Chapter 2

Four Months Later

The lithe woman in a hooded cloak slides over the large stone wall surrounding the Inner Sanctum’s Research Center. The courtyard is dark except for the few streetlights stationed here and there. The night is fairly clear except for the still massive cloud of dust and debris hanging overhead. There are enough shadows cast about to avoid any kind of detection.

“Son of a bitch,” the woman mutters and draws a sword out from the sheath strapped to her back, sensing the danger before it strikes.

The courtyard is suddenly flooded in light. From inside the research center pour out soldiers dressed in black tactical uniforms and identically black helmets, carrying assault rifles. They quickly surround her. Each carries a stun baton, weapons made to send ten thousand volts through someone. Yet the woman is pretty confident she can take them all out and get out, maybe not unscathed, but she would survive.

As the woman drops into a low crouch, ready to spring into action, her excitement is raised even more when she sees Johann. He is dressed in a lab coat, standing apart greatly from the rest of the troops and armed with a large sword.

With a gravelly voice he says, “Story Ross, you didn’t think you were going to be able to just sneak in here did you?”

Story grins momentarily before changing her expression to a neutral one. “I had actually been quite hopeful about just that.”

Johann lets out raspy laugh. Abruptly, he cuts the laughter and glares harshly at Story. “Then you are foolish.”

Story smirks. “I guess I don’t have a chance to make it out of here alive then.”

“Oh, you will live,” the man assures her. “I need a fresh subject for a new experiment. Unfortunately, volunteers come with expensive promises.”

“Not that the Inner Sanctum fulfills those promises,” she spits back bitterly.

Johann laughs mockingly at the woman. “The Inner Sanctum fulfills all their promises.”

“By turning them into jokes!”

“Potayto, potahto,” he mocks. “Now if you would be so kind to just surrender and we can be on our way without incident.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Story growls, holding the sword up defensively.

Johann looks at the troop commander and orders, “I want her alive, no matter the cost.”

The commander nods and with a flick of his wrist, the group of the soldiers step forward, sliding away their riffles and pulling out the batons.

Story shrugs and says nonchalantly, “I am not going to make it easy for you.”

They rush Story with trained coordination and she matches their pace with unparalleled speed. Bringing her sword up across the first attacker’s chest, she all but cleaves him in half. Before the blood can even splatter across the ground, her sword and body are swinging around to deflect an incoming blow. Her sword glances off the attacker’s baton and with a deft turn of her wrists, she brings her weapon back around and across his throat.

Story ducks beneath a horizontal strike then dives and rolls over another. She is on her feet before either attacker can turn around. Before she can even attempt to finish off either attacker Story is met by a third that manages to catch her off guard. He maneuvers his baton toward her wrist, but she manages to get her arm out of the baton’s path enough as not to end up with a broken wrist. But the maneuver doesn’t come without a price. Instead of the attacker’s baton breaking her wrist, his baton strikes the hilt of Story’s sword and jars it lose. It clatters to the ground, leaving her unarmed and defenseless.

The soldier doesn’t miss a beat and quickly lunges at her, driving his electrified baton straight at her midsection. Story slips to the outside, allowing the baton to completely miss while grabbing her attacker’s wrist and violently twisting it back in. Bones snap audibly and the baton instead drives deep into his own gut, sending surges of electricity into his body. By the time he hits the deck unconscious, Story has in quick succession, dropped both of her previous attackers to the deck as well.

“I hope you have something better to offer,” she says, picking up her sword and turning to face Johann.

The man, however, is not there. Instead she faces the mass of soldiers still gathered and immobile. A moment later something slams into Story’s back that sends her reeling forward. She instinctively releases her grip of her sword. With her hands free, she uses the momentum to carry her body forward into a roll. At the last moment she twists, turning her body around with two pistols pulled out and aimed at the spot that she, just a moment ago, occupied and fires.

Johann is already in the process of rushing her when the bullets rocket toward him. Without breaking his stride, he waves the sword back and forth in front of him and deflects every bullet. As he reaches Story, he uses skill and speed to slap the broad side of the sword against her wrists, forces the weapons from her hands, before spinning to drive his foot into her chest with a side kick.

The blow hits Story hard. The air is immediately driven out of her lungs and she is on her back before her mind can process her body falling. It all happens so fast that she does not have time to think about ensuring her head doesn’t bounce of the hard ground beneath her.

Story isn’t sure just how long she was out, but when she opens her eyes, she is shocked to see her sword sticking out of the ground between her legs and Johann standing over her. He glares down at her and his sword at the ready.

“Sitting around on your ass now?” he asks.

Story smirks at him. As if on cue, Johann steps backward and Story twirls her legs up, using momentum to lift her body off the ground and onto her feet. Her sword is in her hand and she is in a defensive stance.

Figuring that she has had enough time to gather herself, Johann bears down on her. Story brings her sword up getting it above her head just in time. The force of the blow pushes her back down to one knee. She has to use her free hand to push against back of her blade to hold against the weight of the man’s sword.

Story grunts under the strain. “You slimy bastard,” she bites out.

Suddenly she drops her guard and rolls out from underneath the sword and up to her feet. Almost immediately Story has to bring her sword up for another block. Johann moves faster than even she would expect.

“Give it up,” he says. “You aren’t leaving here with your sister or your life.”

He swings high, then low, then high again. Each strike is blocked by her, but none give her an opening to counter with.

“I’m giving up that easily,” Story informs him.

Johann comes in with an overhead strike forcing Story to block once more and lock their swords. “You surrender now and I promise I’ll not replace your sister with you.”

“Yeah right,” she gasps through gritted teeth beneath him. “She’s far too valuable to you to just discard.”

Johann releases one hand from the hilt of his sword and throws a left hook punch to the side of Story’s head. The blow jars her and for a brief moment she sees stars. That brief moment is enough for her to stumble to the left and in doing so she loses her balance and falls. She loses grip of her sword in the process, leaving her vulnerable once again.

Two of Johann’s soldiers rush over and grab Story, lifting her up to her feet. Then locking her arms behind her back they hold her steady as Johann stalks over to her. She struggles against their grip unsuccessfully.