Sniper Part 8

Part...8 I think of Sniper. I am getting into it again. Haha I am excited for the next scene. Can't wait to finally resolve everything. There will probably be only a couple more parts to Sniper. Then I will have to find something else to write. I can honestly say that I haven't had this much fun writing in a long time. Thanks to all of you who keep coming back for more. You make this worth the work. I may never publish a book, and I may never meet any of you, but if no one ever sees these, I know that you guys have. One-Thousand, Two-Hundred people have seen my stories, and that's enough for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Enjoy.

Part 8, Sniper

“I can’t see anything.” Panic splashed through Anabelle’s words. “I can’t see anything!” She screamed.

Torment pulsated through her body, drawing her howls further into the void that was her prison.

When her eyes opened, she saw only a blood-drenched version of reality.

Blood. Blüd. He was here. He was here and he was hurting them. Everyone. The screams. The screams.

Over and over Anabelle cried out Alex’s name, hoping he had escaped so he could save her again. Guilt poured into her like a waterfall. He had already saved her several times over; by no means was he obligated to do it again.

He had no reason to.

“No one is coming for you, my dear.” as if reading her mind, Blüd spoke the words that she was too afraid to put to thought herself.

He kept coming back. She couldn’t shake his voice from her head. Her words quaked when she spoke. “Let me die.” she rasped. Even speaking sent showers of pain cascading over her body.

Blüd laughed that terrifying laugh again.

“Please,” she whispered, “Please let me die.”

“Never.” The syringe was dripping again, hovering inside her pale skin, trickling liquid into her bloodstream, slowly draining her of her life blood.

She knew the dreams would come soon. She could see them in the corners of her eyes, the breath that shallowly emerged from her rising chest. She heard them in the rasp of her voice and in the creak of the door as it opened and closed.

Despite the panicked thoughts that streaked through her mind, one kept materializing. She had to escape. She had to live. When her mother had died, her father had drowned in drink. He never really came back up. She had to survive. Her death would be the end of her father. She couldn't leave him like that. Memories zipped through her mind: her father stumbling into the house after a night of drinking, her mother lying pale and dead on the bed that had once been white-now covered in red blood. And Alex.

She had to help him. She had to find Alex.

Anabelle wrenched her arms up and winced as she felt the old leather bite into her already-raw wrists.

Pain erupted from her throat in a scream. With everything she had, she threw her arms up and dug her nails into the restraints. A crack snapped through her ears and the pain grew into something worse than she had ever felt. She stumbled from the bed.

The lock turned. she struggled behind the door, gripping the wall to steady herself. The door opened, concealing her, and as the figure entered, she slammed the door. The man cried out as the structure slammed into his unprotected temple. Cradling his punctured skull, he turned on her.

Anabelle quickly swiveled out the exit, shutting the man in. He yelled incomprehensibly and banged on the metal separating them.

She spun around. Three choices. Left. Right. Forward. Where did she go now?

+

The boat rumbled underneath Alex’s pained feet, causing him to shift uncomfortably from side to side. His heard thrummed in his chest. Anabelle was close and he knew exactly where she was. Blüd Enterprise. The old building where all this started.

James had wanted to come, but his legs were getting worse, and there was no way he could have come with them without slowing them down. No, this was something he had to do alone. Unaided.

Water splashed up into his face. Alex sighed with pleasure as the drops cooled his fevered face. The air that rushed into him blew his face back from his eyes, giving him a heroic look that he didn’t feel.

An hour later, he arrived. Stepping onto the land, he gazed up at the once-glorious construct. Gloomy boards covered the shattered glass windows, nails protruding from the ends. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for the rescue. He went over his plan: Get Anabelle, get Simon, get out.

Then, a scream shot through the air. His eyes flew open, and he jumped into action.

Sniper Part 6?

Hey, everyone! Sorry about today's late post! We had some technical difficulties here at HQ. Haha
So here is part...I think 6??? of Sniper. :) I hope you all enjoy it, because it took me a crap load of time to write. :)

Haha here you go. :)

Sniper, part 6???

Anabelle wandered into the kitchen to get them both some food and something to drink.

When she got to the table, she saw a neatly folded piece of paper. She snatched it up and unfolded it.

I take it he told you why you are here.

I’ll come back tomorrow to check on you. His leg looks fine.

-JS

Smiling, she folded it and replaced it on the table, so she could get their meal.

+

“Now gently lift me-argh!”

Anabelle smothered a laugh with her fist at his expression. “Sorry.”

He gasped and laughed with her. “It’s alright. Now slowly lift my leg, and put the cloth underneath. That’s it. Now dribble some of that alcohol on it.” She did as she was told and he gritted his teeth against the pain. New fresh blood oozed from the cut.

“There. Good. That’s good, see? The blood means any infection is out of the way.” He ran his fingers through his messy hair, “See, I told you you’d be good at this.”

“Yeah.” she said, laughing, “Next time, we’ll move to the more difficult things like amputating your arm.”

A mock-worried look crossed his features. “Maybe keep you on the little things for now, like...stab wounds...and poisons…”

Anabelle smiled, then looked around, unoccupied for the moment. “What is there to do around here?”

“Boring you, am I?”

Anabelle held her pointer and thumb an inch apart. “Only a little.”

He laughed and then put on a thoughtful face. “Hmm...well, I have a few books...somewhere.”

She made a face at him. “Got a violin?”

“Haha yeah, I’ll just go grab one from storage.” a breathy laugh. “No, I never really got into instruments. Music, yes, but...other peoples’ not my own. My mother used to play piano, and before he passed, my father would play guitar for their duets. Mom could do anything she set her mind to.” his fond smile vanished. “James says she doesn’t play anymore, though. A result of my absence, no doubt.”

Anabelle’s brown knit.”She doesn’t know where you are?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know where we are. I had James bring me here. Whenever I go back to the city, I have him blindfold me.

“I told my mother I was in some trouble and I had to leave, and that was that. James brought me here, and I’ve lived here ever since. I only ever went back to watch you perform”

A smile kissed the corner of her mouth. “You watched me perform?”

“Of course! I had to keep you safe. Your father’s bravery saved hundreds, but after he left Blüd Enterprise, he didn’t have the money to keep you safe. So I did it for him.”

“Which of my performances did you go to?”

“All of them.”

Anabelle gaped.

“And for the record, that guy you dated a few months ago-he was a total jerk. I approve of the breakup.”

Anabelle gasped. “All those times, you were there and I didn’t even know it.” She frowned. “Has Blüd tried to get me before now?”

Alex shifted nervously and chose to look at his hands rather than answer the question.

Anabelle scoffed. “How many times? Two? Three?”

“Five, but the third time, James took all the heat. I had the flu, and he wouldn’t let me help. I convinced him to let me see you play, but when I tried to protect you, he threatened to tie me up if I tried to help.”

“All those times.” she whispered. Her lip was going to split if she kept gnawing on it like this. She swept a hand across her face. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why protect me? And my dad! You don’t even know us!”

Alex looked at her for a long time before answering. “Anabelle, what Simon did...he had the courage to do what I could not. What I was too scared to do. If I had told everyone, Anabelle, I would have had the money to protect myself from Blüd. But your father...with nothing to speak of but a cheap house and a ten year old daughter...he did it anyway, and there is” he paused, taking a breath, “no describing how much I admire that. How much I regret not telling.” he slid his hand onto her cheek. “So...since there was no way for me to protect your father-he insisted on living a normal life- I had to protect the thing that meant to most to him and make it mean the most to me.” he cleared away Anabelle’s sudden tears with his thumb. “otherwise...my conscience would tear me up.”

She raised her hand to his on her cheek and said, “But you’ve saved me five times now, Alex. You don’t have to do it anymore.”

He withdrew his hand from her face. “Maybe. But in my mind, I can never truly repay your father.” he took her hand and rubbed her knuckles, studying them. “Besides…” he said, looking up at her eyes, “I kind of like having you here. So you may be stuck with me.”

Anabelle laughed a little and opened her mouth to speak when a nearby crash caused her to turn her head.

“What was that? Get a whole lot of visitors out here?” she asked, smiling.

“No...only James.”

“I’m sure something just fell like a pot or something. I’ll go see what it is.” she rose to leave, and felt Alex’s fingers close around her wrist. She looked back.

“Here.” he whispered, handing her the kitchen knife. “Just in case.”

“Ha-ha.” she whispered sarcastically, taking the knife and moving to the doorway. She quietly stepped into the hall, and looked into the kitchen cautiously, holding her hair back so as not to allow it to swing into view.

Heavy footsteps alerted her to another’s presence nearby. Three men stood in the kitchen, and another knelt on the ground, teeth gritted in pain. James.

Anabelle gasped and ducked back behind the wall. When no one made notice of her sound, she glanced again. There was a tall man and two short men. The tall man had blood-red eyes and a jagged scar going down the length of his face.

She had seen enough. She carefully returned to Alex. When she their eyes met, her face told him everything.

“Help me up.” he whispered, urgently. She slipped an arm under his shoulder, and lifted him to a standing position. He nodded his head at the closet. “There.” Anabelle helped him to the doors which she slid open, doing her best to be quiet.

“To the left, there’s a handle on the floor. Lift it up. There’s a trap door where we can hide.

When she lifted the door, blackness roared up at them. They descended. Anabelle hated the dark, and when they both sat with relative comfort on the dirt floor, she gripped Alex’s fingers tightly.

“The water!” she said, looking frantically at where she knew him to be. “If he feels that it is still hot, he will know we are here!” she pulled herself away from him despite his protests. “It will only take a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Unable to move unaided, he said “Anabelle?” she turned. “Be careful.” she nodded and smiled confidently at him before leaving silently. She closed the hatch behind her.

+

Once topside, she snuck to the table where the bowl was. She carried it to the doorway where she searched the hall for the intruders. Once assured it was clear, she passed into the kitchen where she proceeded to dump the liquid.

She hurried about her job, glancing up every few seconds for her own safety. A shout alerted her to a predator. She dropped the bowl, shattering it, and took off down the hallway. She could hear the man in pursuit, his heavy boots thudding on the wooden panels beneath their feet.

She swerved unexpectedly around a corner and then another, finally finding herself lost among the maze of hallways. She sunk to the floor, gripping the knife tightly to her chest. A trickle of blood popped from her lip as her teeth dug into it, causing her to swallow the scream that welled up inside her throat. Then she heard him.

“Anabelle…” she shuddered and her breathing grew faster as she began to panic. That voice.

“Come back to me, my dear.” Tears rolled from her eyes, adding to the nervous swear that already drenched her face. Her dream came back to her mind, unbidden as she shivered spasmodically.

“Anabelle…” it was him all over again. He was getting closer. She could tell-she could hear him. “If you come out now, we won’t kill you.” he laughed, sending goosebumps cascading over her clammy skin. “We might hurt you, but I promise, it won’t kill you. Not just yet.”

Anabelle tried hard to hold back her sobs. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block him out.

“But what about poor James here?”

They came back open. Wide open.

“Here’s a new deal: If you come out now, we won’t hurt James.”

“No, Anabelle! Run!” James’s voice shot into her ears.

“If I were you, I would hurry. My men are a bit anxious to remove some of James’s fingers.” he was closer. “So I” closer “would” closer “hurry up” he was so so close. “if I were you.”

Anabelle plunged the knife behind her, around the corner, and as she tried to draw it back, found her hand clamped in place by another person’s fingers.

“Missed me.” As she turned, she saw that Blüd’s smiling face was mere inches from hers. She screamed as she struggled to get free, but his fingers-like the blood in her nightmare-would not be pushed away. Something heavy struck the back of her head, and just before her eyes shut, she thought she heard Alex screaming her name. He’s stuck. He can’t move, she thought, I have to help him out!

Then the black again.

Thanks sososososososo much for reading!!!! Thank you everyone! Haha It took me a while to write today's so I hope you all enjoyed it. The suspense is going to kill me, and I already know what happens!!! Haha I hope you all liked it!!!

Have a great night, and Lord willing, I will see you tomorrow!!!

Blessings <3 :)

Sniper Part 4

Hey, everyone! I know I already posted for today, but I was sitting in my room, and I decided to try to work some more on Sniper, and I literally wrote 1,078 words!!! And I loved every second of it. I can't believe it! Haha I told you I write better on paper. :) So here is part 4 of Sniper. Enjoy. :)

Sniper, Part 4

Anabelle breathed quickly, doing her best to quiet her tears and still her beating heart.

Alex hesitantly laid his palm on her hair, and smoothed the now-drenched strands away from her face. Though her shivers still racked her body, her sobs had subsided.

“Are you okay, now?”

Anabelle bit her lip and nodded slowly. Alex took her hands and examined the cuts-results of her sharp nails. He helped her to sit up, and stepped away momentarily, returning with a wet cloth and some bandages. He gently wiped away the red liquid, but she still winced at the sudden pain.

He paused, and then finished by wrapping her hands inn gauze.

She lifted them helplessly and muttered a “thanks” beneath her breath.

Alex nodded once, firmly, and exited the room, leaving her alone.

+

The days she had been there turned into weeks. Anabelle would mark the beginning of every day with her screams and punctuate their conversations by asking him why she was there. He would either ask her to do something for him, or ignore her completely until she began to wonder if he simply liked to see her in misery.

Three weeks later, Anabelle sat up, yet another dream haunting the backs of her eyelids. But this time, it was different.

+

The blood was drowning her. It reached up to grab her like hands as it filled her mouth and nose, stealing her ability to breathe. She screamed at the figure who stood in front of her.

“What do you want from me?!”

A knife plunged down into her again and again. It didn’t hinder her actions, when she surveyed her body, there were no cuts, but every time, she felt undying agony, and her screams increased.

She fought free of his grasp, twisting the knife from his fingers and ran. She looked back to where she had knelt; he was gone. She kept running, the liquid up to her knees, now, growing thicker with every step until she collapsed around a corner.

“Anabelle…” he said in a sick, sing-song voice, “Anabelle, come back to me, my dear.”

Her teeth dug into her lower lip, biting back the scream that threatened to give away her position.

“Anabelle…” again, “Anabelle, I promise I won’t kill you if you come out now. I might hurt you...a lot, but I won’t kill you.”

“Anabelle, you have to come back to me,” a desperate voice cried out.

Anabelle plunged the knife deep into him, with a yell as he rounded the bend next to her. He screamed. Deep, and loud.

“Anabelle...Anabelle, I need you to get me the plant I showed you. Anabelle...Anabelle!” he screamed. She pushed her hands to her ears and pulled her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth.

+

Her blood-red eyes cleared and she gasped breath into her lungs.

Alex sat on the floor, screaming through his teeth. “Anabelle, get me the herbs! Hey, listen to me! You’re dreaming!” he gasped, “I just...need you to get me the medicine!”

She sat down hard, the knife still attached to her hand.

Blood. Everywhere.

She dropped the knife and brought her hands back to her face, they tore at her hair as panic overtook her body.

“Anabelle, do you hear me? It’s okay, love, just...just get me the herbs. It will all be okay if you just...just...just…” his breathing slowed and his eyes fluttered shut.

“Alex?! Alex!” she shot out of her stupor, and rushed to the cupboard, knocking over containers and bundles of herbs in search of the right one.

Black. She remembered it was black. And the leaves were small, and intricate.

Her hand wrapped around the bundle that she found and she slid to the ground in front of him onto her knees.

“What-what do I do? Alex!” she shook him. “What do I do?! You have to tell me! I don’t know how to help you!”

His eyes pried back open and shut again. Sweat began to form on his forehead and lips as he put forth effort to speak. “Chew...chew...up…” he rasped, his head falling from side to side. When Anabelle grabbed his hand, his body convulsed, shaking uncontrollably, his neck snapping every which way.

“What? Chew it up? Is that what you said? Alex!” Tears flooded to her eyes, descending down her cheeks. “Alex...I don’t want you to die.” she said to him, then again to herself, “I don’t want him to die.” she sobbed, gripping his hand until all of a sudden, the door burst open and a man shoved her away from Alex.

“What happened?!” the man shouted, searching Alex’s body, and fingering his clothing rapidly. He turned and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her with each word. “Tell me what happened!”

“His-his leg.” she stuttered through her sobs, “The knife. I-I was sleeping and-and…”

The man grabbed the black plant from her shaking fingers and held it to his nose. He scowled and cast them aside, drawing a syringe from a bag that lay at his side. He filled it with a green liquid. “Damn fool.” he muttered, and he drove it into Alex’s leg pressing the plunger hard as though the harder he pressed, the sooner effect would take.

Alex twitched twice and was still.

“Is...is he dead?” she was almost afraid to ask. She wiped her swollen eyes on her sleeve and forced herself to look at the man.

“No. He’s sleeping. But he very well could be dead within the hour if you don’d do what I tell you to do.” he looked back at her as he held his hand to the wound.

Anabelle nodded at him. “Okay.” she said quietly.

“I need you to get me a glass of water, a cloth, gauze, a needle and some strong, and the bottle of alcohol from my bag.” She retrieved the items for him and he began patting away blood with the cloth which he had dipped in the water. He poured the alcohol over Alex’s leg and Anabelle winced in pity.

The man finished washing the wound, stitched it up, and wrapped Alex’s whole thigh in gauze, finally sitting back on his feet. He turned to Anabelle.

“He’s okay for now.” the man got up, groaning and gripping his back as he drank the remaining water from the glass. “Now,” he said, gulping it down, “I think you had better tell me exactly what happened.”


Thanks so much for reading!!! You'll all have to wait until next time to find out who this mysterious man is, and why he knows Alex, or why he is helping them. :)

Thanks tons!!! Have a blessed weekend! :) I know I will.