Demon's Reborn

Chap 8

She's running. Running from someone or something unknown. All she knows is she can't beat it and is afraid that it would finish her before she finishes her own thing. Then she heard a muffled voice. As it source came nearer and the image became clearer, she figured out its Luigi. Soaked under his own blood, from the gunshots and wounds he's received from that things she's running away from. "Yleine! Get away from here! Hurry!" he warned and looked past his shoulder. He held his gun midway and aimed to something behind him then she heard a loud bang. She thought Luigi killed it but she stood in shock when the lifeless body of Luigi fell on the ground blood oozing from his head.

"No" she whispered bringing her hands on her mouth. "Luigi no!" She ran towards him and held him in her arms. "No, please. Don't die on me" she pleaded as tears run down from her eyes. "Luigi you have to live! Don't leave me! Please..." she cried and held the lifeless man towards her.

Heavy thuds stopped before the two wearing a devilish smile. "Game over lady" it said with its distorted voice. "Just kill me!" she demanded. It laughed with amusement. "No... I won't" it said and knelt down to level her eyes. "Because you're going to be my ...... and I swear you'll suffer and die on your own" it laughed showing its bloody sharp teeth.

Suddenly, William appeared before them and blew its head off its neck. Its body fell on the ground with a thud. The head rolled down not far enough leaving a bloody trail. Their gaze met. He stared at her with disappointment and anger. Her gratefulness turned into guilt. "I'm sorry" she said as if just to satisfy the need to apologize but also knowing that it won't be granted unto her. "Unforgivable" William said and turned his back from her then totally disappearing from her sight.

Lion appeared beside her. "It's your fault... you let this happen" he whispered then Gilbert came into sight. "You let him die...ungrateful...unforgivable" he whispered with stone cold anger. Then more people came towards her blaming her for their death.

Yleine woke up from her nightmare with tears. Why? she asked herself as she sat up and tried to wipe her river of tears. Why would I have such a dream?

Lion and his Moles searched for Yleine's whereabouts. They searched every possible place where she can hide and nearly impaling everyone that they thought is Yleine. "Any luck today?" the team leader asked through his radio. Most of his squads answered negative, except for one. "Sir, I think I found the video tape." "You found what, Officer Bryan? Confirm it at once. Lion dislike half-baked assumptions." "Yes sir."

Bryan and his group are assigned to retrace the places where Yleine has passed by during the run with the Moles. With a team of five, they each took a different path that encircles the places. They went at the alley where Yleine is last spotted on the first chase, at the buildings where Luigi and Yleine jumped for escape and also at the park but found nothing. It was midday when their team leader told them to go over the places again as they might have missed something. They went back at the alley, Bryan specifically. Much to his shock, he wasn't able to raise his gun when Yleine suddenly emerged from the shadows.

He was about to radio the rest of the squad but Yleine quickly secured his neck with a gun. "Don't even try" she whispered is his ear which seemed like a snake slithering. "I have the video tape. I'll give it back, if you do me a favor, or should I say a condition" she said that irritated the officer. "Do you a favor? Our lives are already on the line because of you and you want me to do you a favor? Unbelievable" he chuckled sarcastically as beads of sweat stream down from his forehead. Something about her is not right and she reeks like dead.

"I'll take that as a yes" she sneered. She then slid the video tape into Bryan's trembling and sweaty hand. "Tell them you found it cleverly hidden here in the alley near those garbage bin. Give a conclusion that I might have left it there so I can come back to it after you Moles are not looking for me anymore" she instructed and stepped an inch away from Bryan. "Do you really think I'll do that for you, huh? I'd rather die--" "Oh but Lion will still kill all of you if you can't find me and the tape, won't he?" she asked mockingly. He stiffened at the naked truth he wanted to ignore. "Isn't my offer better? At least he'll just punish you Moles for not finding me. Secret is much more important than anything else to Lion." "How much do you know about him?" he asked. Yleine smiled knowing that Bryan will fall into her hands anytime soon, but she has to do it quick because anytime soon they'll regroup and move again.

"More than any of you can ever know. His simple weakness is the Tiger and his unreachable pride of course. But he's a man of honor and trust. Sometimes, he just act like a father to you all. Deep within all of his employees knows that" she whispered again but now facing Bryan whose eyes are wide with shock. "I mean no harm to any of you, I only need the truth which I was able to achieve because of him. In exchange to your agreement, I'll make sure to secure job for you and safety as well, if ever someone wants your head. Oh! I almost forgot about the monthly allowance. How about it?"

Bryan was quietly thinking, considering everything into place. Such a huge prize just for a lie. But she's right. Take it or leave it. Death or life. "Would you mind if I set the conditions myself with your offers?" Yleine smiled wider now. "Sure, name it." "I'll take the job but the money and safety will be given to my wife and our baby. I can protect myself and with the job you promised, I can earn on my own--" "Deal. But of course you'll need to tell me who your wife is and the baby" she said then heavy footsteps are running nearer towards them. "Meet me in this location, keep it in mind. Burn it afterwards. Don't ever try to trick me, you don't know my consequences" Yleine's voice echoed like a gentle breeze around him and was surprised to see her gone. A piece of paper was floating before him and caught it. An address and time is written on it which would be the coming afternoon.

Consequences? She's not even here to do her consequences to me, he smiled at the thought but then his chest felt like its being squeezed. Consequences, Yleine's voice echoed within his head. He can hear himself taking in shallow breaths as if the air can't get into his lungs in resonance with the fear he's feeling right now. What the hell is going on? When he used his hand to reach for the wall to support himself, he saw a black ring on his middle finger, almost crimson. It wasn't there before! The woman slid it into his finger together with the tape without him noticing. "Officer!" one of the squad members called out to him. He heard them approaching so he slid the paper into his inner pocket and faced them showing the tape.

"I found it" his chest was released by the tight grip that made him take in a deep breath. "Are you okay Officer? You look pale, are you sick?" "No, I just can't take the heat. I'll just report it and we'll be on our way to the base." What kind of technology is she using, or is it my fear controlling me now? She's far more dangerous than Lion! "So where did you find it?" another of them asked. I hope that woman has prepared her plan very well, he grunted and started towards the garbage bin and found a hole at the wall behind it. "It's cleverly hidden within that hole. She must've left it there before she flee that day. It's nearly impossible to see it if we're just looking around. It caught my eye when I saw a flash from it then I found this" he noticed they're buying it. Clever, just clever, he thought and continued. "She might've planned to get it back once we gave up on searching the area."

"Let's go. As long as we've retrieved the tape everything will be well" one of them said and started out of the alley. Bryan reported it to their team leader exactly as how he did to his teammates. They believed him without an ounce of suspicion, even Lion himself. They were then permitted to rest and go home for the day. Bryan tried to take the ring off but he just got electrocuted every time he forces to pull it off his finger. When he realized he's got no escape, he gave up. Just she make sure she keeps up with the condition.