Troublemaker || FDTD

Chapter XII

Chapter XII: Wind of change

"Look what the wind had brought us. The one and only Trixie Martin. A pleasure to see you, I am Carlos. But I'm sure you already know who I am." The guy took his jacket off and placed it on a chair, then rolled his sleeves up. I was so sure that Marco wasn't his real name. Carlos wore a red shirt, which I assumed was supposed to hide small stains of blood. He held an ancient looking sword which he swung around. My heart sank when I heard him say my name so casually, as if we were best friends. Jared probably told him about me, after all he spent most of his time with this asshole. He stole him from me. "And the rinche. Bitten by la reina herself. Yet... You live and breathe. You must think you're so special."

The ranger looked at me, trying to warn me that what was about to come was dangerous. I didn't doubt that. We both got up from our seats. Gonzales was holding an axe in his hand, while I picked the machete. Carlos laughed at us, as if we were powerless against him. But nothing ever lasted forever. For some reason I didn't want to kill him so fast. I needed answers. He jumped between us, kicking me in the stomach. I flew across the room and stopped into a wall. It took me a second before I could breathe again. He had turned into his natural form. Carlos' fangs were sharper and longer than any other snake which meant that he was harder to kill.

Gonzales was keeping up with the snake's strenght. The axe he was holding was thrown away, just as easy as my body. As if it weighted nothing. By the time I could get up, the ranger was held on a table. The snake pierced his neck, blood staining his lips. It was strange how they craved blood. I just couldn't comprehend it. They were somehow alive too, although they walked on different paths. I shook my head to get rid of the small glimpse of empathy I experienced, then tightened my grip over the machete handle. While Carlos was busy telling Gonzales about his ancient bloodline, I ran towards him. He avoided my attack, and I fell on the ground.

"Trixie, Trixie. Your brother told me how... dedicated you were." He said calmly, as he took small steps towards where I was laying. I dragged myself away as far as I could but as he stopped in front of me, he pressed his foot on my hand. Carlos probably noticed I tried to reach the machete. "Can't wait to brag about killing you. The traitor deserves it."

"You think he will let you kill me? You're so dumb." I let out a laugh, and wiped away the thin trickle of blood flowing from the corner of my mouth with my free hand. His smile had faded.

"I see. You clearly won't recognise the new Jared. He won't give a shit about you. So I might aswell spare you from–" Before he could finish his sentence, Gonzales pierced a ginormous stake through Carlos' stomach and pinned him onto a chair. He growled in pain, but after a short while he started laughing. "Just kidding. It doesn't really hurt."

I watched the scene over my shoulder. He clearly had some issues and a passion for drama. The ranger took the snake's sword and positioned it where its heart should've been. "Yeah, but I bet this would."

Somehow I knew he wouldn't kill Carlos just yet. He needed the answers just as much as I did. Especially after what he had told me about Jared. What I feared the most was true, and I couldn't help but grow a new kind of emotion. Disgust. I wasn't sure for whom exactly, but it was there. Lurking inside of me. My brother wouldn't have done it to himself, the snakes must've forced him. It was the only real explanation. Or maybe one that I would like to believe.

I got up. My whole body was shaking, and because of the adrenaline I didn't feel much. I approached Gonzales, wanting to hear whatever Carlos had to say to us. Even stuck to the chair, he still looked confident. If he was everyone's boss, I expected others to show up pretty soon. We had to be fast.

"Is Jared like you? An evil thing? Where is he?" My voice cracked. I was tired, and if I were to meet my brother I had to know which version of him I got. Instead of answering, he grinned at me. It wasn't one of those pity smiles, he really enjoyed seeing me broken. The serpent must've hated my brother so much.