Axel heard the familiar voice calling for Will and his face twisted, but he didn't slow down and he didn't allow Will to either. "Don't listen, Will. That's not Tessa anymore. Inside, now."
They'd reached the side door to the store house. Axel wrenched it open, herded Will through, and slammed it shut, immediately dragging crates across to block the entrance.
"Find a fast vehicle with a roof and start it up," he whispered over the muffled roar of the storm. He tried to put some calm authority back into his tone. "The keys are always under the gas pedal. Start it and wait in the passenger's seat for me, I'll be right there." Dashing to the rows of lockers to one side, he speedily unlocked one and pulled out a backpack full of emergency gear, as well as a second gun. Knowing that was all he had time for, he ran in search of Will, his ears twitching for the sound of someone trying to break in.
Charlotte saw the door to the building slam just as she broke through the last of the soldiers. Just as she was about to launch herself forward, a muscled arm hooked itself around her throat, pulling her back against a brick wall of a body. Her vision clouded immediately and she faltered, her legs trembling and begging to buckle.
Tessa blindly ran her dagger through a woman in front of her, wrenching it back with a scream. Jessie stood not far off, elbowing people in the stomach and stabbing them in the side when they doubled down.
Charlotte thrashed desperately against the man's iron grip and finally Tessa found her over. She slammed a nearby piece of stone against the soldier's head and both him and Charlotte collapsed.
Gasping, Charlotte pointed at the warehouse.
Tessa spared a glance for Charlotte, slowly getting back to her feet, and charged the store.house door. It didn't budge.
On the other side, Will heard a crash and faltered in his frantic efforts. Despite the chaos outside, someone was trying to get through. This was about him.
Tessa charged again, hearing the wood splinter but the door stay put. With a cry she tried again, and again, her shoulder bleeding and bruised, her heart hammering.
"Look for another door!" she yelled to Charlotte now on her feet.
Will was standing stock still. Axel was right, this wasn't the Tessa he'd come to know in the last couple years.
This was the real Tessa, desperate and emotional but infinitely stronger than the repressed soldier she had been. That he himself now was. And as always, she remained everything he wanted to be.
With a great breath he ducked behind the nearest car and silently crept around the store house walls, searching for an exit he could take.
Rick saw the girls scattering and slowed momentarily, debating who to stick with. After a second he chose Charlotte simply because she was injured and clearly being targeted by other soldiers who saw this as well. Fighting his way over, he used his height to his advantage and cleared some space around Charlotte so she could get up and catch her breath. It felt wrong to fight enemies who were almost all children, but there was no avoiding it. They were trying very hard to kill him.
When he heard the call to find another way into the warehouse, he yelled at the top of his voice to get Slash's attention. "Slash! C'mon over here, we need cover!"
Slash looked up with flashing eyes and bounded over. The cyclone followed him, so powerful by now that it was carrying trucks and people into the air. Slash stood between his friends and the enemy, focusing only on beating them back with the storm.
___
Axel reached the rows of cars just as someone started pounding on the side door. That was fine, they still had plenty of time to get away. He secured the backpack against his shoulders and looked around for Will.
Where was he?
"Will," he hissed, trotting between the jeeps and scanning each one for movement. "Will!"
There was nobody around. Axel stopped, going cold all over as the gears turned in his head. It was almost impossible to believe, but his senses told the truth. Will had vanished.
Instead of panicking or losing his temper, Axel was suddenly filled with a strange calmness. He went perfectly still, blocking out the crashing and yelling from outside. Like a cat, he crouched down and swept his gaze under each car, scanning the floor and straining his ears until just for a moment, he saw a pair of feet flit between two distant shelves.
He straightened and moved without making a sound. He would not be betrayed twice in the same day by those that mattered most. It was unthinkable. Will was a stupid, stupid kid who clearly couldn't see the truth. It was Axel's responsibility to keep him safe…..it might always be if he was this easily tricked. He would save Will from himself and they would escape.
The boy was putting all his training to work, clearly, but it was a small space and Axel had far more experience. He silently rounded the shelf just in time to catch Will coming the other way. He struck like a snake, spinning Will around and slamming him to the floor—he caught himself. Gently now. If he broke a bone, Will would only slow them down.
"Don't worry," he whispered, his voice unnatural but confident. "If you can't make the right choices, I'll have to make them for you." He leaned close. "Try to slip away again, and I'll be forced to knock you out until we reach safety. I promise I'll explain everything soon. Now get up and get back to the car."
With wide fearful eyes Will looked up at Axel from the floor. This did nothing but confirm that he had to get away from this place. He softened his expression as much as he could.
“You’re hurting me, Axel,” Will murmured in the most trembling, childlike voice he could muster. “I wasn’t trying to escape, I think someone’s coming around the side of the building. I didn’t want them to hear me.”
Just as he went to continue talking, somebody yelled just outside the building.
Charlotte stumbled around the corner. Moving as fast as her body allowed in its injured state, she ran by the side and back of the building.
“Tessa! Rick!” she cried, stopping dead. “Over here!”
Set into the back wall was a huge garage door accompanied by a small pin pad. Tessa stopped her useless pounding of the front door and joined her friend.
“I don’t have the codes to these. Axel only gave them to his personal guard.” She paused, looking over at Rick. “I don’t suppose you can injure a person enough to bring them back here without attracting too much attention? His guard have red crosses in their shoulders.”
Will lay perfectly still, heart pounding, trying with all his might to hear what they were saying. He could hear Tessa’s voice and more than ever longed for her maternal presence.
"Don't lie to me," Axel whispered, hearing the shouts too and pulling Will upright. "I taught you to feel no pain. I taught you to follow my orders to the letter. Do you know what they're going to do if they catch you, Will? They're going to torture you. They'll kill me, and hunt you down, and torment you until you believe their twisted words about me. Next they'll have you working for the enemy. The monsters that destroyed our country, like the one outside that's killing your fellow soldiers. Do you want to bow down to a murderous animal? That's what Charlotte wants."
It was a colossal effort to keep his voice calm as he bundled Will back to the cars. He knew there were people by the garage door now, and time was running short. "I understand you're confused and scared. I wanted to keep you safe— I didn't want to tell you how bad things were, but you gave me no choice. Just stick to me and everything will be all right." As much as he tried to sound gentle, his grip on Will's arm never loosened.
Rick listened to Charlotte over the scream of the wind and nodded, quickly turning to the fighters in front of them. In a moment he spotted a guard with a telltale cross on his uniform. While the guard was busy barking orders, Rick dashed over and grabbed him, lifting him off the ground by one painfully levered arm. He knocked away the man's gun and cracked his head against the side of the warehouse, stunning him. Carrying him back to the others so that both feet still dangled off the ground, as if he weighed nothing, he set the younger man down behind Slash's cover and spoke lightly.
"Right, partner, we got a little question for you. What's the code to this door? I ain't partial to the idea of hurtin' you worse, but my friends here might feel different if y'don't speak up quick."
Observing the ease with which Rick stunned the guard, Tessa glanced at Charlotte uneasily. Charlotte's attention, however, was fixed on the newcomer with an unfamiliar rage.
"Go on," she urged in a quiet growl that made Jessie edge closer to Tessa.
The man, barely older than Tessa, glanced up at Rick, betraying very little fear– though enough to prompt Charlotte to kneel close to him. He inhaled sharply.
His eyes followed her hand inching for the blade tucked into her belt. "He'll kill me if I tell you." He looked up at Tessa. "Please, miss. Come on. You know what he'll do to me." Tessa looked down at Charlotte and the dagger now in her hand. With his eyes fixed on Tessa, he whispered. "668903."
Will stumbled along in Axel's grip, sure of only one thing: if anyone was going to hurt him in this moment, it was the man now assuring him the opposite.
He steeled himself. He knew pain. He could do it.
Axel had taught Will the only thing that came to him– he'd have to be perfect.
He seized Axel's wrist and wrenched upwards and back, twisting himself inwards as hard as he could for leverage. Now facing Axel he shouldered the man to the side and tried to make a break for it, screaming himself hoarse to alert the people outside.
(me standing alone in my room grabbing my own shoulder and trying to figure out that maneuver lmao)
(lol! I've been there xD Also sorry for the wait, I got kinda stuck on how I wanted my characters to react and rewrote my reply a couple of times ^^; )
Axel cursed in sheer fury, diving after Will and swiping at him as he darted away. The situation was getting completely out of control. Why did this have to happen? Why were they all turning against him like this, why couldn't they understand? They were trying to take away the only thing he had left, and blame him for this whole mess. But he'd never done anything wrong.
His face twisted with hatred. It was Charlotte. All of this was her fault. Her fault that Tessa and Jessie turned on him, her fault that Will was about to do the same, her fault that everything was falling apart. She was the reason they hadn't been able to keep everyone alive, all those years ago. He seized this idea and clung to it like a lifeline.
Turning, he left Will to run and hide. There was no easy way out of this building anyway, except for the large door that was now guarded on the outside. He'd deal with the boy later. Storming over to a wall of weapons, he grabbed a handgun and a large, heavy machete. He was going to kill Charlotte himself.
Standing in the damp, muggy darkness just inside the garage door, he tried to control his breathing, waiting silently for it to open.
Rick patted the guard on the shoulder. "Axel won't kill you, son. Our mission includes takin' care of him before the day's over."
He was interrupted by the sound of screaming from inside the warehouse. He realized the situation could be very dire if Axel was getting desperate in his trapped situation.
"668903," he said to Charlotte quickly. "Let's move. What's our plan goin' in?"
(it's all good! always worth the wait. hope you feel like I'm doing your writing justice with my responses :P)
Charlotte tried to speak but failed, her breathing coming in short, painful bursts. "Get him," she managed. She was finding it strangely hard to think. "Get Will, run."
Somewhere in the back of her mind she was conscious of the fact that in her current state, she would not be able to run. Her shoulder was still bleeding and a faint pulsing sensation near her side told her she probably had an injury since now unnoticed. Even as she stood thinking more and more pain was beginning to set in. In any case, once they got Will, it was her Axel was going to go after. He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to hurt her for anything.
"Tessa, open the door." She turned to face Rick.
"Look at me," she told him, taking an unsteady step forward. "Look. Whatever happens, get all of them out of here." She grabbed his hand, callused and damp with sweat, and looked him in the eye. "You have to." She tightened her hold on his hands, half scared, half steadying herself. Promise me, she mouthed to him.
Tessa and Jessie, now holding each other, watched the exchange in silence. When Tessa detached herself from Jessie, the young girl grabbed her sister's hand and desperately tugged at it. Tessa shook her off.
"I'm going to open the door now. 668903?" she called to Charlotte.
Will ran, expecting Axel to come after him. When no footsteps sounded behind him, he slowed and risked a look back, ducking behind an armoured van. Axel was standing, armed, ready. He was out for blood.
If Will hadn't already been flooded with adrenaline he would have stumbled back– but pumped as he was every plan possible started running through his mind. He had to warn Tessa, but couldn't without attracting Axel's aggression. Alternatively he had to stop Axel, which at this stage meant seriously incapacitating him– just the thought of it made Will falter and question himself.
Running away, hitting Axel to escape him was one thing. But shooting him? Coming at him with a knife? Despite everything, despite what was left of Charlotte's soft voice in his mind, despite Tessa explaining over and over that they'd escape, they'd be rescued, everything would be alright again… despite knowing that Axel wasn't on his side, he couldn't hurt him. He wouldn't. And so Will pulled the smallest gun he could find from the wall, backed further into the building and behind a row of huge iron crates, and shot the rear window of one of the vans.
A distraction would have to do.
(Oh yes your responses are great!! This is getting really exciting xD)
Rick looked down at Charlotte through eyes stinging with grit from the storm and ears ringing with gunshots. It took him a minute to untangle her voice from the chaos all around them, but when he did, he felt like she'd torn him in two with a few words. She looked like she was going to collapse at any moment, so how could her eyes be so full of energy and authority right now? How could she put this burden on him when she was obviously the stronger one?
He wanted to say so much in reply, hardly any of it important. He wanted the battle to stop so he could tell her everything he felt and just how scared he was, all of a sudden. But there was no time. He knew this from every fight he'd ever been in, and the distinct weakening of Slash's stance at the center of the gale, and the burning light of the fully-risen sun over the stockade wall. By rights, Rick shouldn't have time to take a breath before the tides turned, let alone spill out his heart on the muddy grass. He'd just have to pray for another chance.
So in this knowledge, he met Charlotte's gaze and gave a single, tight nod. "Everybody's getting out," he promised fiercely.
Tessa's voice broke him out of the moment, and he turned quickly, unslinging his shotgun—the only weapon he trusted with his life. "That's the code. Open her up and get clear, now."
The echoing gunshot and shattering glass barely affected Axel's murderous resolve, but he ducked down all the same and whirled to pinpoint the noise. He was long past wasting words on Will now, his eyes blazing as he scanned the darkness. Was Will someone to kill or protect? He was having trouble remembering in the airless, stifling cage of the warehouse. Well, the boy was no threat either way. He could have easily ended Axel's life if he'd wanted to, when his back was turned. He would deal with him later.
As he straightened, a flash of movement in the shadows caught his eye. Perhaps he imagined it, for it didn't come again, but his attention was grabbed all the same. And in that span of a few precious seconds, he was truly distracted.
(god it really is, every possible ending really is running through my head rn)
Tessa ran for the electric pad as Jessie ran for cover out of the way of the oncoming fight. Charlotte looked down at the ground and pushed off from Rick, standing at the side, pistol held ready, steadied against her good shoulder.
Tessa entered the code and with a rumbling felt rather than heard over the storm just behind them, it slid up and along the ceiling. Axel was exposed.
With the reflexes of military training and maternal rage, it took Charlotte a split second to aim and shoot for Axel's leg– no one was dying today. Not even him. She broke off from the wall and started for the storeroom, desperate to get inside and find Will.
Tessa fumbled for her gun, hands shaking, trying to place herself so as to block Jessie from view as she tried to get her weapon out.
Will was crouched behind the crates still, not moving, not breathing. All he had heard was a gunshot, and who knew what end was attached to that sound? He gripped the handgun against his chest.
"Will?" Charlotte called into the building, trying to move quietly as she could.
(saaame >w<)
The pain from the bullet exploded through Axel's leg, and instantly he fell. The muscle and bone around the wound were a hopeless mush, utterly unable to bear his weight. Charlotte's aim was as true as ever—he knew it was she who'd hit him without having to see her do it. But it wouldn't be enough to kill him, and certainly not enough to beat him yet.
As he crashed to the ground, he rolled. The darkness of the large, cluttered room served him well, and in seconds he was hidden behind a row of crates.
Slowly, painstakingly dragging himself upright.
Waiting for Charlotte to come into view.
Rick stayed protectively close to the girls, hoping Slash would be able to hold off Axel's remaining troops long enough for them to escape. Every nerve was buzzing as he eyed the empty warehouse, his instincts shouting that they were horribly vulnerable walking in the open like this. "Charlotte," he hissed. "Stick to me. Will ain't alone in here." He urged Tessa and Jessie forward, hurrying to catch up to Charlotte's unsteady outline.
Tessa followed immediately, her gun finally in place. She stuck to the cars which offered ample cover and started trying to spot Axel in the shadowy corners.
Charlotte had barely registered Rick behind her but halted nonetheless, calling for Will again, her strength surging up and down as she hobbled forward. As she went she finally registered how many crooks and corners were lost to darkness. She slowed, hunting for any sound, any movement.
Will, meanwhile, got to his knees and was just tall enough to see above the wall of crates behind which he sat. He could make out a handful of shuffling footsteps including who he guessed was Jessie judging by the lightness and speed, and a much larger someone, probably man, near the far wall. Then he heard his name again. With a long and careful look around him, he judged it safe to stand.
He could now see two unidentifiable people creeping along the far wall; whoever it was, it wasn’t Axel. He stepped over the crates and forward quickly, not wanting to be exposed too long. Charlotte stopped immediately at the new pair of footsteps and looked up to see a young boy she barely recognised coming at her from one of the corners of the room. She couldn’t stifle her cry of relief.
« Will, » she gasped, lowering her weapon and throwing her arms around his thin frame. He stiffened in her hold, conscious of the danger of the situation.
« We need to get out of here. He’s still around. Where’s Tessa? » he asked, avoiding Charlotte’s watery gaze. He didn’t acknowledge Rick.
Tessa and Jessie had also stopped to listen to the faint whispering.
« They’re not moving. Why aren’t they moving? » Jessie murmured anxiously.
(I'm stuck on how to do this next bit, and I don't necessarily want any of my characters to take away Charlotte's chance to personally defeat her arch-enemy, so: Collecting bids now on who's going to take a bullet for Charlotte deal with Axel lol. For the record, it would take more than a handgun bullet to kill Rick if he jumped in the way and I kind of like the narrative impact of that idea xD)
Rick stood back, partly to let Will and Charlotte have their space, partly to keep an eye on their surroundings. He waved for Tessa and Jessie to come on over, wanting someone to help him watch the sinister shadows all around them. But right as he did so, a couple things happened.
The storm vanished. One minute they were surrounded by howling winds and flickering lightning, and the next everything was totally still outside. In the quiet that followed, the groans of Axel's soldiers could be heard, and a few weak orders were being given, but it seemed that the majority of the task force had fallen or run off. After a pause, Slash came staggering through the door of the warehouse, his legs trembling. He had blood dripping freely from his nose, and one of his eyes was glazed with cloudy red. He was soaked to the skin and looked exhausted to the point of confusion.
"Jessie," he called hoarsely, only able to see her and Tessa as he entered. "I'm….I'm tired. Are we leaving soon….?"
The other thing that happened was that Axel caught a glimpse of the group as Will stepped forward. The sight of the boy running to Charlotte so easily rekindled his rage, and he seethed as he took aim at Charlotte's heart. But the two of them were embracing now, and he couldn't get a clear angle, and the pounding pain from his leg was making his hands shake. He spat out curse after silent curse, trying to brace himself against the crates to steady his aim and willing his target to remain distracted just a few seconds longer.
( okay I haven't read it yet but would you hate me forever if charlotte like………died. or got seriously injured. cause in my head they get will and charlotte like throws herself at axel to save them time fully knowing she's lost blood and won't win and then like, dies,,,,. but if we can't handle that then maybe rick comes back for her and they kill axel together and then they RUN. ???)
( I'm too weak, I can't handle Charlotte dyinnggggggg :< :< :< But seriously injured is ok with me if you want lol. Maybe Charlotte and Axel hurt each other at the same time and that's why he can't finish her off right away (but she's still in bad shape) which gives the others enough time to get away and Rick to come back before anybody dies???)
( jesus christ slash no he's so endearing. anyway as for the rest: I'd like her to be injured if that doesn't make me sound too sadistic bc angst. So here's what I'm thinking, jessie reacts loudly to seeing Slash hurt, distracts charlotte and axel gets the perfect shot and charlotte gets shot and tessa just has enough time to shoot axel somewhere non lethal, and charlotte tells Rick to get everyone out so he leaves and comes back for her just before axel can finish her off??? what do we think?)
( otherwise, to your original idea, charlotte distracted, axel shoots but rick jumps in the way, tessa shoots axel and then gets the little ones one and charlotte is now full of adrenaline bc fuck, rick got shot, he could've died, and so both of them finish off axel together and then everyone runs?)
( ahhhhhh sorry for interrupting the last crucial moments :'( )
(Ok!! I totally get it lol sometimes ya just need your character to get beat up TvT I'm cool with this plan, let's do it! xD)
( WAIT I just saw your second post! Oohh I can't decide lol, I'll leave it up to you!!)
(I guess for what it's worth, Rick jumping in front of Charlotte feels more in-character for him than leaving her to possibly die, but yeah I'm cool either way lol)
(whatever happens it starts the same SO)
Focused on how urgently he needed to get away from these grounds, Will detached from Charlotte and glanced at the giant man next to her, waving at people Will couldn't see.
Tessa. He moved forward away from Charlotte just as Jessie, having looked behind her to see a battered Slash, let out a choked cry of fear.
"Slash?" came her trembling voice. She ran towards him and grabbed him by the shoulders, careful not to shake him. "Are you okay? Look at me please. Slash?" Her voice fell to a whisper as she searched his confused face, softly wiping the blood off with her sleeve.
Charlotte reflexively grabbed Rick's arm at Jessie's cry of fear. "Slash?" she asked him as she craned her neck to see what was happening above the vans between them all.
(Eeeee ok!!)
Slash focused on Jessie with difficulty, but when he did, his expression cleared and relaxed. "I'm okay," he mumbled faintly, "Jus' real tired. Sorry I let the storm quit, but I couldn't make it keep going for some reason……anyway, I think we'd better go….I want a nap…."
((….Gah I'M GOIN FOR IT))
Axel heard the shouts, saw heads turn. In an instant, Charlotte was standing in plain view, her eyes locked on something happening by the door. She stood completely frozen, like a nocturnal deer poised alertly in the half-dark. He could make the shot, but it had to be now. With blazing single-mindedness, he surged forward and sideways, knocking against the boxes, lining up the sights of his gun perfectly over her heart. Beautiful.
A single breath in, a single breath out, and he pulled the trigger.
Rick was watching Jessie talk to Slash when he heard a small scuffle off to his left and caught a blur of movement in the corner of his eye. He just barely saw a face, twisted with an almost animal malevolence, and the cold gleam of a weapon pointed right at him. Or, wait….not at him. At Charlotte.
There was no moment where time seemed to stand still. No feeling of moving in slow-motion, no flash of clarity allowing Rick to choose what to do. He may have said oh no you don't as he lunged forward, or perhaps he merely thought it to himself. Either way, there was no rational contemplation behind his actions. He simply enveloped Charlotte in his arms and turned his back to block the bullet, long before his brain actually registered what was going on. There was a heavy impact just below his right lung, a crack of bone, a feeling like a tiny black hole had formed inside him—and then he hit the ground, Charlotte falling out of his suddenly loose grip. Axel's furious scream sounded very far away.
(OKAY LET'S DO THIS I GUESS)
Just as Jessie was about to answer Slash, Tessa heard something behind her. She whipped around with her gun at the ready– and saw Axel's own gun raised. Panic struck her and she aimed and shot just as he did. Caught by surprise by his gunshot, her bullet didn't hit home, instead burying itself in his side.
Charlotte didn't even have time to look up before Rick was on her, dragging her to the floor. Only when Axel screamed and blood slicked her chest did things start to fall into place; Rick on the floor, Axel and Tessa with their guns raised, Rick on the floor. Rick on the floor and blood on her hands.
A crimson stain had bloomed near Rick's ribs, a stain that spread easily as she watched. A dull ringing noise seemed to be filling her head as her hands reached forward and her voice worked on its own.
"Rick?" it called. "Can you hear me?" Her hands were tearing open his shirt, bunching it up, pressing down on the wound. The bullet was still inside him somewhere, but there was nothing she could do about that now. "Tessa!" her voice screamed. "Tessa!" she screamed again. "Take over for me. Jessie, get Slash and Will out of here."
Charlotte looked up and saw him. Right there. She reached for her own gun and got up, all the pain in her body having somehow subsided. She carefully walked slightly closer to the lone figure.
"Get up!" she called to it, her voice chilled and razor-sharp. "Get the fuck up, Axel. Look at me." She stopped walking about ten feet from his spot, the barrel of the gun trained on his silhouette.
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