Finding Jay ⚡️

Chapter 40- Prisoner

Jay's eyes flew open, momentary panic flooding his veins until landing on Nya's peaceful face snuggled into his chest. He couldn't believe she was in his arms. He studied her face in the gray, early morning light, careful not to move a muscle to prevent waking her. A snap sounded from the forest, and Jay's head whipped quickly toward the direction of the sound. Something had woken him up. Someone was watching them, he could tell by the goosebumps rising on his arms.
"Nya," he whispered tensely into her hair. At her lack of response, Jay nudged her gently. Another snap from the forest beyond the clearing. Panic rose swiftly inside him, and he glanced around the clearing at his unprepared friends. They were about to be ambushed. The certainty of this fact hit him in the chest like a ton of bricks, and he jumped to his feet.
      "AMBUSH!!" He screamed at his friends, their confused and groggy faces sending another wave of panic down his spine as they startled awake. A stampede of bodies swarmed the clearing, and Jay's hands sparked to life as he prepared to fight. In his periphery, he saw his friends scrambling to their feet as the first of the masked figures descended upon them. Blast after blast, he took down the enemies that charged toward him, but it seemed as if three more masked figures took the place of each that fell. He heard a yelp of pain, and his heart dropped as he spun around to see Nya clutching at a bloodied gash in her leg. A masked figure approached her from behind as she fought back the one who had stabbed her, and Jay's anger flooded his senses.
     "DON'T TOUCH HER" he growled, launching himself toward her attackers. With two bolts, they slumped unconscious at her feet. Nya's eyes widened.
      "Thanks, but I had them," she joked shakily, before turning to face more attackers. She mowed down three approaching figures with a sweep of her hand, sending a torrent of water that collided solidly into their chests. They fought enemy after enemy, but the onslaught never seemed to stop. Jay heard a pained cry across the clearing, and he chanced a glance away from the three wolf masks he was fighting to see Kai forced to the ground.
      "Kai!" he yelled, trying to fight his way towards the master of fire. He watched in horror as another mob of wolf masks took down Cole. Anger exploded within his chest and an arc of lightning was sent flying toward the closest enemies. Ten dropped instantly, and Jay didn't hesitate before turning around to face the next opponent. He stopped short of smashing the closest person in the head with his nunchucks as he registered red hair. Jordana stared back at him, her eyes full of guilt as she used his split second of hesitation against him.
     "I'm sorry," she whispered, before plunging a syringe into the side of his neck. Jay grunted in pain, squeezing his eyes shut as the ground rushed up to meet him.

Jay's head pounded as he slowly regained consciousness. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears, which seriously limited his ability to think beyond the debilitating headache. He winced as his body thudded against the ground, dropped by however had been carrying him the moment before.
"Look who's awake," A masked figure taunted, and Jay squinted against the harsh midday light. He quickly took stock of his surroundings, noting that he was near what looked like the ancient temple. His attackers must have brought him back to Lord Ras in the time that he was knocked out. His friends were dropped to the ground beside them, all slumped in unconsciousness. Or at least Jay prayed they were just unconscious.
"Perfect timing," Lord Ras mocked, stepping into Jay's line of vision and confirming his suspicions. Jordana and Cinder stood behind him, not meeting Jay's eyes. Their continued betrayal felt like a slap in the face, and Jay glared at them with all the rage he could muster with the pounding in his head.
"What do you want," he rasped, voice rough from whatever toxins the syringe must've contained. With his hands bound behind his back in what appeared to be vengestone handcuffs, Jay struggled up into a sitting position.
"I want you to pay the price of your betrayal," Lord Ras boomed, taking a menacing step forward.
"You lied to me. You turned me against my real friends. I'm the one who was betrayed," Jay spat, turning his glare toward Lord Ras's scowling face.
"Jay," Jordana started, taking a step forward.
"And you," Jay growled, turning his rage back toward his former friends. "I thought the two of you were my friends. You were the closest thing I had to family, and this entire time you were lying to my face." He said, his voice breaking. He fought against the sadness and hurt that warred against his rage. Cinder's face paled, and Jordana's body shook as she recoiled from his words. They refused to look at him, and it only made Jay angrier.
"I'm sorry," Jordana cried, tears slipping down her face. "I know there's nothing I can do to ever make you trust me again, but you have to know I hated every minute." Lord Ras's face contorted with fury and he took two long strides before slapping Jordana across the face. Jay couldn't help but wince at the crack that sounded as Jordana's face was wrenched to the side, blood streaming from her lip as she shrunk back in fear.
"You are a weak, pathetic waste of space," Lord Ras growled. "Get him ready for the ceremony. I need not remind you what will happen if you fail." Without sparing a glance back, Lord Ras stalked off towards the direction of the temple.
"Jordana," Cinder breathed as soon as Lord Ras was out of sight, rushing to her side. "Are you okay?" He gently wiped the blood from her lip, still avoiding Jay's glare.
"What ceremony?" Jay demanded, unable to conjure any pity for the woman who had broken his trust. Jordana and Cinder exchanged a loaded look, and Jay felt his blood turn to ice at their terrified expression.
"What. Ceremony." He demands again, his voice soft and cold. Jordana burst into tears, and Jay could feel his heart stutter. Part of him wanted to comfort her, assure her everything would be okay. For a second, he wanted to stop whatever was hurting her. Old habits died hard when it came to rearranging his emotions surrounding his former best friends. Cinder finally met his eyes and the amount of guilt in them made nausea roll in Jay's stomach. Whatever Lord Ras had planned for him was not going to be pleasant. Beside him, Nya stirred. A sigh of relief he didn't even know he was holding came rushing out as her eyes flew open. She was okay. As long as she was okay, there was a way all of this could work out. Nya's eyes narrowed as she registered Cinder and Jordana standing over them.
"Why are we here," she fumed, struggling against her bonds. Jordana's expression changed, her face slipping into a neutral mask. Jay took their stand-off as an opportunity to fiddle with the handcuffs behind his back, testing for any weaknesses he could exploit. The handcuffs were well made, he would give them that, but unfortunately for his captors, they made the mistake of using a mechanical latch. With enough time, he knew he could coax the springs and gears to pop open. He just needed to stall long enough for his hands to work out how to disengage the lock. Jay didn't know how he knew he could do this, as all his memories of mechanics had been wiped. However, he didn't reject the instinct in his gut that told him his muscle memory would take over in a situation as dire as this one. Discreetly he felt behind him until his fingertips landed on a small, thin stick. It would have to do, considering there were no other options.
"I have no reason to tell you that," Jordana scoffs, wiping furiously at her tears. If looks could kill, Jay was certain that the one Nya levels at Jordana would have her dropping dead.
"If you ever cared about Jay at all, you will let us out of these handcuffs and help us take down Lord Ras," Nya demands. Jordana's eyes flash to Jay, her face falling as she takes in his cold expression. The boy that she loved stared back with such hatred it made her wince.
"Look," she said desperately, ignoring Nya completely and talking directly to Jay. "My hands are tied. You know what Lord Ras does to those who disobey him."
"And yet I would've risked his wrath a hundred times over if our positions had been switched," Jay replied softly, his mask of anger falling for an instant to give Jordana another glimpse of the devastating hurt underneath. Her lungs refuse to draw air as his words punched her right in the gut. She knows they're true. If their places had been swapped, Jay would've sacrificed anything to help her. That's why she could never be with him. She is not a good person. She would risk others time and time again to save her skin. Unable to face any more appalling truths about herself, she gestured to Cinder to yank Jay up to his feet. Cinder almost gently helped Jay up, leading him toward the back of the temple. Jay barely had time to shove the stick into his sleeve before Cinder of Jordana noticed.
     "Where are you taking him?" Nya demanded, but was met only with silence. Jay could hear her struggling against the masked guards behind him. "Please let me go with him," she begged, but his captors ignored her pleas. Jay studied the jungle around them, mapping possible escape routes as he is led to the back of the temple. The sight that awaited caused his knees to buckle beneath him, terror overwhelming all logical thought as his heart attempted to beat out of his chest.
"No," he whispered, color draining from his face as a cell identical to those in the Administration glowed menacingly from the center of an old altar. Around the altar, the three masks lie aligned on pedestals, forming a triangle. Jay felt his body begin to tremble, as he tried to gain control of his fear and failed miserably.
"Please," he begged, "Please don't do this to me. I can't do this. Not again." Visions of his time spent in the Administration began to assault him, only Cinder's stabilizing grip kept him on his feet. Jordana's heart breaks at the desperation in his voice. She had seen how those memories had destroyed him, she had experienced a fraction of his pain.
"I can't do this," Jordana whispered to Cinder, drawing a shaky breath. Cinder shot a meaningful look in Jay's direction before leading Jordana a few feet away.
"I know. But we have to or else..." Cinder replied, voice low and urgent. "Jay will survive this. Lord Ras promised, rememeber? But if we don't obey his orders, he will kill you."
"I don't care," Jordana cried frantically. "I can't do this to him Cinder. This will destroy everything we love about him. He'll never recover from another round of this, I've been inside his memories."
"I will not lose you," Cinder said, his voice wavering. "We'll wipe his memories again. That way he won't have to live with that burden and we can all start over."
"And betray his trust again?" Jordana demanded, glaring at him. "No. I can't do that to him. Never again."
You have a chance to start over, the Voice in Jordana's head coaxed. He will love you!
NO! Jordana screamed at the Voice. I will not force him to love me. I am done causing him pain. Now shut up and LEAVE ME ALONE!!
I tried to be reasonable , the Voice clucked in disappointment. If you will not work with me, then unfortunately I'll be taking over from here.
Jordana gasped as the presence fought for control. Her head exploded in white hot agony as she battled for her mind. She could feel her control loosening, her autonomy slipping as the voice shoved her into the recesses of her own mind. She slammed again and again at the mental wall blocking her from the outside world.
NO!!! Jordana screamed, and the reverberation of the voice's delighted laugh sent shivers down her spine.
Now my brethren will be freed, the Voice cackled. Thank you for this vessel puny human, but your help is no longer needed.
Jordana stared in horror as her hands lifted without her control, as she heard herself speak in words she never agreed to say.
"Let's get our Jay back," the Voice said with her mouth, and Jordana watched helplessly as her body turned on the man she loves.