Chapter 104: I Will Find You.
Armand was already approaching his room, when suddenly a question from the side stopped him at the very door, "Did you decide to go for a walk when it's nearly dark?"
"Oh, Richard, good night! Can't you sleep a wink too?" Armand put on an innocent smile and greeted the night visitor.
"Well, I'm used to it, but to meet you at such an hour is a big surprise," the man looked intently at the young man as if trying to read his thoughts.
"Yes, I usually sleep like a log, but today I can't get to sleep at all. Please excuse me," Armand grabbed the handle of his door and was about to open it.
"Herr Steiner! Herr Steiner! The prisoner ran away!" One of the soldiers, out of breath, ran up to Richard and reported on the incident.
"Who?"
"Arenson."
Richard's eyes flashed with fire, he threw a withering glance at Armand. The young man opened the door of the room and was ready to go inside, but Richard slammed the door right in front of him, "Hold it!" he commanded. "Go and check the camera in the dungeon under the western tower, now!"
The soldier ran to execute the order, and Richard leaned against the door and asked Armand with an ingratiating voice, "You do not want to tell me anything, do you?"
Armand swallowed a lump that came up to his throat, "No. I have nothing to say. I'll go to sleep." He tried to open his door, but Richard blocked it.
The soldier who ran to check the camera returned and reported, "Herr Steiner, the girl is also gone. The camera is empty."
"Hmm, what an unexpected coincidence, isn't it, Armand?" Richard said to the young man. Arman said nothing in reply.
"Guards, take the young Taubert to the interrogation room. And ask his father to "have a talk" with him," Steiner ordered.
Among all the soldiers in the castle, Arman's father was the most brutal when it came to interrogating prisoners. And everyone knew about it.
"Attention, get the raid patrol ready. We will start in ten minutes!" Richard shouted and ran to the ceremonial hall, where they had been conducting experiments on Lena and Daniel before. 'Well, that's even better. I can try one thing in action. Get ready, my kitten. The hunt is about to begin!'
. . .
Daniel was holding Lena's hand tightly while they were running as far away from the castle as possible. They crossed a small forest clearing, there was a field ahead, and then a more dense forest, where they could hide well from possible chasers. It was necessary only to cross this field as soon as possible.
He leaned against a tree and tried to catch his breath. His heart was pounding like crazy and breaking with pain. He came into himself only yesterday, and such a load could be fatal for his physical condition.
He clearly heard the words of the doctors examining him, that even if he came to life after death, his condition was far from ideal. He had no more than a week to live. But the young man did not care about it at all. His only goal at the moment was to save his girlfriend.
"Daniel, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?" Lena asked him. She immediately noticed that he was abnormally pale.
"No, all is well, dear. Do not worry. Come on." He took her hand in his warm palm, and they began to cross the field.
The roar of the engine and the light from the projector made them freeze in place.
The searchlight on the roof of the castle lit up the whole territory as if it was a day, and they were clearly visible. Daniel squeezed the girl's hand and ran with all his might. At that moment the automatic fire burst their path.
The plane turned around and opened fire. They were in the middle of the field, and there was nowhere to hide. The snow that covered all the ground, like a blanket, only made the situation worse. Daniel pushed Lena on the ground and covered her with his body. The gunfire took place next to them, and the young man cried out in pain.
"Daniel!" The girl screamed and began to examine him. Red drops of blood mixed with white snow. His arm and leg were shot through, and every movement caused him pain.
The plane turned and lowered the altitude as if swooping down on them. "Damn," Daniel sat down in the snow, covering the girl with his chest, and pulled out a gun. He never shot at anybody, he didn't know if that would make sense at all, but that was his last hope.
The young man narrowed his eyes, focusing on the pilot. Thanks to his eyesight, he saw the man perfectly, as if he was under his telescopic sight. He held his breath and fired. The bullet passed through the protective glass and pierced the pilot's arm. The man screamed in pain, let go of the steering wheel, the plane lost control, and crashed to the ground, a few meters from the couple.
Flames devoured the remnants of a fallen plane. The pilot's voice was no longer audible. Daniel tried to get up and immediately fell to the ground. The leg did not move. The young man realized that he could no longer go any further.
"Lena, listen, now you must go on your own. Take the map. As soon as you cross the forest, turn right and hold on to that road. If you hurry, it will take no more than an hour."
"What? What does it mean to go on my own? I will not leave you here!"
The girl felt scared by the mere thought of parting with him.
"You know, it always amazed me how beautiful and clear your eyes are. Although you have had so much to endure lately." He touched the girl's face, wiping away a tear that rolled down her cheek. "Well, well, my dear, do not be sad. You know that I will definitely find you. Even after death. And now you have to go." His gaze was full of tenderness, slightly leaning forward, he touched her lips.
"No, I'm not going anywhere!" Lena hugged him as tightly as possible. A feeling of despair filled her heart. White snow, which was falling slowly, only intensified the feeling of complete hopelessness. Daniel touched her face with his warm palms and began to kiss her lips desirefully. He knew that this was his last chance to feel her.
He turned and looked at the hill. Small black dots began to move in their direction. 'Damn, it happened earlier than I thought.'
"Lena, you need to run. We have no more time. The raid squad is already here. Listen to me, they won't do anything with me. We are important samples of their damn experiment. I can protect myself. So please, you have to save yourself. I beg you, run!"
"But…"
"I said, RUN!"
Taking his words as an order, Lena's legs, not listening to the wishes of her heart, carried her away from this place as quickly as possible. She crossed the field and ran into the forest. Out of breath, but finding the strength to move on, she heard nothing but knock in her chest. Suddenly, the ground disappeared under their feet, and the body lost its balance.
The girl tried to get up, but sharp pain, like a knife, slashed her leg. She grabbed the ankle. 'Did I twist it when I fell?' Lena looked around and found herself in a deep hole. Overcoming pain, she began to climb the slope, when suddenly a voice from above made her stand still,
"Oh, and who is this hiding here? Did the little mouse decide to play with the big cat? Honey, you can't hide from me. Neither in this life nor in the next one."
Lena looked up, and her heart sank in horror. She has just lost her last chance to survive.
Richard grinned, and his devilish smile in the moonlight turned him into the likeness of an angel of death.
"H-how did you get here?" She could not believe her eyes. It was impossible for him to track them down so quickly and, especially, to find her. There was complete silence in the forest, and the girl was sure that no one but her and Richard were around. Then how could he find her so quickly?
"To be honest, I myself did not expect this thing to work so well," he raised his hand and showed her the gold bracelet. It was in an unusual shape and looked more like a mechanism than an accessory. It was one of the artifacts that they brought from Tibet along with the scrolls.
"You see, we made hundreds of attempts to try to make this thing work, but as it turned out, ordinary people cannot use it. But you and I are no longer ordinary people, are we?" The man pressed a button on the bracelet and in the blink of an eye appeared beside the girl. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to himself, "Gotcha!"
Lena glanced at his satisfied face, he pressed the button again, and the two of them moved back to the field instantly. The girl turned her head, and she and Daniel looked at each other in astonishment. What the hell has just happened?
"Hi!" Richard waved his hand to Daniel with a feeling of complete triumph. Daniel immediately pointed a gun at him. "But you shouldn't do this, boy," Steiner unbuttoned his jacket and pointed to the device hanging on his chest,
"This little thing is one of our latest developments. This bomb is connected to me, and even if you can kill me on the spot, your girlfriend will also die. Since the detonator will work 15 seconds after my pulse stops and nothing will be left alive within a square mile. Are you sure she can run so fast?"
Daniel frowned and lowered the gun. "Through the gun away," Steiner ordered, and the young man did as Richard said.
"Stand still. If you move more than a step, I will kill him immediately," Richard hissed in Lena's ear and came closer to Daniel.
Richard looked down at him, "Oh, what a pity. Looks like you can't even get up." He squatted down and went into a whisper, "Soon the squad will arrive here, and they will take your girlfriend with them. And you... you shall stay here. But all this is not important. Because from now on you and I are connected.
Even in the next life, I will haunt you like a shadow. You will sense my presence, but you will not even notice me. I will again take away from you all that is dear to you. And in the end, I will take her again. And you will not be able to do anything. Just like now.
Because I am your creator, I am your god, and you cannot resist me either now or later."
"You're not a god, you're just a madman!" Daniel hissed and looked at him with a look full of hatred.
Richard grinned, watching the stubborn resistance of the young man, even when he was on the verge of death, "This madman will own everything while you are rotting in the ground."
"Huh, everything, you are saying? Are you sure?" Daniel laughed in his face, "Even if all the good things of the world are in your power, and all people are your slaves, you will never get one thing!"
"And what is it?" Richard asked skeptically.
"Love."
"Love? Are you serious?" Steiner made a face like he heard some kind of silly joke. "Boy, at your age, being nineteen years old already, do you still see the world through rose colored glasses? Such useless things like love and other things like it are absolutely not interesting to me."
"Let's see what you will say when you will be standing on top of the world and feeling the emptiness and meaninglessness of everything that you have been doing all this time," Daniel replied.
Richard looked at the young man seriously, and then a wide smile lit up his face, "Oh, man, are you provoking me now, right? Very interesting, considering what position you are in. How about a bet? Let's see if your love will help you in the next life."
Richard got up and walked slowly towards Lena. "Kitten, do you know that during stress, the brain starts working much more efficiently? A conversation with your boyfriend brought one interesting thought to my mind. Oh, love... People are so happy when they find it, and so sad when they lose it..." He turned back and looked at Daniel, a devilish smile slid across Steiner's face. "Thanks for the help."
Bang!
And the young man fell dead to the ground.
"DANIEL!!!" Lena felt as if the abyss had opened under her feet. Daniel lay motionless on the ground, and his light shirt was slowly soaking in blood on his chest.
She wanted to rush to him, but Richard was holding the girl firmly, not paying attention to her screams. "Come on! Fall into the abyss of despair! Show me all the power of your hatred! Show me what you can do!"
Lena felt that she was beginning to gasp and everything darkened in her eyes.
The girl suddenly stopped talking and stopped twitching. Richard looked at her, and at that moment an invisible force lifted him up to two meters, and then threw him to the ground with great speed.
The man groaned in pain and tried to get up, but his body seemed paralyzed. The same force picked him up again, and the man's body hung a meter above the ground.
Lena was standing in front of him, but the girl's aura was different from the one that was before. She was like a different person. No, she was like another being. Her face showed no emotion, and her eyes were lifeless as if they had no soul.
The girl tilted her head slightly, and Richard felt how an invisible rope started pulling his throat. He began to choke.
"Stop," he whispered with difficulty. Invisible rope eased its pressure.
"Listen to my voice and obey me. I am your creator. I am your Master," Richard continued in an even voice. "Put me down on the ground."
The girl straightened her head and executed his order. Richard's body sank to the ground smoothly.
He bent his hand and realized that he could move just like before. The man stared at the girl in disbelief. He paused for a second and then laughed out loud, "Yes! So this is how the power of ancient people works! Amazing!" He had never experienced such excitement in his life.
"Hmm, well, let's check how strong your abilities are. Do you remember the content of the scrolls that I gave you?"
"Yes, Master," the girl replied.
Richard's eyes glittered, "Did you manage to decipher them?"
"Yes, Master."
"Incredible..." he whispered, enchanted by her power. He took a step forward and touched her face. The girl did not make the slightest movement. As if she did not care about his touch.
He began to look into her indifferent and lifeless eyes, and the insane desire to possess the body of this entity eclipsed his mind. He wanted this power to belong to him, obey him, and only him.
He wanted to own it completely. She was his perfect creation.
"My Eve...," Richard whispered, lifted Lena's chin and leaned over to kiss her lips.
Daniel barely opened his eyes, but apart from total darkness, he could not see anything. Chest pain was getting stronger and stronger every second. His ears were ringing, and he vaguely heard Lena's screams somewhere far away. He tried to call her to calm her down, but the only thing he could say was stifled rales.
'Damn, now this is the end indeed...," he closed his eyes again. What was the use of them if he saw only darkness? 'God, if you really exist, I beg you, let me be with her again. If this person has told the truth, and I can see her again in the next life, please give me the strength to protect her.
I agree to everything. May she not remember me, may she not remember us, I do not want her to remember all this. Leave this pain to me. Just give me the strength to create a world for her where she will be safe and happy. Even if she is without with me...'
A tear rolled down Daniel's cheek. He opened his eyes and saw flakes of white snow falling on his face. The young man turned his head with difficulty, and his heart froze. He saw his beloved girl standing motionless, and Richard was looking at her with eyes full of lust. The man raised his hand and touched her cheek.
'Do not you dare to touch her with your dirty hands!' Daniel wanted to run up, push him away, but he didn't have the strength even to speak these words out loud.
He raised his hand, mentally pushing Richard from Lena, but the latter was getting closer and closer to her. Daniel lowered his hand and took a few breaths. The young man turned his eyes and saw several metal shields from the fuselage of the plane, lying nearby. He focused all attention on them. This idea seemed to him extremely crazy, but for some reason, he believed that he could do so.
One of the shields shivered and slowly rose into the air. Daniel mentally led his hand until a wide metal plate was over Richard's head. Daniel's hand fell to the ground, and his heart took its final blow.
Richard felt a strange shadow hanging over him. He looked up and saw a huge piece of metal aiming at him with its sharp edge. He bounced off the girl, but the plate followed him and fell with a crash from above.
"Agggr," he cried out in pain. The lower part of his body was tightly pressed to the ground. He tried to move the shield, but couldn't do it. "Oh, how dare you disobey my order?" The man was sure that the girl was behind this.
"It's not me," Lena replied monotonously.
"Who was that then?" Richard asked her. The girl turned and pointed to Daniel.
"Ha? Come on?! Was this punk capable of doing something like this?" Steiner was surprised to his very core. But he was more concerned about something else. "Now take that damn piece of iron off me!"
"I refuse."
"What? How dare you disobey me?!" Richard grabbed the bracelet to teleport himself, but to his great regret, it was broken. "Fuck, as if that wasn't enough!"
As soon as he thought about it, something peeped at him and began to count monotonous clicks.
A shiver ran through his body. "What the fuck?!" The bomb on his chest was activated and began to count down. He lay down on the ground and laughed like crazy, "Ahaha, damn, I did not expect it to happen so quickly. We'll have to continue our game a little later." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Lena turned around and went in the direction of Daniel. With each step, consciousness was slowly returning to her.
15, 14, 13, 12... The counter on the chest of Richard continued to count. The man silently lay waiting for the inevitable.
The girl sat down on the ground and pressed the lifeless body of a young man against her. "So cold..." She stroked his hair, his face.
10, 9, 8, 7...
She touched his lips. They were cold and still. She looked at him one last time, and a faint smile slid across her face. Daniel seemed to fall into a deep sleep.
"You promised you would find me even after death. I will be waiting for you," Lena whispered.
5, 4, 3, 2...
"I love you…"
A bright flash lit up the night sky.
. . .
Elena opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. Tears were running down her cheeks. The girl closed her eyes. Prior to this, chaotic images lined up in a logical series. How could she forget about it? More precisely, why did she not remember this? So David has been aware of everything all this time? What did he feel when she aimed a gun at him during their last meeting?
"Did you sleep well?" A man's voice unexpectedly brought her back from the cycle of her own thoughts.
The girl jumped on the bed and stared at the man sitting opposite. Rick smiled his charming smile back.
A wave of emotion swept Elena. Hatred, anger, indignation, disappointment, disgust. All the most disgusting things one could feel about the person was raging in her at that moment when she saw his pleased face.
"Richard..."
"Long time no see, my little kitten. Are you ready for a new game?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone