N/A

Chapter 5

  There aren't many things I'm sure of in life, but there was at least one. I fucking hated falling. Unfortunately, that was how I woke up. The sudden jerk of my body hitting the floor snapped me back to reality better than any alarm. I laid there for a minute, the adrenaline in my veins making my body tingly, like pins and needles. I sat up, and slowly pushed myself to my feet, still shaky from the adrenal surge. I looked around the room, gently stepping over to the window. I pushed the curtains out of the way, and looked outside.

  It was still dark, barely lit by the stars. I could see faint flickers of orange in the distance, like fires of some sort. But, it couldn't be from any buildings... They would have burned out long ago. I frowned, and moved away from the window. It had been almost a full day since I had awoken here, and who knows how long since my last meal. I could feel the faint stirrings of thirst, but nothing like I'd have expected from going 24 hours without water.

 I poked around in the room a bit, checking out the bathroom. It was more or less empty, but there were faint stains on the floor, brownish in color. Dried blood... I stepped out, and back into the bedroom. I opened the door slowly, and slipped out into the hall. I looked out, and I noticed that I could see pretty well, even though it was no doubt darker than outside. I stepped down the hall quietly, opting for stealth over waking up Lupa.

  I made it to the main lobby without incident, and I gently opened up the door to the main hallway, poking my head out slowly. To my right was a window that gave me a decent view of the entire city. To my left, the hall led down to where I was attacked yesterday. Remembering it with sickening clarity, I realized that I had left her gun over there in my panic. I groaned inwardly, and steeled myself for what I had to see. I stepped down the hall, keeping my eyes trained straight ahead.

  I made it to the turn, and when I looked, I received a nasty shock. The body was gone, as was the gun. I panicked, and whipped around, expecting her to be standing right behind me. Of course, she wasn't. I began to theorize in my head, that something must have happened to the body. It decayed, or something. I turned back to the pool of blood where it had been originally, and took a closer look. The blood from the pool had began to thicken and congeal, but there were streaks leading away from it, towards the stairs.

  I stood quickly, and started to follow the smears of blood. When I made it to the staircase, I saw it leading up another floor, towards the roof. I slowly proceeded up the stairs, my heart beating rapidly. What I felt wasn't fear. Not really. A sort of anticipation, would be the way of describing it. As I climbed, I saw a fire axe in a case on the wall. I was surprised to see it, but I took it anyways. I would probably need it at some point.

  I climbed the last step, and saw the door to the roof was slightly ajar. The blood smears were also incredibly fresh. I pushed the door open, and stepped out into the darkness. I flinched as the doors hinges squeaked, cutting into the silence. I could see pretty well, as dark as it was, and I looked down, seeing the blood lead towards the edge of the roof. I had only taken two steps towards the edge when I felt something cold and hard pressed into the back of my neck.

  "Don't move mate. I'll blow your goddamn head off. I swear, I will." It was a mans voice, quiet, and accented. I felt the axe being pulled out of my hand, and I heard it hit the ground, several feet away.

  "Now. Get down on your knees, and put your hands on your head."

  I complied, and tried to figure more out about him. By the way the gun was pressing into my neck, I could tell he was strong. Incredibly strong. He was also tall, though not as tall as me. And by his voice, I would guess that he was young, maybe his late twenties, and very calm. His voice didn't shake at all, and it sounded composed.

  I managed to work up the courage to speak. "Who are you? What do you want?"

  He snarled, and kicked me in the back, sending me face first into the asphalt of the roof.

  "I ASK THE QUESTIONS! NOT YOU!" Now he seemed less sane, and he was mad. Really mad. I slowly turned on my back, and took a look at him. He was standing over me, and now I could make out his face. He was rugged, and he had a large scar cutting across his face. His clothes were odd though. Some sort of white jacket, with a bunch of straps on it, and his pants were the same color. His eyes, unlike his voice, were tainted with madness. His hands were caked with blood, but they were steady holding the gun.

  "Now! Where were we?" He asks in a childish voice, high pitched and nasal. He presses the gun to my forehead, and smiles sadistically. "Ohhh, now I remember. Don't you, boy?"

  As he was muttering and talking to himself, I got the strangest sense of deja vu, as though I had seen him before.

  "We're gonna have a lot of fun together, you and me. You and me and that pretty little thing downstairs." He lets out another giggle, and grabs me by my throat, lifting me in the air with only one hand, effortlessly. He licks his lips, and begins to squeeze softly. I panic, and begin to claw at his hand, trying to pry my way free.

  "Now now, that's not very polite, is it? I need to teach you a lesson, don't I?" He drops the gun, and starts to drag me over to the edge of the roof, smiling tightly all the way. I knew immediately what his intentions were, and I redoubled my efforts for escape. I grabbed onto his arm tightly, and brought my leg up sharply, right into his jaw. He didn't. Even. Flinch.

  Instead, he just dropped the smile, and shook his head slowly. "Such a shame. I'm looking forward to putting you in your place." He breaks out into a smile again, and throws me back towards the door. I flew about 15 feet, and I smacked into the ground, rolling, and gasping for breath. There was nothing but sheer panic running through me, and I knew I had to kill him. He was insane, completely insane, and he was going to kill me. I knew I couldn't beat him normally. I had to cheat, however necessary. He began to walk towards me, smiling, and taking his time.

  He bent over, and picked up the axe he took from me, and started licking his lips again. I dragged myself to my feet, and I spied the gun a few feet away. I lunged for it, and grabbed it as he neared me. I rolled onto my back, and aimed at him. But, he was already swinging at me. There was no possible way I could move in time, and the blade was going straight for my head. I made a snap decision, and brought up my left arm to block the blade.

  I regretted it immediately as the blade hit. It sunk halfway into my arm, splintering the bone, and causing a flow of blood to surge out. I couldn't feel any pain though, though due to shock or adrenaline, I couldn't tell. I saw the surprise in his eyes as I brought the gun up, firing three times, hitting him twice, once in his forehead, and in his right eye. He gaped at me for a second, then fell on top of me, nearly crushing me. He was incredibly heavy, and I couldn't push him off. My vision began to go dark, and pain started to seep in...

  As I blacked out, I was touched by another dream. Another one that was crystal clear. I was in the same room as before, restrained in my chair, with a doctor standing by me. He was holding a bloody scalpel, and looking at me closely. I looked down, and saw a row of incisions on my chest, which were healing rapidly. The doctor was holding a notepad, and taking notes. He set it down, and calmly picked up a bone saw. Then, nothing but darkness. Shadows and screams...

*I'm so sorry for taking this long to write everyone. There have been problems at home, and with my mind, but it's getting better, and I'm glad to be back to writing. Once again, sorry. I hope I didn't lose too many readers.*