7 yrs, Gone and Forgotten

Chapter 20: I knew his Name

    Instinct kicked in with the first woman’s scream, men began fighting throughout the building and the crowd began to panic. I first looked to the breezeway and could see that Scott and Theo had already moved the four to one of the doors at the top of the staircase and were standing guard. I grabbed a few guards and directed them to start moving the crowd out of the building through the exits, then I made my way to Arthur. I was small and light on my feet so those fighting around me never saw me as a threat which allowed me to move quickly to the other side of the room. Lance and Lane were already fighting their way through a group toward the corridor by the time I reached them. I didn’t waste any time moving out in front of them and knocking those opposing us down, I kept an eye out behind me to make sure Lance and Lane were following closely and guarding Arthur.

       Norm was already waiting outside for us with the car when we arrived with Arthur. I instructed them to get Arthur to the safe house and that we would be there soon, I knew they wanted to argue with me, but I didn’t give them a chance as I ran back through the corridor to the inside.

      Stopping at the bottom of the staircase I made my quick evaluation; the crowd had been taken from the building and now there were only groups fighting throughout the open space. From my calculations it looked to be about a hundred fifty of them. I scanned the room and located the members of Lumen’s security as well as ours, and then I looked for Eva. I hoped that she had made it out with the crowd seeing as how I couldn’t locate her.

       I stepped forward and felt a small prick to my arm which caused me to stop and look down. A needle with a large syringe was hanging from my arm with green serum being injected into my skin. Without taking time to think I grabbed the dirty hand holding the syringe and twisted it back until I heard the bones shatter leaving the man screaming obscenities at me as I jerked the syringe out and slung it through the air. I turned around slowly and watched as ten nasty looking men, with ratty hair, yellow eyes, decrepit teeth, and foul odors moved quickly out of the corridor and began to circle me.

      “What did you inject in me?” I demanded from the one on his knees holding his hand.

      He slowly stood to his feet and smiled making my stomach churn, “Enough wolfsbane to bring down the biggest wolf.” He laughed and the group stepped a foot closer to me.

      I laughed hysterically, wolfsbane really, who do they think I am and what kind of books have they been reading. My laughing was enough to make them take a step back. I crouched down slowly and smiled wickedly at them, so they wanted to play, I was game. “Bad news for you boys, I don’t know what you want from me, but this isn’t a fairy tale, and I am not the main character of a horror film, so let’s do this.”

      “It’ll kick in soon enough kid.” The one with the broken hand laughed. “Get her boys, the hunters are paying a hefty bounty for her.”

      The first one stepped in and threw the first punch, but I was quicker catching his arm and throwing him into the other men. I didn’t have time to think any more about their words as they started attacking. I didn’t even have time to think about my moves as I felt like I was watching a movie only in my own body while it moved on its own accord, dodging, blocking, punching, kicking; moving in a way I didn’t even know I could. The more men I knocked down, the more that moved towards me until I finally realized I was also fighting Lumen’s men and they were as determined to fight me as the nasty men had been. The looks in each one of their eyes as I took them down slowly was pure determination, and I felt like I was putting up the fight of my life. They managed to land a few blows here and there, but I just kept going, I had no other choice.

     Knocking the last man out I stood straight and huffed while straightening my clothes. I turned slowly around, and it looked like someone had set a bomb off in the middle of the room with all the bodies laying around me. I looked up to see our men and some faces I didn’t recognize staring at me with confused looks, maybe they didn’t think a girl could do it. I quickly shook it off and instructed them to bind each one of the unconscious men and get them to the authority.

     Movement on the dimly lit breezeway above caught my attention, Eva was at the door Lumen and the others had been moved to when everything started, and she was trying to get in. Scott and Theo were fighting with a rather built man, watching him I quickly realized he was good, and they were fixing to get hurt. I ran to the staircase and just as I took the first step and looked up my breath caught in my throat, and I froze as Theo rolled down the steps to my feet.

       I bent down and cradled his head in my lap as I looked his body over, he was breathing but his body was beaten and bruised, his eye was swollen shut and lip was bloody. I patted his cheek, “Theo, Theo open your eyes.” I whispered.

      He opened them slowly and smiled the best he could, “I’m okay Lee, but you got to get out of here, he’s dangerous.”

      I motioned for two of our guards to come to me, “You guys get him out of here. Take him to the safe house with Arthur.” I bent down and kissed Arthur’s forehead before I slowly stood up and let them get him to his feet. He opened his mouth to say something, and I just shook my head. “Trust me, I can handle myself, now go.”

      I watched them carry him away and I quickly turned my attention back to Scott and the other man fighting. Scott was starting to wear down and taking more hits than his body could handle, his moves were becoming sloppy and slow. I didn’t waste another minute as I sprinted up the stairs only to come to a complete halt at the top when Scott’s body was flung to my feet.

     “Lee get out of here,” he grunted as I pulled him back down the steps. The guy’s attention was no longer on Scott, and he didn’t seem to notice me as he turned his attention back on Eva and that door. I only silently prayed that she could hold him off for a few minutes until I got Scott out of there. “Lee go.” Scott grunted a little louder as I reached the bottom of the staircase with him.

      I motioned for a couple of the guards and turned back to Scott, “Where’s Mandy?”

     “They got her out as soon as things started, she should be at the safe house.” His words were barely understandable, but I managed anyway.  

     I handed him over to the guards and instructed them to do the same with him as I had with Theo. “Scott, I will see you soon, but this isn’t finished.”

     “Wait, Lee, you can’t. I have never dealt with such a force before. He’s dangerous and you are going to get hurt. Light Industries is not worth this.”

    I laughed and kissed him on the cheek, “Now big brother, that man up there hurt my family, and I am a force in my own to be reckoned with when it comes to my family. Now go, I promise I will see you soon.”

    I didn’t waste time looking back to watch the guards drag him away as I turned all my attention back on the staircase and darted back up at it. Coming to the top I spotted the man and Eva, he had her by the arm and was trying to forcefully drag her away from the door while she was telling him to let her go. His attention was not on me at all which gave me the leverage I needed to sneak up behind them. Getting closer I let my eyes roam over the back of the man, he was rather large and the thickest well-built man I think I had ever seen. His perfectly blended brownish blond hair laid in a tidy cut on his head. The aura that surrounded him was so powerful it was almost suffocating but at the same time demanded respect, respect I wasn’t about to give him.

    I finally got close enough to grab Eva’s free arm and drag her back to me away from him just as they reached the top of the staircase. I pulled her behind me and walked backwards slowly as I pushed her toward the other side of the breezeway, never taking my eye off the back of the man.

    The man heaved several times as he swirled his neck around cracking it. Anger didn’t even begin to describe what I felt rolling off him in waves. I stopped midways off the breezeway as I shielded Eva behind me while I watched him slowly begin to turn toward us.

     “Eva, get out of here. Luca is waiting in the safe house with Arthur. I will take care of this.” I whispered over my shoulder while never taking my eyes off the man.

     “Lee don’t, he will hurt you. I can take care of this,” She pleaded.

     I turned around and grabbed her shoulders looking her dead in the eye, “I promise I won’t get hurt, but you have to get out of here. Now go.” I demanded.

     Her eyes went wide, and she nodded. “Just be careful, he isn’t himself.”

    “Don’t worry about me, now go.”

    A half demonic, half angelic laugh erupted from behind me, I slowly turned as I pulled my shoulders back straight and took a deep breath, now or never, I told myself. I watched over the banister as I turned to make sure Eva made it safely to the exit, I was trying to drown out the laughter of the sinister man standing there, my concern was Eva and the people I had been brought here to protect. I had to remember that as I slowly turned my head toward the man.

      His laughter slowly faded away as I lifted my head to look him in the face, and once our eyes met time stood still, his laughter stopped as quickly as it had started, and we stared at each other.

     You know those movies you watch, boy meets girl, they lock eyes. Time stops, the music plays and you are always trying to figure out what their eyes are saying to each other. That was what I felt. Those sea green eyes that I had seen in my dreams were staring back at me and looking all the way to my soul. I am pretty sure I was mirroring the exact same look he was I didn’t know if it was shock, hate, or what, all I knew was I had seen those eyes before. I had seen that sinfully handsome man before, and every ounce of my body, my heart and my soul told me so.

     And the biggest surprise of all was I knew his name, I knew he was Xander, I just couldn’t figure out how, when, or why I knew all those things.