Akina's Reflection

XVII

A gun clicked, I glanced to the side. Paul stood, shocked, the end of the gun resting against his head. A pale hand held the trigger, Alex's.

Xela looked gleeful to see us, even though the scars of last night were still on her. A deep, jagged scar cut across her face, dried blood was still within it. She limped a little when she walked toward us, but Xela held her head high.

She laughed triumphantly.

"Where are you off to now, Akina? Think you'll get away this time? Your Alstein isn't here, and Coppick's life is on the line. Where's that cute shard of glass you had last time?"

Paul and Antonio stared at me, waiting for my next move. I looked to Paul, stiffened by the gun's touch.

He glanced back at me, and mouthed,

"Run."

Antonio saw what he had mouthed too. He nodded, ever so slightly, to show he means the same thing.

"So?" Alex asked, boredly. "Anything else up your sleeves, Akina?"

Xela leaned close to Alex.

"Let's see what he does, this is pretty interesting to me."

"Not to me."

She nudged him, almost making Alex move the gun off Paul's head.

I trembled. I could not just leave my two friends, but at the same I don't want them to be hurt. What if Alex shoots if I try to run? I tried not to think about that.

I turned my heels, and ran as fast as I could, towards the town. I heard Antonio spring off after me, running close behind me.

"Hey! Xela shouted,

"Alex, get them!"

A single gunshot went off.

If Aubrey were the one running, he would have kept running unless he was the one shot. Aubrey is resilient in a way like that.

But I'm not Aubrey. I have softer feelings. I stopped, and turned around. I hoped that no one was shot down.

Alex and Xela were at the top of the hill. Alex had Paul by the hair, but Paul was still standing. They chuckled darkly, Alex and Xela.

I scanned the area I had ran, then backtracked.

Antonio was paler than he normally is. Blood seeped from his upper arm, staining his blue and black hoodie.

"Sayoki!" He gasped, in pain.

"Why are you still here? Get away from here!"

"You wouldn't die for me, Antonio. Here,"

I threw his uninjured arm over my shoulders, helping him get up.

"We're leaving together, no one's going to die."

As we began to walk forward, Antonio whispered,

"No one's gonna die.... Sayoki, I don't want to die, even for a good cause, I don't want to-"

Another gunshot rang, cutting off Antonio's whispered words.

He collapsed, blood sprayed from his gut.

"Antonio!!!"

I screamed, rushing to him again. I carefully pulled his hoodie off, and his shirt as well. The shirt I used to cover his arm, and His bloody hoodie for Antonio's gut.

"You're going to be okay, Antonio, you're going to be okay..."

"Run.... Sayoki...."

He coughed a couple times. Tears formed, from me, and Antonio.

"Don't die..."

"I don't....want....to...."

Xela ran down the hill.

"Okay, the drama's over." She said with disdain, kicking Antonio aside, then lifting me up with surprising strength. Antonio cried out in pain.

"I got Akina." Xela called up the hill to Alex, triumphantly.

"What do we do with Coppick, then?"

Xela sniffed.

"We don't need scum like him. Cattle."

Alex didn't grin, as you would expect him to do. Alex simply kicked Paul a few times, then kicked him down the hill, where he went tumbling down. I almost sighed in relief. If Alex did what Xela would have done, he might have barely been a corpse.

I felt defeated. Poor Antonio, I might never know what will become of him. He was strong willed, and defiant, down to the second bullet. Paul would most likely be okay, hopefully he would help Antonio.

Alex open the door of a silver car, where Xela pushed me into the back seat.

"I've seen the likes of you break out of moving cars, but not you," Xela snickered, as she handcuffed me to one of the front headrests.

They slammed the back door shut, then climbed into the front seats, Alex taking the wheel, Xela in the passenger seat.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, nervously.

"MIRROR." Xela replied, coldly.

"They're all expecting you, the real you, not that stupid copy-cat Alstein."

I gulped. They had already discovered Aubrey. I wondered about how he was doing. I hope he's okay...

We probably drove for miles, about an hour or more might have passed. In the dark of night, we finally pulled up somewhere.

From the window, it was too dark to see exactly where we are. I guessed we were at the open MIRROR door.

Alex opened the door, and uncuffed me from the headrest.

"Alright, get out, Akina."

I carefully got out. I never exactly noticed Alex had less of an accent than Xela, hardly any at all. I probably never noticed because Alex usually doesn't do much talking. But of course, not wasn't the time to analyze accents.

Xela grabbed me by the hair, and dragged me through the glass door of a dark building. The two walked slowly through the empty halls.

"There. Open that door up, Alex."

Alex nodded, silent. I gasped.

The door was a simple door, with no lock on the knob, just a code under the doorknob. This door, looked exactly like the one from the doctor's office. Thinking carefully, it also occurred to me that the floor space was also very similar, identical to that of the office.

Alex was rather slow in the number code. I was able to see every number he typed in.

Seven seven seven, zero nine seven.

The code Cody gave Aubrey, telling him to find. This door that Antonio and I found, was the door we needed all along. But we had no plans for me to go in alone, or captured.

Alex stood back. There was a click from the MIRROR door, then it silently opened. Xela pushed me forward, forcing me to walk down the long stairwell.