Keditha's Destiny

Chapter Twenty Three

"Julian, wake up." A voice tells me. I gasp as they tear the tape from my mouth. "Sorry Julian." Kenny mutters.

I blink slowly as I rest my back against the chair. "Go away, please. I can't take any more."

"Donnie?" Kenny asks. "What's wrong with him?"

Donnie who was standing next to him, tilts his head and rocks back on his heels. "Knowing the people's usual form of torture, I think maybe drugs." He says.

"Can you help him?" Kenny asks.

Donnie moves around Kenny towards the bed. "Yeah, hold on." He tells Kenny.

I squeeze my eyes shut, shaking my head. "No no no, you aren't real. This is just another hallucination."

"Donnie? Do you think you can hurry up? I think he's getting worse." Kenny says.

"I'm trying. Zip it."

"Why would you even be here? Why would you look for me? This is just like Louis." I mutter to myself.

"Louis? Julian what are you talking about?" Kenny raises an eyebrow.

"Julian? It's me, Athena." Athena kneels next to Kenny.

"Athena, we need to untie him. Can you help with that?" Kenny asks her, already attempting to unlock the handcuffs keeping me tied to the chair.

She nods and starts to unlock the handcuff on my right hand. "This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real." I start mumbling over and over again.

"Oh yeah, he's definitely getting worse." Ralph says.

"I got it!" Donnie yells, moving next to me. "Did you check his pulse?"He then asks.

Ralph pauses, glancing away. "Uh, you didn't teach me that yet."

Donnie sighs. "You're so freaking useless to me." He mutters, checking my neck and wrist for my pulse. "Well, good news is we got here in time."

I eye the needle in his hand, leaning away from him. I gasp when he injects the needle into my leg. "Ow! What the heck man! What is wrong with you?" I snap.

Kenny smiles. "That stuff works fast huh?"

Athena glances between me and Donnie. "What did you give him?" She asks Donnie.

"I was able to figure out they gave him some hallucinogenic drugs, which is basically just straight trippy poison. I gave him the antidote." Donnie tells her.

"Wait, so this is real? Like actually real?" I ask all of them.

They nod. "Yeah, we're all real." Kenny tells me.

I smile, sighing out of relief. They were real, I'm safe. "I feel light headed." I mutter.

Kenny helps me to my feet, swinging my arm over his neck. "Don't worry July, we'll get you out of here."

I rub my eyes, feeling the need to steady my feet but it wasn't really important with Kenny holding me. "How did you even find me?" I ask them.

"Well, we almost didn't look for you but your girlfriend talked us into it." Donnie says.

"I'm not his girlfriend." Athena glances at me. "We're not dating." I shrug at her.

"We heard about Hollister's death and we thought maybe it was connected to you. We searched everywhere and soon we heard from someone that they saw you talking to a couple with the names they know were Allen and Vera Collins." Kenny tells me.

They led me out of the room and I was finally able to figure out that we were in an apartment building when we leave the apartment.

"I'm not sure what Allen and Vera's motive was but they definitely weren't doing this for laughs." Kenny says.

I shake my head, pushing myself away from Kenny. I stumble into the wall. "That's not their real names."

Athena raises an eyebrow and tilts her head. "How do you know that?"

"Their real names are Josef and Lotte Kleinhaus. They're my parents." I tell them.

None of them reply. Just glance at each other quietly.

"I'm sorry, how does that happen?" Donnie asks, breaking the silence.

"I don't know, but they were the ones who killed Louis and Hollister." I look at Athena. "They were the ones who killed your parents too. I'm sorry."

Athena frowns, looking at the ground. The sound of voices fill the hall. Male and female, both with a german accent. "They're here." I inhale sharply.

"We can take them." Donnie says, reaching for his gun.

I grab his arm. "No! You can't! They're trained killers, they'll tear you apart before you can lift a finger."

"Julian?" I stiffen as I hear my mother call my name. "Julian, what's going on?" she asks, watching us from the other side of the hall.

I remain frozen so Kenny steps forward guarding us. "We're taking  Julian home and you're not going to stop us." He snaps.

I could tell by my mother's reaction, she didn't like that. "Kenny?" I mutter. "Ken? You might want to duck."

My father swiftly pulls out his gun, firing off a round. It hits the wall next to Kenny and now he ducks. He grabs my arm pulling me back into the apartment, the others following us.

"What are we going  to do?" Athena asks, covering her ears as my father shoots another round.

Kenny crouches next to the entrance, holding his gun in his hand. "I'm not really sure." He says. Kenny stands up, looking out the entrance. "Dang it!" He yells, moving back in the apartment. "They hiding by the stairwell, I can't see them."

I sit on the floor and rest my back against the wall, eyes closed. "I feel like throwing up. Is that bad?" I ask.

"Well, it's vomit July." Donnie tells me deadpan.

Someone gently grabs my hand. I open my eyes to see Athena sitting next to me, head buried in her knees. I sigh deeply, wrapping my arm around her. "It's going to alright Athi." I murmur against her hair.

A bullet hits the the door frame and slivers of wood fly across the room. I tighten my grip on Athena. "I need to ask you something princess, just in case I don't get the chance." I whisper to her so no one else hears.

I feel her nod against my chest. "Marry me Athi." I whisper to her.

Athena lifts her head slightly, looking into my eyes. "Are you sure? We barely know each other." She mumbles.

I nod, brushing the hair out of her face. "I love you."

"I love you too." She rests her head back on my chest. "Yes Julian, I will marry you."