"Run, and find a place to hide, I'll come and find you. DO NOT! Show yourself, unless you are certain it's me, ok!?" Kaeron shouted over the thundering of bullets.
"I'm not leaving you!" Lex cried, returning fire into the overgrowth.
"Yes, you are!" He turned to Lamb, who was hiding behind the tree next to him, nursing her bloody arm, "Lillian, if you care for Lex even half as much as you pretend you do. You will get her out of here now!"
She looked at him, and for a moment, he thought he saw concern in her eyes, rather than hurt like how she'd normally react after he insulted her, but that couldn't be right. He was a killing machine, born for this purpose, trained to be the ultimate weapon. A monster.
She finally shook her head as Lex layed back behind the tree she was using to shield herself.
Bullets whizzed by, and Kaeron gritted his teeth. If he could just get a lock on the location of the bastards shooting at them, he'd wipe them out, but they were good, and they had a ton of fire power.
"As soon as the shooting stops!" Kaeron shouted.
"What are you talking about!?" Lex asked.
Kaeron ignored her and began counting down.
3. His head was pounding, and he knew it was only the start.
2. His anger was beginning to overflow, boiling his blood until it turned to steam.
1. He was nothing more than a killer, and for putting Lex in danger, he would turn these bastards into a blood mist and then find their family and do it all over again.
0. The bullets stopped, and Kaeron kissed his duel Beretta's before leaving his tree and began to fire at random.
"Now!" He shouted, without turning back.
"NO! KAERON! LET ME GO! PLEASE! KAERON!"
He shook it off. He couldn't let her shake his concentration.
One of the bastards peaked him, and Kaeron quickly adjusted his aim. He knew there was no time to avoid the guys shot. They had each other in their scope, and he just had to hope the guy was a bad shot.
Bang!
******
The forest was gorgeous in the red of the morning light, and yet Lillian and Lex giggled at the glare Kaeron gave them in the rear view mirror. There were possibly deer and other animals that Lillian had never seen before, being driven passed by, as they drove through the first forest she had ever visited, but her attention was one hundred percent on Lex's phone.
It had all started when Lillian was snooping through Lex's gallery and had come upon a picture of a younger Lex in a beautiful rose gold dress, standing next to some good-looking mystery guy, and Lillian had asked about the picture.
"This takes me back." Lex said, taking the phone from her, smiling at the screen. "You remember Jarren, K?"
That's all it had taken to get that death glare of his.
"Kaeron has never been a fan of the men I've dated." Lex said, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Because you always pick guys who aren't worthy of you." He growled.
She rolled her eyes. "Nobody will ever be good enough in his eyes."
"Now you're getting it."
"So why were you both dressed up so nice?" Lillian asked. "Was it a date night or something?"
"It was prom night."
"Prom?"
Lex stopped looking at the phone and went silent, and Lillian watched her, confused about the sad look she was giving Kaeron.
Kaeron sighed. "Most non kidnapped teenagers went to a school event called prom, where they danced and pretended that it wasn't all downhill from there... and if you don't know what school is, then..."
"Fuck off, I know what school is." Lillian spat, looking out the window. "I was home schooled by some of the most intelligent people in the world; I could probably tell you things about Solaris that you wouldn't hear anywhere else in the world, so who cares if I don't know what a prom is... it sounds stupid anyways."
Lex placed a hand on Lillian's.
"Hey K, stop here."
"What!?" Lillian and Kaeron exclaimed simultaneously.
Lex met her look, a determined smile on her face. "Lily, you're beautiful, and if it weren't for the actions of that bastard Talion, you would have been the show stopper of your prom," Lex laugh cried, "all the boys would have asked you to be their date," she took in a breath and smiled. "And I might not be able to give you the entire prom experience, but I can at least ask you to a dance, if you'll take me, of course."
Lillian couldn't help the heat that stung her cheeks and thinking about how red they must be just made her blush more.
"You can't be serious?" Kaeron groaned. "We don't got time for this."
Lex held up her hand, giving Lillian the choice to take it, and she really wanted to; more than she wanted to admit, but she had to say no. Kaeron was right they didn't have time to waste.
"May I have this dance, Lillian Hearthstone?"
Lillian nodded yes before she could stop herself, and Lex's smile widened.
"Stop the car, K."
He groaned loudly, but it was his only sign of protest as he pulled over to the side of the road.
What were they doing. They needed to keep going, not dance around like a bunch of children, but as Lex dragged her from the car, butterflies played around in Lillian's stomach. There was somewhere inside of her that really wanted to do this.
"I hope you know this is a stupid idea?" Kaeron asked, walking after them.
Lex flipped him the middle finger and looked down at Lillian. "Ignore him. He hates anything that isn't in benefit to him or what's in between his legs."
Lillian giggled, and Lex returned it as they made their way deeper into the woods. With each step, Lillian felt herself loosening up bit by bit, and by the time they stopped in a small clearing. She was actually looking forward to getting started.
"You ready?" Lex asked, taking her other hand.
Lillian smiled and nodded her response.
"Hey K, can you hold my phone?" Lex asked, scrolling through songs before finally landing on one.
"I was somebody else, before you found me, I was losing myself, before you saved me..."
Lex handed off the phone to Kaeron, who rolled his eyes but stepped out their way without comment.
"You want to lead or follow?" Lillian asked.
Lex raised an eyebrow.
"What? Tal... I mean, I was being groomed to be the perfect spouse for a rich overlord. Of course, dance was a part of my education, for functions, and any events that would require me to be able to dance."
"Good to know, so I won't have to take it slow. I'll lead." Lex said suddenly, pulling her close, putting a firm hand on her back.
A tingle ran up Lillian's spine as they began.
Lex started them slow, swaying for a few beats, then she picked up speed, moving them in a circle. Lillian couldn't help her giggle, and Lex's smile was unforgettable. She tried the first spin, and Lillian almost tripped over herself, but Lex's firm grip kept her upright.
"You ok?" Lex asked, returning them to a slower rhythm.
"Yeah, the spin was always the most difficult part for me."
Lex smiled. "Close your eyes, and just trust me."
Lillian hesitated but closed her eyes. They moved in a circle for a few more steps... She started to spin, but something felt wrong. Her breathing quickened, and her heart sped up, and this time, not even Lex could stop her from falling to her knees.
Kaeron huffed a laugh, and Lex bent down.
"What happened?" She asked, helping her up.
"I don't..."
"GET BEHIND COVER NOW!" Kaeron shouted, pulling out his baretta's and firing into the woods in front of them.
"What's going on!?" Lillian asked, allowing Lex to pull her forward.
"Not sure, but when he says to jump, you jump."
An intense pain shot down her arm, and she wanted to scream. She wanted to scream so bad, and her head pounded, but she couldn't distract Lex or Kaeron; they had to make it to cover.
She split from Lex when they made it to the closest trees, and she examined the source of the pain. Blood poured from a hole in her shoulder. She had to stop the bleeding. With one hand, she pulled out the knife from her boot, cut a piece of the dress she was wearing, and tied it as tight as she could around the wound. It wasn't the ideal fix but it was good enough for now.
Kaeron had situated himself behind a tree nearby and in the most movie scene way possible. He ejected his magazines, flipped his shirt to give him eazy access to the backup magazines strapped to his body, and shoved two new ones inside his guns with ease.
"Run, and find a place to hide, I'll come and find you. DO NOT! Show yourself, unless you are certain it's me, ok!?" Kaeron shouted over the thundering of bullets.
"I'm not leaving you!" Lex cried, standing, and with the pistol Lillian hadn't known, she was packing, returned fire.
"Yes, you are!"
Lillian was already losing feeling in her arm, and she was trying to flex her fingers when Kaeron turned to her.
"Lillian, if you care for Lex even half as much as you pretend you do. You will get her out of here now!"
She looked at him, a million thoughts racing through her head. She wanted to tell him to screw off. She wanted to ask him where would they go, but for reasons she was blaming on the massive blood loss. She wanted to ask what about him. They had no idea how many people they were up against, and even Kaeron had his limits, but she knew he was right. So she shook her head just as Lex layed back behind the tree she was using to shield herself.
"As soon as the shooting stops!" Kaeron shouted.
"What are you talking about!?" Lex asked.
Kaeron ignored her and began counting.
Bullets were flying by on each side, and some hammered the back of the tree, but she couldn't hear them over the beating of her own heart.
"Now! He shouted, without turning back.
Lillian darted for Lex, grabbed her by the arm, and used every last bit of her remaining strength to pull her forward.
"NO! KAERON! LET ME GO! PLEASE! KAERON!"
Lex was putting up a fight, and even on Lillian's best day, she was no match for Lex... unless she used that, but Lex would have questions, questions that Lillian couldn't answer, wouldn't answer, not again, but she couldn't get Lex to safety without it...
Bang!
She didn't have time for this. She'd deal with the consequences later.
That familiar glow in her chest rushed to the surface, and instead of suppressing it, she allowed herself to drown in its warmth.
Lex looked at her, a mixture of surprise and terror on her face lit up by the glow.
"Sorry, Lex."
Lex's eyes widened even more, but before she could react, Lillian transferred enough electricity through her finger tips, to knock Lex out.
Lex slumped over into Lillian, who held her weight with ease thanks to the overwhelming strength now coursing through her veins. She checked Lex's pulse to make sure she hadn't killed her; it wasn't like she was a pro or anything when it came to output control of this power of hers, nor did she know how much electricity it took to simply knock someone out without frying their brain.
But Lex's pulse was strong, and she was breathing; there was no time to celebrate however. They were still in the middle of a battle zone.
She tore off her rushed field dressing that had been supporting her arm. A buzzing of energy now replaced the numbness. It was no longer bleeding, and the hole in her shoulder had vanished as if it were never there. Her mouth was flooded with the taste of honey, and a dizzying happiness snaked its way inside her, and she had to fight the urge to smile. She lifted Lex up with an unnerving amount of ease and ran deeper into the woods, leaving Kaeron behind, not even stopping to look back.