Hello, there!
Thank you to those who did not bail on me because of the last chapter!
I realize that it might not have been the best idea to post that kind of chapter after that kind of summer finale, but, in my defense, I watched the episodes after I posted the chapter… Haha
Anyways, this story is coming to thrilling points, and an actual action story line. I changed my mind so many times while writing the series about whether or not I should make this an action one, but, in the end, I decided I would.
Also, I've been attempting to answer every review I get, but sometimes, it's hard to keep up with what I've answered and what I haven't. So, if I haven't answered to your review, I would like to say thank you and I am terribly sorry for not doing so!
Anyways, without further ado, I present to you chapter 13
Jasmine and Alek were sitting on the couch watching some movie. Jasmine had just cancelled a date with Eric, but he understood that she needed to be there for her cousin tonight, who was more like a really close brother.
Jasmine knew that the movie wasn't actually helping Alek, but it seemed to at least take his mind off of things for a little while. His fists weren't making his knuckles white anymore…
Neither of the Mai really knew what they were watching. Jasmine just popped in some DVD to distract Alek. Just as the sound from an explosion on screen died down, the home phone rang.
"I'll get it," Jasmine said as she left to answer it. She didn't even think that Alek heard her. He must have been so lost in his own thoughts. She'd never seen him like this before. "Hello?"
"Jasmine? Hi, it's Mark." A breathless voice spoke through the phone.
"Hey, Mark," by the mention of the name of one of Chloe's protectors for the night, Alek became attentive and started listening into the conversation. "Is everything alright?"
"No, actually. I have some awful news…" Jasmine saw Alek's facial expression tense up.
"What's wrong? Is Chloe alright?"
"That's just it. I have no idea. I saw her get pulled into an alley and I, along with John and Mason, tried to get closer to help her out, but without being traced, heard or seen. But then we heard Chloe's heartbeat begin to slow down and a car pulled up right in front of the alley. We went into full sprint, but, even then, Chloe had already been driven away."
Shit. Shit. Fuck. Damn it. Shit. Fuck. SHIT.
Those were the only words that were running through both Jasmine and Alek's mind at the moment. Jasmine was trying to remain calm, thinking about what her mother would do in this situation, while Alek was on the verge of a full blown panic attack.
Jasmine's heart was beating at an extremely fast rate. Not only had they lost the Uniter, who, no doubt, had been kidnapped by the Order, but she suddenly found herself in her mother's shoes. That was a task that she might not have been ready for. She didn't know how to gather Mai for an agenda. She had always felt awkward calling these men and women who were practically strangers. She never wanted to assume this role. She'd done her best so far to avoid this situation.
But right now was not a moment of fear or panic. Alek's emotions were getting in the way of his thinking straight, so someone had to be the rational one. Jasmine managed to quickly push aside her fears of failure and began to generate a plan.
"Mark, I want you, John and Mason to come here to the loft immediately. I'm going to make a few calls and get some more Mai to come here. We're then going to find her together. The Order probably has at least a dozen men with Chloe, wherever she is, and we need to be able to match them. Come straight here. Now."
"Okay" was the only word that Mark managed to squeeze out before Jasmine ended the phone call and began dialing other numbers.
Alek, meanwhile, was slowly coming back to rational thought. When he had completely regained himself, his mind quickly jumped to add something to Jasmine's plan.
"Call Amy and Paul. They can help us by being where Chloe would run to if she escaped." Jasmine ordered Alek. He simply nodded in return, thinking that it was a brilliant idea and that he should have thought of it on his own as he ran back to the couch to grab his phone.
He first called Paul, having a feeling that it would be easier and faster to talk to him.
"Hello?" answered the comic nerd.
"Paul, it's Alek."
"Hey, dude, what's up?" Paul's tone was full of curiosity, wondering why in the world the blonde Mai was calling him.
"Is Amy with you?"
"Yeah, man. Is everything alright?"
"No, Chloe's gotten kidnapped by the Order and I could really use your help." Alek stated. He heard Paul quickly inform Amy of what's going on before returning to the phone.
"Sure, Alek. Anything that we can do, we will."
"Good. Now, I need one of you to head to Chloe's house and the other person to come here to the loft. If Chloe somehow manages to escape, then she'll either come running to her house or here, and we need someone there to tell us when, or if, she comes home. Got it?" Alek rushed through his words, trying to get off of the phone and to finally spring into actually executing a plan as soon as possible.
"I'm heading over to Chloe's right now and Amy should be in your apartment in about 10 minutes. Is there anything else we can do?"
"Yes, if Chloe comes home, call me or Jasmine within the millisecond."
"Yep, already got that. We're on our ways."
"Thank you." Alek breathed out. He wasn't relieved much, because the love of his life was still in what probably is the most dangerous situation of her life, but at least he knew that someone he could truly trust was on board and was helping him out. In fact, two people that he was shocked that he trusted were on board.
"Alright, thanks. See you soon." Jasmine had just gotten off of the phone and turned to face Alek to tell him what's going on. "I've gathered about a dozen other Mai and they should be here in the next ten minutes. Did Amy and Paul say anything that could help us?"
"No, but I have them watching this apartment and Chloe's house, just in case she comes home. I know it's not much, but it would make knowing that she's safe much faster, even though the chances of her escaping are slim… I just need to have a small back up, you know?"
"I know Alek. But you have to promise me one thing tonight."
"What?"
"I know that you love Chloe. And I know that the first thing that is on your mind is making sure that we find Chloe and bring her to safety and then kill the ass holes that took her from your tonight. But, you have to promise me that you won't do anything stupid an irrational. We have an amazing team behind us, I called the best of the best, and I can assure you that we will have Chloe back with us, safe and sound, with you, by the end of the evening. Just promise me, think before you act. We always say that our lives combined aren't worth a single of Chloe's lives, but, if, and Bastet forbid, something happened to you tonight, Chloe wouldn't be much use of a Uniter to us."
Alek stared at his cousin for a moment. He didn't expect such grace, maturity and power to be emitted from her. She will make a fine pride leader one day.
As he thought about the words from Jasmine's lecture, he realized that she was right. He couldn't do anything stupid, even if it had the purest love for a reason. It wouldn't be helping anybody, just to throw himself in the middle of danger. If anything, it might distract someone like Jasmine from a battle and then she might get hurt. No, he had to think with his brain tonight and use his instincts, not let his heart dictate his actions. He can do that when Chloe is safely wrapped in the embrace of his arms.
"I promise." He uttered strongly. And he really did mean that.
"Thank you."
Jasmine and Alek waited for their recruits to arrive. Alek almost growled at the three men who let Chloe slip through their fingers, but Jasmine silently assured him that what they had tried to do was the best thing that anyone could have done in the situation. They tried to save Chloe without putting themselves, and her, into more danger, and it was just unfortunate that it didn't work out.
Mason, one of the Mai that was guarding Chloe that night, had seen the license plate on the car before. He had a general idea of where they could have taken her, and Jasmine thought that it would be a good idea to go check out the place. It may be a long shot, but what other leads do they have?
They were still waiting on a few more people, murmurs filling the air to avoid silence, when the crowd in the living room parted, revealing an image of a confused and slightly angry Valentina standing in the doorway with a suitcase.
"What in the world is going on here?" She spoke as she took in the crowd of Mai warriors, all prepared for battle as they stood there, dressed head to toe in black.
"Mom, you're home." Jasmine didn't know what to do. Oh, her mother would be so disappointed. She knew that Valentina would find some way to pin the blame on her.
"Yes, and waiting for explanations." Valentina crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow directed towards her daughter.
"Chloe's been kidnapped, we received words about twenty minutes ago, and Jasmine's been organizing a search and rescue party. We're almost on our way." Alek jumped in. He knew how scared Jasmine was of this confrontation and he was trying to save her. He felt that it was the least that he could do.
There was silence as Jasmine saw her mother become more and more angry and, fearing and anticipating that it was directed towards her, she braced herself for the wrath of the pride leader.
"She's the spitting image of her mother. Never have I seen a teenage girl take action so quickly and so maturely." It was James who spoke this time, the one who had somehow managed to squeeze his way into Alek and Jasmine's lives as somewhat of a father figure.
Valentina looked at James to see whether or not he was joking. All she saw was genuine pride emitting from James' eyes as he looked towards Jasmine. It was a look that, by now, Valentina was sure that was reflected in her own eyes.
Valentina made her way over to her daughter slowly, all eyes in the room on her. She saw her daughter gulp from her being nervous. She smiled at her daughter and pulled her into a warm embrace.
"I am so proud of you," she whispered. She felt Jasmine's shock as she returned the embrace. All too soon, the mother-daughter moment that they hadn't shared in years was over. "Who are we waiting on now?"
"Sean Morrisen is on his way, and, out of the Mai, that is it. But Amy, Chloe's friend, is also supposed to come, to hold down the fort and to be here if Chloe comes home. Once they arrive, we're going to a warehouse where Mason thinks he's seen the car Chloe was put into before."
Valentina beamed at her daughter, smiling with pride and receiving a smile of gratitude from her.
The door then burst open to reveal yet another tall and masculine Mai, followed by a distraught Amy. It was time for them to go.
As everyone was beginning to walk out, Alek quickly turned to Amy.
"If she comes, please, the first thing that you must do is call me. You can call Jasmine, but preferably me." Alek asked softly.
"Absolutely. And, when you find her, let me know immediately."
"I will, I promise." He was definitely planning on doing so. Usually his words like that were hollow, but he knew just how much Amy was panicking about this entire scenario. He shared the panic.
"Alright, be careful. We both know that you getting hurt would help no one, especially not Chloe."
"I know, I know. And, Amy, thank you so much for coming. I know that there's not much that you can do with this task, but you have no idea how much I appreciate it."
"No problem. Don't even bother thanking me. Now, go and find Chloe." Amy all but shoved Alek out of the door. With a final sympathetic smile, Alek sprinted off to catch up with the rest of the Mai.
Chloe woke up to a throbbing in the back of her head and on her cheek. Other than an uncomfortable position, she felt completely normal. That is, until she opened her eyes to find herself in an abandoned warehouse with only one spotlight on her. She realized that there was a rope tying her hands about her head, suspending her a few inches off of the ground. Every time she would even subtly move, she would begin to swing. At the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the room, she stopped struggling and her head snapped up. She glared at the figure in front of her.
Brian was slowly stepping out of the dark, wearing a smug smirk on his face, one that only Alek could possibly pull off.
"Hello, Chloe." Brian chuckled and began to walk around her, staring at her, plotting something in his mind. Probably how to kill her. How to make her suffer in the longest way possible.
Why hadn't she listened to Jasmine and Alek? Why was she such a stubborn idiot? All of this just because she wanted to make a point clear to Brian? Chloe again began to try and squirm her out of the bonds, even though she knew that it was a lost cause.
"There's no point in doing that, Ms. King." Another voice came from the same place Brian's had originated. Out of the shadows stepped out a man, one who wore the same exact smirk that rested on Brian's face.
"Who the hell are you?" Chloe cried. Shit, she was so screwed.
"My name, Chloe, is Whitley. Whitley Rezza. I'm Brian's father. Also, I'm the head of the Order on the western coast of the United States. It's a pleasure to meet you, Uniter. I'm sure you'd feel the same way under circumstances that aren't these, so I won't force you into say so." He began to circulate around Chloe just like his son.
Chloe's head would whip around, back and forth between Brian and Whitley Rezza.
"We have a fun program for you, Chloe," Brian smirked at her. "There is a bunch of men around this room who want to meet you." As if on cue, about twenty big and bulky men stepped out of the shadows, forming a circle around Chloe. "Well, more like hurt you than meet you."
"I'm in a generous mood today, Ms. King." Brian's father jumped in. "But, unfortunately, my generosity doesn't reach out to you. See, we at the Order would like for you to lose all of your remaining eight lives as slowly and painfully as you can. With your eighth life, we shall begin with each man around us coming up to you and hitting you. This ought to be fun, shouldn't it?"
"You know, by trying to kill me slowly, you're giving my friends more time to find you." Shit. Why in the world did she say that? She was practically telling the enemy to kill her sooner.
"Well, yes. But, first of all, they won't find you. And, even if they do, they probably will all die at the hands of my men first. And, don't worry. This life will disappear slowly. And we've already thought of a few creative methods to get rid of your other ones." Whitley smirked at Chloe, approaching her and poking her, just to see her swing and squirm.
"Your men don't stand a chance against the Mai." Chloe growled. This earned her a great slap. The sound of Whitley's palm hitting Chloe's cheek echoed throughout the hollow warehouse, startling even some of the henchmen.
"I suggest, oh mighty Uniter, that when you are tied up by a rope and have no way to protect yourself, you don't insult me or my men." Whitley growled.
"Hey, Sam!" Brian yelled out to one of the men. Chloe's head whipped around towards him pleading with her eyes that he doesn't do this. She was hoping that maybe, just maybe, the guy that she knew actually existed. "You want to take a swing at her first?" Brian turned to Chloe to smirk at her, once again making her cringe at the sight of seeing Alek's trademark on this ass hole's face.
A man that presumably was Sam stepped forward and closer to her. As he approached Chloe with an evil glint in his eyes, Brian began to explain himself.
"You really thought I was falling in love with you, didn't you?" Brian laughed as Chloe felt a sharp pain as Sam quickly ran a knife down Chloe's right arm, breaking skin but drawing only a little bit of blood. It still stung like a bitch, though.
Chloe's lack of response was caused by her hissing from the pain, but Brian interpreted that as a "yes".
"Come on, Chloe. You couldn't have been that naïve. I'm a college student, and you're a junior in high school. Relationships like that only exist in romantic comedies and in teen romance novels." Another hiss escaped Chloe's lips as another member of the order approached her and made three short but deep cut on Chloe's left arm.
"The Order had a feeling that you were the Uniter before you even knew about it. I was told to befriend you, to keep close contact, just in case you turned out to be it. Once Michael pushed you off of the tower and you survived… well, then I just had to reel you in even closer."
A few more men cut and punched Chloe, but she didn't make a noise until one of them created a huge gash on Chloe's left shin by grabbing a rock and pressing it as hard as he could to her skin, making it seem as if her leg had been dragged by a car for a few miles on the asphalt. This elicited a sudden and loud yelp from Chloe, who was trying so hard to show that these men weren't affecting her.
"So, I made you think that I was falling in love with you. Unfortunately, your stupid protector was getting in the way, but I knew that I could keep you in my grasp. Unfortunately, the situation spun a little bit out of control, but, in my defense, I was trying to play the role of the jealous boyfriend convincingly. But, hey, you fell for my trap and we still got you here. That's all that matters."
One by one, the rest of the men came up to Chloe and either cut her or hit her. None of them were soft on her, but nothing that she received was fatal. As each man finished his hit on her, they backed up to stand in front of Chloe. By the time all of the men had had their turn, Chloe counted sixteen men standing in front of her.
"Ah, Simone." Whitley spoke, turning around to face an approaching red headed woman in a white suit. "So nice of you to join us. We're about halfway through our plan."
"So," Simone spoke, "Which one of us will have the honor to kill off the Uniter this time?" The woman crossed her arms and smiled, approaching Chloe to observe her. "This is what the Mai are offering as the savior of their race? Whitley, I think that we will get the same results in the end, whether or not we let her live."
"Why don't we simply torture her a bit more. Then we can make up our mind concerning this girl's fate. Son, would you like to go first?"
"Gladly."
Chloe screamed in pain as she felt a knife run across her stomach. She could tell that the wound was deep, but wasn't deep enough to kill her. It was an open flesh wound, basically, and the fact that she was stretched out with her arms above her head made the wound stretch out further, eliciting more pain from the blonde. She tried to bend over to stop pulling the sides apart, but she didn't have the energy. She felt the bottom of her shirt and the top of her jeans grow warmer and wetter.
"Nice shot, son. Perfect angle and placement."
"Thanks, dad."
"I'll go now. I know how much you would like to deliver the last blow." Simone stepped forward. She pulled out a razor. It was obviously very sharp, as Chloe had observed when she caught it gleaming in the light for a moment.
Simone walked up to the dangling Uniter, smirking at her.
"It's a shame. Such a pretty face. But, all good things must come to an end."
Chloe tried her best to keep in her screams as Simone drew four clear, deep and slow cuts right about Chloe's eye. She knew that the redhead wanted to create a mark on her that resembled the cuts that the claws of the Mai make. Chloe finally let her scream out when Simone stepped back, allowing the pain to really kick in. Chloe saw a drop of blood fall right in front of her eye onto her cheek.
"And now, my long awaited turn."
Whitley slowly made his way towards Chloe. She could feel her heart pounding faster and faster with every step that he took. His smirk grew bigger and bigger and Chloe saw a large blade appear from behind his back.
He stepped towards her. With one final smirk he sliced his knife downwards, slashing Chloe's left thigh. He then swung in the opposite direction, creating an "X" on Chloe's thigh.
Chloe couldn't remember the last time she had felt so much pain. It hurt almost as much as it did when she first died. She was now completely and utterly sure that she was going to lose another life tonight.
"Now, even if you somehow manage to break free from your hold, you won't be able to go anywhere. It'll be too painful to run." Chloe knew that he was right. She could tell that even the slightest amount of pressure would cause her body to erupt in flames of pain once again. She was stuck here.
There was a movement in the shadows behind her. Chloe's heart began to race even more. She thought that more of the Order had come. More scratches and cuts. More punches. But this time it would be more painful, since she had been so weakened by the three major blows delivered from the three main Order members. She knew that these wounds weren't fatal, but, if she bled for too long, they could be. And if anyone elaborated on them, than they could be.
"What do you say to another round, boys?" Whitley Rezza turned around to face the men behind him. Most of their expressions were of excitement. Some even began to walk forward towards Chloe.
Suddenly, the figures that had been lurking in the shadows stepped forwards. To Chloe, some of these faces seemed very familiar. Some she knew like the back of her hand. Some she had never seen before, but knew that they were there for her. Relief began to slowly wash over her. Only a little bit, though.
"I don't think that that's ever going to happen." Chloe's head turned towards the voice at lightning speed. Once she saw who spoke, she wanted to scream to the heavens, thanking Bastet with all of her might.
The figure stood with a stance shoulder width apart, knuckles and jaw clenched from fury. He was ready to attack. She could tell that he was infuriated beyond belief, and, in all honesty, if she was in his shoes, she would be too. Chloe just couldn't stop staring at her savior.
Alek.
Woot! Isn't this exciting! Alek has come to the rescue! Doesn't he always?
Anyways, I hoped you liked this chapter. I'm pretty sure that they next chapter is going to be quite lengthy, since I have quite a bit planned for that, but don't want to break it up into two chapters. So, brace yourself for it
Anyways, please review, and thanks for reading!