#31

Running through a warehouse filled with assholes who wanted him dead was an experience Eli didn't necessarily want to repeat. 10/10 would not recommend.

The fact that he was once again in that exact same situation was almost laughable. Maybe it was one of those we'll-laugh-about-it-later kind of things. Eli doubted it, but he'd been told he needed to think positive. He had to admit, the addition of Adria and Mikey didn't do much to improve things.

If anything, having Adria running in front of him—in heels—while shooting anything that moved, just made things a little bit more worrying. Eli was just grateful that Mikey was also in front of them and would serve as an excellent shield.

Now, if only Matthew weren't bleeding out from his shoulder.

"Shit," Adria hissed. The curse was followed by a gunshot and Matthew pulling Eli aside. They stood flat against a container, Adria and Mikey returning fire.

Eli felt his heart making yet another attempt at beating out of his chest. Fortunately, it had yet to succeed.

"Well, we're fucked," he heard Adria mutter, and just barely restrained himself from mentioning how very bad that attitude was for morale. Mostly, he only managed it because he couldn't really disagree. They really were well and truly fucked and not in the fun way.

"Only if we stay here," Matthew said, as if they wouldn't all like to leave. "Got anything to distract them?" he asked.

"We can always throw the little shit at them, but I guess that would defeat the purpose of this whole shitshow," Adria said, shooting some poor asshole who'd peered out from behind a container at the wrong time.

"Let's stick to helpful suggestions," Eli said. He didn't like being reminded of how much Adria would like to kill him. Or the ease with which she could accomplish it.

"Can you get him out of here?" Matthew asked, looking at Adria like Eli wasn't right there.

"Ha, fuck no, we're not doing that," he said before Adria could answer.

"Eli," Matthew started, like he thought that would work. Eli just glared and was inwardly gleeful at the sight of Matthew's resolve crumbling. Apparently, he'd more or less realized that trying to force something like that on Eli was useless.

"Honestly, how you two have survived this long is a fucking wonder," Adria said, sounding very much like their continued survival disgusted them. Which it probably did. She looked over at Mikey. "Got anything useful?"

The giant of a man that Adria seemed to have full control over for some terrifying reason thought about it for a moment. Then, he reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out a fucking grenade. Adria's look of glee as the object was revealed was decidedly not a good thing.

"Oh don't look at me like that, it's a stun grenade. I'm not blowing anyone up." Eli thought there might have been a "yet" following that, but it had thankfully been left out. Probably because Matthew already looked adequately concerned. "Now, who has a good throwing arm?"

Eli, surprisingly, did not brag about the time he'd nearly taken a robber out with an orange. He'd let someone else get the credit this time.

In the end, with Matthew's arm busted, Eli not wanting to handle anything with the word grenade in the title, and Adria admitting her throwing aim was shit, Mikey ended up with the honor. They all hurried to cover their ears and got ready to run as Mikey hurled the canister at the enemy.

There was a deafening bang and a flash of light so bright that Eli almost felt bad for the guys caught in the blast. Before he could feel too bad about them, he was too busy running for what he hoped was the exit.

Before he'd taken more than a dozen steps though, Eli was once again yanked back. He caught a glimpse of Mikey grabbing Adria and throwing himself forward before he fell back against the metal floor. There was a loud crashing sound and a cloud of dust rose up, making Eli cough as he was dragged to his feet.

"What the fuck!?"

When the dust cleared, there was a bent and broken metal container in front of them, thick ropes tangled around it.

"Leaving so soon?"

Eli turned and promptly saw his life flash before his eyes.

A blade came within a hair's breadth of his face. He didn't want to know what would have happened had Matthew not shoved him back. Somehow, he managed to keep his footing despite stumbling back.

Eli's heart was threatening to make a sudden, life-ending stop. Partly because of how close to death he'd just come, but also because Jack was doing his best to stab Matthew. Not for the first time, Eli wished there was something he could do to help.

He looked around for anything he could use as a weapon. It was at this point that Eli became aware of footsteps approaching—loud and hurried. He looked up in time to see one of Jack's goons hurrying over, gun drawn. Behind him there were more, and Eli knew he was absolutely screwed. There was no way he would be able to get away. Especially with Matthew currently occupied.

Not a minute later, Eli was thrown onto the ground, a gun aimed at him. He winced as he felt the cold metal press against his head, heart pounding in his chest even as he did his best to stay still. Carefully, so as to not get shot thanks to a twitchy trigger finger, he shifted enough to be able to look at Matthew. His expression was nothing short of thunderous.

"Make a move towards him, and you're gonna get a show you'll never forget," Jack said, grinning as he glanced at Eli and then back at Matthew. He seemed to all but savor the look of fury on Matthew's face.

Eli met Matthew's gaze, and tried not to look as panicked as he felt. He figured that wouldn't do either of them any favors.

"Now then," Jack said, drawing attention back to him. He reached behind him with a gloved hand and Eli watched in horror as a silver blade was drawn from a holster at his back. "Let's finish this," he said, a wicked grin still on his face.

There was nothing else for Eli to do but watch as Jack moved. In an instant, he was much too close to Matthew for comfort. Matthew dodged, just barely making it out without getting stabbed, and rolled to the side. He put some distance between them, but Jack was already moving. With an ease that put Eli on edge, he slashed and thrust his weapon, and each time it felt like Matthew came just a little bit closer to getting—at best—a new scar.

He almost wished he didn't have to watch. At the same time, he couldn't keep his eyes off the fight, his body tense with each close call. The only thing keeping him from struggling was the gun pressed against his head.

Matthew lunged at Jack, trying to dodge the blade. It caught him in the arm, but he kept moving. Blood dotted the floor, brilliant red even in the poor lighting. The sight of it made Eli sick.

Briefly, he made eye contact with Matthew. It was a split second look, a simple glance during which Eli managed to see something. Like a realization had just struck Matthew. Precisely the type that regularly made Eli call him an idiot. It did not bode well for whatever was coming.

He wished he could say something. Maybe tell Matthew not to be an idiot, or smack him over the head, or anything else that might stop him. But instead, he had to watch as the fight continued. And then, the moment he'd been dreading.

Eli wasn't sure what kind of sound tore out of him, but it sounded foreign—equal parts horrified and disbelieving.

The short sword slipped smoothly into Matthew's side, the action so quick it shouldn't have been so clear, embedding itself in Eli's mind. The second it took for it all to happen felt like hours during which Eli registered every miniscule shift in Matthew's expression. He saw the lines in his face tightly drawn in pain, the way his jaw clenched in pain, and felt like he was ripping apart as well.

Matthew slumped slightly, a hand grasping onto Jack's, which still held onto the blade. Eli could see blood dripping down onto the floor and wished once more that he could look away.

"Guess you weren't as good as everyone thought," Jack said, voice mocking. Eli could practically hear the sharp smile that most likely stretched across his face at the moment. Matthew let out a huff—a breathless sound that had no right to sound so amused.

And then, in a flash, he'd reached to Jack's side and flicked his hand in Eli's direction. There was a cry of pain as the throwing knife struck its target and suddenly, the gun that'd been pressed to Eli's head clattered to the floor next to him. Eli moved without thinking.

He grabbed the gun and made a run for it. They were slow to react, no one having expected Matthew's actions, or for Eli to move so quickly. He still hurried to duck behind some of the wreckage of the metal container before they could pull out their weapons.

"Get him back," Eli heard Jack snap.

Eli sincerely wished he'd been able to shoot at Jack without the risk of hitting Matthew. It was almost funny how that was his biggest concern even as a couple of shots hit the area around him. Just as Eli was wondering what he was supposed to do now, he spotted an opening under some of the bent and twisted metal of the container.

With some effort, Eli managed to squeeze through the gap, metal snagging on his clothes and leaving a few scratches on his skin. He ignored it all as he finally emerged on the other side. He quickly stood and looked around, not sure what to do. Eli might have managed to get away, but he couldn't leave Matthew. In what was perhaps one of Eli's dumbest ideas, he decided he might as well put up a fight.

After all, it was looking less and less likely that they would get out of this one alive.

What the hell, I had a good run, Eli told himself, rather unconvincingly. He just hoped his mother didn't take it too hard.

Eli found a spot where he'd be able to climb the containers and scrambled up, somehow keeping a hold of his found weapon. He lowered himself to a crouch and carefully moved close to the edge, where he could see what was going on with Matthew and Jack. There was no one left other than the two, the others probably having taken off to look for Eli. He doubted any of them could fit through the small gap he'd used.

"You only bought him some time," Jack was saying, standing away from Matthew, who had a hand clutched to his side.

"Better than nothing," Matthew shot back with a bloody smile. Eli wanted to laugh at how absolutely insane he was.

Instead, he watched as Matthew threw himself at Jack. Even slowed by the wounds to his side and shoulder, he did his best to put up a fight. Matthew dodged a punch and threw one of his own that caught Jack right in the jaw. He stumbled and Matthew took the chance to sweep his legs out from under him. Jack slammed onto the ground with a grunt, but moved quickly, kicking out and gracing Matthew's side.

Eli felt strangely proud of Matthew for finding the strength to fight back. It was still painful to watch Jack toss him aside with ease. Matthew slammed against a container close to Eli. He felt the one he was on shake slightly from the impact, but focused on not making a sound as Jack strolled calmly over.

"You know, this is honestly kind of sad. I was honestly expecting a better fight from you," he said.

Eli desperately wished he could call Jack out for having gotten his ass kicked multiple times without giving away his presence. Instead, he gripped the gun in his hand, hating the feel of it but knowing it was a useful tool at the moment.

Come on, just a little closer, Eli thought, watching as Jack moved lazily.

In the distance, he could hear Jack's goons searching for him. He did his best to drown out the sounds along with the frantic beating of his heart as he slowly moved the weapon in his hands to a better position.

Step.

"Though it's a real shame you won't get to see your little friend get gutted. I promise I'll make it I'll make his death a memorable one."

Eli aimed the gun.

Step.

"I don't know, he's crafty," Matthew said with a pained grimace. He still somehow managed to sound smug.

Step.

BANG!

# # #

Guess who's still alive!

So yeah, sorry for the extreme wait, a lot has just happened while I worked on this story, some of which I've shared on my profile message board, and at times, it was hard to keep going. But, I do truly love this and you all and the support and patience you've shown me. I've always been happy with the audience I've found on Wattpad, because even though I don't have millions of readers, I think I have the kindest.

Now that the touchy feely stuff is out of the way, guess who has painful stuff for you all to read? :D I bet some of you are questioning why you still read my stuff when I like to bring you all pain, lol. Anyway, I already wrote some of the next chapter. I've been doing good with writing lately, so let's hope that lasts. But also, I know what I want the next part to be, unlike this part that just kept changing in my mind until it all came together in an only slightly messy way.

I should have the next chapter up in about two weeks, and I'm still updating Tales From a Teenage Henchman monthly. I have to do an illustration per chapter for that one, so that's why it's taking a bit. I'm ALSO working on a modern fantasy story with a lot of pain and suffering but also found family fluff that I hope you all will like when I post it next year or later this year, depending. I've actually mentioned it and posted concept art of it on twitter. So far I have about twenty chapters for it done. So yeah, that's what I've been up to.

Hope you all continue to read, and again, thank you all so much for your patience and support. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next as the story winds down. Wishing you all the best!