Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Hanna walked through the long hallway leading away from the arena. She was overspent, she knew it, but she still had a job to do. She had to reserve the strength she had left to deal with EDJ, if she ever found him. Regular-sized doors started showing up on either side of the hallway. Hanna went to the first open door and looked inside. People. Hanna ducked back out of sight and peeked again. Indeed, she finally found another living person in this cursed castle. Quite a few of them, it seemed, as she watched a group of people working around large machinery. A few guards stood around, but the people seemed to be unbothered and engrossed in whatever process they were doing. Hanna was about to lean in to figure out what the smooth-running machines were doing when the door suddenly slid shut in her face. 

“Sorry, you weren’t supposed to see that,” EDJ’s voice said. “Employees only.” 

“Were those printers?” Hanna asked, continuing down the hall. 

“Sharp eyes,” EDJ replied. “I run a little printing operation on the side in my spare time.” 

“If only you put your entrepreneurial skills to less criminal use,” Hanna muttered. 

“Why do you assume everything I do is illegal?” the voice asked. 

“Because you’re a villain,” Hanna answered, seeing another open door. “Illegal is your MO. You evil are all alike.”

“Wow, way to overgeneralize,” EDJ’s voice scoffed. “We can’t all be the goody-two-shoes and expect to get ahead in life. Money don’t grow on trees.” 

Hanna flew through the open door before EDJ had a chance to close it on her. “You’re not supposed to be in here either,” EDJ said over the intercom. Hanna looked around. This room was a lab storage room filled with specimen tanks on tables. No one else seemed to be in this room. Hanna walked down the rows of tanks, looking at them as she passed by. Some of the specimens were intact and she could easily tell what they were. Lizards, mice, cats, dogs, crocodiles, monkeys, there was even one tank holding something that looked like a much smaller version of the creature Hanna killed in the arena room. There were far more tanks filled with grotesque and half-formed creatures, abominations that failed whatever process EDJ was trying to put them through. Hanna gulped and her stomach churned in discomfort. She stopped in her tracks when she heard a strange scratching and half-growling sound. She was not alone after all. She crouched where she was and looked under the table. A red and white puppy was pawing at a box on the floor. As soon as the dog saw Hanna, it barked and hopped toward her. Hanna immediately jumped back into the air with her sword in front of her. The puppy barked again, jumping in circles around her with its tail wagging.

“Oh, you found Stitches!” EDJ’s voice said pleasantly. “I was wondering where he wandered off to.” 

“Shush!” Hanna hushed at the dog and looked around, making sure no one else heard the dog barking. When no one came running, Hanna looked back at the dog. The puppy watched her with big brown eyes, its tongue hanging out and head tilted. Its front end bowed while its back end wiggled in the air, indicating it wanted to play. Hanna tried suppressing a small smile. She lowered to the ground and let the puppy lick her boots, tail still wagging. “Another pet?” Hanna asked, watching the puppy, but not interacting with it. 

“Yeah, he’s not the best guard dog in the world,” EDJ’s voice answered. “Too much puppy in him, I think. He’s not the smartest either, but he does boost morale so I’d appreciate it if you left him alone.”

Finally giving in, Hanna crouched again and scratched the cute puppy’s ear with a soft smile. The dog barked again and, with a strange wobble, ran back to the box under the table. It was only then that Hanna noticed something terribly wrong. The dog’s back legs did not match its front legs. Not in the manner that the coat pattern was different. No, the back legs were from a different animal entirely, one with talons. Hanna stood up and took a step back in horror. “What did you do to it?!” Hanna whispered, all sympathy replaced with disgust. 

“What, Stitches?” EDJ asked. “Well, he didn’t have legs when I found him so…” 

“You can’t just splice living creatures together all willy-nilly!” Hanna exclaimed in alarm. “What’s wrong with you?!” 

EDJ drew back from the screen with a confused look and turned to one of the guards in the control room with him. The guard shrugged. EDJ shrugged and turned back to the monitor. “I don’t have time to answer that question. Besides, you’re one to talk. Humans aren’t born with wings.” 

Hanna frowned, watching the puppy paw at the box again. EDJ has to be stopped, no matter the cost. She reached under the table and pulled the box out. A tennis ball sat inside. How it got there and how the dog knew it was in there, Hanna didn’t know or care. She took the ball out and lightly tossed it to the other side of the room, distracting the dog so she could leave the room without it following. Hanna sighed in relief when the door to the next room closed behind her. Hanna figured she must have been wandering through storage rooms because this one was filled with dark screens, floor to ceiling. “You have a really weird layout,” Hanna muttered. “I still can’t get over the fact that you built an entire castle on Everest.” 

“I am under no obligation to make sense to you,” EDJ answered casually. “It's not my fault you thought I was normal.” The brief look on Hanna’s face indicated she agreed with him, though she didn’t say it. When she was about halfway through the room, all the screens turned on at once, blaring loud music. “AAUUUGH!” Hanna covered her ears and dropped to her knees. “NOOO!” Hanna looked up in shock, recognizing the music. Every one of the screens showed a man in a coat and striped shirt in front of a microphone, playing the same video in synchronization. “WE’RE NO STRANGE-” Hanna shot all of the screens with icicles, shutting them down and stopping the song before it got started. 

EDJ laughed so hard he fell out of his chair. He laughed and laughed until he wheezed. He was nearly gasping for air as he climbed back into his seat. “Ahhhhh, gets them every time,” he said with a chuckle. “Whew, that was funny. I needed that.” He looked back at the screen to see Hanna had already left the room. “Uh-oh, where’d she go?” EDJ flipped through the cameras. He pulled up the 3D model of the castle and moved through every possible location until he found Hanna. “Great, she found the shortcut tunnel,” EDJ said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. He tapped a few keys and buttons, sending a drone to follow her. 

Hanna followed the winding tunnel, fury on her face. “You sure are persistent,” EDJ’s voice said next to Hanna’s ear. She jumped and pirouetted, swinging her sword behind only to meet empty air. Hanna heard a light hum above her. Looking up, she spotted a tiny mechanical drone. She shot an icicle only for the drone to move out of the way. The lights in the tunnel cut off completely, leaving her in the dark. 

“Where are you hiding, coward?” Hanna demanded, pulling out her flashlight and sweeping the light over the empty tunnel. 

“Much closer than you think,” EDJ’s voice said from the little drone, cameras automatically switching to low light settings. 

“Show yourself!” Hanna growled. “Only a coward refuses to face his problems head on.” She continued down the tunnel, albeit at a much more cautious pace and in the wrong direction.  

“And you think running directly into danger alone makes you brave?” EDJ asked, watching with amusement. 

“Yes,” Hanna answered. 

“No,” EDJ countered. “That makes you a fool. It makes you a liability.” Hanna frowned as he continued. “You are completely cut off from help. You are tired, weak, and surrounded by your enemies. You may think me a coward, but this so-called coward will destroy you and your friends.” His voice shifted from one side to the other as the drone flew around her head out of sight. “All because you had to be the hero. Maybe you’re the one with something to prove.” 

Hanna sneered. “Only that I’m stronger and better than you. I can take you down easily! All you have to do is fight me. I won’t let you get away.”

“Maybe,” the voice continued. “But why is that so important to you? Who are you trying to impress?” 

“No one,” Hanna muttered. Finally realizing she was going the wrong direction, Hanna growled and turned the other way. 

“I’ve seen your records,” EDJ continued, voice eerily close. “I’ve talked to your friends. You’re impulsive. Reckless. Aggressive.” 

"You’re wrong," Hanna said. "I'm not any of those things."

"Hm, your actions thus far might say otherwise."

“So what?!” Hanna asked, frustrated that the tunnel was taking forever to get through and irritated at EDJ’s incessant babbling. “I’m determined to vanquish evil. That just makes me a better hero. I won’t rest until I bring you to justice.” 

“Justice?” EDJ asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched the screen. “Now there’s a fun word.” He paused for a moment, seemingly in thought. “Okay, let’s say you do get your justice. Lock me up and throw away the key. Once again, the day is saved, blah, blah, blah… You won’t stop there, will you? You’ll seek out the next threat. The next big bad boss and personally kick his teeth in.”

“What’s your point?” Hanna asked, swatting at the drone she could not see. 

“You go looking for trouble.” 

“Of course I do. That’s my job,” Hanna answered, seething. “I have to seek out evil and destroy it before it hurts the people I care about. For that, I will gladly put myself in harm’s way.” She smirked. “I even welcome the challenge.” 

EDJ’s voice went quiet for a moment, which Hanna enjoyed until he spoke again. “This front you’re putting on,” he started. “It’s not bravery. It’s obsession. And it’s not to protect people… it’s to hurt them.” 

“That’s not true!” Hanna shot back, anger flaring. 

“You’re a danger to everyone around you,” the voice whispered. 

“Your lies won’t stop me.” Hanna spotted a door at the end of the hall in the beam of her flashlight. Victory was just around the corner.

“Lies?” EDJ asked in surprise. “You think I’d stoop so low? Nothing hurts worse than the truth, dear. If you want something sugar-coated, eat a donut.” EDJ motioned to the guards to get in place as Hanna closed in on the door. “If it was only about stopping me,” he continued. “Why didn’t you bring your little friends?” 

“To protect them,” Hanna answered softly, reaching for the door. 

“From who?”