Chereads / Paths to Wisdom / Chapter 24 - Blade dance

Chapter 24 - Blade dance

Jumping to the side, Kevin narrowly avoided the attack and ran into the cellar, Elise in hot pursuit. Turning a corner, he ran deeper inside until he came upon a mahogany table and placed himself behind its far side. When Elise caught up, she moved to the table's front, preventing any escapes to the right or left of her. With the table delaying imminent bloodshed, Kevin took the opportunity to attempt to bargain for his life.

"Why-?!" 

Elise angrily interrupted, saying, "What kind of fool do you think I am? You don't even live on campus, coming in here for food. Even an imbecile would see through that. Does Jaxeson and the rest of your pack really think I'd just walk back like a good little goat into his wretched hands?!"

Crash!

Before Kevin could reply, Elise put down the lantern and flipped over the table, forcing him to jump back to create distance. 

Thud!

He felt the cold inert brick of the cellar wall he'd hit on his back. Elise raced forward, moving in for the kill. He threw a kick to her stomach seconds before her blade could make contact with his skin, knocking Elise off balance. This gave him enough time to grab her wrists. A standoff ensued as Elise desperately tried to break through his grip. Kevin's eyes glanced at the blade inches away from his face.

She doesn't know how to use a knife.

Before being frozen, he'd spent countless hours watching self-defense videos after getting beaten severely in a fight during high school. The surface-level scars and resentments from the fight faded with time, but Kevin's interest in self defense never did and it had become a hobby of his to learn various combat tricks and receive weapons training whenever he had the time. 

Kevin said, "Stop it, please! I just talk."

"Never! I won't be a sacrifice for you devils. I'll tear you to shreds before I let Jaxeson turn me into an abomination."

Elise pressed forward with a surge of desperation, attempting to quickly overpower him. Fueled by adrenaline, Kevin released Elise's unarmed left wrist and elbowed her directly in the face, knocking her back as she grabbed her nose in pain. Kevin seized the chance to slip past her and ran to the stock room entrance, sprinting up the flight of stairs. Because the lantern was still in Elise's possession, the stairwell was in complete darkness. He made it halfway up before a misstep caused him to trip and fall, hitting his head on a step.

Kevin groaned in pain and rubbed his forehead as the complete darkness became replaced by faint orange light accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

Elise stomped up the stairs, lantern in one hand and knife in the other. Kevin scrambled to his feet and ran out of the stairs into the kitchen. Hitting himself on every conceivable object, he stumbled through the dark cooking facilities sticking close to the walls and shelves as the double doors swung open, revealing Elise. 

Instead of rushing towards Kevin, she positioned herself at the center of the kitchen, blocking his escape routes. Kevin frantically looked around for a solution. To the right, he saw a large pot made of steel hanging above a stove.

I'll only get one shot to knock her out with this. It'll only work if she makes the first move.

He raised his fists and said, "Come at me."

With the provocation, Elise lunged forward, ready to lodge her blade into Kevin's chest. As she came within moments of piercing Kevin's heart, he reached out and grabbed the steel pot and swung it towards her head. It was targeted towards the right side of her face. 

Thump!

Elise stopped, dropping the lantern onto the ground and closing her eyes in pain. Seeing she remained conscience Kevin swiftly struck her again, targeting her exposed chin, causing her to crumple to the ground unconscious.

Kevin dropped the pot and breathed heavily, exhausted from the struggle. After taking a few breaths, he pried the knife from Elise's hands and picked up the lantern.

Gazing at her face, his grip on the blade tightened as a dark temptation came over him. The blade would be his implement. He'd need it to cut her throat open in retribution for her vicious assault.

One mistake and she would've done the same to me.

Kevin resisted the urge, shaking his head and stuffing the knife into his right pocket.

I'm not a killer, I'm better than that....

Now that he defeated her he needed to choose what his next steps were, killing her outright would be the "easy" option as it would tie up all loose ends but Kevin couldn't bring himself to commit murder, in the heat of battle it would have been possible but not when she was defenseless not to mention he'd then have to dispose of the body or risk the authorities, whoever they were, starting an investigation. 

Kevin considered reporting the incident to the Dyson, but the few words Elise spoke to him before their clash troubled him. She hadn't revealed much, but when Kevin revealed he knew people associated with the University of Myami, her suspicion seemed to increase a warning sign considering her clothing all came from the school uniform, suggesting she was a student. As the recent witness of a live sacrifice, Elise's mention of the concept heavily interested Kevin, if he reported her to Dyson he likely wouldn't get the chance to speak to her again which would mean his chance of learning more about sacrifices would vanish. 

He could interrogate her when she woke up, however, there was no way for him to know how long that would take or if she'd cooperate with him, taking her back to the dorm was also out of the question, if he got caught carrying by Carmita carrying an unconscious woman he doubted he'd ever be able to explain himself properly. If he waited for her to wake up in the kitchen or stockroom, then he could face the equally impossible task of explaining why he was sitting with a blacked-out woman to shocked members of the kitchen staff. 

Besides that, if he decided to interrogate her sooner rather than later, his deficiencies in Yankish would make it difficult to properly communicate. If he had Clay's assistance, it would be possible, but leaving to get him would be risky and explaining the situation to him would be its own can of worms.

Seeing no good options, Kevin decided to leave Elise as she was both out of practicality and a sign of goodwill so that a future encounter wouldn't end in a brawl. Kevin went back to the stockroom to feast on the foodstuffs inside and then left the kitchen entirely, leaving Elise on the ground.

Kevin left the cafeteria through the front doors and began racing back to his dorm in the pouring rain, debating what he should do next. His thoughts focused on Elise, specifically how she claimed that Jaxeson and "his associates" were involved in sacrifice of some sort. 

Wasn't Jaxeson that doctor Dyson recommended to me? What could he be doing related to sacrifice?

He had witnessed a sacrifice which seemed to produce a response from the entity it was directed to. If it could be done with animals, why couldn't humans be sacrificed in the same way? The thought gave Kevin chills as he thought about the implications.

Sounds reminiscent of fireworks rang out again as Kevin made it back to his dorm. After shaking water off himself, he moved up the stairs and made it to the hallway leading to his room. 

Sh*t

He spotted Carmita and quickly hid behind a corner, hoping she didn't notice him. Kevin waited patiently as Carmita swept the floor, humming to herself as usual. As Kevin waited for Carmita to leave, she did something that surprised him. She walked towards Kevin's door and strode inside.