ECHO [Rewritten - NaNoWriMo '16]

Chapter 7: Soul

I listened as Echo's footsteps receded and the door closed upstairs. Once I was sure that she was gone, I walked over and removed the ball gag from Ja – J's – mouth. I winced at the drool and the coughing fit that escaped J. I put the ball gag down and grabbed a glass, filling it with tap water before unstrapping the right hand and putting the glass in it, "Sorry about her. Can you use this arm?"

"Yeah," J drained the glass in one gulp, coughing before wiping his mouth. "What's her problem?"
"That's the question that I myself would like an answer to," I shrugged, "But I do know that more often than not she is right. So, what do you know?"

"I don't know anything, man." J grimaced. "Do you have any painkillers?"

"Yeah, upstairs," I made no move to head upstairs.

"Please, man. You have no idea how much this shit hurts," J motioned to the nails in his right arm.

"I think I do," I pulled up an extra chair and sat down, "I'm sorry but despite the fact that I am more your friends than hers, I'm not stupid and won't leave you alone down here while I go up and get you pain killers."

"I can come up there with you," J leaned his head back to aim his words at the ceiling.

"Now that is definitely not going to happen," I chuckled.

"Did you know that your Echo is the third in the line of Echo's," J rocked his head back forward and his eyes were the edges of broken glass. Something was different; something had changed in one breath. "She told you that I am the forty-first person to be bear the letter J, but she didn't tell you that she is the third in her own line. You know why they gave her a name and not a letter? She herself is worse than all of us at ALDAR. Echo is a living legend among the students there. Her name is whispered at night in gruesome stories. Our very own fairytales. The famous Interrogator who the agency sends to take care of any and everyone.

"I've been there since I was twelve, like most of us. But she arrived when she was only eight. Trained by the second in command. He's frightening enough to send anyone who doesn't know better scurrying under their beds just by the sound of his footsteps. She completed her first mission at ten. At thirteen, she killed the existing Interrogator and took his position. Do you know how old she is? Eighteen. Eighteen and she has more blood on her hands than even some of our very own senior agents. This woman is living in your house. And when she is done with you, she will kill you. But not before she takes you to hell and back." J laughed, "Don't be stupid, and let me go. Let me kill her before she kills us both."

"I thought you didn't know anything," I said dryly.

"I know just what I am supposed to," J replied without flinching. "Now, what are you going to do?"

"She won't kill me," I crossed my arms, "She needs me."

"You are such a fucking idiot," J spat, "Can't you see? The only reason she hasn't killed you yet is because she is using you. You are a mission of hers. Why else would she have you around? You are a rookie detective who barely has clearance and is nothing more than average."

I narrowed my eyes, ignoring the knot of fear. How did he know who I was? "You know nothing."

"I know that the only reason you made detective was because there happened to be an opening and your application was the only one in the pile."

I felt a chill run up my spine, "Echo wouldn't divulge that kind of information."

"Oops," J smiled, so wide that he bared his fangs. "I guess I did know something."
And then, as though there hadn't been nails driven into his fingers and arm, he yanked it free. There was a groan and the chains around his chest and legs snapped. I leapt away from him, stumbling in my haste to get away. I ran for the weapons on the table but there were iron grip hands on my shoulders and I was flung backwards. I hit the ground and skidded. The air escaped my lungs and my back was screeching in pain. But I forced myself to get up. J was right there in front of me.