Trails - Chapter 25

Elthia could barely keep her eyes open.

Her entire body felt heavy and she was exhausted, physically and emotionally. She was naked, covered in bruises and blood, and was held in suspension by four chains, two connecting her wrists to the ceiling and two around her ankles that were linked to the ground.

Every time she was about to pass out, T would throw a bucket filled with icy water over her, causing her immense pain and forcing her to stay awake.

“Don’t worry; Jasmine will be here soon,” T said, smiling.

Elthia bit her lip and whimpered, terrified that this man would do the same things to Jasmine as he had her. When she had awoken, T had hit her body relentlessly, leaving her broken, bloody and numb. Then, when he had removed one of her fingers and sealed the wound with the blowtorch, all of the pain went to her hand.

Jasmine, please…don’t come, Elthia pleaded in her mind.

However, she knew that it was futile.

There was no way Jasmine could ever leave her and T knew that too.

***

After running at full speed to the docks, Jasmine slowed her movements completely when she drew closer to the warehouses. Carefully, she made her way over to the warehouse T was in, constantly surveying her surroundings for him and any security cameras he might have set up or hacked into.

If he spotted her coming, then she wouldn’t stand a chance at taking him down.

She reached a side door along the right side of the building and gently wrapped her fingers around the doorknob. She twisted it and it let out a little squeak as she pushed it open.

T could very well have heard that noise, even as quiet as it had been.

She scanned the corridor, her pistols deployed into her hands, and she crept into the building. Jasmine had retrieved her weapons and equipment from a stash in the city, as she was worried that something might happened and would need them; unfortunately, the worst had happened.

She made her way into the main room and she spotted Elthia instantly, a single light dangling high above her; sitting beside her was a metal table covered in various bloodied instruments.

“Elthia!” Jasmine inadvertently screamed.

T appeared from the shadows and opened fire at her.

She ducked behind cover, the bullets landed in the wall behind where she had been standing, and Jasmine returned fire, shooting blindly over the crate she’d hidden behind. T kept firing at her, bullets tearing through the wooden crate, and Jasmine was forced to roll out of her cover. She unloaded all of her bullets at him, slamming into T’s chest and knocking the pistol out of his hands.

Even after ten bullets had hit him, Jasmine hadn’t drawn any blood.

Jasmine took cover behind a metal pole and reloaded her pistols. “Bullet proof armour, huh?”

“Of course,” T said, reclaiming his pistol and holstering it inside his coat. He picked up an assault rifle from the ground and chuckled. “Your aim’s become much worse.”

“So’s yours.”

Jasmine poked out from her corner at the same time as T and they paused when they pointed their guns at one another. They fired everything that they had and they each knocked the other’s weapons out of their hands.

T smiled and flicked his wrists. “I guess it’s only natural that we’d both think of the same strategy, partner.”

“Shut up!” Jasmine cried as she deployed her knives.

She charged at him and T reached under his coat and pulled out two karambits, curved knives which resembled sharp claws.

Their blades clashed and T kicked her backwards, upsetting her balance and allowing him to slice at her stomach; however, before the blade could cut her flesh, she avoided the attack. Jasmine spun around and kicked at T’s face, but he caught it on his forearm and pushed it back. Jasmine followed through with a lunge with her blades at T’s stomach, but he easily dodged the attack and smashed his elbow into her forehead, sending her stumbling backwards.

T followed through with multiple slashes at Jasmine, trying to land a single attack on her. She bobbed and weaved out of the way, but T still managed to slice at her arm and thigh. Jasmine grunted and jumped backwards, gaining a small amount of distance between herself and T. She spat at the ground and ran at him again, chopping and cutting away with her blades. T easily manoeuvred out of the way of her attacks, before thrusting the sole of his boot as hard as he could into her stomach. Jasmine flew backwards, fell onto the floor and rolled over onto her back.

She hissed and drew her machine guns from her armour and began to fire; T threw his knives at her, before drawing his pistol and firing six shots, disabling her weapons once more.

Jasmine threw the machineguns away and drew one of her shotguns. T rolled out of the way of her first blast but the second clipped his shoulder. He grunted and fired at her twice, cutting her arm and knocking her gun from her hand again. T quickly reloaded his pistol as Jasmine drew her second shotgun, but he shot it out of her hands before she could fire it, before firing a round into Jasmine’s shin.

She collapsed onto one knee and screamed in agony, her hand covering the wound on her arm and leg; it wasn’t fatal or that damaging, but it hurt like hell.

“Give up, Jasmine,” T told her, his gun aimed at her head.

Jasmine grit her teeth and closed her eyes, frustrated and terrified that she had lost. She slowly raised her hands and whimpered.

“Good.” He dragged a metal chair over to her and slammed it hard on the ground, sending a deafening echo throughout the room. “Stand.”

Jasmine stood up and looked over at the chair. There were four sets of handcuffs attached to it, two on the legs and two behind the back.

“Drop the armour and sit,” T ordered.

Jasmine looked at the chair reluctantly, biting down on her lip.

“Now.”

Jasmine slowly removed her armour and it crashed loudly onto the floor. She sat down on the chair and she heard the chains of the cuffs clink together.

“Put the cuffs on your ankles and wrists,” T commanded.

“What’s the point?” Jasmine demanded. “If you want to kill me, just kill me! But…! But…please…let Elthia go.”

T’s expression twisted, his disappointment in his former apprentice clear, and he shook his head a little.

“I will release her and I will kill you, don’t worry,” He said. “Cuffs. Now.”

Jasmine frowned and slowly put the handcuffs around her ankles; they snapped shut and they rubbed deep into her skin. Jasmine threaded her hands through the back of the chair and locked the cuffs around her hands.

Now, she was completely trapped and at T’s mercy.

Whatever T wanted to do her, he could.

“Good girl.” He walked over to her and began to rub his fingers against her thigh. “Now, shall we get started?”

Jasmine attempted to get loose from the cuffs but they were wrapped too tightly around her wrists and ankles, making it impossible for her to even attempt to escape. Normally, if in this situation, she would have broken her wrists and then slithered out; however, T knew her well and he had compensated for that. If she even tried that, he’d break her arms.

There was nothing that she could do.

“If I’m honest, you have grown into a beautiful young woman,” T said, lovingly stroking her cheek. “But.” He went into his pockets and took out two brass knuckles, wrapping them on his fists and he clenched them.

“I feel like changing that.”

He swung his right fist into Jasmine’s jaw and she felt the bone crack. Blood spewed from her mouth and her teeth shattered. Jasmine threw up blood and T dragged her back to face him. He threw a punch to the cheek again and her jaw smashed. Jasmine screamed and coughed up more blood. T swung his left fist into the other side of her jaw and that bone smashed. Jasmine howled and wept to the side, blood oozing from her mouth.

“Does it hurt?” T mocked. She coughed blood and he smiled. “Of course it does. This, this is what you get for turning your back on me.”

He punched her in the ribs and they broke. Jasmine screamed a blood curdling scream and he exhaled. He slammed his right fist into her chin and Jasmine cocked her head backwards. Her weight nearly tipped the chair, but T kept it up.

“Don’t want you falling over now, do we?” T whispered. He cackled and rubbed his brow.

Jasmine was a mess.

She couldn’t speak, blood trickled out of her mouth and her teeth nearly choked her; she threw them up before that happened, though.

“As much fun as this has been though, I can’t risk staying here any longer,” T said. He walked over to the table beside Elthia and took out a large syringe. “Do you remember what you once told me? That you hated the idea of drowning?” Jasmine tensed up and T smiled slyly. “Did you know that you can make someone drown out of water?” He shoved the needle into Elthia’s veins and withdrew as much blood as the syringe could take.

“If you fill up a person’s lungs with liquid, they begin to choke as if water was flooding into their lungs.” T withdrew the needle and flicked it a couple of times. He strolled over to Jasmine and positioned the needle in line with her left lung. “Now let this live with you, Elthia. Your blood killed your best friend!”

A steel spear soared into T’s shoulder, tearing through his skin and bone. T grunted and stumbled backwards, the syringe slipping through his fingers, and he grasped the shaft of the spear. Jasmine tried to look over her shoulder to see who had thrown the spear but she no longer had the strength to move.

“How are you awake?” T asked, tearing the spear from his shoulder.

Ajax grunted, steadying himself against the door frame. “Instinct, I guess,” He said, smiling and his voice rasped as he spoke.

Ajax, in his mech suit, stood awkwardly in the doorway, barely able to stand on his own two feet.

“So, that’s what happened, huh?” T whispered, drawing his pistol. “You put on your suit at the last second and prevented yourself from taking the full dose of the gas.”

Ajax clicked his teeth and two silver swords appeared in his hands. He ran as fast as he could, which, due to T’s drug, was barely as fast as a light jog, and sliced at T. T, without evening really trying, sidestepped him and kicked Ajax in the back of his knee, dropping him onto the floor; his other knee wasn’t strong enough to keep him up.

“Even inhaling some of that poison should have paralysed you for a good few hours,” T said, placing his pistol against Ajax’s neck. “So, it’s impressive that you’re even awake.”

Ajax swung madly behind him as he leapt up, his blades missing their mark by inches. T took a few steps back and fired three shots at Ajax’s leg; they did not pierce his armour, but the impact was enough to cause his leg to give out. Ajax threw his swords at T but he turned on his side, the blades easily passing him by. T reached down to his belt and drew a large knife, as he moved over to Ajax’s side.

With his strength all but gone, Ajax could do nothing to stop him. Every part of his being was focused on keeping his eyes open and his body off of the floor.

T sighed heavily, stabbing Ajax through his back. “You shouldn’t have tried to play the hero.”

Then, something sharp pierced his neck, cold steel pressing through his throat.

T, confused, look down to see a curved blade, his own karambit, through his jugular. Blood spewed rapidly from him, drenching the unconscious boy in front of him in crimson.

“You…finally…let…your…guard…down,” Jasmine spat weakly, her voice broken and croaking.

She withdrew his blade and he fell forwards, bouncing off Ajax’s body and slamming into the ground, blood forming a puddle around his lifeless face. In his dying breath, T saw how Ajax had been able to free Jasmine.

When Ajax had thrown the spear at him, he had also thrown a dagger at Jasmine’s cuffs around her wrists, allowing her to move her hands freely. While T had been fighting with Ajax, she had used a lot of her strength breaking the cuffs on her legs using the dagger and then, on the line between her fading conscious and the merciless darkness, she had dropped the knife and taken T’s karambit as a replacement.

With the last ounce of her strength, she had shoved the blade into his neck and taunted him for the first time in her life. Jasmine, drained of energy and blood, fell onto her knees, passed out and fell onto her side.

***

The Merchant dropped down from his hiding spot and observed the scene around him. One dead person and three almost dead people, their wounds all rather severe.

“Had Ajax not arrived I would’ve stopped him but still,” He mumbled, walking over to Elthia. He then cast a glance of his shoulder at Jasmine and smiled. “You and your friends are really reckless, aren’t you?”

He cut Elthia’s chains and caught her as she fell. He walked over to Jasmine and Ajax and placed Elthia between the two, placing one of her hands on herself and the other on Jasmine. Even though she was out cold, her magic still worked and their wounds began to heal.

Although, even with healing magic, some of the damage would be permanent.

Sirens echoed from behind him and, with a smirk, he disappeared into thin air.