Chapter 24: Sheep in Wolf's Clothing
When the doors finally opened, Ann's teeth were chattering at what seemed to be mock-one, even with the gag, which in turn seemed to be an amusement to Marik as he pulled out a black cloth and blinded her. No speech, no hands or legs, and no sight; just wonderful. She was thrown upon his shoulder roughly, enough to jar a few bones, but nothing that hurt too much, just a throbbing as he jumped out of the van and started walking in some direction.
It's a horrible experience. Being taken in one direction for a long time, with only your sense of smell and touch to aid you, and to be aware that in the surrounding blackness you were with enemies. The only worse thing is to be taunted.
"You are in for a real treat, Ann." Kakra's musical voice echoed, "You should feel honored. You're being killed by a first class assassin."
"Nout a sheat a'd lik" Ann responded.
"Marik, remove the gag."
"Of course." Ann felt a shuffling from his muscles under her as she was shifted. The knot pressing on the back of her head was loosened and the cloth was soon out of her mouth.
"What was that you said?" Ann cleared her throat and tried to direct her head to where Kakra was walking, which was in front of her. Her neck protested agitatedly, but gave in to her demand.
"I said, not a treat I'd like. What do you plan on doing to me?" A small chuckle came from in front of her.
"What I'll do with you? There are many ways of punishment for such a sweet occasion. So many in fact, I can't decide. I could burn you alive, cut you into pieces every slowly and keep you alive for years of pain, call a shadow demon to devour your soul, or even just slice your heart from you chest."
"The last one is very messy, but satisfying." Marik's voice breathed in her ear ever so softly. Ann shivered due to how close his mouth was. A truly sickening thought.
"Don't like the sound of that, I see. But no matter, I can't do anything immediately. I have to wait for the return of my love to help me choose, he always has the best ideas. Your death will truly be an amusing moment for the two of us."
"And me." Marik's voice tuned in enthusiastically.
"And you." Kakra voice replied bluntly.
After a long time of death conversation about all the different ways to kill her, Ann realized there were a ton of ways, and each becoming worse. There was one about scarabs eating her alive that was particularly terrifying. But all this talk did not end, even when Ann was moved down to her feet a moment, not lightly mind you, and had her arms placed up. Her thumbing feet were lifted off the ground again, but her arms were placed under strain due to something holding her up by her bonds. Finally his hands were off her, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief, as Kakra kept talking. But Ann was done with hearing about it.
"Are you going to keep sucking up air or unblind me?"
"Touchy are we?"
"The fact your going to kill me gives you no right to think I'll be all nice-nice. Now take the damn thing off."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." Ann breathed angrily. A moment later the cloth was off and a huge amount of light hit her square in the eyes. Squinting immediately, she ignored the evil giggling and blinked a lot, clearing her vision enough to see she was an enclosed room. The only light was in the torches blazing in each corner and the two flames blazing on either side of her. Her eyes strayed from the metallic darkened walls, to a thick metal door, to her wrists on either side of a nasty looking hook, holding the dense rope around them. The hook oddly remained her of Peter Pan and Captain Hook's famous hand, or lack of one. Funny how such childish memories could slightly lighten a mood.
"What are you smiling at?" Ann shook her head, chuckling a little.
"Don't bother. It's after your time…where are we?"
"A special location."
"What's so special about it?" Ann asked, keeping a placid face, even though her heart refused to be so calm. Her sleeves had pooled uncomfortably around her arms, but she ignored it. Kakra grinned, a sparkling smile that could fool a Miss America judge into thinking she was very kind.
"Well," She started, voice at full musical annoying blast, "It's a place in which has many dangerous ways of…how should I say? Accidentally, tripping and falling to one's doom." She giggled in a high pitched voice, holding her hand in front of her mouth, and looking insane. Ann was wagging her feet with boredom.
"This is going to be so much fun- Ah! It seems he's back!" Ann was almost sure Kakra was going to jump off the cemented ground like a preppy little girl and get all hyper; like Marie did when her boyfriend visited. Her face was gushing with the same look her sister gave at that moment; how sickening. When am I going to throw up? Ann thought annoyingly.
The white haired teen emerged into the room, head high and looking very…there was no other word to describe it…handsome. Never in her life did Ann want to spew so much. His grin started beaming, looking around to Marik and Kakra, as he removed a blood-stained cloth and let it fall to the floor. A ragged piece of Joey's shirt.
"This was the only thing that wasn't burning." Kakra's eyes lit up with hearts as she dashed over to him and threw her arms around.
"Oh! You're wonderful!" Ann was staring at the cloth, feeling a void starting to swallow her. Tragically she lifted her eyes and had to glance at the couple before letting them fly to the ceiling. Kakra was kissing, full blown French one (Ann's stomach lurched) and TombRobber- was frozen like a statue? Ann looked back, but it was over, and Kakra was putting her hands in his back pants pockets and cuddling very close to him, which he was grinning at.
"I have soo much to talk to you about!" She pulled him closer and started tracing lines on his chest; Ann claimed her eyes shut. But, to Ann's lucky red embarrassed face, two pairs of footsteps walked away from her and then a door slam. Her eyes slowly crept open.
Marik was up in her face.
"JEEZ!" Maybe she wasn't so lucky. His hand raised and placed itself around her arm. Click. Ann saw the bracelet that had once been around her arm in Marik's waving tan fist.
"Don't want you to escape now, do we?" He laughed. He backed away.
Okay, she was lucky.
"But don't worry, I'll leave it here," He placed it on the floor close to one of the fires. "So you can look at it before you meet your fate. Can't tell Amit I didn't do at least one good thing." He laughed and walked casually to the end of the room, slowly opened the door, and was about to close it before he stopped.
"Oh, by the way…when you do see the after life, tell your friends it was nice doing business with them." He grinned one last time and slammed the door behind him.
For how long Ann huge by her wrists was uncertain. Enough to cut off the circulation more than once and have to hold herself up by gripping the curved edge of the hook and pulling. More than once did she try to reach her feet to the bracelet, glinting in the fire light at her, but found it useless. She was at least three inches off the ground and had no tool to help here. She even tried kicking over the container in which the fire dwelled, but found that too was impossible.
"Damn it." Ann groaned, at the tip of panic.
"Why did you not help me?" She growled, looking angrily at the bracelet.
"You damnable piece of rubbish. I hope you burn in hell!" She kicked her legs out furiously, and to her horror met the golden circle with the tip of her shoe and sent it flying into the door, bouncing off and somewhere into the deepening darkness.
That was it.
Ann screamed and starting thrashing her feet, so enraged with herself, she started crying. Tears steamed on her checks, as her hands flopped above her head, and her body shook. She knew crying wasn't going to help, but there was nothing else to do.
She wept herself into a slumber.
A door slam brought the world back to Ann in a stricken moment. Her eyes flung open and all her muscles tensed, causing a rushing pain through her hands. The world was black, and for a moment she thought she still hand her eyes closed until a match suddenly flared up, exposing a head of white hair.
"What do you want?" Ann growled at him. He said nothing, and walked to the moldering pile next to her and threw the match onto it, sending a flame flaring up again, his head down and hidden. He rose this way, eyes concealed under huge mounds of white.
Click.
A switch blade rose in front of her face, and Ann braced herself for the stab. A tang sounded above her head, causing her eyes to snap open and look at the rope being cut. She turned from the sight in a leap of shock, to his face.
But it wasn't TombRobber. It was Bakura's white face. With lipstick-kiss on his cheek.
"Never again will I listen to Bill's crazy ideas." He muttered angrily to himself as he hacked furiously with the knife.
"I thought you were dead. I thought everyone was dead." Bakura looked away from his work and glanced at her a moment, still sawing he spoke.
"Well, Mokuba and I weren't drunk. Mai, Serenity, Tea, Yugi, and Marie showed up. Your sister grabbed Bill off the soda machine faster than I thought possible. And Ammon wasn't as drunk as you thought." He paused and wiped a bit was sweat out of his view and continued.
"When we got out of there Bill went after the trunk. He actually got in front of it but it was too late and he got run over," Ann remembered the speed bump thoughtfully, "but he peeled himself off the road with some help. It's an eerie thing, peeling someone off the street in the middle of the night. Anyway, Ammon constructed a plan with the help of Yami and the rest of the group. Unfortunately they decided they needed me to go in a pretend to be…him…and get you out of here."
"What happened to…him?"
"Bill's keeping him in a safe place…Last one…"
"And Kakra…?" Bakura looked sicken at the ropes at the mention of her name.
"She wouldn't let me left! She kept talking about death and destruction and… and….and…" His voice was high pitched and shaky. Ann looked thoughtfully at him, as he slowly clamed down.
"Luckily it was her time of the month. Thank God. So when she finally got sick of me she sent me out." The last cord was cut and Ann's feet hit the floor. Her hands were free, and she had an odd feeling like she wanted to leap up and hug him, but didn't to save herself from anymore awkwardness. She rubbed her rope burned wrists and looked around the room franticly.
"Something wrong?" Bakura asked.
"They took off the bracelet."
"Then we have to find it!" Bakura turned for the door but Ann stopped him.
"Wait! It's not out there. Marik left it in here…and…in a fit of anger kicked it."
"Well that was smart." Ann hid her surprise at Bakura's comment as she walked in the direction she thought it flew. Bakura followed her, flicking the knife shut and taking the handle on which the small fire leaped on.
After a while of walking around and staring at the ground they found the bracelet, tucked in the farthest corner of the room. Ann carefully picked it up, rolled her sleeve up, and placed it on her arm with a snap.
"Good. Now let's get out of here." Ann nodded in agreement and headed for the door.
For a long time they walked in silence, down a long hall way full of thick darkness with only the flame to shed a small bit of light ahead of them. The smell of the smoke was irritating, but not horrible. Their footsteps were haunting, echoing farther beyond them, no matter how much both tried to quiet them. It was truly a stressful walk, but finally they reached another open dark hallway and a bright red sign blinked at them from a far.
EXIT
Ann's heart leapt. The thought of escape was clear and strong. It was in the bag!
Suddenly a light switched on out of nowhere, slaying the black fog and exposing the two teens. They froze in surprise, but for only a moment until a shout ripped the air. Then they were sprinting, at full tilt, as fast as possible. The door grew steadily closer, but so did the stomping steps behind them. Somehow she made it before Bakura and threw the door open wide, and turned to give him her hand. Bakura's fingertips touched, only for a brief moment, then he was hurtled away briskly by Marik holding him by the back of his shirt. Before Bakura could slip out of it Marik's arm slipped around his neck and pressed and he immediately figured out he couldn't breath and grabbed back at the tanned arm frantically. Ann stared wide-eyed and unable to figure out what to do, to run and get help, or to take them on.
She never had to make the decision.
Ann was suddenly shoved roughly out of the way by someone behind him, enough to collide with the door and fall to her knees. Raising her head she saw Ammon standing tall, staff at hand, but not pointed.
"You alright?" Ann looked up and found Tea staring at her with some concern but Ann nodded and got to her feet. Marie suddenly was next to her with Mokuba, Tristan, Serenity, and Mai. Brian and Kyle were walking up to meet Ammon, Yami, and Joey at an invisible line. Kakra and Marik stood confidently about a foot away from them, grinning. Bakura stopped struggling and sort of just hung there as Kakra started talking.
"What happened to my monster?!" Ammon pointed out a fist and let a pile of ashes fall to the ground in response. Marik blinked a nervous flash in his eyes. Kakra regained her composure faster.
"Another inch closer and we'll kill your friend." Gee like we couldn't guess that. Ammon said nothing for a moment, but smiled, then widened it to a full grin. Kakra looked curiously at him as he motioned Kyle forward. Kyle and Brian walked right next to him and Kyle pulled a jar out of his pocket. Kakra's jaw dropped.
Standing in the jar was a small human looking figure pounding on the glass with bright white hair. TombRobber. A whirl of horror leapt to Kakra's face as did her hands, eyes wide with fright.
"Oh! Let him go you beast!"
"Fat chance," Ammon sneered, "You have something we want, and we have something you want. How about a trade?" Kakra thought for a moment, then another, then a minute. After a while Kyle grinned at Brian and said allowed.
"Hey look Brain…I forgot to put holes in the jar…" Both teens shared a nasty grin as Kakra panicked.
"Give him back!" She lunged forward but was caught by Marik's free hand. Ammon's grin widened.
"If you come any closer then we'll kill him." She froze in place, just staring for what seemed to be a long time.
"The clock is ticking, my dear," Ammon replied.
"Better make up your mind…"
BookDragon: "Please review!"