Chp 16 - The Woman Under the Van
Earth/Europe/Bertotia Kingdom/Tavern Town just West of The Capital/07_09_2020:
Swerving and dodging, Ivan narrowly misses cars and pedestrians alike, one wrong move threatening to render him unconscious. Sprinting through the Town’s bustling streets, he has long given up on applying pressure to his injured shoulder. Just before leaving, he had Andresia sear it closed, cauterising the wound before it bled too much. Frantically running, diving and rolling to avoid the Town’s obstacles caused his shoulder to once again resume its role as a blood fountain. Looking up, he realises he is only 200m from his destination. A smile appears on his face.
(POV Ivan): Looks like I made i~
BANG! A loud crash sounds, a crack forming in the pavement just in front of him.
(Ivan): Damn, I guess I spoke too soon…
Once the cloud of dust settles, I tall, broad woman can be seen, standing at the crack’s centre, grin plastered to her face.
(Bodil): You’ve only got 3 minutes, 42 seconds left, you’ve done really well to get this far… But this is where it ends!
Not giving him a chance to reply, a wolf leaps out from his flank, threatening to tear off a lump of his flesh. Dolphin-diving out of the way, he rolls past Bodil, attempting to get to his feet and start running as soon as possible. This action is prevented. Stood, motionless, Ivan looks down at his leg. A pair of hazel eyes stare back up at him. Blood spurts from the eyes’ mouth, covering the creature in a thick coat of oozing scarlet. Not hesitating for even a moment, Ivan punches the wild mutt in the nose, causing the poor animal to whimper, setting him free. That would be the case, assuming Bodil just sat there the whole time, watching the events unfold. Landing a kick square to the side of his head, Bodil flattens Ivan, launching him into the floor, face first.
(Ivan): Ow…
Quietly reaching into his pocket, Ivan grabs something. Through his left ear drum, he faintly hears the sound of footsteps. The footsteps draw nearer, until a pair of black leather army boots enter his field of view. Giggling like a little girl, the woman to his front confronts him.
(Bodil): Sorry, I know you won’t concede regardless of what I do from here, so I’m going to have to knock you unconscious now… This was really fun though, feel free to challenge me whenever you want, I’ll be happy to beat the shit out of you any time!
Sitting in silence for a second, Ivan seems to think. Beckoning to her with his finger, he asks her to bring her ear to his face. His actions suggest that he’s so exhausted, he can barely even speak. Realising his intentions, she kneels on the ground, lowering her ear to his mouth, allowing him to speak.
(Bodil): Oh good, so you’re conceding? Jeez, you really have no business getting this injur~
Head finally reaching his level, Ivan interrupts her. Gazing at his face, she’s surprised to see a satisfied grin planted there. Clicking a button on the side of the object in his hand Ivan finally speaks.
(Ivan): Sorry about this!
Rolling to his side with all the force he can muster, Ivan summons Hilbert, bringing it crashing down a few centimetres from his previous location... Right on top of Bodil. Wincing as a loud crash resounds next to him, he begins to scramble to his foot1his other leg is not working, as it was bitten by Bodil’s familiar, offering his condolences to the woman under the van.
(POV Ivan): She’s built like a tank, I’m sure she’ll be fine… Probably…
Hoping towards his destination, Ivan gets closer and closer. Every 20 seconds marks another 50m. 100m left… 50m left… 40… 30… 20… 10… Suddenly, a large creaking can be heard from behind him. A sigh of relief leaves his lips.
(Ivan): Well at least she’s not dea~. Oh shit.
Hearing the pitter patter of footsteps behind him, Ivan begins to limp faster. 7… 6… 5… 4~ . The footsteps finally catch up before stopping. Confused, Ivan attempts to turn around, in order to investigate. His attempts are met with a flying kick to the side of the head. Whistling through the air, Ivan slams into the door he was aiming to pass through, crashing straight through it. Vision fading to and from black, he gazes up at the furious woman stood over what is effectively his corpse. Blood trickles down her forehead. Following it with his eyes, Ivan meets her gaze and flinches. Seeing his death reflected in her eyes, Ivan quickly apologises.
(Ivan): Haha, sorry about that… Glad to see you’re doing okay thou~
A foot swims through the air, striking him in the face. Vision finally fading for good, the last thing he hears is a persistent ringing.
(Ivan): Jeez, I think I’ve got tinnitus2the perception of noise or ringing in the ears (when you imagine ringing noises that aren’t really there)…
Unconscious, Ivan’s body sags. Bodil reaches into her bag to stop the ringing alarm clock, bringing silence back to the street. Looking at the body of the man she just fought, she sighs.
(Bodil): Jeez, maybe I was too harsh? I don’t even know how, but he just about lasted 20 minutes. If I hadn’t kicked him, he would probably have conceded anyway.
Gazing at his limp body, Bodil comes to a realisation.
(POV Bodil): Now that I think about it, guiding me here wouldn’t grant him any tactical advantage, so why would he abandon the thought of running just to bring me to this specific location?? Of all places, why would he bring me to the Mayor’s house…
Glancing inside the building, Bodil notices 2 unusual things. The first is a large, muscular man, staring, blank-faced at the veritable corpse lying in front of him. Noticing her gaze, he raises his fists in a mock-boxing stance. Confused, Bodil looks to the second of the unusual things in the building – the Mayor, gagged and restrained.
(POV Bodil): Oh, I see, so we interrupted him while he was guarding the Mayor… Wait a second!
Before she has time to finish her thought, Wayne throws his entire body weight into his fist. Striking the side of the stunned Bodil, he sends her flying. Twirling through the air, the Head of the GATW comes to her senses, twisting her midsection and planting her feet gracefully on the ground. Putting a hand to her ribs, she thinks:
(POV Bodil): Holy shit! That guy's a monster! He just cracked a few of my ribs with a single punch… I’m pretty sure he’s not even reinforcing his punches with Weaving, either…
Glancing at the lump of meat by the doorstep, she thinks she sees a shit-eating grin plastered all over his unconscious face.
(POV Bodil): Ah-ha! So, this is what he wanted to talk about?! He’s right, there’s no way I would have believed him if he hadn’t shown me himself. Hhhhhhhh. I can’t believe he used a challenge as bait to lure me out here like this. Compared to that guy, this lump of rock hardly seems a thre~
A phantom punch materialises out of seemingly nowhere, once again drilling its way into Bodil’s side. Righting herself in the air, she looks around, only to spot the man stood almost exactly where she was, a second ago.
(POV Bodil): But that’s impossible! I was watching him the whole time, there’s no way he travelled the distance between us that fa~
As soon as her feet touch the ground, she leaves it again, owing to another fist, this time, directly to her face.
(Bodil): W-what the hell is going on here?!?!
Still airborne, she shoots a glance at the man that just hit her. He meets her glare with his own.
(Wayne): Welcome, to Wayne’s world3the fact that he chooses this set of words is purely coincidental, not intentional in the slightestof pain…
