Silent City

Ch. 17 - The Whistleblower

"You don't understand!"

"That's right." Mr. Kreel interrupted. "You should listen to the girl. You understand nothing."

"You guys don't know what I'm capable of," Mikhail replied.

"Don't do this," I told him. "We need to find a way to leave. You don't realize how strong they are."

"Spider" Mr. Kreel spoke to me. "I'm so disappointed in you. After everything I've done to you, you betrayed me." He starts to walk around us. "I gave you a position no one else could fill, a rank higher than anyone could ever reach. What will your father think about that?"

The mere mention of my father irritated me. I looked at Mr. Kreel with anger and grabbed one of my blades.

"Oh, so now you want to fight!" Hank said.

"Mike, they will kill me the moment they have the chance. They only want you."

Mikhail remained silent for a while before talking. "I won't let that happen. I'll create an opening."

Mr. Kreel chuckled. "You think you can get away? They were trained to deal with you. There is no escape."

"I think you've said enough." Mikhail interrupted him. "Get them."

The moment Mikhail said that creatures appeared from out of nowhere and rushed to attack the enemy surrounding us. Suddenly, Mikhail jumped back towards Owl, who was distracted fighting a nightcrawler and punched him in the stomach, sending him flying a few feet away. Bats and Snake were protecting Mr. Kreel from harm, leaving an opening for us to run through. Taking advantage of that chance, we both ran back into the park. 

"That should keep them distracted for a while," Mikhail said.

"That's what you think. Don't let your guard down. They are way better than what you can imagine." I warned Mikhail.

"That's true." A voice spoke close by.

I saw a shadow of a man move right next to me. Before I could tell who it was, he punched me upwards on the face, kicking me on the stomach while I was airborne. I flew a long distance away from where I was standing, hitting a tree not too far away. My strength wasn't completely back and the blow I received was so strong that all I could do was shrink on the floor in pain.

"Rachel!" Mikhail screamed.

I looked up, hardly noticing the man walking my way.

"I haven't forgotten what you did to me." The familiar voice said. "Is only natural I get payback for what you did to me."

"Hank...Kreel...? But how?" I asked, not understanding his superhuman strength.

"You know, maybe I should be grateful. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gained this power. So I'll make your death painless."

If it wasn't for me? What did he mean? I remember killing him without remorse so how was he standing in front of us? Did his blood get mixed up with the virus upon his death? I thought back to that moment and remembered him hiding something under his shirt. Then this was my fault too.

I tried standing up, dealing with the pain in my stomach and face. Mr. Kreel was coming closer, ready to finish me up when suddenly another shadow appeared right next to him and punched him in the face. Hank's body was pushed far away, flipping in the air and landing on his feet.

"If you want to get to her, you'll have to go through me first," Mikhail said, preparing to defend me with everything he had.

"That really hurts." Mr. Kreel said to himself as he stood up straight.