Chapter twenty seven

Through the storm

Kyle walked along the stone wall at the bottom of the cliff, banging his fist against the rock, searching for the door the hooded weirdo had mentioned. He'd tried not to question his indications or give him much thought. He was right. Kyle was walking into a trap already. And he'd already chosen to trust the guy.

His fist banged on a portion that sounded empty. Kyle stopped and analyzed the segment of wall. There was an awkward rock edge next to it. He pressed it and the door opened to reveal a dimly lit stone corridor.

Abandoning his thoughts about the odd man, he stepped in. The door closed behind him. He walked on quietly, one hand on the rock wall, looking at the wiring on the ceiling, listening intently for any movement. After only a few steps, he could make out weak voices. It seemed to be a man and a girl talking. Strong neon light loomed ahead. He never thought he'd see electricity.

His stomach clenched uncomfortably the closer he got to the light. The voices were getting louder, and he recognized them. The man was Snitch Gravel and the girl... Kay.

The light came from a room to the right. The tunnel ended right beyond it. Kyle stuck his back against the wall, next to the entrance, listening carefully. The two weren't talking anymore. The only sound discernible was a soft tapping, as if one of them was tapping their foot. He wondered how many men were in the room with them and if they were holding Kay.

"He's taking his sweet time," Snitch Gravel mumbled.

"He's coming," Kay said, her voice strangely thick, as if she were on the verge of tears. "Though I hope not. He already knows what's waiting for him here."

Kyle crouched and pulled out his combat knife. He wiped the blade on his t-shirt and tried to get it to reflect the interior of the room.

"You believe he'll leave you to the wolves?" Snitch Gravel asked interested.

Kay took a long time to answer. "No."

Snitch Gravel huffed. "You kids and your stupid obsession with love. Love is the biggest weakness in the world. It's the reason you've betrayed your boyfriend."

Kyle's hand froze in mid-air.

"I didn't..." Kay's voice died down. "Will you keep your end of the deal?" she asked, sounding very worried.

They had a deal. The knife clattered to the floor. Kyle stood and walked to the entrance absently. He stopped in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Kay and Snitch Gravel were alone. She wasn't tied up. There was nothing holding her there.

His heart thumped out of control, trying to leave his chest and return to a time and place where Kay hadn't betrayed him, when it didn't hurt so much to just breathe.

She stared at him with wide, tearful eyes, her lips quivering as if she wanted to talk but couldn't. He felt a strange surge of compassion and pity towards her. Why couldn't he hate her? Why did he still ache to grab her and run to safety?

"Well, well." Snitch Gravel rubbed his hands. "You've finally made it. I was beginning to think you didn't want your girlfriend back."

"Kyle, it's not what it looks like." Kay's tone was urgent and her voice shook. She opened her mouth, but closed it again.

"Why?" he asked. He wanted to scream, to crush something, but he couldn't find the energy for it.

"Oh, please, don't look at me like that." Tears poured down Kay's cheeks. "This should make things right...you should know the truth."

A jolt of anger made its way through the apathy and Kyle clenched his fists. "What truth? That you're a traitor?"

Kay blinked as if he'd brandished a whip before her. "No. I'm not a traitor. I only did this because..." She looked at Snitch Gravel as though hoping he'd save her. "He promised to leave the others alone." She swallowed heavily. "And tell me where my brother is."

Kyle felt as if she'd punched him in the stomach. This was what he had on her? An obvious lie and information about her dead brother? The fine line between love and hate had been wiped out, ready to be redrawn. "Are you sure you wanna play this game?"

Kay's eyes widened as though she understood perfectly what he meant. She shook her head slowly then turned to Snitch Gravel. "Tell him."

"Fine, I will." Snitch Gravel grinned. "Your girlfriend... or should I say ex-girlfriend is under the impression that I'm your father."

Even with the pain of Kay's betrayal, Kyle couldn't keep in the laughter. "Of course you're my father. And we're building a Death Star together."

"What a shame. He doesn't believe me." Snitch Gravel shrugged.

Kay looked from him to Kyle, her face pale, her eyes wide. "But you showed me all that..." She shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You forged the DNA test."

Kyle watched her as she seemed to finally do the math. He couldn't believe she'd been so easy to fool. "Of course he forged everything, Katherine." He ignored Kay's flinch at the use of her full name.

She turned to Snitch Gravel, fists clenched. "The others. What have you done to them?"

"You did a great job at helping me break up the dream team." Snitch Gravel smiled as if recalling something pleasant. "If all went well, there's no one else left alive to worry about."

Kay's arms fell slack to her sides. "What have I done?" she whispered.

All feeling returned to Kyle with the speed of light. He had no time for Snitch Gravel's stupid gloating. He had to see if the others were alright. He half-spun towards the door, but stopped once he caught Kay's eye. She looked angry and miserable at the same time.

And that's when he knew. It came like a flash of light, blinding and revealing at the same time in its intensity. He didn't know if it was naivety, confusion or temporary insanity that had pushed Kay over the edge, but her betrayal was the result of her fall. There was no secret agenda, no revenge plan, not even lack of love. Everything was just the monstrous manifestation of the misfortune that had followed him around most of his life.

His heart soared with the realization because still loving her didn't make him the biggest idiot in the world. They'd see to the hows and whys later. If her crappy judgment didn't get them killed first.

He nodded towards the entrance discreetly. Her lips still pouty, Kay nodded once.

She rushed across the room, grabbed Kyle's hand and ran down the tunnel.

"Where do you think you're going?" Snitch Gravel called after them.

"I'm so sorry," Kay kept mumbling.

"Shut up and run," he snarled.

They skidded to a halt. The exit was blocked by a group of armed men. They had a much better chance to face Snitch Gravel so they hightailed it back. Only that Snitch Gravel wasn't alone anymore. He snapped his fingers and two men grabbed on to Kay and tugged her.

Kyle tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her. "She has nothing to do with this. You got me, so let her go."

Snitch Gravel's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. "You would rather we killed you than her after what she did?"

"Yes." He looked Kay straight in the eyes. "If you manage to get away, run to camp. See if the others are okay. Don't come back after me," he whispered.

"Yes, but..." She bit her lip. "I'm so sorry, Kyle. I never meant for any of this to happen. I've been so stupid."

Yes, yes she had and he still felt like screaming, but now wasn't the time for apologies.

"As touching as this is," Snitch Gravel said, bored. "I'm not letting her go. I have a much better idea instead." He snapped his fingers again.

The men that had reached the door from the tunnel grabbed on to Kyle, twisting his arms behind his back and forcing him to let Kay go. More men came to them and immobilized her. She struggled and thrashed against them, trying to break free.

"Take her downstairs," Snitch Gravel ordered. "And you." He nodded towards the men holding Kyle. "Follow me." He walked to a door on the other side of the room.

Kyle sunk his heels in the floor and looked after Kay, but she'd already been taken away through another door. The men pushed him forward and he was forced to keep pace. They walked in silence for what seemed like forever. Kyle listened as hard as he could, trying to catch sounds of Kay.

"Where have you taken her?" he asked.

"Don't worry. You'll see her again." Snitch Gravel said as they entered a large, barren room with a cage at the back of it. He opened the door and Kyle was shoved inside. "I'm not done playing with you." He slammed the door and locked it again.

"Where are you going?" Kyle asked, sticking to the cold iron bars.

"To torture your girlfriend. Maybe she'll tell me more about what you're up to." Snitch Gravel raised his eyebrows. "She was pretty unwilling to give me any info that went outside the fields of my lie." He shrugged and headed for the exit, followed by his men.

"No! Get back here," Kyle yelled, but Snitch Gravel ignored him and left the room, shutting the door with a loud thud.

Kyle's heart beat frantically. He had to do something, anything to get out of there and save Kay. Just the thought of those assholes touching her almost sent him over the edge.

"Kyle?"

He jumped and turned around. He'd been so busy with Snitch Gravel that he hadn't noticed anyone else in the cage. "Harry?" he asked, unable to believe his eyes. What was Sam's best friend doing there?

"It is you!" Harry rushed forward as if he wanted to hug Kyle, but seemed to change his mind at the last moment. "What are you doing here?"

Kyle's mind swirled rapidly. He yelped. "You came here with Jessie."

"Well, yeah." Harry rubbed his head. "What's going on? Is Sam here too?"

The knot in Kyle's chest tightened even more. He didn't want to say the words Sam and dead in the same sentence even if there was a could in there too. Screams broke through the temporary silence. Kay's screams.

"Kay! No!" Kyle pulled back and rammed himself into the bars full force. The iron cut into him and they didn't budge. If he really had some sort of super-strength, this was a great time to use it. He rammed himself against the bars again. Then again.

"What are you doing? You're not going to break through like that," Harry said, shocked.

It all sounded like distant, pointless mumbling. Kyle straightened up and started jumping up and down. If that weirdo was right and some potion ran through his veins, one that gave him the force he needed, maybe stirring it would help.

It turned out it didn't. After what seemed like hours of attempts, Kyle dropped on the cold stone floor, his head in his hands, his whole body shaking with the effort. He was sure he'd almost busted the door off its hinges once, but the accelerated heartbeat made him dizzy and Kay's screams pierced his being.

Harry had tried to convince him to give up, then tried to help, but now sat quiet, leaning his back against the bars.

The door opened and the screaming became louder. A reedy man stood in the doorway, his dirty teeth revealed in a grin. A key ring dangled from his belt. He slammed the door behind him and the screams died down.

"You!" He pointed at Harry. "Get back in your corner if you know what's good for you."

Harry scurried back immediately, leaving Kyle alone next to the bars. The man strode over, his grin becoming wider with every step. Kyle got to his feet and waited. This strutting idiot might just be his way out.

"Oh yes, how I want to see you bleed." The guy took a long knife out and brushed his thumb on the blade gently.

"Where's Kay?" Kyle asked, completely ignoring the knife.

"Being questioned by the boss. Can't you hear?" He put his hand to his ear then laughed and stopped in front of the bars. He was almost a head shorter than Kyle. "You want these?" He took the key ring from his belt and twirled it around his finger. "So close, but yet... so far. Come on, little mouse, maybe you can grab them."

Kyle pressed himself against the bars but made no move to take the keys. The man jumped forward and stuck his knife to Kyle's neck.

"You stupid brat." He laughed. "Did you really think I'd give you the keys?"

The blade pressed against his neck, but Kyle didn't pull back. His hand shot out through the bars and wrapped around the man's throat, pushing him back just a little. Kyle's arm was longer, so the man couldn't reach him and stab him.

Reedy gurgled, flailing his arms desperately as his oxygen ran out. His knife snuck between the bars and swiped against Kyle's thigh. He winced, but didn't release his hold. The man's face caught a tinge of blue and his movements became slow and uncoordinated. Kyle pulled him closer and punched him in the face.

The knife clattered to the floor and the man followed with a dull thump, knocked out. Kyle squatted to grab him and pull him closer to the cage. Pain shot from his cut and his leg almost gave in under his weight. The cut was deeper than he'd thought, but he had no time for it. He grabbed the keys from the man's belt, unlocked the door and threw the ring to Harry.

"Get out of here."

Harry rushed out of the cage carrying his rucksack and Kyle's survival kit. "How about you?"

"I'll be right behind you. I have to get Kay out." He took the backpack and strapped it on.

"I'll help you."

"No, it's too dangerous. And I want you to get to camp, see if the others are okay." Kyle pulled the map out and handed it to Harry. "You'll find the camp marked on the map. Watch out for a trip wire or you'll get caught up in the trap."

Harry looked at the map, swallowed heavily, then nodded. The two rushed out of the room, Kyle limping slightly. Kay's screams greeted them, and Kyle had his direction, while Harry hurried the opposite way.

Shit, shit, shit! This was the worst possible way to enter a fight, tired and limping, but he had no choice. He reached a heavy metal door and pushed it open.

Six men stood around a simple wooden chair. Kay sat on the chair, her hands tied behind her back, her ankles tied to the chair, blood dripping down the front of her white shirt from her nose and mouth.

"Get away from her," Kyle said, his voice threatening and much more certain than he felt.

The men turned to him, looked at each other, then started laughing. One of them waved to the others and headed toward Kyle, obviously thinking the blood dripping out of him made him harmless. Kyle charged forward and rammed a punch in the man's stomach. He let out an oomph and flew off his feet, landing with a thud three feet away.

The laughter in the room died down instantly. The rest of the men rushed to him, fists and knives raised. Kyle bent his knees, trying to keep his weight on his good leg and dodged the attackers as best as he could. He felt crippled using just his hands, but he wouldn't risk his leg giving out under him.

One of the men punched him in the ribs. He gritted his teeth and pushed on, dodging them, throwing punches left and right, trying to reach Kay and untie her. He dodged one of the attackers and woke up face to face with another who punched him in the face. Kyle's cheekbone crunched and a groan slipped out.

"Finish him off already!" one of the man called.

Kyle whipped around. One of the men charged at him holding a knife. Out of reflex, Kyle round-house-kicked him in the chest with his good leg. The bum one gave out under him and he fell into a crouching position. The men stepped back, apparently thinking he'd done a cool trick, not almost fallen over.

A crash, a scream and a thud came from behind him. Kay had thrown herself to the ground, chair and all, against one of the men behind Kyle. He shot towards her, knocking everything out of his way. Kay struggled and managed to untie her hands, then hurried to untie her ankles.

"You're hurt," she breathed as soon as he reached her.

"I'm hurt?" He punched an incoming man in the stomach.

One of the men charged out of the room and called for help. Kay kicked one of the few standing men down. "We have to get out of here." She nodded towards the wall. "There's a door there."

Kyle nodded and the two of them rushed that way, Kyle doing his best not to limp. At least Kay could walk properly, even if blood still dripped down her chin. Kay yanked the door open and ran out. Kyle rammed the door shut. A bump came from the other side as the two men following them crashed into the door. Kyle pulled the bolt to lock it.