Beauty And A Beast

Chapter 18

Sana

“Sorry to interrupt your extremely interesting session, but I believe you both have something that belongs to us.”

The female voice has me and Tzuyu jumping apart and pressing our backs against each other. Right in front of me is a girl with blonde hair, a military knife clutched in her fist. I look over my shoulder and Tzuyu's. Another girl, this one with black hair and a knife in each of her hands is facing her.

Eunha and Elkie.

“Give us your keys.” Elkie says, “And no one has to get hurt.”

I think about reaching for my father's pocket knife, only to remember I've hidden it in one of the rooms along with our supplies. I'm weaponless, defenseless.

Powerless.

I suddenly feel Tzuyu's long fingers pull my hand behind my back, opening my clenched fist and shoving something cold and round in it. And then, her hand is gone.

I try to hide my smile when I realize what I'm holding. Tzuyu has given me a fighting chance, giving me her knife. I just hope she has one as well.

“You know we won't give you our keys, yet you still interrupted us.” Tzuyu grits through clenched teeth.

Eunha chuckles, tossing her knife in her hand. “Well then, give us one of your keys and we'll leave you to your little dance.”

“You dream a lot Jung?” Tzuyu asks, sarcasm evident in her voice. Eunha makes a step closer to me.

“You should know that I don't want to do this.” she tells me, drawing all my focus on her. “But I have to.” she adds as she puts her knife in her back pocket.

And then, she's charging at me.

She comes at me with a combination of jabs, hooks and uppercuts. I step away from Tzuyu's back, avoiding Eunha's hits. A fist that connects with my jaw has me stumbling back as another one comes, this time for my nose. I block her hit and kick her back with my foot. She gasps for breath and I take that as my chance to throw a kick at her side. Eunha catches my leg however and pulls me to her.

Just what I was hoping for.

I put my hands on her shoulders, jumping as I bring my knee to her stomach. She groans, falling to the ground folded from the pain. It's just then that I feel an elbow wrap around my neck, crushing my windpipe and making it harder for me to breathe. A sharp blade is pressed on my throat.

“Well, my dear Tzuyu.” Elkie's voice is teasing behind me and my eyes land on Tzuyu, breathing heavily just a few feet in front of me. “Give me your key, and she gets to leave unscathed.”

Tzuyu's face shifts and, in a matter of seconds, she's back to her collected and cold self. Another one of her masks is on, and her face shows absolutely no emotion. “Go on then. She's of no use to me anyway. Go and see how much I care.”

I can almost hear Elkie blinking behind me, shocked at what she's hearing, especially after what she and Eunha witnessed between me and Tzuyu just a few minutes ago. Her voice is unsteady and unsure when she speaks.

“Are you daring me Tzu?”

Tzuyu shrugs. “We're only opponents after all. Less competition.”

I can feel Elkie's hand beginning to jerk, slicing deeper into my throat. A tiny drop of blood falls from the knife's cold blade to one of my collarbones.

And that's when I strike.

I slam the tip of the knife Tzuyu gave me into the soft tissue of Elkie's stomach and push the knife she's got at my neck away. Elkie stumbles back with a scream and pushes me forward. I ram into Tzuyu who wraps an arm around my waist to keep me from falling. She looks down at me and winks. Winks.