Ragna rattled with her fist. She kicked him and screamed, but the thug’s grip didn’t loosen. Instead, the pressure on her bones increased.

If she didn’t act quickly, he would crush her hand.

“Aaah.“ The man winced with each hit he took. Yet, he didn’t waver. “Gotta say, after everything Cy did to ya’, your kicks and punches have quite the oomph. Broke yer chains, too. You ain’t half bad for a girly girl. Coulda win a tournament or two. Though ‘gainst me it’s no good.” His fingers ground against her bone, and a toothy grin flashed across the man’s face. But don’t worry. Cy wants you livin’. But he’d understand if I say I had to defend myself.”

Letting go of her hand, he pulled Ragna towards him and quickly pressed his thick arm against her throat. Ragna groaned, gasping for air.

Shit. What should she do?

On her temple, the heated metal of the gun burned a mark on her skin. She gulped as he applied more pressure and rubbed traces of its powder against her skull.

“If you two make anything funny…” His blood-shot eyes skimmed over the corridor.

“W…Wait-” Altera tried to say, but the thug cut her off.

“Yer attack did me good. See how my hand’s shivering? It might go off. You want me to go all Gavin on her? I don’t wanna either, but if yer voice pisses me off anymore…“

Altera gnashed.

Ragna’s eyes shifted towards the weapon the man had pressed against her skull. They wandered towards his arm and jumped to Altera.

Fuck.

Ragna’s body trembled.

What should she do? She couldn’t reach for her swords, and she couldn’t wait for Altera to recover her Mana. Any second, the guard could shoot her. Or Clockwork could return. Just what should she do? Her gravity manipulator didn’t work, she couldn’t use her weapons, and she had no Fylgja. Was that the end? If she were strong, she could get out. But she wasn’t. She couldn’t do anything. Not even two days on her journey and her stupidity and weakness had put an end to it.

This was hopeless. She had to admit that she had failed.

“Is this how far your journey will go?”

Water started to drop. It dropped and plopped from the ceiling, hitting the floor like the tick-tock of a clock.

Ragna tried to turn her head, but the man’s hold prevented any movements.

What was going on? She didn’t imagine it. Someone had talked to her. And why did it suddenly rain?

No one else reacted to the event as if time had stopped for them.

“Is it not sad, Ragna Griffin?”

“Who’s there?”

Ragna’s heart hammered against her ribcage that it could spring out anytime and break her bones. Its beats synchronized with the raindrops. They thudded and thudded and thudded until she couldn’t separate the two.

Her breaths increased, the air around her thinned out, and her skin heated up. Sweat formed on her forehead. Her brain spun, and noises buzzed in her skull. She couldn’t drown them; she couldn’t ignore them. They mixed and mingled.

Tears started to run down Ragna’s cheeks.

What was going on? Was she dying or getting aroused? Was she going insane?

“You cannot tell, yet you are aware.”

Her shadow expanded to a cross. It shot up from the ground like a geyser and created an arching figure that twisted around itself. Wings expanded from the creature, and golden eyes gazed back at her. Then, they turned into a blue that could have been her own and settled into a striking carmine.

“Your weakness has blocked your progress. While the path is open, you refuse to progress.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not yet. Not yet. Just this once, just this once. The weak will receive the chance to walk further. But there will be a price. To pay goes against the cosmos. But so will it be. You will not remember, but countless paths that had been open to you will now close off. You will have to find one among the remains and advance on it. There is more to pay, but now, progress where you could not.”

“Hey, wait. I never –“ Ragna tried to say.

The shadow lowered its head and slung it into her chest.

֎

Ragna cackled like a child.

What’s going on? Pete etched the muzzle against her skull. Why she laughin’? That can’t be good.

“It’s fine.” Ragna lowered her eyelids. “There’s no escape for me, but maybe that’s not so bad. After all, I’m the daughter of two Valkyries, a Griffin, and smokin’ hot. Someone with DNA as amazing as mine is more than suitable for the Future Initiative.”

Her companions gasped, and their bodies mortified. Pete looked at her, his face revealing a mixture of emotions as his hand started to shiver. He would have mimicked the same expression as the others in any other situation.

“A beautiful house, a beautiful husband, and beautiful children. I’ll live in eternal luxury.” Ragna continued. Her face displayed a broken smile, and the luster in her eyes shone brighter than gold. “That’s a beautiful life, and I get to serve my fatherland forever and ever. Creating the next generation of warriors, is there a better dream for any woman? I’ll be responsible for the prosperity and victory of our kingdom.”

“Are you crazy?” Altera shouted.

Ragna shook her head. “What better way is there to restore the honor I’ve lost than to pay for my sins with body and soul, to give pleasure and life to those that’ll crush our enemies.”

She looked at him, and with the voice of an innocent child, she spoke. “But can I ask you a favor?”

“A favor?” Pete laughed in disbelief. “You crazy? What ya think this gun’s shootin’? Rainbow and kitties?”

“It’s not that.” Ragna shook her head again and pouted. “You don’t need my friends. My bounty’s high enough that you will attain riches you couldn’t even imagine. Compared to that, whatever Wert they would bring is nothing. Only I am vaal-uuua-ble, right?“

“R…right…”

Not letting go of the gun’s trigger, Pete looked at Ragna.

“So, can you let them go, please? I mean, if you deliver me, you don’t need any more money.”

“So, I can shoot ‘em, right?”

Ragna jiggled with her body. “You could do that, buuut, why don’t you let them go? And in exchange… If I’m honest, that wasn’t the real reason. There’s actually something I want to experience before.”

“Huh?”

Ignoring the gun pressed against her temple, Ragna stared him in the eyes.

“Yes. I want to serve my kingdom with everything I have. But I have no say in that matter. So just this one time, I want to choose.”

“Choose?” Pete looked confused. But when Ragna raised her skirt and opened her jacket, he understood.

Pete wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Ragna thought the Future Initiative was better than death. Who in their right mind would want to become a baby factory? Perhaps she was the kind of person who would sacrifice her life without a second thought for her friends. Or she was lying to herself to deny the horrors. Or Cy had driven her insane, and facing this hopeless situation, the remaining fragments of her mind had broken. Why else would she resort to this gambit? She couldn’t think he was that gullible, or did she see through his bravado? Ragna knew they needed her.

Was it because he wanted to respect her selflessness? Was it because her reasoning made sense? Did he pity the girl because of the horrors that awaited her? Was he fooling himself to find an option that ended with no causalities? To finally end this charade, he had to maintain?

Was it because of the lack of entertainment during the last few weeks? The goods were for the customers only. Cy was strict about that. “Don’t get high on your own supply,“ he always said. And Cy would never allow anyone to touch Lacie – not that it had ever crossed his mind. He respected her and Cy too much for that.

Whatever the reason, when the slitted beauty lustered in her eyes, a desire overcame him. Anger and repulsiveness that he could not keep her, that he would have to give her away. A new logic ate into his mind, throwing all previous rationality away. He lowered his gun and let go of his hold. Ragna turned around. Her eyes gazed into him – into his mind, body, and soul.

“They would aaaall waaaste me.” Her voice turned into a singsong, soothing like a wave, like an infant child. “Only youuu get my true val-u-ue. Do you?” And with each word, her red lips gleamed like a string and spoke their new rationality into his brain.

Only he knew her value. Why should the government keep her? They would waste her. If he let Cyrus have her, he would squander her. Give her away for money, and Midgard would misuse her. Was he the only one who knew her value? Then it was only his right to keep her. He understood her. Not the government. And Cyrus, would he really stop? No. Cyrus would not rest until the world burned. There was no end to his crusade. If he wanted to leave this life behind, he needed Ragna. Wasn’t that romantic?

If he gave Ragna away, what was there for him to live for? How could he continue in this empty and cruel world without her? He needed her to live on. Yes, that was true. He would promise if he lost Ragna, he would end his life. So why should he give her away? Only he knew her value. So, she belonged to him. Ragna was his, and his alone. No one would get her. His treasure. His precious. Only he knew her value. She couldn’t leave him, had no right to. He would show her, prove to her that she was his possession.

In the end, he accepted.

What would have happened if they had run away? Would he have hidden her from the world and protected her? That sounded like a good idea. It didn’t matter where, just somewhere, where they could spend eternity. Even a cave would suffice. Would that have been a happy ending?

The moment their lips had connected, Pete did not just feel her. His lips tasted also metal and something warm and liquid. A strange sensation came from his throat. First pain, then strange grunts and noises – his own perhaps – and then nothing.

-------------------------

To gavin someone – To accidentally shoot someone in the face. An idiom made popular after the action-comedy ‘Pulp Cops’ came out. During an interrogation scene, the eponymous cops threatened a suspect named Gavin with a gun to his head and accidentally fired it.