A Danger That Lurks In The Darkness | A TPQ AU |

XXXII | Losing Battle

RUDY
SOMETHING had paralyzed him. Some kind of heaviness had taken over his limbs, like they'd been tied down, rendering him immobile. Dots of light flashed before his eyes, as he opened them, a dull pain at the back of his head.

He heard noises- they were faint, kind of muffled- like he was on the other side of a really bad connection.

A cough wormed its way up his throat, but he swallowed it- a sense of wrongness overwhelming him. I should not be here- I'm in danger.

Danger. The word echoed around his head, making it ache. All his instincts were telling him to get up and run, but his body was not listening.

Was he just imagining things, or was that a knock on the door? And was he just imagining things, or was that Aru's voice?

Oh, right. Her wedding.

He heard her voice, Mini's voice, clear as a bell- in a memory? No, right now: "Take me... him!" Her voice faded out in the middle.

What was she talking about?

Take... me...

For some reason, that reminded him of the conversation they had on the bench. She was taking him as her date.

Focus, me.

The memories came back in a blur- only snapshots of fuzzy instances.

Talking to Mini. Congratulating the couple. Escaping to the washroom. His conversation with Aiden. Then...

Oh.

His realisation. The thought floated to the periphery of his mind: would she mourn him? Would he regret taking this one final secret to his pyre?

Yeah. I would.

He wanted to let go, but there was one person holding onto his hand, making him stay.

Giving him reasons to stay.

I want to stay. I want to escape. I want to make sure everybody's safe.

A thought tinged with wishfulness, no doubt, but a thought worth fighting for.

What had made him fall for Mini, exactly? Right- her willingness to go on. To fall, and get back up. A trait he'd admired in Aiden when they were kids, and a trait he'd seen in her now.

I want to be like you. I've been a coward, running away from my feelings, running away from... everything. I'm tired of running now.

Strength filled him- he saw something clatter to his side. Oh. A knife. He picked it up, his hands shaking.

I want to be truly brave.

----

7 MINUTES EARLIER

MINI

They'd taken knives from the kitchen. None of the chefs argued, they were too busy looking terrified for their lives.

They'd asked Brynne, Nikita, and Sheela to try and evacuate people- which then led 'Aiden' to give another announcement: That nobody was leaving.

That just cemented the theory that he was in the basement, watching everything unfold...

She checked her watch- 8 minutes left.

Her stomach turned. "Come on, Aru."

Aru glanced at the flat of the blade of her kitchen knife. "Yeah."