Jaya Week 2023

Surprise

I ended up being sick yesterday, so I'm pushing out two prompts today! I really had to rake my brain for "surprise".
Surprisingly that was the hardest prompt for me so far.
I got so annoyed with being empty brained that I went for good old angst.
So, TW for blood, gore, threats, death and all that good angst stuff.
I hope it isn't too dark lol, then I'll rewrite it!

The quietness was overwhelming. This part of town was usually filled with the hustle and bustle of daily life, yet now, there was not even a lone birdsong to be heard.
It unnerved Nya to no end, having received a message from her boyfriend mere hours earlier. "Meet me at warehouse 13 at 15.00 for a surprise :)"
She had attempted to question him in confusion and even called him, but to no avail. He simply didn't answer her.
The ninja had figured he was probably just busy setting up whatever surprise he was planning, but now she wasn't feeling so sure.
The feeling of doubt slowly creeped up on her, like a hungry tiger skulking closer to its unknowing prey. Maybe this was a bad idea. A really bad one.
She fished out her phone, dialing up Jay's number with a shaky finger, staring at the smiling picture of her boyfriend.
Beep... Beep... The line went dead, so either he had hung up on her or his phone was dead. She wasn't sure which outcome she preferred.
Nya drew in a shaky breath and despite feeling her lungs expanding, she could hardly breathe. He would be okay.
He's a ninja. He's gone through so much and come out on top, even when the others didn't. Nadakhan and Unagami couldn't keep him down, so surely he was fine and just planning a dumb surprise. A very dumb surprise that caused her anxiety to spike.
The water ninja shook her head, throwing the nibbling anxiety to the side and replacing them with a determined feeling.
He would be okay and so would she.
And with that, she crept her way to Warehouse 13.
There were no people to be seen nor heard. That could either be really good or really bad. She hoped it was the former.
She pressed her shaking palm to the metal door, feeling the chill of the metal against her bare skin. It was almost as cold as she felt.
He would be okay.
Nya drew in another breath before pushing her weight against the door, wincing as it creaked open.
It was completely dark inside, the only light coming from the setting sun behind Nya.
The partly open door could only shed so much light, allowing her to only see her own head's shadow, the rectangle of light on the floor and a broken phone on the ground by the door.
Slowly pushing the door open bathed the room in more light, one by one revealing boxes to the sides, until the light reached the middle of the warehouse.
The light slid up what she slowly made out to be a chair with, what she hoped weren't, legs strapped to it.
The door complained when it hit the wall, but Nya had yet to care as she stormed into the warehouse, a single name leaving her lips in a desperate plea.
He would be okay.
She grabbed his face with her shaking hands, holding it up so it was bathed in the light of the sun. Never had Jay looked this gorgeous and horrible at the same time.
A mixture of fresh and dried blood covered his brow, temple and sides of his mouth, a bruise forming under his eye.
"Jay?" The water ninja whispered, running a nervous thumb over his bruised cheekbone.
"Can you hear me?" Her voice was shaky and breathless, the fear choking her voice down. "You..." Jay croaked, his voice hoarse and low. "You have to get out...You can't save me..."
"I'm not leaving you, Jay." Nya countered, going behind the chair to attempt to untie her man. She sank to her knees, ignoring the disgusting warehouse water she was crouching in.
"You have to..." He mumbled, fighting his hardest to stay awake, exhaustion pulling at the edges. "They'll hurt you..."
"Who?" Nya looked up, a mixture of anger and concern painting her face, as she began cutting through the rope with her knife. "Who did this?"
"Mhmm.." It was hardly more than a murmur and after Nya cut the restraints on his arms, she spun the chair so he was facing her again.
"What did they look like?" She asked, beginning to cut his legs free. When she didn't get a response, she looked up and was greeted by Jay's slumping form leaning forward.
"Jay?" Nya began shaking her boyfriend, earning a tired grunt, but not much more. "Jay, you have to stay awake!" Distress washed over her, panic gushing in from every crack in her determination, drowning her slowly but surely.
"I... Love you..." Jay gurgled, fresh blood spilling from his lips, painting them a painfully beautifully morbid shade of red.
"No, no, don't say that now!" Nya demanded frantically, fighting with all she had in her to hold the tears at bay. "You'll be okay!"
Her cutting became more hectic and she was fairly certain she accidentally stabbed both her hand and his leg in the panic, but it would have to do.
He would be okay.
"You're free! Come on!" She frantically pulled at his shoulder, watching his limp body slump backwards into the chair. "Come on! Come on! Come on..."
She kept shaking him, slowly feeling her hands grow numb from the shaking iron grip on his shoulder.
"Please..." She sobbed, painfully releasing his shoulder to gently hold his pale cheek instead.
"Please don't go." Her thumb ghosted over his red lips, despair taking a hold of her when she didn't feel a breath against it.
"No... No, no, no!" Nya wailed, falling to her knees with a small splash.
Angrily she pounded her fist into the water, as if it had done this to him. As if it would fix anything.
She let it be, tears running from her cheeks, falling and mixing with the liquid she was sitting in.
Slowly she brought her soaked hand back up, slowly realizing it wasn't water she was sitting in, but her boyfriend's missing blood.
Nya hardly reacted as her brain went numb along with the rest of her.
Slowly she glanced up at Jay, taking in the imagery she had hoped she would never see.
The sun was slowly setting behind him, perfectly crowning his bleeding head like a grim halo, made by a cruel god with a cruel sense of humour.
Gently, Nya laid her head in his lap, slowly reaching over and grabbing his limp, cold hand. She lifted it into her hair, placing it where it had been so many times before to slowly rub lazy circles, though it was all too terrifyingly still now.
He would be okay.
He had to be.