Chapter 8: Ciri

The Elite started moving in and Jasper let go of me. “Okay girl you are going home now,” the leader said trying to grab me.

“No,” I backed away playing with the key.

“You are lucky they want you alive, girl,” one of his companions smiled. 

“I changed my mind,” Jasper shoved the leader back into the Elite holding the phone.

“Hey what are you doing man?” Isaacs said trying to grab him.

 

“Trying something new,” Jasper said punching Isaacs in the throat and I started unlocking my handcuffs as they all converged around Jasper. I’d never seen Jasper fight before, but he was amazing at it he really did look like lion. Before I called him a lion, but by that I meant a ruler type. Now he looked like a warrior someone who could protect you from anything.

It was fascinating to watch, but I had to worry now about him turning that on me and have me unconscious in a second; if he felt like it. He was fighting hard, but there were seven Elites against him and he lost as many fights as he won. One of them beat him to the ground and I imagined what happened to Umber. I would not let something like that happening to Jasper and it affected me more than I expected.

 

“Oh well,” the voice that spoke gave me the drive I needed and I ran over jumping onto the back of Jasper’s attacker. He pulled back and tried to shove me off, but I put my arms around his neck and hung on for dear life as he started to choke.

“Get off,” he said flipping me off of him and onto Isaacs, who was trying to crawl away.

“No one pushes me around,” Isaacs said punching me hard across the face, “especially not slaves.”

“I am not a slave,” I said kicking him hard in the stomach.

“You little…” he said then fell over and I stood up. I ran over grabbing the guy that was trying to run away. I tackled him down to the ground and stood back up again as fast as I could, but he was up faster.

“I hope you die,” I head-butted him.

“Careful what you wish for,” he popped open a knife, “You’re a motherless, fatherless little beast.”

“So I’ve been told,” I said as he ran at me with the knife. I ducked out of the way, however he caught my hair and pulled me down to the ground.

“No one calls me a coward,” he said cutting his knife through my shirt and down my back, “now your last words will be I am sorry.”

“Like hell,” I whispered closing my eyes.

“What did you say?” he asked knife to the back of my throat as I started to reach up.

“Like hell,” I hissed through gritted teeth then grabbed the knife and stuck it into his neck.

 

"Grab her,” he yelled then I stood up and faced the swarm of angry Elites coming to get me. I was in shock from the blood on my hands. I had to keep fighting though, I had no choice. They were faster and stronger than me and fighting was getting harder and harder because they seemed to have caught onto the five moves I knew.

"Why not just give in girl?" a guy said pointing a gun at me.

"Why not just give up girl?" I repeated. He hit me over the head with the gun and it really hurt.

"I will hold her you shoot,” the leader said grabbing me from behind.

"No let me go,” I said panicked by his words.

"Shut up,” he said throwing me down to the ground and pinned me down. I heard the gun click and I kept fighting the guy this time, but he was so much stronger than me I was going to die out in the ruins. I had hoped for at least having a funeral or something this could not be how it ended. The gun went off just before I heard something slap into the gun holder. I bit the Elite holding me and turned around and kicked him in the bottom of his chin with my foot.

I fought anyone who tried to get near me or Jasper. My biggest asset was a never give up, never surrender policy. I kept fighting even though it hurt just to keep moving and I was half relieved and half scared when Jasper grabbed his gun and had to start shooting people so they'd let him through to me as I wrestled on the ground with one of the men I did not know the name of. I saw a guy coming at Jasper with a knife and I took the gun and shot it at the guy.

 

He fell over onto another guy and then the group pulled out their guns and pointed them at Jasper.

"We are allowed to kill him,” the leader said walking to me. My face paled and I looked around at all of them. I should have tried Jasper’s method and stayed in the city, I thought grimly.

"Give me the gun,” Jasper mouthed to me carefully.

"I guess so,” I said then tossed Jasper the gun and he shot down all the remaining guys, except for the leader who started running away.

"You'll get what's coming to you, Ryan,” he yelled and I picked up a knife and threw it as I could and suddenly he gasped and fell over.

"Nice throw,” Jasper said helping me stand up.

"Thanks, that was nice shooting; it turns out the academy did teach you something,” I said dusting myself off.

 

"Come we've got to get moving,” he said pocketing the gun and started to walk off.

"Why do not we just take the hover vehicle?" I asked as it started to rain harder.

"It has codes I do not have,” he said coming over and grabbed the sac from me, "besides best not disturb the dead.”

"We cannot keep going on foot much longer you are bleeding and I am not much better off why do not we just try and figure out the code,” I said starting towards the vehicle.

"Because I'd you get the code wrong you are stuck in there and they alert the authorities of your location,” he said calmly.

"Well it is freezing cold and I am bleeding now so what do you suggest we do,” I asked annoyed.

"Keeping walking until we find a solid structure to sleep in tonight,” he said soberly.

 

"Why did the vehicle's lock close so fast?" I said as we walked.

"That was a senior vehicle they've got the tightest security,” he said zipping up his jacket the bugger should be freezing like me, but no he's got a bug fancy camouflage jacket. I was just glad it did not look very waterproof, but he was still warmer than me. He could at least offer to share it with me, but I'd learned already that Jasper wasn't a gentleman. I just hoped that we got somewhere with cover soon because I was ice cold at this point.

"How did you fight against seniors they've been training forever?” I asked curiously.

 

"I am a Ryan let's leave it at that,” he said soberly.

"Fine,” I said then we were silent for a few minutes, "so what do you think of the weather today?"

"What?" he laughed.

"Bad weather, am I right or wrong?" I asked seriously.

"Why would you ask me that?" he asked shaking his head in disbelief.

"It is a simple question,” I said politely.

"Okay, my answer is, thank god, it isn’t snowing,” he shrugged

"True, very true,” I sighed then saw a house to the side, "over there.”

"That old shack,” he said looking at it, “it is kind of flimsy.”

“It is wood and it looks waterproof,” I said heading towards it.

 

“Question is will you wake up with it on your head,” he said.

“It will not,” I said speeding up as the rain turned to hail.

“This is like the cellar all over again, why do not you ever listen to me?” he said as we got onto the porch.

“Why do you always sound like a child when you say stuff like that?” I said wringing out my hair, “We’ll probably never know.”

“Very funny,” he said then stumbled in the doorway.

“Whoa,” I said joining him and helped him stand up again, “maybe we best stay here for the night okay.”

 

“I can keep going,” he said trying to stand up alone, but I had to grab him before he lost his footing again.

“If you go any farther, you’ll pass out in the rain and get sick,” I said pulling him into the house.

“Fine, but just for one night,” he said as I helped him over to a couch in front of a broken down fireplace. This place did not look half bad, but we’d have to keep moving tomorrow. He took off his jacket to bring it out and I saw how bad his arms looked. They looked red and there were cuts that looked deep in some places.

“I will be right back,” I said spotting a bathroom over to the side with its own door and everything.

 

“Where do you think you are going?” he asked trying to stand up.

“Sit down,” I ordered then went into the bathroom and searched around for some bandages and cleaning stuff. I found some disinfectant in a bulk sized container, a box of different sized bandages, some cloths and I ripped up one of the big towels for bandages. I had to lean against the wall for a minute because I got dizzy.

“What on earth were you doing in there?” the Elite asked as I walked in.

“Baking a cake,” I said sarcastically.

“Yeah, yeah, but seriously what is that?” he said looking at what I had.

“Mad medical science,” I said sitting down next to him, “now I am going to need you to take off your pants and shirt.”

 

“Excuse me,” he said with his eyebrows raised.

“Just do it and stop being annoying,” I rolled my eyes.

“Fine,” he said taking off his shirt and then his pants and I second guessed myself about this.

“Alright,” I said taking out the disinfectant and the cloth.

“I can do that myself,” he said sternly.

“Do not be a baby what are you afraid you’ll cry?” I mocked.

“No, I do not cry at the use of cleaner,” he said defensively.

“Then what is the problem because if I leave you like this you’ll bleed to death?” I told him.

“Fine I give up, but if you poison me, I will haunt you,” he sighed.

“Whatever Elite,” I said starting to clean up his arms and he winced every time I got to a deeper wound. He stayed quiet for awhile returning to his thoughts and I worked on his legs which were mostly just covered in bruises.

 

“Do you clean up people a lot?” he asked watching me hard at work carefully.

“I do not know; I used to help Umber,” I said seriously.

“Did you two get in trouble a lot?” he asked.

“Her not as much as me,” I sighed wrapping his shoulder with a tensor bandage.

“So guys are always letting women boss them around in your part of town?” he said trying to sound casual.

“They do not care as long as they get what they want in the end,” I said seriously. He did not say anything about the subject after that in fact he stayed quiet and pensive. “Does it bother you?” I asked suddenly.

 

“Does what bother me?” he asked pretending to be ignorant, but I gave him a look, “every time.”

“We could have just knocked them out you know,” I said tying the only big cut on his leg up.

“No we could not have they would have told on us and then you’d be imprisoned and I’d be dead,” he said stonily.

“It was quite a fight I guess,” I said sourly.

 

“It was a life and death situation Ciri,” he said looking over at me.

“Still does not it feel like we could have done something different,” I said checking a bleeding bruise on his cheek.

“We could not have changed it,” he said touching my hand.

“I do not know weirder things have happened than time travel,” I said thoughtfully.

“Yeah,” he said still looking at my hand in a weird way. He looked over at my face and stared into my eyes with the same strange look on his face.

 

“Alright I am going to clean up,” I said as I finished up. I made myself a bowl of water and started to wash my hands. I could not stand having the blood on my hands and as I cleaned, it really hit me what I’d done.

Those men could have been important to someone. I hadn’t even thought about the lives I could destroy I was so full of fear and adrenaline. Now I just felt weak and I could almost feel each death cutting me to create a new wound. I held onto my chest and I wondered if the pain would stop. I took a few deep breaths and I tried not to see their faces. “Ciri,” Jasper poked his head in.

“Yeah,” I looked around at him.

“Are you alright?” he questioned reading my face.

“It is nothing,” I sat up on the old tub.

 

“You’ve never killed anyone before,” he commented, “I’d be surprised and worried if you did not feel slightly ill”.

“I could never be an Elite,” I laughed, “No guts and no glory, I will never have either”.

“You know being an Elite isn’t all about killing,” he sat down next to me.

“I know that,” I nodded, “But the fighting does come in handy at times like that.”

“If there had been any other options I would have taken them,” Jasper assured me, “It is survival if there’s anything you have taught me so far it is the survival always costs you something”.

“Usually something you thought you could not live without,” I agreed, “So how long did it take you to get over your first kill?”

“A long time,” he sighed, “You should get some sleep and start healing”.

“Yeah, you too,” I got up and stretched, “We have another long day tomorrow hopefully less eventful”.

“Sounds about right,” he followed me and I found a small bed in a side room, “I will get the blanket you can have it tonight”.

“Thanks,” I was surprised by his decency. I got into the bed and was falling asleep when I felt him cover me with a blanket. I smiled then dozed off. I dreamed of my mother’s soft red hair and saw a pair of blue eyes looking down at me. The man smiled and leaned down.

 

“I love you, my little darling,” he whispered.

“We care for you more than the world,” my mother took his hand.

 

“Mom, dad,” I muttered then rolled over with my head resting on Jasper’s chest.