§§Nile.
I walked down the stairs to the basement. The cold air hitting me hard in the face. For some reason I felt sorry for Matt. There was a small glow that shone under the door. He was awake.
I knocked on it. "Better hide your guns I am coming in." I unlocked the door, but didn't go in. I preferred me being alive than dead.
"This is how you treat people caging them in a small hell hole with water, food and heat provided. Pathetic."
"In my case I would have preferred it if you had been sent to the police, but Kyle likes it his way."
"I have been chained to the wall you damn bustard. I can't move freely." He tried coming for me.
"That I see." I stepped in and took the only seat available. Though it had been two weeks since the incident, I was still very conscious of my wound. It was healing but not as fast as I wanted it to.
"Donna's dead." There was no point of beating around the Bush.
He sighed. "I heard. There was a bit of pain laced in is voice, I chose to ignore it.
"Kyle has no use for you."
"Is he going to kill me like how he killed Jake?"
Startled I looked at him. "Jake killed himself. He shot himself and pressed on the breaks, ran into a tree and then the car blow up, Donna survived the accident but in a terribly critical condition."
"And now she is dead." He said deadpan.
"Yes, she is. You understand if we called the police, you will be arrested for destruction of private property."
"I didn't destroy no damned thing."
"The vases Matt, you destroyed the vases." I had broken two more, but it was easier putting the blame on him than actually paying.
"Breaking and entry and also for attempted theft." I finished.
"But I didn't steal anything." He got up angry.
I rolled my eyes. "You have been fired Matt, and if you are ever seen anywhere near here it is to the police straight."
"Tell me something I don't know Nile."
"You are free to go. No charges will be pressed aganist you."
He turned to look at me. Hope shone in his eyes. The corners of his lips trembled with a smile and his hands shook. "But I wanted to steal. I broke vases, I entered the building and his office without his knowledge, why?"
"It was his decision to let you go. Seems you were also fooled by Ian. He knew Donna was never going to survive." I stood up and left the door wide open for him. The keys to the chain that tied him on the table. His clothes, wallet and even gun there to.
"Nile." He called out to me and I turned.
The bullet rang before I had time to process all that was happening. I dodged diving to the left hitting my arm and causing blood to stain the bandage.
Shit.
I didn't want go back there again, the hospital was bad as it was. Maybe Noreen would attend to me. A smile lit my face.
"Come out Nile. I am going to kill you and that damned bustard Kyle. He was supposed to protect her, he was supposed to keep her safe."
"But she chose to play with the devil and got herself burnt and killed. I was the good guy, she went for toxic." It was in a spilt second that Matt turned and saw Kyle, but the quick succession of his bullets brought the man down.
He crouched to the ground holding both his legs. "I am not sure, should I spare you the pain and end your pathetic life or leave you to suffer?"
Kyle looked at me, his eyes going wide as he saw the trail of red.
"Leave you to die as it is."
"Kyle!" Pamela ran down the stairs to stand by his side. She eyed the figure that was withering in pain. "I heard rumours of him, he is not as damned good-looking as all the others described him."
"That is because he has been in this room for over two weeks, with no access to beauty products or even a bath."
She placed a gentle hand on Kyle's and he brought the gun down. "Don't." It was a simple word but one that held so much authority. He nodded.
"The next time I see you, you will be dead."
Some men walked down and carried him off. He struggled with the last of his breath.
"Ian's coming, for your company, your life and your whore!"
"Nile!" Pamela ran over to me, and Kyle gave a frustrated sigh.
"Why do you keep on getting yourself hurt! And it's always her running to your aid."
I smiled as I placed my hand around her shoulder. "What can I say? I am as charming as ever."
He grunted and came to my side. Under his breath he whispered. "I will gladly put a bullet through your head, leave my girl alone."
"Ah, you are willing to shoot me."
"Just like how you are wiling to deny me for food, yes Nile I will gladly."
An even bigger smile graced my lips. "Well, she is the best friend to Noreen, so logic says get close to the bestie before the main chick and I am more than willing to get the main ah-"
"Sorry, Nile was I squeezing your arm?"
"Kyle!" Pamela gave a strangled cry as she brushed away the big man's arm. "You are hurting him!"
"Baby tell me something I don't know." She blushed at the word baby.
"Noreen will definitely kill you if you hurt him."
Kyle grunted. "Tell her I am ready any time. Nile does deserve a few blows."
"Ah, such beautiful life! I even have the mighty Kyle begging for my hand. Hey Pamy tell Noreen she has competition, will you?"
She rolled her eyes. "Like as if Kyle will fall for your fat ass."
"But you will fall for mine? I do have the big guns I can-"
Kyle dropped my hand and stormed off cursing under his breath. Pamela and I broke out in laughter. In a few seconds were feet of heavy men on the staircase and barks of commands. Before I knew what was happening, I was jerked off my feet and hurriedly carried to a kitchen that had a grumpy old lady.
More of like a grumpy old hag that had a glint of something mischievous in her eyes. I looked back at Kyle who loving had his arm around his woman. He had a devilish smile.
"The devil take him."
"Now now dear," began the old hag. "heard you needed to be taught a lesson, let's see your tummy shall we?"
She motioned for my shirt and I dodged out of the way. The two men that had not so lovingly escorted me up the stairs gripped me hard and placed me in the seat. The old woman came closer.
"I don't bite, I actually please. A few euros per hour."
She pushed her extra-large blossom in my face and I had to bite my tongue from the odour that accompanied her. Talk about deodorant!
Her withered hands touched me again and I yelped like a wounded pup. I heard laughter from behind me, and to my horrification Noreen had joined in to.
What was she even doing here? The last time I checked she had been complaining about stepping foot in an abandoned factory. This was the factory.
Her laugh broke out louder than the others and I couldn't help the flatter in my heart. She did have one hell of a gorgeous smile and I was lost in her beauty.
I grunted again as the nag touched my skin. Her contact sent a jolt of awareness. I eyed the figure bent with the false notion of administering to my wounded body.
Her breasts were two large masses of space. If not for the hideous smell and her withered clothes, she could pay off as a respectable lady.
Something glistered in between her masses. It shone again. The object tucked deep with her boobs concealing its view.
"Kyle?" I called out to the so-called person I called a brother and best friend. If this was a trap.
"Let her attend to you Nile. You are acting like a baby."
"Hey man remember the games we used to play as kids? Like wherever we would hide from our parents?"
He sounded uncertain. "Yeah, what about it?"
"Can you remember the fruit we used to use as our secret codes, whenever there was danger?"
I tried to twist so I could see him. But the tight grip held me in place. The pressure of the big man's arm squeezing into mine. And I thought I was big.
"Yeah, we called it pink apples, because we both hated apples and pink is every girl's favourite colour. Why do you ask?"
I shrugged hopping he would get the point. "Just saying. You know pink apples."
I watched the old hag closely. She had removed the stained bandage.
"Now all I have to do is clean it and apply a new bandage. It wont hurt son"
An uneasy feeling settled in my gut.
"But you don't have the things to clean it with." I responded.
She smiled. A few of her teeth missing and some artificial.
"Oh I do. I hear it helps with the wound and pain permanently."
The knife was pulled out from under her skirts. It was all fun and games before the sharp blade settled buried deep in my chair between my legs.
"Devil take you you bitch."
Instinctively, I tackled her from under. She fell but on her own blade, with the design of the fancy knife piercing through her left eye.
The man that stood by my left held his stomach as his breakfast came rushing out. With my hand free, I so generously gave the other man a blow.
Shots rang out and I found myself taking cover behind the dead woman's body.
"How about a 'Oh Nile Im about to shoot' thumbs up."
"Baby?" Kyle and I looked at Pamela at the same time. Him serious and tensed out while me smiling. There were a few stains of red but she would overlook It.
"Which of them hun? Because if it is me-" I slipped on the man's vomit and thankfully didn't land face first in the foul-smelling substance, though that couldn't be the same story for my clothes.
More shots rang out.
"Get down." Someone was saying though the maize of chaos.
The two men were dead with shots to the head. Whoever was killing was killing massively. More shots rang out and the walls took most holes than bodies.
The old hag had manged to get her head blown. Yet she was already dead. I slammed down behind a pillar, its rough peeling paint staining my clothes with blue green.
I looked around the scattered space. Footsteps could be heard from the stairs down below. Shoots of 'Keep Kyle and his fiancée alive' rang out. Well, that wasn't a first. Kyle seemed in more danger than my bleeding wound.
Shit!
I cursed again for the hundredth time. This was fucked up. I would have to go to the doctor for the third time this week, I doubted he would let me go that easily.
Kyle lay crunched down, the weight of a man pressing on him, well well he was also using a dead human as a shield.
The steps sounded close. I searched eagerly looking for Noreen and Pamela. They weren't in view, probably hiding.
Everything stilled and the cold dead silence filled the room, the footsteps were no more.
I tried to get Kyle's attention, but his mind seemed intent on finding out what was going on down below. His eyes meet mine.
"Run." He pointed towards the exist.
The footsteps came up again.
"Eins, zwei, drei."
The explosion rang louder than anything I had ever heard, the shattering of the walls falling in zigzag motions. The ground shaking, the splitting sounds of loud screams.
My ears rang, barely hearing the warning that came from the sweet lips of the woman my heart ached for.