Perfect Sacrifice

by Parker, Jack

  "Do you know where the police station is?" he questioned. Leon had to think for a moment. He was used to being in Torran, but that didn't mean he knew where all of the buildings were.

  "I know where it is, but…I'd have to show you," he said.

  "That's alright," assured the man, his smile forming into a smirk.

  "By the way, my name's Leon," he introduced. There was a glint in the man's eyes as he responded.

  "My name is Ramirez," he said with an icy grin. Leon's eyes widened, the voice finally fitting the name. He was quickly overwhelmed with fear as he began backing away towards the dead end.

  "You can't be…" he whispered out of pure terror. He began to panic, knowing full well what this could mean.

  Ramirez began to walk towards him, going rather slowly. Why hadn't he noticed earlier that this man was familiar, not to mention suspicious? His clothing was like that of a general. How could he have missed it?

  "Dad, Chris!" he shouted in hopes of getting their attention or even some else's. "Help!" Before he could call out again, Ramirez ran towards him.

  He was quick, faster than Leon could comprehend. Before he knew it, Ramirez had clamped a hand around his throat, now proceeding to lift him off the ground. Leon struggled to find his voice to call out for help, but not a word would escape his throat. Unfortunately, no air would enter it either.

  "It's nice to see you again, Leon," said Ramirez with a smirk. "I guess you can't say the same." He loosened his grip. "Now, tell me where she is."

  "Where who is?" he rasped out, resulting in a hard squeeze of his throat.

  "The ace knight," demanded Ramirez. "Where is she? Where is Rayla Cayden?"

  "I don't know," he answered, and Ramirez squeezed harder, causing Leon to gasp for air that wasn't coming.

  "Don't play dumb!" he snapped harshly, his ice blue eyes alight with a fierce fire. "Tell me where she is!"

  "Leon!" shouted a voice from behind Ramirez. The silver haired man turned to see Dr. Solaris and Chris standing in the alleyway. Chris looked panicked while Dr. Solaris glared at Ramirez.

  "Dr. Solaris," began Ramirez with a smirk. "It's nice to see you again."

  "Let him go Ramirez," demanded David Solaris, his eyes as cold as ice. He glanced to his struggling son, knowing that Leon was in a great deal of pain right now.

  "Then tell me where Rayla is," he demanded. "Maybe then I'll let him go."

  "We don't know," he said honestly. "The last time we saw her was yesterday during the battle."

  "You're lying," he stated angrily. "I know you are. I want an answer, or I won't hesitate to kill your son." He tightened his hold on Leon to emphasize his point. Dr. Solaris cursed under his breath, seeing no way out of this. They had no idea where Ray was. If they didn't say something, he would kill Leon. He would probably kill him anyway though. Either way, they were going to lose.

  "I told you," began a distant yet familiar voice. "It's this way. Look, just meet me up ahead, alright?" Ramirez looked to the street across the alleyway, and so did Dr. Solaris and Chris. Leon managed to keep his eyes in focus, and what he saw racked his mind with worry. Passing by the alley entrance was none other than Ray.

  "The ace knight," whispered Ramirez, drawing Leon's attention. Before he knew it, Ramirez had dropped him to the ground, taking off at a sprint towards the street entrance.

  "Leon, are you alright?" asked Chris, but Leon was already getting to his feet. He streaked off after Ramirez, not caring that his vision was a little blurry. His head was pounding, but he had more important things to take care of.

  Ramirez ran onto the street, and Leon got there not long after. He stopped dead in his tracks as he watched Ramirez whip out a black pistol, his finger already on the trigger.

  "Ray!" Leon shouted, praying to catch her attention in time. "Run!" Ray turned around just in time to see Ramirez standing in front of Leon, a pistol in his hand. Ray's eyes widened, and she quickly turned the corner just as he pulled the trigger. After muttering a curse, he broke off into a sprint after her.

  By this time, Dr. Solaris and Chris had arrived on the street. They watched as Ramirez turned the corner, running after a fleeing Ray.

  "Let's go," said Leon as he broke into a sprint, followed closely by his father and brother. They had to catch up to them in hopes of helping Ray. But what could they do against Ramirez?

  * * * *

  Brian was standing on the side of the sidewalk, watching and waiting for Ray. She had said she'd meet him there, so he had nothing better to do than wait. He put his hands in his pockets as he kicked at a small stone impatiently. He looked up after a while to see Ray flying down the street.

  "Hey Ray," he greeted with a smile, but she went right past him. He turned to watch her run just as another figure passed him. This one explained it all. "Ramirez," he whispered in slight shock. The next group of people he knew as the Solaris family. By this point, he couldn't take it anymore. He broke off into a sprint, following after them.

  Brian eventually caught up with Dr. Solaris, Leon, and Chris. He had a few questions to ask them. This was all happening too fast for his tastes.

  "What's going on?" he asked, drawing Dr. Solaris's attention.

  "Ramirez is trying to kill Ray," he explained. Brian scowled deeply at the thought.

  "What else is new?" he mumbled bitterly. "We need to pick up our pace."

  "Those two are too fast," stated Chris as his legs began to hurt.

  "Then I'm going on ahead, alright?" he said as he pulled away from them, picking up his pace. Leon was impressed at how fast he was going.

  "Wow," he said. "The knights must be in pretty good shape."

  "They have to be," stated Dr. Solaris. "Especially for situations like this." Leon returned his focus to the task set before him. When a few gun shots echoed down the street, he couldn't help but wonder if Ray was alright.

  * * * *

  Ray ran down the sidewalk as fast as she could, dodging people, mailboxes, bus stop benches, and whatever else happened to litter the area. She had to keep ahead of Ramirez. The fact that he was now shooting at her didn't make this predicament any better. They were approaching a corner, so she quickly opened her backpack, pulling out a pair of her skates. Just like before, she timed the way she would step and threw them down. In two quick steps, she was on her skates, now picking up speed.

  From behind her, Ramirez cursed under his breath. Not only was she pulling away from him, he only had one bullet left. This one was definitely going to hit. He didn't care who anymore. It was going to hit someone. He'd make sure of it.

  Up ahead of him, Ray turned the corner. He'd approach it soon enough, but he was unaware of the person behind him who was slowly closing in. His mind was too focused on Ray.

  The second he turned the corner, he stopped running, positioning his pistol so that he'd hit Ray for sure. He wasn't going to miss again. However, Brian turned the corner, stopping directly behind him.

  "Ray!" he shouted in warning. "Look out!" Ramirez glowered, sick of these distractions. He was going to kill someone. Instead of firing his pistol, he spun around and watched as the terror washed through Brian's eyes. Without so much as a word, he pulled the trigger.

  Everything seemed to stop in that one moment. Ray froze dead in her tracks, turning to watch the scene unfold behind her. She watched as Brian's eyes widened in extreme pain. He didn't scream or anything as the bullet tore through him.

  "Brian!" she screamed as she began to head back towards him.

  Ramirez lowered his gun and watched as Brian fell back, hitting the pavement. It was at that time that the Solaris family arrived. Ramirez only smirked as he looked back at Ray. Before she reached the area, he broke off into a run, heading across the street and disappearing down an alleyway.

  "Brian!" shouted Dr. Solaris in worry as he got down next to the blonde. Blood was beginning to soak into his already dark clothing. The bullet had hit him in the stomach. His body trembled from the pain as the simple act
of breathing became very difficult. It was then that Ray reached him. She quickly got down on her knees next to her fellow knight and friend.

  "Brian?" she questioned in worry, drawing his attention. His eyes were wide with fear, and it pained her to see him like that. She quickly removed her blue jacket and placed it over the wound to try and stop the blood from flowing as quickly. Dr. Solaris quickly stepped in and began pressing down as well. He looked up and met Ray's worried eyes.

  "Call an ambulance," he demanded. "You're the only one who can right now." Ray nodded, letting go of her jacket. She quickly used her communicator to dial 911, saying that it was an emergency. She mentioned her name, and they said they'd send an ambulance right away.

  Ray shut her communicator and looked to Brian. His eyes were starting to close. Ray's began to fill with tears.

  "Brian, please hold on," she begged desperately. The Solaris family remained quiet, watching and waiting for the ambulance.

  "Ray, I…I-I'm…" he began, his voice shaking with each word.

  "Don't say anything," she said softly. "Just focus on staying awake, okay?" However, even as she spoke these words, his eyes were closing. He just couldn't keep them open anymore. The calming numbness of unconsciousness was tempting his mind and body, and despite how much Ray was pleading, he couldn't fight it.

  "Brian!" she shouted, but her voice was nothing more than one faded whisper amongst the silence.

  CHAPTER 16

  Decision

  Ray sat in an almost empty waiting room, the only other occupants being the members of the Solaris family. All of them sat quietly, not wanting to break the delicate silence that had settled amongst them. They were currently in Torran's hospital, the same place that Ray had been about a month ago. After the encounter with Ramirez, they rushed Brian to the hospital. He was barely still alive, and the doctors were now working on him nonstop. It had been over an hour now. They hadn't received any news yet.

  The door opened near the main desk, and two people walked through. Ray raised her head and looked to see Abby and Gordan walk into the hospital. Ray stood up and began to slowly walk towards them, a grim expression upon her usually vivid face.

  "Abby," she called softly, catching her attention. Both Gordan and Abby responded, and they walked over to her.

  "Hey Ray," she greeted in the same tone, hugging her friend tightly. It was obvious that this whole incident had really shaken Ray, but she had yet to shed a single tear. Most would have cried by now but not her. If anything, she was fighting them back.

  Abby and Ray pulled away from each other, and Gordan put a hand on each of their shoulders. It was easy to tell that this was hard on him as well. The strong general of the GRC now resembled a worried father. He more or less was one. He sure acted like it anyway.

  "Any news?" he asked Ray softly, gently. She only shook her head. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "It'll be alright," he told her. "I'm sure Brian can pull through." Ray nodded, but she didn't seem convinced, not in the least.

  The three of them walked over to the chairs, taking their seats. The silence settled in again as they all sat there, waiting. Ray was currently sitting next to Leon. It was easy to assume that she had forgotten their argument after this. She didn't seem to mind him being there at all. Then again, this really wasn't the time to be letting a past argument get in the way. There was a life on the line here.

  It was nearly an hour later before one of the nurses came out. She had a clipboard with her, and she flipped through the pages carefully, wanting to make sure she had all the information.

  "You're Rayla Cayden, right?" she asked Ray as she stopped in front of her. All six of their heads snapped up as Ray's name escaped the nurse's lips.

  "Yes," responded Ray as she realized what this was about. "How is he? Will he be alright?" The nurse flipped through her papers, not wanting to get any of this wrong.

  "Well," she began, "we managed to remove the bullet, and luckily it didn't puncture any vital organs. He lost a lot of blood, but…we think he's going to be okay." Everyone's face brightened at the sound of those words.

  "Thank God," whispered Abby, relief echoing in her voice.

  "You can see him if you'd like," she said. "I guess I could let all of you into the room if you make sure to be careful." They all stood up and followed the nurse down the hallways. They passed so many rooms, each one with an occupant. Some had family members and friends with them.

  They soon reached Brian's room, and the nurse opened the door for them. They walked in quietly, cautiously, and surveyed the area. Ray instantly went over to Brian's bed, pulling up a chair so she could sit near him. He was hooked to a respirator and a heart monitor, the steady pulse of it indicating that he was very much alive. The gentle rise and fall of his chest only gave them more evidence to the fact.

  A smile developed on Ray's face as she realized that he really was going to pull through. She wasn't about to lose yet another person that she cared about. She laid her head down on his bed, resting it on her arms.

  "Thank God you're alright," she whispered happily as she just watched him.

  Abby and Gordan walked over, monitoring their fellow friend and coworker who had just had an encounter with death. He really had gotten lucky. Ramirez rarely left anyone alive.

  The members of the Solaris family simply watched the GRC officials, having nothing to really add to this. They were there to comfort Ray and to pray for Brian. If he was going to be okay, then they really didn't have any reason to be there. That didn't mean they were going to leave, however.

  "Let's give them some privacy," whispered Dr. Solaris as he walked out the door. Leon and Chris followed him silently. Neither brother knew what to say. However, it's not like there was anything that needed to be said in the first place.

  When they reached the waiting room, Dr. Solaris sat back down in one of the chairs. Leon and Chris followed suit. They were all silent until Dr. Solaris spoke up.

  "Do you understand now?" he asked, looking to Leon. He only gave his father a confused glance. "Do you understand why Ramirez is so dangerous?" Leon nodded, lowering his gaze to the floor. It's not like he didn't feel bad enough the way it was. In a way, all of this was his fault. If he hadn't made Ray angry, if he had just kept his mouth shut…

  "Sorry," he whispered, keeping his focus on the white tiled floor. Everything was white for that matter. The walls, the ceilings, the hospital rooms, everything was that unnerving, clean color. For some reason, it made him nervous.

  "It's not your fault," stated Dr. Solaris. "However, you should still apologize to Ray." Leon sighed, knowing that his father was right. He stood up and began to head back down the hallway. He was heading towards Brian's room to see if he could talk to Ray. The sooner he apologized, the better he'd feel. For some reason, this was really killing him.

  He was so zoned out at the moment that he nearly missed Ray, who was now walking down the hall.

  "Ray," he called as he spun around, stopping her as well. She turned to face him.

  "Hey Leon," she greeted softly. Leon shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling a little nervous right now.

  "I…I just wanted to say…that I'm sorry about yesterday," he said, earning him a confused stare from the ace knight.

  "Yesterday?" she questioned, but she quickly remembered what had happened. Her eyes narrowed a little. "Oh, that."

  "I'm sorry," he repeated. "I didn't mean it. I…I guess I should have kept my mouth shut." Ray crossed her arms and arrogantly turned away.

  "Yeah, I guess you should have," she said, now angry after being reminded of the incident. "Ramirez is dangerous, Leon. Having an encounter with him isn't nothing."

  "Yeah, I know," said Leon as he looked away from her. "At least now I know what he looks like so I can avoid him next time." Ray turned around to face him, now curious about what he had just said.

  "What do you mean?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

  "I…met him in t
he alley," he replied, rubbing his neck at the memory. He cringed when he pressed against one of the many bruises he now had there.

  Ray dropped her arms to her sides and walked over to him. She looked to his neck, noticing the many black and blue spots surfacing on his skin. Her eyes softened quite a bit.

  "He came after you," she stated sadly. Before he could say anything, she hung her head and whispered, "I'm sorry." With that said, she spun around and ran down the hall.

  "Ray, wait!" he called out, but it was too late. She was already gone.

  * * * *

  Ray walked into the GRC base, her shoulders slouched and her head down. She was exhausted after an exhilarating yet horrible day. Abby and Gordan had returned quite a while ago, but she had wanted to stay a little longer to see if Brian would wake up. He hadn't.

  The doctors said that they would have to keep him there for a week or two, depending on how quickly his body healed. Each person healed differently, or so that's what they had told her.

  It was late by now, but she had something important left to do. She needed to speak to Gordan. After talking with Leon earlier in the afternoon, she wanted to ask her general about something. The older Solaris brother had had another encounter with Ramirez. These meetings weren't going to stop, this she already knew. She would just have to intervene. After all, she had made a promise. She was going to keep it.

  Ray pushed open the door to Gordan's office, startling him from his stack of paper work. He sighed when he saw that it was just Ray.

  "Hello Ray," he greeted as she sat down. "What is it?"

  "I," she began while fumbling with her fingers, "I was wondering…if you needed me here right now." He quirked an eyebrow, taking note of her posture and the nervous air about her.

  "What?" he questioned, wanting to know what this was about.

  "I've just been…thinking," she began. "I mean, Ramirez is targeting Leon Solaris. He encountered him today in Torran." Gordan leaned forward, now interested in what Ray had to say.

  "Go on," he instructed.

  "I made a promise to Dr. Solaris," she explained. "I said that I wouldn't let Ramirez get to Leon, but I…" She dropped her head more, the shadows on her face concealing her expression. "I can't keep it…if I stay here." She finally looked up at Gordan, meeting his curious gaze with her fierce eyes. "I need to leave. I have to go back to the Solaris base." Gordan just closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms out of habit. He was contemplating the suggestion. It was true that Ray wouldn't be able to help from headquarters, but he felt better having her at this base. This was a tough decision for him to make.