Dark and Twisted

Chapter Forty-One

"Everlynn? Aleena?" I could hear Fletch rushing down the stairs to the safe room Aleena had locked us in.

"Stay here." Aleena's eyes were stern, but I could also see how terrified she truly was.

She cracked the reinforced steel door open to verify that it was in fact Fletch coming towards us.

"Yeah, okay let's crack the mother fucking door open because you think it's me running down. What the hell Aleena?!" Fletch started lecturing her while he walked past her into the room.

"Where is Alec?" I tried to look around them through the closing door to see some sign that he was with them.

"He's fine. He went to help kill the remaining dumb asses that attacked us." Fletch sounded certain that Alec was okay.

"Something doesn't feel right. I have to find him." I began walking to the door so I could leave.

"Um... I think not." Fletch stepped in front of me blocking the only way out.

"I can't just stand here and do nothing! Alec once said I was stronger than I knew that I had more power than I was able to use. I can help!" I tried to push Fletch out of my way with no success.

"I'll go find him and bring him to you, okay?" Fletch smiled like the smart ass he was.

"NO! I fucking said I was coming and that is final! So, you can either fight me or fight the pricks that are trying to kill us!" Stepping forward past Fletch I opened the overly heavy door.

"Aleena, stay close to her and both of you stay behind me. I don't want to lose you Aleena." Fletch tried to whisper where I couldn't hear him, but I heard every word he whispered to her.

'He actually cares about someone besides himself...' I thought to myself while we made our way out the door.

Fletch lead the way, followed by me and then Aleena watching behind us. I imagined the noise would be too much with the sound of swords hitting metal against metal, the screams of the dying, but there was nothing. The crackling of random fires and concrete giving way to its damage echoed through the castle in an eerie way.

"Where is everyone?" I whispered.

"Many seem to be dead, but before I came to you two, I sent every available soldier to the garden area, right outside of the training room. That is where most of the invaders seemed to be coming from." Fletch never took his eyes off of what was in front of him, keeping his guard up.

Out of nowhere we could hear cheering.

"Yeah! We did it! Fuck you Elders!"

"Sounds like we won." Fletch stood straight up, taking pride in hearing his kingdom chant their victory.

"Then where is Alec?" Panic began to overtake me.

"Chill the hell out. I'm sure he is trying to make his way to you through the cheering people of my kingdom." Fletch's cockiness was not gone long.

"King Fletch! King Fletch!" A battered and bloody man ran up to Fletch, falling at his feet. "Its... Its Alec! They were able to capture your right-hand fighter!" The beaten man cried out right before he lost consciousnesses.

"God damn it!" Anger replaced Fletch's smirk of victory.

"They took him. But why not just kill him or fight him here?" Aleena was confused.

"Because he is a direct line to Everlynn. They feel like if they have him, they can control her, make her surrender herself to them, but in the end, they would still kill us all." I could see Fletch's mind frantically trying to come up with a solution through his eyes.