Chapter Seventeen
Jason stared out the window of his classroom on the second floor, admiring the warm sun and the look of summer settling upon the school grounds. Students all around him had their heads down and their hands dashed across pieces of test paper, some confidently and others with more hesitation. It was the final exam for their classes, and once their allotted time was up their summer vacation would finally begin; something that everyone was looking forward to. However, Jason was not one of those people. Instead he dreaded the moment their teacher collected their tests and dismissed them. Hence why Jason's test paper was currently empty of everything, including his name.
There was just no way for him to get excited for the end of the school year like he always did. Normally on the last day of school he would be the happiest and most hyper one of the bunch, already planning what games he was going to play and which ones he wanted to buy to fill in the voids. But things were different this year. He was different.
He supposed having the immortal souls of two powerful Gods locked in their body would do that to people; but still, why him? Why was he the one who looked at the clock and realized that it wasn't ticking down to the end of the school day for him, but rather it ticked towards the moment he would no longer be protected. Less than ten hours were left before that crazy Slayer woman would come after him, and he knew she wouldn't just take her time. He expected her to come for him the moment she was allowed to, which meant at the stroke of midnight he would be fighting for his life.
It wasn't just him either; Amelia was also on the chopping block with him and it was all because of him. He had no idea how she had initially gotten into this kind of world, but he knew he had made it worse for her. If he had never gone to Greece, or never even been born for that matter, then maybe Amelia would currently be more worried about how well she was going to do on the exam and not have to worry about fighting for her life along side him later that night.
Thinking of Amelia, Jason turned his head from the window and picked her out of the class of students. She had her back to him at the front of the class and her shoulders sagged a little as she worked on the paper in front of her, and Jason wondered if she was actually taking the test. He didn't see how she could with such a large threat looming over their heads, but then again she was pretty weird like that. She had become even weirder over the last little while as well and Jason really wondered if she was doing alright. So much had happened between them, yet none of it had been explained.
He still had no idea what had caused Amelia to suddenly fall in love with him for a short time there, but he was sure he had a pretty good idea. Somehow a God must be involved, and this seemed to become even more the case when she suddenly snapped out of it three days ago and went back to normal. Well, as normal as a person could be when they realized that they had been kissing a guy they had claimed to hate. Things were awkward between them, but sadly they still had to keep up the facade of being a couple and couldn't afford to stay away from one another.
Jason himself had actually gone through something that he couldn't explain, other than to say that a God was somehow involved. The night that Amelia had sneaked into his room he had run away from her, something that proved to be a very bad idea when a man on the street tried to mug him and he lost control of himself. He had nearly killed that man, and even though he hadn't been in control he had still watched from behind his eyes and felt responsible for it all. Yet, the moment before he could actually finish the man off, he had been stopped. Actually, he hadn't just been stopped; he had been utterly defeated in a matter of seconds, and all it had taken was a single word.
It was hard to remember what had happened after he had lost control, as most of his memories were blurry and distorted beyond recognition, but he did know that the person who had stopped him was not normal. Well, of course he knew they weren't normal, considering they had defeated him with a single word and all, but that wasn't what he meant. No, this woman, or being, or whatever the hell she was, had seemed so strange and yet so very familiar. Like he had met her before, yet at the same time he had no memory of it.
It was the strangest thing and Jason couldn't put his finger on it. He did know one thing for sure though: this person was very important. He didn't know how he knew this, he just did. It felt like that just by seeing her something had happened inside of Jason; like something about him had changed. He had no idea what that might have been, but it was profound and he felt that it was something good. Like it was something that had been missing for a long time.
Sighing, Jason tore his eyes away from Amelia's back and looked back out the window as the students continued to quietly take their test. Things had gotten so confusing lately and he wished he could talk to someone about everything that was bothering him, but it was impossible. Sure, he could talk to Amelia about almost everything related to this strange new world he found himself unable to escape, but for some reason this latest incident just wasn't part of that. He didn't feel comfortable even bringing it up with her and he would do everything he could to hide it. He just didn't know why.
Having been zoned out the entire time, Jason didn't realize just how much time had passed until their teacher finally stood up from his desk. He cleared his throat and then asked that all students bring their tests up to him, and that once they were done with that they were free to leave. The collective sigh of relief that ran through the classroom was lost on Jason, and he barely paid any attention to anyone as they got up with happy smiles on their faces and handed their final test in. As they began to file out and their voices grew in intensity due to excitement, Jason continued to sit in his chair and stare out the window; with no intention of getting up. This might very well be the last time he was ever in school and strangely enough he wanted to stay a little longer.
“Mr. Mitchell!” his teacher suddenly called out when the last student—not including Amelia—had left. Stealing his eyes away from the window now, Jason found the middle aged man with salt and pepper hair and thick glasses walking towards him. “Did you not hear me? It's time to hand in your test.”
Jason didn't reply to the mans request and simply watched him as he came and stood next to his desk. Looking down, the teacher's eyes bulged slightly by what he found on Jason's paper and he looked to him with a serious look on his face. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was not happy, but Jason really didn't care right now. Normally he would have laughed it off or begged for more time, but right now none of this mattered. So what if he failed.
“Why haven't you written anything down? You didn't even put your name on it!”
“I didn't feel like it,” Jason answered for the first time, his voice sounding more lazy than he would have thought. Now Amelia had come towards them and even she looked a little concerned, but Jason knew it was for a totally different reason. Right now she wasn't looking at her boyfriend who had just purposefully failed a test; no, instead she was looking at her only hope of survival who seemed to not care about anything.
That wasn't the case though. Jason did care, just not about school work. So Amelia didn't need to worry about him not being up for the fight. He would do his best when it came time and would put everything on the line. His entire life Jason had let people down, but tonight it would be different. He wouldn't let Amelia down. He would make sure that she at least got out of this whole mess alive.
“Is this because you didn't study properly? If you're just trying to buy more time and take a retest, I hope you know you're going to need the permission from the headmaster and three other teachers! So I wouldn't get your hopes up.”
“Well, you're right, I didn't study,” Jason responded and now stood up, “but I don't plan on retaking the test. Sorry.”
With that he moved around his teacher and headed towards the door. Amelia quickly fell in beside him, a more noticeable distance between them than was normal, and together they left the room and then the school. As they stepped out into the bright and warm sun, Jason had every intention of just walking home to give him time to clear his mind. But he knew that wasn't possible; Amelia was supposed to be with him at all times when he was out of his house. That had always bugged him before, but after the incident with the mugger he knew that it wasn't just for his safety, but the safety of everyone else. He couldn't afford to lose control again. At least not in public.
So he climbed into Amelia's car and let her drive him off the school grounds. Neither of them spoke and instead Jason simply watched out the window as normal people went about their normal lives. None of them knew what kind of world they truly lived in. None of them knew what kind of struggle he was in, and he was sure that none of them would care even if they did. He could still remember what that ignorance felt like. Why couldn't he just go back to being the lazy high school student who cared more about games than grades?
A few minutes later Amelia pulled up outside of Jason's house and stopped the car, turning the engine off before turning towards him. She fixed him with a serious gaze and then took a deep breath, like the very thought of talking to him was hard for her now. He could understand that, a little. But she needed to remember that she was the one making moves on him and not the other way around. In fact he constantly tried to get her to stop, so she could honestly be thanking him for not letting everything go further than it had.
“Be outside at eleven tonight,” she said seriously and he nodded, remembering the plan they had come up with the other day. He was to sneak out of the house tonight and meet her a few houses down without alerting his mother or sister. From there they would go to some place, that Amelia had picked out, that would be away from the public and hopefully a place that no one cared if it was destroyed.
“I will,” he answered and then opened the door, swinging one leg out just as Amelia suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. “What?”
“Try to get some rest, Jason. You look like hell right now.”
Jason really wanted to make a joke, like saying hell had nothing on him, but he couldn't do it. The gravity of the situation was just too much and it was not the time for joke making. So he simply nodded and then pried his wrist away from Amelia and got out of the car. He didn't even turn around to watch her drive off, and instead went right into the house.
“I'm home!” he yelled out loudly, expecting his mother to answer right away. When she didn't he grew a little worried. It wasn't normal for her not to be there when he got home; especially considering she did most of her work from home. “Mom?!”
Still no answer. Jason kicked his shoes off in the entrance and then walked into the living room. No one was there, and he then checked the kitchen, laundry room, bedrooms, and even the bathroom only to find that the house was completely empty. This was really strange and Jason now felt a ball of worry begin to form in the pit of his already tight stomach. Had Isabel already made her move? Had she thrown caution to the wind and moved on him early?
Walking back into the living room, some of his immense power starting to flow into his muscles, Jason looked for any sign of a struggle. If that Slayer woman had come for his family he knew that his mother wouldn't go so quietly, even if she stood no chance; so there should be something to tell him that a fight had taken place. Yet everything seemed to be exactly where it was supposed to be, and his mom's laptop was even sitting on the coffee table and turned off. On top of the computer was a piece of folded paper however, and Jason quickly crossed the distance and picked it up.
He held the folded letter with slightly shaky fingers and hesitated opening it up. Was this some kind of ransom note or something? Had Isabel come and taken his mother and then left him directions on how to find them? In his panicked state, Jason figured that this was entirely possible and it caused the pit of worry to grow even larger and heavier in his stomach. However, as he slowly opened the letter and found his mother's handwriting on it, he exhaled in relief and let all his worry wash away.
Jason,
I picked your sister up from school after your exams and taken her out. Susan and I haven't spent a lot of alone time together in a while and I wanted to change that. We'll be back late tonight so behave yourself! There's leftovers in the fridge so help yourself. Also, no girls in the house while I'm gone! I mean it!
Love Mom.
Jason quickly read the letter and then crumpled it up in his hand, a small smile playing on his lips. This was better than he could have ever hoped for. With his mom and sister out of the house he didn't have to worry about them getting caught up in this fight if the Slayer chose to come early. Also, if they stayed out late enough he would be able to just waltz right out the front door when it was time for him to meet Amelia. So he really hoped they decided to stay out late so he wouldn't have to worry about anything.
Although it was a little strange that his mom would suddenly decide to have a girls day with Susan; they were always at one another throats. He couldn't imagine how the two of them would be able to deal with being around one another for almost a whole day. Oh well, it didn't really matter to him as long as they stayed away from the house and him. They could fight all they wanted, as long as they weren't there.
Jason stood motionless in the middle of the living room for a moment, the crumpled up piece of paper held limply in his hand. He looked around him and took everything in, wondering if he would ever come back to this house again. It felt kind of lonely being there all alone and he tried not to let that loneliness swallow him whole. Jason had never felt this kind of sensation before and he really didn't like it. It was one thing to find yourself suddenly in a fight with no warning, but entirely different to know when one was going to happen.
The nerves and anxiety he was feeling were so overpowering that he had trouble thinking straight. A little part of him wished that there hadn't been a time limit set by Artemis; that way he wouldn't have to think about it. If this fight had just started randomly and out of nowhere there would be no second guessing, no nerves, and no fear. He would just fight, like he had against Artemis and the first time he fought Isabel. But no, this was not the case and he realized this was the worst kind of torture in the world. This must be how death row inmates felt as they neared their final day. They knew it was coming and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
There was one silver lining though: Jason had the entire place to himself right now. The last time he had been left alone at home he had been forced to stay in his bed as he was recovering from his injuries sustained in Athens. Now however, he was free to do whatever he wanted, and he planned to do just that. Amelia had told him to rest up, and Jason knew no better way to rest and take his mind off of things than to play video games, half naked. And that's just what he was going to do, enjoy what might be his last few hours alive.
*
Amelia had arrived to pick up Jason at exactly the time she had told him to be ready, and together they travelled south to the village of Dixmoor, in Cook County. It was a half an hour journey down the I-94 and neither of them spoke the entire ride. Jason had never been to Dixmoor before, and just looking around through the gloomy darkness at all the small houses that looked a little too run down, he honestly didn't feel like he ever wanted to come back.
Amelia had chosen this location because of an old coal-burning power plant that had long since been abandoned. She had said that it was the best place for them to wait for Isabel to come and find them, and as she pulled up to the fenced off building that had definitely seen better days, Jason could see why. It was an old brown building that stretched into the sky, with a single massive smokestack that rose even higher. Weeds and tall grass seemed to be growing everywhere and even the gate that kept people out was rusted and broken in places, pretty much allowing anyone to just waltz in if they wanted.
Amelia pulled off to the side of the road near a large hole in the fence and turned off her car, and for a long moment both she and Jason just sat there and stared out the window at what might be the place they died. In the darkness everything seemed more spooky and Jason could feel a chill run up his spine as he gazed out over the ruined building, wondering what horrible things might have transpired inside its walls.
Forcing himself to look away and focus on something else, Jason now looked out around the surrounding area and felt like something wasn't right here. Amelia had told him that this place was best suited to their needs, but as he looked out and saw the small houses that stood on the other side of the street, with cars in their driveways and lights on inside them, he couldn't help but feel that they might be playing with fire. These houses were far too close and he was sure that someone would notice if something was going on just across the street.
He felt like raising this concern with Amelia, but when he tried to speak he found that his mouth had become unbearably dry and he could do no more than croak. Amelia must have taken this as some kind of signal that he was ready to go into the building, because she now got out of her car and closed her door behind her. This in turn forced Jason to get out and close his own door, his voice still not wanting to come out and complain about everything he was worrying about. So he was helpless and forced to follow Amelia, who had brought along a flashlight and now led the way.
They both ducked through the hole in the fence and now walked directly towards the large building shrouded in darkness. The ground they walked on was overgrown and uneven, causing Jason to stumble every once in a while, while Amelia seemed to have perfect balance and had no problems traversing it. She even managed to dodge large holes in the ground even though she was looking straight ahead of her and the flashlight was pointed towards the building, and not the ground.
They now neared the building and Amelia led him straight towards an entrance, the door that normally would have been closed over it abandoned on the ground and rusted like it had been there for a while. They stepped inside and the sound of their feet echoed off the dark walls. Amelia seemed to know where she was going and she turned a quick corner as they now came out into a massive and open room that seemed to be the main floor of the building.
Broken catwalks circled the room above the ground and many doors, some closed and some open, led to other rooms around them. Jason's eyes instantly began to take in what was on the ground floor though, and he found large pieces of machinery, which he had no idea what they did, lying all around the walls of the room. However, as Jason looked out over all the old and rusting machines, he quickly came to realize that something was wrong with everything: he could see. Not just see, it was almost like the room was filled with sunlight and it seemed to be coming from everywhere.
“What's with this place?” he asked slowly, wondering what they might have just walked into. It should be so dark that he couldn't even see a foot in front of him, yet he could see the other side of the room and even had to wait for his eyes to adjust so he wouldn't be blinded.
“I thought you might like some light,” came a soft, feminine, and silky voice from behind them. Turning around Jason found Katharyn striding towards them, her soft golden hair braided down her back and a soft silvery light in her eyes. This wasn't his classmate he was looking at, rather the immortal girl who was Artemis's maiden.
“Katharyn, what are you doing here?” Jason asked, stepping back from the girl slightly; memories from her brutal beatings she laughingly called training came flooding back to him. He honestly hadn't been expecting her to be here, after she had made it clear that she was only helping him because of Artemis, and that she really didn't care what happened to him later on.
“My lady requested that I be here to witness your fight,” she answered softly and then turned her eyes to Amelia, “but do not misunderstand, I will not get in the way or interfere. You two are to survive this on your own, or not at all.”
“You won't help even a little?” Jason asked hopefully. He had seen first hand how strong Katharyn was, and with her help there would be no problem beating Isabel.
“No, not even in the slightest. So please, pretend I am not even here right now.”
With that, Katharyn turned and walked towards the back wall and stood up against it. Amelia sighed and muttered something about Artemis being the whole reason they were even in this mess, and then turned to face Jason with a serious look on her face. Jason remembered her looking like this once before and he shivered slightly; it had been when she had tried to kill him back in his room all those weeks ago. He knew that both of them could never have imagined back then that they would be fighting side by side like this, but honestly Jason felt some comfort in her presence. He wasn't alone.
*
Susan crept through the abandoned industrial building in total darkness. The only way for her not to bump into anything was to walk directly next to the wall and keep her hand on it, while slowly moving her feet across the ground without picking them up. It was slow and she tried to keep as quiet as she possibly could, but honestly it was hard and on more than one occasion she smacked her knee or foot into something hard. It was something she had to do though, as she did not want to get caught.
Earlier in the evening she had run away from her mom's so called 'girls night out', and then sat outside Amelia's apartment. She had known the moment that her mother said that they should spend some time together that everything was going to happen that night, and she was bound and determined to get to the bottom of whatever secret was being kept from her. As to why it involved Amelia was the most confusing part and she became worried that Jason had dragged her friend into something bad.
This thought was confirmed when she followed them out of the city in a cab and saw Amelia pull up to this old building. She doubted anyone ever came to a place like this just to sight see, especially when it was going on midnight. Criminals probably stayed away from this place, and for good reason: it was falling apart at the seams and Susan worried that it would come down right on top of her.
Still, in her mind the risk was worth it. After hearing her mother speak with that mysterious person a few nights ago in their house, Susan had been determined to get to the bottom of it. She didn't even really know why, to be honest. She just felt like she was supposed to know about what was going on. Like she was already supposed to know; or maybe she already knew but it hadn't clicked into place yet. Or maybe she was just being super nosey, which was something that Amy called her a lot.
Susan came up to a set of stairs in the dark, and looking up in the direction they climbed she found an open door with bright light shining through it. That must be where Amy and Jason had gone, so she crept up the metal stairs as her shoes clicked nosily against them, and she pressed her body up against the wall at the top, coming to stand right beside the door. Slowly and quietly she peaked around the corner, expecting to find her brother and best friend inside. However, she instead found a small empty room with a broken window against the far side where they light was pouring in from. The light was actually so bright that it momentarily blinded Susan, and she had to hold her hand over her eyes until they adjusted enough for her to see.
Inside the room she found a dirty table with yellowed paper and documents sitting on top of it. There was an overturned filing cabinet against the wall, as well as various other office items that were now either broken or discarded on the floor. This must have been the main office of whatever this building had once housed, and seeing that no one was in here, Susan stepped in and moved towards the broken window that appeared to look down over the main working floor below.
Looking out at the floor down below her, Susan finally located her missing friend and brother. They both stood off to one end of the room and seemed to be waiting for something or someone. Jason, who had some how become less scrawny over the course of the last couple of weeks, looked nervous and yet determined at the same time. His eyes kept darting around the room and his hands were balled into tight fists, as if he was waiting for a fight to break out at any moment.
Even Amelia looked anxious for some reason, and while she might not have shown it all that much on the outside Susan had known her long enough to read her body language fairly well. She stood with her back rigid and a tense look on her face, with one hand down at her side and another on her hip. But it was the look in her eyes that told Susan that she was worried about something, and even from far away she could still see it.
There was also another person in the large room down below, and it took Susan a few moments to see her as she stood away from Jason and Amy. Upon a closer look, Susan realized that it was their new classmate, Katharyn, who had transferred in only a little while ago and always kept to herself. She stood away from Jason and Amy and watched them with strange eyes that looked extremely out of place; as if they didn't belong to her.
What was going on here? Why would Amelia and Katharyn come all the way out here with Jason? What was it they were trying to hide, and why were they doing it in the middle of the night? Also, why did they look like they were waiting for someone? None of this made any sense to Susan, or at least it didn't until a sickening thought popped into her mind and she almost gagged in disgust.
“Is this some kind of sex thing?” she groaned, finding the very idea revolting. If that was the case then this was probably one of the grossest things she had ever seen before. And in such a disgusting place as well!
“Do you really believe that's true?” came a somewhat familiar voice from behind Susan. Yelping silently in surprise, Susan spun around and found a young looking woman walking towards her, a soft smile on her face and both happiness and sadness lighting her green eyes.
“W... who are you?” Susan stuttered in reply, fear setting in as she knew she had been caught sneaking around red handed. How much trouble was she in?
“Don't worry, there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm a friend of your brother and mom; my name's Alexandria.”
Susan blinked and looked the woman before her up and down. She quickly realized why this woman's voice seemed familiar to her, and she realized she was talking to the person that had had that secret meeting with her mom three nights ago. She hadn't been able to see her then, because of how dark it had been in the house, but she was able to now recognize her voice.
“You were the one talking to my mom the other night,” she said and the woman smiled at her, stepping even further into the room. She seemed to be blocking Susan's only hope of escape, but she didn't seem to be doing it on purpose. In fact, with how relaxed she looked it was almost as if she didn't even care about Susan being there when she probably wasn't supposed to be. Actually, it almost looked like she welcomed her presence, which Susan found a little odd.
“Yes, I was. And you were hiding in the hallway listening in,” she laughed gently and Susan's eyes went wide. “Oh, don't worry; your mother wasn't aware. And I don't plan on telling her. You see, I've been wanting to meet you for a long time now, but Alana always kept me away from you.”
This is getting super weird, Susan thought.
“W... why?”
The woman, Alexandria as she had called herself, only shrugged her shoulders at Susan's question and now walked straight up to her. For a moment Susan thought she was going to reach out and grab her, but a second later she brushed past her and stopped at the window, her eyes gazing down at the three high school students standing amongst the broken equipment.
“Look at your brother for a moment,” she spoke and her voice was barely above a whisper. Turning around, Susan found her staring at Jason with a serious look on her face, and Susan allowed her own eyes to fall down to her idiot brother. “What do you see?”
“An idiot,” she answered, slipping right into her go-to term when describing Jason. She hadn't really meant to say that, but it did sum up exactly what she thought of him.
“No, look deeper. What do you see below the surface?”
Susan looked back at the woman curiously, wondering just what in the world she was talking about and why she was even there. She hadn't even thought to ask her that, and the more she thought about it the more she came to realize that it was just plain weird. Was she stalking Jason or something? Was that what this was all about?
“Just look,” Alexandria now said forcefully, and against her better judgement Susan looked back towards her brother.
She really didn't understand what she was supposed to be looking for, and after a few moments she sighed and stepped back away from the window. “I don't know what you're asking. It's just Jason.”
“Is it though? Can you honestly look at him and say he is the same person you grew up with?” Alexandria asked and Susan couldn't help but shake her head. Jason had changed quite a bit over the last month or so, and it was hard to believe he was still her brother. “And when I say look deeper, I don't just mean under the surface. I know you've seen it, Susan; what lurks behind his eyes. You've seen something more than just a mere human, haven't you?”
“W... what?”
“A lion's head that lies just beneath Jason's real face? With sky blue eyes and a fierce expression?”
Now Susan stepped further away from the strange woman and stared at her in horror. Who the hell was she, and how did she know about that horrible nightmare she had a while ago? Just hearing her describe it brought it back and she shivered in fear as she was forced to remember how terrified it had made her.
“How do you know about my nightmare?”
“It wasn't a nightmare; at least not like a person would normally have. It was something else entirely, Susan. Something both your mother and I suffered from before we learned the truth. Granted, your mothers were far worse than mine, and judging by your reaction from just remembering it, I would wager that yours are even worse than hers. It's amazing how powerful your sight is.”
“L.. look, lady... uh, I think I should probably get going. My mom is probably worried about me,” Susan now quickly tried to back out of this weird and frightening situation. She didn't like where any of this was going and she cursed herself for trying to follow Jason and Amy. She should have just let it go.
“Lana knows you're here, and she's already on her way. I called her about ten minutes ago and let her know that you had been following Amelia and your brother; so she'll be here soon. Don't worry though, I gave you enough time to see the start of the show. That's why you're here, isn't it? To see what your brother and friend have been keeping from you?”
“How do you know all this stuff?”
“It's a gift; sort of. It's about to get started though, so if you want to see what's going to happen then I suggest you come back to the window. And don't worry, I promise you that you will be safe so long as you stay up here. I can't guarantee your safety if you try to leave this room though, so try to keep that in mind.”
Susan stared at the redheaded woman for a long moment, silently trying to decide if she was truly safe around her or not. Honestly, Susan just wanted to run as far away from her and that creepy factory as she possibly could. But there was something stopping her. She didn't know if it was stupidity or curiosity, but either way she found herself moving back to the window, and thankfully, to her credit, Alexandria didn't so much as move or say another word and silently watched with her.
Jason and Amy still stood off to one end of the large room, with Katharyn up against the wall behind them. None of them seemed to have moved very much and they still wore their tense expressions. Well, except Kathryn, who seemed to look more bored than anything else. It was almost like nothing about her current situation was bothering her, or that she had no need to be worried.
However, as a few more minutes went by and Susan continued to watch them standing there, Amelia spoke for the first time since Susan had found her down there. Her voice reverberated off the walls and high ceiling of the building and Susan could tell that it was tense. To be honest she had never heard her friend use this voice before, and it seemed strange coming from someone who was always so calm and cool. Amy was never one to freak out.
“It's almost midnight,” she said loudly and her voice seemed to spook Jason enough to make him jump a few inches off the ground, “are you ready?”
“Do I have a choice?” Jason asked and his voice also echoed through the building. Like Amy, his voice was tense, but Susan could hear a lot more emotion in it than she did her friends. He sounded scared; really scared.
“Not really. Just focus, okay?”
Silence filled the room once more, and Amelia, who had been looking at Jason a moment ago, now turned and watched the door on the other side of the room. Jason however continued to stare at Amy, and he kept opening his mouth and then closing it; like he was trying to say something but couldn't actually work up the courage. This continued on for a few more moments until he finally pushed himself over the edge and spoke up, his voice lower than it had been a second ago. Susan was still able to hear what he said because of the way his voice carried through the room though.
“Listen, Amy... err, Amelia. If things start to go bad I want you to run, okay? Just get out of here and don't stop until you're sure you're safe.”
Amy now slowly looked back towards Jason and the hard look in her eyes was suddenly replaced by a softer and gentler one. “What do you mean run? This is my fight too.”
“Is it though? You're only here because of me, and I don't want you to get hurt because of that. I don't want to be the reason you die.”
“Just stop it. I'm not going to run away, and you're an idiot for even trying to convince me. Even if this is all because of you, it doesn't change anything. I'd still be standing here if it meant I got a shot like this. One less Slayer in the world is a good thing, and if it means I have to die to achieve that then so be it. And don't go breaking the rules now. I told you not to mistake this for something real, remember?”
“That's not what it is at all!” Jason now said firmly, and once more Amy seemed to be surprised by his words. “I haven't gone and blurred the lines, and even if I had you seem to forget that you were the first one to do that anyway!”
Amy stared intently at Jason now, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open in shock. It took her a few moments to gather herself up again and she quickly turned to face him entirely, a strict look on her face. However, as she opened her mouth to say something, the intense look on her face slowly gave way to one more gentle. And if Susan wasn't just seeing things, it seemed her friends cheeks had turned pink under Jason's gaze.
“Thanks, by the way.”
“For what?” Jason asked slowly, caution entering his facial expressions.
“For a lot of things. For not taking advantage of what I did, for not making such a big deal out of it after I regained my self, and for not bringing it up a lot or telling anyone about it. E... especially the night I broke into your house...”
The caution in Jason's eyes slowly seeped away and a small smile played at his lips now. He shrugged his shoulders but didn't say anything, preferring to just let it drop. Amy seemed thankful for that and she smiled at him for a brief moment. But in the next instant her focused look returned and she seemed to tense her muscles as she looked down at her watch and frowned. Looking at her own, Susan found that there were only two more minutes until midnight, and this seemed to frighten both Jason and Amy.
“You'd better get ready to use your power,” Amy instructed Jason, and he nodded quickly. Amy opened her mouth to say something else, but someone else called out loudly and cut her off before she could.
Instantly the atmosphere in the factory shifted to one of tense and anxious waiting, to that of both anger and fear. Amelia quickly turned on her heel to face the male voice that had just spoken and she reached up to her lower back, pulling her arm down to her side a moment later with a dangerous looking silver knife in her hand. Jason also stepped forward and Susan quickly noticed that something had changed in his eyes. He... well he almost looked murderous and she had never seen him look so intimidating before. Not in real life at least.
“I'd rather that thing didn't use its power!” a man yelled menacingly, and Susan quickly looked over to the newcomer. She instead found four people entering the building now, three men and a woman all dressed in tight fitting black clothes with large pistols in their hands; pistols that were pointed directly at Amy and Jason.
One man walked out in front of the others, and as they neared the middle of the room he held his hand up and they all stopped together. For a moment they all seemed to size the two teenagers up and their fingers slowly made their way down to the triggers, ready to fire in at a moments notice. It was like watching an old west movie where the hero and villain stared at one another as they got ready to duel, and the tension was so tremendous that Susan felt herself unable to move or speak out in fear. Which was probably a good thing, as her first instinct would have been to yell and tell Amy to get the hell out of there.
“Who are you?” Jason demanded in a booming voice that seemed to shake the very building around him. His right hand was at his side and seemed harmless, but Susan saw that he kept opening it and closing it like he was trying to grab onto something that wasn't there. She didn't really know what that was all about, but she suddenly had a feeling that things were about to get out of hand and that he would become very dangerous in a minute. Pure anger seemed to be pulsing off of him in waves and it was almost palpable, even from the office where Susan stood.
“They're from the Order,” Amelia growled, and she too looked ready to pounce, even though these four people had guns in their hands. “Actually, they work for a secret hit squad inside the Order, called A-1, and I doubt they're here to say hi.”
“Nothing gets past you does it, Agent Lewis? If you must know, we're actually here to put down that monster standing next to you. We even have orders to do so!” the man at the front of the group laughed, and he seemed to genuinely find what he just said funny. His laugh was loud and creepy sounding and instantly Susan knew that he wasn't quite right in the head. He felt dangerous in his own right.
“What are you talking about? Who would order something like this?”
“The head of the branch here in Chicago. She, like me, feel that this... this monster... has become a threat, and that it should be destroyed as soon as possible. So we're here to do just that, and we'd really like to ask if both of you could just stand there and let it happen. I'm sure none of us really wants to fight.”
“Amy, what's he talking about?” Jason now rounded on Amy and fixed her with an intense stare, one that seemed to frighten Amelia more than Susan would have thought. Though despite this fear was as plain as day, Jason didn't let up and he pressed her once more. “I thought you said your Order would be protecting me!”
“They were supposed to,” Amy quickly defended, and she looked up at Jason with her terrified eyes, as if pleading with him. “Alex said that you were under the care of the Order and that nothing bad would happen to you, as long as you controlled your emotions! Which you have! So I don't understand why they're here to kill you!”
“Alright, alright!” the leader of the group of people in black now called out loudly, and waved his free hand in the air to get Amy and Jason's attention. “I know this must be very confusing and all, but Agent Lewis if you would be so kind as to step away from the Slayer so we can get this over with quickly. I'd really like to shoot him now, and I think that you should know that I will have no problem killing you as well, if you don't move.”
Jason's intense and powerful glare now turned towards the crazed man with the gun in his hand and he took a step forward, clenching his fist and releasing it over and over again as his lips twitched in anger. “You don't really think you can hurt me with a gun, do you?” he snarled.
“I do, and I will,” the man who had stubble on his large chin and cheeks sneered.
Before anyone could act or speak the man suddenly pulled the trigger on his gun and a horrendous bang explode within the factory floor, deafening Susan and scaring her so badly that she nearly fainted. However, in the very next moment, it was Jason who hit the ground as a pained scream escaped his lips and blasted out over the echo of the gunshot.
Utterly stunned at seeing her brother being shot, Susan stared out in horror at the display below her and could feel her heart beating savagely in her chest. Jason lay on his back with his eyes closed in pain as he gripped his shoulder with his hand and yelled out loudly. Amelia suddenly fell to her knees beside him and lifted him up slightly, so he was in a somewhat upright position, and then moved his hand from his shoulder to check out the damage.
The man who had done the shooting stood there with his gun still raised and a sick and evil smile on his face. He had truly enjoyed causing Jason pain and the mere thought of hurting him some more was making him giddy. Even now he was softly chuckling to himself as he watched the two teenagers on the floor, one panicking in fear and the other writhing in pain.
“I probably should have told you that we use specialized ammunition in A-1. It's kind of like the daggers the other agents get, but in bullet form. So they can and will harm you, and because they are blessed, they will cause you to be in a great deal of pain. Which is great news, because while strong, these bullets won't kill you outright. It's going to take a lot more than just a few dozen; so you'll get to feel pain the likes of which you have never imagined possible before.”
“You son of a—” Jason began in a growl, but was quickly cut off by the sadistic man a second later.
“Hush now! Just sit back and enjoy all the pain you're about to be in like a good little monster. Ready everyone?”
The other members of his team nodded silently and now they all dropped their guns to point directly at Jason once more, their fingers twitching over the trigger. They were really going to do this, they were going to kill Jason and not a single one of them seemed to have any remorse about it at all. In fact they all seemed to be pleased with themselves. What was worse than that though was the fact that it didn't seem like anyone had any way of stopping it, and Susan realized she was about to watch her best friend and brother get murdered.
“Kill them!”