Demons of Abyss - Retribution

Chapter 11

Elea

It's a female voice, and it's shaking so much that even without a face to go with it, I know this person is not well. She must be one of the girls they are holding captive. My stomach turns at that thought.

"What's your name?"

For a long time, I hear nothing, just a rattle as she pulls the air noisily into her lungs. Something is wrong with her, so I try again when I get no answer.

"Are you in pain?"

Another loud breath and when I already think I'm not getting an answer, I hear the shaky voice. It must take enormous effort for her to speak.

"Everywhere."

Another sob. I feel pity for her. I want to help her, even though that's not why I'm here. And yet my conscience tells me I can't look away. So I move slowly to where I suspect she is. I can't even see the outline of my hand in front of my eyes, but maybe I can still be there for her. I get closer to the breaths. There's a rattling sound, like chain links hitting each other.

My attention is suddenly drawn to the door, however, as a mechanical clack is heard. She breathes frantically and a sob escapes her lips before she chokes out a "They're coming" and then falls silent.

Two figures appear in the doorway, and the glare of the halogen spotlights that suddenly light up above our heads blinds me. It takes a while for my eyes to adjust to the brightness, and only then do I hear and see who has entered the room. My memory is not mistaken, it is Booze. Small and flabby. The pale skin stretches over the layer of fat on his face. His eyes are bloodshot and the smarmy grin makes me want to extend it with my throwing knives.

"I knew I am going to get you. Must have thought we'd get screwed. Your new haircut didn't help. So naive to think we wouldn't find you...stupid...just stupid." He grins and shakes his head reprovingly. "The Demons have many friends, and in one of those you bumped into."

I could puke at the sight of his ugly mug. My brain is rattling and all I can come up with, is this one guy we met outside Vic's training hall. Damn. I didn't think they'd come looking for us. Especially not that they'd find us. Booze steps closer, his heavy boots squeaking every time he takes a step on the stained brown tiles. Another guy appears behind him. I know his face. It's the guy I put the bullet in his thigh. He's limping, and his facial expression involuntarily tells me that he's looking forward to what's coming next. I, on the other hand, don't know what to do now. Do I really manage to continue playing the helpless one, with what they are going to do to me?

Then I hear a whimpering next to me. It's the girl I was talking to. Her blonde long hair is sticky. Where the dirty, once white dress does not cover her body, bruises and dirt cover her skin. Her head is between her knees. Her thin arms, gripping her lower legs tightly, tremble. There are handcuffs on her wrists. Her breathing is rapid and choppy, and with her skinny build, she looks like she's going to stop breathing at any moment. Without meaning to, I feel pity for her and with that pity, the hatred for these guys grows even more. Especially Booze, who is now standing about half a meter in front of me. The other guy, this Bull, kicks the door, which then falls into the lock with an ominous crash. Something moves next to me and I look at the girl again. She's whimpering and there's horror and fear on her face as she spots Booze. Her cheeks are sunken and there are dark circles under her eyes. She looks barely older than eighteen. I have to swallow and suppress my anger at the sight. I still don't know what to do. Likewise, I know I could take out this Booze and this Bull, but what do I do after that? How am I supposed to get out of this room and the headquarters, which is guarded like a high-security wing, without being noticed? Especially, since I don't want to escape again. My plan was to stay here and take out Charly, when he returns.

"I guess you've met my toy already?"

A dirty laugh comes from Booze's thin lips as he grunts like a pig. That grunt annoys me. Then he comes even closer. He gets on his knees, which is certainly exhausting with his physique. His head comes towards mine and his disgusting breath creeps into my nose as if something is rotting in his mouth. In addition, the smell of sweat hits me. I feel nauseous. Involuntarily, I wrinkle my nose, which obviously displeases him, because he immediately lunges and hits me with the back of his hand on my chin. The pain makes me groan as I straighten up again, having tipped to the side. I have to hand it to Booze, he's fast and has some muscle underneath his fat mass. I taste blood in my mouth and lick over my lip, which has burst open from the blow. Again this grunt from him and another ugly laugh from this Bull. The two find pleasure in beating me. Since I still don't know what to do, I remain sitting on my butt I continue to play my role. Until I know what to do. I hear an agonizing sound and look to my right. The girl slides back as this Bull approaches her. She is cornered by him, on a filthy mattress lying on the floor. The whiteness of the walls has disappeared due to dirt and other things. I know that blood is on the walls and I don't want to know what these guys are doing to the girls here. Nausea rises in me as Booze grabs me roughly by my hair. It gets worse when Bull does the same to the girl and I hear his voice.

"Booze, leave some for me, I still have a score to settle with her. Until then, I'll show the w***e what else our customers like."

Bull throws the girl back on the mattress and I feel Booze's flabby body pulling me closer to him. With his other hand he reaches into his crotch and unzips his pants. I feel the pain on my scalp, but it's just a tingling as I shift my weight to contain the pain. It's not until I hear the sobbing from the girl that I turn my head and feel the tug on my scalp. I look into her empty eyes. She has retreated into another world. A world where a guy isn't lying on top of her. A guy, who is about to bury his fingers between her legs. A pained gasp comes from her throat, but she quickly escapes back into that emptiness. She stares at the ceiling and tears spill from her eyes. With a jolt, my attention is drawn back to Booze. He's ripped my shirt with his greasy hand, so now it's just holding onto my shoulders, giving a clear view of my black sports bra.

"Where do you get those ugly things?"

He laughs out loud and shoves his hand roughly between my legs. His pants have slipped down to his knees and the view of his soft parts makes me gag. I must be sick to let this wash over me. I hear Bull slap his hand in the girl's face and see him pull his pants down and ram himself into her, right after. And suddenly, I can't help it. I can't let myself do that. I would never forgive myself for this. I reach for my knives and ram my knee into the disgusting soft parts in front of me. Booze groans and curses. He goes to the ground. Then I slide back and throw my knife. It lands exactly where I wanted it. This Bull gives a rattle and topples to the side with the knife in his skull. His eyes twist to the point where almost all you can see is the whites. Blood runs down his forehead as the wall stops him and his head hits it with a thud. Adrenaline pumps through my veins. The girl makes no sound, but her eyes widen in shock. He must still be inside her.

"Shit...shit...you f*****g bitch...!"

I look up and see a hand coming towards me. Booze's fist hits my chin and my head skids to the side. I grab my second knife and ram it into his thigh, then I kick his ugly face and he falls backwards motionless. What a pitiful sight. I straighten up. The girl has scooted back a bit. Bull's head has slid down the wall, leaving a trail of fresh blood on the already stained wall. The girl looks like she's not breathing. I run to her and grab her shoulder, whereupon she startles out of her shock and backs away from me. I raise my hands placating.

"I'm not going to hurt you. You need to come with me now."

She shakes her head and slides away from me again. Blood runs along her lip and there's some between her thighs, too. I glance briefly at Bull, wondering why I can remain so calm at the sight of a dead man with a knife in his skull. I even manage to pull the knife out of his skull with a smacking sound, wipe it on the filthy cover of the mattress, and put it back in my holster. I thought I would feel more. Grief. Shock. Something. It's like I no longer have a soul to make me feel anything. But I can worry about that later. If there is a later. So I look at her again, more urgently this time.

"We have to get out of here."

Again she shakes her head, but I also recognize a spark of hope in her eyes. Even if that spark is barely visible.

"We can't get away from here. No one escapes them."

"We have to try."

I tug at her scrawny upper arm, trying to get her to follow me. There's no time. We have to get out of here as fast as we can, before anyone else shows up. If anyone spots us, we're screwed. She reluctantly gives in and finally moves. She's as light as a feather and looks like she's going to topple over at any moment. As we move toward the door, I tie my torn shirt at the front to a knot. We have to pass Booze, who looks like he's already passed on. Glancing at my beloved knife, I can't help myself. I pull it out of his thigh. Blood pours out of the wound. Lots of blood, in fact. The girl lets out a horrified gasp. Booze, on the other hand, doesn't move a millimeter. I could ram the knife into his head again to be on the safe side, but I don't want to do any more damage to the girl. Although the damage is probably already too big anyway. Then we head for the door. I listen if anyone is waiting for us behind the door. But I don't hear anything. So I grab the doorknob, press against the door with my shoulder, and slowly push down. This technique helps keep the snap of the lock cylinder from being too loud because there's no pressure on it. I'm glad Ben taught me how to do this. When the door opens, I first peek between the crack to see if I spot anyone. But everything is quiet. Maybe we have a chance to escape after all. Even if it completely ruins my plan. But to be honest, I probably never had a plan. Everything in my head was just about revenge and I still want that. But before that, I have to get us out of this situation somehow. I take my hand off the doorknob and look back at her one more time, before speaking to her in a low voice.

"I need you to stay behind me and be as quiet as possible."

She nods tentatively, and I focus on getting out of here alive and then freeing Kilian and making a new plan. I open the door enough to squeeze through, then signal for her, to follow me. I push my way out along the wall. The good thing is, that the darkness of the night gives us a little protection. I wait for her to follow me and close the door as quietly as I can. Not that someone will obviously realize that something is wrong. I hear voices coming from the building where the bar is located. Glancing at the sand-colored walls surrounding the large courtyard, I see light in some of the windows. It's like a world of its own. A dark world with even darker figures that does nothing, but destroying lives.