Lies and Damnation

Ch.36: Silent Torment

Ch.36: Silent Torment

Nicholas's heart raced as he grasped Julian's wrist with his trembling hand, desperately trying to keep him from driving the blade any deeper into Valentino's stomach.

Valentino shrank back against the tree, squeezing his eyes shut, his leg twitching with the intensity of the pain. Blood drizzled from the wound below his navel until it soaked his vest and coat.

Nicholas thought he won. He thought his ruthless, bruising grip on Julian's hand stopped him from digging the blade any further into Valentino's abdomen, because the knife stopped moving.

But of course Julian caught him off guard. He never intended to stab deeper. His hand turned under Nicholas's grip, and the knife twisted into Valentino's flesh.

Valentino let out a whimper, then quickly clamped a hand to his own mouth to shut himself up.

Stop, Nicholas wanted to say. Please. You're gonna get all of us killed.

Julian watched Valentino's face, his lips curved into an innocent smile as if he wasn't very well in the middle of stabbing him. He leaned towards Valentino's ear. "Where's Albert?" he whispered. "Can he save you now?" He moved the knife again, tearing muscle and vessels along the way. Valentino tensed more, but somehow he still managed to frown at Julian, even as he trembled with pain. "Tell me. Can he stop me now?"

More blood pooled around the knife, pouring over Nicholas's hand, warm and dense as it rolled down his knuckles and fingers. He tried to stabilize Julian's hand. But in vain. He managed to draw it around.

"Lian, stop it," Nicholas whispered. "Stop it!"

Nicholas glanced around the tree at the men; they froze at first, and then turned around and moved until they were facing Nicholas, Valentino, and Julian's direction. Nicholas's heart dropped. He hid behind the tree trunk again. Julian was too consumed in torturing Valentino to even notice the men.

The gun was stuffed in Julian's belt. There was no time to think, overthink, or weigh the options. Nicholas did the first thing his body told him to do: he reached for Julian's belt, snared the gun, and peeked over the side of the tree.

He pulled the trigger three times.

It hurt. Pulling the trigger hurt. His finger ached, and his eardrums throbbed at the explosive sound that accompanied each shot.

One man's leg buckled under him, and he collapsed onto one knee.

And then he just... stood up again. He spun around and stared straight at Nicholas.

Nicholas's jaw dropped. His blood ran cold.

Before the man could so much as move, Julian reached over, snatched the gun from Nicholas, and shot a couple more times at both men. Every bullet hit their chests in several places, and that was what it took to knock them out. They dropped face-first to the ground.

Nicholas glanced at Julian behind him. "Is this...?"

"Yeah. You took the wrong gun, hahaha!" Julian said. "That's the one with rubber bullets. One hit on their leg won't take them out that fast."

A haze clouded Nicholas's mind, and for a second the world was blurry and disconnected. He blinked until his vision focused again. Valentino was panting quietly beside him, still sitting against the tree, pressing his red-coated hand against the bleeding wound.

The knife stuck out of him; Julian had left it there while he'd taken care of the guards.

"Don't pull it out," Nicholas said. "It'll bleed more-"