We’re in our room packing our things into backpacks. We don’t have much, since we ran the day the HET invaded with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Luckily, the bunker had a supply of clothes for us to use, though it was mostly just ratty sweats and T-shirts.
We took what rations, clothes, and medical supplies we could fit without being overencumbered, then strapped the bags to our backs. Two hours had passed since we got back to the base. I knew we had to act quickly.
With the sun soon to set, it wasn’t ideal to leave in the middle of the night, but we really didn’t have a choice. Night was when those killers were most active.
“Are you ready?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Sako says. Her voice is low. Dreary. I can tell she doesn’t want to go. Dozens of others will soon lose their lives, and I’m telling her we can’t save them. She probably hates me for it, but I don’t care. As long as she’s safe, I don’t care about anyone else.
No, that’s not true. I feel guilty, too. But I’ll bear it if it means Sako will continue to live.
“Angel, where are we going now?” I ask.
“Our first priority is to get as far away from here as possible,” Angel says. “Then, we’ll set up camp for the night and assess our options in the morning. It isn’t ideal, but it’s the best chance for survival.”
“Come on, let’s go,” I say, walking up to the door. I place my hand on the knob, but I stop.
Is this really the right choice?
Then, the door swings open. It wasn’t me. I look up and see the two men from before looking down on me. I’m tall, but they’re taller. Wider, too. I realize in an instant that even if I fought with all my might, I wouldn’t stand a chance. And that’s without the abilities.
I take a step back, and the two men step in. One of them gets closer, and a fireball shoots past my cheek and hits the doorframe. I look back and see Sako standing there, her open palm pointed at the two men.
“Stay away from her!” she shouts. She is not composed. Her hands are drenched in sweat. Her entire body is quivering. Her breath isn’t steady at all.
“Or what?” one of the men asks.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Or I’ll blast you away!” Sako says.
“With that energy reading?” the man asks. “You’ve barely got enough power to kill a chipmunk. What do you think you’re going to do to us?”
Sako doesn’t say anything, and I back up. She quickly stands in front of me and puts her arms out.
“Fine!” she says. “If you’re going to kill me, then kill me. But please, let Lily live.”
“Why would we do that?” the man asks. “You were already our next targets, but now that you know our secret, we can’t let either of you live.”
“We… we won’t tell anyone, I swear!” Sako says. “We’ll leave here and never come back, so please!”
“We don’t get anything out of that,” the man says. “Sounds like a liability to me.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll make it quick,” the other man says. “We don’t actually enjoy doing it.”
The two men draw closer, and I see Sako’s chest heaving up and down, sweat dripping off her quivering arms. I have to do something. I have to save her, no matter what.
“Wait!” I hear Sako shout. “What if… what if I give my… body to you. Will you let her go then?”
“Oh?” one of the men asks, stopping. “Well, that does sound pretty intriguing.”
No, I can’t let her do that. There’s no way they would let her or me live afterwards. She can’t seriously be that naive. I have to stop them.
One of the men grabs Sako by the arm and begins pulling her away. The other starts walking up to me.
I have to do something. I can’t let things end like this.
“Take your arms off of her,” I mutter.
“What was that?” the man asks.
“I said, take your arms off of her, bastard,” I say, firmer than before. “Do it, or I’ll alert the entire complex about your actions.”
“And how will you do that if you’re dead?” the man asks.
“Because I just created a skill that allows me to telepathically contact everyone in the compound,” I say. “If you take her, I’ll tell everyone what you’ve been doing, and your little operation will come to a halt.”
“You’re bluffing,” the man says.
“I’m not,” I say. “I didn’t want to spend all of my EP on a useless ability, but you didn’t give me a choice. It’s not very strong, but I should have enough energy in it to alert most of the compound.”
“What should we do?” the other man asks. He releases Sako, and I can see the bruise on her arm where he grabbed her.
I want to kill them. I want to kill them so bad. I hate them so much.
“Fine,” the man says. “We’ll let you go, but you can never come back here.”
“We don’t plan on it,” I say. “We don’t want to be close to scum like you anyway.”