“No, no… please don’t hurt me…” She whimpered, backing away slowly from the burly man getting closer to her. The teenage girl leaned up against the corridor wall, looking around frantically. She’ll be here any minute… They said she’ll be here… She’s coming to save me…

“Stay still, little girl,” the man sneered. “It’ll hurt a lot less if you don’t struggle.”

The girl screamed as he grabbed her thighs, forcefully pulling down her shorts. She struggled and kicked him but he merely cackled, pressing down on her small arms.

“Hey! Pick on someone your own size!”

The man turned around, but face planted the ground instead as a pair of hands dragged him by his legs. The girl stared in both awe and terror as her saviour tossed the man around like a used bath towel, slamming him repeatedly against the ground and the wall around them. The figure dropped him to the ground, finally satisfied with the beat down. Her mouth turned in disgust at his bloodied face before walking towards the frightened girl.

“Sorry I’m late. It’s alright now, you’re safe,” the heroine said in a gentle, motherly voice. “Do you need me to carry you?”

The girl blinked back tears, shaking her head.

“You’re a strong girl.” The woman smiled. “Come, follow me. The others are waiting for you.”

The girl followed closely behind her saviour as they navigated the carpeted corridors, instinctively holding onto her hand. She looked around fearfully, as though anticipating another one of her captors to suddenly appear from the rooms and take her again.

“You… You’re the one they call Marianne, right?” she asked timidly.

“Yes, dear.” Marianne briskly turned a corner. “And you are…?”

“My name’s Cecilia. My friends call me Ceci. Thank you for saving us.”

“You’re welcome, Ceci. We’ll get out of here safely, I promise.”

A loud siren blared through the building as commotion intensified behind them. Marianne muttered something under her breath and quickened her pace. The girl broke into a half jog, scurrying close behind.

“Hold on.” Marianne stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway. She slammed a fist against the wall, revealing a perfectly camouflaged access panel. Marianne quickly removed it and ushered the young girl to enter.

“Just keep following the path. You’ll see the other girls soon,” Marianne whispered urgently. “Once you’re out of this place, get on the black coloured truck. It’ll bring you somewhere safe.”

“Hey! There they are!” a voice rang out from behind them.

“Go, quickly! I’ll hold them off!” Marianne said, covering up the hole with the access panel. She turned around to face three men armed with baseball bats standing in front of her.

“You got some nerve running away like that!” one of them sniggered. “Ain’t nowhere for you to run now, huh!”

“Hey, this one’s pretty hot.” Another one leered creepily. “You’re gonna pay us back for losing our girls, with your body.”

“Eh, too mature looking for me; I like them young. Enough talk, boys! Get her!”

They raised their bats to swing at her, but Marianne took the offensive, kicking the closest one in the chest at full force. A cracking sound was heard as he tumbled through the air, crashing into a wall. He crumpled onto the ground motionless, blood spilling from his mouth.

“What the hell?!” the other man shouted in shock. He swung his bat wildly at her, but she simply caught it mid-swing and yanked it out of his grip. Marianne snarled, snapping the wooden bat in half and dropped the pieces on the floor. Bluish flames spurted from her mouth, engulfing his entire body. His life ended mercifully before he could even register the pain.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“D-Demon!” the last man screamed, pointing at Marianne. “Aw hell no!”

He turned around, running away from her. The man had barely covered half the length of the corridor before he was knocked down with a knee to the back. Muffled screams punctuated the air as the man’s head was repeatedly slammed against the ground.

Marianne wiped her bloodied hands on her undersized shirt. She walked towards the access panel, but more men showed themselves. Marianne cursed mentally and took off running, leading them away from the secret escape path.

She lost her pursuiters soon enough, though at the price of being thoroughly lost in this maze of a motel. Marianne crept along the corridor trying to find her bearings, until a faint voice came from one of the rooms. She put her ear to the door and a dry voice grated her ears.

“-thought I don’t know about what you have been doing in this place.”

“We’re just having a little fun with our catch. We did nothing wrong.”

“There’s nothing fun about kidnapping children and sleeping with them. How low are you going to stoop?”

“We won your endless tournaments, and even killed our own to be here. What was it all for if we can’t even have a little benefit?”

“This motel IS the benefit I have already given you, but it seems you’ve just squandered it. You have two hours to pack up and return to our settlement. There’s a long waiting list for this place; the others will have a chance instead.”

The other man raised his voice. “You can’t do this to me! We’re your elite guards! You need us!”

“Do not anger me further; I am already in a bad enough mood with Vivi running away. Had your men been less sloppy about their disgusting deeds, she wouldn’t have run away after walking into them. Comb the area and look for her one last time before returning.”

“Hell no, I’m not going back to that shithole. Screw you, we’re not following your orders anymore-”

“DOH-” Marianne grunted as the door suddenly burst open. An olive skinned man walked out, putting his foot on the groaning man he had just kicked through the door. Apart from his head, the rest of his body was covered completely in a bulky looking metallic armour. Marianne’s eyes widened with recognition. Red Clover’s suit.

He unsheathed a sword from his side holster slowly as the squirming beneath his feet grew increasingly desperate. The man finally managed to twist his body away and ran towards Marianne. She stepped back and raised her fists up protectively, but blood splattered all over her body before he could reach her.

Marianne’s delayed scream rang out as the man’s dismembered head fell with a thud onto the ground.

“There you are, Vivi.” The sword wielding man smiled at her with a contrasting cold look in his eyes.

Who’s Vivi? His voice sounds familiar…

“Who are you?” Marianne called out.

The man frowned. “Tsk, the effect is over already?” he said with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

Marianne glanced into the room, spotting an open glass aperture. Ugh, I don’t have time for this. Gotta get out and make sure my girls are okay. She pushed past the man without warning, running towards her literal window of opportunity. She dived forward, not caring how many floors she was going to jump down from, but a hand grabbed her ankle in midair. A gust of wind whipped her hair as she was thrown back into the room.

Marianne quickly got up, shifting into a Wing Chun stance and charged at the man. Her strikes hit their target thanks to the advantage Wing Chun gave her in this tight space, but they had little effect against the hard armour. Marianne’s attacks grew more feral, determined to break through the suit with sheer strength.

Her head exploded with pain as the man countered with a haymaker to her temple. Marianne’s body crashed through the plaster wall with incredible force and fell hard onto the ground.

So strong…

She got up gingerly, still seeing stars from the blow. Marianne gurgled as a cold hand grabbed her by the neck, pressing her against the corridor wall. The pyrokinetic woman tried willing her body temperature to rise, but she was losing consciousness too rapidly for her to focus.

Marianne’s vision darkened, and she could have sworn she saw a slightly confused expression on his face before the man flung her back to the floor. Steel flashed before her eyes as a dull pain shot through the side of her neck.

And the lights went out.