"This is the place," Clarisse said as she parked her car. Reyna immediately opened the door to leave, but Clarisse grabbed her arm. "Don't go rushing in. We're doing this together."
"Then hurry up," Reyna ordered. Clarisse let go of her arm, and Reyna got out of the car. Clarisse exited a moment later and closed the door. She walked around the car and popped the trunk. Reyna turned towards her impatiently.
Clarisse reached into her trunk and pulled out a duffel bag. She opened it, and Reyna slowly walked around the car. Her eyes widened as she watched Clarisse loading a gun. She looked at Reyna, "Know how to use a gun?"
"I've used one a few times before," Reyna answered after a moment. Clarisse nodded and finished loading the gun. "Got one for me?"
"No. I don't know if I can trust you with a loaded gun. No offense," Clarisse said. Reyna nodded but felt her eyes narrowing into a glare. She tried to fight it. "I also don't need you shooting a bullet when you don't need to. Especially since it will be traced back to me."
Reyna nodded again and made her way toward the building. It was only one story and looked to be some kind of warehouse. She swallowed painfully as a faint yell caused her ears to twitch.
What the fuck were these people doing to her sister?
The building had no windows. It didn't even have a regular door, just a garage door like this was some kind of storage unit. Reyna took a deep breath and walked towards it. She could open it. Hopefully. Reyna crouched in front of the door and glanced behind her.
Clarisse closed her trunk and kept her gun in her hand. She walked towards the garage door. Reyna carefully gripped the bottom with her hands, then started lifting it. A grimace came to her face as it only moved slightly. She quickly adjusted her grip and lifted the garage door up to eye level.
Clarisse quickly ducked underneath. Reyna held it up for a moment. Before Clarisse could turn to hold it for her, Reyna slipped underneath and let it drop. She quickly scanned the warehouse interior. The first thing she saw was a man rushing Clarisse with a knife.
Reyna slammed her shoulder into the man, driving him to the ground. She punched him hard in the face and then looked up. Her gaze shot around the rest of the room. Another man in front of Clarisse hit the ground. Clarisse folded a third man with a punch.
Reyna only saw the three men they had subdued. Her eyes widened as she saw the body in the corner.
"Hylla," Reyna whispered. She slammed her fist into the man's skull, cracking the back of his head brutally into the ground. Reyna made it to her feet and ran to Hylla's side. She knelt next to her sister.
A pool of blood was beneath Hylla's head, and her clothes were torn and tattered in multiple places. She had cuts and bruises all over, but at least her clothes were still on. Reyna saw that her sister's leg was twisted and mangled. Rage flowed through her veins.
"Hylla, can you hear me?" Reyna asked as she tried to keep her calm. She lifted her sister's shirt and saw the bruises that lined her stomach. Reyna knew Exterminata's MO: they would have started with questioning Hylla about her failure. When she didn't answer, they would starve her for a few days and only give her a few sips of water.
Then, the beatings would start. A limb would be picked out, and whoever was in charge of the "lesson" would slowly destroy that limb. Reyna really hoped that Hylla's leg wasn't to that point. Clarisse spoke, "Is she alive?"
"She is," Reyna answered. One of her arms carefully slipped under Hylla's back and the other under her legs. Reyna carefully picked her sister up and cradled her head against her chest. A sick feeling sunk into her stomach. There was a nasty gash near Hylla's temple, and there was no doubt she was badly concussed. "She needs a doctor."
"Take her to my car. I'm going to make sure these assholes can't go anywhere," Clarisse said. Reyna nodded and tried to keep her temper contained. She walked towards the garage door and hit a switch to open it.
Reyna could feel anger coursing through her veins. Her heart started to beat in her ears. She watched the garage door open and made it towards the car. Reyna carefully opened it just a bit with her hand and caught the door with her foot as it opened. She shoved the door open and carefully laid her sister inside.
Reyna moved both hands to her side as pain resounded in her ribs. She let out a few deep breaths and slowly straightened. Her gaze stayed on her sister, and that anger continued to boil. How could she be so fucking stupid? She should have known Exterminata wouldn't just let Hylla get away with failure.
"Fuck," Reyna hissed as she raised her fist to slam it into the car. A hand wrapped around her wrist.
"Don't dent my car," Clarisse ordered in a low voice. Reyna looked down but nodded. Clarisse released her wrist, and Reyna hung her head.
"Fuck," Reyna repeated. "This is my fucking fault. Why would I just let Hylla walk away like that?"
"You were respecting her wishes, Reyna. Nothing is wrong with that. Hylla would have hated it if you stopped her from leaving, and she wouldn't have reacted well," Clarisse said.
"She's just going to leave again," Reyna muttered. Clarisse gently grabbed her shoulder again.
"You don't know that, Reyna. Just chill, alright? I know you're riled up, I get it. You have to be there for Hylla. Even if she does end up leaving, show her that you love her," Clarisse said softly. Reyna swallowed painfully and nodded.
Reyna slowly lifted her head and moved away from the car. She rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath, "What now?"
"I would say go straight to Will's clinic, but I don't think that's a good idea. Too many cameras," Clarisse answered as she looked around. "No cameras here either. We'll take a different path out and go back to my place."
"You make it sound like Exterminata is going to track us," Reyna stated.
"With the police captain, they might," Clarisse answered with a shrug. Reyna turned to look at her.
"Then, I'm not asking you to put yours and Chris's safety on the line," Reyna decided. She crossed her arms and tried to relax her shoulders. "If Exterminata does find us-"
"They won't," Clarisse interrupted. "And that's because I'm going to take you two to my place and then call the hunters. They will be so far up the police captain's ass that Exterminata won't fuck with you."
"Fine," Reyna relented. "But if I feel that something bad is coming, I-"
"Will not do shit," Clarisse interrupted again. "You're going to shut up and let your friends help you for once. We are going to my place and calling Will to make a house call. Now shut up and get in the car."
An hour later, Reyna was sitting in Clarisse's house. Well, she was laying on the floor as Will looked over Hylla. Clarisse had gone back to the small building to call the hunters and let them know about the members of Exterminata there. She also was supposed to keep her boyfriend updated.
"Are you sure you don't need anything to eat?" Chris asked. He was sitting awkwardly on the couch. His eyes kept drifting from Reyna to the television back to Reyna before finally settling on the football game that was playing. "Or a drink?"
"I'm fine," Reyna muttered. Will had kicked her out of the room because she kept hovering. Of course she was hovering. Reyna was worried for her sister. Hylla looked like she had gone through hell. She probably had.
"Everything is going to be okay," Chris reassured. Reyna laid her head back.
"Thank you. For letting us use this place. I'm sorry to intrude," Reyna said softly.
"You're not intruding," Chris smiled. "Clarisse loves you. Almost as much as me."
"Trust me. She talks about you all the time. And when she catches herself rambling about you, she blames me like I'm the one who started the conversation," Reyna explained. A small smile came to her face. It was quickly followed by concern. She really hoped that her sister was okay.
Reyna closed her eyes. She couldn't help but blame herself. If she had said the right thing to Hylla or stopped her from leaving, they wouldn't have to go through this. Hylla wouldn't be nearly dead either. This was all her fault.
It was always her fault. Reyna fucked up the lives of everyone around her. That was why she tried to just be a loner; that way, the only life that could be ruined was hers. Reyna laid there as she dwelled in her anger and self-pity.
Just as Reyna was about to fall into a bitter sleep, she heard footsteps. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked at Will. The doctor gave her a slight nod, "At least it wasn't you this time."
"How is she?" Reyna questioned as she stood.
"Not good," Will answered after a few moments. "There is no internal bleeding, but I'm guessing that there is internal bruising. There are plenty of external bruises and some cuts. Her leg is badly broken as well, and I think I'll need to take her back to my clinic for surgery. Or the hospital."
"Shit," Reyna said. She hung her head and rubbed her eyes. "Fuck. Alright. If we take her to the clinic, what do we have to do for her leg?"
"Well, I won't know until I get an x-ray. Then, I might need a medical assistant," Will said as he looked at Reyna. "How steady are your hands?"