POWDER II
"Why's your heart going so fast?" I don't know why I asked that question when I wasn't even sure if I wanted to hear the answer. Or maybe I already knew the answer but just didn't know what it meant. When he wiped the cream from the side of my mouth I thought he was trying to steal from my half of the cheesecake but the way he looked at me afterward made me feel…strange. Then he started leaning in and I was stuck between wanting to find out what happens next and being scared for my life. Even the voices went quiet for a second to witness the big moment.
But then we were brought back to reality. Whatever was about to happen next didn't matter anymore, what mattered was that someone had just broken into our home. A grey-skinned demi-human with bat-like features and piercing green eyes stepped through the round metal door. He appeared to be alone and was only armed with a scrap metal spear but we weren't going to take any chances. The two of us easily camouflaged ourselves within the leaves of the tree and waited for the opportunity to ambush the intruder.
I readied my pistol for the moment he would step within range but before he got close enough, Ekko jumped down. I was confused as to why we gave our position away but it was too late to question that now. I followed suit and landed behind the demi-human to cut off his escape.
"You lost?"
"Stay back!" the intruder yelled as he raised his spear and tried to keep both of us in his line of sight. When he saw that we weren't going to back down, he changed his strategy. "We don't have to do this. I can leave and never come back, I swear it."
"That's not gonna happen," said Ekko with finality in his voice. Left with no choice, the demi-human let out an animalistic growl and charged at me with his spear. I fired on him but he was faster than his build suggested as he zigzagged between my shots.
Lean right.
The sharp edge flew towards my face before I tilted my head out of the way. A kick to his chest sent him stumbling back towards Ekko who followed up with a bludgeoning blow to the head. The dizzy intruder swung his spear around wildly in a last-ditched attempt to keep us at bay but we patiently encircled him like a pack of wolves. Ekko faked to rush him and the moment he turned his back to me, I pounced on him with a taser.
Just like we practiced.
I reloaded my gun as I locked eyes with the paralyzed demi-human on the ground. He couldn't speak or move but I could tell that he was afraid. I wondered if there was someone out there waiting for him to come home. If that person would stay up tonight praying that the worse didn't happen. Too bad it was us or him. There was only one way this could have ended. I raised my gun but before I pulled the trigger, Ekko got down next to him. "Help me tie him up."
"Huh?"
Why?
"C'mon, before the stun wears off." When he saw that I still wasn't moving, he added, "We'll need to question him."
"Oh…right…"
As I was about to step forward to help, a female voice called out from the entrance, "Wengo?" I snapped my head around and saw another demi-human with the same features as the first one except for the eyes, instead of green hers were a light shade of purple.
Like mine.
In that brief moment of hesitation, the paralysis wore out and the male was able to shout out a warning, "Kaya, run!" The female gasped and ducked behind the door as I fired my shot. Ekko quickly jumped on top of our prisoner to restrain him and I gave chase to the other. I've heard that some demi-humans could see in the dark and she was no doubt hoping to lose me that way but I knew these tunnels like the back of my hand. I was no longer scared of the dark. I was the monster behind every corner.
I see her.
Run, piggy, run!
Adrenaline pumped in my veins as I listened to her breaths get shorter and her footsteps grow slower. I could smell her fear and I followed the scent like a bloodhound. Finally, I wrapped around her on one of the turns and a quick kick to the chin put her out cold. "A for effort, little piggy! Or should I call you little batty?" When she didn't answer my smile faded from my face and I pulled out my gun. "Nothing personal. We just found the place first." Suddenly, her eyes snapped open but instead of the demi-human, it was my mother staring at me with her lifeless purple eyes. "What is wrong with that child?"
Kill her!
No, don't!
"It's not real. It's not real. It's not real!" I screamed at myself as I clutched my head. Where was Ekko? He always made everything better. I needed to see him. I looked back and forth between the unconscious woman and the path back to the treehouse before gritting my teeth, "You're coming with me for now." I holstered my gun and dragged her by her hair all the while cursing my bad luck. "You just had to come on my birthday, didn't you? Everything was going so well too…"
As I re-entered the sanctuary, Ekko spotted me and rushed over, "Powder, are you okay?!" His hands were on my arm, checking for any injuries before he brought me in for a hug. "I heard you screaming, I thought something had happened."
"It was nothing," I said as I closed my eyes and enjoyed his presence for a moment. "Where's the other guy?"
"Kaya! Kaya!" yelled the male as we entered the storage unit with his companion in tow. He tried to move but he was stuffed in a straitjacket of ropes and duct tape. "What did you do to her?!"
"Shh," I gestured for him to be quiet, "can't you see she's sleeping right now?"
"I'm going to kill you!"
I chuckled, "Good luck with that."
"Alright focus up," said Ekko as he pushed the demi-human back against the wall with his foot. "We're going to play a little game, it's called 'He Said, She Said.' I'm going to ask you some questions. Then when she wakes up, I'm going to ask her the same questions." The male growled at Ekko but his eyes were as cold as ice, "If the answers don't match, I'm going to hurt one of you and we keep playing until they do. Understood?"
The demi-human held his gaze for a moment longer before lowering his head dejectedly, "What do you want to know?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm Wengo, I used to be a medic. My wife's name is Kaya, she's an engineer."
"Is it just the two of you here?"
"Yes."
"Does anybody else know that you came here today?"
"No."
"How did you find this place?"
"We stumbled on it by accident, we were just trying to get off the streets."
"Who do you work for?"
"Nobody."
"I thought I told you not to lie," said Ekko as he held his weapon against the male's throat.
"I'm telling the truth! We're not working for anyone. Not for Silco. Not for Chross."
"Why not? Doctors are in short supply, I'm sure both sides would have paid you handsomely."
"Have you seen what they've done to the undercity? It's not about the money. We didn't want to be a part of that."
"So you two are just saints is what you're telling me."
"If that's all it takes to be a saint then our city is truly lost."
There was a moment of silence before Ekko looked away and stood up, "I hope her answers match yours."
"They will."
"I think he's telling the truth," said Ekko as we stepped out of the room. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, a habit he never broke when he was feeling frustrated. "What do we do now?"
I furrowed my brows, "They saw our faces. They know where we are. You know what we have to do."
He met my eyes before shaking his head, "Not now. Just not now."
"Well, when, Ekko? When?"
"When we've had a chance to think about it."
"Think about what? Are we going to keep them as pets? He tried to kill us!"
"I'm taking the night," he said stubbornly.
I tried to reason with him, "Fine, let's say we let them go. What if Silco gets his hands on them and he had to choose between his wife and us? You think he'll choose us?"
"This is not who we are," he said as he took a deep breath, "it can't be." At that moment I knew he wasn't going to change his mind; he was going to let these two demi-humans go. Despite the tough exterior he puts on, Ekko was still a kind and caring person at his core.
He has a good heart.
Just like Vi.
Why don't you?
Why couldn't he see things from my perspective?
You're a bad person.
The right decision was the one that kept us safe!
Right?
Didn't he want to protect what we had?
He hates you.
What if they told someone?
They will.
What if they came back with more people?
Too many.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
My heart hammered in my chest and my vision became blurry. I felt hot but my whole body was trembling like it was cold. I couldn't breathe – almost as if I was being held underwater with no way of coming up for air. The only part of my body that worked was my mind and it was racing at a hundred thoughts a second. I was falling down the rabbit hole of 'what ifs' straight into the jaws of my biggest fear.
You're going to die alone.
Suddenly I saw an image of Ekko's lifeless body being thrown on a pile of corpses. Mom. .Vi. The two demi-humans hunched over him with devilish smiles on their faces. Saliva dripped from their maws as they ripped him open with their sharp claws and feasted on his warm brown eyes that never judged me. GOUGED OUT! His goofy smile that always made me want to laugh with him. SLICED OPEN! My shaking hand reached for the pistol. YOU FUCKING ANIMALS!
"Powder, no!" Ekko yelled as he shoved my arm just in time to change the shot's trajectory to miss the male's head. The force sent me crashing to the floor and I was snapped out of my hallucination. "What the hell are you thinking?!"
"I told you to stay away!"
I flinched as he raised his voice and backed up against the boxes behind me. "I-I'm sorry, I was only trying to help. I was only trying to help." I apologized but he wasn't willing to listen, he only stared at me with disgust in his hollowed eyes. I tensed up as he raised his hand to hit me, "No, no, not again." I began crawling toward the door but he wouldn't let me go, not until I was punished. "Don't hurt me, please!" I kicked him back and when he tried to chase me, I threw a steel bolas that entangled his legs.
While he was on the ground struggling to get the restraint off, I ran out of the treehouse. I didn't know where I was going but I just had to get out of there. I felt like the world was collapsing around me. I was scared of being in the place where I was supposed to feel safest.
He finally sees you for what you really are.
Jinx! Jinx! Jinx!
Sweat drenched my body as my legs gave out from under me. How long have I been running? My mind caught up with my body and I finally heard my lungs screaming for air. My hands touched the ground as short gasps escaped my mouth. Where was I? I listened for any sounds but the silence was deafening. I looked around me but there wasn't another soul in sight. I laughed maniacally, "Oh now you all want to play mute!"
All alone.
"NOOOO!"
Voraces Lector: I'm happy you are liking the nicknames. I considered having Powder be known as Blue but I thought Jinx was too crucial a piece of her character to leave out. Thanks again for leaving a review!
Warlocktoungue: I gotta do what I gotta do to get you guys coming back ;) Since everybody is here for the ship, I thought sprinkling sweet moments early on would make it a more enjoyable read. As always, thank you for leaving a review!
DashBoy47: Thanks for the encouragement and hope you enjoyed this week's chapter; I've followed your advice and the story is now also on AO3!
GameFTV: Happy I could provide some inspiration for your own writing and thanks for leaving a review even though English isn't your first language!
ENDERER EX: Thanks for leaving another comment, I always thank all the reviewers since you guys take the time out of your day to write a nice message and it always encourages me to write more!
Archangel Writings: Thanks for leaving a review, hope you enjoyed a little bit more of Jinx's madness in this chapter!
BL4CK 4NG3L: Glad you are enjoying the story, hope to see you again next week!
dreadnod244: Haha don't worry more chapters are here!