Captive Crawler, page 20
part #1 of Silent Predators Series
The room's interior was unmanned, entirely bare of any further personnel. Most importantly, her saber and it's case were left untouched on the center of the table in the middle. All that was missing from the scene was a ray of light shining down, beckoning her inside with the assistance of a chorus.
"No fuckin' way." The louder of the men muttered, sounding more riled up than a moment before.
Her head whipping around her shoulder, Kara's moment of celebration was cut short. Staring directly at her were both of Otto's men.
Panicked, Kara jumped up to a stand. Whirling around, she kicked the door shut with the inside of her boot. Acting fast, she reached behind her and scooped up an unused chair from the table. Sliding it in, she hooked the back of the chair under the door handle, squeezing it down from the now dug in back legs.
Even before her hands let go of the piece of furniture, a heavy pound hit the door. The hinges shook and dust dripped off the top of the frame as the man beat and slammed his body against it.
"You're dead when I get in there girl! Ya hear me?" The guard shouted, throwing his weight against the door over and over.
Watching her barricade's leg's squeak by centimeter at a time with every shove, Kara booked it in the opposite direction. Reaching the table, the blonde reclaimed what was hers. Flicking the weapon on however killed whatever fickle sense of hope that had sprouted within her. It didn't matter how many times she toyed with the power switch above the handle, the beam refused to spark to life.
"No. No. Not like this. C'mon baby, c'mon." She pleaded, tirelessly fiddling with the weapon.
Her heart sank as the feeling of dread plummeted deep inside her chest. The worst had finally happened, and she didn't know what to do.
Craaaaack!
Kara flung her trembling gaze behind her at the distinct sound of a tearing lumber. Thankfully, the door behind her was still standing.
"Shit!" The formerly soft-spoken man cried out from the other side. "This is bad. We gotta go!" He advised sharply.
"Go on ahead." The louder called back, bashing against the door once more. "I've almost got it. I'll catch up!"
After, Kara heard the sounds of fleeing footsteps. The noise bleeding into the distance, the bashes against the door recommenced.
The center of the chair which acted as the primary barricade was nearing it's breaking point. Pieces were bent more than ever intended. The most overextended areas had begun to splinter.
Running out of time, Kara ran toward a closet built into the inside wall. Sliding open the frail panels, there was little inside besides some coat hangers and a heavily stained pieces of apparel. More than enough room. Entering inside, she quietly closed the shutter doors behind her and got low to the ground. In doing so, she found she could gaze through the slits in the panels.
With little other options, she held her malfunctioning weapon between her legs with the top pointing up. Reaching for the top, she started shimmying her binds against the sharpened tip, slowly cutting into the rope.
Kraaaaash!
Instead of freezing up again, Kara started grinding the binds faster against her saber. The increased effort put stress on her wrists. Ignoring the only growing pain and discomfort, she kept at it.
Sprinting in, Otto's follower ran right into the room's center. Throwing the table onto the ground, he started tearing the room apart in his search for the escapee.
Originally, Kara felt blessed the room was so empty. Now, she couldn't help but curse it's small size.
Sliding the rope up and down against sharpened metal, Kara had managed to cut through almost half of it. The looseness of the binds were proving problematic. Still a ways to go, she rose one of her feet and pressed it against the sliding shudder. She knew it wouldn't hold, but maybe if it bought her a fraction of a second, it could be enough.
Done throwing the room around, the man set his fiery eyes on the closet. At his notice, the blonde pressed her boot more firmly up against the door. Stomping over, he laid one hand on the side, attempting to whip the divider open. Feeling slight resistance, the man grabbed the slider with both hands. With a forceful yank, he ripped the frail craftsmanship right out of the frame, breaking part of it in the process.
Nothing left to protect her any longer, Kara sat there on the ground, completely exposed. Her hands trembled as she felt her joints start to lock up. In spite of her best efforts, the knot and dominant layer to her ropes remained uncut.
Fuming and without sympathy, the guard reached down for their runaway prisoner. Even as she dove into the opposite corner, he snatched up her ankle, coarsely extracting her out of her holding position.
Rather than attempt to fight off the larger man who was proven much stronger than her, Kara continued struggling with her hands. Due to the awkwardness of how she was caught, her defective weapon was still jammed between her wrists. Tugging it out from the base with the held of her knees, she wound up slicing a part of her palm in the process.
Wincing from the pain, she clutched her hand and pressed it close against her chest. Doing so, she realized how much more leeway she had than before. Futzing further, the rope scraped the wrist as she was able to squeeze one hand free. At last, she had earned back the free use of both arms.
Just as she was pulled outside the threshold and into the room, Kara grabbed her saber by it's handle. Dragged along the ground, the blonde twisted herself so that she was on her back.
Holding up her weapon, she started to bash the spine against her assaulter. When the metal bounced right off, it didn't dissuade her. She tried again right away.
The gangster blocked the ineffective blows with his forearm. With so little weight to each hit, the action of defending himself seemed almost unnecessary.
Kara grunted, struggling and fighting to break herself free. Her determined resolve was unwavering as she slammed her weapon against him once more. On the blowback however, something felt different. Something stirred inside the handle as she felt something vibrate. Going for the followup swing, the weapon sparked by the base. Mid-swing, it reignited, reforming the sword's laser edge.
Shaken up and fearful, the crook released the woman and staggered back as fast as he could. Narrowly saving his fingers, he fumbled over the legs of the table he had flung over and fell hard upon his back.
Both parties now on the floor, the two scrambled to to get back on their feet as fast as they could. The shoe now on the other foot, the man cautiously backed away in the direction of the door. In doing so, he made sure he was always a certain distance away from the woman and her dangerous weapon.
Kara was sure to snag her saber case on the way over. At the same time, she was waving around her glorified laser cutter at the slightest sign of aggression. One toe closer? Slash. Hands raised even the slightest toward her direction? Another swing.
On the most recent precautionary swipe, the blade crackled. The weapon turned off completely only to restart an instant later.
With the neon light draining of their features, the two looked at one another. They both looked like they had each ran a marathon. The troubled pair were both drenched in a cold sweat. Mouths hung open, the two were panting and they had not the energy to hide it.
With a loud nervous gulp, the man slid his foot inches in front of him. Yet, as he did, he almost seemed ready to dive in the opposite direction if the tactic failed him.
Holding the weapon up defensively, Kara's saber flickered on and off again. Hating herself as she did it, the woman was forced to take a step back.
Seizing what looked like a good moment, the man dashed toward their only recently freed prisoner. The instant he took his first step forward, he extended an arm toward her.
The weapon turned off again. This time, the device remained dormant. It was dead weight in her hands.
Short on alternatives, the blonde thrust her hollow sword outward. Catching the man's palm, she stabbed the sharp tip into the center, nailing the appendage into the wall.
"Aaargh!" The crook screamed out in agony.
With pain and panic, he pried his hand out by thrashing about. Flying onto the ground as he pulled himself loose, he unintentionally dragged the opposing woman with him. Disgracefully, the two crashed right back down onto the floor. The now heavily bleeding man fell behind the half open door with Kara landing in front.
Her pursuer writhing in front of her, Kara collected herself the best she could. Raising a foot, the blonde kicked the door hard with whatever might she could invoke.
Still tending to his gouging wound, the man hadn't the time or focus to intercept what happened next. The slab of wood banged against the side of his face, pressing his skull up against the wall. About to move, the same force struck once more.
Still on her side, Kara was busy working out her pent-up aggression as she kicked the door into her handler's head over and over.
Eventually, the grunt stopped clutching his hand and instead tried protecting his face.
Grunting with every jerking motion, she pushed herself upright. Pressing her back against her side of the wall, she reinforced herself enough to kick the hardest she could. Proceeding a large 'crack' from the now heavily damaged door, the man's body fell limp. Long and troubled groans escaped him as he breathed muffled moans upon the floor. A small trickle of blood oozed out from the crevice underneath.
Digging her nails into the peeling wallpaper, Kara tugged herself up onto her feet. Lugging her case in one hand and her weapon on the fritz in the other, she trudged out to the hall.
"Freeze! Don't move!" A man shouted from the top of a staircase further up the hall.
Two steps. The downtown girl made it two steps before getting found out and caught again.
Sluggishly dragging her gaze passed her shoulder, the mess of a woman saw what new danger awaited her. An enforcer stood armed and ready, his rifle pointed straight at her.
The moment she was about to move, a rush of footsteps emerged from her blind spot. A sudden weight overcoming her, a full body tackle had flung her and the unknown party into an adjacent room in the hallway. The squeal of gunfire chasing after where she had been before a door was slammed between them.
"Something's wrong with me. There must be." The blonde's rescuer confided in complaint with unhindered contempt.
His tone reached her with an unexpected familiarity. Pushing off one knee, Kara turned to meet her savior. There he was, the man in charge himself, Otto.
No time for greetings, the sweet and sour gangster was doing what he could to fortify their position. This turning out to be one of the many rooms without a functioning lock, he was working toward another solution. Grabbing a nearby dresser, he dragged it over in front of the entrance, making a quick but sloppy barrier.
Looking over his shoulder, Otto stared at the woman on the floor. Fighting off a scowl, he let out a huff in aggravation.
"Gotta be if I'm sticking my neck out for someone like you." The older announced. Raising a hand, he tapped his temple with his fingers.
Scooting back into a corner, Kara held up her malfunctioning weapon. Shaking hands carried the trait into the blade. With dire breaths, she pointed the since reddened steel tip at him.
Kuuuuush!
Steel tore through the top of the door. The two people trapped inside both covered their ears from the gun's loud shriek.
"Come on out! I won't ask again." The shooter ordered, banging against the door.
Kara found herself frowning at the sense of déja vu.
Barely even giving the girl so much as a glance, Otto walked right passed. Halfway across the room, he turned back around.
"Do me a favor." The man started, rolling up his sleeves. "If you plan on dying, at least try being a distraction for me and my men." The mobster requested apathetically.
"Screw you!" The blonde barked back, finding her voice at the hand of anger.
Kuuuuush! Kuuuuush! Kuuuuush!
The two recoiled from the unexpected followup of more gunfire. The pair covered up their ears with mirror-like unison.
Scooping up her things, the blonde gathered herself and stood back up. She was quick to move further away from the blockade, even if it meant getting closer to her abhorred acquaintance.
Ignoring the woman again, Otto openly turned his back to her without fear of the consequences. Facing a raggedy cot, he bent down, grabbing hold of it's rusted frame by the side. With a slight grunt, he started dragging the bed into the middle of the small room. Doing so exposed a large hole hidden underneath.
Stretching to get a better look from where she was standing, Kara saw it led clean through to the floor below. The main floor was now in sight.
Otto walked back over, taking a knee near the rotted wood. Creeping up from behind, Kara cautiously moved closer herself.
The pair both gazed through the break. They each stayed deathly quiet as they watched the grim sight below.
Dense squads of enforcers were pooling in from the since destroyed main entrance. Along the way, they left no room unchecked. Moving in units or two or three, one would breach only for others to start shooting.
Helpless from up above, the two vandals could do nothing but watch the slaughter take place. Screams outweighed the hails of gunfire. As time went on, this truth became inverse.
Kara felt sick at the efficient and total lack of hesitation from the armed force. The horrid sounds and nauseating smells were churning up her insides in ways she hadn't experienced before.
Beside her, she watched a wretched shade of emotion swallow up the mobster. His hands were convulsing in fury. His normally stoic face was a passionate rage bled red.
He was right.
That was the thought that ran through Kara's head. If this was what a real enemy did to someone, then there was no way to compare. She truly was insignificant.
The blonde found herself fixated on the man. The fire pumping through him was doing something to her that she couldn't fully comprehend. Subconsciously, she started reaching a hand out for his shoulder.
Before she could make contact, Otto leaped right through the hole.
Most of the enforcers already in the building, a rear guard of one straggler was slowly making his way through.
Dropping like a boulder, Otto dove boot first into the officer, landing mostly on his back and upper shoulders. The two were thrown to the floor hard and fast, hitting both sloppy and muddled.
Despite tumbling a ways off, the mobster was the first one standing. With a mad dash, he sprinted up on the still recovering armed party.
Yanking the enforcer back to his feet, Otto immediately covered the mouth with his hand. Choking him with an arm around the throat, he led the two of them into an already cleared out room. The door shutting from the inside, not even the faintest noise from their struggle could be made out.
About to follow the man down a level of the building, the sounds of a march kept her still. From the main doorway, a new patrol of men came flooding in.
Ku-Kuuuuush! Ku-Kuuuuush!
Panicking, Kara was harshly reminded of her more pressing emergency. Suddenly finding herself trapped without exit, she started running around the room. Beginning by the window, the sights of nail boards as well as iron bars were more than enough to dissuade her.
"Think. Think. Think." She repeated her herself in a frenzy.
Spotting a tear in the wallpaper opposite to the door, Kara rushed over. Ripping it off more, she found a deep impression caving in large portions of the drywall. Digging out as much as she could, the blonde sucked in her gut and squeezed herself in between the sections of the wall.
The instant she was hidden, the door was kicked open. Barely any room between the doorway and the cabinet, the door was instead ripped off it's hinges and cast aside out into the hall.
Scaling over the furniture, the enforcer took one look around the dingy room before finding the gaping hole in the ground.
"Dammit." The man muttered under his breath.
Turning back around, he vaulted over the furniture made barricade. Once back outside, he ran for the stairs.
Kara let out a sigh of relief. She could feel her body relaxing for the first time in what felt like forever. Shimmying toward the breach, she got ready to sneak back out.
Kreeeeeck
The lumber beneath her feet creaked loudly, unaccustomed to strain. A portion rocked unsteadily at her presence. Slow and steady, Kara spread her feet out, trying to distribute any unnecessary pressure.
A board snapped and one leg dangled below down to her knee. Struggling to pull her limb out, the whole sub-structure within the wall gave way, sending her plummeting along with the debris.
