[writing] Project Chaos - Chapter Fifteen

[djtenku]

Title: Spider's Web
Word Count: 2418
Summary: Pacing. Discovery. Tricks.

Racre Xander began to worry. Time passed considerably and with each minute, his paranoia grew. Why was she taking so long? He feared that something happened to her. She is very tough, a voice added.

But she looks fragile, he said back. Xander glanced down at the half-full Styrofoam cup. What will happen after this? What will happen to me? And Rowan? His sunken grey eyes wandered to the automatic rifle that laid in front of him and started to reach for it. He paused when he heard – or rather – felt something sweep across the room. It emitted a low whisper, a low murmuring. He jumped up in fear. But how? his mind shrieked.

-

The lead Screamer held up his fist sharply, and the others in tow halted. They were not far from the sub-building, just a vague shape in the darkness. The worst of the sudden storm was waning, coupled with a few breaks in the clouds. He motioned the group to split in half and slowly make his way to the objective.

-

Shin thought she had heard a short alarm as she climbed up the pathway and into the elevator shaft. The air suddenly changed from balmy and moist to algid. What little light disappeared, and was replaced by a blood shade. “Oh grand,” she said aloud as something from below her stirred to life, whirring and clicking slowly.

She latched on to the nearby ladder and instinctively clasped onto the rungs as the mystery object roared pass her. It screeched to a halt and she glanced above her and saw the elevator cab. Quickly, she clambered up the rungs and on top of the cab, carefully prying off the hatch.

“All personnel go into Red Status,” someone said hurriedly. Shin poked her head inside of the cab, but no one was there; instead there was a small speaker embedded in the panel. “The prisoner has escaped, and there has been several casualties.”

Shin rolled her eyes. Can’t be discreet, she thought wryly.

“There has been a sighting of another intruder as well,” the speaker continued to bark. “All personnel, KOS. Repeat, KOS.”

Shin dropped down as the doors slid shut and pressed the highest floor number. She dug in her pockets for a grenade but instead, found the knife; Shin tucked it in her sleeve, hilt barely visible as the doors opened again at the new floor.

-

The light turned red and the warm air gave way to near arctic temperatures. In a way, it made those twin white orbs stand out even more. “I see that you have gotten this far,” Taka said, crossing his arms. “That’s good to know; I have high expectations of you.”

Kento stiffened. “Expectations?”

“Why, yes, of course. To be so bold and challenge Lang, I have the utmost respect for you as well,” he said geninually. “However, you could match him in brawn, but can you match him in wits?” Taka tapped the side of his head. “Even though he looks savage, he is quite intelligent.”

“Let me guess; you’re going to test me?” Kento asked sardonically.

“The gist of it,” Taka replied lightly. “All you have to do is get to me.”

“That’s it?” he said aloud, clearly disappointed. Kento glanced around at the web and then the direction of the voice. “Too easy.” He raised his gun and fired, bullet flying towards the middle of the orbs.

Taka sighed as he saw the round, colored red with a white trail. He willed one of the nearby wires and it shifted, splitting in two as it met the strange line, and harmlessly struck the wall behind him.

Without warning, the gun was in two pieces as well, barrel on the ground. Kento barely realized it until he looked at it dumbly, and glanced back up with a scowl. The orbs narrowed. “Of course, no weapons,” Taka added. “It wouldn’t be fun if it was over in one shot.”

How did he do that without moving? The intricate web suddenly vanished; Kento dashed for the twin orbs. Within a blink, they disappeared, and he nearly crashed into the wall. He whirled around, fists raised as he stared into the closer orb, glaring. The glare melted into shock and he backed a step at the realization.

“I may be blind,” Taka said in a dangerous voice, “but it doesn’t mean I cannot see.”

-

Rowan ventured outside, greeted by darkness and the waning arctic, crisp wind. He still dwelled on Roya’s words. Just why did she want me to go with her? For companionship? She was sincere, he thought, and her words were not deceptive. At least no hint of it anyway. She was on a order to kill me… A sharp gust snapped him away from his thoughts. He decided, after all, that it did not make any sense to dwell on it anymore.

His camouflage set in, now completely white, as he set course for the vague building.

-

Shin was trying to get out. The floor was a maze in itself with its bland coloring and endless turns. She always managed to arrive back at the elevator doors as she did not find the vents at all. There had to be some other way to get out. She spotted the dots of blood that made a trail on the blank floor and stopped. She didn’t bother to glance over her shoulder as she heard several boots hitting the floor.

The deep burning within her injured thigh and stomach welled up suddenly and she pitched over, coughing up blood. The wounds were a lot serious than she thought. She hissed a curse as she turned at the bark of a command, pressing her hand against her belly and held knife in another. She counted six masked guards with heavier armor than the rest, but one had a yellow armband.

“Hnn, she’s quite a looker,” one leered after whistling. “We better not harm her too much. Maybe we should take her to Lang?”

“Nah, let’s have some fun,” another said, rubbing gloved hands together.

“I bet she’s the bitch who killed Shio,” Yellow proclaimed, taking a step forward.

Shin automatically slid her bad leg in front and shifted most of her weight on her back foot, knife in front. With a grimacing smile, she beckoned Yellow. “Have a crack at me then,” she said.

Yellow charged at her, arms outstretched and hands just waiting to wring the life out of her. Shin shifted again, and rammed her knee into his face as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him in, shattering his nose on impact. The others looked on in shock as they saw their leader howl in pain. The audacity of this woman! Shin landed another quick strike using the hilt of the knife, driving it in his abdomen, and stepped aside as Yellow collapsed to the ground.

The others – getting over their shock – finally moved and leapt at her; Shin leaned backwards and pressed her foot against the first guard’s chest and guided him over, crashing him into the nearby wall. As she rose, another managed to come from behind and bear hug her, squeezing her arms close to her body and forced her to drop the knife as she was lifted up. She gave a sharp cry as two others headed for her; she pushed off of them at the last moment, propelling her and the captor backwards into the wall, loosing the tight grip. She threw a sharp elbow into the guard’s face and scooped up the knife in a near fluid motion and drove the tip home in the soft space between the would be two attackers, felling them also.

Shin beckoned the last guard to attack; who stared at the destruction and then at her before turning away and fled. She sighed as she stepped over the dying and unconscious forms of the guards, and spotted a small duct in the wall ahead. She limped towards it, suddeny feeling drained of all energy. The arctic air didn’t help her case at all as she emerged from the duct and back on the roof of the building. Shin pushed back the dull pain and forced herself to move on the edge.

She stopped short as she felt the familiar presence of the Screamers and looked down. They must’ve found out! With them were several more guards, and despite the visibility, they were heavily armed and sinister looking than the rest. “Oh shit,” she cursed. She unbuckled her jacket and zipped down the line, and entered the short sub-building.

Shin busted through the door, frightening Xander, but bypassed him for the rifle that laid on the floor. She then looked at the weapons president, who looked paler than usual and his grey eyes wide. “We gotta get out of here before –” The lights suddenly left, plunging them into darkness. Shin heard Xander utter something incoherent; he groped the darkness until he found one of the bathroom stalls and locked himself in it.

At least he has some sense, Shin thought dryly. A low pulse swept through the room; undeterred by it, Shin searched the darkness for the door and propped it open, eyes quickly adjusting to the lack of light. There was no sound for several seconds, except her faint breathing until she heard barely audible footfalls, and commands – they were coming from both sides. Quickly, she went back into the bathroom, and ran a hand through her hair. They were surrounded, outnumbered, and certainly out armed. Frustration sieged her until she heard a chirp in her ear.

+Need a distraction?+ asked Rowan, nonchalantly.

-

Taka reformed the wires, this time shifting them back and forth. He kept his sightless eyes on the center of the vast red room, particularly the fluctuating Qi; on occasion it shifted from blue to red. Fatigue was starting to set in.

Kento ached all over, thanks to the spiked knuckles and the small cuts he got from the sharp wires. He wondered how could they reappear and vanish within two blinks. Unpredictability it was; he attempted a charge once but the wires deterred him as they took a loose form of snakes. Since then, he remained in place, staring at the strange man.

Taka raised his eyebrows as the Qi suddenly disappeared for a few moments. Unconscious already? he asked himself. No; it reappeared, still red – but faint. Was he finally getting it? “You’re getting weaker,” he said with a sneer. “Didn’t I tell you to use intellect instead of brawn?”

The web got thicker and more complex. Kento still stood in place, gazing around at the room for a break in the trap. There’s too many… He looked down and quickly slid under the gap after a short running start. On the inside, the web was more thinner and weaker. Maybe…

A wire shot past him, brushing his shoulder and glanced at the source. Before his eye focused on Taka, the wire came back on the other side of him and wrapped around his neck three times and clasped tightly. He clawed at it desperately when he dropped to a knee, allievating the constricting force for a few seconds at a time.

Taka appeared in front of him, a hint of a smile. “Out of one and into another,” he said, greatly amused. “How will you get out of this predicament? I can will that around your neck to crush your windpipe, or to simply decapitate you. Which will it be?”

Despite seeing starbursts, Kento rose and snatched at the thick rope, pulling in Taka and head butted him, cracking his nose. Taka howled in surprise and let go of the wire and cringed at the new pain – so much that he could not differentiate his balance. He jumped back, creating distance; he sought out the red Qi but no avail.

Kento finally recovered, taking in much needed air, and noted the general confusion on Taka’s face. “I know you’re hiding your Qi, boy! Very clever!” the man growled.

Qi? he silently repeated. It finally clicked, and he stayed in place again, awaiting the next move.

“However, you cannot hide it forever.” Taka willed the web to dissolve and return to two separate wires, and then forming into a kusarigama. He held the sickle and some of the chain and began to whirl it above his head before throwing out the blade in a wide arch. He smiled faintly as the red Qi pulsed and moved. The tip of the sickle landed before Kento, and buried itself into the metal floor.

He missed! He – Spikes jutted out from the ground at a slight angle, surrounding him, before vanishing again completely. The ground showed no signs it even happened. “Every time the sickle lands, those will appear. It matter not where you are.”

Kento made another run for it, towards Taka. If there was a way to strike, he was leaving himself wide open for it. Taka frowned at the attempt and threw out the sickle past him. He flicked his wrist to start the arch again and quickly pulled it back. Kento ducked in time, feeling the kiss of the blade at his side, but continued on. The sickle scrapped the ground and Taka smiled with fervor. However, he failed to realize that the Qi had disappeared and he felt a dull force push him back into the wall.

He ignored it and began to repeat the process again until a wave of weakness washed over him; Taka instinctively looked down and saw a lone spike jutting out of his chest. “You caught on after two times,” he said, dropping the kusarigama. It immediately dissolved into two separate wires, and the wires dissolved as well. “I’m impressed; using that small time to tear off one of the spikes…”

Taka slumped to the ground, and took out a short sword, and rested it on top of his mortal wound. He then looked up at Kento, eyes shining brighter than before. “Go,” he said. “You’re ready.”

It took a moment to even register the faint words, and Kento nodded curtly before turning away. He was at a loss for words for once. He grimaced as he heard the sickening and familiar sound of sword against flesh and fought the urge to look back. The emergency lights switched off and returned to normal; the air was suddenly warm and moist.

Kento was still cold.