Jace X vs. Project X

Chapter 7: Bloodied Blades and Betrayals

     The next morning was hazy as I woke up to the sight of pink in my face. I blinked and focused my sight and realized it was Amaya's hair. I closed my eyes just for a moment longer as my arms slipped around her waist and pulled her slowly closer to myself. I didn't know how long it had been since I felt that kind of normalcy, being able to just sleep in without worrying about anything else. It's not until I felt a pair of soft eyes on me that I open mine again, only to see Amaya with a sleepy smile on her lips.

     "Hey," I whispered to her as I felt her move in my arms and curl up closer to me.

     "Hey you," She whispered back as she rested her head on my chest. I kissed the top of her head as we laid there, just to savor the moment. I heard her sigh quietly and she looked up at me. "You know, eventually we're going to have to get up," She told me.

     I nodded and kept my arms at her waist. "Yeah, yeah... but eventually isn't right now," I said with a soft laugh.

     We did get up and prepare for the day a short while later. As I was pulling a jacket over my body, I heard a knock at the door. I looked through the peephole and didn't see anyone, just a package at the floor.

     "Yeah, that's not suspicious or anything..." I said to myself and I brought the package inside. Amaya eyed it curiously. I pulled a kitchen knife out and lifted it right above the package. "Amaya, take a step back." It looked like she wanted to say something, but she just turned around the corner to hide as I plunged the knife into the package. When it didn't explode or scream out, I opened it. All that was in it was a voice recorder, which struck me as odd. I lifted it up and pressed play.

     "Hello, Jace," I heard Adrenaline Rush's voice on the machine. "I bet you're wondering how I found out where you've been hiding out. Turns out you're not as... inconspicuous as you'd like to think, old pal. Then again, subtly was never your strong suit, was it?" I wanted to ask him what he was doing, but I couldn't ask a recorded message anything. "I'll keep it short and to the point Jace. You've managed to piss off every single one of us and we all want to see you suffer. So we're gonna play a little game, a game of hide and seek with a twist. If you manage to leave town before any of us find you, you're free to go. Simple as that. Just escape the city, and we'll leave you be." I felt like there had to be a catch. "Oh, but if you leave the city," There it was. "Project X is going to run it to the ground, and he'll start with our only friends that you didn't manage to kill." My eyes widened. I didn't think they'd have the guts. "However, if you surrender to us, they'll be left alone and we'll just kill you. Good luck, Jace. Hope you make the right choice." I heard a click and the recorder stopped. I chucked it at the wall and it shattered into pieces.

     "Jace?" Amaya called out. "What's the plan here?" She asked me as she walked up to me. I didn't think that they had the audacity to target the only friends we had left that weren't dramatically affected by me. I paced the room as I tried to think, but I couldn't get any of my thoughts straight as I kept thinking about how far Project X was going to get back at me. Was he even Jordan anymore? This corpse, this shell of a man I used to call my best friend.

     "I..." I started, but I couldn't even think straight. I couldn't think of anything to plan around this, and this was where I truly felt like I lost either way. "I don't have a plan..." I muttered as I walked to the door.

     "Really?!" Amaya had shouted at me as she grabbed my wrist. "After everything we've been through, you're just giving up now?!"

     "What else can I do, Amaya??" I asked her. "If you have a plan, I would love to hear it right now!"

     "Anything is better than you just giving yourself to Project X like a lamb to slaughter!" She tried to pull me back into the room. "Jace, this is not the guy I came to find and confess feelings for!"