The Hooded Figure

The Death

Tula walked stiffly to her saviour's dying figure. James watched as she knelt down beside him, wincing slightly at the pain in her ribs. Her eyes were soft as she studied his wound. Bray had gone silent, no longer whispering his wife's name.

"Bray?" she called quietly. He stirred slightly, but didn't respond. Tula gripped his hand carefully and his eyes fluttered open. They were hazy and unfocused, but he knew she was there.

"Please..." he whispered "please...save her." A single tear fell down his face. Tula nodded gravely, tightening her grip on his hand. He smiled a last shaky smile, then closed his eyes slowly and sighed as if a large burden had been lifted from his chest. Tula and James watched over him until he died. She then carefully crossed his arms over his chest and placed his sword in his hands. To James's surprise, she bend down and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"Goodbye, old friend" She whispered morosely before standing up. James followed her to the back door, passing the corpses of the two captors that Tula had killed. They left the hall and started through the corridor, Tula running at a dangerously fast speed and James hardly keeping up behind her. Watching her back, he realized that she was furious; a dense atmosphere of pure anger surrounded her. Killing Vendigard was not enough after all. Revenge never is.

Men's footsteps could be heard resonating through the building, rushing to find the intruder. After a while of tireless running, James noticed that she was running towards the sound of running men. As they neared the end of the corridor, James sensed a group of about six men just round the corridor. Tula, way ahead of him by now, turned the corner first. There was a loud crash, a masculine scream, then silence.      

James finally caught up, turning the edge without slowing down, only to freeze in his tracks. His mouth fell open at the sight in front of him. Tula never failed to surprise him. All the  men but one were either dead or close to it. The last one collapsed in his comrades blood, his legs shaking so hard they could no longer keep him up. He looked up at her in terror, as if he was looking a the devil himself.  

Tula pulled him up by the collar and pinned to the wall, making sure it hurt. He clawed at her hand like a maniac, but she hardly seemed to notice.

"Which way?" she hissed, shaking him, "which way to the prison cells?" The man moved his mouth silently, unable to form words, more out of terror than her chocking, forceful grip. Finally, after countless efforts, he was able to find his voice. 

"D-Down this corridor, t-third l-left, t-then right" his words tumbled over each other as he tried to speak. Tula sighed impatiently and threw him onto the floor. James winced as he hit the floor roughly, gasping in pain.

"Show me" she said, her figure towering over him in a most intimidating way. At first, the man looked confused, then realisation dawned on him and he was terrified. But as Tula stepped an inch closer to him, he hesitated no more and scrambled onto his feet.

"Th-this way" he voiced, his jaw trembling, before leading the way. Tula followed right behind him, her presence alone was enough to make sure he did not slow down. James tried his best to keep up, the adrenalin rushing in his veins. When he was sure he was completely and utterly lost after an infinite number of ups and downs, left and rights, they finally stopped at a thick metal door.

"Its through here," James managed to hear their unwilling guide say through his own heavy breathing. His chest heaved with the effort of the long run and his legs burnt slightly. Tula stepped up to the door and tried the handle, it was locked. She turned to the unfortunate man and he shook his head.

"Only Boss has the keys," he explained, then shrugged back when she glared at him. She studied the door for a second, then stepped back. With one seasoned kick of her leg, the door flew cleanly off its hinges. She grabbed Vendigard's man and threw him into the darkness beyond the door before stepping through herself. James treaded in carefully after them, letting his eyes adjust to the dark. An endless flight of stairs wound its way into the darkness. He sighed resolutely and began his long trek down, guided by Tula and the man's fading footsteps and his hand, resting blindly on the wall.