Chapter 39
The chemistry lab was eerily quiet as Len tried to catch his breath. Tried to breathe at all really. Even that he attempted to do silently for he admittedly was afraid of the betrayal of his presence thanks to his body alone. He was well beyond beaten, well beyond bruised. Squatting here now made him realize he was sick as he assessed the damage to his body. He was sick not literally of any sort but he was fear sick. The kind of sick that had the potential to bolt down his legs and freeze his limbs. He was afraid and that fear was very, sickly real just like his situation. It had been years since he'd in fact been so surreally terrified.
Len was so bruised that even squatting was a taxing task that brutally drained his stamina. His earlier snarky nature had caused a brawl between Luki and him. To be honest it had been a one-sided brutal beating more than a brawl or equal fight. His breath was raspy and withdrawn. Crazy enough he couldn't run very far anymore with what he was sure was a broken rib. Running anymore would put him at risk of a lung puncture. Len, despite his best efforts was frozen. He was a sitting duck.
He was still bleeding even now and knew with great fear Luki would easily locate him again. Such a matter was child's play for Luki and the fact Len was even bothering to hide was probably comedic to him. Luki could've easily killed him and that was horrifying. Len had never been afraid of death or pain. But this? This was unreal…unbearable. He could barely get air into his lungs without choking it back up. As minutes drew on his mouth filled with fresh blood that he was forced to spit out. His left hand throbbed: completely broken. Len forced himself to look at the twisted, swollen limb. It felt worse than it looked.
No longer able to hold himself up any longer, Len could only slump back against the chemistry desk. His body throbbed with fresh pain and he forced his teeth into his lower lip to keep from screaming out. There was no comfort to be found anywhere. His fear was guttural and threatened to overwhelm him. He was going to die. He'd never imagined to die this way…not in such a brutal way. What troubled him the most was that his death would not be quick and painless. The hate in Luki's expression was far too tangible to be fake.
Len out of some force of will managed to gaze around. He dared not move his head, there was far too much pain to become of it. There was more than one exit out of the lab. Just then he was exceptionally appreciative of all the fools who'd managed to mix the wrong chemicals and screw up even the simplest experiments and compositions. Thanks to them he had so many routes of escape; if he even made it that far. His injuries were serious and he could very well succumb to concussion before he even made it to a door. It was a grim fate he didn't want to think about and yet it was his fate nonetheless if he didn't move eventually. Which door could he take to escape the lunatic chasing him? While on that subject how could he even avoid Luki, who wasn't human? Luki, who could probably very well smell his blood. One thing was for certain though, he couldn't underestimate Luki. Yet, underestimation and overestimation would both equally be the death of him. What could he do?
Out of all the times for his thoughts to fail him why now? He'd long since forgotten why he'd dragged Miku along with him in the hallway. She was near enough to breathe down his neck which only added to the plethora of tension in this situation. Len was grinding his teeth in his frustration but stopped after he needed to bite his lip again to keep from screaming. His mind was too jumbled to make sense of anything right now. He was becoming a sorry fool to fear and pain. Whatever the hell Luki was…it was beyond abnormal. Beyond even his precognition of-of-lord he didn't know what. Len wished he did though. The sharp tang of blood in his mouth pulled him back to reality. A situation so unforgiving that even biting his lip soon became not enough to hold back his grunts of agony.
He had to move, had to escape. He'd bleed out if he didn't. Yet as the situation was he'd die if he moved and perish the same if he didn't. There was no hope. Kaito had told him they were doomed. Why hadn't he listened? Now he would die…but they wouldn't be so kind as to offer such a mercy. He would live to see all kinds of hellish tortures. Len shuddered and groaned with renewed agony. "You will not die Kagamine. You will suffer much worse agonies than this, then you shall die." The thought was nothing but a mental fear. Yet, he knew it was the truth. What could he do? What could he do?
"Len?" Miku whispered. Her voice shook with fear and terror for him as if she'd just noticed his injuries. "Oh my god…what happened? No forget it. We have to get you out of here."
Though Len could feel himself bleeding out he managed to respond. "How…? You can't move me Miku…I can't run…I've-" Len choked. "I've got a broken rib…maybe two."
"I'll call an ambulance," Miku declared with her phone already dialling. Len smiled sadly.
"…He won't let me get to an ambulance, Miku….much less out of here…" Miku hung up.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Miku cried tears rolling down her cheeks as she took hold of Len's good hand. Len grimaced. He wished he knew the answer to that question. Suddenly his eyelids were a lot heavier than he cared to lift. Miku noticed immediately and new panic flooded through her.
"No…No…Len don't you dare die you bastard. Don't you dare die on me! You hear?" Len didn't move. "No, Len!" she screamed. Her hands gripped his shoulders and shook them but he did not wake. She slapped him hard but even that had no effect. "God…..no…." Miku was frantic as she set a few fingers on Len's throat. He was covered in blood and swollen bruises but she managed to find his pulse. It was faint, very faint, but he was alive. He wouldn't be for long if she didn't do something.
What could she do? Her legs found strength to stand up from Len's side. Her vision had never been sharper as she instantly spotted the first aid kit in the chemistry lab. She tailed it across the room and snatched it up. She was back at Len's side and ripping it open in record time. Her hands were sweaty as she looked over all she had. It was a crappy little kit and had unfortunately been robbed by whatever addicts the school possessed. All that was left was some disinfectant, some cotton pads, a measly amount of painkillers, and bandages. Miku cursed under her breath as she searched Len's face, scanned his injuries. Her only choice was to do what she could.
Miku started with the disinfectant. She slowly propped Len up a bit more so that she could slide him out of the upper half of his uniform. It was soaked in blood and torn in many places. She tossed it aside and nearly cried out at the damage done to Len's upper body. Every last bit of it was swollen and there were several shallow punctures in places. Metal scrapes and lashes were everywhere on his back and his arms were torn the most. Huge gashes covered both of them and bled just as badly. His chest had gotten the better end and was without injuries. Len's sides however were just as badly cut as his arms. Miku began to disinfect all of his wounds, cuts, and scrapes. She worked fast but diligently as whoever did this to him was sure to still be hunting him. She bandaged him up as securely as she could manage to stop a sum of the bleeding and propped him back up against the desk the way he'd originally set. Her work wasn't professional but it could do for now. All she had to do was get him to take the pain pills.
She was quick to thoroughly wash a beaker till it gleamed before she filled it with water and returned to Len's side. She patted his cheek in hopes he would awaken but he did not. Miku hated herself as she squeezed one of Len's more painful injuries and he cried out in pain. She quickly released him as his eyes opened. They fluttered gently to life.
"I'm sorry," Miku apologized. "I had to wake you. You need to take these pills Len." Miku offered the bottle to him after she pried it open. She gasped and was too late to stop him as he chugged the rest of the bottle: all four pills. "Len…..you're not supposed to take more than the suggested amount." Groggily Len stood up.
"I don't have the time to wait, Miku," Len grumbled harshly. There was an undertone of pain. He didn't even drink the water.
"Len…what are we going to do?"
"Don't you look just as pathetic in bandages as you did in your uniform?" Len's blood froze and air didn't flow to his lungs.
"Luki…" He smirked his devilish smirk.
"I thought I would allow you some time to do something. Just for fun. Are you going to tell me what I want to know?" Luki asked almost politely before his glare brewed new fire in Len's wounds. "Or am I going to have to get serious with you?"
"Get serious…?" came Miku's voice. "You mean you were…." She didn't finish her sentence. Instead she stepped protectively in front of Len. "Look, I don't know what you want but Len hasn't done anything!" she screamed. "Don't you think you've hurt him enough?" But his cold unfeeling gaze didn't waver. There was something so immensely, deliberately cold in Luki's gaze that made Miku know her words meant nothing to him as he said calmly and coolly his next words.
"Move."
Miku stumbled backwards and nearly lost her footing as she did. Her legs quaked with fear, for Len's life.
"You can't…" she whispered. "He's had enough already…" Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I don't think you heard me." Luki growled. Move, before I move you myself." But Miku didn't move. She was paralyzed in place. How could someone be so cruel? So unfeeling? Len was already on the verge of death as it was…Luki couldn't possibly want to do more could he? "You've got five-seconds, Miku."
But his voice locked her knees and her heart pounded in her chest. Her hands dropped to her sides and her fists clenched.
"I won't let you…I'm not moving." Miku felt the rush of air past her and heard Luki's weapon headed in her direction. She closed her eyes and readied herself for the painful impact. If she died today at least she could say that she died for something in her eyes. Metal hit metal. No impact and no pain came.
When Miku looked she saw a blinding neon purple before her: a girl who faced Luki. Something blue slid off her back and in her disoriented state it took Miku a few seconds to realize it was Kaito. Both he and the girl were covered in glass.
"Yuzuki, what are you doing?" Luki asked though his face was still barren of emotion.
"Stopping you from becoming a crazed, bloodlusting monster," she replied calmly.
"I knew you favoured that human," Luki growled. "Move." It was more of an order than a request.
"I will not." Luki stepped forward and Kaito urged Miku and Len backwards.
"You cannot fight me Yuzuki. To do so would be to die," Luki warned.
"So you would kill even me for the sake of your jealousy?" Yuzuki spat.
"Move out of the way, Yuzuki." Luki ordered once more. "Jealousy has nothing to do with this."
"Kaito, get Len and that girl out of here," Yuzuki ordered over her shoulder. Miku was baffled when Kaito easily scooped Len up in his arms. He'd never been that strong before. She was even more shocked when Len didn't protest. The two of them – Kaito and Len – hated each other. "And whatever you do," Yuzuki smiled almost sadly. "Don't stop running for anything."
"Yuzuki!" Luki screamed when Kaito shoved the fire exit open with his foot. It broke off with startling force and careened down the stairs. Kaito was momentarily stunned at the occurrence and Miku noticed the confused gaze he cast Yuzuki even if she didn't look at him. The sudden strength that had shocked Kaito passed for the moment and he followed Yuzuki's order of getting out. Luki dashed forward and Yuzuki stabbed him in such a way with her sword - that seemed to Miku materialized out of nowhere - with a followed graceful twist that threw him back against the wall without breaking it. They moved so fast that it looked more like a dance than a fight to Miku.
"You will not move, Luki." Yuzuki glared coldly. Her glare was a deadly and condemning gaze. Luki steadily got up from the ground and though Yuzuki had stabbed him he stood tall like it was nothing.
He charged for Yuzuki and again she threw him backwards like he weighed nothing. Luki was up again faster than he was down and made it exactly to Miku's side which caused her to scream. Not a split of a second later the ends of a whip coiled like a snake around Luki's ankle and with a precise snap of her whip Yuzuki whipped him exactly back to his place on the wall; this time Luki crashed through the wall. Drywall crumbled into dust and made the air in the chem lab a dangerous smoke cloud. Yuzuki swirled her whip and the air instantly cleared. She snapped it hard again and what was once a whip hardened into the same sword Miku had seen before. Yuzuki took up her stance again as Luki stood. That was when Miku ran and tailed it down the stairs after Kaito and Len.
Miku took the steps two at a time with skilled jumps as she descended. She'd made it about a quarter of the way down the fifth set of steps when the wall above her blew out and Yuzuki slammed mercilessly into the wall for the steps she'd recently cleared. As much as Miku hated it she kept running; the fire alarm was blaring a deathly volume. She began to take the steps three at a time as earthquaking impacts took place behind her. She did not stop running even as tears of fear began to blind her.
Suddenly her foot caught and an insanely strong hand closed around her throat. Her body was slammed up against the nearest wall as someone held her there crushing her against it. She screamed. Miku screamed the hardest and loudest she ever had in her life. Her eyes met Luki's and his hand continued to crush her throat as seconds grew on. She clawed at his fingers: it did nothing.
"Where is he going?" his voice came, low, threatening. It was a command, an order to speak the information more than a question. Miku gasped as black dots began to cloud her vision. She tried to scream again until Luki thrust her harder against the wall and she choked on her own saliva. A metallic whip closed around Luki's throat and squeezed like a snake. He was lashed backwards and dropped Miku. Miku coughed and gasped for air as she hit the ground none too kindly.
She pushed herself up and darted down the stairs even though it was painful to breathe. She still ran. She ran for dear life because it was all she could do. The impacts grew closer again right on her heel even as she ran the fastest she could. Her breath came in rasps and she could still feel the burning heat of Luki's hand closing on her throat. He hadn't even been hesitant to break it. Miku found strength in her moments and latched onto the railing. With a swing of her legs and the loose clenching of the rails in her hands, she rode it.
She continued her way down with each new railing using speed she hadn't known was inside her till then. She rode the rails down the stairs even as the stairwell collapsed around her. She pushed herself even as each landing impact from the rails was jarring. She made it to the escape door and barrelled through it. The shock of fresh air stun her lungs. She'd made it to the back entrance of the school where there was nothing but forest and neighbourhoods nobody would find themselves in even in the daytime. What more, there were hundreds of startled, confused, and terrified students as well as teachers.
A hand jerked her aside and she almost screamed but stopped dead when her eyes met teal ones: Mikuo.
"Miku what's-"
"Did you see Kaito?" Miku blurted. "We have to follow Kaito."
"Whoa," Mikuo calmed. "Yes, I did but what's happening first?"
"We don't have time for that!" Miku screamed. Her eyes darted around and scanned the student body. "All of you!" She shouted. "Get away from this building!"
"Why? Mikuo is right, what's happening?" A teacher asked.
"So help me god!" Miku shrieked. "If you all don't plan on dying today you'll run as far as your legs will take you away from this building." On time with her statement the ground everyone was standing on violently shuddered and shook. Vocalo High was shaking. Slightly at first but more violently as seconds grew on. Students screamed and so did teachers: absolute chaos broke out.
Most delinquents turned tail and began to full out sprint. People who'd been originally at the back were more fortunate than others in the middle who got trampled. People climbed over people who'd tripped while running. Others screamed and cried about their belongings, others cursed. But one thing remained the same. Everyone ran. Luka emerged from the crowd and threw her arms around Miku. They didn't have time for this. Something pink burst out of the leftmost side of Vocalo only to be dragged back in by something that gleamed silver. Miku had no doubt it was Yuzuki's whip.
"Miku, god I was so worried!" Luka cried. Tears ran down he beautiful cheeks. "Would you like to explain what in the right hell you've gone and gotten yourself into?" Luka demanded. Miku chanced the look at her only to find anger evident in her eyes. It grew like a flame feeding on oxygen.
"Luka, we really don't have time for this," Miku shot back a lot harsher than she'd meant. Luka's gaze narrowed into a glare even as the building behind them shook. Miku had to commend Luka, the girl could control her panic in a crisis. Miku swivelled out of Luka's grasp to face Mikuo. "Look, I'll explain later okay? Now though, not really a good time," Miku clarified.
"This has to do with Rin doesn't it?" Mikuo asked. Yet, Miku didn't know herself. She had no clue what Mikuo was talking about.
"What?" But Mikuo acted like he didn't hear her. He did however gesture for Miku and Luka to follow him. Luka opened her mouth to protest but a massive explosion sounded behind them. The trio covered their ears from the deafening noise. The leftmost side of the school collapsed like the breaking of a tidal wave and like a ripple the rest was probably quick to follow. Luka followed obediently after Mikuo after that and the trio sprinted away as fast as they could.