“Is this it?” I snatched my wrist out of Kasan’s hold as we halted in front of some sort of basement, an air of awkward displeasure drifting between our bodies.
The creaking door was left wide open and when I took a wary look inside, I was greeted by nothing but darkness. The only thing I could make out was the top of the stairs which was illuminated by a beam of light coming from outdoors, other than that, everything was submerged.
“Yes.” He hummed.
Following his confirmation, in a matter of seconds, I could feel my mustered courage begin to deplete, but I stood my ground despite the severity. I’m Clara Henry; the number one bitch in town and the most feared and tyrannical gangster among my father’s men. What Kasan saw back there was simply a typical reaction to a bullet I didn’t even see coming. The way I am now, Lucas can no longer scare me…
This is my chance to make sure both him and Kasan knows exactly that.
“If you dont want to–”
“No!” I quickly obstructed his path with an outstretched arm when he moved to close the door and shook my head vigorously.
“I’ll do it.” I swallowed my uncertainty and sucked in a deep breath. “Is there a light switch?”
Walking forward, I carefully settled one foot atop the stairs and ran my hands along the wall until my fingers grazed the dusty switch. Gulping, I switched on the light and slowly began descending the stairs, my heart beat suddenly appearing to be echoing throughout the whole room.
The place lit up quickly with a dull light overhead. Despite the opportunity to view the room now that it wasn’t in darkness, I intentionally kept my eyes straight forward –which was directly at the wall across the room– Kasan silently followed in tow.
I dreaded seeing Lucas more than anything. And if keeping my eyes on the wall would buy me a few mere seconds, then so be it.
“We’re here…” Kasan announced, his heavy footsteps resounding as he walked close behind me.
Those two words were similar to a quick shove into reality. I glanced back at him, stiffening. I didn’t exactly want to but I found myself waiting for him to catch up with me.
Pathetic?… Yes. But I failed to see it like that, rather, I was simply letting him lead the way.
“Who a-are you people?!”
As soon as the familiar voice echoed through the room, my whole body visibly vibrated and I unconsciously clutched the first thing the tips of my fingers caught…. which happened to be Kasan’s arm.
Lucas…
“W–Why are you doing this to me?!”
I remember those exact words very clearly. The pleading tone, the level of fear. Everything was on point, the exact same as I’d heard a few years ago….
The only difference was that back then, they weren’t coming out of Lucas’s mouth… but mine.
The roles had been somewhat reversed to an extent…. and I couldn’t say that I was pleased.
No, I certainly wasn’t.
I began to tremble on spot, my fingers tightening around Kasan’s arm as I drew impossibly closer to his body. He’s right here in front of me, I can’t see him, but hiding somewhere between all these junks… was Lucas Henry; my brother.
What am I to do? What am I to say?
Whilst I basically cooked my brain, Kasan lightly pulled me down the last set of stairs and upon reaching the level ground, the familiar scent of blood pricked my nostrils. Usually I’d bask in it almost everytime I gun down my enemies, but for some reason, this time, I dreaded it…. both the smell and the sight. I dreaded it so much that I suddenly began to feel nauseous.
Stuffing my nose into my shoulder, I finally mustered the will to allow my gaze to cease it’s peering at the wall and instead dart towards the source of his voice.
Lucas was still nowhere to be seen, but my eyes absorbed the sight around me. Four rusty metal chairs were flung across the room, countless boxes, chains and torture weapons littered the floor along with some useless junks I could barely even make out…. and atop everything was blood. I doubt I could find a single thing in this room that didn’t have a spec of blood splattered on it.
“He’s over there.”
Just then, right there before my eyes, I caught his black hair slowly peek out from behind a large cardboard box. Following his unkempt hair, pale blue eyes came into view and then bloodied cheeks and bruised lips.
His jaws were as sharp as I had remembered and the same went for his thin lips and oval-shaped face. The bottom half of his face, however, was packed with a messy long beard, his cheeks barely had any flesh under it and dark bags laid beneath his fear-striken eyes like a shadow. Not to mention the abundance of dry blood that stuck to him like a second skin.
His current expression held so many emotions, each as clear as day… fear, anger, confusion, hopelessness.
All in all, he was being treated as if he were less than a fucking prisoner….!
This was NOT what I wanted…. far from it. The state of him tightened my chest and I soon found it incredibly hard to breathe. In that moment, a single question ran through my mind….
Is it even possible to start over when things are already like this?
My gaze reverted over to Kasan’s figure and he glanced back at me as if sensing my stare, his expression openly screaming ‘disinterest’.
“What happened to him?” A sharp whisper left my lips, every word surging from between my lips like knives. But Kasan did nothing more than roll his eyes.
Clenching my jaw, I dug my nails into his arm the deepest they could go whilst my gaze narrowed into a hard glare. “I told you no–”
“Y-You’re asking… what h-happened… to me?!” A sudden indignant voice bounced off the walls and shook me to the bone.
My fingers left his skin as fast as ever, my ears twitching slightly as I stood on high alert.
“Is this a joke?!” He jumped to his feet, jingling the chains that kept him constrained in the corner. With his bare chest now exposed to all eyes, I could finally see the dark bruises littered all over his skin and the dozens of slashes across his pale chest and arms. His whole body was practically drenched in a pool of blood.
But even with all those wounds, he barely even flinched. It was only when he diverted his eyes away from me and glanced over at Kasan that he truly shook on the spot, his thick brows dipping in agitation.
How much did Kasan torture him? What the hell did he do to my brother?!
After uneasily gulping down my saliva to the point where my mouth practically ran dry, I drew in an extremely deep breath and took a slow but determined step toward him.
I won’t let things become what they were… He obviously doesn’t remember a thing, and that’s the perfect advantage here. I need to set this straight!
“L-Lucas… I–” I clutched the ends of my clothes tightly on each side, struggling to find the right words to not only ease him but also myself. “He… Kasan won’t hurt you.”
His eyes darted down to my moving feet and in an instant, they clouded over with suspicion.
“T-This is all just a misunderstanding. You’re safe he–”
“No!” He backed away and vigorously shook his head, immediately prompting me to cease my movements. “I woke up alone someplace without even the slightest memory of my own name, then out of nowhere dozens of people came rushing in. One minute they were smiling and telling me all sorts of unbelievable stuff and then another minute they’re running knives through my skin! And you’re telling me that I’m safe?! Here!? You think I’d believe that again?! Who… Who really are you people?” His voice croaked towards the end.
“No! That’s not w–”
“I’d appreciate it if you kept your voice at a decent level.” I paled as I felt Kasan’s large frame loom over me from behind. “We wouldn’t want to give our little play another go, would we?”
“Kasan!”
My call was easily ignored.
“You did some crazy shit to your little sister here.” I felt his large palm settle atop my head whilst his arm loosely wrapped around my waist. Then as his hot breath warmed my earlobes, a dark aura I knew so well dispersed into the air. “You should be thankful that she’s so annoyingly stupid, because without her, you wouldn’t even be standing. If I were you, I’d be kissing her feet right this instant.”
At that, Lucas’s eyes widened to the point where they were now threatening to pop out of his head. Confusion came in first. Surprise came second. And then realization sprawled over his face.
What would come next? Regret? Denial? Maybe annoyance? Fear? Whichever it was, I didn’t want to know. I wasn’t planning on telling him any of that at all…. not ever. Yet he just had to… Kasan just had to break it to him!
I bit my lip hard and spun out of his hold, settling my best glare unto his figure. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I spat through tight lips, my fingers slowly furling into a throbbing fist. I gritted my teeth when he refused to look me in the eyes much less even respond.
This fucking asswipe!!!!
“Those five minutes…” I dropped my gaze to the floor, my face hardening. “… aren’t they up? As promised, you nor your goons will lay your hands on him. And… get him out of this place, he isn’t a fucking prisoner.”
His eyes immediately spun with disapproval, but I didn’t bother giving him a chance to argue. Without another word, I stalked off, ignoring the feeling of my chest burning with a sudden surge of hopeless.
For some reason, I feel as if I’ve already failed even before I start. There’s no way this will ever work….
…. or will it?