The Alien Agenda 2

[Chapter 15: Lara]

I whipped my head around, only to see the man gone from sight. Axel noticed my trepidation and scanned the surroundings.

"Axel, let's get out of here..." I said to him quietly. He nodded without hesitation. I said a quick thanks to the old woman at the stall and immediately headed for the port.

Inya was probably waiting for us at the port. We had to get back on board. Instincts were telling me it would be unsafe to stay on ground any longer. The man probably had reinforcements on land. Whoever these Lara Clan people were, I did not want to find out what they were capable of.

We steered through the throngs of people, trying move as fast as we could. When we finally broke out from the crowd, we looked around cautiously. The port was not far from the edge of the market. I was about to make a run for it when I heard Axel curse aloud from behind me.

He turned to the right, the opposite direction from the port, and bolted.

"Axel!" I cried running behind him.

"It's Inya! One of those men got her!" Axel responded hastily as we ran.

I scanned the thicket of trees we were running into and then caught sight of two burly men hoisting my struggling friend. She was tied up and gagged. The men were running deeper and deeper into the forest.

Axel and I glanced at eachother for a moment and then nodded, reading eachothers' minds .

They messed with the wrong person...

Finally getting back in gear, I began charging in full speed. I ran through the forest, leaping over large twisted roots, through the thicket of trees. It felt exhilarating and nostalgic all the same. It was just like when in Bermuda. The bitter feeling began reawakening my senses.

We did not stop as we neared the men. I was a trained fighter. I could take them. I lashed out in full swing, leaping and slamming my foot hard on the man's shoulder. He grunted in pain and dropped Inya. I heard a muffled yelp coming from my tied up friend as she hit the ground.

Before I could help her, the man charged at me pulling out a nasty blade from its sheath.

Great. I was unarmed.

He slashed his blade at me but I dodged it swiftly. He continued his attempts to slice me down, but I successfully dodged every blow. I swung and kicked his groin before tackling the large man to the ground and elbowing his pressure point, knocking him out.

I turned to see Axel surrounded by three men, all brandishing weapons, backing him to a corner. I turned to Inya to see her struggling to stand and free herself from her bonds. Before I could move to help one of them, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my skull.
All of a sudden I could not move. My limbs were suddenly frozen in place. I felt constricted physically. Another two men grabbed Inya, while Axel suddenly frozen in place as well. I heard a low chuckle coming from the trees.

A man dropped down from one of the branches and landed gracefully on the ground. I gasped, or more like tried to gasp.

It was the same man, from back in the ship and the marketplace. I noticed that all his men had similar Sankra on their faces. The Lara Clan!

"Great attempt. But not good enough," he said amused at our efforts to stop his men and save Inya.

I clenched my teeth. This man was paralysing me through the Akashic. I knew the technique. I had to break free somehow.

Axel and Inya were both tied up, unable to free themselves from the Akashic bonds. The man ordered his allies to hoist them onto their animal vehicles. I was unaware on what animal it was.

I tried focusing to break out of the Akashic. Little by little I felt my fingers move, and then my toes. I was slowly freeing myself. However my success did not go unnoticed. The mysterious man turned to me with an amused expression. He walked over to me.

"Not bad... Trying to break free I see. Quite admirable," he said with a smirk, lifting my chin. His amber eyes bore into mine. I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

He let go of my chin and turned away. "Men, knock this one out," he ordered before walking away.

A sharp pierce on my neck was all I felt before I fell unconscious.

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I was unconscious. I wandered through my mind in a daze.

Conciousness felt so close to my senses. However, when I tried to grasp it, I felt something pull it further away. It was frustrating. I steeled myself and dove after my consciousness. The force tried to pull it away from my grasp but I was adamant. With a burst of energy I disintegrated the invisible force, I forced myself awake.

I awoke to the sound of humming. The more concious I grew the more I discerned that the humming was actually a chant. The chant was entrancing, almost causing me to sway to its tune. That was before I realised I was in a cage. A small, round, stone cage, in a large clearing in the forest.

I jerked into a sitting position, only to see a group of cloaked people sitting in a circle around a large crystal placed on a pedestal on the grassy ground. Their faces were obscured but their voices rang clearly in an eerie harmony of chants.

I looked around and noticed another two cages, Axel and Inya held captive in them. They were both still unconscious. I scanned the cages and found the large metal lock held tightly in place. The lock had engravings on it and a small blue crystal lay embedded in place of the keyhole. How was I supposed to unlock it, if there was not even a keyhole?

The chanting came to an abrupt end. I froze in place at the sudden silence. I dared to look up and noticed all the cloaked figures were facing me. One of the cloaked figures removed his hood to reveal the man who captured me. His bronze skin glinted in the sunset light along with his Sankra that cut across his face. I suspected he was their leader.

A malicious grin spread across his face. I felt a voice speak in my head.

Welcome to The Lara Clan