Hell Rising Chapter Ten: Rin
I glared at the Admin. "Right. Business. Such as where you have my family. And where Clarita took them."
Darcy shot me a nervous look.
"It would do you good to have some manners, Ms.Iago." the Admin mused. "After all, you are a guest in my home. And I'd hate to kick my guests out."
Anger rose in me, but I settled for glaring at him instead of lunging across the table and electrocuting the bastard.
The last thing I needed was the guards running over and restraining me. Not to mention the rest of the group if they were to go help me.
"Uncle," Darcy whispered.
The fear in her voice surprised me. The Admin was a bastard, and I knew that she hated him, but I didn't  expect her voice to shake with fear. She was hunched over, gripping the edge of the table tightly, her head bowed.
She flinched. "We, uh, we want to know where Rana is."
"That's the only reason why we're here." Lanis added.
The Admin focused on Lanis, ignoring Darcy.
"Ah, Ms.Brighton. I'm surprised that you took the risk to come here."
Lanis froze. "How do you know my last name?"
He chuckled. "Oh, didn't you know? I have access to every bit of information on anyone I want to know about. And I truly wanted to know about all of you."
Everyone froze. We looked at him in terror.
The Admin nodded at Lanis. "Ms.Lanis Brighton, what would your parent think of you now? Leaving to fight against the right? They must be so disappointed in you. But, I suppose they would've seen it coming from your choice of friends."
At the last sentence, Lanis lunged at the Admin, her eyes dark with fury. The guards came rushing over, but Marcus yanked her down in her seat before they reached her.
"You killed them!" Lanis yelled. "You had James and Rockie murdered! You sick son of a-"
Marcus clamped a hand over her mouth, looking terrified. He shook his head at her, and she slumped suddenly, a tear trickling down her cheek.
The Admin took a sip of wine.
He raised his eyebrow at Lanis. "Those are some very serious accusations, Ms.Brighton."
"But they're true." Marcus snapped.
The Admin turned to Marcus.
He smiled. "Ms.Olivia Kingsley. How ashamed is your mother now? She loved the little girl you were when you were younger. And now, you look like a man! What would she say?"
Rocco's head snapped to Marcus, shock written all over his face.
"Shut up." Marcus hissed. "My mother knows I'm a man. And she's fine with it. With all due respect, not everyone has the same BS views as you do, sir."
The Admin simply chuckled. "You are still a woman, Ms.Kingsley. You will always be a woman, no matter what your delusions tell you."
"That's enough." I growled. "We came here to get Rana and my kids back. Not to get what ever you preach to society shoved into our heads. Marcus is a man, and that's final."
The Admin ignored me. He smiled at Ivan next, who froze in terror.
"Mr.Ivan Stravinsky. You really never were accepted by anyone, were you? Trained by your father to be a good son. And you failed. With your brother dead, you could've filled that hole in your father's heart. But you were a useless, pathetic excuse of a human being."
Ivan flinched. He looked down at the table.
Anger burned in me. I started to stand up, but Darcy suddenly dug her nails into my thigh. I sat back down, glaring at her. She shook her head, giving me a look.
"And of course, you were cast out by your family." the Admin mused. "Fitting, really. What doesn't belong must leave."
The Admin turned to Rocco. He stared back at the Admin, his face unreadable.
"Mr. Rocco Jackson," the Admin chuckled. "That's the name you gave yourself, isn't it? So determined to have some sort of normalcy, so you stripped away your heritage."
"I didn't." Rocco answered.
The Admin raised his eyebrow. "But still, you ran from your home, bringing your sister with you. You were a coward."
Rocco shook his head. "No. I am not a coward. You know what happened."
"Stop playing your dumb mind games!" Kamira burst out. "Where's Jae and Rana? And Kai and Sabrina! Just tell us!"
The Admin turned his eyes to her. "Ah, Ms. Kamira Jackson. Look at yourself! You're only thirteen and living under the real world."
"Don't patronize me." Kamira growled. "And anyway, the real world isn't your creation. It's not the playground that you made for yourself. You don't know anything about the real world, so shut up!"
"Have you ever thought that it's you, who doesn't know the real world? After all, you are nothing but Rapunzel in her tower. You know nothing."
"Stop talking to my sister." Rocco snapped.
But the Admin's comment had already took effect.
Kamira was frozen, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Mr. Jackson." The Admin sighed. "I was attempting to offer you and your sister a safe place."
Rocco went still. A mask slipped over his face.
The Admin chuckled. "Oh, so now I have your attention."
"Uncle, that's enough!" Darcy yelled.
She was looking up now, glaring at the Admin furiously.
"I said, that's enough. Don't you dare hurt my friends like you hurt me. Stop picking at their weak spots, and just get to the point! Tell us where Rana, Clarita and the kids are. Right now!"
The Admin smiled. "Of course. Where are my manners?"
He leaned forward. "The children weren't supposed to be here, you know. Clarita had an unfortunate moment of pity and took them. I believe they are in her quarters. And as for Rana, she is in the basement with Clarita and Ricker."
"She's with Ricker?" I demanded.
"Yes. I gave the two orders to teach her a lesson."
"What does that mean?" Ivan croaked.
"Oh, nothing much. Just giving her a few concoctions. Don't worry, they aren't lethal. She has so much more use to me alive, then dead."
He paused. "Actually, they might kill her. Depending on how healthy she is. Has she been sleeping and eating well?"
He had tore into my friends worst insecurities without batting an eye. And then he spoke so casually about Rana dying.
I leapt up and lunged across the table before anyone could stop me. My torso hit the table, but I didn't feel any pain.
She jumped up and tried to grab my arm, her eyes wide with fear.
"Rin!" Lanis yelled. "Sit down, you'll get us all killed!"
The Admin stared at me with mild distaste. He sighed and stood up from the table, leaving the room.
"Asshole!" I screamed. "Give me back my family, you bastard! They didn't do anything to you!"
I stabbed my hand out, trying to hit him with a whip of my electricity.
It connected with the wall nest to his head, missing him by an inch.
Everyone was looking between me, the mark on the wall, and the Admin.
"I told you," I whispered. "Give. Me. Back. My. Goddamn. Family."
The Admin chuckled. "No, I don't think I will. You've been very rude, and rude people don't get rewarded. And, Ms.Brighton, I'm afraid you're correct."
He turned, and smiled coldly. "Guards. Kill them all."
I scrambled off the table and sprinted to the Admin.
A guard slammed into me, knocking me to the ground.
I jumped up and grabbed his arm, jamming my fingers into the crevices of his armor. My fingers touched his pulse, and I electrocuted him. I shoved the corpse back and headed to the Admin again.
More guards blocked my path.
They circled me, their weapons up. But they were all shaking, and a couple of them were glancing at the dead guard. Over their shoulder, I could see a guard trying to evacuate the Admin.
"No!" I yelled. "Don't let him get away!"
Lanis let out yell. "Rin, duck!"
I ducked, and a knife flew through the air above my head. It embedded itself into the wall right next to the Admin's head. I jumped up and slashed out my hand, taking advantage of the guard's distracted state.
A single lash was all it took. The lightning wrapped around the circle of all the guards's necks, killing them instantly. They dropped, and I ran towards the Admin. He tried to side step me, but I slammed him against the wall.
"Thank you, Lanis!" I called out. "I got it from here."
The Admin tried to squirm away. I snarled and grabbed his arm. He froze, looking at me with wide eyes. For the first time, I could see fear in his eyes.
"Rin, watch out!" Ivan screamed.
I jumped, whirling around.
A guard barreled at me, his face contorted in fury.
He raised his glock and fired it at me.
I ducked, hitting the floor. The bullets hit the wall above my head, and I scrambled away. The glock leveled at me again, but from another guard.
I ran towards the guards, catching them by surprise. My hand wrapped around their necks and electrocuted them. But as I did, I felt a sharp pain in my thigh.
I let the corpses drop and looked down at my leg.
The bastard had managed to put a bullet in my thigh.
Well, at least he didn't stab my ankles. It would hurt like hell, but I could still run.
Not to mention that I've been hurt worse before.
"Sorry not sorry, Uncle Asshole." Darcy laughed.
I turned, just in time to see Darcy backhand the Admin across the face. He stumbled back, and glared at her. She smiled brightly and lunged at him again, her knife flashing.
"Darcy, scoot." I hissed.
I ran over, ignoring the pain in my leg.
Darcy grinned. "Sure. I could use some backup."
Up close, I could see sweat on her face, and blood trickling from several cuts. She was breathing heavily, her knuckles white around her knife handle.
But her hand was shaky with exhaustion.
"Darcy, you take one side. I'll take the other." I hissed.
She nodded. giving me a small salute. The Admin looked around the room, and then back at us.
"Guards!" he yelled. "Will one of you imbeciles do your job?!"
While he was distracted, I ran up behind him, my lightning ready.
Nut the second I raised my hands, he whirled around and slashed at my face with a pocket knife.
I screamed, jumping back.
The blade had cut right into my cheek, and half of my face was on fire.
"Damn you!" the Admin snapped.
I scoffed. Like a cut was going to stop me.
I started at him, but he threw the knife at me. I expected it to sail past me, after all, he couldn't have had much practice.
But the knife embedded itself right into my upper arm.
I staggered. He was more ready than I thought.
"Hey! Uncle, come and get me!"
The Admin turned, and Darcy jumped at him, trying to hit his face.
But her hands were shaky, and I could hear her gasping for breath. She was slowing down, and becoming much less accurate.
I scanned the dining hall, looking for someone who could fill in for Darcy before she collapsed.
But everyone was fighting their own battles.
Lanis was working to take down a group of five guards, weaving around them with trained speed. She was swinging at them with a baseball bat. But I could see her hearing aids about to fall out of her ears. Luckily, she seemed to notice, and quickly jammed them back into place. But her footwork was becoming more clumsy, and the guards took notice.
Marcus was firing at his own group of guards with two small pistols. His accuracy was amazing, hitting the crevices of their armor with every bullet. But her was slowing down, the bullets becoming less and less accurate.
Rocco, however, seemed almost bored as he fought. He stayed above the guards, sitting on his own little pile of wind, with a shield of wind in front of him. The bullets kept on bouncing off and slamming into the guards.
Kamira kept on bringing up waves and waves of water, laughing loudly.
"Is that all you asses got?" she yelled. "I could do this all day!"
But despite her bravado, her legs were shaking. She was only thirteen. She couldn't hold up on her own against the guards. Even with her powers.
My shoulder burned, but I ignored it. The knife wasn't in my side or chest. I'd be fine.
I jumped. Ivan came skidding over, his face plastered with sweat.
"Stay behind me." I ordered. "I'll protect you."
Ivan shook his head. "No, you can't. You've got a bullet in your leg and a knife sticking out of your arm. And I can protect myse-"
A scream cut through the air.
Kamira collapsed, holding her side. Her face was contorted in pain. Blood dripped from her side.
A wind swept through the hall, throwing the guards to the side.
Rocco grabbed Kamira and pulled her up.
"We're leaving!" he yelled.
Kamira yanked away, gasping. She staggered back form Rocco, blooding flowing from her wound.
"I'm fine. It's just a scratch!"
"Guys!" Lanis screamed. "They're gaining!"
I turned. Darcy's knife was on the ground, and she stumbled, falling down. The Admin towered over her.
"Get away from her!" Ivan yelled.
He sprinted at the Admin, but a guard came at him and knocked him to the ground.
Rocco was furious. Marcus was barely holding up. The guards would overpower him any moment from now.
Kamira was hurt. Lanis was swaying, almost dragging her bat on the ground. One of her hearing aids had fallen off.
Ivan was wrestling the guard, and Darcy was being cornered by her uncle.
We had to get a new strategy, and quickly.
"I see you started the party without us!"
I looked up at the entrance. There, right in the threshold, were three people.
Her head snapped to me, and I froze.
This wasn't Rana. Her hair, her pride and joy, had been chopped to her shoulders. Her skin was paler, her acne and blemishes even more visible. But her face was bruised as well. And cut up.
But the most noticeable thing was her eyes.
They were still brown, but something off.
Glassy. With a silver sheen.
And she was running right at me.
Rana slammed into me, grinning widely.
I fell back, hitting the floor.
"Get up!" Rana barked. "I know you Saundrine, you're tougher than that. Nothing can beat you to the ground."
I tried to stand, but my leg gave out. The bullet must've embedded itself deeper into my thigh.
It could get stuck, and then someone would have to rip it out.
Rana snatched my hand and ripped me off the ground. She was breathing hard, just like everyone else, but there was a maniacal grin on her face.
It was a grin that could rival Ricker's insanity.
Rana beamed. "Darcy! Hello liar!"
"L-liar?"Darcy stuttered. "What are y-"
Rana turned back to me. "So, you gonna stand there gaping, or are you gonna make the first move?"
She giggled. "Of our fight! Me, you and Darcy. What, did you think I was on your side? Rana was, but she's not here anymore."
"Silver, you going to stand there talking all night?" Ricker boomed.
Rana's body turned to me. Her eyes glittered and she grinned.
I stepped back, trying to get myself ready to fight. This wasn't Rana. It was her body, her face, but it was someone named Silver.
I had heard about this. If a person went through trauma, they might make a shield personality. Or if they got drugged enough.
And Rana went through both.
Silver stepped forward. "Well, come on, throw a punch."
Behind her, I noticed Ricker and Clarita were gone.
Marcus yelled. "Get away from her!"
Marcus and Lanis were starting to fight Ricker.
Meanwhile, Rocco and Kamira were up against Clarita.
A barrage of bullets flew over my head. I heard Silver laugh gleefully.
"Stay away from my family!" Darcy yelled.
I sat up and saw Darcy tackle Silver to the ground.
I pulled myself up, looking around in horror.
Silver and Darcy were wrestling for the pistols.
Meanwhile, Lanis and Marcus were fighting Ricker. But Ricker was at his full potential, and the couple was exhausted. And furious.
"You sick twisted bastard!" she screamed. "I'm going to gut you! You killed them, and you're going to get it!"
She leapt at Ricker, but the adrenaline and anger made her movements off. Ricker dodged easily, the sound of his maniacal laughter bouncing off the walls.
Lanis stumbled, gasping. Tears flowed down her face.
And Marcus was definitely slowing down. His movements were more accurate than Lanis's, but they had more force and left him reeling when he didn't land at hit. And Lanis just kept on swinging her bat at Ricker.
Rocco and Kamira were fighting Clarita.
But Clarita had the advantage.
They didn't want to hurt her. Kamira especially.
"Jae," she pleaded. "Don't do this! We can go back home, please, stop this!"
I watched Clarita dart forward, fueled by her powers.
She wove around the siblings, moving so fast that she was a blur.
Kamira staggered back, holding her side. Her waves were smaller and smaller, and her face was pale and sweaty. She looked like she was going to pass out any minute.
But Rocco was keeping up. He wove his winds around Clarita, his face scrunched in concentration. I could see him straining.
"Saundrine! Goddamit, come help me now!" Darcy screamed.
I whipped back to Darcy and Silver.
They were off the ground now, and Darcy was being backed against a wall. Silver advanced, shooting at her, every bullet coming closer to Darcy's head.
I rushed at Silver, my hands raised and ready. But she turned, her eyes slicing into mine.
I slowed down. I didn't want to hurt her. I wouldn't hurt Rana!
She slammed into me, knocking me onto the ground.
I screamed, feeling the bullet bite even more into my leg. Silver slammed her fist down, trying to hit my nose and knock me out.
I scrambled back, readying my hands.
She barreled at me, and I jumped to the side. I grabbed her shoulder and sent a shock down her spine. She screamed, dropping her pistols and falling on her hands and knees.
Darcy sprinted forward and snatched the pistols away from her.
I looked up, and froze in shock.
A TV screen had come out of the wall. And on that screen, I could see the Administrator sitting behind his desk. He glared at Silver.
Good Allah. In all the chaos around Silver, I had forgotten about the Admin. And now, he had made it to his office, where we couldn't touch him.
I suddenly felt something yank me back.
She threw me down on the floor, knocking all of my breath out of me. The bullet was completely embedded into my leg. And the knife nearly was too.
Her fist hit my face, where the Admin had cut my cheek. I gasped, tasting blood.
"Get off of her!" Darcy yelled.
She tried to wrench Silver back, but Silver was stronger.
She tossed Darcy off, and my friend hit the floor next to me.
Darcy reached up and grabbed at Silver's fist, trying to slow her down. I heard a sharp snap, and Darcy screamed in pain, yanking her wrist back.
Silver had broken her wrist.
A deafening shriek, coming from the other side of the dining hall.
Water flooded the dining hall, ice cold and swirling around us.
I could still hear the deafening scream in the background.
The water rose, and my head went under.
My head pounding, my cuts stung. I opened my mouth, and water came rushing in. I couldn't breathe.
I felt an arm wrap around my waist.
My head broke the surface, and I sputtered, trying to breathe.
The flood was getting smaller.
"Hang on!" Ivan yelped. "We're going to hit the ground soon!"
I could feel my body slamming into the walls.
The bullet and the knife would take ages and a lot of expertise to get out now.
And then we hit the ground.
I wheezed, trying to breathe.
Slowly, I pulled myself up.
The hall was a wreckage. Everything was drenched, and there were bodies everywhere.
I could hear everyone else trying to get up, and breathe. They were trying to recover from the flood before anyone else did.
One by one, my friends peeled themselves off of the floor.
"Up!" Lanis choked out. "Everyone, hurry! We got to run!"
I took a step and swayed, falling to the ground.
I felt somebody pull me up, hugging me to their chest.
They were stumbling as they ran.
"No! No, I won't let you get away!"
Silver had pulled herself up, and was trying to move.
Clarita was staggering up, Ricker close behind.
"C-c-come b-back!" Silver wheezed. "T-that isn't fair!"
But Ivan and the rest of the group were already running through the broken down doors.
It had already taken all of my strength to stand.
All I could do was barely hang on to Ivan.
"Rana." I whispered. "I will come back. I wi-"
