Experiment VII

Chapter Forty-Two: A Close Shave

     He moves out the way just in time as my finger squeezes the trigger. I curse, the bullet's trajectory missing Viktor by mere inches.

Rolling to the side, I avoid his fist as it hammers down on the floor a few feet away from me. I train the firearm's sights at his head once again but miss my chance to get a shot off as his hand clamps down on my wrist. I bite down a scream when it violently snaps to the side, the pistol falling out of it.

My one free fist pummels into his ribcage on repeat, producing little more than an angered growl from my foe until my feet lose contact with the ground.

Shit.

Not having the time to brace, my body crashes through the nearest wall and out the other side.

I don't even try to move, simply groaning as my entire body erupts in a series of throbs and aches. A steadier flow of blood continues to dribble from my nose, making it impossible to breathe through. My quickened breathing grows shallow, anything more sending a nasty pain shooting through my insides. Shakily placing both hands on the floor, I eventually try to push myself up, despite my body's cries of protest.

"You just don't quit, do you?"

I splutter as a boot pressing down on my back knocks me back down to the ground, but that doesn't stop my struggling.

Every muscle in my body tenses as the cold barrel of a gun presses down on the back of my head.

"Time's up," he taunts.

"Wait!" a second voice cuts in.

I release a pent-up breath, relaxing ever-so-slightly at my stay of execution.

Viktor grumbles something unintelligible before the other voice intervenes in once again.

"Turn him over."

A strong hand roughly grabs a fistful of my shirt and yanks me upright. I cannot quite will myself to physically resist and only manage to let out a half-hearted groan, more at the pain than anything else.

Blood seeps into my eyes, obscuring my vision of the secondary figure looming over me. With my back against the wall, I slowly inch my fingers toward the knife sheathed in my boot. I pray he doesn't notice as he kneels in front of me.

Several painstakingly long moments of silence pass before a word is uttered.

"It's him."

The man's statement is followed by another lengthy pause before Viktor responds, "It doesn't matter. We need to go."

The second he turns away, I wrench my knife clear of its sheath, shoving it into what I can only assume to be somewhere in the man's upper body. He lets out a shriek and staggers back. The blade sinks deep into his flesh before he grabs it.

The sounds of shuffling and loud cursing fills my ears. I can't help my lips curling into somewhat of a small smile at this small victory.

Then everything goes quiet once more.

I wipe the back of my hand over my eyes, smearing more blood over my face, only to find the two men completed vanished from sight.

Clutching onto my wrist, I waste no time picking myself up off the floor. The world instantly starts spinning, forcing me to lean my back against the wall for some support. After regaining some measure of balance, I slowly begin to drag my feet back the way I came.

It takes a considerable amount of time, but I finally manage to stumble my way down the stairs.

I stop in my tracks at the sight of Rychner standing amongst a pile of bodies. A mix of sweat and blood drips down from his temples. He pants loudly, looking to be on the verge of collapse, not unlike myself.

His eyes bounce up from the floor to meet me. Rychner closes his eyes briefly, breathing a sigh of relief before his features harden. His breathing quickens as his jaw muscles bunch together.

"What the hell was that?! Hm?!"

A pang of guilt hits me as Rychner limps over to me, random blotches of blood trailing behind him while he walks. "I specifically told you to stay put!"

"They were getting away!" I retort.

"And you made sure of that by runnin' off on yer own!"

"I just thought-"

He cuts me off, shoving his pointing finger into my chest and pushing me back. "No, ya see, that right there, is your problem. You don't think! You just see red, and then you lose it, consequences be damned."

I bite my tongue, any kind of rational justification leaving my mind.

He pauses, his voice going quiet. "Someone could've died. You could've died. But that doesn't phase you, right? I mean...just look at ya."

Rapid footsteps suddenly approach from behind. I spin around before they reach us. Gemma comes rushing down the stairs, stern determination etched on her face. Chester follows close behind with a red-stained knife in one hand and a gun in the other.

"Where's the Overseer?" Chester demands in his semi-frenzied state.

Rychner hesitates, sighing before answering, "He got away...again."

"How?"

"Axel blew it."

Chester fixes his expectant gaze on me.

"I um..." my voice drags off. "I thought I could take them both myself...I was wrong."

"Hothead..." Chester mutters under his breath.

"He's lucky to be alive-" Rychner cuts himself off, something registering with him. "Wait...how are you still alive? I mean, you look like shit. How'd they not kill ya?"

I wince, the events that easily could have caused my death a few short minutes ago resurface in my mind.

"They nearly did- Viktor was about to but..." I pause, not quite believing the words as they leave my mouth. "..the Overseer stopped him."

A/N: Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought in the comments! Until next time.

-ѕиιρєявαιт