Subject: [OTL]: [Broken Roads] South 75 5/? Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2000 22:23:47 -0800 From: "Shaianne K. PeriHawk" Note: Yes, I'm using a BRITISH spell-checker. The words you THINK are wrong, Americans, are correct. (Grumbles at her American room mate s'more.) Disclaimer: Ana, Kim, and Stone are all property of me, Shai PeriHawk, if for some reason you're kidnapped by aliens and replaced bye a skrull, please email me for permission to write my characters. Scarlet, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Tomax, Xamot, and Zartan are all property of GI Joe comics. Feedback is a wonderful thing, I like it, and it makes me happy. I will now quit the whining and give you my email address, which is perihawk@subreality.com. Thank you. Dedicated to my audience, you've all been patient with my erratic posts, thanks for sticking it out. South 75 5/? Shai PeriHawk *I'm crawling up a ventilation shaft. A hot, sticky, ventilation shaft.* I repeated the litany over and over in my head. Claustrophobia crashed around me. Stuck in a 1 cubic foot ventilation shaft, *anyone* would get claustrophobic. I swallowed the stuffy feeling that made me want to let go of the metallic walls of the shaft and just glide back down to the swamp floor. Only the memory of those teeth kept me from doing just that. Storm Shadow climbed above me. He couldn't be any more comfortable. Progress was slow, but steady, one foot at a time. If I just watched the white suit above me, I'd be fine. Stretch, grip, pull. Stretch until my shoulders pulled. Grip by expanding my forearms against the cool metal walls. Pull myself another two feet. Stretch, grip, pull. We inched along, sometimes right-side up, upside down, on our stomachs or on our backs. On my back was the worst. It felt like a tiny metal coffin, or a cremation chamber right before the flames were lit. Then, finally, we were out, and fresh air poured into my lungs in deep breaths. I *never* wanted to do that again. Metallic tasting air filled me, cool and fresh. I crouched with my head between my knees, fighting off the last effects of claustrophobia. *Breathe in, hold two three four, out two three four five. Breathe in, hold two three four -* After several calming breaths, I looked up at the ninja. "Now what?" I asked dully. "How are we gonna get me to my room without anyone noticing? That guy was sure to tell someone *something* when I ran off." His soft voice whispered almost out of my hearing range, I had to strain to catch his words. "You're going to walk in as if nothing happened. Don't worry about Snake Eyes getting out, only worry if he's not in your room. If he isn't, take your friend and *leave* by any means possible." I shook my head before he finished speaking. Rescuing them, and Kim, was the only thing I had left. "I can't do that. I can't leave them." He moved slowly towards me, catlike, as if he didn't want to scare me. A corner of my mouth turned up ruefully. He stepped right up to me and held my head between his hands. The soft cotton of his half-gloves brushing my cheek made me shiver. "If Snake Eyes is not there, something has gone terribly wrong, and you, *and* your friend could be in terrible danger. "Snake Eyes has said you handle yourself well, which is indeed high praise, but what about your little friend?" His fingertips were a strange combination of soft calluses, his touch just light enough for me to *know* he was there. "Do you understand?" Tears pricked my eyes. No matter how guilty I was, how much I owed those girls, Kim came first. I nodded and his hands fell to his sides. I slipped out the door. Surprisingly, I recognised the hall and was in my room in less than a minute. I used my key to open the door and swiftly move inside. No Snake Eyes. Even worse, Kim on the bed, apparently sleeping. She didn't wake up when I called her name. Kim is a very light sleeper. *Damn you, Ninja. Why couldn't you take her with you?* I ran to Kim's side and checked her pulse. Steady and strong. No broken bones, no bruises, no bleeding. I pulled the girl into my arms, cradling her to my chest. We had to get out of here. Adrenaline made Kim light in my arms. I checked the halls both ways before I dashed out and down the corridor. I'd never find my way back through the vents without Storm Shadow. I had to find another way out. "Hey, you STOP!" I didn't have to look around to know that heavily accented voice was yelling at me. The hallway was EMPTY. Without stopping to even look back, I plunged ahead. Kim's safety was foremost in my mind. Two men that looked to be mirror images of each other stood in front of me, blocking the path. Where had they come from? I sprung up to run on the tips of my toes and leaned forward a bit to use Kim's weight, gathering energy to bowl them right over. Sharp pain sliced into my thigh. What?!? It was just a small pain, like a needle. Barely noticeable, but there none-the-less. A tranquilliser, my mind supplied a bit too late. Weakness flooded my limbs just a few feet from the men blocking our way. I stumbled, and Kim fell from my arms. One man caught Kim, the other caught me. I wanted to yell, to curse, to get the hell away, but my body would not obey. As he swung me up into his arms, I stared hard at his face, into his brown eyes. Brown that turned black. ~*~ Cold. So very cold. My thoughts were disjointed, struggling for coherence as I swam back to consciousness. For once, I did not wake up to face Stone. Instead the clean-cut face of a brown-haired man swam into focus. He looked more like a high-powered businessman than a crook. I swallowed the lumpy feeling in my throat and tried to talk. My throat was so dry, only a pained croak came out. "Xamot, she is awake," the man above her said. His voice was muffled through the cottony, post-drug haze in my head. "Excellent news, Tomax. Zartan wishes to see her," an equally fuzzy voice responded. Tomax yanked me from the metal table I'd been laying on. My still-weak legs collapsed beneath me, and my knees and hands hit the floor, sending pain lancing up my limbs. He yanked me to my feet, practically dragging me behind him. Xamot grabbed my other arm, taking me completely off my feet. I looked around frantically for Kim. *Where is she?* I tried to struggle, but it was no more than weak wiggling. The twins treated me like a package they were glad to be rid of. Soft laughter sent shivers up my spine and my stomach plunging to my knees. That voice sounded familiar. Zartan? *Oh no.* Tomax and Xamot dropped me on the floor at the feet of the madman I'd danced with not two nights ago. "Well, hello, Miss Lyon. So very glad to see you." He sat on a throne like some super villain out of a bad 80's cartoon. I chuckled feebly. "You, look like King Louis, the orangutan." I leaned heavily against Tomax, cursing my stupid body for being so useless. *Have a *normal* reaction to drugs, would you?* Unsurprisingly, Zartan's face darkened with anger. "Take her to the slave pens. She fights Scarlet tomorrow. That way I'll be rid of *one* of them," he snarled. He gestured sharply and the twins strode forward. A sharp stick in my arm made me look down. The bastards were drugging me again. *Shhhiiiiiiiiiitttt!* ~ End ~