I have never warned you guys about a cliffhanger before. But I feel the need to warn you about this one. It is pretty intense and some of you might want to wait for the next update (sometime next week) first. For those of you who don't mind, hope you enjoy :)
The ship rocks back and forth wildly as Lazarus fly's us out of Earth's atmosphere, hurdling us into outer space at a frantic pace.
The tight piece of wire is still wrapped firmly around my waist. I push at it but it remains as stubborn as ever. I search the small control room desperately, looking for any weapon I can use to hurt him.
I spot a laser gun latched into the wall across from me and stare at Lazarus's broad back. He is still focused on keying in our coordinates, now might be the only time I have.
I move silently, using my knees as I crawl across the floor, keeping my eyes on him the entire time. I barely make it halfway when he turns around and spots me.
He laughs at me, a loud maniacal sound that echoes throughout the control room, grating my ears. I've never heard him sound like this, never seen him look so disheveled and unhinged.
I scramble towards the gun desperately only to have him grab me by the neck and pull me back.
Up close I can see that his eyes are blood shot and his fingers dig into my skin making me wince in pain.
"You are just so pointlessly persistent, aren't you?" He drags me back to the wall and pulls my arms above my head.
I struggle against him but my efforts are useless, he is much stronger than I remember. His grip on my wrists are like iron as he locks my hands to a contraption in the wall.
Once he is done, he smiles in satisfaction and leans back. "There that should keep you in place."
He gets up and goes back to the control board, leaving me to my discomfort. I move my wrists against the sturdy, smooth metal handcuffs. They hold my hands above my head, forcing me to lean forward and soon my arms start to ache.
I stare daggers at Lazarus only to see him punch the smooth surface of the control board. He screams in frustration and walks back and forth as he runs his hands through his hair.
"Everything's ruined. It's all ruined," He mutters to himself, paying little attention to me.
Something catches his eye on the monitor and he turns to me for a second. His eye's alight with glee, but he looks so crazed, so unlike his usual smug self that it sends a bolt of fear down my spine.
"He's following us," He smiles widely. He fiddles with the monitor, his attention now focused on its small screen like it is his lifeline. "And he's alone."
My heart sinks to my stomach and dread fills my veins, making me want to retch.
"You don't have to do this. You're alive. You've escaped. You can go wherever you like, no one will find you," I say hopefully.
"I'm not a coward. I will not hide like Lucian did just because I have lost," Lazarus clenches his fists to his sides and turns to me again. He grits his teeth, looking angrier than I've ever seen him.
"This entire thing was an abomination. Lucian and all those ugly, disgusting aliens fighting together like they were all on the same level. You, a worthless little human, fighting with them," He wipes his face with his hand, paralysed with disbelief. "If our Plutonian ancestors saw this they would be turning in their graves. Lucian has destroyed everything we Plutonians built for millennia. Our very empire is in destruction and now the aliens run amok, thinking they are equal to us. It is the worst thing I could have ever imagined."
My lips purse together as I scowl at him. Even after his very own Plutonian soldiers turned against him, he still can't see the error of his ways. He still thinks it is all Lucian's fault and of course the rest of us aliens who are supposedly beneath him.
Lazarus goes on and on, mostly complaining and shouting about how Lucian has destroyed the empire. I lose interest in his repetitive words and shift around, trying to ease the pain in my arms.
It is to no avail. He's locked my hands high over my head, it feels like my arms are slowly being ripped away from my body. I lean back, causing some discomfort in my back but the pain reduces momentarily.
I stare outside, wondering where he is taking us. It feels like we have been flying for hours despite the flight into hyperdrive.
Familiar clusters of rock come into view and the dullish white grey expanse of those planets makes my blood run cold.
"Where are you taking me?" I finally ask.
Lazarus stops pacing and turns to me, his eyes narrow to slits reminding me of the creatures that live on the constellation we are approaching.
"Haven't you been here before, Bone Breaker?"
"Why?" I shudder and struggle in my handcuffs uselessly. "This is a death wish."
Lazarus walks up to me and bends down. He forces me to drink some water, enjoying the fear in my eyes as I stare out the window.
"I think it's the perfect place. No one will ever come here to look for you two."
I gulp down the water he has fed me, my parched throat momentarily relieved. The Serpentine Constellation draws closer and closer. We aren't even on the icy ground yet but I have started to shiver.
"You are insane," I breathe out. He's brought us to the worst place imaginable as if he isn't afraid of dying here either.
Lazarus sniggers. "And you are nothing but an abomination. All you had to do for serve us and even that you couldn't do. We should have destroyed your species the moment we found out about you humans. At least then you would have never existed."
I'm used to his belittling by now but this somehow makes me burst out laughing. It's apparent Lazarus doesn't like this. He walks up to me and puts a boot to my chest, pressing me to the wall.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because you keep saying that I am nothing. That I am a useless alien who is beneath you and yet instead of escaping, here you are taking me to the ends of the universe just for some silly revenge. You keep saying you are above us all and yet your actions always say other wise. You are a walking contradiction. A joke," I look up at the venom in his eyes and he bares his teeth, seething with anger.
He kicks me in the ribs, hard and I double over, gasping for breath. A shot of pain reverberates through out my entire body and involuntary tears fill my eyes. So much pain, I can't even think straight as we land on a sheet of ice.
Lazarus crashes the ship, breaking the ice beneath us and I can only watch in horror as we fly into a cave, overlooking a small pit.
He lands here roughly, unlocks me and drags me with him, making me heave with every movement.
"Serpents," I'm barely able to speak and he holds out his gun in answer. It is as if he is plain suicidal or just crazy.
"These creatures are stupid. If you could kill them, so can I," He murmurs, his face white against the icy background. I wonder if he is joking but he looks so confident.
Something slivers in the background and my head whips around, heart frantic. Nothing comes out and attacks us, it might just be my imagination.
We hide behind a piece of rock and then I see Lucian hurry inside, looking almost as disheveled as Lazarus does.
"Lazarus, where is she?" He demands, his voice filled with panic.
Lazarus smiles at me wickedly, before aiming his gun right at Lucian's chest. I watch the red dot glow right above his heart and open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out.
My chest feels like it's been crushed, my ribs aching like they have been broken.
My entire body is still reeling in pain from Lazarus's kick but the panic I feel is like a shot of energy through my spine. I push him with all my might, causing him to miss the shot and reveal our location.
Lucian notices us behind the rock and immediately rushes to me. His gaze locks on my pain stricken face and he doesn't notice Lazarus charge at him with a heated knife in hand.
They fall to the floor and Lucian struggles to push Lazarus's hand away from puncturing his neck. He blocks him with a punch and Lazarus falls back momentarily, the knife slipping from his hand and landing on the floor with a soft thunk.
I eye it immediately and while the two of them fight each other off, I try my best to crawl towards them.
Every movement feels like a something is puncturing my lungs, I struggle to breathe and soon I find myself lying on the floor, tears pooling in my vision as the pain in my ribs becomes unbearable.
I hear Lucian struggling and the sound of punches and grunts. I can't let Lazarus kill him. It is all I can think about as I roll over and stare at the knife on the floor.
I glance at Lucian and Lazarus who both have bloody lips and bruises on their faces. They continue sparring with each other on the ice, going closer and closer to the pit in the centre of the cave.
My eyes widen at the sight of the gaping hole that leads to the catacomb below. I don't even want to imagine what might be slithering down there.
Drawing in a sharp breath, I muster every bit of energy my muscles can spare and push myself across the ice.
Happiness bleeds into my every cell when my hand finally encloses around the hilt of the knife, the smooth handle cold in my palm. I hold on to it tightly and then turn around to help Lucian but then I hear him shout.
"Aria! Look out!"
It all happens so fast. I turn to see Lazarus already charging at me with a sharp spicule of ice in his hand. Its tip is so sharp, so lethal and he is moving too fast for me to defend myself.
For a second it briefly registers that I am about to die but then the worst happens.
Lazarus spins around, having anticipated Lucian pursuing him and the sickening sound of his weapon piercing Lucian's flesh echoes throughout the small cave.
My mouth falls open in shock. Lucian stands before Lazarus, his pale hand going around the spicule of ice that has pierced his chest. He lets out a soft grunt and pushes it out of his chest before falling to the floor.
I watch the blood pooling out of his chest, flowing down his breather suit and dripping to the floor.
Tears flood my vision and I look up to see Lazarus take a step back in shock.
"I did it. I finally did it," His eyes are wide with disbelief. As if he can't believe that he actually succeeded in defeating Lucian.
"I did it!" He repeats again and then he laughs hysterically.
Lucian falls to his side, his palm clutching the wound in his chest.
My fingers tighten around the hilt of the knife till they hurt and I charge at Lazarus who is too busy rejoicing in his victory. I don't take him standing, knowing I will lose. Instead I dive to the ground and stab his leg.
The knife goes in deep, making him howl in pain. He stumbles towards the pit and I pull it out only to stab him in the other leg.
"You disgusting piece of filth!" Lazarus cries and he tries to grab me.
I move away as he lunges for me but then he loses balance. I kick his injured leg desperately and he stumbles back, only his foot doesn't land on ice. It lands on air and he falls into the small gaping hole in the centre of the icy cave.
I crawl towards the pit that could only lead to the catacomb below and see him struggling at the bottom. He holds on to his leg but it looks like the fall broke a limb or two. He can hardly move.
He looks up at me and his eyes narrow.
"Get me out of here," Lazarus orders angrily. Blood gushes out of his bullet wounds and seeps onto the floor down below, forming a deep red halo around his mangled body.
And then I hear the sound of scales slithering across the ice.
"Get me out of here, Bone Breaker! You useless human, disgusting creature. How dare you disobey!" He screeches out in pain repeatedly but then he falls silent.
I can't turn away, my eyes are transfixed on his pale face when he sees a small serpent emerge from a hole in the floor. He swats it away with his hand but soon another one slithers in, and then another.
"You dare touch me," He warns them but then one of them bites into his wounded leg. He lets out an ear piercing scream that almost deafens me.
One by one the serpents bite at him, devouring him from head to toe. I turn away, the sounds of gurgled choking and flesh being torn apart echoes from down below.
I crawl away from the hole in the pit, knowing that we must leave. The serpents obviously live down below but I don't want to stick around to see if they wander up here as well.
I grab on to Lucian, apart of me elated that Lazarus is finally dead but he feels heavy under my hand.
"Lucian, we did it," I murmur, my eyes filled with tears and I turn him over.
His eyelashes flutter and he smiles up at me weakly.
"I'll get help," I say, eyeing his wound worriedly. I grab his communicator and speak into it quickly.
"General Lucian is injured. We need back up now! We are in the Serpentine Constellation-"
"We have your coordinates, Aria. General Lucian sent them to us when he landed," Remulus's voice feels like a blanket of relief. "We've been out of range to keep out of Lazarus's radar. Hang in there, we are landing soon."
"We need to stop the bleeding," I say to Lucian and then I look around for something to use.
"I'm cold," He murmurs in a soft voice that sends a chill down my spine.
I pull him till he is lying on my lap and check his breather suit. "It's still working. Lucian you are losing a lot of blood. Let me find something-."
"Aria, don't go anywhere. Don't leave me, please," He grabs my hand weakly to stop me and I look down at him.
His skin is pale, more pale than it usually is and blood drips down his chin. His lips tremble ever so slightly.
"Lucian, I'm not going anywhere. Stay with me, please," My voice breaks as I hold on to him and cry.
"Aria," He struggles and I quickly release him.
I grab the communicator. "Remulus, I need you now! It's Lucian, he's.." My throat constricts as I stare at Lucian who is looking up at me, his eyes dazed and faraway.
He smiles up at me. "You are so beautiful."
"No, stay with me, please," I cry and press on to his wound, trying my best to stop the blood.
"So cold," He murmurs and then he closes his eyes.
Guysss, next update will be up either on Monday or Wednesday. I will be hiding behind my screen, in the safety of my room till then. Don't kill me. The story isn't over yet.