Chapter 25: Torturous Emotions
Ember Corbin
I tried to open my eyes, but all I could see was darkness around me with only one bulb hanging in front of me. It felt like I was kidnapped by Lance. The only difference was the back of my head was still hurting like hell and there was a sticky feeling on my nape as if there was dried blood there.
I tried to speak until I noticed that there was something in my mouth. Argh!
I slumped my shoulders in defeat, my head aching a lot. My eyes scanned the room one more time to see if I could see clearly this time, but all I could see was endless darkness, which made my heart throb fast in fear.
I was running out of breath, and the tape on my mouth was really not helping me.
"Hep!" I tried to shout as I opened my mouth widely, but the duct tape didn't even move a little. I tried to shake the chair that I was tied with, but it looked like it was glued to the floor.
"Hep!"
I tried calling for help as the air in my lungs was not enough for me to sustain in this dark room. My claustrophobia was kicking in.
I desperately wanted someone to save me.
Lance! Right, Lance! Where's Lance? Where isn't my rescuer here? I'm so scared. Please, Lance. Where are you? I feel like I'll die in this place.
My eyes were getting blurry as tears poured out.
"Oh, dear," I heard a voice speak.
I tried to open my eyes when I heard someone approaching. He reached for my face, and I tried to lift my head, but I was too weak to do so.
"Dear, it's okay." Once he reached my face, he immediately pulled off the duct tape that made me gasp desperately for air.
"Are you okay?" the man asked me worriedly, and I nodded at him, still confused.
Who was this man? I was about to ask him when he suddenly went to my back, and I felt the rope around me loosen.
"You need to go, or else, he'll kill you. Just run in that direction, and you'll find a door," he said, which made me even more confused.
This guyâwas he like the good guy in every villain's story?
"Go quickly," he urged me when we suddenly heard a lot of footsteps in our direction.
My mind became blank with anxiousness, and my feet unconsciously moved and started running.
Oh, my God, what if they catch him and kill him? I looked back while running, but a shiver ran down my spine when I saw that same man, who helped me, wearing a psychotic smile.
"Ahh!" My body fell to the floor when a piece of steel hit my neck hard, and suddenly a big wave of electricity zapped into my system, shaking me to the core. It felt like I was struck by lightning just now. Was I just electrocuted?
I noticed some black devices connected to my upper arms, and my mind flashed with the memories of those days in the asylum where I was electrocuted on a regular basis.
"Argh..." I groaned weakly, and my heartbeat tripled when I felt a hand on my feet.
I heard a mixture of laughter while I was being dragged by my feet like a horror movie, only it was worse because I knew it was the doing of a cruel human, and I had no idea what I had done to this person to deserve this.
"You fool! Do you really think you can escape?"
I couldn't believe that the guy who helped me was the same guy who was looking at me psychotically.
"Tie her again!"
My blurry eyes were starting to see clearly this time. I looked to my left and saw a big guy with a bunch of tattoos lifting me up with just my right arm, and that hurt like hell.
I gathered all my strength and tried to strike the big man with my elbow, making him falter back. I tried to look around for somewhere to run, but I couldn't see anything.
The psychotic man whistled in amusement. "Impressive." Then, he turned his hard gaze to the bigger man. "Are you so weak to be knocked over by a little girl? If you are, then let me know, and I'll do you the honor of blowing your brains out."
The big man firmly grabbed both of my arms and dragged me to the chair.
"Wâwho are you?" I asked weakly while blinking so that my eyesight could become more precise.
I gasped a bit when he leaned forward at me with a big smirk. He was holding a knife and caressed my face with its edge like a serial killer.
"Well, how do I start? Let me hear you scream first."
I stared at him confusedly, trying to figure out if he wanted me to scream myself. When he saw me staring at him blankly, he looked down at his hand and immediately laughed.
"Oh! Sorry, silly me. Now, scream!"
"Ahh!"
He pressed the knife on my shoulder deeply, cutting into my flesh. I winced in pain, my heart throbbing so fast that my lungs couldn't produce enough air for me.
"Wha...t do you...want?" I managed to ask.
I screamed once again when he dug the knife deeper into my flesh. He took a step backward, looking at me delightfully.
"Oh, my God, Lance will love this."
I stared at him, furrowing my brows. Did he know Lance?
"Of course, I know him. I'm sure your dad knows him too," he said like he could read my thoughts well.
My wound was already deep enough to ache like hell. However, I tried to control myself from screaming. The last thing I wanted was to give that pleasure to this mad man.
"What do you meanâ" I stared at him with a shocked expression when I felt something dig into my stomach, wrenching through my guts.
I slowly looked down and shivered at what I saw. I looked at him again, and this time, he was smiling innocently at me. No...
My eyes were wide as I watched him pull out the knife that he pierced into my stomach. I could feel a lot of blood flowing as I lost the strength to even scream this time. The pain was something I couldn't even explain.
God, I didn't want to die, not when I had finally started being happy after getting Lance in my life, not like this where I had no idea why I was here. I wasn't scared of death until now, but I was now, because I had someone to lose and that someone would mourn my death.
I gasped when he stabbed me again, but this time he took a step back and stared at me like I was his masterpiece.
"No, no. You can't die yet. I'm about to tell you who's behind your parent's death. Oh, by the way, your dad committed suicide a couple of years because he was unable to clear his debts. Sad, isn't it?" he asked, and I heard a bunch of men laughing around him. They were just watching me get injured and having fun at my expense, and I couldn't even see them.
"Whaâ" I tried to talk, but I felt really weak. Was this really how I would die? But I needed to see Lance first. I needed to tell him he hadn't gained any weight.
"Eight years ago, someone ordered to kill your mom when your dad couldn't clear his debts. He wanted some time, so I was assigned a task to kill you if your father didn't pay even after seven years. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for you, your dad didn't pay and killed himself. So here we are, eight years later."
I quietly listened to him, not even trying to speak because I knew I would faint.
As my eyes started to welcome darkness, I heard him say, "The person who gave that order was Lance Storm."
___
Lance Storm
"Find her!" I shouted at my men when I received a call from Zethâthat asshole.
At first, I thought he was bluffing, but I learned that Ember didn't come to work today. I tried tracking her phone down, but Zeth was not that dumb. He made sure to turn her phone off. I felt extremely guilty when I saw her latest messages to me; I was sleeping deeply at that time because I had just fallen asleep only a few hours ago.
"I already sent our men to places where Zeth could be. We would be hearing from someone any minute nowâ" Arthur was cut when his phone suddenly rang.
He talked for a while on the phone, then said to me, "I think we found them."
We immediately got into our cars with a bunch of men. Our intel told us that Zeth had a private operation and only his trusted men were included. That was a piece of good news for us; it meant they were a small group.
"Arthur, surround the building with our men. I want every exit block," I ordered.
He nodded and gathered his men to move.
"Denver, go to your position and tell our men to shoot every goddamn person, except Ember," I instructed.
Denver and his group were specialized snipers. They were known for their combat skills.
I started walking with two guns in my hand. A room with two guards was my goal. I could feel her presence there.
"If we kill you, we can even rule the gang!" A man advanced to me with a baseball bat in his hand. He swung it to me, but he was too slow, so I dodged it. I aimed for his opening and shot thereâone down, one more to go.
"Coward!" I yelled when I saw him running away. Bad newsâhe would die anyway.
"Zeth!" I shouted in anger when I saw him standing in front of a chair. He snickered at me and raised his arms like he was surrendering when I aimed the gun at him.
"Where is she?" I asked darkly, but this asshole couldn't take anything seriously. Everything was fun for him.
I was about to shoot him when he glanced at his back, and there I saw Ember with her head hanging down and her hair covering her forehead and eyes. My heart spiked in fearâso much fear that I couldn't remember ever experiencingâand the guilt that was already eating at my chest increased a hundred times. It was all my fault.
"What did you do? You motherfuckerâ" I was cut when he suddenly lowered his arm and aimed the gun at Ember while he was standing in front of her.
"No!" I shouted, and I saw how the smile slowly spread across his face. Never in my life had I ever wanted someone to survive more than I did at that moment.
"Kneel," he said excitedly and put his index finger on the trigger.
"Okay, okay." I slowly kneeled down, not dropping my eyes from his face. Of course, I didn't give it a second thought, because I would do literally anything for that bleeding woman on the steel chair.
"Oh, my God! Lance Storm is kneeling in front of me!" he announced it to no one in particular, but I couldn't care less about my humiliation. I just wanted to save Ember, no matter what the cost.
"This is why one shouldn't fall in love. It makes you weak, and I want you to stay the strongest as ever. I care for the gang, unlike you, so I have to end your only weakness," Zeth proclaimed while laughing like crazy. I grabbed that chance to look at Ember properly.
"N-No..." I whispered to myself when I saw a knife buried in her stomach with blood dripping from it.
"Oh, do you like it? Look!"
My breath hitched when he pushed Ember's head back, and I saw a lot of cuts on Ember's arms and face. I stared at him in disbelief while he kept smiling at me. My mind went blank when I saw another stab in her stomach. The last thing I remember, my hand moved automatically to aim for his head.
"No...No one hurts my Ember," I uttered and pulled the trigger before Zeth could even raise his gun at me.