Ethereal Madness

Chapter 14- Old Wounds

"Tucker!" Mariella squealed.

Are those the kids? Ami asked.

Yeah, they are, I responded.

The very idea that they are tied to those chairs just piss me off. Why do this to kids? And to them no less.

"Don't worry. I'll free you in a second." I assured Mariella.

"Look out!" Zay said.

Huh?

To my right, I felt what I could only describe as pure rage. My body moved on it's own and turned towards the source to see a haymaker equipped with brass knuckles aimed at my face. It belonged to the aggressive girl who jumped me weeks before. I shifted to the side, dodging it with relative ease, before pulling her arm past me, bringing her closer. Then I grabbed her head and readied my knee.

Restrain yourself, I told myself. Remember how much stronger you are with Ami.

Right before I leaped up, I shifted all the weight to my readied leg and stomped down on her foot.

Despite her brown eyes burning with rage, her pained expression told me she was no longer a threat. Instead of attempting a follow up, I shoved her away. She tried to maintain her balance, but as soon as she stepped with her injured foot, she collapsed to the ground. She tried getting back up but her left foot proved to be too much of a hindrance and she fell back on her butt. She growled at me and was moving to try standing up again but stopped upon hearing his voice.

"Enough." Quese said to her. "You did good Reba. Any more movement will only cause long-term injury to your foot."

The fire in her eyes was still present but reluctantly, she nodded.

I glanced around the room. He had a plethora of people on his side; so many that I couldn't even see the walls. And to make matters worse, most were armed. Luckily defeating her must have been a big deal, because fearful faces were all I saw.

"Whoo! You go Tuck!" Zay cheered.

"I see you haven't lost your edge; no, if anything you've evolved." Marquese sounded as if he was complimenting me, but his dry tone made it sound like he was mocking me.

Marquese looked completely different than when I saw him four years ago. His once nappy do transformed into a clean-cut high fade and his childish face was replaced with pretty boy features befitting of a light skin. But what shocked me most was how tall he'd grown. He wasn't as tall as me or anything, but considering he was always like half my side, him being a few inches behind is definite improvement.

Marquese was now standing, his soulless amber eyes seemingly looking through me.

Does he just not care about the situation? If so, why go through all the trouble of taking hostages? What's the point?

"I see now how those three lost to you." He turned to the girl on the floor, cradling her foot with a pissed off expression. "I apologize," he said, "it seems I gave you an impossible task."

Once again she nodded but said nothing.

"Help her." He ordered those around him.

A few of his crew flocked to her. They scooped her off the ground, being careful of her foot, and exited through the back of the room with her.

I took this time to check on Mariella, Zay, and Key. Although their hands and feet were chained to the chairs, I couldn't spot any injuries from where I was.

"Tucker!" Tears ran down Mariella's cheeks. I could see the fear in her eyes.

"Hold tight. I'm on my way." I said.