Jim took a step forward, "Isn't it odd? On how perfect the timing was?" He began to walk towards Jen and Mark "I bet Tom had his hands full just trying to lead you there"
Warhound had his eyes on Jim as he continued on, "If you're stalling for time I might as well kill all three of you now" He was calm on the outside, but felt panicked that at any moment, Ikra would pop up and bash his head on the wall.
"It wasn't just Tom" Jim revealed to him, "Mark was also in on it"
The atmosphere changed. Mark looked at him with hostility, "What are you saying right now, Jim?" They both knew that if Warhound gets word of his involvement, he would be as good as dead.
"That's right!" Jen shouted, "He was the one who helped Tom with blowing the mines up by pulling him out!" Mark looked at her shocked. She took advantage of this by freeing herself and backing off.
Warhound knew that his judgement was a bit clouded because of Tom's provocations, but he was sure that nothing could make Tom escape that fast unless he had the help of someone else.
"You may not be able to get revenge on the person who got you there, but you can still get revenge on the person who helped him escape, Mark" Jim went and stood in front of Jen, preventing Mark from grabbing her again.
Mark slowly realized the gravity of the situation, backing off slowly. "No, wait" He held his arms up. "It wasn't me, it was Jim" He tried talking his way out, "He just spun the story to be me who did it"
Looks like I will get revenge after all
"I don't care who did it now, all I care about is that someone needs to pay" Warhound went up to Mark and grabbed him by the hair, savoring his screams as he pulled him off the ground.
Mark screamed out in pain, "Jim, you bastard!" His arms flailed around to try and grab anything that could help him, "You know you'll never make it our without me!"
He continued to curse Jim and Jen as he was dragged further up the stairs. Warhound looked at the both of them, as if he was waiting.
"Come on, aren't we going the same way?"
They were hesitant, but soon enough continued on with him. "Jim!" Mark shouted out, "You'll regret this!" He kept continuing on, but Jim's mind was on something else.
He turned towards Jen, noticing that she was staring at him. She quickly turned away as soon as her senses came back.
I can't believe he chose me over Mark, does this mean that he likes me..?
Jen tried to hide her blushing face. Jim notices and quickly turns away as well to hide his face. But he wasn't blushing like Jen, he was smiling.
I bet that's what she's thinking right now
Jim always knew that Jen had a crush on him, he'd be an idiot not to. He always was good with manipulating others, and Jen was just too good of a target to miss.
When Warhound offered the choice to sacrifice someone, there was a decision that he had to face. Between Mark, who had potential when it came towards fighting and strategy, and Jen, who was blindly following him without careful thought, he knew instantly knew who to save.
"Hey, Jim" Jen started up a conversation while they walked up the stairs, "Thank you for helping me" Jim looked back and smiled at her, "Of course, were in this together right?" He lifted up his fist. Jen smiled back at him and bumped it with hers, "Yeah!"
How easy
The group continued to go up until they made it to the entrance. Warhound stopped and looked at the two of them, "Looks like our journey ends here"
Then he looked at Mark, "And ours has just begun" He smiled as Mark's face filled with despair. "Better scram now" Warhound told them, causing Jen and Jim to rush out the exit.
"Come on!" Jim told Jen as he went out.
Woosh!
Something as fast as lightning hit the ceiling, causing the entire staircase to shake from the impact.
"Found you!"
The familiar voice made Warhound's hair stand on end, "I've been waiting for ages!" He shouted out, "I've been dying to know what you'd pick"
Warhound held Mark out of the staircase, "Your timer starts now!" He dropped Mark down to the massive fall and put his guard up in case Ikra chose to fight him.
"What's it gonna be?"
Ikra looked confused, "You think this would stop me from coming back after saving him?" Warhound thought about it for a second, coming to a realization that maybe his plan wasn't so foolproof after all.
"Whatever" Ikra blurted out before getting into position, making Warhound tighten his guard. "Bring it!" He shouted out, anticipating the impact.
Before he knew it, Ikra disappeared. If he blinked, he would've missed the afterimage he left. "Hell yeah!" He shouted out, Warhound was sure that if he didn't choose to get Mark, he would've died.
Right, I have to move!
Warhound started to move towards the exit, but he fell down as soon as he made his first step. He looked down to see a hole that went through his chest. "The hell?" He blurted out before blood poured out from his mouth.
Was Ikra fast enough to choose both options?
"Damn it" He sat down next to the nearest wall, inches away from the exit. He saw Jen trying to tear the debris out of the way. Ikra's landing has caused multiple debris to fall, blocking the only exit.
"Jim!" Jen shouted out, "Help me get rid of all this!" She cried out, hoping that her voice could be heard from the other side.
"Hey, Jen?" She heard Jim from the other side. "Yes! I'm here!" She replied back.
"I'm sorry"
"But I'm going to go ahead without you"
Although Jen was trying her hardest, the blockage had massive planks of wood and rocks so heavy that even Warhound would find it hard to carry them.
"What do you mean?" She asked, "This is a joke right?"
"You told me we're in this together, right Jim?" She pleaded out loud, "Together!"
She bashed her arms to the rocks that blocked her way out, hoping for an answer.
Warhound closed his eyes, trying to stay alive as he heard Jen desperately trying to find a way out. His eyes were pried open by Ikra however.
"Can't you at least offer me some rest before I die?" He asked, annoyed.
"That kid you threw down died" Ikra crouched down to his level, "How are you feeling now that you killed all those kids down there?"
Warhound chuckled, "Like scum, but I had no choice"
Ikra shook his head, "We always have a choice" He got back up and looked down on the drop, "Hopefully in the next life, you'll choose a better one"
He saw Jen, sitting down as if she was already dead. He wanted to talk to her, to help her go through this awful experience. But there was one problem that prevented him from doing so.
I have no clue how to deal with children
He always relied on his wife to do those types of things. He looked down, and in a flash, disappeared. Warhound shut his eyes again, this time with a bitter taste in his mouth.