Part 9
Everything happened quite fast after that. Katy watched Altair disappear into the hospital after Garnier then quickly found her way downstairs and into the main area where the patients were kept. The familiar smell of too many unwashed people living in a confined space wafted around, there were incense burners dotted around the place, but all they did was fill the air with smoke, making it difficult to breathe properly. Katy was surrounded by the sounds of pain, it was never quiet, a constant murmur of soft moans and an occasional outburst of shouting.
There was no need for Katy to try and hide, she was essentially a patient here until the man that bought her came to claim her, Garnier hadn't told her to stay in the room, only said to not try and run away. She certainly looked the part, bone thin, dark circles under her eyes, ratty hair tucked under a head scarf that was the same sandy colour as her dirty robe.
Katy stood by a pillar and watched Garnier do his rounds, he was currently talking to a man who was sat on his bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and shaking violently. You could distract him, make this easy for Altair. Katy squinted when that thought popped into her head and let herself smile. Yes, I could. She looked around, just to see if she could spot the assassin, he wasn't anywhere to be found, but he was definitely here.
Garnier moved away to see to another patient while Katy debated whether or not she should get involved with this. She would essentially be assisting a murder, taking a man's life, though she had done it many times in the game, this was different, this was real and, despite everything she knew about the man, he had done nothing to harm her. In fact, he had gone out of his way to help her. Katy didn't know if that was okay.
A piercing scream cut through Katy's train of thought. That made up her mind. Garnier was torturing these people, he was helping a slaver trade lives as if they were bags of food, he maims people when they try to return to freedom. Definitely not okay. She set herself, took a deep breath and approached Garnier. He looked up at her when she got close, a puzzled look on his face.
"Why are you down here, child?" The doctor asked as he straightened and wiped his bloody hands on his already stained apron.
"I, uh," Katy stuttered slightly, and mentally kicked herself. Should have thought of something before I came over here. "Um, I'm hungry, I was wondering if I could have some food?" Wow. Shut up.
"Oh, if that is all." Garnier seemed to relax a little, he smiled and walked over to Katy and guided her back through the hospital towards the courtyard. "I shall get someone to bring you something soon, but you should not be in here," He chided delicately, "Why not spend some time in the yard, the fresh air might benefit you."
"I-I didn't know, I'm sorry, I jus-"
Garnier held up a hand to stop her. "No need to apologise, just do not wander in there again, you might see things that no woman should have to see." Katy nodded and turned to look at the doctor as he opened the large wooden door to the yard. She gasped, her eyes wide. Garnier started to look over his shoulder at what she had seen, "What is i-" But he didn't finish as Altair reached around his neck, grasped his chin firmly with his right hand and pressed the blade that sprouted from his left wrist against the doctor's neck.
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A/N: I know, I know I initially said I'd be posting every 2 - 4 days, but I'm just so excited to get on with the next stage of the story. This is the penultimate chapter of my "Phase One" and it will be the last short chapter for a while. The Assassins will start to feature a bit more after the next chapter.. I'm so excited!
Thank you all for reading, I can't tell you how much it means to me that so many people are taking time to look at my story. I'd love to hear from you, let me know what you think, please review! I reply to them all.
Massive thank you to those who have reviewed! x