Rylen was the first of many things; he was Bane's first suspect, the first person to have information about Bane, and the first to be threatened with a gun. Yet, amidst these unwelcome "firsts" was the conundrum that he faced with his eyes wide open. Although he was the third person to exit the theatre, he stood as the first individual to not be blindfolded.

He tried to soak in details of his surroundings but the best he could do was to confirm what Zane already knew - there was no secret room concealed behind the walls that Carmen searched. A sense of shock and anxiety left him in a state of mental numbness and his thoughts were utterly blank.

Bane had the upper hand; he already had Carmen under his grasp, and he had got what he had wanted. Still, here Rylen was, passing through the hallways, held back by two men he could toss to the ground if he really tried.

Rylen inferred that it could only be one of two things; either Bane believed that Rylen would never team up with Carmen after her betrayal, or that he had already taken care of Carmen's affair and that he was next.

He anticipated the arrival of fear, yet it evaded him. He expected the lump in his throat to swell, threatening to suffocate him, and his knees to quiver beneath his massive weight. He truly believed that his former assumption was highly unlikely and this realization only pointed to one unsettling truth: he was the next target Somewhere in his conscience, he knew he was as good as dead.

And at that moment, his breakthrough with the projector was so trivial.

Completely and utterly useless, just like the man he had proved to be.

He had failed to live up to his expectations.

But even that was fiddling in a matter of life and death.

A brooding, deep voice greeted him as he was forced to turn left. Strangely, despite its grave tone, the intonation sounded like symphonic harmony to his ears. He couldn't quite recall if it had been three days or four, but that detail hardly mattered. What he was certain of was that he had endured days of relentless arguments within the confines of a closed room. In stark contrast to that, this voice seemed like an angelic presence its presence both uncertain and oddly coherent in the chaos of his situation.

But angels didn't exist in real life. Rylen settled on calling this voice of that of a fallen angel.

As he matched the voice with the face, he found himself changing his mind yet again; the voice belonged to the devil.

"There's the man that betrayed me," Bane said, stoic.

The man's mere presence exuded the pungent odour of blood, his every sharp breath carrying with it a noxious reminder. Rylen, forced by Bane's henchmen, walked forward and finally located the origin of the scent. There, sprawled upon the marble floor, lay a carmen pool of viscous liquid that could only be described as blood.

Rylen glanced at Bane in an instant - he was unscathed. Although no lifeless body was present, Rylen couldn't help but be almost certain that Carmen had been Bane's victim.

And he was next.

Snap.

Bane stood inches apart from Bane. Both their shaky breaths formed turbulent tides of air in the closed space between them. The distressing intimacy only heightened the tension in the room as both men came to the realization that they were threatened by the other.

But only one of them held a gun while the other was held back.

"Is it true that you fed information about my business to Carmen?" Bane asked.

That little bitch, Rylen thought.

He gritted his teeth, sensing a new wave of rage unlike ever before. He had known her to be selfish but never did he expect her to throw him under the bus, especially when every word she told Bane had been a lie.

In some ways, Rylen viewed Carmen through a lens worse than he ever saw Bane.

"Is that what she told you?" Rylen wanted to play it cool, to laugh it off. He wanted to adopt Bane's tactic and throw him off.

Instead, he sounded like a deer caught in the headlights.

"You're not dumb Rylen, you know what happened here," Bane said, "Don't play games with me, or you'll end up like my wife. And Carmen."

His heart thumped loudly. What was the right move?

Rylen had always wielded a sword, never a quill, for he believed that blades could pierce deeper than words ever could. Yet, in that crucial moment, he yearned to tap into the ink within his heart, seeking to navigate through his predicaments with words, much like Carmen and Zane had mastered.

Except, words had failed Carmen as well. There was no hope for him.

"I did not tell her anything. I don't know why she's dragging me down with her," Rylen said.

Despite the naivety, he hoped the truth would set him free.

Bane laughed and his voice faded into the hollowness of his surroundings. His laugh was void of any happiness, rather it was a laugh to mask his plight.

"You know, I just realized. There was no use in talking to you. After all, I won't ever be able to infer whether you are lying or not," Bane said. Although he spoke directly to Rylen, his eyes roamed someplace else, "The outcome ought to be the same, doesn't it? Everyone here must die."

"I've always done the jobs you've asked me to, there's never been a problem. I will continue to keep that up, I promise."

"But you're already out, aren't you?" Bane asked. His words lacked the direction they once had, "Are you lying, Rylen? Are you Carmen's companion or not?"

"I'm not."

Rylen found himself in a state of utter confusion. Just moments earlier, the mere presence of Bane had promised his inevitable demise. Yet, within a short period, it was as if Bane had become trapped in a trance, haunted by the spectres of the people he killed, rendering him incapable of confronting the immediate danger that lay before him.

That's when it hit Rylen. Before Bane went cuckoo, he threatened to do to him what he had done to his wife.

What he had done to Carmen.

Carmen was dead.

"Oh my god," he muttered.

In that moment, the very ground could have devoured him without his notice. Clutching his torso, he gasped for air, his words escaping in ragged, incoherent breaths. He found himself lost within, unable to comprehend his own words and actions, only aware of his presence in a nightmarish reality. His heart ached, and he couldn't discern whether it was due to Carmen's death or the relentless fear that he was next in line. Amidst this torment, the lost and erratic state of Bane filled him with an even deeper sense of dread, for the uncertainty of when Bane might snap out of it was far more unsettling than comforting. In the end, nothing seemed to matter. His emotions were irrelevant, his terror unimportant. His soul might as well have abandoned his body and sought a new owner.

In all the twenty years of his existence, he had the fortune of sensing all of the humans' six senses. However, he was at the point where they all had abandoned him.

All but one.

It was as if all his senses shut down just to heighten his eyesight before they were clouded by the mists of fear.

Beyond Bane's bulky frame, there was a door to the right side of the wall. Leading to that door was a trail of blood, a tiny aspect he had missed before. Considering the vague details that he had obtained, it could only mean one thing; Carmen's body was in there.

The handle on the door moved ever so slightly. It was a slow action but it repeated over and over again. It was as if this individual, well aware of the looming danger beyond, held out hope that the right person would heed her silent plea for assistance.

And just as she had hoped, Rylen had noticed.

Carmen hadn't given up just yet.

Despite the treachery, Rylen couldn't abandon her now.

Rylen still saw them as a team.

Carmen was the worst; she caused him to be trapped in this predicament, she tried to escape alone and she had just recently thrown him under the bus for something that wasn't even true. Rylen didn't trust her. But he trusted her instinct to protect herself, no matter what. If teaming up with Carmen ensured his freedom, he was ready to throw his hate away. For his own sake, if not for Carmen's.

"Bane," a voice said, but it wasn't Rylen's.

To his utter shock, one of the men who held on to him spoke to Bane directly, something he wasn't sure they were allowed to do. These henchmen were typically men of few words, having previously spoken only to threaten Rylen. So what was it that made them speak again?

"The door. Someone is trying to open it," the words came out in a whisper.

The man who had once seemed nebulous cleared the clouds that blocked his mind. Bane's jaw tightened as his eyes bounced off of Rylen and onto the door, where one of his hostages lay. As he looked at Rylen again, he realized that Rylen had landed on the truth, cutting through his attempt at deception.

Carmen was not dead.

Chaos broke loose.

The door flung, wide open.

A weak, raspy voice sounded from the edge of the room, the source of the voice being that of a bleeding leg, "The projector. You can control it."

The white room turned crimson red.

Bane walked towards the room, his eyes red with fury. His boots stepped on the scattered blood, scattering them further away. Rylen felt his shoulders ache as the pressure around them was tightened. Everything happened in an instant and he whimpered under the stalwart grip as he tried to wriggle away from Bane's sidekicks.

On the other hand, Bane had entered the room, his hands glued to the back of his pants as he gripped onto a hard, shiny substance - Bane's only companion - the infamous gun. His bulky frame hid the dark and injured leg that had taken a huge risk.

At that moment, Rylen realised why he had been thrown under the bus; it was to bring him to the room that promised freedom.

Carmen had found the light in the darkness and she needed Rylen to be a torch to guide her there.

He could not let her down.

He tugged his shoulders, straining his muscles as he tried to pull away from the bulky men. A sharp pain flared in his lower back, like a lightning strike as their sturdy knuckles met his skin. He doubled over, staring at the ground as the two men held on to him even as he fell. Undeterred, he summoned every ounce of his strength, pushing his body weight down and dragging the two men along in a relentless struggle.

Resembling a meek branch, unable to hold on to a massive apple's weight, one of the men gave in. He scrambled to the ground with Rylen, causing all three men to collapse on the floor. Their valiant grip gave way and Rylen kicked himself off the ground, freeing himself from their shackles. His weary, leaden feet thundered as he delivered a brutal stomp to one of the men's rock-solid stomach, igniting a violent coughing fit. Amid the chaos, the other man clung to Rylen's right leg, and with swift precision, Rylen used his left leg to deliver a devastating stomp to the man's vulnerable neck.

But they weren't his main target. The room was.

He rushed towards the room to see a shuddering Bane and an unmoving Carmen, both consumed by the floor. It was no shock to see Carmen's condition; Rylen knew she had been shot. As he tried to look away from them and rather focus on what needed to be done immediately, he couldn't help but spot a tainted spot of red that was climbing up Bane's white shirt. His hand clutched the area around the blood and Rylen's gaze rested on Bane's reddening palm.

"Fucking hurry up, Rylen!" Carmen screamed, the action taking a toll on her body.

His eyes swiftly refocused on the shattered floor lamp gripped tightly in Carmen's hand. At its tip, crimson blood curled around the circular base. She had been prepared, plunging the lamp into Bane, buying time in her daring confrontation.

Rylen had to race against the ticking clock of uncertainty.

He walked over Carmen's limp body and stared at the equipment in amazement. In any other circumstance, he would have marvelled at the sleekness of the paraphernalia, but he was running out of time.

He rushed to the personal computer that was already running. Carmen must have turned it on. His eyes searched for a rectangular box, an item called an AV preamp processor. From what he had gathered from Adara, both families used to stream the same films and shows at the same time, so the preamp processor that Bane owned must have had wireless multi-room audio capability. If Rylen could get access to Adara's home theatre setup, he could transmit the message, asking for help.

But there was no telling whether they would see the message on time.

Beggars can't be choosers.

"You're making a grave mistake," Bane seethed. His voice broke but it frightened Rylen nonetheless.

Bane was leaning onto the wall for support, his ragged breaths filling the silence in the room. Behind him, the two men emerged once again, only to be blocked by Bane's body.

"Hurry up," Carmen whispered, coughing.

She kicked Bane's shin, inflicting more harm on herself than on him. Simultaneously, Bane's hands darted to his back pocket, retrieving the gleaming gun once more. The blinding reflection from the weapon sent shockwaves through Carmen, as the stakes reached a heart-stopping crescendo.

"So many lies Carmen," Bane said, sweating, "and it comes to an end now, for I know you had no one's help."

He pointed the gun away from Carmen, choosing to focus on the immediate threat. Rylen.

"Rylen!" Carmen exclaimed.

Her scream was drowned by the bullet smashing the computer screen, shards of glass exploding all over the room with the force of a hurricane. Rylen stumbled back at the force he had been hit with and his heart burned with adrenaline. He felt his body itch in pain as small shards of glass made their way up his back and every time his shirt moved ever so slightly, he winced.

But there was no gaping hole in his body.

Rylen didn't scream.

But Bane did.

A gut-wrenching, agonizing scream tore through the air, as the tip of the floor lamp penetrated into his skin. Surrounding the tip, the blood coloured his fair skin, dripping and marring the carpeted floor. The scream morphed into a gruesome silence, pierced only by the grotesque, squelching thumps of Bane's torn skin hitting the floor, its slimy, repulsive appearance creating bile in Carmen's throat.

He plopped to the ground, shaking tremendously.

Carmen didn't hesitate. She stuck her foot to Bane's face, calling out to Rylen simultaneously. Bane grabbed Carmen's leg with his hand, yanking it towards him as his sidekicks entered the room unarmed. Rylen abandoned his mission and came to Carmen's side, attempting to free her of his grasp.

"Get the gun!" Carmen commanded, her vocal cords ripping apart.

Rylen leapt forward, pulling the gun from underneath Bane's weight, the surface of the once metallic structure being caked with blood. The thick liquid felt odd in his hand and he quietly passed it over to Carmen, unwilling to hold on to it.

"Shoot them!" Rylen exclaimed.

"Are you crazy?" Carmen asked, crawling away from Bane's body, "We're better off calling for someone's help! If anyone finds all three of them dead, it won't look good for us, especially if they find out what we did to be held captive in the first place! We're not innocent!"

"What do you want to do?" Rylen asked, panicking.

"Take Bane's phone and call for help! Call your sister, anyone!" Carmen exclaimed.

Rylen scanned the room, his eyes transfixed on Bane's body. With what could be explained as a eureka moment, he tumbled over to Bane's side, searching his clothes for a phone. Bane spat blood on Rylen's face, distracting him as he landed his fists on Rylen's torso. He stumbled backwards, falling onto shards of glasses, bigger this time. He crawled towards Bane yet again, ignoring the searing pain in his back.

Only, he was met with heavy boots pinning him to the ground. Bane's henchmen.

"Stay back!" Carmen screamed, pulling the heavy weight of the gun to meet their eyes.

A maniacal laugh blended in with the coughs that filled the room. Despite the two holes in Bane's stomach, the void holes in his eyes were the most daunting of all, "You said it yourself. You can't shoot."

"But I can, and I've done it before," he continued.

One of Bane's acolytes lifted Rylen off the ground, his grip just as firm as before. Only this time, Rylen was weaker than he ever was.

"Call for help, Rylen!" Carmen screamed but he was just as helpless as she was.

Bane stood up, ailing support from his companion. Imitating Carmen, he held on to the floor lamp that lay limp beside him for dear life, pointing its edge at Rylen's back.

"Drop it!" Carmen exclaimed. Her eyes blurred as tears streamed down her face.

For once, she didn't know how to protect herself in all aspects.

Rylen stood frozen. The only thing in his body that seemed to work was his racing heartbeat for even his breaths had stopped short. Despite the risks, he knew Carmen wouldn't pull the trigger.

She couldn't pull the trigger.

Eighteen painstaking seconds hung in the air, each one stretching into an eternity. The room felt suspended in time as if the universe itself had momentarily paused. In those interminable moments, every heartbeat echoed like a thunderous drumroll, anticipation and dread intertwining.

A whip-like sound filled the room as blood splattered onto the walls. Rylen's back exploded with pain as a sharp substance forced its way into his body, paralyzing the voice in his throat. Blood pooled around his feet, combining with hot liquid that rolled down his pants. No one dared to make a sound and the sound of his body hitting the floor echoed loudly.

His face drowned in blood.

From the corner of his eye, he could see blood splattered in every corner of the walls, knowing no boundaries. The sound of the blood mixing with the air escaping from the lungs created a gurgling sound, a sound Rylen registered many seconds after it had escaped. It was a sound so foreign to him. So unlike him.

Only then did he feel splattered blood on his face. It was not the blood that drowned him, rather it was splattered onto him. But he felt a searing pain in his lower back. Why did blood travel to his face?

When he finally dared to turn his head around, he saw eyes and mouth, wide-open. As he travelled lower, a hole in his neck stared into his soul, the ends of the bullet peeking out enough for him to inspect every detail.

It wasn't his own blood that had drowned him.

It was Bane's. Nikson's.

Nikson was dead. 

𓆩⟡𓆪

A/N: I think it's safe to say that nobody saw that coming just yet 😅. It appears Nikson is dead. How do you think Zane and Adara are going to react to this news? Now that they are completely uninvolved in the killing and are free, maybe Carmen will have to deal with the new sets of problems on her own 👀 Either way, it's safe to say that it's not over yet. The four of them are free but definitely not safe. 
WC: 3289