Chapter 25
Within the walls of the canvas it wasn't exactly difficult to be able to tell the difference between night and day, but Yugi soon found he could not quite recall how long had passed since they've arrived here. The reality was that it couldn't have been that long, perhaps few days but it felt much longer. Much, much longer. He'd not had much company in that time. Het had come to him only once after telling him the story, the reason he was doing this. Yugi's stomach turned at the memory of that wicked grin Het had held as he came to him, blood covering his hands. Blood which he knew all too well belonged to his closest friend. He may not know what had happened to Atem but he knew it wasn't good. Nothing good would cause the former Pharaoh to cry out in agony. Tears welled in his eyes as he remembered hearing Atem scream. He could tell that the once King had tried to hold in the sound but whatever he had experienced had proved too much, and given his already injured state it seemed it had become too much for him to hold in. He had to do something to help him but what could he do? No matter how hard he tried he was unable to loosen the ropes which were tying his arms to the post behind him. He'd even tried to get to his feet, thinking the the post might pull from the ground but he'd found given his injured state he could not get to his feet without the use of his hands. Perhaps their only hope was for their friends to find them, surely they'd all be searching for them. But then why hadn't they been found yet? Perhaps wherever the camp was located it was so well hidden it was untraceable. Or… perhaps… perhaps their friends believed they were dead and had stopped looking.
Yugi shook himself. His friends would never give up on them, no matter what they believed. They would keep searching until they found them one way or another. But in the meantime he had to figure out a way in which he could try and escape on his own, or try to persuade Het and the others that they were mistaken in what they believed. They believed Atem was at fault for all that Haji had suffered but this wasn't true. Atem would have never ordered the death of Haji's father, never. As for the creation of the millennium items, he knew that Atem hadn't be aware of just how they were created to begin with but just as he'd told Het once he had discovered it, he tried with all his might to stop the darkness. A task which he had eventually succeeded in. But then there was the prophecy. There was no denying now that something was at work here. It wasn't just bad luck that he and Atem had stumbled across Het and his gang. It had been foretold that they would. Het's interpretation of the prophecy was that Atem would die and he would live, but Yugi wasn't so sure. Well, whatever the prophecy truly meant it had mentioned that one would survive and the other perish. But what if that was the other way round. Yugi would never wish for anyone to perish, in his mind all of them would escape this. The preference for that would be himself and Atem being rescued with Het being arrested. Perhaps that is what the prophecy meant. Someone would suffer but then the perpetrator would meet justice. Yugi had to hold on the that, justice always had a way of coming through.
His thoughts were broken when he heard an all too familiar voice. Except Atem wasn't speaking, he was once again crying out in pain. The tears that had been welling in his eyes broke free, falling in perfect synchronisation down his blood-stained face, stinging his open wounds. He wanted more than anything to get to the former Pharaoh and try to save him but he could not. All he could do was sit there and listen to his cries. He'd never heard Atem cry out like that before, the sound scared him. If they escaped, what state would he be in? He closed his eyes as once again Atem cried out. Despite the distance between them it felt as though he was right next to him. His tears fell fast despite his closed eyes. He wanted to support his friend but at the same time he couldn't listen to his pain. But suddenly the former Pharaoh's cries stopped, an eery silence fell. Opening his eyes Yugi looked towards the entrance of the tent, listening for any sign of anything. He could hear distant voices but it was almost impossible to tell exactly what they were talking about. A coldness filled him as he saw shadows passing the tent. Had something happened to Atem? For his cries to be cut off so suddenly… did that mean?
There was a noise at the entrance to the tent and a figure entered. His hands were once again stained with blood. Het, a cloth in his hand, began wiping his hands as he moved further into the tent. He wasn't looking at Yugi. For the moment his focus was on his hands. But, as he wiped the last of the blood from his hands he finally met Yugi's gaze. A smirk crossed his face at Yugi's expression.
"Did I miss a spot?" Het asked, looking at his hands as if looking for any more blood stains.
"Is he alive?" Yugi replied, looking directly at him, "Is Atem still alive?"
It was probably the most direct question that he'd have asked but in that moment he needed a clear answer. Was Atem alive or had he succumbed to their brutality? Het considered him for a long moment, milking the anxiety radiating off Yugi despite his best efforts to hide it.
"He's alive, for the moment. He's passed out on us again, so we decided to give ourselves a little break."
Yugi glared at him "You really are sick. How could you do this to another human being?"
"He is no human being. No human would do what he's done."
"I've told you what happened in the past is not his fault." Yugi tried.
Het just rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
"If you're so set on that everything that happened was Atem's fault why didn't Haji confront him back then? Why now?"
"He would have had he been able to." Het shot back, "Haji believed Bakura would succeed but when he failed it was too late to confront the Pharaoh. He'd killed himself to get away from the consequences and Haji was a little too occupied with burying his father that the Pharaoh killed."
"Atem never –" Yugi broke off shaking his head, "But still why now? What is doing that to him going to do now?"
"Because he is powerless to stop me." Het replied, his gaze locked with Yugi's, "Before now he's had the items to protect him but now he stands alone. He can do nothing to stop me. Power corrupts, he has to learn that before he dies."
More tears slipped from Yugi's eyes before he could stop them as he stared up at Het.
"You don't have to do this though. You could ignore this prophecy and walk away from this. Let us go and we will say no more of it."
He was sure Het would never go with that but he had to try. He had to try and get through to him, if he had any humanity then surely a plea like that might stir something inside him. But from the look in Het's eyes his plea had fallen on deaf ears.
"I will not walk away. Haji made a vow, and I will fulfil it. But I will let you see him when he dies. You can sit there and watch life leave him, then you can go free."
Yugi opened his mouth to speak, to plea once again but there was the sounds of hurried footsteps from outside. A couple of men burst into the tent. They paid Yugi no mind, their eyes locked on Het.
"Het. The authorities are coming, we spotted their jeeps approaching from the north."
Het swore.
"The Pharaoh?"
"He's still unconscious."
"Good, cover him with something they must not spot him. I don't care what it is you use, make it look like a rubbish pile for all I care just make sure he's hidden."
The two men nodded before hurrying out the tent once again. Het turned back to the boy in front of him, he could see the hope building in his eyes. The belief that someone was coming for them. Their eyes met. Het's eyes narrowed. He closed the distance between them and delivered a hard strike to the side of his head. The boy went limp almost instantly but for good measure Het tied the blood stained cloth around his mouth, ensuring that even if he woke he'd be unable to make a sound. Before leaving the tent he moved a few of the various boxes, blocking view of the boy from the tent entrance.
Stepping out of the tent he saw a few of his men hastily throwing objects in the direction of where the Pharaoh lay. They could not risk the Pharaoh being rescued, not when they were so close to fulfilling the vow made all those years ago. He glanced down at his hands, he may have wiped the blood off but his hands still held a red tint. Grabbing his flask he emptied the contents onto his hands rubbing them as hard as he could. He continued to rub his hands as he moved to the north of the camp where a few of his men were waiting, watching the horizon. As Het joined them he could see the dust flying up in the distance as two red jeeps sped towards them. Het glanced around at his men, he did not speak. He didn't need to, his men knew all too well what he was telling them. Glancing behind him he saw the others moving away from what looked like a pile of wooden rubbish which was ready to be burnt. Het smirked, that should be enough to cover up what was really happening. Turning back to the approaching jeeps he began moving towards them, hoping to intercept them before they got too close. The jeeps slowed to a stop and five men, all dressed in red jumpsuits emerged from the two jeeps. One of them walked towards Het, regarding him with an authoritative gaze.
"Good afternoon, sir." Het called, "Is there something we can assist you boys with?"
The officer in front gazed behind Het, taking in the camp and the other men standing around.
"Interesting place for a camp, boys" He remarked, "I'm assuming you are aware that the conditions here are changing?"
Het frowned, "How do you mean?"
"There was a storm south of here," The officer explained, "The winds are going to get rather strong here and I'm sure you're aware of what could happen."
"Oh yes we're aware. In fact that's why we're here. See we are storm chasers, love a good storm."
The officer made a noise which Het took to mean he didn't quite buy what he was hearing. Het held his gaze, he was thinking whether he and his men would be able to take these men on. They did outnumber them but these officers could easily call for back up. The officer cast his eyes once more at the camp before looking back at Het.
"Well, if you are storm chasers then perhaps you can help us?"
Het raised an eyebrow but made no response.
"We're actually looking for two boys who were caught in a cave collapse in a sanctuary not too far away from here. They managed to find a way out but have seemingly got lost in the desert. You haven't seen them or any trace have you?"
Het mocked thought before replying, "I'm afraid not Officer. If we had, then we would have been sure to inform you."
Once again, the officer narrowed his eyes, "Would you mind if he had a little look around your camp? You must be aware of the regulations if you're camping in this area."
"Of course we are Officer and we are abiding by those so there's no need for you to have a look."
The officer shrugged before sweeping past him, "Well if you are abiding by the rules then this won't take long."
The officer moved into the camp with a couple of his men hurrying along behind him. Het just managed to conceal the look of fury on his face and he turned to follow the officer. The officer led the way into the camp, his eyes sweeping from left to right. Het followed as close as the other two officers would allow, behind him his men stood between them and the remaining officer who were still stood by the jeeps. The leading officer paused near the campfire, his eyes on a pile of boxes a short distance away from it. Turning to Het he pointed at it.
"So if you are following the laws of these lands then what is that?"
Het's eyes flicked to the pile before moving back to the officer, "I'm not sure I know what you mean."
"Well, that looks like the beginning of a bonfire to me. What would you storm chasers want to burn?"
Het didn't respond for a moment, only held the officer's gaze which was becoming more and more suspicious. Opening his mouth Het made to speak but a dull thumping sound caught their attention. The officers looked over to a nearby tent before looking back at Het, if possible their gazes were even more suspicious. The lead officer looked at the tent as another thumping sound could be heard before looking at Het. He indicated the tent with his head.
"What's in there?"
"Oh that," Het mocked a laugh, "That's just our dog. He gets a bit over excited from time to time."
"So, you keep him contained in the tent?"
"It's for his protection Officer, anything could happen out here."
Silence fell as the officer and Het just stared at one another. It was clear that the officer just did not believe what he was being told. Het was holding out, waiting to see if there was anything he could say to prevent his men from taking these men down. It was a viable option but not one he wanted to take, it would land them into deep trouble. The tension could be cut with a knife. But it was broken as a new officer came running into the camp, a walkie talkie in his hand.
"Sir!" He called, "There's been a sighting by the other team near the river."
The lead officer looked between his colleague and Het for a moment before nodding.
"Looks like you need to go, Officer." Het said, successfully hiding his smirk.
The officer looked back at Het, "Don't you worry son. We'll be back and when we are I'd like to have a look at this dog."
The officers began to move back the way they'd come, Het and his men watching them closely as they moved away. As he reached the edge of the camp the lead officer turned to look at Het once again. His eyes narrowed with suspicion for a final time before he turned and moved towards the waiting jeep.
Het waited as well, waiting for the jeeps to move out of sight before turning back to the camp. He marched through it, his men following close behind. They all seemed to be waiting for Het to give any sort of instruction. But Het did not. He moved into the tent that the officer had heard the noise from, glaring at the boy in front of him. Yugi held his gaze, unflinching. His face was once more covered in blood but it did not seem to bother him. The boxes that Het had surrounded him with had been knocked over. Yugi had woken to the sounds of someone questioning Het and had done his best to make it known that all was not well. Het shook his head, glaring at Yugi.
"That was a grave mistake." Was all he said.
Yugi held his gaze, channelling everything that Atem had taught him about holding his nerve. Het moved forwards and once again struck Yugi. But he did not stop, he struck several times before stepping away. Blood poured from Yugi's nose and various other new cuts on his face but he did not care. All that matter as that those officers had got the feeling something was wrong and would be back. Het spat on the sand in front of Yugi before turning and leaving the tent. Looking at his men who were gathered by the tent.
"Pack it up. We're leaving."
The camp became a flurry of activity as the men rushed around, gathering their items. Some of the tents were beginning to come down but not the tent which currently housed the boy who'd almost blown their cover. Het marched around barking orders to his men, yelling at them to hurrying up. They did not have the time to waste. True to the officer's words the wind was picking up, it was getting stronger and stronger. As it strengthened more and more sand was being blown around. Het stared around as best he could, the incoming sandstorm was beginning to hamper visibility. The sand was rather biting. It was becoming obvious that they would not be able to clear up in time before the main front of the storm hit. They would have to abandon camp and seek shelter. He called to his men, telling them the new plan. But not all of them heard. Het moved deeper into the camp, yelling at his men. As he moved he came across the Pharaoh, who was still laying on the sand. His men had removed the pile of objects that had covered him, although some still lay nearby, the wind having not yet taken them. The Pharaoh was conscious, the storm having pulled him from his unconscious state. But despite being conscious he could not do much. His eyes found Het who was glaring down at him. Crouching Het did not break his eye contact with the ancient king. Thousands of years of hatred flowed through him. He pulled something from his pocket before stabbing it down into the Pharaoh, who just managed to block any sound of pain.
"That's for Haji and everyone he cared about." Het hissed, "I won't be seeing you again Pharaoh. The prophecy dictates that this is where you die, shame I won't see that but at least I got to watch you suffer."
With that Het stood, walking away towards the rest of his men. On the sand Atem bit hard into his lip as pain exploded in his abdomen. He could feel blood pouring from the wound there. The wind gave a huge gust and a wall of sand hit him, making every single injury he had open up and scream their displeasure. He vaguely heard a shout from nearby and some hurried footsteps. His left arm was suddenly sharply tugged by something that then crashed into the ground. Turning to look he saw someone picking themselves up from the sand and hurry away. Clearly one of Het's men had tripped over his bindings, with visibility being so poor he'd simply not seen him. The wind grew even stronger, it was almost unbearable. Atem shut his eyes against it, moving as best he could to protect himself. His left arm moved… moved more than it had been able to before. His eyes opened and he turned to look, daring not to hope. The post which had secured his left arm in place had been knocked over. A wave of hope crashed into him as he moved his left arm freely. Whoever had tripped over him had loosen the post, it was no longer restraining him. Bringing his left wrist to his right he shakily tried to undo the ropes binding it. How he had the strength to do it he did not know but adrenaline was powerful. The bindings fell free from his wrists and with all of his strength Atem rolled over, coughing harshly against the sand which had invaded his windpipe. For several long moments he lay there, the sand cutting into him as it surged past, blood dripping from his mouth. He looked up at the half-dismantled camp and his eyes fell upon one of the only tents still standing. Yugi, he thought. He had to get to Yugi. But the question was… how?
