Keyoko rushed back to the elevator. All the soldiers she'd passed earlier were gone now. She could see bloody drag marks, on the floor, and assumed Gigi had killed the soldiers that had been stationed here. She tried not to think about it, frantically pushing the elevator button. Several seconds passed before she came to her senses. She didn't have time to wait for the fucking elevator! She needed to get out of here and now!
She pulled from the elevator and looking for the entrance to the stairwell. When she found it, she opened the door, and practically flew up a flight of stairs. She almost made it up a second flight, before she slipped and fell forward. She cried out as she hit the stairs hard. She slid down several steps banging up her knees and wrists.
She struggled to her feet and her arm was killing her. There was so much blood. She realized she couldn't ignore this. She had to do something, even if it was only temporary. She stumbled up several stairs until she got to a floor. She took a few minutes examining her arm. Though she'd never been shot in this life, she could recall other lives, where she had been. As far as she could tell, it looked like a through and through. She let out a sigh of relief, knowing she wasn't going to have to dig the bullet out. She'd had to do that before and it hurt like a son of a bitch.
If she could stop the bleeding, her wound should heal up, anywhere from a few hours to a few days, rather then weeks or months. Now that she was awake she was suppose to heal faster then normal. She grabbed onto the pant legs of her jumpsuit, hoping to make a bandage. Normally she'd never be able to rip such strong fabric with her bare hands, but she was stronger now. She tore the fabric as if it were cardboard. Once it was free from her jumpsuit, she tore it into several long strips, then wrapped it around her arm. Hopefully it would stop the bleeding, she really couldn't afford to bleed ou-
She froze, suddenly getting a strong sense of Urel and Eyo. They must have been closer then ever! She scooted herself into the corner. With her back to the wall, she lifted her hands and sent out a burst of air. She worried they were trying to sneak up on her using one of Gigi's illusions. They could literally be right in front of her, and she wouldn't know. Her heart pounded in her chest as she sent out another burst of air, but felt nothing as it traveled through the stairwell.
After a few minutes she felt them pulling away. They must have taken the elevator or something. Where were they going? Just what were they up to? She didn't like not knowing. She sat there for another minute or so, debating what she should do. More then anything, she just wanted to curl up and break down. All of this, the pain and fear, it was too much for her. She didn't want to deal with any of it, but knew she had to. No one was going to save her. Harold wasn't going to find her and make things better. Her heart sunk thinking of Harold again.
Whenever things got too hard, he'd always find her, wherever she was, and know just what to do, to make her feel better. Be it a peanut butter sandwich, an extra marshmallow fudge Sunday or a Comma Comma Gano Marathon. She sobbed thinking of the last time she saw him, laying dead on her art room floor. He really wasn't coming back. This wasn't one of her nightmares. She wasn't ever going to wake up. She wiped her eyes, knowing she needed to grow up. She needed to take charge, and come up with a plan of action.
She took hold of her emotions and set them aside for now. She got to her feet and tried to focus, on what she could do right now. She'd try and find Jezza, if she couldn't find her, then she'd look for a way out. Once she got out of here, she'd get help, or at the very least, get as far away from the others as possible. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was a start.
She took a deep breath, then closed her eyes, and tried to sense Jezza beyond the others. She soon realized she couldn't feel her at all. That meant she was either too far out of range, had taken off her stone, or was...dead. Keyoko doubted Jezza had left, or would risk taking off her stone at a time like this so it most likely meant she was currently dead.
She let out a heavy sigh and wondered how long she'd been down. Like healing, it could sometimes take hours, days or even weeks, to come back, depending on the circumstances. Once they were awakened they could only die in certain ways. When they did actually die, they'd get reborn and start this whole mess all over again.
She opened her eyes, thinking this wasn't helping. She had a bad habit of trailing off when she needed to focus. Right now she needed to find Jezza, and get out of here, that's it! If she couldn't sense Jezza, then she needed to think of some other way to find her. She ran a hand over her mouth thinking. She recalled how she'd first met Jezza in this life. She'd noticed her in the thoughts of others. Maybe, just maybe, she could try to read them on purpose, and find out where Jezza had last been seen, then follow the scent so to speak.
"No!" she spat.
She pounded her fist into her hand, thinking that wouldn't work. One, she hadn't been able to control it so far and two, Gigi had been pretending to be Jezza. Any minds Keyoko read, wouldn't know the difference between the real Jezza, and the fake one. Who knows what trouble Gigi could have gotten into.
She let out a heavy sigh and supposed she could just wander about the base and look, but she had no idea how big it was, and time was limited. She didn't know what the others were doing, but knew they'd eventually come after her. She bit her lip trying to think of what else she could do. She wandered around the stairwell, going up another floor, when she spotted a camera. Right cameras! The whole place probably had cameras! If she could find the security room, she could look over the entire base until she found Jezza, or she could find out what the others were up to. Perhaps she could even find the exit!
The only problem now was finding the security room. There had to be a map of the base around her somewhere. She vaguely recalled seeing one around the elevator, when she was looking for the door to the stairwell. Maybe each floor had one. She turned to the door, of the current floor she was on, and cautiously opened it. She poked her head out to see if anyone was around. When she didn't see anyone she stepped into the hall.
She kept an eye out for anyone, and prepared herself to run or fight. She slowly moved to the elevator and was surprised no one was stationed near it. She doubted Gigi had killed everyone on this floor. She didn't see any drag marks so where was everyone? She paused staring at the flashing lights. The alarm was still blaring but she'd zoned it out. Of course! They were probably following lockdown procedures, whatever those were.
A little more confident, she move to the other side of the elevator. She hoped to find the security room, on the map, then pop back into the empty stairwell. She saw the map in the same place it had been on the other floor. She quickly ran her finger across it, and found a yellow room, three floors up that read security. She let out a heavy sigh. She knew the others had gone up. There was a chance she could run into them, but if she stayed down here, they'd eventually come get her. She had no choice but to try.
She quickly darted back into the stairwell and climbed another flight of stairs. Halfway up, the second flight, she heard a door open and close. She paused as she heard footsteps on the stairs. A moment later, a man turned and stepped onto the landing just in front of her. Her heart sunk as her eyes locked on Milner.
She doubted, she'd run into him by accident. His thoughts quickly reinforced her assumption 'YES, FOUND HER!' She could read Milner, and understood that when the alarms had gone off, he knew where he was suppose to go, and what he was suppose to do, but had chosen to seek her out instead. He wanted revenge. He had a feeling the alarms had something to do with her, and he wasn't going to let her get away.
He pulled his gun on her and said, "Do you know who I am! Who my sister is!"
She knew he wasn't asking her a question, he just wanted her to know why, she was about to die. It was important to him that she knew. She held her breath, knowing he wouldn't be reasoned with. She had to do something but didn't want to hurt- Milner suddenly violently jerked, his hand snapped in the opposite direction. She could hear his wrist and arm cracking as they broke in several locations.
Milner's screams filled the stairwell as he dropping his gun, and was suddenly pushed back into the wall. No pulled! He was pulled back into the wall! She could hear his body violently smack into the cement, again and again, before he was pushed forward, and thrown down the center of the stairwell. Keyoko's eyes widened as she leaned over the railing and watched Milner's broken body bounce off the railings all the way down. She gasped covering her mouth. She hadn't done that but then who-
She turned her head to the landing Milner had been standing on. There was no one there and yet she saw a shadow. "Atoe," she gasped.
Suddenly the alarm turned off and a voice broke out over the loudspeaker, "Keyoko!" She recognize Jesep's voice. "You are wanted in the command center, at once."
The command center? Of course! That must have been what they were up to! While she had been deciding on a plan, they must have sought to take control of the base. It would seem they'd succeeded in their task. She watched as the stairwell camera moved until it was trained on her.
"Take the next flight of stairs, my love." Urel chimed. She could hear the eagerness in his voice.
Atoe was just as eager, he moved about, offering to show her the way. She didn't move. She clutched the railing and let out a heavy sigh, thinking what irony. The security room and command center were on the same floor. It would seem no matter what she did they were destined to reunite.
Atoe grew bigger. She could see he was getting impatient. He took the gun, the solider had dropped, and crushed it. Keyoko swallowed realized Urel must have rejoined with Atoe. He could now effect the physical wor-
"You know what I can do Keyoko! Don't test my patience anymore then you already have. MOVE!" The loudspeaker blasted, with Urel's impatience.
She let out another heavy sigh knowing exactly what he could do. She glided her hand up the railing. She didn't want to go to him, but what choice did she have. What choice did she ever have. She lifted her foot, finally moving. She took each step slowly, one at a time as she scrambled to think of what options, if any, were left to her. When she reached the floor Urel wanted her on, Atoe opened the door for her.
She paused in the doorway and Urel sang, "Come along now, don't keep me waiting."
She cringed but moved. It was time to give up... give in. Atoe showed her the way. They went down a long hall, then turned right and went down yet another long hall. At the end, was a reinforced door that had been prided open. She stepped into a large room and saw the blood before the bodies. There most have been dozens, scattered about the room. It was just like one of her nightmares, everywhere they went, there was death and destruction.
She furrowed her brow and kept walking, trying not to look. She saw half a dozen desks had been moved about, leaving the center of the room open, and in the center, stood Urel, waiting for her. She could see how he'd changed. He looked taller and more muscular. His ice blue eyes were brighter, yet darker at the same time. Standing this close to him, she could fell his full presence. It dominated her senses and was nearly suffocating.
She swayed, taking a step back as she felt her own darkness stir within. Her body grew warm and wet. She recalled the last time they had been together. She winced thinking of it now. She'd tried to deny it, to blot it out, but she couldn't. This wasn't one of her paintings, she could drag her hands over, when she didn't like what it showed.
Atoe moved to Urel, becoming his shadow. Urel offered his hand, beckoning her "At last our true reunion." She froze several feet away from him, feeling sick. Urel grimaced, "Come now Keyoko. We both know, there is no fighting this."
She clenched her fists glaring at him. She expected to be afraid, but seeing him now, she felt rage. The smaller items in the room began to shake. Urel pulled back studying her, "Keyoko, you can stop. We both know what you really want. Need!" He grasped hold of his privates giving them a shake.
She was repulsed! She sharply turned her head and screamed "NO! I HATE YOU!"
Urel wagged his finger as several items in the room began to rise. He taunting her "Do you or do you HATE that you love it so much."
"I DON'T!" she protested "I NEVER WANTED THIS! I NEVER WANTED YOU!"
"Right," he chuckled, before continuing in a mocking tone."I forgot you're 'cursed!' If you'd simply accepted what you are, you'd be a lot happier, Keyoko. You can deny it all you want, but eventually you'll have to accept it. You're not cursed, you're simply a whore! My whore!"
He beckoned to her once more, urging her to take his hand, and take her place. She knew it was pointless to fight. It was time to give in. She was outnumbered, and overpowered, yet still she raised her hands and resisted. Staring at his smug face lit a fire in her. She wasn't going to surrender to him, not this time! She'd given herself to him before, and look how that had gone. This time, she had nothing to lose and would fight with everything she had!
She sent several objects hurling at his head. He moved, dodging them with ease. She moved her hands again, sending even more items at him. Again, he dodged so she picked up an entire desk, hoping to smash him to bits, but it went right through him, and smashed into pieces as it hit the floor. She pulled back, confused for a second, then she felt something shift behind her, not something… SOMEONE!
She tried to turn, but it was too late, a hand snatched the back of her neck. It held her tightly and she began to feel weak. She realized it had been a trap. She'd been so bent on destroying him that she'd forgotten to check her immediate surroundings. She should have sent out a burst of air. The Urel she'd seen must have been one of Gigi's illusions. She looked around the room, thinking he must have been hiding somewhere, waiting for Eyo to get close enough to grab her. How could she be so stupid. She was always so stupid!
She let out a whimper as she felt the energy rush from her body. When she could barely stand, Urel appeared before her. She realized Gigi had been hiding him. He looked down at her and she saw the madness in his eyes...the cruelty. She burst into tears. He was really back!
Eyo drained her, for a few more seconds, then shoved her forward, letting her go. She fell into Urel's open arms. He lifted her up and hissed "Gothca," Like they'd just been playing a game and he'd won.
He spun her around in victory. She moan and tried to pull free of him, but Eyo had taken so much energy that she couldn't do anything. At the same time, he'd left her with enough to stay conscious. It was no doubt, intentional. A feeling of dread washed over her as Urel took her to a nearby desk that had been cleared off. He gently set her down, then ripped open her jumpsuit. He ran his hands across her breasts, giving them each a hearty squeeze. Tears streamed down the sides of her face as he pulled from her breasts, and grasped hold of her jumpsuit once more. He tore the rest of it off her, like he was unwrapping a present.
"What now?" asked Gigi, dusting herself off.
Urel let out a pleasant sigh, then responded, "Eyo knows what to do."
Eyo nodded, then turned to Gigi and gave her orders, "I want you to keep an eye on communications. You hear anything alarming, contact me right away."
"Alarming, like what?" asked Gigi, crossing her arms.
"You know what I mean." said Eyo, getting agitated.
"Why can't you do it?" asked Gigi.
"I have other matters to attend to."
"Well, it sounds boring," said Gigi putting her hands on her hips. "I'd much rather have fun with the master."
"Later," said Urel. He positioned himself between Keyoko's legs, sliding her so that her privates were touching his pants. "We'll play later, I promise,"
Gigi let out a haughty sigh, Eyo continued, "See if you can get in touch with any of the others, let them know whats going on,"
"Others," said Urel as he pulled his member out, "How many have you found?"
"Quite a few actually, I think you'll be please with my progress," said Eyo.
"OUR PROGRESS!" snapped Gigi, "I found Yawna! Which wasn't easy! She's a guy this life."
Eyo glared at her, but continued "We also have Raoul, Cante, and Bayon. I actually made a rather nice deal, when it came to him."
"Really," said Urel, "You'll have to tell me about it later."
He nodded to Eyo, showing his approval, then looked down at Keyoko, taking her in once more. He was pleased with Eyo's progress, and eager to hear of this deal he had made, but first he needed to release a little tension. He poked his finger inside Keyoko. She was wet but not as much as he'd like. He spit into his hand as she weakly cried, 'No. Pl..pl..pl..."
He rubbed the spit on his member then took hold of her chin, forcing her to look at him. He leaned into her and said "I like it when you submit, but you know what I love most, is when you fight back."
Her eyes glistened with distress and a tear escaped, running down her cheek. He took in her expression, before licking the tear from her cheek. She cringed as he pulled away, only to come back, and press his lips against hers, in a loathsome kiss. Gigi rolled her eyes, and finally went to check on communications.
Eyo watched Urel for a moment, then left the room. In the hall, he noticed the lights flicker. He pulled back, sensing someone, before he could make out just where they were; a set of hands grasped hold of his head. In one swift motion, his head was violently ripped from his body.
Urel pulled from Keyoko's lips as he heard a loud thump, and could no longer sense Eyo. A second later, he found out why as Eyo's head came hurling into the room. It bounced on the floor before coming to a rolling stop. Urel's eyes widened as a man, dressed in a military uniform, entered the room. He was wearing a mask so Urel couldn't see his face, but it didn't matter, Urel already knew who he was. An eternal pain in his neck! They'd faintly sensed Luka's presence earlier, but hadn't realized he'd been so close.
Luka pulled his sword from his stone and it radiated lightning as he pointed it at Urel and yelled. "YOU KNOW WHAT I LOVE MOST! WHEN YOU DIE!"
Keyoko's eyes widened as she managed to turn her head to the side and saw Luka had arrived. He was wearing a military uniform! Was he a soldier? She couldn't see his face as he wore a mask. She couldn't help but wonder what he looked like. She thought over what he'd just said, and realized he must have heard what Urel had said to her. How long had he been watching them? How long had he been awake? She had so many questions she wanted to ask.
Urel pulled from Keyoko and took a gun from his back. He opened fire on Luka, and Keyoko cried out, but all that escaped her lips was a groan. To her surprise, Luka put his hand up and the bullets stopped before they got to him. She realized he must have recalled how to use his magnetism as he guided the bullet into the wall behind him. When Urel's gun was empty, he threw it to the ground, cursing. She watched him pull his double sided ax, from within his stone, and the two men met in the center of the room.
Urel swung his ax and Luka blocked it with his sword. They stared each other down as they found themselves locked in their eternal battle once more. Keyoko struggled to keep her eyes on them as they pulled apart. They danced around each other quickly before Urel feverishly swung his ax. Luka jumped back, avoiding each strike until he could counter with a lunge. He manged to slice Urel's arm, drawing blood. Urel jumped back then tried to attack again, unleashing several more quick swipes of his ax, but Luka was too fast and avoided each attack.
Urel roared in frustration. It was clear he was still getting used to fighting. Keyoko thought Luka might have the upper hand, depending on how long he'd been awake. Yet, when Luka attacked, lunging and swiping with his blade, it was clear he was rusty too. The two men moved around each other lunging and swiping, while trying to avoid the others attack.
There were plenty of openings, but neither managed to hit the other. After a few minutes Urel stopped attacking. He pulled back hard, putting some distance between them, and raised his hand. He summoned Atoe and sent him into the fight. While Atoe had made quick work of Milner, he seemed hesitant to get close to Luka. He did several circles around him but kept his distance.
As Atoe circled him for the third time, Luka thrust out his hand. Lightning shot from his fingertips and Atoe tried to dodge it, but couldn't avoid the attack. The lightning pierced Atoe from his chest to his shoulder and black sludge sprayed out everywhere. Atoe shrank back returning to Urel.
Luka scoffed as he turned his attention back to Urel, "Forget about that did we-"
Urel shot forward and Luka just barely pulled back as Urel's ax came crashing down so hard it dented the floor. Atoe swirled around Urel, making it hard to see as he unleashed a barrage of attacks. Luka tried to pull back even more, but Urel managed to get him good across the chest. Luka cried out as his chest opened up and began to bleed all over his uniform.
Urel didn't give him a second to recover. He kept coming and Luka struggled to stay just out of reach. Keyoko's heart skipped a beat as she watched. It looked like Urel was going to win! He just wouldn't let up. However Luka soon changed his footwork and instead of diving back, he dived to the side. Then suddenly, he couched down and launched himself high into the air. He spun and managed to get behind Urel as he was recovering from his latest swing.
Luka didn't hesitate, he brought his sword down on Urel and managed to cut a large gash across his back as he struggled to turn around, and pull away. Urel nearly tripped over his own feet but managed to stumble back. He let out a painful groan and put some solid distance, between him and Luka. Keyoko also noticed he took a defensive stance after that and seemed to be looking for a way out as he kept looking around the room. She didn't want him to get away but she'd rather he run away than keep fighting.
Luka picked up on Urel's hesitation and became more daring with his thrusts. Urel kept retreating, and Keyoko was oddly reminded of the fight in her art room, when Harold kept attacking Jesep and he just kept avoiding him. Suddenly as Luka recovered from his latest lunge, the room filled with the sound of gunfire. Keyoko watched Luka fall forward and drop to his knees as several bullets tore into his back.
She realized it had to be Gigi! She'd completely forgotten about her! Gigi had made herself invisible and managed to get behind Luka as he was fighting. He was so focused on his fight with Urel that he didn't have time to use his magnetism. Maybe Urel wasn't looking for a way out after all, but working with Gigi to take Luka down. She could read body language, maybe Urel had given her subtle cues!
Urel took this moment to make his move. He swung his ax as Luka turned to Keyoko. It was like watching her brother get murdered all over again. She was helpless... unable to do anything. Urel's blade sliced through Luka's neck, cutting off his head. Tears welled up in Keyoko's eyes so much that she couldn't see. Her heart felt like it was going to explode as she felt Luka's presence vanish.
"WHAT TOOK YOU SO FUCKING LONG!" yelled Urel.
"I'M SORRY," Gigi cried, "I DIDN'T WANT TO MISS! Are you okay?"
"DO I LOOK FUCKING OKAY," Urel roared.
"No but Eyo-,"
"EYO WHAT! Eyo can heal me! YEAH! When he comes back to life, IN A DOZEN OR SO FUCKING HOURS!,"
"I-THIS ISN'T MY FAULT!" cried Gigi. "I- None of us knew he was back. WE COULDN'T HAVE EXPECT THIS!"
There was a long moment of silence, Keyoko sniffled, trying to focus on there voices, on anything beyond her gut wrenching grief.
"You're right," Urel finally responded, his voice suddenly calm, quiet. "You're right Gigi. I should have expected this. I should have anticipated he'd show up and try to ruin things like he always does."
"But you got him!" said Gigi.
"We got him," said Urel.
Keyoko could hear Gigi squeal with delight as she said, "That's Jezza and Luka, two down."
"Yes," said Urel, "I suppose you're right, we've got the advantage. Once we lock them down, they'll no longer be problem in this life."
"Can I get you anything?" asked Gigi.
"A first aid kit would be nice" said Urel "But return Eyo's head to him first."
Keyoko heard Gigi's rush off. Her heart plunge at the thought of being alone with him again. She sniffled closing her eyes. She heard rustling as Urel groaned in pain. She blinked several times trying to see what he was up to. Her eyes were still so watery. After a moment he came back over to her. She saw he'd taken off his shirt, he looked angry...beyond angry. He glared at her, and she knew even with his injuries, he was still going to hurt her... he couldn't help himself.
She knew there was nothing she could do to stop it. She managed to turn her head and stared up at the ceiling as he moved between her legs, once more. He pulled himself out and she felt him place it. More tears escaped her eyes as he thr-
"NO!" Keyoko cried, her heart pounding in her chest.
She blinked, suddenly realizing she wasn't looking at the ceiling anymore, but the center of a stairwell. She could just barely make out Milner's body below. She jerked back, nearly falling down the stairs. She quickly realized she wasn't on a desk in the command center but the stairwell, she had been in just moments ago. She looked up and saw Atoe looming. This must have been right after he'd thrown Milner.
The alarm turned off and just like before, a voice broke out over the loudspeaker "Keyoko," she recognized Jesep's voice. "You are wanted in the command center, at once."
She swallowed, realizing she'd gone back in time. No! She had never gone forward. Her eyes lit up as she realized she'd had her first vision, since fully waking up. She couldn't always tell when they were going to happen, or just what they were going to show her. It had been so vivid and felt so real. She replayed the events in her head. Luka's head had been cut off. WAIT! She looked around, realizing Luka must be somewhere in the base right now!
"Take the next flight of stairs, my love." Urel chimed.
She grasped hold of the railing, thinking there was still time to change things. She focused her mind as she slowly went up the stairs, and tried to reach out to Luka. Sometimes they could read each others minds...but it usually took some time, and practice. Still she hoped, after enough lifetimes, there might be a chance she could connect with him, if only for a moment, to warn him.
"LUKA! LUKA!" She thought as hard as she could, "CAN YOU HEAR ME!"
She waited for a response but there was none. Perhaps he was still out of range or maybe it hadn't worked. She considered trying again, but noticed Atoe moving along the wall beside her. She knew she was being closely watched. If Urel noticed anything 'odd' he might suspect she'd seen the future. No, a possible future! If she had any choice in the matter, she was going to change it. She would not let Urel win!
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