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Drowning In Tension



The water continued to rush in huge quantities against the dungy prison Jamelet had created, causing panic to settle in the depths of Nick’s aching chest. The fight or flight neural response began to spark in the very primal portions of Nick’s brain. He pitifully thrashed in hopes to reach the top of the crater for air, but Jamelet’s crushing grip upon his ankle proved otherwise, however. She continued to yank him deeper into the dark abyss with a haunting laugh invading his fuzzy mind, causing Nick to release a shrill scream. But the shadowy waters flushed into his mouth to silence any words, causing him to choke with despair. Nick’s fate had finally been sealed by the one he loved.



He was drowning.



His lungs ached for just a breath of fresh air as the water continued to churn around him with violent currents. It almost felt like his lungs might burst from the pressure building. A strong burning sensation overcame his struggling lungs as small dots of blackness filtered amongst his rapidly blinking eyes. He was loosing rapidly loosing the oxygen content within his body. Death was coming as the precious seconds without air grew to minutes.



‘Is it getting harder, Nicky? Can you feel death beckoning you to his door? He can be your new lover. I’m sure you two will be a beautiful pair once you accept the inevitable. Are you scared? You’re not much fun to play with, hopefully I can get the others to scream…’ Jamelet taunted inside his head, causing the pain to throb against his temples. And in a vain attempt to rescue himself from the pain, Nick embraced the creeping darkness. He stopped fighting against Jamelet’s forceful grip, allowing a flood of water to rush into his mouth.



His body fell still in the calming waters and Jamelet rose to the voice calling her name.



*~*~*



“We should have been ready for that…” Kevin breathed softly when he noticed Ana had walked several paces ahead of them. He obviously didn’t want Ana to overhear the conversation, because her psyche had already been brutalized in Jamelet’s vicious attacks. She had wrapped herself within a mental sheet of silence, shielding her heart in a blanket of ice to keep the prying eyes away. The boys seemed to understand that it pained Ana to be attacked by someone she saw as a mother, though Howie was taking the brunt force of the stinging blows. Ana had refused to stay with him, which obviously caused an ache in the man’s heart.



“Ready for Jamelet’s ball-buster attack?” AJ asked bluntly, noticing Ana’s hands trace along the wall for something specific. They had been following her down the maze of metal, though everything seemed to look the same. AJ was starting to fear that any attempt made at a rescue mission combined with an escape was useless. “Of course, I should have known she was going to try to freeze the dude she has a thing for to death and then burn her ‘daughter’ to death afterwards. Damn, how could I have been SO blind?!”



“We knew it was going to happen,” Brian agreed, ignoring AJ’s anger.



“We did?” Howie stated blankly, glancing between his friends in confusion for a moment. He didn’t understand anything that was happening, but knew that Ana was still in trouble. He seemed to only be concentrating on Ana’s form lingering just above them. He was just too worried about her to care about the smaller problems.



“Well, we knew what that Coby was going to inject one of our friends with that needle… And he said it’d change someone we know and love… But I didn’t expect it to make Jamelet attack Ana and Nick. I mean, she loves them more than anything—”



“Not anymore, Brian,” AJ whispered. “As much as we’re all hating to face the reality of the situation, we just have to do it. Jamelet’s the enemy.”



“Don’t you dare say that to Ana—”



“Found it!” Ana’s voice suddenly interrupted Kevin’s vain attempt at protection. She didn’t even care about the boys’ private conversation that most definitely dealt with her. She was more preoccupied with the door. She raked her fingers over the inscription upon the door with obvious relief: Laboratory B112. She remembered brief flashes of the room upon Coby’s private surveillance camera within his suite of rooms. Before she didn’t seem to understand why he would watch only one Laboratory so closely, but it made perfect since now. He was watching the room because of the deadly concoction brewing inside.



“Found what?” Howie called in confusion, the first of the boys to rush to her aid. He hesitated before placing a hand upon her shoulder. He winced when he noticed the frigid temperatures radiating off her pale skin, obviously a side effect of her raging emotions.



“Found the answer to our prayers,” Ana murmured, trailing her fingers against the familiar number pad.



“Well that’s nice, but it seems like the answer to our prayers is locked down!” AJ snapped, still frustrated with Nick’s disappearance and Jamelet’s bitter betrayal. He found it foolish that they were sneaking around a building filled with armed guards and a psychopathic leader.



“Not anymore,” Ana replied simply, releasing a small dagger of ice from her skin. She plucked it from her palm and slammed it sharply into the deepest portions of the keypad. Sparks flew backward with a hiss of smoke, but the door released. Seemingly pleased with herself, Ana stepped into the cool chambers. She could care less what the boys thought of her efforts, because she was on a greater mission. She wanted to find a cure for Jamelet.



“I don’t think she’s joking around anymore…” Brian breathed in surprise, cautiously stepping into the secret room. He found his bones immediately chilled by the frigid temperatures, but he continued further into the room. He noted the large filing cabinet to the side with a variety of test tubes and scientific instruments scattered along the nearby computer desk. He then peered down the narrow corridor, noting the long wall of metal cases. His mouth immediately dried – they were in a laboratory with a morgue attached to its side. “Um… Dead people… This is a home for dead people… A morgue!”



“Looks like you’ll be right at home,” Ana quipped sarcastically to Brian as she continued deeper into the room, locating the light switch. Immediately the cool room was flooded with flickering lights, causing the boys to shield their eyes from the power. Yet, Ana remained unmoved, noticing the nearby gurney. She bumped into it, causing a blackened hand of death to slip from beneath the sheet. Yet, she didn’t seem to care as she reached beyond it to retrieve a tray of test tubes, eying the familiar initials.



Wanting to help Ana’s efforts, Howie walked over to the gurney and peeled off the plastic sheet. He immediately recoiled with shock at the putrid smell lifting off the damp plastic covering. He gagged as his stomach turned with nausea at the sight of the dissected man. He had been completely torn apart by some foreign surgical instrument. His lifeless glassy eyes stared up at Howie with pure fear, almost burning a hole into his heart. Large surgical incisions were made across the man’s chest, revealing a mess of rancid yellow, decaying organs in its path. Howie gagged openly again, struggling to reach for the sheet to cover his discovery.



“Hey, it’s Johnny Bastion from Sanchez’s reign in CAPPA. Always like to spray me with water just to see me freeze into a cocoon. Damn Bastard,” Ana announced, peering over Howie’s shoulder for a moment. She glanced down to the man’s shoulder, immediately smirking with interest. “Seems like he was one of your kills, too.”



“Excuse me?” Howie coughed meekly.



“There’s the entry wound of an electrical shock,” Ana answered simply, probing the black hole in the man’s shoulder with her finger. She then pushed Howie aside to quickly heave the rigid body into a sitting position. Howie gagged repeatedly at the sound of cracking bones, realizing the man had almost been frozen solid. But, the worst lay on the other side of his back. A large gaping wound of decaying tissue protruded from just beneath his shoulder blade. Bits of his splattered heart could even be seen within the pus-filled cavity. “Electricity makes a clean entry, but a nasty exit wound. Congratulations, Howie.”



“Oh, Lord,” Howie whispered, immediately bowling over to vomit upon the floor.



Yet, Ana didn’t seem to care about Howie’s guilt as she tossed the container of test tubes to the floor. They shattered near Howie, causing him to jump with fear. But, Ana had no use for those test tubes. The antidote had already been removed from the holder, so she needed to dig deeper. She briefly glanced around the room for her next clue, her blue-green orbs finally resting upon a large file cabinet. She immediately crossed between the boys, looking for a way to open the secret files.



But AJ was none too pleased with Ana’s frosty nature. In the middle of her fumbling to release the files, AJ violently yanked on her arm. He propelled her backward with a gripping force, firmly shaking her shoulders. His eyes were dark with hatred as he scorned her. “What the Hell is wrong with you?! Howie fucking risked his life to save you and you make him feel guilty about taking a man’s life that was obviously trying to take his?! What is stuck up your ass, Ana? Why are you so hateful to a man that loves you?! Huh?! TELL ME WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS!!”



“AJ, get off her!” Howie barked.



“No! I want the answer!” AJ growled, still gripping her tightly.



“My problem?” Ana breathed finally, her words coating with an icy mist. She closed her eyes for a moment, causing her body temperature to drop into the negatives. An icy frost covered AJ’s hands, causing him to yelp with pain before releasing her. She fell to the floor, immediately turning to the filing cabinet. She allowed her eyes to glow with a blinding white tone, focusing all of her rage and determination as she spoke. “My problem is that a man that I’ve known since I was a baby has turned into a cold-blooded bastard because of CAPPA. Everything that CAPPA touches turns into death. Now, CAPPA’s taking away the only mother that I’ve ever known. I’m not leaving this place without my Jammy. I need her! I will die before I leave without her. And to top EVERYTHING off, my hair’s completely burned, I’m tired, I’m cranky, I’m bleeding, I’m miserable…”



Ana focused all of her energy onto the single filing cabinet, allowing her rage to build to the point of exhaustion. Powerful winds began to whip around the boys with an icy crack while snow flooded the ground in heaping measures. Then, with a violent scream, Ana threw a wicked amount of crushing hail and sharp icicles toward the filing cabinet to crack it open, causing papers to flutter around the room within the bitter winds. “AND I WANT TO GO HOME!”



*~*~*



“He’s dead,” Dynasty purred with delight as Jamelet burst from the water. She immediately collapsed into a bow at Dynasty’s leather coated feet like a prized pet waiting for its reward. Dynasty released a pleased giggle, stroking Jamelet’s damp locks while she watched the cumbersome shadow bobbing in the water with death. She couldn’t have imagined a better outcome – Coby would be quite pleased.



“He wouldn’t play,” Jamelet sulked softly.



“You’ll have others to play with,” Dynasty promised, pulling back from the crater.



“Soon?”



“Very soon!,” Coby’s voice suddenly floated amongst the heavy air, causing Jamelet to glance up in delight. His essence softly appeared between the two women. A misty hand reached down to cup Jamelet underneath the chin. “Very good girl. We are two of a kind, Jamelet. You will know all of my pain and anguish in the passing hours. But, enough of those unpleasant thoughts... You have another job. Go kill Howie and bring Ana to me, so we can all be a happy family again.”
~**~

**~To Be Continued...~**