"Why are telling me all of this?" Yana looked at Paul who had no intention to move. His eyes saw past her and landed at the large hole.
"Because you wanted to know, right?"
Yana's eyes never left Paul. So, he wasn't going to tell her until the end. Then all of a sudden, Paul's eyes met Yana's and his lips curved, "A shame really. You're not even half as good as we thought."
"What?" Yana narrowed her eyes and flinched slightly as the pain shot through her leg and pulsated wildly. She couldn't drag this on much longer but Paul's words aroused her curiosity. She wanted to know what he meant.
"As much as I want to kill you, it's up to you whether you survive or not. I also don't want to tell you anything but he insisted on letting you know," Paul sighed.
He looked troubled but it was all an act. He? Who was Paul talking about?
"We were testing you. The orphanage was solely a test to see how you'd perform but honestly, it was a disappointment."
The orphanage was just to test Yana? Then the three managers targeting the orphanage and Yana, was all along their plan just to test her skills?
"For what purpose?"
"You don't know? Your own role?"
"My role?" Yana was left confused. What was all of this?
"It doesn't matter. I want you dead and he wants you to stay alive. Honestly, we don't need you to succeed," Paul was about to leave when Yana stopped him.
"What has Novom really planned? Who are you? An executive of Novom?"
Novom, was the organisation's undisclosed name. The name they gave themselves. Yana never liked to use it because the message it conveyed was rotten to the core. It literally stood for Novo Mundo. A new world.
Paul didn't turn around to face her, but his voice became loud and energetic as if he was talking to an invisible audience, trying to reel them in with excitement, "Novom is everywhere. Its grasp reaches towards the end into every corner, every place and every pore. Novom is everywhere and nowhere."
With that Paul left, after his grandiose performance coming to an end, leaving Yana all alone. Yana leaned against the railing of the hole and regulated her breathing but she couldn't leave her guards down.
After a few seconds, in Paul's stead, several men out of every hallway came and surrounded Yana.
"Hah..." Paul wanted her dead but 'he' wanted her to live. She had a role in Novom she didn't know about, no, Yana had a vague assumption but it led to nowhere. If Yana wanted to survive she had to prove herself.
She alone, injured, against five other men. Her blood soaked her cloth completely and made it heavy on her leg.
"What shitty luck…" Yana had only the pocket knife and her phone.
The men didn't say anything. Fully clothed in black, with even their faces hidden except for their eyes, they approached Yana. The good thing was that they had no weapons. Was this their leniency to give Yana a chance to stay alive? How generous, Yana couldn't deal with them all at once but she also couldn't run away to deal with them one by one.
Yana didn't want to burden her injured leg. At this moment, she wished to call for help but by then it was too late and Yana didn't even know where she currently was.
There was only one way for her to survive. She had to be ruthless and merciless. Disregard human lives and discard her humanity. Yana huffed a bit before she moved to pull out her knife. Right now, all the men were coming towards her, Yana had her back against the railing of the hole.
There was no escape route. She was trapped. When all the men cut off her way, they instantly charged at her, not wanting to give her any leeway.
Yana quickly tightened the cloth around her thigh before she took a deep breath and looked at the men closing in. Two were at the front rushing to her at the same time. Closely behind them, were two more. Using so many people to deal with an injured person, Paul really wanted her dead.
1, 2, 3… on the count of 3, Yana put her hand on the railing. Feelin the cold iron underneath her fingers, Yana jumped up the moment the men reached her.
Her feet briefly touched the railing before she swung her knife at one of the men.
The other she grabbed by the hair and pulled him with her behind. Together they fell over the railing.
Yana wasn't afraid. She had planned this when she just towered over the railing, one of her hands grabbed the iron bar while the other pulled the man with her.
Then the next second, "AHHHH!"
Blood-curling screams appear. The other four men froze briefly while Yana, who dangled also dangerously in the abyss, used the opportunity to pull her up and land safely back on the ground.
Not wasting any more time, Yana grit their teeth as the pain in her leg amplified.
Still, she stabbed the knife into the neck of the second male before proceeding to throw him over as well.
All of this took exactly five seconds. Five seconds before the first guy's scream disappeared and instead, a loud 'Splash' made everyone involuntary shiver.
This hole was quite deep. It took five seconds to reach the bottom.
Yana has finally killed a person. Five seconds later, she's killed the second person. During these five seconds when the second guy fell into the hole, Yana froze for a second but quickly regained her calm.
It was either her or them. Against Novom, Yana needed to become even crueller.
For the rest of the four seconds, Yana moved to the other guys but just as Yana recovered fast, they did as well. With one kick, Yana was sent flying through the entrance of the hallway. This was beneficial. She was afraid they might also throw her down the hole.
SPLASH. The second sound appeared.
Yana didn't move a muscle on her face but stopped and dodged as the third guy charged at her. Then while she stepped to the side, she got behind the guy and slash- slit his throat.
Hitting her injured leg to move, Yana dealt with the next guy but had to take a few punches. Beaten and bruised, bloodied with sins, Yana stood face to face with the last guy.
Yana huffed and could barely remain conscious. She viciously touched her gunshot wound to stay awake, twirling the knife, she smiled at the last man, "How about this? You show me the way out and I'll let you leave. There's enough time for you to escape and survive before Novom gets you."
Live with desperate hope or die here instantly. Which will you choose?