Torment

Sauna

I gripped my axe tighter as we continued forward, making our way closer to the 'sacred' engine. It had become apparent that bullets were in fact not extinct like we'd first thought and that worried me. What else did Wilford and his henchmen have in store for us? The carriage we were now in was full of steam. It seemed to be a continuation from the spa, a sort of sauna. There was a yellowy-orange hue around us. Wooden doors on white pods lead to individual, private steam baths. "Everybody hide!" Curtis whisper shouted looking to us as we dove into the pods for safety. I caught his eye one last time before I dipped into the small room. I shut the wooden door quietly, holding the handle tight with one hand and clinging on to my axe desperately with the other.

I heard the suited man, and two guards enter the sauna, their footing was almost silent and that made distinct sound of a cocking gun almost deafening. I held my breath, not wanting to make a sound as the armed trio passed my pod. My arms were tense, and my legs were trembling. I didn't want to die; I didn't want to leave Curtis. I let out an almost silent shaky breath as they passed but quickly stopped as I heard the footsteps return. Suddenly the sound of gunfire filled the quiet room. A noise which sounded like the thud of a body on the floor echoed around the pods. I stayed frozen to the spot, what if that was Curtis?

As if I'd said my question out loud, one of the armed guards spoke up. "You just killed a front section passenger!" Before the solider could moan anymore another single shot silenced his words. It seemed as though the man dropped to the floor. Did the suited man really just fire on his own? What the fuck was going on? Moments later the clicking sound of an empty gun was the only sound left. "I didn't see a thing." The remaining shoulder stated, obviously trying to survive the suited mad man. "Where are you going? Wait, just wait a minute." The solider continued to say as footsteps could be heard. I took another shaky breath, listening intently, keeping my door pulled tightly shut. "Could we talk about this for one sec..." before the man could finish the sound of an opening door cut him off? Then slashing stabbing sounds. It was close to me; I could tell as the sound of another falling body vibrated through my pod. One of the others had obviously sneaked out of their pods to assassinate the soldier. My bet was on Grey. A scream came from the last remaining man, the suited man. Grey had obviously thrown his trusty knife into him. The sound of another door slamming open caused me to jump. A fight between Grey and the suited man seemed to be taking place. All I could hear were pummelling punching sounds. With more noise around me, I began breathing normally again. What was I meant to do? I assumed Curtis had probably tried to come to Grey's aid but with the close proximities probably didn't want to use his gun. I jumped again as the fighting duo smashed up against the pod, I was hiding it. Thank god I held my nerve and didn't scream. I looked down to the axe in my hand. If I could push out, I might have a good shot at killing the suited man, however, if it went wrong it'd go really wrong. The sound of fighting seemed to stop. That worried me, if Grey was triumphant, he would've called us, but there wasn't a peep. I stayed put, hoping Curtis had a plan. The sudden clang of gunfire caused me to jump again. It was coming from nearby and down the carriage. It meant that Curtis was firing back. I looked around my pod as the bullets continued to fly. There was nothing helpful surrounding me. It was just a relaxation suite with a wooden chair and towel. I sighed. How could I help? Especially now the suited man was armed once more.

"You son of a bitch!" I suddenly heard Tanya yell, but I feared her advances were cut short as a single shot fired. "No no no no," I whispered, almost crying at the thought of Tanya being dead. I took another deep breath. Not now Hazel. Curtis is still out there fighting for our survival. I gritted my teeth, pushing my pod door open, lifting my axe in the air. Curtis and the suited man were fighting in front of me. Harsh blows damaging one another. The suited man did indeed have a knife in his back and as Curtis seemed to be in control of the fight, the man dragged him to the floor. Curtis was taking huge blows to the head and I knew before long he'd succumb to a concussion. As if on cue the suited man kicked Curtis in the head, knocking him out cold. I gasped, I had to get back into cover. The suited man had lifted a gun, he wouldn't be content until every last one of us was dead. I ducked behind a pod, clutching my axe, hoping with all my hope that the suited man would look for me before putting Curtis down. However, before anything more could happen, I heard a scream. I left my cover and watched as Grey held his hand out in front of Curtis.  The suited man went to plunge a knife in Curtis's neck but Grey used his hand as a shield to protect Curtis. As a result, the blade sunk through his hand. I gasped as the duo stood to their feet. Fighting to death once more. I didn't know what to do. I looked to the floor seeing Tanya's body but grunting caused me to look up. "Grey!" I shouted, watching in despair as the suited man pushed the knife through Grey's hand and into his chest.

Grey whimpered as his life left his body. The suited man looked absent as another one of my friend's bodies hit the floor. "You bastard!" I screamed, sprinting at the man lunging my axe at him. The man stumbled back in shock, obviously forgetting that I was with the group. I swung my axe angrily, missing his neck by inches as he walked backwards. I was angry, angry at myself for not stepping forward sooner. I could've saved both Tanya and Grey, I could've helped my friends. But again, I didn't. Just like I didn't help Edgar. All I saw was red. I knew that Nam and his daughter were still probably hiding, Curtis was passed out on the floor and Tanya, I had no idea if she was alive or not, I just knew she'd been shot, until this cunt was dead I wouldn't be able to check. The suited man fell on his arse, but quickly grabbed Tanya's weapon from her body. It was a crowbar. As I brought my axe down towards his face, he blocked my attack before raising his legs and kicking me backwards. The force caused me to fall on my arse. I gritted my teeth quickly jumping to my feet again. We lunged at one another, I swung my axe, nicking his forearm. He seethed in pain but whacked my torso with the tool. I doubled over in pain, as I tried to catch my breath the suited man hit me across my back. I collapsed, pull yourself together, you need to fight, you need to live for Curtis. As I spun over to face the suited man the door beside me flung open revealing Nam. He jumped on top of my attacker, stealing the crowbar from his grasp.

Now free for a moment I took a deep, painful breath. It felt like one of my ribs were broken. I groaned as I looked back to Nam and the suited man. There wasn't time for pain right now. I pulled myself up using the wall and stalked over to the fight. Nam was on top of the suited man, strangling him with the crowbar, using all his might. I couldn't get a clean swing, but even though he was struggling, Nam seemed to be on top of things, quite literally. Suddenly Yona crawled her way out of one of the pods. I stood back as she grabbed a blade and crawled toward her father. She kneeled, about to stab the suited man in the side but Nam grabbed her wrist causing Yona to drop the blade and cry out in pain. He obviously didn't want his daughter to be a killer like the rest of us and I respected that. As she dropped the blade a hand suddenly gripped its handle.

Curtis, now conscious, picked the knife up from the floor and thrust it into the suited man's side. The man gasped desperately before taking a final breath and laying dead on the floor. Nam sat away, panting with exhaustion.

I looked past the suited man's body and to Tanya, she'd moved ever so slightly. "Tanya," I called rushing to her side. I knelt next to her as she opened her eyes weakly. I looked over her body, panicking as I saw her blood-soaked shirt. I desperately tried to place pressure on her wound. I ripped my backpack off and emptied its content onto the floor. I used all of my remaining gauzes in a weak attempt of stopping the bleed. "Please Tanya, we're gonna find Timmy I promise. And you, you're going to have to be there!" I stated erratically, panic laced through my voice. Curtis placed a hand on my shoulder. He knew what I was too scared to admit. There was nothing I could do for her. Curtis knelt beside me as we both looked towards Tanya. "My Timmy," she began "My Timmy, my, my." She repeated struggling to get the words out with her dying breathes. She was trying to reach for the hand drawn picture of her son. I still had my hands on her wound, trying my best to give her a few more minutes of life. God, I should've been here sooner. Curtis leant forward, reaching his blood-covered hand into Tanya's coat, and removing the treasured piece of paper. Curtis unfolded the drawing and held it up so the mother could look at her boy one last time. "I'm so sorry Tanya." I breathed removing my hands and cupping her cheek softly. Curtis's hands shook as Tanya took a shaky breath. "We're gonna find him. I promise." He said. "I know. Thank you." Tanya replied as a tear rolled down her cheek and she took her final breath.

Curtis pulled away. Taking the picture with him. He was devastated, not only was another soldier down, but another friend. Nam and Yona stood remorsefully as I knelt by her side. "No, no, no." I began to whisper. Curtis went to comfort me but all I felt was rage. I stood, grabbing my axe as I did. "No!!" I screamed spinning on my heel and slamming my axe down into the suited man's skull. I continued to scream as I repeatedly slashed my axe into the dead man's head. It was a bloody mess. I was covered in blood. The spray covered not only me but also the white walls around us. I was so angry, I'd let another one of my friends, another member of my family die. I had so much rage pent up inside me. I was furious, Edgar, Gilliam, Andrew, Grey and Tanya just to name a few. Why was I allowed to live but they weren't? I collapsed onto the floor. Sobbing as I looked at the mangled face in front of me. Deforming the bastard wasn't going to bring them back, but he deserved everything he got. I felt a hand on my shoulder as I continued to sob. "Hazel, nothing can stop us now. Wilford is next, he will pay for what he's done." I took a deep, staggered breath as I rose to my feet. I nodded to Curtis, looking at Tanya's body one more time before swinging my axe into a tighter grip. It was time. Time to end this.