The Face: Tournament of Death, Chapter Sixteen

As I entered the room, a horrifying sight was etched into the pupils in my eyes, for in the lone, dark room, from above the ceiling hung by a chain was the body of Allan Larcen, who was mangled by rusty chains and dozens of bruises and lacerations upon his skin. Below him was a pool of some sort of acid-like materials that bubbled with boiling clouds billowing from the heated fluid.

At least half-a-dozen men had to restrain the Hunteress from getting free. They were all dressed in black robes and dark faces. One called from afar. "Don't move...or the fur-wearing woman gets it!" He cried, holding a glistening, sharp katana to her neck.

I stopped in my tracks, careful to not make any sudden movements. One of the guards approached me slowly, with knife in hand. He pointed it at me. "Drop your weapon!" he cried. I lowered my eyebrows in slight confusion, wondering at to what he was referring. 'How could they have known my cell phone was a taser?' I wondered. The guard crept closer and waved the knife threateningly. My forehead began to sweat small beads of moisture. "Drop your weapon! That one...in you hand..." he said darkly.

I looked down at the genuine rattan cane that I possessed and slowly let it drop to the ground, leaving hands to my side. The guard approached me ever closer once again, and demanded that I put my hands up. But I resisted, my hands were left to my sides, and cautiously I watched my opponent.

My breathing became heavier, yet steady, and my eyes focused on the movement of the guard that was before me. "Put your hands up!" He cried, more aggressively. I still, did not. Patiently I waited as the guard crept closer and closer toward me. As he came in devastatingly close distance of me, I very warily reached my hand into my pocket. My finger gripped the cell phone that was my last hope in my fingertips, and prepared to forcefully put it out.

The guard seemed to catch on to my plan, for his eyes had been watching to where my right hand had been place. Seeing it in my pocket, his eyes widened and he thrust his feet forward in a run to attack.

But to his surprise, and to a stroke of luck (for I did not know whether or not the taser mode was still active), I motioned as rapidly as I could the cell phone in the direction of my aggressor, and activated the taser.

The familiar streak of blue light that had aided me in times of need before had come back once again to strike down my opponent, as his whole body was charged with electric current and his hair stood on end. His muscles forcefully contracted as his grip tightened against his knife, and he lost control of his legs. He fell to the ground with a small thump while puffs of smoke had paraded from his scorched follicles.

"Get him!" A voice cried from the darkness within. Danger was sensed, for I could feel eyes piercing every which way of me from the darkness that had surrounded me, like red eyes that cut through my skin.

The Hunteress tried to cry out in warning at the guards who crept up behind me, but she was constrained. My eyes slowly peered to the back, and I quickly shot the taser once again, causing one of the stealthy guards to fall. But they kept coming, I was able to down two more, but reinforcements followed after each fall. Soon I had been subdued by the strenght of my opponents, and my I struggled to break free.

I struggled as they held my arms back, but their own strength was too great. One of them swiped the cell phone from my grip and tossed it upon the ground, only to meet it with a quick stomp of the foot...which resulted in a number of broken pieces. I snarled in anger, for the cell phone had cost much money.

As they restricted my movement, I somehow found away to make free my right arm, and with this slight advancement I was able to thrust my elbow backward as foreful as I could. My elbow had struck him just above the abdomen, beneath the ribs, where wind was knocked out of his lungs, and he flinched backward struggling for breath.

I continued to fight, running forward and tackling him to the ground in his weak moment. I then jabbed at his face in hopes of prolonging his time on the ground, and stepped to my feet as the rush of adrenaline flowed through my veins. But as I was in mid-step, the pain that I had felt rushed back through the receptors of my nervous system, and I fell limp once again upon my knees.

Unluckily for me, more guards were there to subdue me once again, and I too was captured...

The guards had held our arms behind our backs as they led us into yet another room beyond the one we had resided in. Along the left side were small compartment rooms with clear windows housing a few persons in what looked to be white hospital gowns. We passed two of the confined rooms, and in one was the raving convulsions of a crazed maniac who had been pounding on the walls and screaming wildly, with her hair flying about in all directions. The next room possessed a motionless woman, who stared beyong the clear window straight before her, without the twitch of an eye or blink.

They forced us into two different cells and padlocked the doors from the outside. The Hunteress, with hands tied behind her back, tried to ram herself against the door. But she was only met with an equal amount of force as she bounced off.

Across from us were a few large cells, which were overcrowded with what looked to be forgotten martial arts disciples in blue uniforms, who also stood motionless. Only, they were unable to move because of the insurmountable density of crowding inhabitants. It looked as if the locks were not touched for many months.

We heard footsteps slowly skulking their way across the underground floor, and out of the shadows appeared the evil Shran Kazuma, with his traditional metal hand in place, and smock laughter that catapulted into our eardrums.

He stood in front of the two compartments to view his two captives. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," he began. "The island does not tolerate wanderers... Especially at the evening hours..." he said, in his solemn, accented tone.

"I'm disappointed in you Ms. Potam, for you were working out well in the service department..." he explained. "Let...me...out...of here..." she said, in a low, threatening, but slow tone.

"You must think I'm a foolish old man, Ms. Potam," he replied. "It simply cannot be done. I'm sure you know what happens to intruders, as the mutilated body of Mr. Larcen indicates."

"Wh...what happened to him?" I asked. Shran touched his metal hand to his mouth and chuckled. "Ahehehe. Well, you see, he did not intrude on anyone's business, I just felt like torturing him before his certain death. You see...he lost yesterday. The island does not tolerate weakness."

Huntress wrinkled her forehead and shot back an angry look. "What!? You killed him because he lost!?" She questionably inquired. Shran began to slowly pace back and forth, before he stopped in front of her cell. "Well, I guess it won't hurt to tell you...since you've already uncovered much of my plans anyway."

"You see that room over there, where that invigorating but faint scent, as well as clouds of bliss flow from?" He wondered, but did not wait for an answer. "You see, we hear at the Hanoi Islands produce the blissful drug of cocaine. We process it here, it gets shipped all around the world. You see? That is why we prosper so well. That's why you see so many lavish attractions upon this temple. I wish I could say the same for the city-folk...but they could never know..." Shran took a pipe out of his pocket and began to smoke it. "You see, this island...is under rule of no one, which means anything goes. In other words...there are no law enforcement agencies around here, and there never will be."

"And you know why these tournaments are held? Well, I'm looking for strong-willed ambassadors like my bodyguard, Huoreh, just in case we run into any 'trouble.' But of course, for a larger purpose, I train the most powerful in the world, to follow me, and realize my power."

"You're really messed up," I spat at him behind my faceless mask. "Ah, young faceless lad, I will soon have the opportunity to dismantle that mask from your face, revealing who you are. But first, I give you my proposal. You two seemed to be quite the accomplished warriors, stealthily entering my compound. How would you like to be apart of our local operations?" He deviously inquired of us.

Hunteress growled in fury and bellowed her answer through the thick-paned window. "Never!" Her voice echoed.

Shran stood in his place, stroking his chin with his metal hand. "Ah, I was afraid this would happen. But do not worry, I will not kill you yet. Allow me to explain. You see these compartments around you? Well, these are filled with 'willing' test subjects. Subjects of whose side effects are studied by our very own scientists from our own testings of various chemicals. That's right, this isn't your average coke you're dealing with."

"See we're trying to 'weed' out the devastating side effects such as of those you see of the previous two young ladies that sit beside you. I believe you can be of great help to us in that department." I shuddered at the thought of being one of Shran's victims of experimentation. Natlie, bursting with fury tried once more to break down the door with her great strength.

"Ah, don't waste your strength, Ms. Potam. In due time, you shall be relaxed and most comfortable in your new home..." But before he could go any further, a messenger came from the next room to deliver a message.

"Sir!" The messenger cried out. Shran turned around, a bit disgruntled at the interruption. "What is it!?" He cried. The messenger began to explain in a slightly frantic voice. "There's someone that needs to see you!" Shran's left brow lowered. "In the dead of night?! Who dares? Tell them to go back to their room at once!" He ordered.

The small messenger turned his head around with clear sweat upon his face. He nervously turned back. "But sir...you see, she has already taken out two of your bodyguards! She says it is urgent!"

Shran groaned in anger, and ordered his guards to stand watch. "Watch them, and leave them be. I'll deal with them later. Right now, I must attend to certain distractions..." Shran then fled the room in flight in order to confront his problems.

Up in the office of Shran Kazuma, sat Kristy Collumbo in a small chair, with legs crossed and she wearing her apple-greem suit. Two bodyguards lay unconscious upon the floor. "Ah, Kristy, it's you. How nice of you to beckon me at such a dastardly hour."

"Don't play coy with me, Shran! You promised a fight with Bell! Kristy doesn't tolerate broken promises!" Shran slowly walked around his large imported oak desk and sat in the sizeable, comfort-bearing chair behind it. "Ah, but Ms. Collumbo, it would not be satisfying for one contestant to die in the first match. Besides...Bell has proven to be a great contender..."

"So what?" Kristy contended. "If you don't set things straight, I'm just gonna go after him on my own..." Before she could finish, Shran interrupted, digging his metal hand into the oak table that rested below, which made a loud, clunking noise. "There is just one problem, Ms. Collumbo. For you see, Joseph Bell cannot die. I bid you not to assassinate him. He could be of very good service to me..."

Kristy frowned, seemingly to pick up a suspicious tone from Shran. "What do you mean?" she wondered. She stood up from her chair, and laid her gloved hands upon the table. "You're up to something aren't you?"

Shran laughed at the comment, and put his feet upon the table. "Buaha, why, Ms. Collumbo, what ever gave you that idea?"

Kristy folded her arms. "Just seems a little odd, doesn't it? A tournament...held in the middle of nowhere, where everywhere else but here is devastatingly poor? You know, I have a questionable background myself, so I know how criminal minds operate..."

"Ah, so you see through my plans, Ms. Collumbo. You are very perceptive, and bright. You would be a powerful ally." Shran stood up from his chair and next to his drawer.

"Sorry, Shran, but Kristy Collumbo works alone," she dismissed the proposition. Slowly and quietly, Shran opened the door to his drawer, and put his metal hand in it while Kristy's head was turned away.

After some movements of the hands, he put both behind his back after closing the drawer lightly. "You wil join us...or die," he clarified.
Kristy distorted her brows once again. "What?" she said.

And quickly, like a bolt of lightning, Shran struck his metal hand forward, which now had the shape of a metal knife, and into Kristy. But with her rapid reflexes of a well-trained assassin, she eluded the blade in the knick of time.

Shran slashed at her once again, but she dodged. Kristy then countered with a kick of her long-heeled boot towards Shran's abdomen, but it was parried by his left hand. Shran then began to pick up the pace, as he studied the movements of his elusive opponent, and began to adjust himself to her movements.

With graduating speed he flurried his hands about in blurry motions, and continued to slash his blade at Kristy with great force. Unable to dodge eat rapid blow, she resorted to using her hands as protection to the rest of herself, but consequential results soon emerged. Slashes through her gloves and skin began to show as lines of red could be seen with droplets of blood trickling out.

Each time that Shran successfully landed a slice, Kristy winced as the aggravating pain soon began to use up her energy. Soon she found herself up against and a wall, and Shran delivered a stabbing strike into Kristy's abdomen, right below the rib. Kristy's stomach leapt backward in agony and shock at the sharp pain that was thrust through her. She grabbed her wound as Shran released his hand-blade from her skin.

He let her sink to the ground, as he went to retrieve a cloth to clean off the red stains that were left on his blade.

But just then, the same messenger returned with new news. "Master Shran!" He cried. "What is it!?" He retorted in anger, replacing the blade with his metal hand. "Someone has been spotted roaming the temple grounds!" the messenger replied. Shran, threw the towel to the ground in grand fury. "When will those fools ever learn!?" He bellowed in anger, and walked out of the room.

He ordered the guards on regular post to scout out the grounds to look for the third roamer. "Make sure NONE of the others leaves their room at nightfall! Or it's all of your heads!" He echoed across the room.

With that a dozen men fled out of the room into the night, and a dozen others went to alert the others to stay put.

Shadow D. was outside his room on the temple grounds listening to his rap album while watching the glistening moon. He had come out to take a breath of fresh air. All of a sudden, he heard commotion ringing through his door, and a guard came to him. "Excuse me sir, you must stay in the room, an intruder is on the grounds, and we don't know whether he is armed or dangerous!" Shadow D. looked crazily at the man. "What are you talkin' about?" he wondered. "Sir, it is Shran's orders!" Reluctantly, Shadow agreed and he went back into his room and laid upon his bed.

Edom too, was outside, having gone through the sliding doors of his own room. He was training in a small garden area that resided a few feet away. A bloated guard came by and told Edom of the news. "I see," Edom understood. "Well, I guess I will have to resume training tomorrow morning. I sincerely hope that this intruder is caught, so that the matches will be able to resume tomorrow," he said. And with that, he too returned to his room for some deep meditation.

The messenger reported back to Shran who stood waiting in the lobby. "Sir, there have been reports of two people who were not in their rooms in the previous hour," He explained. Shran was outraged. "Doesn't anyone sleep around here?!" He yelled.

He went back to his office room to receive some peace, but remembered that there was a lifeless body which lay in his room. But soon, as he found when he entered, the body was not in the place in which it had been, and there was a trail of blood that led to the open door near his desk, with wind blowing in from the east...

Meanwhile, Taoyu was busily sleeping in her room, with thumb in mouth, and snoring loudly, while a small candle dimly lit the area. A small thud awoke Taoyu with a start as she darted up from her lying stance and cautiously looked around. Soon she found the ailing Kristy Collumbo, oozing a trail of blood, and her window open.

Taoyu gasped and rushed to help the wounded woman. She gasped at the sight of the injury. "Oh my gosh, you're hurt!" She cried. Kristy slowly looked up. "You think?" she then winced in agony and clutched her wound.

"I'll get you some towels!" Taoyu cried. She rushed to the bathroom and retrieved a couple of elegant, costly custom his/her golden-lettered towels and returned to Kristy. She then carefully, applied pressure to her wounds to stop the bleeding. "How did this happen!?" she cried.

Kristy, drenched in a cold sweat, breathed heavily. "Listen Taoyu...you've got...ah...to leave...ah, the island. It's Shran....hagh....Now unless you're really focused on setting your path on the road to corruption...ah... which I'm sure you're the type...agh... I suggest you leave here as soon as possible.. ah.."

With that last breath, she fell unconscious in exhaustion. Taoyu then rested her atop the bed, and watched over her weakened condition.

After a while, she then rushed out of her room to her reporter friend's room to retrieve some help. She knocked, and when receiving no reply, she entered the unlocked door. Upon scanning the room she could not find any sign of her friend. "Where could he possibly be?" she whispered to herself. She looked everywhere, even in places where a person would most likely NOT be in the dead of night, in some cases: under the bed, drawers, in the tub, and finally she made a last effort and looked in the closet. In the closet, she found a small open suitcase, where in it was a small newspaper among others, with headlines of a mysterious character, which one read: "Faceless Lad and Windy Wonder Save Group of Young College Students From Mob." She looked the headlines in perplexity, one after another. "Faceless Lad?" she wondered to herself. She kept one, and ran out of the door...