Days Without Sun
Chapter Thirty-One: Shot
Korovin's screams echoed through the halls as his left leg gave way and he crashed to the floor.
Jadir had truly passed out earlier, but he was roused when a new wave of cramps hit him. Fighting through the pain, he had quietly pulled the scalpel from beneath his arm and made one determined swipe while Korovin stood transfixed by the sight of Akihiko's blood.
Putting all his repressed hatred into his action, despite his weakened condition, Jadir had driven the blade home, severing Korovin's Achilles' tendon.
Still shrieking in rage and pain, Korovin frantically reached out towards his traitorous pet.
Jadir quickly struck him again. This time he slashed across the top of Korovin's outstretched hand, at the base of his knuckles. Beneath the razored edge of the blade the skin parted immediately. Jets of blood shot from Korovin's hand where two of his fingers now hung loosely, all but severed by the strike.
Howling, Korovin curled into himself for just a moment. Then he lashed out with astonishing fury.
"You fucking little cunt!"
The scalpel fell from Jadir's remaining fingers as the foot of Korovin's good leg caught him square in the chest. Korovin had been aiming for his pet's stomach, but the blood-slicked floor gave him extra momentum and his body kept turning, throwing off his strike.
The kick knocked the breath from Jadir and sent him careening backwards; his prone body slid across the polished stone floor of the wide hallway and thudded into the nearby wall.
All this happened in the span of a few seconds, but that was all the time it took for Akihiko to reach back and draw forth the gun from between his shoulders.
The minute Korovin's kick threw Jadir back, away from him, Akihiko sighted and fired.
Santo Justino had his black-light out once more and was moving quickly through the halls, still making marks occasionally with what was now the stub of Aikawa's lipstick.
He'd pulled the light out again after finding Jadir's spermy spew. Though the traces were small, Korovin's last deposit in Jadir's battered ass, along with the occasional bit of blood, had leaked out from the boy as Akihiko had carried him through the halls.
It had led the detective to Korovin's incubator.
Santo Justino's mind was still reeling from the scene he'd encountered in Korovin's sickroom, the sight of the animal's trussed prisoners. He willed his shocked senses to stay sharp, the imperative of his mission weighing even more heavily on him now.
Outside of Korovin's sickroom, in addition to the gadgets that had occupied the pockets of Akihiko's jacket and the empty surgical tape roll that littered the floor, a large cross was now marked on the otherwise nondescript door. Santo Justino had circled it as well, hoping that it would alert anyone who followed him into this hole of the hell that lay within its walls.
It had killed the detective to leave Korovin's captives behind, but knowing that they were alive and that their continued survival depended upon their tormentor's capture spurred him on.
There had been a number of blood spots on the floor outside this new chamber of horrors as well. Now Santo Justino, once again, thought of Hansel and Gretel as his keen eyes followed the path of his black-light, discerning Jadir's fresh trail from spots left by older fluids.
He stopped short however, when the sound of a man's anguished scream ripped through the still hallways.
Dropping both the light and Aikawa's lipstick, Santo Justino gripped his gun with both hands, holding it out ahead of him.
Another banshee like shriek pealed, sounding more animal than human. Enraged cursing followed and Santo Justino realized he was close enough to discern the words.
He picked up his pace, moving quickly but still warily in the direction of the noise. When he heard the gunshot, he threw caution aside and broke into a run.
Aikawa had been filled with an almost unbearable terror once she'd descended the stairs and began to more fully understand the true depths of Korovin's bunker.
The spell of this had been broken however, when her frantic eyes had alighted unexpectedly on a small cross drawn on the wall. Moving over to it, Aikawa traced the cross with a slender finger. She studied the oily pigment on her fingertip.
Color filled her cheeks as she recognized the color as her Revlon "Keep Blushing" pink.
I must have forgotten it this morning and Augusto found it.
For a moment her fear melted in the warmth that flooded her chest. Filled with this and a new sense of purpose, Aikawa began to make her way cautiously down the halls.
The crosses lead her eventually to Akihiko's discarded duffel. Here she pulled out a taser from the rather frightening contents of the bag. She had seen one used in a demonstration at a crime convention where one of her forensic mystery author's had been asked to be a guest speaker.
Aikawa set out once more, feeling far more secure now that she had a weapon. She kept her eyes peeled for Augusto's signs. Her strained senses buzzed, hyper-alert, for any sign of trouble.
Using Santo Justino's marks helped her slip quickly through the mazed hallways of the bunker.
Her attention was suddenly caught as she noted the next cross ahead of her. She stopped in wonder, looking at the door. Augusto's sign was so much bigger here and circled too.
Glancing around her, she noted another small cross down at the end of the hall from where she stood: so it was obvious that Augusto had moved on. Still, the strangeness of this mark in contrast to all its brothers roused her curiosity. Aikawa stretched her hand out and her fingers gripped the cool, slick knob of the door.
Just as she heard the latch slip and had begun to pull it open, her attentive ears caught another sound.
It sounded far away, but there was no doubt it was a man screaming.
Aikawa's hand left the door and she turned facing the direction of the tormented sounds. All thoughts of the significance of Augusto's strange mark evaporated when she heard the gunshot.
Usami-sensi? Augusto?
Aikawa's bare feet pattered against the polished cement as she flew down the hall to find out.
Korovin howled again as his right kneecap was shattered by the bullet from Akihiko's gun.
Though he had inflicted immeasurable pain over the course of his life, the man had never felt anything that compared to this himself.
"You stupid Jap Fuck!"
Korovin was frothing at the mouth in anger. He gasped in between screams. He could feel his precious blood leaving him and his body slipping into shock. His world was glowing black around the edges. But despite his supreme desire to lose himself and escape the indescribable pain in his legs he willed himself to stay conscious.
Looking up through blurring eyes, Korovin saw Usami above him. The sight filled him with a new rage and he drew on this energy for strength.
"If you're going to kill me, fucking learn to aim!"
Akihiko barked out a bitter laugh, just before he drove his bare foot into Korovin's back. He was mindful of staying upright on the slick floor, but ignored the crack and the sudden flare of pain that alerted him to the fact he'd just broken a few toes with the force of his kick.
Mindless of his now injured foot, Akihiko lurched after Korovin as his kick sped the man's body towards Jadir. He stopped Korovin's trajectory, grabbing the Doc's now blood-black labcoat and pulling Korovin away from from the gasping boy.
He rolled Korovin onto his back and sat down on the already breathless killer's stomach. Korovin's arms were pinned to his sides between Akihiko's lean calves.
Korovin bucked up wildly beneath Usami until the author delivered a slap to his face so hard it rattled teeth. Akihiko leaned down his face inches away from Korovin's. He pushed the barrel of his gun up into the flesh beneath Korovin's jaw hard enough to bruise.
"Do you think I wasn't aiming?" Akihiko's voice burned as cold as his eyes did hot. "There is no way in hell I am letting you get off so easily as a merciful single-shot death! Not after all the suffering you've caused!"
Korovin's pain-glazed eyes flashed with surprise. Just as quickly however, he recovered himself. A sick grin twisted his mouth.
"Ah, the rabbit hole's avenging angel. Too bad Takahashi will never know the pains you went through."
Akihiko's eyes widened. He shoved the gun up harder into Korovin's jaw tipping the man's head back, stretching his long neck taut. "What do you mean?" Akihiko was gritting his teeth so tightly he could hardly get his words out.
The grin on Korovin's face widened, despite the fact his neck was tipped so tight as to make smiling painful. He had Usami's attention now. He let out a deranged sounding cackle, but even as he did this, his still functional hand pressed to his side slipped into his pocket, fumbling for one of the hypodermics he'd cached there.
Korovin couldn't tell by feel which one was which, but it didn't matter: each one carried its own serious consequences. His agile fingers fumbled to flick off one of the needles' caps.
He knew he was playing a dangerous game here; Usami was pushed to the edge as it was. Still he pressed further. His words were hissed through his pain-clenched jaw.
"I told you that you'd pay for that stunt with the cameras. Do you honestly think I'd come looking for you and leave Takahashi behind… alive? I pressed the trigger before I ever left the playroom, Usami. You put that whole hero's show on for me for nothing."
Korovin's words hit Akihiko like a blow. He rocked back, blinking. The pressure of the gun against Korovin's jaw lessened ever so slightly. Akihiko had known this was a possibility, but he'd denied it. He felt his chest collapse in on itself that this could be the truth.
His blood-slicked fingers shook against the grip of the gun; he pressed the barrel forward again.
"You're lying!"
"Am I?" Korovin had slipped into the numbness of shock. He knew he didn't have long before bloodloss became a dire issue. He narrowed his eyes at Usami, they glittered pain-bright and mad.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe I didn't kill him. Maybe, before I found you, I took your boy and secreted him away down here where you'll never find him… Especially, if I'm not around to tell you where he is."
"You fucking bastard!" Akihiko could hardly breathe; he had never felt such fury in his life. His finger tightened on the trigger.
"Usami!"
"Usami!"
Santo Justino had rounded the corner and found himself in the midst of a scene of terrible carnage. Usami was naked; straddling a man who the detective could only assume was Korovin. Korovin lay in his back in a widening pool of blood. The rest of the floor in this narrow hallway looked like an abattoir.
He noticed a young man lying off to the side… not Takahashi. The youth looked as though he might be dead or was close to it.
Despite his own desire to kill Korovin, after what he'd learned about the man from Alvarez and what he'd seen in the sickroom, Santo Justino knew he needed to try and take Korovin alive. There was much that this madman needed to answer to. There were mysteries that would go unsolved if he died.
It was for this reason that he called out. Though he never expected this action to have the consequence that it did.
Akihiko was so locked into his rage he did not hear Santo Justino call him the first time. The second time the detective shouted however, his ears caught his name. Akihiko looked up, shocked to hear himself addressed, especially by so familiar a voice. He had truly thought himself alone in his mission, not expecting anyone else to breach Korovin's lair for at least another twenty-four hours.
This sudden distraction was all Korovin needed.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to retain consciousness much longer, he summoned all his remaining reserves and bucked upwards, hard.
Akihiko suddenly found himself thrown off balance. The knee his weight was cast on, slipped on the bloody floor. At this same time, Korovin puled his ruined hand out from his side and smashed it against Usami's gun hand. The Doc howled in anguish as the new pain of this impact rocked his flesh.
The gun fired with a deafening blast just to the side of Korovin's head before it flew from Akihiko's grip.
Akihiko lurched forward to re-claim his weapon just in time to feel a sharp stab to his thigh. He looked down to see a hypodermic deeply embedded in the lean muscle there. The syringe was empty, the plunger depressed to the needle's base.
Suddenly Akihiko's heart began to beat madly. A flush of fear like he'd never known twisted his bowels and a cold sweat broke out over the surface of his entire body.
A wave of dizziness swept over Akihiko. He could hear Santo Justino calling his name again, but it sounded like it was coming from a great distance. Akihiko tried to push himself up, to stand, but instead he fell back, his limbs suddenly weighted and useless.
A strangled cry rose in his throat but caught there and died unarticulated; his tearing eyes fixed on Korovin. He watched in horror as the man reached frantically beside him, not for the gun but for the remote.
Akihiko found his eyes wouldn't blink. His gaze locked with Korovin's. He felt his thundering heart stop as Korovin grinned wickedly back at him as he depressed the trigger.
MISAKI!
Misaki was alive, or at least he had been.
Akihiko's stifled roar of anguish tremored his entire body. His stiff frame spasmed and collapsed.
MISAKI!
His lover's name was the last thought he had, before Akihiko's world suddenly went black.
So I think there's only two chapter's left here guys and then the epilogue. I am leaving on a trip Thursday and don't know what sort of internet I'll have access to, but I will work on the story while I am gone.
Jadynp, JokulJackFrosti, Kinkylittlewolf, Keyblade Master13, Sasunaru067, Semberthemushroom, thank you for the follows and favorites.
Dragonish, your wish is my command.
Vegeta42, you have quite a cute scoff. But you see, I love to leave my readers hanging, naughty hound that I am.
Gothpandaoyaku, where have you been? I have been missing you and your reviews. Thank you sweetheart. And don't worry, I am not through with Korovin yet.
Kinkylittlewolf, I am glad you're enjoying the story but so sorry to hear about your friend. I am glad that he/she has you as a confidante for his/her terrible experiences. It is our secrets that keep us trapped in our wounds or make us sick. Please know that I do not condone any of the actions of abuse that occur in my stories and that I know only too well that such terrors unfortunately do not only live in the worlds of fiction. My dark works are part of my own exorcism process and I do not take what I write lightly. I will send all the positive energy I can to your friend for his/her strength and healing.
Sana Lama Samah, Thank you for the review. Yes, I am terrible. So, Aikawa did not find the bodies or Korovin's prisoners, but I'm sure she's already seen enough to keep her in nightmares for months.
Pheonixette101, you no longer have to stare, here's the next chapter. Loved your cries for blood P101. Yeah, Korovin is a bastard. If you want to see more of him, The Black Flamingo 101 borrowed him for her fic "Digamma." It's another great action/adventure JR Ff.
Guest, well whatever the circumstances, a naked Akihiko is sexy. That's all there is to it.
SilentStare, so good to hear from you. Yes Korovin will suffer more. Heh.
Alcuzey, Taniz Yami, Primordium, Not You (guest), you guys make a great cheering section!
Puppyfacetwo, now Santo Justino has found Akihiko and you can see the damage done to Korovin, though he's done some more damage, himself.
Sarah, so to answer your question, Jadir is having a complication with his uke flu pregnancy. He is at six months, just starting his final trimester. So you read it correctly. Korovin was chastising Jadir that he might lose the baby, rather than carry it to term.
TBF101, Things have exploded, but it might not have been the bang you expected. Heh. Thank you for the wonderful review! Loved it as always. Yes, I am very happy with Aikawa too.
Slythclover, Thank you for going to all those lengths to review. Yes the climax is upon us. If I am lucky, I will get caught up on my reading and reviewing this trip. Take care!