Shackled Serenity

by Leon Logos

  “Who taught you how to do that, by the way?” Tony asked, changing the subject.

  He removed his leather jacket, throwing it to the floor.

  “YouTube,” she said sardonically, noticing Tony sliding an inch closer to her out of the corner of her eye.

  “For real, though,” Tony said, kicking her playfully. “You got an instructor? You take MMA classes?”

  “My brother, or maybe my dad. I can’t remember.”

  Growing up, Gunther hadn’t really focused much on teaching her techniques; he had been too busy trying to toughen her up through punishment and ludicrous challenges. He had focused his teaching mostly on the brothers, particularly Desmos, who was bequeathed the role as trainer quite early on. This fight with Lindsey was her first ever victory. Not that it was much of a feat.

  “Well, I’ll tell you one thing…if you hadn’t earned it before, you definitely earned my respect today,” Tony clapped.

  Like I care, she thought snidely. Tony seemed to be under the illusion that they were friends. The only reason she was here with him was for tranquility. Fatigue crept up on her unexpectedly, and the bed with its memory foam mattress was enticing her to lay down and fall asleep. She rubbed her eyes surreptitiously, not wanting Tony to notice, knowing how he’d respond. He did, however.

  “If you’re tired, feel free to take a nap,” Tony offered. “This is the guest room we in, so this mattress we’re on is basically brand new.”

  “Like I could get any sleep here,” Serenity scoffed.

  “I can’t exactly tell these animals to keep it down, but nobody’s gonna bother us in here,” Tony reassured. “That door is stayin’ locked.”

  “No,” Serenity shook her head. “I just want to go home…”

  “You got a ride?” Tony asked. “If not, I’ll take you out. Not home, it’s too early for that shit. We’ll go somewhere nice.”

  “I’ll call a ride,” Serenity declined, though she wasn’t hopeful.

  Desmos and the others were supposed to be in the middle of a hunt. At the least, it would take at least an hour-and-a-half for them to finish. How far they were and the difficulty of the mission was impossible to determine without the logistics. If she tried to text Desmos, there would be no reply for sure.

  Her phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her pocket instantly, hoping it would miraculously be Desmos coming to her aid, commanding her return. But it wasn’t him. It was Amara.

  Where r u?

  Serenity thought carefully before replying. She was scared to talk to her friend now. The truth would infuriate her. Being in a locked room, alone with Tony wasn’t a preferable situation. She decided to bend the truth instead of lying completely.

  Locked in a room by myself upstairs. How about u?

  Still downstairs. U okay?

  Yeah. What’s going on down there?

  Everybody’s still raving about you. I swear, every person I see is replaying it on their phones. Jesus, girl, I didn’t know you could do that!

  Tony was staring at her watchfully, as if the party was circulating in drugs and he suspected her of calling the police and precipitating a raid.

  “Is that your ride you texting?” he asked.

  She shook her head without looking at him, formulating her reply.

  What’re they saying about me?

  It’s kinda mixed. Most people are impressed but then there’s those people that are a bit freaked out. You really messed up Lindsey’s arm. She left the party a while ago.

  I regret it. Is she seriously hurt?

  She’ll live, don’t worry about it. So where did you learn to do that? Could you teach me maybe?

  Forget that. I just want out of here. Coming here was a mistake.

  Are you insane? You’re famous now! Everybody at school next week is going to know who u are!

  That’s the problem! I don’t want that attention or popularity! What if the school finds out and I get in trouble?

  This wasn’t a legitimate concern. Whether she potentially got expelled or suspended wasn’t something to worry about; this punishment would be incomparable to the consequences she’d face once Desmos learned of this.

  Oh shit! You’re right, this could be bad! Lindsey’s dad is a lawyer! If the school doesn’t find out, HE will. Lindsey will be sure to tell him, and they might press charges! He spoils her like there’s no tomorrow!

  Serenity moaned in dejection. This was an even bigger complication on a bigger scale. Legal trouble was the one thing her family had been avoiding and hiding from for years. It was incredible how after all the crimes they had perpetrated for years, they hadn’t been caught once. Gunther had trained them well to cover their tracks. If she was the first one to break the streak of anonymity, he would be enraged. She didn’t even want to think about the punishment. Her desire to leave the premises strengthened.

  This is becoming one of the worst days of my life. I’m sorry, but I have to go.

  I get it. Where r u, I’ll come see you.

  Serenity texted back in alarm.

  No, I’ll come to you. Wait for me outside, at the front of the house.

  Serenity got to her feet, pocketing her phone. There was no point in hiding any longer. Better to just get over it, face everybody for a few minutes, and leave the area as quickly as possible. She wouldn’t be seeing any of these people ever again soon. Tony sat upright at once.

  “Where you going?” he asked.

  “I’m leaving,” Serenity said brusquely.

  Tony sprang to his feet. He ran around the bed and blocked her path, putting one hand against the door.

  “Why so fast?” he asked. “Got somewhere to be?”

  “Yes. Home,” she said irritably.

  “Step aside, please.”

  Tony didn’t budge. He continued to nonchalantly block her path. This was what she was afraid of. Tony had no intent of letting her leave. The locked door and the conversation were a giveaway to his intentions. She looked at Tony directly in the eyes.

  “What are you doing? Move!”

  “Nah, I got plans,” Tony refused. “And you’re going to cooperate. We’re going to have fun, just chill out. It’s way too noisy down there.”

  “What ‘plans’? Let me out!”

  Tony removed his hand from the door but remained stationary. At this point, she saw only one possible solution. She’d have to make him move by force. Physically. Tony wasn’t a pushover, as she could easily observe from his character and that fight at school. But whether he had the audacity to hit her or respond physically to her was unclear. Though, she learned through experience to always expect to be hit back after hitting someone.

  Tony made the first move. He took a step forward, prompting her to take a step backward. He repeated once more, eliciting the same response from her. She kept her eyes fixed on him, preparing herself for a struggle.

  “I’m not going to touch you,” Tony asserted. “Quit looking like you want to clock me and calm down.”

  “I’ll calm down once that door opens and I’m out of here,” Serenity replied warily. “What the hell do you want from me?”

  “You see, by now I would’ve got what I wanted, but things have changed,” Tony said, advancing on her. “Change of plans, I’m going to have fun with you before I’m done with you.”

  Eventually, he backed her up to the bed. She toppled backwards onto the mattress, unaware of the bed’s proximity.

  “I’m going to ask again: what do you want from me?” Serenity repeated, voice low, as Tony approached her.

  Tony smirked and outstretched his hand abruptly. His fingers traced her cheeks slowly. They were cold as ice and evoked sheer abhorrence inside her. Instantly, as soon as he made contact with her skin, she swiped his hand from her check and then shoved him with one hand in the chest. He recoiled backwards, as she got to her feet.

  “Don’t touch me!”

  “Damn!” Tony whistled. “That was hella force you put into that! And why so riled up? All I
did was tap your cheek.”

  “I don’t even want to think what you’re going to do next. I’m leaving and don’t ever speak to me again!”

  Serenity stormed to the door and grabbed the doorknob. Dread enveloped her as she noticed the keyhole. It had completely slipped from her mind that Tony had locked the door with a key. And this key was securely in his possession. Sure enough, as she turned around, Tony held up the bronze key teasingly. Serenity watched as he tantalized her.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” she asked, hushed. “Don’t make me do this.”

  “If you want this key, come and get it,” Tony said. “Seriously, come and get it from me. Take it.”

  He set the key down on the nightstand next to the bed. Serenity looked at it suspiciously. This was a trick. He was plotting something. She averted her eyes to Tony, trying to read his thoughts. Acknowledging her hesitancy, he grabbed the key from the nightstand and strode up to her. Once he was about a meter away from her, he held it out. Serenity reached for it automatically, trying to catch him off guard. A foolish mistake.

  Tony grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him. He held both her arms tightly, restricting her movements. She struggled profusely, trying to wriggle and wrestle free. Before she could use her leg to try and knee him in the crotch, Tony pinned her against the wall violently. The back of her head slammed into it painfully. They were face-to-face now. She had underestimated his strength; he was a lot stronger than she had anticipated.

  “LET GO!” she yelled.

  Tony used his left forearm to subdue her, pushing it against her neck. With his right hand, he reached around to her backside. He dug his fingers into her back pocket and pulled out the pocket-knife Desmos had given her in the van. Serenity gritted her teeth in outrage at her idiotic self. She had completely forgotten about it; the knife could’ve proven to be useful. Tony used the thumb stud and folded the knife open. He held the blade to her face, its tip inches from her mouth. She eyed it, petrified.

  “I suggest you be really quiet,” he threatened.

  “How did you know—”

  “Don’t take me for a damn idiot,” Tony growled. “There’s still time to make this consensual. Are you in—”

  Tony was interrupted as the glass sliding door in the room (which led to a balcony) opened suddenly. It was obscured by velvet curtains. Two men leapt into the room, both wielding Glock-19s. They were all dressed in black, wore gloves and had hockey masks on to conceal their identity. Tony looked back at them, fuming.

  “You call for us?” one of the men asked, his voice deep.

  “Get back to your damn posts, bro!” Tony scowled. “I ain’t finished!”

  “Uncle Dickson ‘boutta get pissed at you if you don’t speed the hell up,” the other guy said. “Hurry up with your business!”

  “She’s got more fight in her than I thought,” said Tony. “Get out and let me handle my business.”

  The two men grudgingly returned into the balcony. Serenity watched silently but fearfully. Amara was right along. About Tony’s intentions with her. About warning her all along about this moment. But was he planning on murdering her? For what? Why? After the sliding door shut, Tony turned back to her, his face impatient and annoyed.

  “I’m done being the nice guy,” he said. “Unless you want me to carve out your mouth or stab you in the chest, you’ll listen to everything I have to say. We do this the easy way or the hard way.”

  She was inclined to be submissive and obedient, out of fear of being sliced up. However, out of the two possible outcomes of this situation—being stabbed still was more welcoming.

  “First tell me why you’re doing this,” Serenity bargained. “Then, maybe I’ll cooperate with you.”

  “You annoying Carlisles all deserve to get eviscerated,” Tony said loathingly. “Every last one of you off the face of this planet.”

  “W-who are you…?” she inquired, though the answer was clear as shocking as it was.

  Tony didn’t get a chance to respond. It was faint, but two gunshots just went off outside, followed by a thud that indicated someone had just collapsed heavily to the floor. She inferred that the gun was using a suppressor, considering the muffled noise level of the shots. Tony crossed over to the sliding door immediately, looking out the glass. He opened the sliding door and looked straight ahead, peering into the darkness. He then looked down. His eyes widened in alarm.

  “SHIT!” he exclaimed, retreating from the glass.

  “Who the hell—?” Tony spun around, glancing at her. With a malicious glare, he bound towards her. He tackled her and pinned her down to the bed furiously, knife to her throat. She fought tooth and nail, resisting to the best of her abilities; she managed to land a punch to his jaw, but no effect. The knife rendered her immobile, as the cold steel grazed against her skin with a sting.

  “WHO CAME WITH YOU?!” he roared. “WHO?!”

  “Nobody! I came alone!”

  “STOP LYING! WAS THIS A SET-UP!?”

  His nose was an inch from her face. She could feel his cold breath and unadulterated fury emitting from his mouth and eyes. Serenity panicked; Tony had suddenly lost control for unknown reasons. Whatever he saw triggered it. Any second now, he would slit her throat.

  “I’M GONNA ENJOY THIS!” Tony snarled.

  She closed her eyes, thinking rapidly and desperately for any way out of this. None came to mind. She was cornered This wasn’t her first time being in a life-threatening situation, but having the experience didn’t make this one any less terrifying.

  “So am I,” said a monotone voice.

  BANG!

  Another gunshot, this time from close quarters, pierced her eardrums. It was deafening. Her ears pounded in torment, hearing nothing but ringing. She felt weight come down on her and a wet substance splattering onto her face. Serenity opened her eyes. Tony was no longer in view, only the ceiling. She looked to her left; Tony was on top of her—dead. Half of his head was missing, blown off completely. What was left of it was a bloody, gory mess composed of intestines and bone. The sight and odor nearly caused her to throw up.

  She yelped, pushing Tony off of herself and scrambling backwards, aghast. The bed sheets were stained scarlet. Breathing heavily, she felt her face which was smeared with his blood. Her clothes, too, were bloody. Her hearing was starting return to normal. The next thing she spotted was just as confounding, as she looked straight ahead.

  “KYLER?!” she exclaimed, staggered.

  He stood by the bed, .44 Magnum in hand, assault rifle strapped over his shoulder, wearing Kevlar, a bandana mask and black cargo pants. His body was fastened with tactical equipment. His face wasn’t expressionless or apathetic like normal. This time, it was murderous and resentful as he gazed down upon his prey. A maelstrom of emotion raged inside her: confusion, fear, relief, disorientation. Kyler tucked his revolver into his pants and then approached her.

  Quickly, Kyler tilted her head both sides and examined her thoroughly, ascertaining the current status of her health. Serenity just looked at him, eyes wide, unable to speak or think clearly. Why was he here?

  “We need to go,” Kyler said. “Get up.”

  “He’s…an Aurelian…” she whispered.

  “No shit, and there’s more of them,” Kyler nodded, pulling her off the bed and to her feet.

  Her legs buckled, deficient in strength. Even standing straight was difficult. From this position, she got a closer look into the balcony from the sliding door that was left open. Kyler must’ve gotten in through here. And she realized what had startled Tony; it was hard to see, but the legs of the two masked men were visible, both of them spread-eagled on the ground in a pool of their own blood. Had they been sniped?

  The door burst open, knocked off its hinges. Three men came into the room, armed with sub-machine guns. Instantly, Kyler dived behind the bed for cover, tackling her down simultaneously. They both crashed down to the floor, Serenity keeping her head down as gunfire erupted into the roo
m. The walls were battered with bullets and a glass vase exploded somewhere. Kyler removed his assault rifle from his shoulder and cocked it. The second they stopped firing to reload, Kyler took something from his pouch and threw it over his head; a second later, there was a bang, followed by several cries of pain. She recognized the sound as a stun grenade going off. Kyler popped his head out from behind the bed, aimed, and started firing back. She was too occupied with protecting her head with her arms and staying down to see what was going on. The exchange of gunfire lasted for about forty seconds, with a few short intervals of silence between it. Serenity raised her head to clarify if it was over.

  “Amateurs,” Kyler scoffed, on his feet, inspecting his right shoulder which was injured; a rivulet of blood flowed down his arm.

  She hoisted herself up, using the now-torn-up bed as support. The room was a war zone. Everything in sight was riddled with bullets and the walls were painted with blood that belonged to the three men who now lay dead in a sanguinary scene, their bodies scattered. Kyler must’ve got hit in the firefight, either while shooting or chucking the flashbang.

  “Y-you’re shot,” she pointed.

  “Just a scratch,” he said indifferently. “Let’s go!”

  Kyler led the way out of the room. Serenity kept close as she followed, stepping over the kicked down door. It was a chaotic, tumultuous scene. The party was in disarray, as the partygoers flooded out of the house in panic, screaming, stepping over each other, stampeding to safety. The neighboring bedroom doors on the second floor opened, spewing out half-naked couples. Further gunfire could be heard outside as well. Nowhere seemed to be safe.

  They flew down the stairs, Serenity struggling to keep up. Getting out of the house proved to be challenge; it was like a labyrinth, each turn bringing more and more danger. Not only was it troublesome getting past the fleeing crowd, but Kyler opened fire a couple more times as they encountered more armed men trying to kill them. Each time, she ducked and dove for the nearest cover. Eventually, they fought their way through the back door where the swimming pool was. They ran and ran until Serenity lost her stamina, crouching down at a dark narrow alley which was situated at the side of the house. It was the path she and Amara initially took to get to the back. Kyler noticed her down and stopped in his tracks.