Chapter 2
Hey everyone. Here is chapter 2 and without further ado, I leave you to read it!
Waking up on a cold hard concrete floor, Eames was in a panic; his last predicament still at the fore front of his mind. But a quick glance around showed Ariadne, Yusuf, Saito, and Cobb tied in a fashion similar to the way he found himself; their feet tied along with their hands, a short piece of rope connecting the two bindings together. Movement was near impossible. Confusion coursed through his blood.
They were all alive…
Ariadne no longer had a bullet lodged somewhere deep within her cranial cavity, same with Saito, Cobb was not pouring blood from the large holes blasted in his chest, and Yusuf's heart was functioning fine without the presence of a led slug.
Eames eyes – as if by their own will – then had him quickly glancing at the room they were all held in. The four walled prison had no windows casting light into the heavy darkness. The only light was that that entered from under the single door on the far wall. The walls and floor were crafted of large concrete bricks that were weathered and worn from many years of water damage and who knows what else. They were in some sort of dungeon, but the last thing Eames' remembered was Arthur…
Then realization flooded him as if a large dam holding back a ravage river suddenly gave way; the water now coursing down the mountain into the valley below.
They had been dreaming.
This single thought sent fear and joy battling through Eames' body causing goose bumps to form on his skin. This meant Arthur had not betrayed them; but then, where was Arthur? And worse than that, how had none of them felt the sensation of dreaming thus alerting themselves to the dire predicament amiss.
'This has to have something to do with the message I received after the completion of the McGregger job,' Eames mind connected as he sought for any detail that would aid them in the situation. Arthur had been worried by something and clearly it hadn't been his prudent conscious causing his alarm; as Eames originally thought.
Coughing hoarsely, Eames tried to reposition his stiff cold body. Upon his disturbance of the deathly quiet atmosphere, Ariadne and Cobb also showed signs of consciousness.
"What the heck happened," Ariadne asked in an irritated tone accented with anger as she struggled against here bindings.
"Yusuf… Saito," Cobb demanded in the most controlled tone he could muster.
"Listen, it is dire that we remember. Think back, how did we get here? We have to know if we are dreaming or in…"
But Cobb desperate grasp at figuring out the truth was denied as the thick steel door – rusted and serving as a home to several small blotches of moss – was grinded open.
Three large men dressed in jeans with varying tops, stepped into the room. At least five more could be seen awaiting orders in the hallway near the door. Their faces were drained of any emotion and carried a rough appearance from there many years of illegal doings.
Saito and Yusuf had now completely come around and were attempting to read as much about the captors before them as possible. Cobb was about to speak when one of them stepped forward, drawing a shiny silver blade from a sheath hidden under his heavy leather jacket. He was looking directly at Cobb and began to walk towards him while lowering into a crouch; blade held in front the entire time.
Cobb took a quick gulp of breathe, glancing nervously over at the rest of his team. He was confident Eames understood the situation and how to react; but the rest had him worried. Then suddenly, the man plunged the knife forward slicing the rope connecting Cobb's feet to his hands, in half. The two men behind this apparent 'leader' then proceeded to roughly hall Cobb to his feet, restraining him by firmly gripping his upper arms. This process was repeated for everyone on the team; the continual silence a large weight that pressed down harder and harder every moment without a spoken word passed.
But Cobb did not know what to say and obviously their captors were not a talkative bunch. They did not demand secretes or threaten pain for the joy of seeing someone squirm. Looking to Eames, Cobb saw his teeth clenched and chin raised stubbornly; his eyes his only feature revealing the fire burning in his mind. Cobb was also hiding his rage and questions deep below the surface, pulling on the rough mask of their captors.
Then, no word uttered, they were all dragged from the room. The silence was so heavy now that unless one of the 'brutes' spoke, silence would continue on for eternity.
…
The hallway mimicked that of an old Victorian mansion occupied by a high ranked nobleman. The door ways were framed by dark mahogany wood that was elegantly carved in intricate patterns. The walls were painted a deep heavy cream accented with thin green vines that slithered on the surface like snakes. While the dark carpeting showed a complex pattern of large flowers; the pattern was bordered by a thick green stripe that stretched to meet a thin gold rod at the base of the wall.
The walls were broken by many narrow doors and tall dome shaped stained glass windows; a thin string of lead bordering each individual piece of glass. The numerous lamps curving up from each wall cast a dim but saturating light that seemed to coat the hallway in a strange sort of peace that threatened to fill any soul with joy. But that peace was broken by the prickling sound of shattering glass followed by a barbaric scream of shock and fear.
"Ahhhhh," Ariadne yelped as the large guard that had an iron grip around her arm carelessly pushed another of his team out one of the towering windows. Cobb, Eames, Yusuf, and Saito – who were at the head of the procession – instantly tried to twist in their captors' hold. But to Cobb's and Eames surprise they did not have to fight to see what had just transgressed, but were actually led to the now shattered window.
"I wanted you all to understand the situation you are actually in," said the brute still holding Ariadne who stood in slight shock.
"Look over the edge," he commanded in a harsh whisper. Cobb was the first to comply as he was given slight lee-way to pear over the side of the mansion. What he saw sent icicles surging through his veins. Three stories down on the pavement below lay a man who had a pool of blood quickly collecting around his head. But even from up were they stood, Cobb could hear the raspy breaths and constant moans of pain that emitted from the broken form. Closer inspection also showed the slight lolling of the man's head back and forth as death slowly took him from the real world.
Eames' head was then thrust through the breach in the wall before quickly being pulled back inside the mansion. Subconsciously Eames gulped as his eyes danced with ways to escape this nightmare – the true reality of this situation just sunk in. Without another word said, the group continued down the corridor; Yusuf and Saito being left to only wonder what had occurred moments earlier.
As they progressed, Cobb and Ariadne were bumped together; Ariadne jumped at the chance to ask the question rumbling through her body.
"What was that?" She said in a very hushed tone.
"He just proved reality," was all Cobb was able to explain before getting jerked forward.
The group took several more turns and one elevator up two stories before pausing outside what appeared to be an ordinary door only slightly wider than the rest. One of the two men holding Eames – who had been leading this campaign through the mansion – attempted to switch out with another free guard; Eames seized the opportunity as a chance to escape. When that door opened Eames did not want to be around to see what was inside. He was not being led to the slaughter like some fattened calf without a fight. A quick glance to Cobb confirmed that he felt the same.
As soon as the grip on his right arm slacked, his elbow shot up quickly freeing him completely from the other man's grasp. Leaving no time for a reaction, Eames struck out again; the back of his fist smacking hard into the guy's nose followed by a quick upper cut to his abdomen. A quick knife hand strike to the side of his neck sent him to the floor unconscious. Hooking to the left Eames buried his fist in his other captor's face; three quick jabs to the man's stomach had him curling over. Clasping both hands Eames brought them down hard on the man's upper back and he too hit the floor.
Yusuf, Ariadne, and Saito also instinctively started to struggle against their restrainers.
Cobb swiftly kicked the man on his right in the groin; his grasp vanished immediately. But the action landed Cobb with a splitting headache as one guard connected the butt of his gun with the soft tissue at the base of Cobb's skull. The world spun and pitched under his feet, causing him to sway and nearly loose his footing. Upon witnessing the reprimand Cobb received Yusuf, Ariadne, and Saito abandoned their attempt at freedom. At the same time Eames ran out of luck, as the same man who struck Cobb proceeded to repeat the action on him. Eames hit the floor directly following the connection of his skull and the butt of the gun; he sprawled at everyone's feet barely hanging onto consciousness.
"You all better not try any shit like that again. Because next time we won't be so nice," the man holding Araidne spoke up for a second time over the course of their journey from the 'dungeon'.
Leaving their comrades where they fell, another man from the party stepped forward and flipped up a piece of molding bordering the door they stood in front of. The hushed sound of keys being struck was the only clue any of them had to what the man was doing. Only a few moments later the sound of large metal cylinders – like those of a bank vault – could be heard sliding into a position that would permit entrance. The opening of the door revealed that there was nothing ordinary about it, in fact it was about ten inches solid steal; the metal cylinder merely circles running the length of its edge. But the door is not what captured their attention. It was the man chained to the wall opposite them in a spread eagle fashion; with both arms raised to the point that his feet were just able to rest completely on the ground.
They had found Arthur.
…
Before they could even comprehend what their eyes were relaying, they were pushed through the door way. This room was larger than the last and well illuminated. The sound of people entering caused the chained point man to raise his head from where it had previously been rested on his chest.
Arthur's breathe caught in his throat at the sight of his entire team standing before him… they had been found. An urgency then coursed through him that had words clawing up his throat, readying to burst out - alerting Cobb and Eames to the truth. But before he could even utter a word, a fire cracker was lit; going off. Then, for a brief moment, a high pitched whistle could be heard before Arthur's world exploded in a vibrant show of fireworks. It hadn't been a fire cracker after all… it had been a bullet.
The bullet made a clean pass through Arthur calf before bouncing off the concrete floor to lie uselessly in some forgotten corner. Cobb's face twisted in anger as he lunged forward in his captor's grasp while Arthur gulped against the pain. Blood quickly began oozing from the wound, saturating his pants to form an ever growing pool around his foot. The sight sent Ariadne into near panic; she could barely contain the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.
"Now I have your attention," someone within the room said; Cobb and Eames' head snapped to the right searching for the keeper of the voice.
"I am going to make you pay for what you have done," the man continued. He inclined his head slightly and one of the guards near Cobb stepped forward drawing a gun from a Hollister under his leather jacket. The pistol was shoved in Cobb's now free hands, who looked at in complete uncertainty.
"Cobb… you are going to kill Arthur."
No one breathed. No one moved.
"Maybe you didn't hear me," the man proposed; the ball of led exploded out of the end of his pistol sending thunder bouncing off the walls of this tomb.
Arthur could not contain his cry of pain as his knee exploded into a mass of mangled flesh.
"Cobb, kill Arthur."
Cobb was paralyzed; he felt as if he had been shot in the chest. His breathing was short fast gasps.
"Please. Please let him go. You can do whatever you want to me," Cobb pleaded, the gun shaking in his hand. Eames and Saito had been knocked to the floor after attempting to take their guards out as anger over rode them for what they were witnessing.
Arthur had sweat pouring down his forehead and was desperately trying to keep his breathing normal. But above his pain, he found the strength to focus on Cobb, staring him dead in the eyes, asking:
"Are you okay?" he asked in a tone that would have fooled a blind man to his condition. Cobb barely managed a nod; which Arthur read as an utter lie.
"Kill him Cobb," the man warned once again.
"No…" Cobb barely breathed; his mind was racing with a way to fix this problem. But regrettably, nothing was coming.
"Hmmm."
The gun went off again; this time burrowing deep with Arthur's thigh. An x-ray would have shown it knocking into the femur, fracturing it to point that almost shattered it in half.
Arthur's head snapped back, colliding with the concrete wall behind him. Cobb found himself wishing that the collision would have knocked Arthur unconscious; at least then he would have been freed from the pain. But instead, it barely seemed to faze him as a low moan mixed with a desperate cry of agony emanated from his battered form.
Ariadne could not tell if it was sweat or escaped tears that currently wetted Arthur's cheeks as his head slightly swayed back and forth. Even in his immobilized useless state, Eames struggled as much as possible. When he had been knocked to the floor, the guard decided to teach him a lesson by placing a heavy foot on his trachea. But Eames' hair was on end, any mistake these barbarians made would seal their certain death.
Cobb barely hesitated this time; he had one shot and could not longer worry over the result of his actions. His gun flew right and fired at their tormentor. But he was a 'true bloody weasel' as Eames would say, for his sorry hide was hiding behind a sheet of bullet proof glass. The bullet cracked the glass into a spider web pattern but did not give way under the force of the bullet; had it not been for this hidden treachery the bullet would have dug deep into this man's brain.
"Hhhhhaaaa hhhhhhhhaaaaa hhhhhaaaaaaa," was the mocking reply that Cobb received for his effort.
"Kill him, Cobb."
But Cobb would not. Tears now filled all of the team's eyes; Ariadne feeling no shame at letting them spill down her cheeks.
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," Arthur cried desperately; the fourth bullet taring mercilessly through his side. The world began to spin and totter. Arthur had lost all the strength in his legs dropping as far as the chains shackled to his wrists would allow. But this sudden thrust of weight dislocated his left shoulder, alerting its occurrence with a bone grinding snap.
Araidne could not longer control her emotions as they ripped through her like wild fire. She screamed with Arthur, fighting desperately at everything.
"Cobb do SOMETHING!" Ariadne pleaded. "PLEASE!"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?" Cobb screamed his hands flying in the air, a look of total desperation plastered on his face.
"This is too good. Not only are you torturing your 'point man' but you are taking your anger out on your whole team."
"How about you kill him now, Cobb?" the man continued – taunting Cobb – his cool calm voice vibrating like a poisonous gas throughout the room.
Arthur hung limply by his right arm; his legs completely slack and slightly bent beneath him. One more bullet to his body would cause all the jolt necessary for his right shoulder to give way same as the left had.
"Shoot him Cobb. Shoot him. Do it. DO IT!" the man screamed, his voice having slowly increased in intensity with the sentence.
"!" Cobb confirmed; he would not take Arthur's life. Period.
"Pity."
The fifth bullet found its way to Arthur's left forearm and, same as the first, went clean through. Arthur bit his tongue, he would not cry out again. But it wasn't just his body that was ridden with agony, watching his team – his friends – being hurt the way they were was almost worse as far as Arthur was concerned. He would continue to get shot full of holes and whatever else if they would be set free and unharmed. But that was only a dream.
That was enough.
The team and the guards suddenly dissolved into a chaotic mess of flailing bodies and confusion. In the chaos, Eames had managed to get his hands on a gun with only one priority on his mind; free Arthur.
Eames fired in Arthur's direction, the bullets peeling out of the chamber so close in unison it was as if only one shot was fired. The carefully aimed bullets hit their target and Arthur was free of his chains; now lying in a heap on the floor.
...
As Arthur lay there, the world danced around him. His body was in shock now, he was certain. The pain was bearable and though that had him wanting to rejoice, he knew it to be a bad sign. But he had something to do.
He had to tell.
He willed his body to have enough strength to tell them the truth.
He heard Ariadne crying…
Cobb was breathing hard…
Eames was panting as if his body was exhausted from exertion…
Yusuf was mumbling very fast under his breath… what? Arthur could not tell.
Arthur could hear nothing of Saito.
They were going to get hurt as he had been.
He had to tell them.
Had to protect them; that was his job. But his body would not move.
He heard Eames cry out in pain…
'NOOOO,' his mind screamed, his mouth also refusing to oblige to the will of his mind. He was going to do this. Slowly – the pain ignored – he rolled over and forced his un-dislocated arm under his torso and then slowly began to push upwards. Lifting his head he saw his team still battling their captors.
"Cobb…" Arthur called out, his last bit of strength ebbing away. Before Cobb could make it to his side, Arthur's arm collapsed and he was once again lying on the ground. Cobb kneeled on the concrete beside his point man, afraid to touch him.
"It is okay Arthur, you will be fine…" Cobb choked as his eyes looked over Arthur's entire body; the damaged looked worse up close.
"That is what you think…" came Arthur's gurgled voice – he didn't have much time left.
"It is not that bad," Cobb tried to convince himself.
'Do you want me to do it to you?' Arthur thought sarcastically as he attempted to hold on longer.
He couldn't waste any more time… he could feel himself losing his grip on life… he had to tell them.
"Cobb… it… it," Arthur attempted, his voice becoming more and more faint.
"Shhhh, Arthur. It is going to be okay," Cobb said, tears filling his eyes. He wanted to look back and see how the team was faring but he couldn't pull his eyes away from the point man.
"NO… d…d...d…ie," Arthur tried to continue.
"You are NOT going to die Arthur. NOT here. NOT like this. We are getting you out of here, you hear me?" but even as the words rolled off of his tongue, Cobb knew they weren't true.
"You got to le…" but that was it… it was Arthur's last.
Okay. Wow. I never thought I would get done typing this chapter. So, what did you think? You know, you can always leave a review and let me know how you think the story is going… just in case you were wondering ;)
And yes, I will try to get the next chapter up soon. But I have to let the cliff hanger kind of sink in a bit first, right? I mean, what do you think could possibly happen next? Is Arthur dead? I don't even know? Well, that is kind of a lie; I have a pretty good idea. But anyway thanks for reading and sorry for the long author note :)