Echo of Betrayed
Natalia moved about her poorly lit flat, her emotions whirling around in her head. Though a glimmer of exhilaration danced in her chest at the prospect of what lay ahead, the weight of her treachery bore hard upon her. Fernando's name flashed on the screen as the coffee table phone buzzed.
cautiously takes up, Natalia: Hello?
Fernando: Sweetheart Natalia I've been attempting to get in touch. We ought to discuss this.
Natalia: *shaking voice* Fernando, I don't think we have anything else to say to one other.
Fernando: Oh, but there is, my dear. *darkly laughs*. More ought to be said at all times. Tonight at our regular place, meet me.
Heart pounding, Natalia thought about his offer. Though something made her agree, she knew she shouldn't.
Ok, Natalia. Fernando, though, this is the last time.
*Her thoughts raced with the fallout from her deeds as Natalia hung up. Though the pain of abandoning Fernando tore at her conscience, she was unable to ignore her developing affection for Richmore.
Issuu
As Natalia got closer to the deserted warehouse where she and Fernando frequently met, the moon sent unsettling shadows. Senses alert, she walked gingerly inside.
Isabel: Fernando? Exists anyone here?
Fernando appeared out of the shadows without notice, his face covered in a menacing smile.
Fernando: My dear Natalia, ahh. You couldn't stay far, I knew.
*Clenches her fists* Fernando, what do you want?
Fernando: I want what is properly mine, he says, taking a step closer with sneering eyes. And nobody will stand in my way, not even Richmore.
*Stepping sounds reverberated around the warehouse before Natalia could answer. Stepping into the low light, Richmore's countenance was icy.
Richmore : I fear Fernando you're not quite right. There is no longer Natalia to claim.
*Tense between the two guys, Natalia's heart hammered in her chest. Richmore had never looked like this before, his assurance shining through the shadows like a lighthouse.
Fernando: Oh, Richmore, how foolish you are. *laughs menacingly*. You believe you can simply stroll in here and grab what is mine?
Richmore: I don't think, *smirk*. That much I know. I will also stop at nothing to keep you away from Natalia.
Fernando leaped forward, and out of the shadows came a surprising uproar. Heart stopped as Natalia saw a figure appear, her own face contorted in a menacing smile.
What... what is this, Natalia gasps?
*The doppelganger moved forward, an unearthly light shining in her eyes*.
Doppelganger: Natalia, your treachery has left me as its result. You have to immediately deal with the fallout.
*The duplicator let off a dark energy wave with a wave of her hand that enveloped the warehouse in shadows. Their futures hanging in the balance, Natalia and the others were thrown into darkness.
*Natalia found it difficult to process the mayhem that was happening all around her. She seemed to be set to pay the price for betrayal in full.
Richmore's words sliced like a razor through the darkness of the warehouse.
Fernando, what have you done? Richmore asked. Why would you like me dead?
*The shadows resonated with Fernando's laughing.*
Fernando: You don't still understand, Richmore? You never came up in it. That concerned control and power. Natalia was only a piece in my scheme.
*Natalia felt as though Fernando's comments had cut right through her. She had been nothing more than a tool for his deranged goals, a means to an objective.
*Shaking voice* You... you used me?
Fernando: Of course, my sweetheart, *smirks*. Still, you were so keen to join in. This is where the game ends, right now.
*Richmore stepped forward, his words dripping with contempt, his eyes blazing with rage*.
Richmore: You tainted Natalia's heart to taint my drink? One does not ask a woman you love to murder another man. You won't act in such way if you truly love her.
*Mocking and harsh laughter from Fernando permeated the warehouse*.
Fernando: Isolation? Huh! Richmore, love is weakness. I cannot afford weakness either. Still, enough chatting. This has to stop now.
Fernando hurled forward with the speed of light, his blade shining in the shadows. Richmore swung his blades in unison, a loud clang.
*Natalia stood in terror as the two guys engaged in a nearly insane level of combat. She understood she needed to take action, any action, to halt the carnage.
Natalia, put that down. Stop this crazy, please!
Her cries were ignored, though, as the fight continued, every stroke landing with lethal accuracy.
*Her voice quivering with anger, Natalia stepped between the two guys in a desperate attempt to stop the violence.
Natalia: I've had enough. I'll not let you ruin one another. Better than this, we are.
The combatants' labored breathing was the only sound in the warehouse for a little while.
With a tired groan, Richmore finally dropped his blade and looked directly at Natalia.
Richmore: Natalia is right. Better than this, we are. I also refuse to enable Fernando's darkness to overtake us.
*Nodding resolutely, Richmore turned to face Fernando, resolution burning in his eyes.*
Richmore : Fernando, it's over. I've lost you.
Fernando's terror reign came to an end with that, his evil at last defeated by the force of love and atonement.
Heart racing, Natalia faced Fernando, the air heavy with danger and expectation.
Natalia : How about you, Fernando? Is something more evil at work, or did you merely bring me here to fight?
Fernando spewed disdain in his voice and his eyes flashed with rage.
Fernando : Come alone, was the plan. Is this why you brought him here? Could you not even manage a straightforward assignment? I have to tidy your mess now. Nevertheless, Natalia, I'll find someone better qualified. Someone competent in doing the task.
*Natalia's determination hardened with every second that went by as she confronted Fernando's stare head-on.*
Fernando, I'm not going to be your pawn any more. You won't be able to control me into doing your filthy task.
But Natalia's spine tingled as Fernando's laughing reverberated throughout the warehouse.
Fernando: You have little option, Natalia. Both physically and spiritually, you are my. And either you will follow my instructions or face the repercussions.
Natalia looked at Richmore defiantly, muttering a request for him to stand alongside her.
Richmore: Fernando, you can't hurt her. Neither now nor ever.
The warehouse turned into a battlefield when tension built, the sound of steel clashing filling the room with a symphony of peril.
Knowing that the real trial of her fortitude and tenacity was still to come, Natalia's heart hammered in her chest as she squared off against Fernando. But desperate to finally escape Fernando's hold, she would not back down.