The Fountain Girl

Chapter 25

A single, harsh and sudden cry rang through the warehouse, "NOW!"

A bunch of James' friends emerged onto the metal catwalk suspended below the ceiling by chains, holding metal poles and other convenient weapons, yelling as they began to strike Bryan's gang members with furious blows.

I was pretty sure they had physical education with Mr. Crescent, because they were hitting hard like there was on tomorrow.

I stared in shock at the fight happening on the catwalk, almost failing to notice the few gang members that had begun to progress towards the rest of us. They had long knives and wrenches in their hands. Coupled with their slightly bulging muscles and ferocious faces, I wasn't feeling very safe.

They shouted battle cries as they approached us, swiping their weapons furiously in our general direction. One of the larger ones, more muscular ones threw his wrench at my head, and I had a split second to save my skull before it shattered into a thousand smithereens.

Picking up the wrench, I sawed through the net that Bryan's gang had set up, and freed the few people that were ensnared.

A sharp 'oomph' could be heard beside me and I whipped my head around just in time to watch my brother crash to the floor, his foe locking his sights on me. He swung his crowbar at my lower abdomen with brute force, grinning devilishly as he looked at my face, filled with terror. He was too close to me. There was no way I was going to avoid that.

"Aargh!" One of James' friends blocked the attack with a metal pole he had just acquired, causing a deathly sound to echo across the whole interior of the building, nearly making my ears split. He retaliated and whacked the foe's face with gusto and set his unconcious body on the floor.

Within fifteen minutes we had a gross collection of injured bodies lying on the floor, most of them belonging to Bryan's gang. With a heavy heart, I looked at James' bleeding forehead, his body lying unconscious on the floor. Never had it occured to me that brotherly love would come to this extent. The rest of us stormed up the staircase towards the catwalks that led to the small control room, making noisy footstep sounds on the metal grille.

The rest of James' friends upstairs had taken care of Bryan's gang members, conquering them by numbers, not by strength. The bodies unmoving on the catwalk and I had a strange, strong urge to kick them off. But I was here for a different reason. Turning my head away, I walked on.

Bryan had disappeared behind the metal door I had seen earlier, where he had kept Anna before we arrived. He had a last trick up his sleeve and we knew it. But what was it?

The last fifteen-odd of us had gathered outside the door, silent, listening for noise. 

A sharp, girlish cry.

A laugh.

"If I can't have you, nobody can."