WARZONE - König

11

Nadja's consciousness faded in and out as she fought to gain focus. She could see nothing but darkness as she attempted to open her eyes, but her hearing finally faded back in. And though her body was mostly numb, she felt as hands gripped around her ankles and under her back, her head flopping back and forth as she was being moved.

In Arabic, she listened as the men transporting her spoke.

"Shit, this guy is heavy!" One complained with a strained voice.

"Take his gear off!" Another replied, the voice coming from just over her head, assumably from one the one carrying her.

"This freak is like 10ft tall and 500 pounds, the gear will make no difference you moron."

"Just shut your mouth and hurry up."

Their voices echoed, letting Nadja know they were likely still in the stairwell. Perhaps they were being brought to the top, maybe alongside the hostages. This brought slight relief to her overwhelmed mind as her thoughts raced, unable to move her own body.

Finally though, a door opens as they're brought into the penthouse of the tower. Her body slams into a chair, her neck falling limp as an ache overtakes the numbness over her entire body, her head pounding with a sharp pulse. She feels her wrists and legs being bounded, the sound of duct-tape ripping as she's restrained against the chair.

footsteps scuffle and light chatter fills the room before it finally falls silent, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching Nadja where she sat. Still unable to open her eyes, she tried to listen carefully over the sound of her own heartbeat.

"Wake her up." Someone demanded across her. Another stepped forward, striking her cheek with a hard slap, stinging her face but leaving her limp still. The man sighed, approaching closer where Nadja awaited, suddenly feeling a sharp stab into her thigh, a jolt of pain and adrenaline shooting up to her brain where she jumps up, screaming out in pain, her eyes finally opening.

She looks ahead, her vision blurry but is still able to make out the four men standing across her. She looks to her side, spotting Konig just then raising his head and looking to her. He immediately began a struggle upon seeing the knife stuck in her leg and the pained expression staring back at him.

Nadja's attention breaks away as the man calls for her attention once more. She recognized him as the same man she spared at the gas station, tension immediately rising as they met eyes. He returned a cocky grin to her, waving his weapon in her face.

"I'm thrilled to see you again." He simply says to her in English.

Her jaw clenches, gritting her teeth as she felt only regret sparing his life.

"You seem upset." He continues, a wide, evil smile growing on his lips. He looks over to one of the soldiers aside him, motioning him to the door behind Nadja and Konig. He walks around them, standing guard by the door before the man continued. "You see, American War Devil, you made this personal. The old man you stabbed in the knee, he died of blood loss, but that left me as the squadron leader. So now, I call the shots. And I'll make sure you suffer just as much as he did before I end you." He leans forward, pushing the knife deeper into her thigh, causing her to shriek out in agony, her voice cracking as she was overtaken by a cold shiver.

Konig struggled once more, mumbling aggressively in German before the soldier behind them slapped his hands on Konig's shoulders, holding him down in the seat he was already restrained in. The leader steps back, staring at her with a satisfied grin as he examined her.

"Killing your comrade is too easy." He says, glancing over to Konig who's eyes were strict on Nadja, desperately hoping for her safety. "I want all that hard work you've done to get here ripped away from you. I've known of your presence since your arrival. The young man you spared, that was my nephew. He told me of the American-sent devil who'd gotten the best of him. But he is an idiot--or rather, was. I can no longer contact him, so I assume you killed him." He smiles with a short huff, no sense of emotion in his eyes as he glared to Nadja.

Her eyes drop as she remembers the boy, a sense of guilt overtaking her.

"I found the massacre you left at our stronghold." He looks away, letting out a heavy, annoyed sigh. "You will understand the pain I suffered finding my dead comrades over these past few days." He finishes, a soldier stepping forward and cutting the binds around her ankles. "Stand." He commands as the two soldiers by his side step back, weapons aimed to her. She hesitates, looking to the knife in her thigh, unable to move.

She looks around, quickly assessing the situation trying to plan an attack, but before she could collect her thoughts, the man reaches forward, snatching her up to her feet. She hisses in pain as pressure is put onto her leg wound, the knife still sticking out from her thigh.

Holding her by her bound arms, he pulls her halfway across the room, pushing her down to her knees where she falls face-forward. He snatches her back up onto her knees by her hair and lifts her head as he faced her forward, Nadja struggling against the mans grip with an evil glare.

"Don't worry, this pain is only temporary." He says, almost reassuringly. "You will be executed in honor of my fallen men, but first I will show you how it feels to lose." He says, looking up and signaling one of the soldiers that stood by a door. She listens as he opens the room, where suddenly she heard the scared moans of a woman being shoved across her, gagged and bound, dropped to her knees before Nadja.

"This is what you want, yes? What you kill my men for?" The man asks, still holding her by her hair, forcing her to look ahead. The soldier holding the woman removes her gag as she begins screaming out a prayer in Arabic, begging for the protection over her children rather than herself. Nadja watched desperately as the woman closed her eyes and cried out, her voice cracking as she felt the barrel of the gun touch the temple of her head.

Her voice softened as her prayer grew more faint, her body relaxing as she seemed to have accepted her fate. And all within only a breaths moment, the trigger was pulled, and the woman's life was stolen.