Hey, guys. Yeah, I couldn't even wait twelve hours before posting another chapter, but I guess that this can be part two of the festivities. Though originally, the flashback was all one chapter, I decided to split it into two for a better flow. I started writing this chapter bit by bit maybe three months ago, so hopefully it lives up to expectations. Anywho, here's chapter 33, enjoy!
She padded tentatively down the way, her body feeling uncoordinated and foreign as she tried to place her feet quietly against the carpet flooring as she neared a corner. She grimaced as her trembling fingers touched the wall to her right for support, suddenly aware of the absence of her mutation as the texture felt dull and bland. She hated it.
The sudden crackle of a walkie talkie alerted her only a second before another heavily armed man emerged from around the corner, allowing Laurien enough time to prepare herself. She grabbed onto his gun with one hand and pointed it away from her as she drove her other fist into his throat, effectively reducing his rising cry of alarm into a faint gurgle as he clutched his neck. As the man keeled forward, Laurien brought her knee up to his face, wincing as she heard the telltale crunch of his nose breaking.
An idea coming to mind, she grabbed onto the now unconscious man's vest and dragged him into one of the nearby rooms, flicking on her flashlight to reveal an empty bedroom. She dropped him with a small thump, taking a deep calming breath before she crouched down to commence rifling through his belongings. Under any other circumstances, she wouldn't have dared go through another person's things, but the way she saw it in that moment, he was the one at fault here, not her.
She immediately grabbed onto the gun and placed it carefully to the side, her fingers nervously tapping the cold metal as she stared at it, before finally popping out the cartridge and tilting it, letting all the bullets fall harmlessly onto the carpet. She slid the gun under the bed and returned to the unconscious man, now searching his vest, only to find a small piece of paper in his breast pocket. She unfolded it and found herself looking at a photo of the man next to a beautiful young woman, both of which were smiling brightly at the camera as they held a small newborn baby in their arms. Laurien frowned as she glanced at the man, suddenly noticing the wedding band on his finger before looking back at the photo, wondering if the woman in the picture knew what her husband was doing at that moment.
Laurien quickly folded up the photo again and carefully slid it back in the man's pocket before getting to her feet. She opened the door hesitantly, peaking out into the hallway through the slight slit, only to find to her relief that it was still empty. She crept out, silently closing the door behind her before she made her way toward the direction of Charles' study instead, hoping to stumble upon at least one friendly face.
She clenched her jaw bitterly and took another step further before stopping abruptly as a smaller group of agents exited a nearby room. "There she is!" A cry rang out, causing her to jump as it scratched her eardrums with its shrill volume.
Spurring herself into action, she smashed the flashlight into the shorter man's face as she heard an ear-shattering crack that most certainly didn't come from the flashlight. The other two didn't have enough time to raise their guns before she was on them, elbowing the younger one in the gut as she kicked the other hard in the groin, before kneeing him in the face as he doubled over in pain. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, therefore allowing her to concentrate all her force on the younger man, who, upon a quick second glance, looked to be about her age. She slammed her palm into his nose, instantly feeling the gush of blood on her hand before she grabbed his head and rammed it through the drywall.
She gave herself a moment to catch her breath, placing a hand against the wall to steady herself, before abandoning the scene of the fight and cautiously traversing down another passageway with her flashlight still in hand, when she froze at the sound of a ferocious roar from a floor below.
"Hank." She whispered, immediately quickening her pace. She made it to the main atrium in no time and hurried down the stairs at break neck speed. She followed the sounds of men shouting and Hank growling, when she tripped over something solid in the darkness. Laurien crashed to the ground heavily, her quick hands saving her from falling completely flat on her face. The flashlight sprang out of her grip and rolled just out of reach before she groaned and turned over to see what she'd tripped on. It was difficult to see through the darkness, and she crawled closer to see properly. She regretted it almost immediately, as she made out Shasta's limp corpse lying lifelessly on the carpet with a bullet shot clean between her big brown eyes, a trickle of blood oozing from the hole.
Laurien stared unseeingly at her beloved companion, her insides twisting painfully as she reached out a hand and made to stroke Shasta's reddish fur. A sudden crack rang out through the main atrium and a sharp blossom of fire ripped through her left shoulder, sending a small spray of red from her chest. Yelping in surprise and pain, Laurien spun around to see another heavily armed man just limping out from where she had just been heading to find Hank, his gun trained steadily on her. By the moonlight, she could see a disgusted grimace upon his face that was heavily marred by a large bloody claw mark, as his thumb moved to pull back the hammer on the gun. Laurien didn't wait for him to do so before scrambling to her feet and sprinting back up the stairs, flinching as a bullet whistled past her head.
A segment of the banister near her hand splintered from the impact of another bullet and was quickly accompanied by more cracks and ricochets. What the hell was wrong with this guy, she demanded loudly in her mind, and all the other men had been using tranquilizer guns, why not him? She thankfully was able to get out of range as she turned another corner, though only to run into three more men. She cursed mentally before quickly disarming one of them and slamming the butt of his gun into his temple, efficiently eliminating one hostile.
She rounded quickly on the other two as cries of surprise were ripped from their mouths as their comrade collapsed into a heap. Laurien kicked away one of the men's guns and he swiftly pulled out a knife instead, twisting it in his hand before advancing to slash at her. She blocked his blow, locking his arm in her tight grip as she noticed the other man advancing on her. Laurien used the man she was holding as leverage, as she kicked up and hit the other man solidly in the face, his head snapping back and colliding with the wall, before he slowly slid to the ground.
Now focusing on the man with the knife, she tried to drive her knee into his stomach, but before she could, he pushed her back into the window behind her. The impact shattered the glass and sent it raining down on the both of them, the shards slicing at their vulnerable skin. The man rammed her sideways into the side of the window where long shards of glass stuck out, burying them deep in her arm as she cried out in pain. She released her grip on him and managed to push him back with her foot. When she tried to advance toward him, she found to her horror that she was stuck, the glass so deeply imbedded in her arm that she had to place her hand against the wall and jerk her arm hard enough to break the shards from the window.
She groaned loudly as fire clawed up her now useless arm, hot blood seeping out from where the glass shards were pierced through her skin, feeling sick as she felt the glass grind against bone. The man ran at her again with the knife and she lifted her bad arm in response, meaning to block his hand, but she miscalculated his blow and the knife stabbed clean through her forearm. She grunted, more in surprise than pain as fear sparked numbly in her chest as she realized that she was getting careless. She found that the pain wasn't as intense as she expected, in fact, the man seemed more surprised than her, his jaw hanging open almost apologetically. Using his surprise to her advantage as his grip loosened on the knife handle, she rammed her elbow into his nose, sending him stumbling back. He suddenly picked up the tranquilizer gun and pointed it at her defensively before she could get anywhere close to disarm him again.
She backed off quickly, raising her good hand up in front of her. "Look, just–" But she found herself faltering, the blood loss already affecting her body as it gushed down her arm. She spotted his faded nametag pinned to his chest and felt a small jolt as she grasped onto her last lifeline. "Stryker, right?" She tried tentatively, wondering if she could appeal to his good nature, that is, if he had any. "We don't have to do this."
The man stared at her, his young face bloody and red from his gushing broken nose. His blue eyes flitted down at her tortured arm that hung limply by her side, the knife still sticking out of it. "I didn't want to hurt you."
Though she felt the life slowly draining out of her, she still mustered a small laugh. "Really?"
He didn't reciprocate her gesture, but even so, he unconsciously lowered the gun a bit. Before either of them could even move a muscle, another crack rang through the hallway as pain lanced through her abdomen. She stumbled backwards and looked down, immediately spotting a dark red dot spreading across the fabric of her housecoat. Her legs buckled unexpectedly beneath her, sending her crashing down to her knees as she braced herself, her bloody hand shaking against the expensive carpet as she bled out onto it.
"Finally." A new voice murmured, the shooter from the atrium, as he neared the younger man, who stood still, eyes wide in shock.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Nate?" He demanded in disbelief. "They told us not to kill them."
"What?" The man asked, waving his gun tauntingly in front of the other man's face. "I'm not going to kill her, so it's fair game. Besides," He snarled, before suddenly kicking Laurien in the stomach, eliciting a sharp scream that echoed through the hallway as she curled in on herself, clutching her steadily reddening abdomen. "This is for what the other one did to me."
Laurien sobbed hoarsely as she tried to slide her legs underneath herself once more in an effort to crawl away, but a hard boot slammed down on her ankle, stopping her in her tracks as a muffled snap met their ears.
"Stop it!" The younger man growled; roughly pushing the man called Nate away from her as she bit down hard on her hand to stop herself from screaming out again in agony, blood pooling thickly in her mouth.
"They don't pay me enough to deal with this shit." Nate said before suddenly throwing the younger man back against the wall and raising his tranquilizer gun at him. The dart buried itself in his neck and not a moment later, he collapsed, unconscious.
Nate then walked over to her and snatched up her bad arm, causing her to cry out again as he dragged her away from the other bodies. They didn't get too far before he unceremoniously dropped her onto the carpet.
He then grabbed her by the throat, cutting off her airway as he lifted her up onto her knees. She choked, clawing at his hand desperately before suddenly stilling as he brought the barrel of the gun to her forehead.
"What happened to no killing?" She mustered, her voice strained and raspy as blood dribbled out of her mouth.
He smiled strangely. "Change of plans."
She stared up at him, her vision blurring around the edges as he squeezed. She found herself nodding minutely, the thought of Bastijn and Roosje coming to her mind. She winced as hot coals seemed to settle in her chest, so much pain pulsating through her body; she couldn't stand it any longer.
Just then, a terrible thought came to mind, that maybe it would be kinder for him to shoot her. It was what she'd wanted ever since the fire, wasn't it? So many terrible thoughts swirled through her mind suddenly, as if someone had opened the gates that contained every doubt, worry, and torment, and released them to wreak utter havoc in her head. Facing the facts, her gaze slowly drifted away from his cruel grinning face, not wanting it to be the last thing she saw.
He adjusted his grip on the gun, just as an icy twinge sparked through her veins, startling her into coughing up more blood as it dawned on her, that whatever had happened to her powers was wearing off and they were gradually coming back. A battle between conflicting emotions ripped through her mind; on one hand, she was so close to finishing it, but on the other hand, as the spark of ice grew steadily larger, she couldn't help but wonder if she could just keep him busy long enough…
"You must really hate mutants, huh?" She rasped, silently willing for someone to arrive as she tried to stall him.
"You don't belong." He whispered, his breath ghosting revoltingly over her face. "Just call me the exterminator."
Suddenly having enough, she spat a spray of blood in his face, causing him to recoil in disgust as his grip on her loosened. She slammed her fist down on the hand that held her throat, effectively releasing herself. She yanked the knife out of her arm in one swift tug, hissing as she felt the pulsations of blood spilling out of her, before stabbing it deep into his thigh. He yelled in anger and pain, gripping the handle of the knife sticking out of his leg as Laurien tried to stagger away on her broken ankle.
A sharp gasp was ripped from her lips as he caught her by the hair and pulled viciously before flipping her over onto her back, his knee dug into her abdomen and aggravating the gunshot wound, making her scream in agony from the immense pressure. He jabbed the barrel of the gun against the middle of her forehead, his finger tensing over the trigger. In a last ditch attempt, Laurien reached out desperately with her powers, willing the gun to budge, until it finally did.
Laurien flinched as the gun went off, her mouth opening in a silent cry of pain as she felt as if someone had just cracked open her skull and poured liquid metal over the side of her head. She brought up her hands to clutch her head as hot liquid gushed over her fingers and onto the expensive carpet. The pressure on her stomach was relieved as she became aware of a predatory roar, which was quickly followed by a shrill yell that rang eerily in her ears. Laurien tried to pry open her eyes through the crippling pain, but was horrified to find that she couldn't see out of her left eye, and that the right was gradually leaving her as well.
Her fingernails clawed blindly at the carpet as she tried to turn over, before falling back with a yelp as the wound in her abdomen shrieked for her to stop. She laid still, clutching her stomach, as the life seemed to be draining out with the hopes of her future, the blood seeping through her housecoat and soaking her fingers with their heat.
"Laurien!" A familiar voice cried out as hands suddenly grabbed her with their comforting touch and pulled her against a solid figure, causing her to bite back a cry of her own as the movement rattled her head and strained her abdomen. "No, no, no! Don't do this to me. What the hell happened?"
Laurien tried to speak, but found that a growing lump in her throat was obstructing her voice as she tried to get a firm grasp on Charles' hand that was applying pressure to her head, feeling as if he were trying to crush her skull.
"Charles, let me see." Hank demanded urgently as he swatted away the other man's hand, the slight growl in his voice letting her know that he was in his blue Beast form.
She flinched as she felt his clawed hands touch her tender scalp, whimpering as another agonizing wave rippled through her abdomen.
"The bullet hit her, but I believe it was only a graze." Hank explained hurriedly, setting Laurien's nerves on fire as her vision completely left her.
"I- I can't see." She forced out from behind clenched teeth, blinking hard, but getting nothing from it.
"It's all right, love." Charles murmured in her ear, trying to hide his panicked and shaking tone, though failing horribly as Hank searched her for more wounds. "There's just blood in your eyes, we'll get it washed out just as soon as we get you help, okay?"
He rocked her body back and forth slowly, his hands resting firmly against the side of her head as a sickening stickiness soaked through her clothes. "You're all right." He whispered repeatedly, his voice hoarse and quiet against her right temple, as if he seemed to be trying to convince himself more than her.
"Charles, we need to get her someplace safe, she's already lost too much blood, and we'll be sitting ducks if we stay here." Hank urged, his rapidly changing fingers gripping her wrist to take a pulse as they reverted back those of a human. "We'll take her to the lab."
Charles nodded uncertainly against her before she felt his arms slip beneath her shoulders and knees, and was greeted with the sudden sensation of weightlessness as she was carried away. Her head fell limply against his shoulder as they moved down the hallways, their cautious steps always slowing to check around the corner before continuing on.
Laurien couldn't be sure how much time had passed, but they suddenly seemed to arrive in the lab after a slow blink of her blind eyes. The radio was on, playing a familiar and haunting tune. The characteristic organ of the 'House of the Rising Sun' echoed eerily in her ears, as she was set down on a cold countertop that sent an intense chill throughout her entire body the moment it made contact with her skin.
"Laurien?" Charles asked, his hand resting against firmly against her head.
She whimpered weakly in reply, the lump in her throat having reappeared, as her thoughts had turned into something akin to a fuzzy television screen without a signal.
"Charles, I need you to go barricade the door." Hank urged as hands frantically pulled at her housecoat, pulling off the layers to reach the bullet wound in her abdomen that was still spurting blood. Charles' touch reluctantly left her as he went to move one of the surrounding lab tables against the door.
Hank finally lifted her shirt, the soaked fabric peeling off unbearably slow. "Jesus." He whispered beneath his breath as he revealed the nightmare that her stomach must have been.
Pain sparked through the wound as she felt Hank prod it tentatively with his fingers and she groaned through clenched teeth as she gripped the counter tightly. Intense pulsations rippled through her stomach, as a cold metal was inserted in the wound and she went to grab Hank's hands. "What are you doing?" She gritted out, her words garbled and warped through the thick metallic liquid coating her mouth.
"I need to get the bullet out." He explained hurriedly, before ripping his hands out of her grip and inserting the metal clamp back into the bullet hole. Laurien cried out and sent the clamp soaring across the room with her powers before latching onto the bullet buried deep in her skin and ripping it out, narrowly suppressing another scream as she shuddered violently. Her arms suddenly felt like lead as her limbs weighed her down, feeling like she could melt through the table she was lying on and sink to the earth's core.
She was only a tiny bit aware that someone was shaking her as her head lolled to the side, the mottled bloody chunks of her scalp sparking painfully as they met the cold metal of the table. Warm hands grabbed her face and forced her eyelids open, though she didn't see the point, considering that she couldn't see anything anyways.
Blood spilled out from her mouth and down her chin, a wave of burning heat seemingly engulfing her entire head as she laid sprawled on the table, her whole body tense and still as the temperature rose steadily higher.
Laurien blinked and was suddenly back in the wreckage of her new home in Rotterdam, with cinders and ash floating from the ceiling as she feebly tried to suck in air. The fiery particles traveled into her lungs, layering themselves thickly upon its walls and stifling what life was left. Her breaths began to slow, as time seemed to move at a monotonous pace, until her chest stilled completely, and she disappeared into oblivion.
She was brought back abruptly with a painful jolt. She gasped weakly, eyes fluttering unseeingly as she felt something being poked into her good forearm. A warm hand was gripping her face, fingers digging into her blood soaked skin, desperation reeking through its touch.
She coughed arduously and was hastily turned over on her side as she felt like her lungs were going to burst out of her chest. Strong hands held her arms in their tight grip as she was shifted onto her back once again, making her feel grounded as her head pulsated loudly. Laurien suddenly became aware of how much her chest hurt, as if someone had beaten her repeatedly with a sledgehammer. Her blood smothered mouth throbbed along with the sound of someone pounding against metal, as she coughed again and reached out for Charles, but before she could touch him, a stabbing pain streaked up her good arm and a scream was ripped from her lips, before darkness engulfed her once more.
Heh, heh... Not exactly a cliffhanger, because you know, she's still alive in 1973. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed, thank you very much for reading and please leave a review! Bye my lovelies!