Yes, it is true, I, Knisley24, have brought you another lame chapter MUHAHAHA, and I hope you torture yourselves by reading it and reviewing! I'm just kidding.
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Breaking Point:
Chapter4: No Choice
I felt a cockroach scamper across my foot as I opened the door of the hotel I was staying in. Well, things definitely weren't going as planned. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised though, it was a cheap piece of crap room. You get what you pay for.
I switched on the single, dim light bulb, and yellow light filtered through the floating dust particles. I cringed as I took in the mess that I was supposed to be staying in tonight. The walls were an ugly green color, like Beastboy's face when he got carsick. The carpet, however, I wasn't sure of. It was either a rusty red or a deep brown, I couldn't tell because more than half of it was stains. Something large and black darted from beneath the twin sized mattress that was covered with tainted sheets.
Walking across the room, I tore the curtains back, to admire my 'view'. It was a freaking brick wall. That tears it; I didn't care if I was out seventy five bucks, or if I had just gotten there, I was leaving.
Gripping my bag's strap, I descended down the dirt streaked staircase and up to the desk, handing my room key back. The snooty man behind the mahogany wood immediately pointed to a plaque that hung above him: žádné náhrady, the English translation beneath it reading: No Refunds. Rolling my eyes, I nodded once, curtly, and walked across the lobby's impeccably clean white tile, barging out the door.
I was out in the streets of Prague, alone, at night. And to make matters worse...Heeeeeyyy jet lag, I thought as I felt a wave of vertigo wash over me. The few streetlights that still worked in this part of town glowed dimly, seeming almost otherworldly. The black concrete felt unlevel beneath me as my red flats continued to thump rhythmically against it. With no idea of where I was going, I continued onwards, no destination in mind, or in sight. There were no taxis for me to hail, and I couldn't figure out the number for the cab company. I sighed.
The night air was cold and uninviting, my breath making small clouds in it, I hugged my jacket closer to my body and pulled my communicator out, staring it down, knowing full well that I would never have the guts to call Nightwing and tell him I wasn't staying. I hated disappointing people, and, besides, I didn't want them to think I couldn't handle it. It was only the first night, and I couldn't bear to take the flight back immediately. However, I still needed a place to stay.
My violet eyes instantaneously connected with the seven digits on my pale hand. Knowing I would regret this, I moved beneath the weak light of the streetlamp and began to dial the numbers. There was a faint cracking sound behind me. Static assaulted my eardrums along with the dull ringing sound of the call being connected.
Suddenly, I heard a faint click and—
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING ME AT THIS HOUR FOR? I'M NOT WORKING TODAY, OKAY? I JUST GOT HERE AND I NEED SOME SLEEP, SO LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" I cringed.
"Well, hello to you too." I moved my finger to the call end button, ready to push down. Clearly, this guy was not happy when he was woken up. The other end of the line seemed to clear up.
"Raven? Oh, geez, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you." He laughed tiredly. "Actually, I didn't think you'd call me." It was true, I could hear the disbelief clouding his voice.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, but I had no choice. What's the name of a good, cheap hotel?" I could barely keep my eyelids open, and I prayed to Azar that I would find a place to stay, and soon, before I collapsed.
"Well, that depends where you are right now? You could always stay at the one I'm at, which isn't too bad..." He yawned, and guilt snaked it's way through my body.
"Nevermind...I'll figure it out my—" My arm was wrenched behind me, the communicator jerking out of my hand and hitting the ground, still open.
"Nu horosho, chto my imyeem zdesʹ? Krasavitsa zdesʹ v polnom odinochestve nochʹyu?" I recognized the words to be Russian, but did not understand what they were saying. The leer, though, was unmistakably woven into his words. Two figures emerged from across the street, the dark keeping me from seeing their faces. For the second time in two days, I realized that I was on my own. My powers were useless, seeing as I couldn't pull the holo-ring off of my hand, I was stuck, and the man was much stronger than I was. "Ekzoticheskiĭ ... ona sdelaethoroshiĭ summu deneg."
The man laughed, and it sent my skin crawling as I realized just who I was dealing with: One of the branches of the Russian mafia. I had forgotten that they trafficked from Prague. And I was a female, a prime target. Shit.
I did the only thing I could:
Screamed.
Oh, and I nailed him in the nuts, pretty much ensuring that he wouldn't be able to have kids someday. Although, I guess for him it was a good thing. He let me go as he let out a cry of pain. I struggled with the clasp of the slim but strong metal band around my wrist, my fingers unable to undo it. I looked up in time to take a punch to the face, a stream of pain shooting up my face.
"RAVEN?" My communicator was kicked into the gutter before I could answer the man on the other end of the line.
"Oĭ , vyfiesty odin!" Their wicked laughter rebounded off of the structures around them. I am Raven. My fists tightened in anger and determination. Sure, my self-defense skills suck, but that didn't mean I couldn't kick their asses. They were just three very large, possibly steroid using Russian men. Yep. I could take them.
Maybe.
And I am not going down without a fight.
Dropping to the ground, I rolled beneath one of the men, trying to remember what Nightwing had taught me. 'Don't let your enemies anticipate your next move' echoed in the back of my head. Standing up, I jerked my leg out, spinning my body to slam one of the men in the chest with a roundhouse kick. He grunted, flying backwards into the dust of the ground.
The other two had sprung into action, each one grabbing an arm and hauling me backwards. I yanked, but they wouldn't budge. Their leader, I assumed, stood up, leisurely wiping the blood from his lip, a nasty sneer plastered to his face, which I could now see faintly. He had reddish hair, and blue eyes that showed clearly what his intentions were. My stomach twisted in fear, anger, and contempt. No way was I getting this far and then losing to some low-life sadistic maniacs. The man brought his fist back and slammed me in the jaw, causing tears to well up in my eyes, more from anger than pain. I tried to strike out with my leg, but he had anticipated as much, catching it and twisting violently.
There was a loud rumbling noise, and a black shadow darted down the road at amazing speed towards us. Grinding to a halt, an obscure figure marched towards us. Stepping into the light, just the sight of him made fear loosen it's grip. But, even with the two of us, we were no match for the three Russian men, who were no doubt well trained.
"Pustʹ idet syeĭchas, a to."The words fell from his lips easily, as if he had been speaking Russian his whole life. In the dim lighting, his black hair made him seem deadly. The shadows beneath his startling green eyes made him look ethereal. He practically radiated malice. The man holding my left arm chuckled.
"Ili yeshche chto?" The mocking tone in his words was evident.
"Or else I'm going to kick your ass." The young man had acted before they could blink, bringing his elbow down on their leader's collar bone, most likely fracturing it. The Russian cried out in pain and fell to his knees, not even putting up a fight as agony laced through his body, putting him into shock.
He let loose a lethal right hook to the man on my right's jaw, causing him to drop my arm, which I used to swing and catch the other man in the face. Righty staggered back, holding his nose and blinking in surprise, before turning and running in the opposite direction. The leader was long gone, presumably making his way to a hospital or clinic. The last man began to retreat, but not before looking me in the eye.
"Vy ne videliposlednie iz nas. Znaĭte, chto vy imyeete delo skrupnoĭ organizatsii." He spat towards me, then sprinted off into the night. I licked my lips, and tasted blood. For the first time, I noticed that my nose was throbbing. Someone placed their hand on my shoulder and I jumped.
"Are you alright?" His black hair was disheveled, as if he had just rolled out of bed, but his eyes held a genuine look of concern.
"I think so." Pause. "What did he say?" He held my gaze.
"I'm not sure." It was a lie, and I knew it, still, I did not pry. He pulled his jacket off, draping it over me. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." He climbed onto what I now recognized as a black Ducati, patting the leather seat behind him. Hesitantly, I straddled it, lightly holding onto the fabric of his white shirt. He must've collapsed into bed right after he got to his hotel, or hastily thrown on the same clothes he'd been wearing earlier. He took off down the dark, dank street, jerking my body backwards. Quickly, I wrapped my arms around his torso, leaning my body against his back, which was nice and warm, his heartbeat lulling mine back into it's regular rhythm, all traces of adrenaline pumped out of my veins.
The shadows streaked past like lightning, and I felt my heavy lids closing, my face resting against his soft, white shirt. All of this was too much to handle in one day. All too soon, we came to a gentle halt, and I felt his hands close over mine, carefully prying my arms off of his body. I slumped forward and cracked my eyes open slightly as he moved.
"Wow, beautiful, you look like hell." His voice was gravelly, evidence of the necessity of sleep. Something slithered around my back and under my knees, and I felt the world tilt sideways. My eyes popped open, alert now, though not really awake.
"I have two legs, I can walk. Besides, you've already done enough for me." I wondered why he was being so nice to me, and realized that now, I really did owe him.
If you asked me, I would deny it, but I couldn't help the pull of attraction I felt towards him. He was alluring. There was something about him that was different, not like anyone I'd met before.
Too tired to object, he carefully set me down, gripping my wrist. My blood warmed, and he pulled me up the stairs, through a plain, empty hallway and on to an oak door. The place looked halfway decent on the outside, but, in all honesty, I didn't care what it looked like at the moment, I just wanted to sleep. He slid the key into the lock and kicked the door open, dragging me inside. It looked the same as mine had: Ugly green walls, Twin sized bed. But this place was much cleaner, with no visible stains, and, so far, no roaches.
"Where's the bathroom?" I asked wearily. He pointed to the only other door, and I stepped inside. Beautifully etched white marble coated the floor and shower area, a toilet in one spot, and porcelain sink in another. I looked in the mirror and gasped. He was right, I did look like hell. The bottom half of my face was coated with dried blood, my nose and jaw covered with bruises. My hair was all over the place, and there were large bags beneath my eyes. I picked up a clean, white towel and wetted it, carefully getting rid of all traces of blood. I threw the now pink towel in a laundry hamper located in the corner, near one of the sea blue walls, and opened the door.
He looked up from the bed, his jade eyes taking in my somewhat nicer appearance.
"Thank you. You didn't have to do that, really." I looked at him.
"No problem."
"Sorry about that though. I'll grab my stuff and find a—SHIT!" I cursed. My stuff, I had forgotten about my stuff! My money was with that, along with my communicator! I put a hand to my forehead. When would all of this end?
"What?" I shook my head and traipsed towards the door, resigned.
"I don't want to bother you anymore than I already have. Good night. And thank you." I paused as I felt his warm, inviting hand clasp my shoulder.
"I asked you a question." He sounded annoyed. I sighed.
"I left my stuff back there, along with my money and my—" He reached in to his jacket's pocket, which I was still wearing, and pulled out a small, rotund, yellow device.
"Communicator? I snagged it when you weren't looking." I let out a sigh of relief. At least now I had something that belonged to me. Though, I did wonder how he'd gotten it so fast, seeing as I'd been there the whole time, and he'd never left my line of sight.
"Thanks." The doorknob turned easily beneath my fingers, and his grip tightened on my shoulder.
"Why don't you stay with me tonight?" I turned to look at him incredulously.
"You've got to be kidding. I don't even know you." He intertwined our fingers, and shook my hand.
"I'm Jason. Nice to meet you." He smirked. "How's that?" I rolled my eyes. "Look, you don't have anywhere else to go because you can't afford it right now, except maybe outside, which is where those guys are so..." Damn, he was right, and I knew I didn't have any other options.
"Alright, fine." He sauntered over to the messy looking bed. He had been sleeping when I called him earlier. Now I felt really bad.
"Wow, you sound so excited." Sarcasm dripped from his words like a faucet. I grabbed a feather pillow and dropped it onto the floor. He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. "What are you doing?"
"Sleeping on the floor." He rolled his eyes.
"Oh, Sunshine, you don't need to do that, I won't bite. Come on." I arched a brow. Instead of waiting for an answer, he wound his arm around my waist and pulled me down. "Just think of us as good friends."
I tumbled on top of him, and he deftly slipped my shoes off, pulling me against him. I hadn't realized just how tired I was until my head hit the pillow next to his. Jason slid the blankets up over us, and, with his arms wrapped around me, I felt my heavy eyelids drop down, this time, not willing to open.
This was not a good sign. I was in a different country, on a different continent, and in a stranger's arms, and yet, I couldn't help it when I returned the gesture. For some odd reason, I felt a sense of security around him as I succumbed to sleep's inviting embrace.
I'm sorry about the last chapter guys, I forgot to put the translations in :D So, here's this chapter's in the order that they came in:
(-1 Well well, what do we have here? A pretty lady out here all alone at night?)
(-2 Exotic...She will make a nice amount of money.)
(-3 Ooh, you are a feisty one!)
(-4 Let her go now, or else.)
(-5 Or else what?)
(-6 You have not seen the last of us. Know that you are dealing with a large organization.)
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-Knisley24