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🔥Haunted - Chris Grey

(I unofficially declare this as Qimir's theme song now lol)

*****

As Qimir's ominous presence filled the room, it was as if a thick layer of fear blanketed over every person that was present before him.

But rather than fear, it was longing that overpowered me. I genuinely thought he had died. I had lost all hope that he would come back for me, and that I would not be able to see him anymore.

I had to blink several times to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating.

"Don't fucking move, or I stab her in the neck." My captor hissed, fear evident in his voice. Qimir's head tilted.

"You won't. You need her alive, remember?" Qimir's voice was casual, almost humorous, even.

"Don't test me, you fucking psycho." He hissed as he pressed the knife harder, drawing blood. I hissed in pain.

The light in Qimir's eyes completely vanished at the sight of my blood, and his grip on the lightsaber tightened further. He outstretched his free hand and in the blink of an eye, the knife against my neck came flying into his own hand. He glanced at it in dismay before proceeding to throw it against the nearby wall, hard enough that it punctured through the metal.

I took this chance to headbutt my captor, giving me chance to break away from him. Qimir was about to force choke him but was interrupted when a blaster shot towards him. He was quick to deflect it using his lightsaber. The other four men shot at him with all their best, but Qimir expertly manouvered his saber to deflect every shot, even confidently stepping forward towards them as he did so.

I didn't watch further as I had to run away to safety to dodge the deflected blaster bullets. However, a hand harshly grabbed me by the hair, stopping me. I quickly aimed my elbow towards the face of my captor, sucessfully hitting his jaw and momentarily disorienting him.

I turned around and unsheathed my dagger, not wasting a moment to lunge at him. However he managed to block my arm as the blade was just an inch away from his eye, and I struggled to counter his strength. He kicked me in the stomach, causing me to stumble on the floor.

I looked at a distance and saw Qimir fighting the four men all at the same time, and I noticed he had deactivated his lightsaber to fight them hand to hand. Despite this, he seemed to be able to manage quite well.

Perhaps, he didn't find them worthy enough to be killed by his saber.

Before my captor could hit me while I was on the floor, I quickly rolled away and took the chance to snatch the whip that was secured on his belt. I looped it twice around his neck and kicked the back of his knee to prevent him from standing, the sudden force causing him to cough and choke.

"How many children have you hurt with this?" I whispered in disbelief, my voice thick with emotion as I could only imagine the pain of hundreds of children that went through the same torture as I did. His hand desperately clawed at his neck in a futile attempt to tug it loose.

"You're no human. Your soul deserves to go to hell." I hissed into his ear as I pressed my foot on his back harder, constricting his throat more. "Fuck it, you deserve to rot at the deepest pit of hell."

I pressed my foot harder, allowing him to agonizingly choke harder as the whip constricted his throat tighter and tighter. As soon as I heard the sound of bones crunching, I let go.

He fell face down on the floor unmoving, yet still alive and desperately trying to breathe through his broken throat. I slowly stepped back as I watched what I have done, feeling a sense of accomplishment rather than guilt.

I felt as if I've finally defeated my nightmare.

I heard footsteps approach and I looked up to see Qimir, his cold gaze fixated on the man on the floor. His four opponents already lifelessly lay on the ground where they had fought at a distance.

"Is he the one that made you suffer, Eli?" He asked gently, his eyes momentarily softening as he looked at me. I slowly nodded.

He crouched down to grab the man by the shirt and lifted him up in the air with one hand, high enough that his feet dangled off the floor. Qimir looked at him with pure hatred in his eyes, and he had no choice but to look back as he had no energy left to struggle.

Qimir took a moment to look at me, as if waiting for me to say something. Then I realized, he was waiting for me to give him permission.

Permission to kill.

As soon as I closed my eyes, Qimir considered this as a 'yes' and I immediately heard the sound of bones cracking. A blood curdling scream emmitted from the man as every inch of his body broke, and I had to keep my eyes tightly shut to prevent myself from seeing the horrible sight.

It was enough that I heard him suffer.

A loud thud rang on the floor as his body dropped to the ground. I opened my eyes and saw Qimir with an outstretched hand towards me.

"Time to go."

I put my hand in his, and I found it strange that despite the blood on his hand, it still felt warm and comforting. But perhaps, it was also because I had blood on my hands too.

I was not in the position to judge him anymore because we have become so alike. I would have never thought that I was capable of being cold and ruthless. Or maybe, that's what I truly was all along.

As Qimir led us towards the exit, my attention was diverted towards the other hallway where the children were being imprisoned. I slipped my hand out of Qimir's hand and stopped by the end of the hallway.

"Eli, what are you doing?" He questioned.

"I have to save them," I pleaded. "I can't leave this place knowing I didn't do anything for them."

"We don't have time." He warned. "More people could arrive and--"

"It'll be quick." I said stubbornly, and I closed my eyes to focus on the force. I extended my connection and looked through the cells that lined the expanse of the long hallway, counting about fifty. Just like how I freed myself, I tried to focus on the chains that bound each and every child to the walls.The noise of chains clanking started to deafen the halls as I tried to detach them at the same time. One by one I felt the chains detach, but it was too slow. There were too many.

I started to feel pain envelope my mind, but I fought to keep it at bay, pouring all my attention at freeing the children. However, I felt my energy weakening.

Your pain is where your power comes from.

Qimir's voice rang in my head as I remembered what he had told me during training. Realizing what I had to do, I grabbed my dagger and sliced the length of my arms to draw blood.

"Eli!" I heard Qimir call out in worry, but I didn't pay him any mind. A new surge of pain and power flowed across my body, and I felt my connection to the force grow stronger. The chains detached from the walls at a fast pace, and the building started to shake as the metal gates shook uncontrollably at the hinges.

I felt blood drip down my nose and lips, the pressure on my mind becoming unbearable.

With a piercing scream, I clenched my hands as I pushed through the pain, and the metal gates came tearing off the walls and clashed into each other in the middle of the hallway with a loud bang.

There was a brief silence as the dust settled. I didn't even have time to check if all the children were okay as I started to feel the floor beneath me sway.

As I breathed out the last bit of energy left in me, my eyes rolled back into my head, and I felt my body fall into Qimir's arms.

****