Phil muttered.
He recognized the figure holding the gun as the waitress from the restaurant earlier. He wondered how long he'd been out, and if Shade had suspected anything. Meanwhile, the waitress reached down and slashed at the ropes with a knife, still keeping the gun at his head.
"Why the hell did you drug us?"
"As if you don't know."
"Enlighten me. I guess those drugs must have gone to my head."
"Don't act smart with me. I know you're both with them."
"With who?"
"Quit acting. You're with the group that's been taking them."
"Taking who?"
"The people from our town. The ones that were taken away and never came back."
That would explain the almost open hostility from the local customers.
"Aren't we a little young to be kidnappers?"
"Who else would carry a weapon into a public restaurant? All of them had one, although they were mostly guns."
Rayen's sword lay propped up against the far wall, far out of their reach. They had been overly cautious, and it had come back to bite them. Well, he wasn't going to give away the truth.
"Why exactly should I tell you anything? You won't gain anything by killing me."
"Your friend might be a little more talkative if he sees your skull in pieces when he wakes up."
Phil was getting sick of listening to this. He reached up and grabbed the barrel of the gun, bending it until it pointed upwards at a perfect 90 degree angle.
"Always wanted to do that. Just like they do in the comic books."
Without hesitation, the girl brought the handle of the gun down hard onto the top of his head. Phil got angry. He reached up, grabbed her wrist, and jerked his arm to the left. The girl teetered for a moment, lost her balance, and fell right on top of the sleeping Rayen, who awoke with a start.
"What the hell?"
She got up hastily, seething with indignation. Rayen assessed the situation quickly. Judging by the malevolent glare the waitress was casting towards his friend, who was rolling on the ground, his chest heaving with bouts of raucous laughter, he had a feeling he knew who to blame.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Phil was too busy laughing hysterically to answer vocally; he merely nodded as best he could before bursting into a new spastic show of mirth. Rayen responded by venting his anger through a sharp kick to Phil's stomach as soon as he rolled within range. Due to the fact that he was not in Dragoon form, Phil was carried upwards by the sheer force of the blow, and he slammed into the wall about four feet off the ground, making a large indent in the plaster. Not particularly desiring to suffer a four foot drop onto a tile floor, Phil attempted to adhere himself to the wall by digging his fingers into the cracks in the plaster, thus initiating what would be a desperate struggle between he and the force of gravity.
Gravity won.
Phil fell onto the linoleum floor with a loud thump, except for his head, which made an unpleasant cracking noise; for Phil had hit the wall with his body parallel to it, which caused him to smack his skull on the tiled floor, thus the unpleasant noise. The blow rendered the Jade Dragoon unconscious. Rayen checked his friend's skull as best he could with his hands tied behind his back, and as soon as he was sure there was no serious damage (he now had actual proof his comrade did indeed have a thick skull), he sighed.
"Well, at least he's quiet."
"Are you with them?"
"No. We actually have one of the people that was taken by 'them' with us. We are hunting 'them' down. Do you know what happens to the people they take away?"
"No. We never knew."
"You watched the news lately?"
"Who hasn't, what with all those monsters running around?"
"Some of those 'monsters' used to be people."
"You're joking, and it's not funny."
"I'm serious. Some of those probably came from this city."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Believe what you want, it makes no difference to me. But know this; you cannot cage me. I will not be contained. I have power far greater than any of those beasts the media has heralded as the doom of us all. My capability for destruction is limitless; I merely am not yet trained enough to use it all. You do not want me as your enemy. My wrath knows no mercy."
He was not threatening, merely stating a fact. She scoffed, however. So Rayen felt he had to illustrate his point. He snapped the ropes that bound his arms without effort. He got up and walked over to the wall to retrieve his sword. When she tried to intervene, threatening to use the gun as a club again, he merely wrenched the weapon from her hand, snapped the handle off, and then tossed the two halves of the now useless firearm onto the floor. He shouldered his weapon, and shook the limp body of his comrade. Phil stirred and groaned.
"We're going."
"Wait! Are you really going after them?"
"Yes. Although we don't actually know who 'they' are, we know what they do and we mean to stop them."
"Take me with you."
"Not a chance."
"If you don't, I'll gather everyone in town, and we will blow you and your car to Kingdom Come."
Of course, Rayen knew that they could attack them all they wanted and Kingdom Come would not be their destination, but it would destroy their vehicle, their supplies, and it would delay them immensely and make their journey a great deal more difficult. Besides, it would be unlikely that they would even be able to get out of town, because their Dragoon transformation would wear off eventually, and then they would be overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers. By looking at Phil he could tell the Jade Dragoon had reached that conclusion as well. They had no choice.
"Fine, but don't expect us to look after you. Fight your own battles."
"Did I ask you to fight for me?"
"No."
"Then shut up. I can take care of myself."
"Fair enough. By the way, you didn't tell us your name."
"Dawn."
When they had gotten back to the car and told Shade about the events, Dawn had found them. She had her luggage, which happened to include a rocket launcher, a few guns, and ammunition.
"Well, there's something you don't see every day."
"You said I had to fight my own battles, did you not?"
"I did."
"Well, here's my weapon."
She shoved her luggage into Phil's arms. He did not appreciate being treated thusly, and therefore made a scathing rejoinder.
"Typical role of a male before a road trip, eh? Stuck with the baggage."
Dawn merely glared, and Phil shut up. Rayen thought that decision was the smartest one he had made all day.
It was not wise to mock a girl with a rocket laucher.
Phil stirred groggily. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring at a tile floor. He looked to his left and saw Rayen propped up against the wall, bound and still sleeping. He tried to move his own arms and found that they were tied as well. Not a problem; he could break them easily. He looked up, and found himself staring at the barrel of a revolver, pointed straight at his forehead.
"Try anything funny and I'll blow your brains out."
"Déjà vu," Phil muttered.
He recognized the figure holding the gun as the waitress from the restaurant earlier. He wondered how long he'd been out, and if Shade had suspected anything. Meanwhile, the waitress reached down and slashed at the ropes with a knife, still keeping the gun at his head.
"Why the hell did you drug us?"
"As if you don't know."
"Enlighten me. I guess those drugs must have gone to my head."
"Don't act smart with me. I know you're both with them."
"With who?"
"Quit acting. You're with the group that's been taking them."
"Taking who?"
"The people from our town. The ones that were taken away and never came back."
That would explain the almost open hostility from the local customers.
"Aren't we a little young to be kidnappers?"
"Who else would carry a weapon into a public restaurant? All of them had one, although they were mostly guns."
Rayen's sword lay propped up against the far wall, far out of their reach. They had been overly cautious, and it had come back to bite them. Well, he wasn't going to give away the truth.
"Why exactly should I tell you anything? You won't gain anything by killing me."
"Your friend might be a little more talkative if he sees your skull in pieces when he wakes up."
Phil was getting sick of listening to this. He reached up and grabbed the barrel of the gun, bending it until it pointed upwards at a perfect 90 degree angle.
"Always wanted to do that. Just like they do in the comic books."
Without hesitation, the girl brought the handle of the gun down hard onto the top of his head. Phil got angry. He reached up, grabbed her wrist, and jerked his arm to the left. The girl teetered for a moment, lost her balance, and fell right on top of the sleeping Rayen, who awoke with a start.
"What the hell?"
She got up hastily, seething with indignation. Rayen assessed the situation quickly. Judging by the malevolent glare the waitress was casting towards his friend, who was rolling on the ground, his chest heaving with bouts of raucous laughter, he had a feeling he knew who to blame.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Phil was too busy laughing hysterically to answer vocally; he merely nodded as best he could before bursting into a new spastic show of mirth. Rayen responded by venting his anger through a sharp kick to Phil's stomach as soon as he rolled within range. Due to the fact that he was not in Dragoon form, Phil was carried upwards by the sheer force of the blow, and he slammed into the wall about four feet off the ground, making a large indent in the plaster. Not particularly desiring to suffer a four foot drop onto a tile floor, Phil attempted to adhere himself to the wall by digging his fingers into the cracks in the plaster, thus initiating what would be a desperate struggle between he and the force of gravity.
Gravity won.
Phil fell onto the linoleum floor with a loud thump, except for his head, which made an unpleasant cracking noise; for Phil had hit the wall with his body parallel to it, which caused him to smack his skull on the tiled floor, thus the unpleasant noise. The blow rendered the Jade Dragoon unconscious. Rayen checked his friend's skull as best he could with his hands tied behind his back, and as soon as he was sure there was no serious damage (he now had actual proof his comrade did indeed have a thick skull), he sighed.
"Well, at least he's quiet."
"Are you with them?"
"No. We actually have one of the people that was taken by 'them' with us. We are hunting 'them' down. Do you know what happens to the people they take away?"
"No. We never knew."
"You watched the news lately?"
"Who hasn't, what with all those monsters running around?"
"Some of those 'monsters' used to be people."
"You're joking, and it's not funny."
"I'm serious. Some of those probably came from this city."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Believe what you want, it makes no difference to me. But know this; you cannot cage me. I will not be contained. I have power far greater than any of those beasts the media has heralded as the doom of us all. My capability for destruction is limitless; I merely am not yet trained enough to use it all. You do not want me as your enemy. My wrath knows no mercy."
He was not threatening, merely stating a fact. She scoffed, however. So Rayen felt he had to illustrate his point. He snapped the ropes that bound his arms without effort. He got up and walked over to the wall to retrieve his sword. When she tried to intervene, threatening to use the gun as a club again, he merely wrenched the weapon from her hand, snapped the handle off, and then tossed the two halves of the now useless firearm onto the floor. He shouldered his weapon, and shook the limp body of his comrade. Phil stirred and groaned.
"We're going."
"Wait! Are you really going after them?"
"Yes. Although we don't actually know who 'they' are, we know what they do and we mean to stop them."
"Take me with you."
"Not a chance."
"If you don't, I'll gather everyone in town, and we will blow you and your car to Kingdom Come."
Of course, Rayen knew that they could attack them all they wanted and Kingdom Come would not be their destination, but it would destroy their vehicle, their supplies, and it would delay them immensely and make their journey a great deal more difficult. Besides, it would be unlikely that they would even be able to get out of town, because their Dragoon transformation would wear off eventually, and then they would be overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers. By looking at Phil he could tell the Jade Dragoon had reached that conclusion as well. They had no choice.
"Fine, but don't expect us to look after you. Fight your own battles."
"Did I ask you to fight for me?"
"No."
"Then shut up. I can take care of myself."
"Fair enough. By the way, you didn't tell us your name."
"Dawn."
When they had gotten back to the car and told Shade about the events, Dawn had found them. She had her luggage, which happened to include a rocket launcher, a few guns, and ammunition.
"Well, there's something you don't see every day."
"You said I had to fight my own battles, did you not?"
"I did."
"Well, here's my weapon."
She shoved her luggage into Phil's arms. He did not appreciate being treated thusly, and therefore made a scathing rejoinder.
"Typical role of a male before a road trip, eh? Stuck with the baggage."
Dawn merely glared, and Phil shut up. Rayen thought that decision was the smartest one he had made all day.
It was not wise to mock a girl with a rocket laucher.