CHAPTER SIX

Lex stared at the water going down the drain. He knew he shouldn't waste it and let it run like that but he made no move for the faucet. It was four am. and there he was, wide awake standing around in his bathroom. He wished he could blame it on the fact that Kiki was sleeping in his bed in one of his t-shirts and he couldn't get comfortable on the couch. But he knew that regardless of her presence he was awake because of them. The Mallrats. He'd lay awake all night reliving past memories, each saddening him a bit more. He had regrets, many involving his last moments with someone he never saw again: Taisan, Bray, Ryan, Alice... They were all gone and he would do just about anything to go back and fix those moments. If only he'd known.

A figure dressed in dark, concealing clothing stood over the sleeping form on the bed. He reached into the folds of his garment to reveal a large knife which reflected the small amount of light coming through the window. Kiki stirred and a strange sound escaped her lips as the knife plunged down into her chest.

Lex stared at the bathroom door. Had he heard something? He stood straining to hear some sound before having the good sense to turn off the water. Only silence came from the bedroom. Even Kiki's light snoring had stopped. He shrugged and looked into the mirror one last time before shutting off the light and opening the door. He glanced at the bed as he walked over to the window.

Kiki had wrapped herself up in the blankets with only an arm exposed as it dangled off the bed. He smirked and lit a joint. The city was quiet and Lex wondered if he was the only person not working awake at this hour. His ears picked up a strange sound. Was that dripping? He glanced towards his bedroom door but the drip sounded closer than the kitchen. Had he failed to turn the faucet completely off in the bathroom. He listened more intently. It sounded too thick to be water. Lex frowned and looked at Kiki's still form on the bed. He could barely make her out in the darkness but what light was available illuminated her thin arm. Lex looked harder and realized there was something dark on her skin. Something that was dripping onto the floor. The joint dropped from his mouth and before he could make a move towards the bed, the darkness in the room came alive and attacked him.

There had to be at least three of them in there Lex thought frantically as he defended himself from invisible punches and kicks. He felt the metal of a blade just barely slice his cheek. He plowed forward into an attacker sending him off his feet and leaped over the bed. Tripping over Kiki, Lex hit the floor on the other side and tried to reach for his lamp. In seconds they were on him again and he could feel his body being pinned down. They were going to kill him. Lex screamed as he reached within for his primal strength and broke free of their grasp. The fight continued into the living room, Lex picking up and throwing every object he came into contact with. His attackers were relentless and seemed invulnerable to pain though he did hear one of them cry out as a paper weight hit him in the head. Still they came at him and in his fight to survive, Lex had no time to hit a light switch. He had a deep need to know who the hell these assholes were for his gut told him they had killed Jay as well.

In the kitchen he found himself backed against the counter and managed to grab himself a knife of his own. He swiped blindly at the dark figures closing in on him. There was a scream as blade met flesh and one retreated slightly. Lex wondered if he could back them off enough to make it out the front door. Suddenly something sharp stuck into his shoulder and Lex cried out and dropped the knife. Had they thrown a dart at him? Another object just missed his head and crashed through the kitchen window behind him. Just as he was tackled yet again, Lex realized he would never make it to the door and the fire escape was his only hope. Landing a hard kick to his attacker's chest allowed him to break free and without a thought Lex threw himself into the remaining glass.

He landed on the fire escape and gasped at the pain. He was sure a shard of glass was sticking into the soft tissue between his shoulder blades. Still he had no time time to think about it as he jumped up and started to climb down the rickety steps. Above him two of his attackers followed and Lex briefly wondered where the other one had gone. As his socks touched ground Lex glanced up and down the alley way behind his apartment building. Which was the fastest way to the street? He was about to go left when he heard the running. Then he saw a dozen of people in black coming down the alley towards him.

"What the fu...!"

"Get him!" One of the attackers above him shouted.

Lex took off in a full sprint with the mob after him. The insanity of the situation was barely registering as he frantically mapped out his escape route. In his distracted state of mind he took a wrong turn and found himself face to face with the border wall of the city. Unable to turn back and retrace his steps he raced along the wall looking for another break in the buildings in which he could find his way to the street. His pursuers raced after him silently, only the drumbeat of their feet hitting the pavement giving them away. Lex was suddenly dismayed to see a tall gate up ahead of him. A dead end. He was trapped and this realization caused him to start yelling for help. He hoped his cries would wake people up in the dark apartments running along side the alley. He slammed into the gate and desperately tried to scale it but it was too tall.

"Shit!"

Lex looked around for a weapon even though he knew it would be pointless to try and fight off that mob. They were just down the block and would be on him in a few seconds. With only moments to live Lex noticed the access ladder that went up the border wall. He immediately started to climb the rungs while thinking how pointless a venture this was. The top of the wall was impassable with it's sharp shards of twisted metal. Forget about the three story drop to the other side.

The group in black stopped at the wall and stared up the ladder. Even in the darkness Lex could make out a small smirk on one of the faces. They knew he was dead. Either by their hands or by the deadly fall that awaited him. Lex paused when he reached the top and wondered which way he preferred to go. The border wall was three feet thick so he was staring at thirty six inches of home made razor wire. He looked back at the buildings and saw a light in one of the windows. Desperately he yelled for help again. Even as his voice died in the night he knew the Techno guard wouldn't get to him in time. He didn't think the mob below him would sit and wait for help. On cue, as if they'd read his mind, someone was ordered to climb the access ladder. Suddenly Lex knew it was time to choose his death. If he was going to die, he wouldn't go easy. This guy was going to have to earn his blood.

At first Lex used his free leg to kick at the man ascending the ladder which only halted his progress a little. His attacker maneuvered his way up while blocking the blows Lex relentlessly rained down on him. He seemed almost impervious to any pain, his dark eyes vacant of feeling. The cold, determined look on his face startled Lex more than their present situation. Both men dangled precariously three stories up while hitting one another. Somehow the man in black made headway up the ladder until he was just above Lex. He smirked evilly now that he had the advantage. Lex spat blood as he took another elbow to the face. At this angle his own blows weren't as affective. He was losing his grip on the ladder and was sure it was only a matter of another good punch and he would find himself falling. Out the corner of his eye he realized another man in black was starting up the ladder to help finish him off. Somewhere he could hear the Techno siren and he knew someone had called for help. Not that it would do him any good now. He would be dead and his murderers long gone before the officers even made it to the wall. Then he noticed the angle of the man above him. His strong body was dangerously close to getting entangled in the shards of metal along the top of the wall.

Lex's eyes flickered recklessly as the idea hit him. It was suicide but at least it was a death of his own choosing. With the last of his strength Lex jumped up the last two rungs and slammed the man into the barbed wire. A gut wrenching scream filled the air as Lex used the bigger body below him to shield himself from getting sliced apart. He felt something rip his leg open and he yelled out as the momentum sent him over the wall and three stories down to his death.

As he fell his body turned and he looked up at the dark sky, his death cry piercing the night. Suddenly his body crashed through something which slowed his momentum. He hit the ground with bone crushing force and heard a gong ring out in his head as his brain rattled in the confines of his skull. At first his breath didn't come but then he gasped at the pain searing through his body. He could see nothing but stars and his head felt disconnected from his body.

Slowly his vision came back to him in the form of a narrow, foggy tunnel. He was barely able to make out the top of the wall from which he'd plummeted down. Half of the body of the man he'd used as his personal carpet hung over the top. His blood stained and ran down the wall from where the metal had near severed him at the waist. Above him stood another figure in black staring down at what he must have believed was Lex's broken corpse. Lex didn't care if the mob came after him to finish the job. He knew he'd be dead long before they could make it to him. A slight smirk played on his lips as the darkness swallowed him.