Jett's anger simmered like a wildfire. "I've been a pawn my whole damn life," he muttered bitterly. "Pushed around, treated like garbage..."

His fingers curled into fists, nails digging into his palms as he continued, "And now, with this power," he continued, "I thought I’d be strong. I thought things would change. But no... I'm still just a pawn. Weak, worthless..."

"Even my captor sees me as nothing but a tool," he spat.

"Every time I think I'm making progress," he muttered, "something else goes wrong."

Was he destined to be nothing more than a tool for others to wield? Just how strong did he have to become?

Suddenly, a deafening explosion resounded from above, sending shockwaves through the cramped basement. Dust and debris fell from the ceiling.

For a moment, Jett could only hear the rapid thudding of his heart against his ribcage.

Then, Jett heard the sound of hurried footsteps come down the basement steps. The door creaked open and a figure stepped into the basement. As the figure walked closer into the dim light, Jett could easily see that the person wasn’t Purge. However, Jett couldn’t quite tell who the person was.

"Who's there? Is it Ava?" Jett’s voice echoed.

The figure came closer. A playful smile danced across the figure's lips as they brushed back their hair, “Hi! Nope, not Ava. Name's Whimsy”

"Are you with Purge?" Jett asked.

Whimsy responded, “Purge? Nah. I don’t do surprise adoptions. God, I’m thirsty enough to drink a kraken right now.”

‘Who the hell is this?’ Jett wondered.

Whimsy looked around the basement then sighed in frustration, "Here I am, blowing up shit sky high, and all I wanted was a lousy glass of water. Doesn’t Purge go shopping or whatever? Is a glass of water too much to ask?"

‘Blowing up shit? Could this person have been the one who caused the explosion?’ Jett kept wondering as he stared at Whimsy.

Whimsy then drew closer to Jett. Their face inches from his, Whimsy flashed a grin.

"It's like staring into the eyes of a unicorn... if unicorns were really, really ridiculously good-looking,” Whimsy remarked.

Jett stumbled over his words. “I – I guess,” he replied, feeling uncomfortable.

Whimsy chuckled softly. “Chill, you’re not my type anyways.” Whimsy then backed away from Jett again.

"Who are you, exactly?" Jett pressed.

"That’s an excellent question,” Whimsy began. "I’m an abductee just like you."

"When were you abducted?" Jett inquired.

"About five months ago, give or take. See, I had this little gig working for a guy named Ezekiel. Nice fella, but he had a thing for these weird rings. Long story short, I may or may not have borrowed one of his rings... indefinitely."

Whimsy paused, then continued, "I ran from Ezekiel and then along comes Purge, that brooding asshole. Snatched me up and then chained me in his attic. He wanted to know more about Ezekiel so he played the whole 'interrogation' game, yada yada. Naturally, I didn’t tell him anything."

"Why didn’t you tell him about Ezekiel?" Jett asked.

"Personal pride, of course. I mean, he kept me locked up in an attic for five months. No way in hell was I going to tell him anything."

Whimsy then approached Jett and released him from his restraints. Jett nodded in gratitude.

"I still need to look around for Ava," Jett remarked, worried.

"Didn’t see anybody called Ava around. I searched everywhere and it was just two of us and Purge of course. But that asshole doesn’t count as a person," Whimsy reassured Jett.

"That’s a relief. That means I was the only one who was abducted. Anyways, how are we going to escape here? After all, you blew up…" Jett began, but Whimsy cut him off by placing their finger on Jett’s lips.

“Shh... don't you worry your pretty little head about that. A little thing called 'plot convenience' will help us,” Whimsy said.

Before Jett could respond, Purge burst into the basement, holding two daggers, covered in blood and dirt. Whimsy and Jett quickly turned to look at Purge. They hadn’t even heard him coming down the basement steps.

"Purge, darling, is that your 'I'm about to brutally murder someone' face? Or just your everyday look? Asking for a friend," Whimsy joked.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"I should’ve just killed you sooner. How did you even get back your ring?" Purge demanded angrily.

"I just got 'touchy'… By the way, do you always have those daggers on you?" Whimsy quipped.

Before either Jett or Whimsy could react, Purge threw one of his daggers and it found its mark in Whimsy's throat. Blood gushed out, staining Whimsy’s clothes as they staggered backward, clutching futilely at the wound.

Whimsy managed to croak out their final words, "Well, this... sucks. Tell Joey... I said... hey."

And with that, Whimsy’s eyes closed and their body slumped to the ground.

Purge's gaze turned to Jett, and he gave a chilling warning. "I don’t want to kill anyone I don’t have to. Don’t make me shed more blood than necessary," he cautioned.

Jett just stared at Whimsy’s lifeless body. "Just how many people have you killed?" he asked.

Purge's response was chilling. "I lost count years ago," he admitted, with no remorse.

"Oh, is that so?" Jett murmured, struggling to comprehend the depths of Purge’s darkness, “So you killed these people because of your whim?”

Purge responded coldly, “It was what the job required.”

Jett kept staring at Whimsy’s body as he asked, “What job was that?”

Purge, maintaining his composure, replied, “I really don’t have time to discuss my past with you.”

Jett then looked at Purge with cold eyes, “I don’t give a damn about your past. People like you make me sick.”

Purge just looked at Jett with a blank expression as he said, “Don’t act so high and mighty. You are just a naïve brat.”

Jett responded defiantly, “Maybe I am but I don’t see why anyone would treat another person’s life like a toy just because they are too weak to defend themselves.”

Purge, smirked then retorted, “Oh… you’re talking from past experience aren’t you?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Jett then stooped down at Whimsy and removed the dagger from Whimsy’s throat. His hands trembled slightly with suppressed rage.

Jett suddenly teleported in front of Purge. His eyes were ablaze with fury. "The truly powerful are those who use their strength to protect the weak, not prey on them."

Without saying a word, Purge lunged forward, his dagger slicing through the air.

Jett sidestepped the attack, and then he retaliated, thrusting his own dagger towards Purge in a swift counterattack. But Purge was no novice; he evaded all of Jett’s strikes easily.

Purge gave a smirk then he went on the offensive. Purge predicted all of Jett’s moves as he drove Jett back with his incredibly fast strikes. Sweat dropped from Jett’s forehead and he felt his muscles ache, as he struggled to parry blow after blow.

‘If I continue like this, I will die ten times over.’ Jett thought.

Purge moved in for the final strike but Jett suddenly disappeared in a flash of blue and appeared behind Purge.

Before Purge could react, Jett bent down and slashed at Purge's leg muscle with all his might. Purge groaned in pain as he stumbled backwards, blood dripping from his injured leg.

Purge began to plan his next move but Jett didn’t give him a chance. Jett teleported in front of Purge again and then Jett kicked Purge in the chest with bone-crushing force. Pain shot through Purge’s body as he staggered backward, his breath knocked from his lungs.

Jett then walked up to Purge and pressed the cold, hard, steel blade against his throat.

"Go ahead," Purge taunted.

"I'm not a murderer," Jett declared firmly. "Nobody has the right to do what they want with the life of another human."

Purge laughed. "You really are naïve."

Jett rendered Purge unconscious with a swift blow. As Purge slumped to the ground, Jett's attention turned to the crumbling building above them.

"How would I get out of here?" Jett wondered aloud.

A tap on his shoulder jolted him from his thoughts, and he turned to see Whimsy standing beside him, alive and well.

"We could just blow up the walls…" Whimsy suggested casually.

Jett recoiled in shock. "How... how are you still alive?" he stammered.

Whimsy chuckled, revealing the ring on their finger. "That's my own special ability."

"You could explain more about it to me later," Jett conceded. "Right now, we need to leave."

Together, Jett and Whimsy hurried from the basement just moments before the house crumbled around them. As they emerged into the cool night air, a black Rolls Royce Sweptail pulled up before them, the window rolling down to reveal Eric behind the wheel.

"Get in," Eric said simply.

Jett and Whimsy exchanged glances before climbing in the car. As soon as they were in, Eric sped off.

As Eric drove along the road, Whimsy sighed dramatically, "I’m bored… we’ve been driving for hours now…"

Eric replied, "It’s only been two minutes."

Turning to Jett, Whimsy asked, “You know this guy?”

Jett nodded, replying, “Somehow.”

Jett then turned to face Eric and asked, “Your timing was convenient. Too convenient, wouldn’t you say?”

Ignoring Jett's question, Eric turned his gaze to the road ahead. "Is laying low so difficult for you?"

Jett clicked his tongue in annoyance. "It isn’t my fault I was abducted."

Eric's expression remained impassive as he said, “I hope you got rid of Purge.”

Jett's curiosity piqued. “How did you know about Purge, Eric?”

“I pay attention to details," Eric replied curtly. "Now, did you get rid of him?”

“I’m not a murderer,” Jett asserted.

Sighing, Eric explained, “It’s not about whether you’re a murderer or not. Killing Purge would’ve ensured new problems don’t arise in the future.”

Jett wondered. “Have you killed people before?”

Eric answered, "It's not about whether I've killed before, but rather why I did it."

Whimsy interjected, "I prefer to leave hearts broken, not bodies."

Turning to Whimsy, Eric asked bluntly, "Are you even a male or a female?"

Jett was taken aback by how blunt Eric was. Jett had also wondered the same thing but he hesitated to voice it.

Whimsy responded playfully, "Take a guess."

Eric's tone remained indifferent. "Don’t worry, I don’t care anymore."

Whimsy narrowed their eyes then said, "Man, you’re so gloomy."

Turning to Eric, Jett inquired, “Where are you taking us?”

Eric's response was direct. "You are too much of a trouble magnet for me to leave alone, so I will take you to my residence. You'll stay there until this whole thing clears up."

Concerned for Ava's safety, Jett inquired, "Is Ava alright?"

Eric's assurance was curt. "She'll be safe as long as she stays away from you for the time being."

Jett nodded.

"Wait, so I’m coming along too?" Whimsy asked excitedly.

Eric's tone turned cold. "You're useless. I'll just abandon you on the road somewhere."

Whimsy remarked, "Abandon me? Please, like I haven't hitchhiked my way out of worse situations before!"

Jett interjected, "Whimsy should come with us. Whimsy saved my life. Plus, Ezekiel's after Whimsy too. Leaving Whimsy behind could lead to trouble."

Eric seemed to think over what Jett said before he finally voiced out his thoughts. "What sort of stupid name is Whimsy?"

"That’s not important," Jett clicked his tongue in annoyance.