Escaping the Inescapable
by Studdevil
"So… Everybody we know is… Dead…?"
The thought rang in his head over and over.
He wanted to know why she was crying and now he knew.
His heart felt as if it had been ripped in half.
His life would never be the same.
It couldn't be.
How did all this happen?
I should have been up and protecting them.
What did it mean?
He would never be able to eat Ukyo's cooking again.
He would never see the overwhelming joy on Shampoo's face.
He could never again have a friendly spar with his father.
He would not be able to laugh at Mouse's blind antics anymore.
Kasumi's smile would never brighten his cloudy days anymore.
No more Nabiki taking dirty pictures of him.
No more challenges from Kuno.
No more rants from Mr. Tendo.
No more life.
Teardrops were coming quicker down his shadowed face.
How could this happen?
Was everyone really gone?
Why us?
How are we still here?
Where are we?
Questions kept forming inside his flooded mind.
Ranma wanted answers and looked down at the only one to give them to him.
The tired girl was still quietly sobbing on his chest.
His red shirt was soaked by now and the girl began to run out of tears.
Ranma broke the long silence they had and pushed Akane up slowly.
He had so many questions that he wanted her to answer.
Ranma was surprised that Akane started talking.
"This is probably really hard for you to understand." Akane quietly said. "They came into our house; there must have been fifty, or sixty. Your dad tried to fight them off but they were just too powerful."
The blue haired girl was trying to hold back her tears as she kept on telling the confused boy what happened.
"I was throwing tables and chairs at them. Everything I saw, I threw. I almost threw Nabiki. Kasumi was in the back of the house trying to wake you up. They took her too. Each took a person and ran off."
Ranma stood wide-eyed as Akane told him what happened while he was out cold.
"They were ramming through walls, and breaking everything. I saw Kasumi crying. My dad tried to scare them away but that didn't work either. Nabiki was in her room reading or something. She offered money for all of us, but they didn't care and took her too."
"Akane… Where are we…?" Ranma quietly asked.
The girl shifted a little bit and crossed her legs. She was thinking.
"I don't know. It was nighttime and I was almost knocked out when they were carrying us. It wasn't because they had pounded me, because they did, but they smelt so bad. I don't know if it was the smell of blood or dead meat, but their hair and skin just reeked and almost knocked me out." Akane's body trembles at the thought of the horrifying events that had hppened. "Oh Ranma. I'm so scared!" Akane fell back into his arms, now crying again.
Ranma tried to comfort her again. Everything was still a shock to him.
"Akane?" Ranma had another question that was popping up higher than all the others in his mind. Akane tilted her head up slightly waiting for him to speak, tears still stinging her eyes. "Who are, 'they'? What are they…?" Akane shook her head. She knew he was assessing the threat of them.
"Ranma, have you ever heard the saying that there's strength in numbers? Well, it's like that but they are all very strong to begin with. I don't know if you could even handle one…" He nodded his head in disappointment.
"They must have been seven or eight feet tall. The thing that stood out the most was their black hair. I just… Can't explain it. It was, death-black. It had stains of red in it. Probably from the people they killed."
There was a short silence, as if for the people who had perished, then she continued.
"Their right arm was some sort of leathery thing with two points on the ends. It was really hard. The left was normal and covered in hair. The head was flat. If you looked straight on it sorta looked like the front of a frog. They had huge mouths with big pointy yellow teeth. Some were missing their teeth and some had full sets. The feet had three huge stubby toes with something coming out the back."
"How do you know that they went to Jusenkyo? I mean…"
"They told us. They brought us water while we waited in here and they made us pray to Jusenkyo or something like that.
"Oh…" Ranma stood up and sighed. He had been down so long his legs hurt. "Akane?" Ranma whispered.
"What?" Akane replied, wondering what possible question he could think of now.
"Is everyone gone? You said they've been taking them from cages so…" Ranma asked with a hint of hope in his voice.
Akane sighed. "I don't know. I didn't want to risk getting caught. I hoped they'd just forget about me. They haven't been down here for a long time." Akane chewed on her lip. "I mean, it's possible the people were taken are still alive.. But I doubt it..." Akane's voice trailed off.
"And...?" Ranma waited for more, even though Akane seemed to be finished.
"Well I have no clue if anyone else is still in a cage around here. If they have they've definitely been quietly."
Ranma sat back down. "Hmm." Ranma reached around himself and found a small rock.
He quickly aimed between the bars and threw the rock across the room.
They waited. Nothing. No sign that anyone was there. 'I guess we are the only ones left.' Ranma thought in disappointment.
"Oww! Hey! Akane! What the hell?" Ranma screamed.
"Shut up!" Akane whispered in a murderous fashion. "Why are you screaming?!" She almost screamed herself.
"You threw somethin' at me! Duh!" Akane shot him a weird look, or he thought it was a weird look.
"What are you talking about Ranma? I didn't throw anything. Why would I?"
Ranma turned his head and looked across the room. 'No… No way!'
Ranma looked at the twisting staircase on the end of the room to make sure nothing was coming and whispered louder.
"Hello? Who's there?" Ranma looked at the cage on the other side of the room. He waited a second. Nothing. 'Maybe it just fell from the ceiling or something'
Then he thought he heard some rustling and whispering. "Akane. Someone's over there!" Ranma told her quietly. Akane, who wasn't sure what he was talking about, looked over there.
Indeed there was some rustling in the large cage across from them. "Who's there?" Akane whispered a little louder then Ranma had.
The rustling stopped. "That Airen and pervert girl?" Came from a familiar voice from the shadows.
"Shampoo?" Asked Ranma. "Who's else is there?" His hope is restored.
There was silence, then an answer.
"Some man Shampoo no know, and pig."
"Bweeeeeeeeee!" Screamed the pig.
"P-chan? How'd you get here?" Akane wanted to be hugging the pig and wished the pig was with her in the cage. She knew P-chan would always be there for her.
"Who is the guy Shampoo?" Ranma asked once again.
"I said it man Shampoo not know. He say he know Shampoo but I no remember him." Said the Amazon.
"What do you mean you don't know me, young lady? I was there when you got your curse!"
"You stalk Shampoo!" Shampoo asked, threatened. Ranma heard someone bump into the small crate.
"No, no! I work at Jusenkyo! Please don't hit me!" Ranma felt like laughing, but he knew it wouldn't be right to laugh.
"Yo! Is that you, Jusenkyo guide?" Ranma waited.
"Yes it is! Could you tell this lady to get away from me?"
Ranma ignored his pleads.
"What are you doing here in Nerima? I didn't know other places were attacked."
"Umm, I was there when they came to the springs. They were very nice people, they were. Until they went into the springs, at least. When they came out they started chasing me and they brought me here. There was only ten of them or so. From what this lady told me there were more. They must have gone back, I understand."
"P-chan! Come here baby!" Akane quietly pleaded.
The little pig squeezed through the bars and came running across to get to Akane. "Look Ranma! It's P-chan!" Akane squealed in delight and hugged her frightened companion.
As the pig squealed with joy, Akane continued to hold him to her chest and snuggle him. Ranma only shook his head. "Now all we have to do is get outta here." Ranma announced.
"Right…" Akane agreed.
'But how…?'
End of chapter 3