I'd be runnin' up that road, be runnin' up that hill… with no problems.

Chapter 43

Running Up That Hill

(A Deal With God) #2

The abandoned station is within sight. Though the sun has set long ago and there's nothing but dark forest all around her, she'd recognize that old building anywhere. She wastes no time running there, wastes no time climbing those old stone steps of that broken and cracked staircase. There's nothing in this building that is functioning anymore, no electricity, no lights. That's how she knows she's not alone when she enters the main building – the lights that glow through the cracked and dusty windows, the low rumbles of engines that she barely could hear due to what the trains have done to her ears. Oh well, sacrifices. She'll survive. Hopefully. She walks towards the main doors, keeping her pace quick and full of intention, ready for action. The doors groan loudly in protest of being forced into motion after so many years of neglect, the rust having done its worst to the hinges, the mold daring the wood to try and fight it. It draws the attention towards her, the attention of her old gang members, people she called friends – still do. Judging by the wide toothy smiles they give her upon mere sight tells her that they see her as one of them still; a comrade, a friend, an ally. One who would willingly risk their life to save one of theirs. How accurate they are in their assumptions of her. That is why she's here to begin with, isn't it? Risking her life for someone else, daring death to come for her one more time, hoping it will be distracted enough for the poor soul to slip away undetected. They call her Llorona, the one who weeps for the loss of someone she loved – the one who's willing to die for someone else. No hesitation, no second thought. If a life has to be taken for the rest of them to survive, she'd be glad for that life to be her own.

"Llorona," one of them calls her, helmet still on their head; God forbid she recognizes them with the helmet on like that. Names and faces have never been her strong point, but when there's no way to see the face at all it's just impossible. The lights from their bikes shine enough around them for her to see the rest of them, faces she does recognize, smiles she's grown to adore. She walks up towards them, feeling lighter on her feet than she did just a few moments ago. The ground crunches underneath her feet by each step she takes, silent as it is around them. Are they waiting for her command? Judging by the way they look at her, follow her with their gaze, one would assume such a thing.

"How soon will we be there?" she asks, not aiming the question at any of them, just asking in general.

"A few hours," the first one, the one standing in front of her, says. He gets up on his bike, scooting himself over more before reaching out an offering hand towards her. "Allow me," he says, offering to help her up on his bike.

She looks at his hand, thinking about the time she's already spilled by not being able to teleport on the spot like in superhero movies. A sigh escapes her. "Make it minutes, if you can."

He chuckles some, nervous at her stern tone, and tries to hold his hand steady when she takes it and climbs onboard his bike, sitting directly behind him. "We'll do our best," he says.

They drive the bikes out from the forest, a road that is not the friendliest to such vehicles. It feels like an eternity has passed before they finally get out of there, and then there's the rest of the way towards their lair in the city. Llorona spares herself some moments to rest her legs, but makes sure not to go completely limp – lest she wishes to fall off and potentially to her death. No, no need for that today. Another day maybe, when no one else's life is at stake. Until then though, she would prefer to stay alive. She just hopes that this will not result in her having to die for them to let Marie go – you never know with the Jagers, how far they're willing to take things. But if it really does end with that being the only solution, she at least knows that the Bats will protect Marie and bring her home. That's all that matters right now. Hopefully Edd will be able to forgive her for not being able to come home again. You're talking as if you're already dead or dying. We! As if we're already dead or dying! We're in here too, remember?! Just shut up. She tries to shake her head clear.

The moon is aiming for the middle of the sky, the stars paving its way, getting everything ready and set for the grand moment of the night. You could almost assume that it was daytime with how bright it is at this hour, though the dark shadows that surround you and the black sky covered in white glittering dots would give it away. Still. It's enough to keep her awake. For now, at least. She's losing track of time more and more, her head feeling a little woozy from the panic before plus the whole ordeal of finding a way to get from there to here and trying to think of a plan of action once they're back on old familiar ground, finally followed by the fact that she needs to pull at least a tooth out, plus a fingernail and toenail… the debt you need to pay for someone to be able and leave that disgusting gang of disgusting people. They do love to draw blood. And making people draw their own blood. Do you think they know who the girl is? What do you mean? Do you think they know that she knows Llorona, that she's met her before? If she told them. Let's hope she did. Why? Because, they hate Llorona, right? Right. And they love to see her suffer, right? They live to make anyone suffer, no matter who. Yes, but especially members of other gangs, or even ex-members. I suppose. Right – and what better way to hurt someone than going after someone they care about; someone they'd happily die for? Just think; if she told them that she knows Llorona, then why would they hurt or kill her before Llorona is there to save her? Are you trying to say that they might be "saving her for later"? Isn't there a chance? Hmm… in which case, the moment Llorona arrives is the moment they'll go for Marie full force. And that's when we can save her! Really now? Yes! Because when they're busy going for Marie, we'll be able to get them from behind! Ah, yes – because they'd definitely turn their backs on us. Not to mention not having someone to guard their backs while their enemies are infiltrating their territory looking for blood. Why so negative? Why so stupid? Shut up you two.

The ride soon reaches its end, finally. Or… soon and soon – she doesn't know how long it's been. Busy with the voices in her head, she really can't keep track of time most of the time, just going with the flow, listening to what they say to one another. Oh, whatever. They've arrived, finally. That's all that matters. If you could make a deal with God, would you?

She recognizes the streets they're driving down, recognizes the different buildings and houses they pass on the way. The view is always something to be stunned by, but now is not the time to be sightseeing – especially not since she's been here before. They soon drive underneath the viaduct, away from prying eyes, where they'll be safe before and after the confrontation and rescue of the blue haired girl called Marie. One by one the engines die out, letting her head and ears finally find peace in the silence, but not for long. The moment they set foot off of the vehicles, more people emerge from the shadows, friendly faces she knows by heart and new faces she's never seen before. The new ones stand off to the sides while the old and familiar ones go towards her. Some of them she recognizes immediately, others… she knows that she knows them, but what were their names again? She stares at them as they stare at her, bikes being guided to their specific spots behind her, the dim light from the burning barrels behind them, they read the expression on her face, waiting for her to say something. Eventually one of them start laughing at her, a big and bright smile on his face.

"Still sucks at recognizing people, eh? Llorona?" he chuckles at her, crossing his arms over his chest in a friendly way whilst tilting his head a little.

She frowns at him, but at the same time she can't find it in her to get angry at him. That's just how he is, how he's always been – just the way she wants him to be; himself. "Shut up Alexa," she tells him, watches him erupt into laughter before telling her to keep quiet before she awakens 'Her'. It's been a while since she last called him that, huh? "I missed you too, Alex." He smiles.

While she'd be more than happy to jump into action this very instant, Alex did manage to convince her to take it easy before she does something stupid, rest a little and plan ahead instead. He keeps an eye on her, which is surprisingly annoying but she knows he just wants to help, and she hates to admit it, but it did help to just close your eyes and allow yourself to lay down for a while. It also helped to hear him say – and swear on his ancestors' graves – that they have people over by the Jager's to keep an eye on things, make sure nothing happens to Marie in the meantime as she gets some rest. Once she's done with that though, she's basically crawling on the walls to get going. Alex helps keep her in control then too.

"You seem really serious about saving this girl," he says, watching her pace back and forth, ready for action. "She someone special or something like that?"

"She's my brother's girlfriend," she tells him, not stopping nor slowing down, just keeps walking back and forth.

Alex curses under his breath, "no way, seriously?" Things just got personal, didn't it?

"Well," she pauses for a moment, "I'm not sure. That's just how she introduced herself the first time I met her. Though Edd seems to be more scared of her than anything else."

"Why? Is she pushy?"

"Not just her, it's her sisters too. It's kind of what they're known for." She starts pacing again, talking as she does, letting Alex in on what she knows of the situation. "Marie got tired of it though. Sick and tired."

"Of the rumors?"

"Yeah. According to Lee, Marie had told her that she didn't want to be a Kanker anymore, that she wanted to be part of something greater."

"Like a gang?" Alex asks.

Llorona shrugs. "Apparently."

"Some gang to go to," he scratches the back of his neck. "Do you think she knows what they tend to be up to? With the new recruits and… stuff?"

"I've no idea," she tells him. "All I know is that Marie tended to get back home very late, covered in cuts and bruises, which sounds like she should know some of the things they get up to, but at the same time… who knows what they've actually told her?"

"Lies, that's for sure. That's all they know after all."

"True that."

The conversation slowly dies out for a moment after that. Neither of them feels comfortable with what's about to come next, but it's necessary, they both know. Still… this is nothing you wish to happen, which is exactly why the Jagers demands it from people. They love to hurt people. They love to make people hurt others. They love to make people hurt themselves.

Alex clears his throat, uncomfortably. "So, um…" he doesn't know what to say, she can tell, "are you… are you ready for this?"

She looks at him, takes a big and deep breath, mentally preparing herself for it. She knows what he's talking about. It's gonna hurt. Yes. It's going to really hurt – but do you know what hurts even more? Having to live with the fact that you could've done something to save someone, and yet, you didn't.

"Lay it on me," she tells him.

He stares at her for a moment, an uncertain expression resting on his face. "Right then," he tells her, and then he leads her away to one of the back alleys.

It's dark. It's cold. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt. I don't want to do this! We have to. Please, no! Stand still! It will all be over soon enough, and once it is, we'll be alright. I don't want to do this! Please! Just shut up and you'll be okay! No one can hear you anyway.

Her heart is beating in her chest. The pliers are much bigger than she remembers them to be, or is that just her mind playing tricks on her? No matter – they're big and they're in her face. Scratch that; they're in her mouth. Originally, the Jager's would have you do it to yourself, but since they want to go to them prepared, this is how they're doing it. Alex is standing behind her, holding onto her shoulders as if he's afraid that she'll try to run away if he didn't. Or maybe he's just using that as an excuse to have something to hold onto so that he doesn't collapse to the ground. For being part of a gang, he sure hates to see blood. Poor soul – maybe he chose the wrong lifestyle. Just maybe.

The man has a firm grip of the pliers, and the pliers have an unbreaking grip on one of her teeth. She doesn't recognize this man – apparently someone new on the streets who just wants to get back on their feet again. A kind person, gentle soul. Strong as a bear. He gives her one last look, no readable expression on his face, and waits for her to give her permission with a nod. With a grunt he nods back and looks back to what he's doing. Then he pulls. He pulls hard on her tooth. No numbing or anything that the dentist might be able to offer you. Just a pair of pliers in her mouth, gripping one of her teeth, pulling it out with the force of the force that this man is. She wants to scream, but forces herself not to. She can taste her own blood, hear the scrunchy sounds the tooth makes as it's forced out of its natural home. She doesn't scream, but she growls. She growls loudly. Then there's a very weird shift in the jaw, an empty space has been made and she's not used to it. It feels weird, an odd type of numbing pain spreading through her jawbone and through her head, her spine. The taste of her blood doesn't go away. She can feel it start to run down her mouth, out her lips, down her throat, into her stomach and the wrong pipe. She coughs, winces through the pain as she does. The man looks at her, probably trying to determine the damage he just caused her. Alex is gone – she can no longer feel his hands holding onto her shoulders. She looks down behind her only to find him sitting on the ground by the brick wall, bouncing himself back and forth with his arms wrapped around his head. He really should've chosen a different lifestyle, shouldn't he have?

"Here," the man says, catching her attention again. He holds out his hand to her with her tooth in it, covered in blood and dirt from the pliers. She looks at it for a moment, feeling herself become slightly light headed. He furrows his brows at her before she reaches out and takes her tooth out of his hand. He watches her for a moment, observes her to determine if they really should keep going like this. When he finds that she's recovered enough and is still determined to keep going, he sits back up again and grabs the pliers one more time. "Your hand," he tells her, and she holds it out for him. He grabs it, holds it up closer to his face, places the pliers so that they grab onto her thumbnail. Then he pulls. Llorona forces herself not to scream.

Song: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) – Kate Bush

Gonna change the update times to 'when I can' for now. Have to work more than originally planned during December and January. Hope you enjoy the chapter!