(chapter twenty-one.) im gonna get us out of here
❝ YOU GO THROUGH THOSE VENTS AND... ❞

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POET WAS LOOSING BLOOD QUICK, HER HEAD FALLING TO ONE SIDE AND another when she was left heaving and panting. Klaus was in front of her, watching her once in a while with a worried look as Julian and Ben watched. She was bleeding from her lip, her nose, her forehead and it was terrible. She decided to let herself get beaten up rather than Klaus going through all of the pain.

"Maybe you're not hitting her strong enough," the man said, standing in the corner with his partner. Poet closed her eyes before she was kicked by Klaus who was telling her and begging her to stay awake.

"Me?"

"Bad move dude," Poet called out. "Women are stronger than men. Just saying. She's doing a good ass job punching me. You keep doing you, woman."

"You know if you weren't at the list of the people that know where this person we're looking for is," Cha Cha spoke up, "I would've wanted you to be my partner."

"Likewise."

Cha Cha turned to look at Hazel, hearing Poet's breath slowing down once in a while. "You're the one with the stupid orthopedic bracelet."

"I told you already it's for support," Hazel argued back. Poet rolled her eyes before she looked over at her twin brother and the deceased Hargreeve. She smiled a little at them and Klaus noticed.

"You can talk to dead people," Klaus said. Poet nodded and he laughed a little, clearly happy that someone saw what he saw and didn't call him crazy. "Bu—but how?"

"It's a family thing," Julian answered. "Usually gets triggered at the age of 21 and when we're near another person that can see dead people."

"I've been with you for 3 or 4 years and you've never been able to see dead people," Klaus furrowed his eyebrows. "Why didn't you see them before? Why now most of all?"

Poet shrugged before she stopped when the pain in her shoulder became too unbearable. "I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out why and why now when I'm with you guys. There's just too many answers left unanswered."

Poet sucked in a deep breath, feeling dizzy. She looked down at her stomach and saw her shirt being stained by the wound grazed in the flesh of her stomach. She was in and out of it. She couldn't focus for a damn minute. She shook her head.

"It's starting now, isn't it? Must be," Poet turned to look at the one who spoke, coming to find Ben staring at his brother. "Otherwise, who's the dead babushka?"

Poet looked at him and he was staring over the window where a woman was standing, mumbling incoherent words as she had a dazed look. Poet furrowed her eyebrows at the woman, confused on what was wrong with her.

"I don't know," Klaus answered, squinting his eyes. "But it's driving me crazy. The bitch won't shut up!"

"Hey!" Poet looked at the man who was looking at them over his shoulder. "Watch your mouth... What did I say about eyes front?"

"Stay calm, Klaus," both Ben and Poet reassured, noticing how the man was lightly shaking, eager to have one of those drugs that he loved to take. Poet closed her eyes and breathed in and out due to the pain that she was feeling. She was starting to feel numb.

"Remember section 76, sub A, of the training manual?" Poet heard the woman say.

"I barely remember what we had for breakfast at this point," Poet snorted, shaking her head, letting out a "same" when the words left his mouth. Hazel nodded his head at the girl.

"To paraphrase," the woman started, "torturing works best when you know who you're torturing. Hand me his coat."

They both walked towards the two, the man picking up Klaus' coat from the floor. The woman's voice got louder at some point and Poet shut her eyes, hands forming into fists as she struggled to get out of the ropes.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait..." Klaus let out, staring at the woman who was rummaging through each pocket of his coat. Poet grunted softly, shaking her hands even harder, her wrists burning. She stopped, though, when the man put pressure on her shoulder and more blood oozed out of the bullet wound. He then went to punch her in her stomach where the blood kept pouring out and kept doing so when the girl send a knife flying to his shoulder and chuckled.

"Let's see," Cha Cha said. Klaus paid attention to the woman again.

"What are you doing?" Poet glanced at the woman next to Klaus and then back at said man. She was not worried about them because she knew they were coming out alive due to her having a plan based on their escape. She was just worried about Paris and how he was doing with Diego. She knew she should've told Allison but Allison did mention wanting to spend more time with Vanya, so, Diego was then her second choice. "That's mine. That's my personal stuff."

"Oh!" She took out bags and Poet shook her head, knowing that those things were the most precious to Klaus. "What do we have here?"

"Let me see that," Hazel said, grabbing the small bags of drugs.

"Hey, no, no, no, no," Klaus immediately said. "Be... Be careful with that. It's... It's my asthma medication."

Poet looked at Ben who was shaking his head at his brother and she nodded, feeling the same way. Julian appeared next to her, the trio knowing that Klaus would give in.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

"Hey," Klaus immediately went to argue when Hazel stepped on the drugs. "No, hey! Whoa! No, hey, hold on! Hold on! We can have a conversation. We're adults..."

"Okay, you want more?" Poet closed her eyes, humming whatever song popped in her head. She started singing Metallica and Klaus looked at her with a confused look on why she was humming a song at this time. Poet raised a finger and he looked away to pay attention to the man.

"No! No!" Klaus started jumping on his chair. "No, no, no! Stop! Stop! Please, listen. Listen, I can.. I can get you cash. Amputee hookers, whatever. Hey, just, please, just listen. Just don't... No... Please..."

"Chocolate. Mm-mm-mm!"

"Please..."

Reading Klaus' mind, she immediately shook her head. "He's gonna open his mouth. He's gonna say something. He's gonna say it."

"You want a piece?" Poet looked at the chocolate and cleared her throat to keep her laughter in. Hazel passed it to Cha Cha, both not knowing what it is.

"You gonna tell him that it's special chocolate?" Ben questioned, making Poet stare at Klaus.

"Not until they're high as kites," Klaus answered and Poet smiled as best as she could despite the amount of blood loss. Her smile disappeared, though, when she saw Klaus, what seemed to be, shudder.

"Klaus, be strong you dick head," she breathed out, panting. Ben nodded at her words, noticing the girl closing her eyes. But he noticed the girl didn't give up easily and he wondered how many other times had she been so close to her death.

"Klaus, be strong," Ben repeated sternly.

"This could all be yours for the low, low price of telling us everything."

"Hey," Poet whispered to Hazel. The man looked down at her and she wrinkled her nose. "Can you scratch the top of my nose?"

"Yeah, sure," he did so and with her help on where it was itchy, she sighed with a satisfied look, the itch not bothering her as much.

"Thanks."

They turned to look at the two.

"Okay, fine," Poet shook her head and Klaus looked down at his lap before staring right back at them. "Okay, I don't... I don't know where Five is. I wasn't lying about that. But I can tell you that he's... hasn't... hasn't been making much sense since he came back."

"Elaborate."

"I... Uh..." Klaus started, continuing. "He's just been acting like a... a... a lunatic. He's been sitting in this van in front of a... a lab or something, and... looking for the owner of an eyeball. One of those fake ones."

"That makes no sense."

"Hold on, just hold on," Poet rolled her eyes, sitting up straighter in the chair. "Tell us more about this eyes, and why is it so important."

"Because he said it had something to do with the end of the times, or something," Klaus answered. The two masked people looked at each other and immediately went to get whatever they could to head towards the lab Klaus was talking about. When they were left alone, Poet and Klaus looked at each other.

"I'm gonna get us out of here," Poet promised quietly. Klaus only stared at the girl with concern. "But hopefully, that stupid brother of yours comes to find us."

"The one you like?" Klaus questioned. Poet flipped him off and he chuckled for the first time. "And what then?"

"You go through those vents and I'll fight the two off. Even if it kills me or whatever."