JTNestman

Back from the holidays. I hope you all have a good start to the new year. I'm hoping to fall back into a consistent pattern of around 3 releases a week. Someone proposed bundling the 3 chapters a week into one release. I'm including a poll to see if people would prefer three chapters at once during a week or if they prefer chapters spread throughout. Let me know which you'd prefer.

Why is this happening? Kirsten thought to herself as she ducked through the smoking remains of the front gate.

After Kirsten had recruited Kylee to join their rescue efforts the trio had driven straight to the Tigg’s family estate. Kirsten may be advanced in the field of technology, but she knew next to nothing about raiding a criminal estate. Though she loathed to include another woman in her search for Jason, Kirsten knew it was foolhardy not to bring in the detective’s experience. The trio put on simple dark shirts and pants, minimizing their noticeability during the night. After providing her with a map of the estate that Kirsten had ripped from the construction company that built the place ages ago, Kylee wasted no time in drawing up a quick and easy to follow plan to get them in and out. All of that flew out the window once they pulled up to the front street.

The Tigg’s family estate was huge. It boasted a ten foot perimeter fence, large extravagant gardens surrounding the inner mansion. The plot of land lay near the edge of the city, allowing it to avoid any surrounding structures that could provide any approaching parties cover. The only entrance lay at the front of the entire complex. Kylee requested the group drive past the guarded driveway just to scope out the level of security they were dealing with. What nobody had planned for was the explosion that ripped through the front gate. The small guard booth, both doors, and the three guards stationed there were gone in an instant. The shockwave rocked Kirsten’s car onto two wheels, glass splintering on the near side of the vehicle. Fortunately, there wasn’t enough force to flip the car completely, but it did rattle Kirsten’s skull to have the car slam back onto four wheels.

“I assume that wasn’t either of you?’ Kylee coughed and drew her sidearm from her waist.

The red haired detective had numerous cuts across her face from the window bursting next to her. Seeing her injuries ignited Kirsten’s own nerve endings and only then did she realize that her own face was sliced up. It was a miracle that neither of them injured their eyes.

“If it’s not us then it has to be that lunatic that attacked Jason last night.” Jessica kicked open the passenger side door and stumbled out of the car.

The silver haired fencer had avoided a bulk of the flying glass. Most likely due to Kirsten herself taking the brunt of the wave. Inside the complex, Kirsten could hear faint shouting coming from the mansion.

“We need to get inside, now.” Kylee chambered a bullet and thumbed her weapon’s safety off.

Jessica leaned into the passenger side door and removed a sword from under the seat. This wasn’t her fencing foil, this was an instrument of war. It was a long, curved blade with a decorated gray handle. Kirsten could tell the end was wickedly sharp. Jessica ran her hand lovingly along the flat edge of the blade, a loving smile playing on her lips.

The detective has her gun, the fencer has her sword, and I have… Kirsten’s hand brushed against a small bag she carried with her. No need to tip my hand too early.

“What’s the plan n-now?” Kirsten winced as she removed herself from the glass ridden driver’s seat.

“Through the hole, run to the right. Stay low and in the shadows. We circle around to the back of the complex.” Kylee instructed them as they sprinted forward.

They managed to make it past the burning wreckage of the front gate before any additional guards made it to the scene. Kirsten’s heart pounded and her breathing quickly grew ragged as they ran. She wasn’t used to such dramatic excitement, nor was her body as fit as either of the girls ahead of her. It wasn’t long before she fell behind the others. More shouts from the mansion drew her eyes towards the long driveway they were busy sprinting away from. A heavy looking SUV pulled slowly down from a distant open garage near the main section of the manor. Kirsten could just make out a half dozen men riding on the side of the SUV, all of whom were armed with compact machine guns, flashlights, and tactical vests.

Criminal enterprise indeed. Kirsten noted to herself. They look more like a private military than hired thugs.

It was then that the power suddenly dropped out for the entire complex. Kirsten could still see the flashlights from the distant guards but the rest of the house had fallen into darkness. Undeterred, the trio of rescuers skirted around the edge of the compound until they came up to the right side of the manor. Though Kirsten knew Kylee’s plan was to continue on to the back of the home, something caught Kirsten’s eye.

“Hey!” She hissed forward as her lungs struggled to keep enough oxygen in her system.

Kylee and Jessica paused and looked back at the shorter girl. Rather than struggle through a wheezy explanation, Kirsten simply pointed at the side of the mansion. A featureless metal door swung outwards, revealing a dark entrance into the expansive manor. Kylee lifted her gun and advanced slowly towards the entryway.

“Did someone leave this open?” Jessica whispered as she followed the detective with her sword raised.

Kirsten shook her head and fell in at the rear. “I watched it open. Though, I didn’t see anybody do it. Could be automated. Or remotely opened.”

“I don’t like this.” Kylee stated quietly, still in the doorway watching the internal room warily. “It could be a trap.”

“Isn’t it more likely that whoever is behind the bomb is also behind this?” Jessica reasoned. “Does this entrance lead to where Jason is being kept?”

Kylee glanced back at Kirsten in response to Jessica’s question.

Kirsten quickly ran through the building’s blueprints in her mind.

“Y-yes.” She nodded. “If he’s being h-held in the basement like we expect, then this is a shorter path. This door wasn’t supposed to be o-opened from the outside, that’s why we did not consider it before.”

Kylee bit her lower lip and considered Kirsten’s words.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh for Satan’s sake, would you just get in already!” Azremir shouted at the suspicious trio.

Of course, none of the mortals could see the demon girl holding the door open for them. Remi could show herself to them of course, but she didn’t want to have to explain everything. Jason needed their help as soon as possible so there was no need to slow things down with unnecessary questions and confusion.

Besides… I kind of like Jason being the only person able to see me… Remi felt a sad smile play at the edge of her lips.

“We’ll have to risk it.” The red haired detective’s eventual decision broke through Remi’s daydreaming and brought her back to reality.

“Though the bomb was unexpected, maybe it was meant to help us.” Kylee shrugged. “Stay close and watch out for guards. We don’t know how many people are going to be between us and Jason.”

Remi frowned. Though she was glad they had decided to trust the door she had opened for them, she was equally puzzled by the explosion at the front of the complex that had started this whole mess. Remi had assumed the girls were behind it. If it wasn’t them, then another unseen player was pulling the strings. The questions that Remi didn’t have an answer for, was who was it? And what did they want with Jason?

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With no sun, moon, or clock to track time with, Jason was left with little more than his intuition for how long Remi had been gone for. Jason didn’t want to get his hopes up, but it was hard to suppress the growing certainty in the back of his mind that rescue was on the way. Unfortunately for him, all Jason could do was sit tied to his chair and wait for the demon girl to return with news. After a bit of time, the lights went out without a sound. Jason was plunged into complete darkness. After a few minutes of complete isolation, a light appeared under the door into Jason’s room.

“Hey!” Jason shouted at the light. “ Hey, I’m in here! Please let me out!”

There was a jangle of keys and the heavy metal door swung inwards. The blinding beam of a flashlight lifted from off of the hallway floor and directly into Jason’s face. He squinted and tried to see who was holding the light.

“Courtney?” Jason asked, hoping his intuition was wrong.

A soft giggle was all Jason needed to confirm his fears.

“Who else would it be Jason?” Courtney asked with a venom laced tongue, the door slamming shut behind her. “Are you expecting visitors? Did you perhaps invite someone here without my permission?”

Still in her red nightgown, Courtney entered the room and set a duffle bag on the table. Her amber eyes blazed hotly through the darkness.

“I won’t accept you cheating on me, Jason.” She said darkly.

“I haven’t talked to anyone since arriving here.” Jason said quickly. “What happened? Why do you think someone is here for me?”

“Nothing for you to be concerned with.” Courtney snapped and busied herself by unzipping the duffle.

From his position across the table, Jason couldn’t see its contents but its presence sent uncomfortable shivers down his spine.

“Courtney.” Jason said her name with a firm commanding tone.

She stopped and glanced up, slightly surprised by his change in attitude.

“Y-yes?” She tucked a highlighted piece of hair behind her ear.

Jason knew he needed to somehow take charge of the situation, the only problem is he had no idea how to accomplish that. Taking a deep breath, Jason decided to wing it.

“What if I told you that your feelings for me had been… tampered with.” Jason pushed out tentatively.

Courtney’s eyebrows scrunched together.

“What do you mean?” She asked, worried.

“You know how quickly we became interested in one another?” Jason carefully phrased his words to avoid insinuating anything that might upset Courtney.

Courtney blushed and her hands dropped to the hem of her nightgown. “Of course.”

“Did you ever find it strange?” Jason probed. “Or feel like something… a strange power or feeling forced your attention towards me?”

Courtney frowned.

“I…” Her left hand drifted up to her forehead. “I don’t…”

Jason felt his breath quicken. There was a chance this could work. Now came the hard part.

“I recently found a hard drive that belonged to my father. I think he placed something, like a curse, on me that… latches onto girls who have touched me physically.” Jason swallowed. “I think that feelings you’ve had around me, that force, has latched onto your feelings and twisted them around a bit against your will.”

The pained expression on Courtney’s face worsened.

“I think I’ve found a way to stop it though, a way to give your feelings back to you the way they were meant to be. I just need to go back home and find the place where I can get this curse removed.”

Courtney was silent for a few moments. Jason felt bad about twisting the truth around, but he wanted to phrase things in a way that would hopefully make Courtney more inclined to help him. If he came out and said that her love for him was fake or forced on her then she might lash out or choke him again.

“Is that what you truly believe?” Courtney asked in a whisper.

Her head hung low enough that Jason couldn’t see the girl’s eyes past her drooping hair.

“Yes.” Jason said firmly. “It is.”

Courtney’s mouth twitched open and she began to laugh. Heart dropping into his stomach, Jason watched as Courtney’s pained expression disappeared in an instant.

“So you just were worried about my feelings?” Courtney spun around the table nuzzled into Jason’s neck. “Thank you Jason but that’s not necessary.”

“But if this isn’t what you would…” Jason's protests were silenced by a forceful kiss.

Courtney mashed her lips against his, her body shivering at the contact. 

“I don’t care.” Courtney said huskily when she eventually broke away. “I didn’t care about anything before this ‘curse’, you keep calling, it came over me. If what you said is true, then that makes my decision all the easier.”

A sharp pain pricked the side of his neck. Jason’s eyes flew down and widened considerably to see a large needle injecting a sickly looking liquid into his neck. He shouted in alarm, but it was far too late to stop the liquid from spreading through his bloodstream. Almost immediately, Jason lost the ability to move his limbs. Struggle as he might, his muscles shut down and refused to respond to his mind’s orders.

Courtney licked the side of Jason’s numb face. “If this curse only applies to girls who touch you, then the answer is very simple.”

She untied Jason from his chair and he limply fell forward onto the table. She set her flashlight down on the table and faced it towards the back of the room. With surprising strength, Courtney lifted Jason up and carried him over to the bed. Powerless to even move his head from side to side, Jason watched Courtney climb on top of him and gaze down with a crazed expression.

“If I’m the only person you ever see, then you won’t have to worry about cursing anyone else.” She laughed and hugged Jason in an iron grip. “Isn’t that wonderful? Now you don’t have any reason to leave! This is what you wanted all along!”

Is this it then? Jason felt his mental strength fading. Is this what my life will be?

Then, like a life preserver thrown to a drowning man, a clattering of feet sounded from the hallway. Courtney stiffened and lifted herself off of Jason’s chest. A new light could be seen under the door as it bobbed closer. Courtney swore and dove off of the bed and over to the table. She snatched up the bag and withdrew a long knife from its open flap. Blade in hand, Courtney sprinted back over to the bed where Jason lay. The drug, still fresh in his veins, stopped him from making any efforts to get away from the deranged Courtney as she scrambled over the covers towards him.

“No one is taking you from me!” She growled and lifted the knife.