Normal Blood

Chapter 13- I Wanna Be Safe Again...

Mitch's POV

     "Hey, punk!" I started from my fitful sleep, scrambling away from the side of the jar that Eric was staring at me from. "Wake up! You're being bought by a really rich family." He sneered as I pressed against the jar, away from him as far as possible. My jeans and shirt were ripped up, and sadly my hoodie too ( :'<),  and there was a little bit of blood showing on one of my legs. Let's just say that Eric got his fun by torturing me. With string.

     A little kid around the age of six ran into the room, followed by Eric's boss and two more adults, I'm guessing the kid's parents. I realized that the kid was running over to me, so I leaned back even further.

     "Is this it? It really does look just like BajanCanadian!" She squealed. I flinched at how loud her voice was as she turned to her parents with excitement shining in her eyes. "I want him!" She announced. Her father frowned at me, studying me like I was being criticized.

     "Is that blood on its leg?" He asked.

     "No of course not." Eric piped up. "Aelam spent very long making this doll seem as realistic as possible." I froze, my breathing picking up even faster. His boss' name was Aelam?

     "Indeed I did." Aelam purred from behind the parents. "And of course, I spent very long making the structure and its mechanics seem real, but the 'blood' is washable."

     "Interesting." The mother murmured.

     "How much is it?" The father asked. "You said it was worth ninety six hundred pounds, right?" Oh no. Even worse, they were from England. This is bad, this is very very very bad.

     "Yes."

     "... We'll take it." The blood drained from my face in terror until he added, "But we'll need to go back to our vault here in America to collect the more of our pounds, then we'll be back."

     "Of course, of course, thank you very much." They shooed the family away, leaving me to let my shoulders sag in relief. Then I heard a quiet thud behind me, and I slid forward as the jar was picked up. I yelled in alarm, banging into the side of the jar.

     "Shh!" The voice hissed. "It's me Mitch." I whirled around, still leaning against the glass as I realized who it was.

     "S-Seto?" I stammered, my voice an octave higher than normal. He nodded before pulling his cloak back over his head, hiding his face as he ducked behind the counter that the jar had been resting on. "H-Ho-how?" I croaked, resting my hand on the smooth glass. He looked down at me.

     "Samantha had a feeling that Eric would be back near his old house." He whispered, unscrewing the lid. As soon as it was off, I took a deep breath to breathe in the fresh air while Seto reached into the jar and picked me up. I flinched when the injuries on me were pressured, and he frowned. "Did they hurt you?" He asked quietly, setting the jar down beside him. I nodded jerkily, breathing heavily.

     "Sh-shouldn't we g-get moving?" I questioned, trying to avoid the fact that I was hurt. He glanced past the counter.

     "Samantha should be  keeping them occupied-" I heard a smash, and one of Aelam's men flipped over the counter. I started in alarm, flinching against Seto as I heard footsteps, then I saw Samantha jump on top of the counter.

     "Coast clear." She announced. "Let's get out of here." Seto got up to his feet as Samantha slid off the counter, neatly landing on the floor. They both left the room and walked through a few hallways, men knocked out here and there. I stared at each unconscious person in confusion.

     "H-how d-did you-?" I stammered. Samantha looked down at me.

     "Magic and a girl who spent her life learning to fight for survival. What'd you expect?"

     "W-what about th-the others?"

     "They're safe back at home. I had them take extreme precautions." She picked up her pace, turning the corner, only to almost run into a guy.

     "You." Eric hissed, backing up.

     "Seto get Mitch out of here. I'll take care of him." Samantha ordered, glaring at Eric with such hate I would never have expected to see on her face. Seto ran down the other hall, slipping me in his pocket.

     "W-will Samantha be ok?" I asked.

     "Yeah don't worry. Apparently she knows judo, mixed boxing and even some karate from her journeys as a Tiny."

Samantha's POV

     "Honestly, did you really expect to go here with out running into me?" I rolled my shoulders at Eric's words.

     "I intended to." I spat the words angrily back at him. He tilted his head.

     "Why do you even care about him? Why do you even attempt to stop our plans? It's futile." I let my right foot slide back a few inches, in a boxing position.

     "Because when I needed help, they were there for me. They cared-and still do- about me, so I care about them. And they're now my family. You've been out of the picture always. Now get out of my way." I hissed. He narrowed his eyes.

     "Very well." He rolled his sleeves up. "Go ahead, let's fight, I usually don't hit girls... but well, you're an exception. Go ahead, try something."

     "Age before beauty." I taunted. He clenched his jaw, then took a swing at me. I ducked, twisted around and kicked him. He grabbed my foot and tried to either flip me over or dislocate it. I turned in the air with the direction and kicked him in the stomach with my other foot. He grunted and let go, letting me land on my two feet. He tried a sweeping kick, but I jumped to the side, hitting the wall and jumping again. Thanks to my workouts as a Tiny, I was in good enough shape to go all Laura Croft or Black Widow on this punk.

     I landed behind him, and as he turned around I gave him a blow to the cheek. He tried to punch me again, but I ducked and wall jumped over him again, only this time landing on his back. I wrapped my legs around his neck and swung myself around, dragging him in a wobbly circle before I let go and flung him to the ground. I pinned him down and turned him over.

     "This is for what you did to me!" I landed a punch on his jaw, hearing a click. "This is for what you did to Mitch!" Another punch. "And this is for shrinking the guys, and almost killing one of my friends!" After the last punch, I had knocked him out cold. I inhaled deeply, staring at his unconscious face expression. I had done it. I had defeated the man who had instilled terror in me all those years ago.

     "Well done, Samantha Verona." I froze then slowly looked up to see a man leaning casually against the wall, sipping coffee out of a small mug. "You defeated my right hand man, and most of my other men. I gotta say, I'm impressed." He commented. I balled my fists, getting up slowly.

     "Get out of my way." I threatened. He took another sip and stepped to the side with a cold grin on his face.

     "You should know," He started as I walked past him. "he was only doing what I told him to." I stopped, my back to the man. Then the turned around.

     "Oh yeah? And who are you?" I taunted.

     "Now now, it wouldn't be fun for me to spoil the fun. But you can call me Aelam." He purred. I gritted my teeth and turned away from him again, walking down the hall in a lapsed silence, waiting for him to send someone to try to catch me.

     But all there was was ominous silence, even as I opened the door at the end of the hallway and pushed past it, letting the door shut behind me with a threatening slam.