The Ex Factor

All chapters rated R for barrelfuls of gratuitous violence.

Jesenik-Moreau Manor

Theresa and Gwen gasped in shock as Claude staggered.

"Rina!" he gasped again and then fell.

Seeing the tide turning, Alistair backed up a step-then turned and began to run towards the door, the helpless Sarah still in his arms.

"No!" Gwen cried. "Don't take her-I'll kill you first!" She started for Alistair but Kieran, still on the floor, managed to force himself upwards, grabbing Alistair's legs and knocking the older man and the child he still clutched to the ground. Before Alistair could regain his footing, Gwen snatched her daughter up and back into her arms, and Theresa threw herself on top of her despised husband, pinning him back to the ground.

"Leaving so soon, Alistair? We were having so much fun!" He struggled beneath her, finally managing to throw her off of him. Jumping to his feet he started for the door again but Kieran managed to finally stagger to his feet. He tightened his fist and hit Alistair with all of his strength. Alistair staggered back, hitting the wall and sliding back to the ground with a grunt.

Theresa was immediately in front of him, holding a letter opener she'd snatched from the desk to this throat. "Please, try to run again, Alistair. I beg you."
Kieran stumbled and grabbed the desk for balance. Still weak, he slowly turned to face the doorway. "Rina." He said huskily. "Put the gun down."

"No!" Rina's face was drained of every bit of color, and her light colored eyes were wide and stunned looking. Claude lay on the floor in front of her, gasping, his eyes fixed on her face with a look of utter terror in them. "H-have mercy, Rina. Have mercy on me!"

"Mercy?" A bitter laugh tore from Rina's throat. "How can you use that word? Did you have mercy for my family when you raised our rent to a nearly unpayable amount? How about when my baby brother died because we could not afford medicine for him? Where was your mercy then, Claude? When you sent your guards to our home and took my sister in the middle of the night, was that your merciful act? I begged you to take me instead, remember? I came to your home and crawled to you on my hands and knees and I begged you! And do you remember what you said, Master Moreau? You said I'd already served my time. You said your guards didn't want used goods."

Her face twisted in hatred, she spat on the bleeding man. "You took everything from me and my family. Everything! But there was one thing I had left, only one. I knew that I was a good person. I had the knowledge that I would never hurt someone the way you have. Then you took that away from me too! I have learned well from you. If I can hurt innocent strangers, I can certainly hurt a man who the world would be so much better off without. Mercy? For a rabid, man killing wolf, caught in a trap, I could have mercy. Even for a poisonous snake with its fangs sunk into my hand, I could feel mercy. For you, there is nothing." She raised the gun.

"Rina!" Kieran raised his hand as he took a weak step towards her. "He is not worth it! You are so young-you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't do this!"

"Kieran, you know better than anyone what a monster he is. I do this for all of us." Her fingers tightened on the trigger.

"Let her do it, Kieran." Gwen whispered. Kieran looked at her for a moment then back at Rina.

"Think of the child, Rina, please." He indicated Sarah with a flick of his head. Rina looked up startled, noticing Sarah for the first time. Her hand shook. "Who is that?" she whispered, staring at Sarah's tearful, frightened face.
"

My daughter." Gwen said, pulling Sarah closer to her.

Rina's face crumpled. "I'm sorry-I didn't know. I'm so, so sorry!" she begin to sob, the gun hanging loosely from her fingers.

Kieran moved quickly to her side and took the gun out of her hands. "It's alright, Rina." He stroked her hair for a moment. "You saved us all."

Rina looked at Theresa and Gwen, still tearful. "I sent you here to die." she whispered. "I sold you in return for my sister, and for my family's survival. You must hate me."

"No." Theresa shook her head, looking back at Rina but still keeping the letter open firmly pressed to Alistair's neck. "You were desperate. Believe me, I understand. I'm going to help you, Rina, I promise. I won't let you pay for that man's crimes, or this one's!" she turned back to Alistair, angrily jabbing the letter opener a little harder then was necessary. Alistair winced.

"What are you going to do, Theresa? Are you going to try to kill me, again? You should know by now that whatever you try is doomed to failure. Hasn't the last seven years taught you that? You're pathetic, Theresa...just a desperate little girl trying to force love from a man who barely acknowledges your existence."

"Shut up!" Theresa hissed.

"Ignore him, Theresa." Kieran said. "He's trying to get you upset enough to do something stupid." He looked around, and then walked slowly forward, looking as though he'd regained most of the ability to move. "Let's get something and tie him up." He thought for a moment.

"There are handcuffs in the desk drawer." Rina murmured. They all looked at her, startled, and she shook her head. "Believe me, you don't want to know." Her words were tinged with bitterness.

The four of them dragged a resisting Alistair into the padded office chair, forcing his arms behind the back of the seat and handcuffing them. For good measure, Kieran tied his feet his feet together with a length of rope he'd found in the desk as well, something else he supposed he didn't want to know the use for.

"Oh!" Rina looked startled as she looked at Theresa and Gwen. "I forgot to tell you-your people are here, looking for you. They should be here soon."

"People?" Gwen and Theresa looked at each other in amazement. "What people?"

"One said he was your husband." Rina looked at Gwen, then turned to Theresa. "One is your brother, one is your sister. And there is another man, with brown hair, and a blond woman."

"Ethan." Gwen whispered. Kieran looked at her, then looked down, a slight flicker of hurt in his eyes.

"Paloma, Luis, Jared, and Fancy too, it sounds like." Theresa turned back to Rina, looking confused. "How did you get here ahead of them?"

"Shortcut." Rina and Kieran spoke at the same time.

"Shortcut?" Gwen and Theresa echoed, looking at each other, disgusted. "There's a shortcut? Well isn't that a bi-" Theresa started to say, but suddenly Kieran's expression turned to horror.

"No!" He stumbled forward, hand outstretched. Theresa, Rina, and Gwen followed his gaze. Claude had dragged himself across the room while they were occupied, and he was getting closer and closer to the gun that Kieran had laid on the desk.

Claude turned at the sound of Kieran's cry. "I..don't..want...that." he whispered. "This...will...be...far...more..amusing." Before anyone could stop him, he reached up to the underside of the desk, and pressed something.

'"What the hell is that?" Theresa turned toward Kieran frantically as Claude's mocking laughter filled the room.

Before Kieran could answer, the sound of an explosion ripped through the manor.

A huge boom sounded in their ears. The ground rocked wildly beneath their feet; the windows rattled and objects fell off the desk, shelves, and walls, and on to the floor. For a minute, it was all the small group could do to stay on their feet, then it stopped.

"What was that?" Gwen asked shakily as she pulled Sarah nearer to her.

Kieran ran unsteadily to the window and looked out. "My God...it was the servant's quarters! He blew it up!" He turned and ran at Claude, pulling him up to a sitting position. "You psychopath, those were your own people!"

Claude laughed. "That's...not...all..n-n-n.." He suddenly gasped again and a low rattling noise emitted from him. Then he slumped back in Kieran's grip, his face slack.

"He's dead." Kieran dropped him in disgust and stood up. "We have to get out of here! I think that was just the first of a series...he's got this whole place wired. Let's move!"

"What about him?" Theresa stared at Alistair.

"Hmmm." Kieran gave Alistair an ice cold scrutinizing stare. "We can't take him. He'll stab us in the back as soon as we're distracted. We'll leave him here. Help will be here soon-someone will have called about the explosion. Hopefully, they'll get to you in time, Mr. Crane." He gave Alistair a lopsided smile. "It would just be heartbreaking if help gets here too late."

Suddenly, the boom sounded again, louder this time. It took over a minute for the room to stop shaking, and with a crack and a series of sparks, the electricity went off, the room becoming so dark they could barely see one another.

"That was closer!" Gwen cried. "We've got to move! Kieran, do you know the fastest way out from here?" She looked around frantically. They were at the very top of the manor now. Could they get out in time? Would her daughter die here in this den of nightmares?

"Rina!" Kieran turned to her. "Run ahead..take the shortcut and get help. We will be slower with the child and I'm still a bit numb. Hurry!"

Rina nodded, and dashed out of the room. Kieran turned to them. "Stay close to me-we can't get separated."

Alistair began screaming from his chair. "You can't leave me here! Theresa, if you do this you'll be as bad as I am! Don't you want to bask in your moral superiority? I'll do anything you want, sign everything over to you and your son for good, give you a divorce...Theresa!! Don't do this! Gwen, if you help me I'll promise that Theresa will never get her hooks into your husband! I'll give you everything-I'll give Ethan back his birthright!"

Gwen and Theresa both turned, giving Alistair looks of deep hatred. "Goodbye Alistair." Theresa said quietly.

Gwen looked at him for a longer moment, then turned to Kieran. "Can you take Sarah, please?" At his look of surprise she continued. "You know the way...if I get separated I know you can get her out."

"Alright then." Kieran lifted the little girl in his arms. "Follow me!"

He headed out of the room. Theresa started to follow but Gwen grabbed her arm.

"You know he'll make it out of this, Theresa." She cast another look back at Alistair. "And he'll come back, again and again. Our families will never be safe...our children."

Theresa stared at her for a moment, then looked at Alistair. "The window." She whispered, looking back at Gwen. "Behind him."

Alistair turned pale as the women stared at him. "No...you can't...you wouldn't!"

"On the count of three." Gwen whispered. "One...two...three!"

Theresa and Gwen grabbed the chair Alistair was seated in. He screamed a helpless, high pitched wail as they ran and pushed it with all their strength. "No...no!!"

The chair flew across the room, directly at the floorlength pane glass window and then it hit it...shattering it as Alistair flew out of it, and then plummented out of sight.

They heard another scream, a crash...then nothing.

Gwen and Theresa stared at each other for a moment, then Gwen put a finger to her lips. "No one. Don't ever speak of this again, Theresa."

"Theresa...Gwen...where are you?" They heard Kieran yell from down the corridor. Without another word, they turned and ran from the room.

Jesenik-The Forest

"Oh my God, that came from where Theresa and Gwen are!" Ethan cried as the noise of the explosion ricketed through the forest. The five of them looked at each other in horror, then without another word began to run, abandoning all caution. They hadn't made it far when suddenly Rina burst on to the path in front of them.

"Rina, what the hell?" Luis burst out. "What are you doing-what's going on?" He looked ahead at the manor in the distance, barely visible through the trees, and then back at her.

"We need help." Rina gasped for breath as she spoke. "Your people are alive-I've seen them, but Claude set off a bomb and we think there is more than one. They are trying to get out."
Ethan felt his knees go weak with relief. Beside him, he heard Jared exhale shakily. Paloma threw her arms around Luis, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Oh, thank God." Fancy whispered, her hand over her heart. Then her eyes widened again. "Bombs?!"

"Rina, we need your help!" Luis stared at the young woman. "How did you get there and back so fast?"

"Shortcut." Rina said, pointing behind her. "The path you're on takes you almost all the way around the woods. If you go through that grove of trees, there's another path that takes you straight to the manor."

"That would have been nice to know earlier!" Jared gave her a harsh look. Just then, the noise from a second explosion rocketed through the woods. The six of them exchanged looks of horror.

"OK, Jared, Ethan, and I will continue to the manor. Paloma, you, Fancy, and Rina go get help!"

"No way!" Paloma and Fancy shook their heads simultaneously. "We are with you!" Paloma added. "That's my sister too, and you are going to need us to help you find them."

Luis opened his mouth to continue the argument when suddenly a third explosion sounded. Rina cried out with horror, whirling around, her hand over her mouth.

"That wasn't from the manor-that was from the village!" Ethan nearly choked on the words. "Oh my God, that maniac has this whole place set to blow up-he wants to kill everyone!"

"No!" Rina cried out. "My family-I must go to them-I must help! I am sorry but I must go!"

"It's OK." Luis called out after her as she ran back the other way. "Rina, we will come back and help as soon as we can!" He looked at the others grimly. "We've got to run to them, you guys, and if you can pray at the same time, do it."

Moreau Manor

Kieran looked at Gwen and Theresa, alarm in his eyes. "I thought I'd lost you both for a minute!"

Gwen and Theresa exchanged nervous looks. "I'm sorry, we must have gotten turned around in the dark." Gwen couldn't quite meet his eyes as she said it.

"Alright, well stay close from now on. This place is convoluted, and I don't want to take a chance on losing you." Kieran's eyes were on Gwen's, and she felt herself flush all over again. "All together now...four flights of stairs and we're at the bottom. We just need to move before another-" Before Kieran finished his sentence, they heard another explosion, but this one was distant and far away. The three of them exchanged startled looks, then Kieran looked stricken. "My God, it's the village!"

Theresa gasped. "The village? All of those people..Claude wanted to kill them too? But why?"

Kieran shook his head as they hurried down a flight of stairs. "I think that meglomaniac set this up as either a way to cover himself if he needed an escape, or the ultimate suicide. If he had to go, he wanted to take as many people with him as possible. I hope his black soul is burning in hell as we speak...damn him!" They were hurtling down another corridor now and towards the next staircase. There was no more time for conversation as they continued to pick up speed, each of them knowing that another bomb could go off at any moment, and this time, they were unlikely to escape it.

A few short minutes were an endless, agonizing eternity but finally, they were on the main floor. "There!" Kieran cried. "We're almost there!"

Almost as soon as he spoke, the world exploded and fell in on them, burying them in a shower of dust, plaster, debris, and stone

Jesenik - The Forest

The five of them burst out of the woods and stopped, stunned, in the clearing, staring at the remains of the huge manor house in front of them. Almost two thirds of it was damaged, walls caved in, rooms turned into piles of rubble... And all around them men, dressed in the strangest costumes any of them had ever seen, were stumbling across the grass, some holding their injured cohorts between them as they tried to get away from the crippled house. Seeing the massive weaponry the men possessed, Luis drew his gun, ready for battle. But the men didn't even seem to notice them-they were too bent on getting as far away from the manor as they could. Besides, having their deranged master try to blow them up probably put a damper on any urge they had to fight for him.

Here and there bodies lay in the grass, or those too injured to move and with no one to help. Occasionally, in the midst of the men, they saw other people staggering or running across the green grass, some dressed in what was obviously service attire.

"These poor people." Luis whispered. "This guy is sick-blowing up his own house and everyone with it."

Ethan and Jared has seen enough. Both of them started forward at the same time.

"Hey!" Luis called after them. "Stay together-there could be other bombs! I'll take Fancy and Paloma with me!" He turned to the two women. "We have to check the place out, fast! Stay with me, this whole thing could collapse at any time!" Cautiously, but swiftly, they moved forward. Jared and Ethan had disappeared towards the less damaged part of the house, and Fancy, Luis, and Paloma ran up the stairs, moving to one of the few remaining doorways.

"Luis.." Fancy started to call out something and that's when the third bomb blew. The full impact of the blast was not close to where they were standing, but the wall in front of them, already severely damaged, begin to break, crashing down all around them. Instinctively, all of them ducked down, hands wrapped around their heads. Stones rained down on them, but none of them were big enough to cause more then minor damage. Almost a minute passed as they huddled desperately before the falling stones ceased. Straightening up, Luis ran to Fancy and Paloma, frantically checking them. All three were bloody and bruised, but Luis breathed a sigh of enormous relief when he saw that they were ok. "Thank God! OK, you guys, we have to-"

"Luis!" Fancy screamed. The small portion of wall that was left began to fall, coming down right where Luis was standing. There was no time for her to think, no time to be careful. She dove at him, knocking him off of his feet and out of the way. For a moment, even Paloma's scream was drowned out in the boom of crashing and breaking rock.

As the dust settled, Luis sat up, stunned. "Paloma...damn, I didn't even see that coming." Luis stumbled, dizzy for a moment. His younger sister helped him to his feet and then they both looked around.

"Fancy? Oh my God, where is she?" Turning frantically, Luis peered through the swirling dust. "Fancy? Fancy, no!" He cried out in terror as he spotted her, nearly buried in a pile of rubble, eyes closed, blood trickling down her face.