That I needed to let her go her own way.
I felt a bit guilty for leaving her behind like this, but I also understood that Laney was a big girl, with big dreams. I had to trust her, I just had to.
I continued to run down the tunnels, remembering the directions that Meryl had provided. You take a left at the first fork, and then you go right the next three times. It was where I found Daniel. He was hiding out in one of the small houses on the outskirts of town. That was when I realized that we would be on the opposite ends of town.
I hoped Laney would make it out alive.
I continued to run as fast as I could, surprised there wasn’t a single goddamn person here to stop me.
Did that mean they were off in the other direction? Or were they waiting to strike?
Suddenly, as if someone had read my mind, a powerful force came down, threatening to hit me as I rushed past them. I quickly kicked them out of the way, stabbing the grunt before heading forward. I continued to run, not thinking about anything else but getting the hell out of here and seeing Laney once more.
When I finally came out, I realized this wasn’t anywhere near town. In fact, this was closer to the coastline than anything else.
Why did Daniel hide all the way out here?
Of course, in a sense, it seemed logical to do just this. When you were far enough away from these people, it was logical to have this in place. I raced towards the gate, noticing that it was closed.
Nobody seemed to be around.
I grabbed the little pen I had in my pocket, which doubled as a powerful laser. I started using this on the grate, watching as it fell apart without any other motions. When the gate was done, I raced inside. I quickly stepped into the foyer, noticing there wasn’t anyone here.
It felt odd.
I expected at least a couple of guards, but they were all gone. What the hell was going on here? Where were they?
Then, I heard it.
The laugh.
I looked upwards, and I noticed Daniel coming down the stairs, clapping his hands.
“There you are. When I heard that Alex was killed by your little girlfriend, I was expecting her to show up instead. But I’m glad that you did in her place. I don’t have the heart to kill cute girls, but I sure as hell am ready to kill you,” Daniel said, holding something in his hands. It wasn’t a knife, nor was it a gun. He held a sword.
A sword? Why was he fighting with that? I tensed up, looking at Daniel who had a grin on his face.
“Come on, Stephan. This was a long time coming. We’ve been enemies for a long time. Plus, I can tell you’re still angry about what I did to him all those years ago,” he said with a smile.
My body jerked on instinct, but I held back. I couldn’t’ kill him yet.
“Yeah. You were the one who killed Robert. But why? What was the reasoning behind this?” I asked.
“Simple. I’ve wanted the gang for a long time. And, I needed to get rid of the people in power. I figured killing Robert would force you to show weakness, and when that happened, I’d strike. I’ve wanted to kill you for a long time, Stephan. I just never had a chance to do so. Until now that is.”
I felt the hesitation in my bones as I looked him in the eyes, my body on edge as I looked at him. It certainly made me realize that this was it. He wanted to take the gang all for himself.
“And what about the soldiers? I had a run-in with your little friends, and I know that they aren’t normal,” I said to Daniel.
“Oh them?
Those are for when I do take the gang from you. My plan is simple: I want control of this city. It’s the perfect economic resource, and I can run it without even stepping a foot in town. This isn’t just a revenge ploy, Stephan. If it was just that, I wouldn’t be going to these lengths. But I do hate you as well, so I figure this is just a part of it,” he said.
I grimaced. The smug bastard made me want to just tear him apart right there. But I couldn’t act foolishly. I had to be smart with my actions, lest I ended up losing everything right then and there.
“I’m not … I’m not going to lose her,” I said.
“Oh, did you promise your little girlfriend you’d come back? How cute. Well, I promised the same thing to Audra. So I figure this is the final match. Are you ready?”
I looked around, trying to find a better weapon for the job. I noticed a small sword in the corner.
A knife might work for some jobs, but not this one.
“So we’re settling this like old times then,” he joked.
“I guess so.”
“Yeah well, I’ll kill you in the same way I killed Robert. With a sword stabbed right through your goddamn chest!”
He lunged towards me, sword in hand, and I thought about just getting the gun and shooting him.
But that wouldn’t be fair. I knew he was playing with fairness in mind, and for once, I wanted to as well. The swords ended up clashing, and there were grunts all around as I started to fight him in earnest. I wouldn’t stop until I got what I wanted and I managed to take what’s mine.
This would be one of the final fights to determine our future, our fate, and who would end up alive.
Chapter 3—Laney
I focused on my skills. I parried every single attack that Audra delivered, my dexterity surprising her.
“Shit, I didn’t expect this to happen,” she grunted.
“You’re right. I didn’t either. But I guess we aren’t that different in skill after all.”
“Honey, you should know by now that we are both incredibly different in skill. Don’t give me that bullshit,” she said with a laugh as she continued to attack me.
I did the best I could, parrying every single attack. But I very soon felt my strength ebb away from me. I felt as if I was losing my damn mind over time and keeping it all together was proving to be harder than I thought.
She was relentless. She would attack me with two attacks for every one that I delivered to her.
I didn’t know if I could keep up with this, considering how she was relentless with her every blow. I knew that she wanted to kill me, and I wondered if things would have been different if she didn’t meet Daniel or Alex.
“Why do you hate me so much? Remember when we used to be friends?” I asked her
“Why does that matter? That was a long time ago.”
“You say that, but you and I both know that that isn’t true. You miss those days. I know.”
She hesitated for a second. And I moved in to stab her. She blocked the attack.
“Hey, don’t change the subject just to fulfill your agenda! You should know better than that,” she said.
“I’m not trying to. I’m asking you a question,” I replied coldly.
We continued to fight, but as she attacked, I noticed her patterns were off, like what I said actually hurt her. A part of me wondered if she had her own baggage that she struggled to deal with. She tried to deliver one more blow, but I moved out of the way, blocking it with my hands.
“Come on Audra, spill it. What happened to us? I thought we were friends but then you did what you did with Alex. And now you’re with Daniel and doing all of these things. Making all this trouble. Don’t you have any remorse?”
My eyes filled with tears as I looked at her.
She stopped, looking me over. I realized that this was just as hard for her as it was for me. When she saw the look of pure worry in my eyes, I could see her face changing too.
“You don’t know anything, do you?” she snapped.
“I know enough to know that you’re suffering Audra. Please, just tell me what the heck happened to us? Why do you want to kill me? I thought we were friends.”
She continued to fight, but her blows were beginning to hit harder and harder. Of course, I was able to block them, but I noticed that she seemed almost desperate.
“Come on, don’t do this, Audra.”
“Shut up you stupid slut! You don’t know anything,” she screamed.
> Suddenly, I saw her fish for something in her pocket. It was a gun. She pointed it at me; her eyes panicked.
“I won’t … I won’t hesitate, bitch. I will shoot,” she said.
“I know you will. And I’ll do the same. Tell you what, Audra. Since you refuse to talk, let’s put the knives down and get past the foreplay. Let’s really make this matter,” I told her.
She looked at me with concern in her eyes as I grabbed my gun too. I never expected to be pointing a gun at my former best friend, someone whom I thought would at least try to stick around for a bit. Then I noticed her eyes widen.
“You don’t get it do you? You ruined my life. All those years ago when you left me alone in that class to go to the other one because you thought that boy liked you. That’s where it all began,” she said.
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t remember. His name was Chaz,” she said.
My eyes widened. I vaguely remembered him. He was a guy I had had a little crush on, that she told me would be a waste of time to pine over.
“That’s what all of this is about? Him?” I snapped.
“You don’t understand how leaving me like that hurt me.”
“Well, I’m going to tell you right now that I didn’t expect this to happen. That you would react in this way.”
Her body stiffened. I could see that she was struggling with her feelings.
“No … you took it all away from me! You’re a monster,” she said.
I’m not. In fact, I’m trying to help you, Audra. I want to support you, but it’s obvious you’re still too blinded by hate.”
She glared at me, raising her knife, the gun in her other hand somehow forgotten. And that was when it happened. She launched a volley of attacks. I quickly parried them, but then, she held the gun to my chest.
“Move or I’ll shoot,” she said.
She was blinded by rage. By hurt. And to my surprise, I felt sorry for her.
“Audra, what’s done is done. You hurt me too. You slept with my boyfriend. And yet, you’re acting like you’re the only one who is hurting. The truth is, I am too. Killing Alex hurt, and I’m sorry I had to do that to you. But I don’t understand why you hate me so much. Why does hating me bring you such joy? Is it because it’s the only semblance of normalcy you still have?”
She looked at me with pure rage. I could sense she wanted to say something more but wasn’t able.
“But I’m not going to force it. Audra, I do care about you. You were my best friend, but we’ve moved on. I managed to find someone better, someone who loves me for who I am. You’re hurt––I can see that. But I just want to help you. Can’t you see that?”
I felt the pressure of the gun against my body slacken. What happened next was a blur.
I don’t really remember shooting the two bullets, but I did, and they hit her in the chest. Blood spurted out of her mouth as she fell to the ground. I looked at her as her eyes stayed in the panicked sense, but then, she coughed once more.
“I didn’t expect you to do that,” she wheezed.
“You were about to shoot me. I had no choice.”
“Observant as ever. Yeah, I was about to. But I thought about holding back. Since, well, it was you.”
Audra looked at me for a few seconds longer.
“You don’t understand. I had nothing. I had to do what I did. It’s not like I wanted to hurt you back then. But it was the only thing I knew. Daniel and Alex offered me the deal of my life. They told me I could go with them, and I’d end up rich, famous, and my research would be shown to the best. Too bad I believed their lies. They took advantage of me, and they never gave me what I wanted. I’m a goddamn fool. I’m surprised that it took me this long to lose it all,” she said with a weak laugh.
“Audra…”
“Don’t pity me, Laney. You’re just as guilty as I am. You’re the one who shot me. But I guess that settles it. You really do love him don’t you? That guy, the one who was with you.”
I flushed, but then nodded.
“Yeah. I love Stephan. I promised I’d come back to him alive.”
“Well fine. The code is 8R5DS3. Use that to stop the bomb,” she said.
“But Audra, what about—”
“I’m not going to make it out of here, you dipshit. This is the end of the line for me. But I do miss the time when we were friends. I do miss that part of us,” she said.
My eyes filled with tears.
“The feeling is mutual, Audra,” I told her.
“Yeah. Anyways, you have a job to do, Laney. Go save him and go take care of him. I’m sure that’s what matters to you more than little old me.”
Audra meant that in her own strange loving way. She let out one last cough, and then, as quickly as it happened, she closed her eyes.
I felt bad. I didn’t expect to take her life. But it was either her or me. I thought about what she said. And then I turned to the bomb.
“Shit!”
There was only a minute left. I remembered what Audra had said. I started punching in the code, and after a moment there was a whizz, and then the bomb turned off.
I looked at it once again. It was dead. I took it with me, immediately calling Meryl to tell her that I had the bomb.
“Where should I go now?” I asked her.
“We need you to go to Stephan. I heard he’s not doing so hot,” she said.
My heart raced as soon as I heard those words. I didn’t want to expect the worst, but my body and my mind were suddenly racing at the speed of light.
“When are you going to get here?”
“In about two minutes.”
“Okay, I’m dropping this off to you, and then heading over there,” I told her.
“Are you sure? What about—”
“If Stephan is hurt; I won’t forgive myself. I need to … I need to go see him,” I said.
There was silence, and then, a sigh.
“I’m not going to be able to convince you otherwise, huh?” she teased.
“Did you expect any less.”
“Yeah I know. Anyways, I’ll be there soon.”
When Meryl got there, I handed the bomb over gingerly. We took over the town hall, and everyone was kept safe, but I was running in the direction of where I was told Stephan would be. I was worried, and I was scared of what might happen next.
Would Stephan be okay? Would we survive this? I could only hope. I was scared, worried, and I had to hold my breath to keep positive.
Chapter 4—Stephan
The clashing of swords was ringing in my ears.
Daniel wasn’t playing fair. He was using dirty, underhanded tricks in order to win the fight. But I wouldn’t stop. I continued to block every single attack, not stopping until I got the upper hand.
“You really think you can win, Stephan?”
“Yeah.”
He laughed, and then he launched at me with a kick, forcing me down. He kicked me a few more times, the impact rattling my body. I clenched my teeth, feeling the pain.
“That wasn’t fair,” I grunted.
“Life isn’t meant to be fair, Stephan. You and I should know that by now. If it was fair, I would’ve been dealt a better hand, and you wouldn’t be where you are. You nasty fake son of a bitch,” Daniel said as he walked over towards me with the sword in hand.
I looked around, trying to figure out if there was something I could use to get away. I shimmied my body towards the left, and I managed to grip the sword again, forcing myself up before he got there.
“Can’t you stay the fuck down,” he snapped.
“Can’t you leave me alone and die? I’m sick of your ass.”
We continued to deliver blows, but I wasn’t going to make it if he kept up this energy. He continued to attack, and soon, I started to move my body back and forth, trying my hardest to hold myself together, but the fight was taking its toll on me.
Suddenly, something shot into my leg. I screamed, feeling the grip on
my sword loosen. I looked around, trying to keep myself together, but I couldn’t. I was feeling the effects of whatever it was that he injected into me.
“What did you do to me?”
“Oh, just gave you a bit of poison,” he said with a smile on his face. I realized that there was very little time to do anything, other than to just continue to fight with what remaining strength I had left.
But with each passing move, each touch of the swords, each exhale of breath, I felt like I was losing my mind. I didn’t know what else I could do anymore. I could barely make out anything, and as it started to blur, I wondered how much more I could do.
I could feel the strength leaving my body. But I persisted. I told her I’d come back alive, no matter what. I knew that, even if things ended up bad, I would survive. I needed to stay alive.
For her.
With one last move, I felt the breath get knocked out of me. I fell to the ground, unable to get up.
Was this the end? I noticed my eyes were blurring, my vision barely able to make out anything. And then, I heard Daniel’s voice.
“I thought you’d put up a bigger fight there, Stephan. I’m a bit sad that this was the worst thing you could do,” he said with a purr.
I struggled to stay alive, struggled to keep it all there, and as I looked forward, I noticed that he was smiling.
That menacing grin.
I shuddered just thinking about it. I hated this, and I had no idea what to do anymore.
“Don’t … don’t give me that crap,” I managed to say between clenched teeth.
“What’s the matter? Can’t get up?” Daniel taunted.
I really couldn’t. The fight had taken a lot out of me. And at this point, I was pretty sure that the blood was leaving my body far faster than I would have liked. I managed to smile though. I thought of Laney, her image in my mind giving me access to the last vestiges of my strength. I leaned forward, and with all of my strength, I did it.
I slid the sword straight into his body, forcing it right into his heart. He let out a choked sound, but as quickly as it happened, he collapsed onto the ground, lifeless in front of me.
I had won.
Inked MC Boxset: Books 1-6 Page 17