Chapter 10

Ariel’s body shook from fear and anticipation. As she hears the rounds, she screams in terror. But not one bullet hit her. Slowly opening her eyes she sees dark figures all scattered on the floor; each men had been shot dead. Who or what caused this to happen? Quietly, she mumbles some inaudible gibberish to herself. She looks around the room desperately searching for her savior. Instead, she hears a low groan.

“Oh…oh man…mmmm…ow,” said a familiar voice. “Geez that hurt! Never shoot ANYBODY when you’re down!”

Ariel turns behind her and spots a familiar face struggling to lift his upper body off the floor. It was the Lieutenant gripping onto his gun. Her eyes widen and she crawls fiercely towards him, using every ounce of strength left in her body to help him. As he sat up, Ariel is on the verge of tears.

“Damn…ow! OW,OW, OW, OW, OW!!!” he suddenly screams holding onto his chest, which the bullet was lodged in.

Ariel, unable to help, just examines his chest in fear. Painfully, the Lieutenant uses his right arm and pulls the shirt off, ripping the buttons and revealing a thin black vest. The bullet was driven deep into the vest and with a strong pull the Lieutenant takes the bullet off with a sigh of relief.

“Ugh…man, if I had a nickel for every time I was shot, I’d a rich man,” he said to her in a very light tone, tossing the bullet in his hand. Ariel just stared at him in disbelief.

“Wha…Wha ju…Wha ju happ…” she said unable to comprehend the situation.

“OK, OK get a grip. Don’t get a brain hemorrhage or anything. My health plan doesn’t cover that type of shtick so if you were to sue me, all those nickels would be put to waste, now wouldn’t it?” he said with a small smile and wide eyes.

He groaned when he tried standing up but he still helped her to her feet as well. Craning his neck, he rubs the sore spots which hit him hard. He had landed head first when he was shot. Suddenly from afar, he spots the Twin swords on the floor. That’s why this girl seemed so familiar; she was the same girl whom he had met couple weeks before. The Twin Sword Warrior was right next to him.

“My swords,” she said in a rush as she walked towards the massive blades. She wiped the dust off the casings and then put them on her back.

Even though she seemed like a normal girl and he seemed like a normal guy the inevitable was about to occur; she was still a murderer and he was still a police officer. Nothing has changed. He aimed the barrel of his gun then at her with an unflinching disposition and she stared right back at him. She was not stunned but rather mad. After everything that has happened to her, anger was the only thing fueling her to move on. Confusion was her enemy. It didn’t help her that she didn’t know how everything ended up the way they did, why Mike had left her defenseless and why this officer was pissing her off to the edge of insanity.

“Put your hands above your head,” said the now stern officer with his gun pointed directly at Ariel. “Do as I say…Now!” he screamed

“And if I don’t?” she said with a furrowed brow.

“Stay where you are, ma’am”, he ordered calmly. “Don’t make me have to resort to doing something I don’t want to.”

Does he really think that she cares about what he would do to her? She had lost her best friend in the world, had no where to go and was a fugitive on the run. Just do it! Shoot her right now, she thought honestly and cruelly. By all means, do it, end her misery.

The officer lowers his gun a bit and stares at the vulnerable girl in front of him. He can sense her bitterness and hatred in those beautiful eyes he had burned into his memory. That porcelain demeanor that once shone beautifully in the moonlight was now clenched together displaying her pain clearly on her face. She suddenly mumbled a few words under her breathe that snapped him back to reality.

“…stupid Mike,” she said softly.

That’s right; Mike! The name replayed in his head as he regains some of his memory back from what had just happened. Rewinding every scene in his head he remembers distinctively the name Mike and another random name. What was it…what was it…what?

“Ariel” he said softly.

Duller than any thud she has ever heard, the officer’s gun drops to the floor. All she could do was stare straight at him. He had the saddest expression she had ever seen on him; his head was low, his eyes were glistened with incoming tears, his breathing was inconsistent and he stumbled to keep his legs from weighing him down.

“Ariel…Lin. How can this happen?” he said softly. As he lifts his head up, he realizes that the girl was no longer in front of him and he was all alone in the underground hideout.