Running (open, Lex, Christy)

Garulia revved the motorcycle as he sped along the beautiful countryside. Of course, he would have to dump it when it ran out of gas, but oh well.

This one was stolen from the government anyway.

He rode until he made it to a town. Luckily, the motorcycle was just on empty as he pulled up to a shack just outside of the limits. The shack was solid metal, with only three holes in the top for air, no bigger than a mans thumb. And above that was a regulator so that only air came through, and it repelled soundwaves. So no sound in, no sound out. Only gases.

As he heaved Lex inside, he pushed the motorcycle away. It was unadorned except for a metal bed and a few chains, with a chair off to the side.

Throwing Lex on the table, he chained him up and sat down in another chair, waiting for him to wake up.

Lex was unaware of what had taken place while he was unconcious, but he did know that Gar had taken him somewhere. His head felt like it had been jackhammered, and he opened his eyes slowly. Wincing slightly. He was in a shack of some sort. He turned his head and caught sight of Gar. He forgot his pain and roared, trying to sit up to rip Gar to threads, only to find himself effectivly chained. "When I get out of her Gar, I will tear you pieces!" He knew full well he was at the mercy of the other man, but his threat was still vicious.

Little did Lex know, the jack-hammered thought was surprisingly accurate.

Garulia laughed.

"Tear me to pieces? We'll see about that. First off: Tell me the inside scoop. What are you planning?" he said grinning and leaning back making the first two legs of the chair come off the floor. "Tell me nicely and you won't have to suffer."

Lex chuckled and leaned back, the ceiling looking rather bland. "You'll have to be more threatening than that to get anything out of me. I don't give up government secrets that easily, give me some credit here." He was goading him, and he knew it. Lex was not one to be intimidated easily either. "I'm not going to tell you shit."

Garulia's smile turned evil and deadly.

"You shouldn't have said that," he told Lex with a chuckle. From his pocket, he withdrew a rusty scalpel from the hospital's trash. "Still sharp..."

Slowly, Garulia edged the razor into Lex's arm. He allowed blood to come out as he slowly and shallowly cut up his arm.

Lex eyed him warily, but didn't say anything. He watched as Gar drew a rusty scalpal and laughed. "Tyring to give me diseases or what?" His eyes widened in shock as Gar stuck the edge in his skin, he jreked his arm slightly in pain as Gar edged the knife up his arm, making the cut deeper. "You sick bastard. You guys call me the bad guy?" He watched his blood pour out of his arm, and he looked away, trying not to grimace in pain.

"Desperate times," Garulia said. "Call for desperate measures. Besides, if I use my power I can heal you of any disease that might arise just by sucking up the particles in your system. But only if you talk."

He said, sitting back in his chair.

"I love causing enemies pain. Yes, you are the bad guy. You kill us on no pretense. We did nothing but be born, and you mark us for it."

In his eyes showed a pure hatred more so than anything Lex could throw at him. There was nothing kind, none of the kindness he showed anyone else, just pure, downright loathing.

"I'd kill you," he told Lex. "But someone else would take your place. I have to CONQUER you and if Christy's alive and you're dead than she'll probably take charge."

Lex looked at him, seething. "You are right, and I took desperate measures to unite the people, sure it caused your people to be hunted, but it also made me able to rebuild society to some extent. I'm not telling you anything!" He glared at Garulia. "You say I am the bad guy, but I'm not the one kidnapping babies, and raping women. Now am I? Sure, yes I am commiting genocide by trying to destroy you people, but I do it to save the human race from turning completly on each other."

He chuckled darkly. "If you killed me, you would make more enemies than you have now. Christy would not rest until you were dead. I have more supporters than you could ever imagine Gar." He spat the mans name, his anger very evident.

Garulia slammed his fist into the man's face.

"One: Christy deserved it."

Another punch.

"Two: Aren't you pushing them against themselves? I'M A HUMAN TOO!"

Another punch.

"Three: I'M GAR TO MY FRIENDS!"

With a final punch and shout, he sat back down in his chair, glaring at Lex.

Lex saw the first blow coming and braced himself. He saw stars as it landed, and looked defiantly up at Gar. After the fourth punch had been landed, Lex glared at Gar with bloodied hatred. His nose was oozing blood, and a bruise was forming upon his face, he could just feel it. His lip was bleeding as well, and he spat blood on the floor at Gars feet before speaking. "Christy did not deserve it, I was the one who fell in love with her first. You are just jealous it wasn't you she loved." He spat more blood. "You are far from human, trust me."Another sitwad of blood on the floor. "I have little respect for you, so I will call you whatever the fuck I want. Gar." He chuckled, knowing full well Garulia would be set off again.

Garulia slammed his fist down into Lex's face.

"Shut it. I don't want her to love me. In fact, the only reason she's still alive is because I don't like killing. Now you, I have NO respect for. You are farther from human. You can kill children and have no remorse? We are but 18 or 19 and you're killing us ALL for no damn REASON!"

Garulia shouted the last few words, lifting new chains up and fastening them to the bed and the ceiling. With that, he released the bed's legs.

Now Lex was in free fall.

"Have fun, Lexy!" he said laughing, sitting back down.

Lex took the blow, his blood warm as it trickled down his face. He just lay there, dazed for a minute. He shook his head, spraying blood everywhere. "If you didn't want her to love you, why are so obsessed with her? I haven't heard a word about Amir being a traitor. You do know she came to get help from us? As for killing children, well, you appear pretty damn dangerous where the people are concerened. They don't worry, so I don't worry. I may be far from human, but I do have emotion. You are no different than me, you would do whatever it takes to make your followerd happy. I do the same thing for mine. Humans cannot function without war."

Lex was jerked in mid-air by the chains, and he grunted in pain as it wrenched him. His head hung to his chest, and he laughed. "Are you going to put a crown of thorns on my head too?"

"Yes they can. It's your fault and only yours that this started in the first place!" Garulia shouted at him. "Amir is a pawn in your system now, not a queen. Christy's the queen right now. Sadly, we're both kings, and the rules say we cannot take each other. But hurting each other...that's a different story."

Garulia laughed as the man swung.

"No, a new chain. A chain of thorns underneath your neck that holds your head up. I might. I'll get people on that."

Lex chuckled again. "I did not start it, Russia started it. Amir is no pawn of mine, I don't control her in the least bit. As for being a king...I'm a lot more regal than you my friend. It is a sad day when the "bad" guy has more morals than the "good" guy."

Lex looked up at Garulia a smirk on his lips. "I guess you didn't catch the bible reference. I doubt you even know what a bible is." He chuckled. "I'm motherfucking Jesus!"

"I know what a bible is," Garulia said, annoyed. "Have I ever read it? No. We're already in hell, why read about it? Then again, when we look at our new neighbors, we see that the bible is full of shit and that people had just stumbled into a portal and wrote about it. Jesus? I'm sorry, I don't see you walking on water. And Jesus was no king, from what I remember. He was a smart priest. Now the bible is okay...as guidelines, not to set your life on. All this talk about religion! I hate it, you love it. Another big difference."

Lex turned his chuckle into a full laugh and sneered at Gar. "Maybe you should take the time to read it before spouting off shit you don't know, Garulia." He swung himself with his laughter, turning into a gasp of pain as his midsection was wrenched. "Jesus is the one and only true king Garulia, I am the only true king. Jesus hung on a cross for what he believes in, I am in a parody of that situation.You may hate me, and I assure you I am not advocating the bible, but there are more people that hate your kind, and fear me at the same time." He tried to stop the momentum of his swing, his muscles bulging. "What do you plan to gain from keeping me? More hatred towards you? If you had enemies before, you will have even more now."

"Ha! Those who liked you hated me on principal. Those who hated me liked you. Those who liked me hated you. Those who hated you liked me. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. No matter what, the one true king has been named throughout history. King Arthur, Jesus, etcetera. King Solomon was a 'true king.' What does it matter? Jesus was just a respected person who spread religion. Then another group of people killed him for it. The Romans. He was making their religion obsolete. But they made the same mistake you are making," Garulia told him shrugging. "They killed the leader of the free people, even though he didn't take charge necessarily. I was picked. The greatest ruler, is one who doesn't do it willingly!"

He bent his head and looked away.

"It's time to send for your wife."

Standing up, he walked outside and padlocked the door from the outside before slamming the metal grate shut. Waving at a man, he sent him off to deliver his note.

Meet me in front of St. Marks, bring my daughter, was all it said. St. Marks being the village he was next to. It was well known, and his messenger was to escort her back here.

There was a portal next to the hospital that he would be using and a sort of conveyor type thing that would lower her into a wheelchair that the man would be using to take her back to Garulia.

So, Gar stood outside the town on the main path, waiting.

Christy was pacing back and forth in the hospital. They had released her and Alessandra just a few moments before she got the note. She knew exactly who it had been from. She knew she couldn't show up without Alessandra, otherwise Lex might get hurt or worse killed. She knew that was already a possibility that he could be dead now but she didn't think Gar would do something like that to her. She had a feeling deep down he still somewhat cared for her.

She looked down at their daugher and held her tightly tears streaming from her eyes. She knew something would have to happen for her to get Lex back, but she didn't necessarily want to give up her daughter either. She looked at the guy that had brought the note, "If you so much as even look at me I'll kill you." she said making the air around him go dangerously cold just to prove her point.

She turned down the wheelchair and walked out of the hospital following the messenger through the portal and into the little village. She stood there waiting.

The messenger shrugged and led her to the village. With that, he slunk into the shadows and out of sight.

"Christy Christy Christy..." a voice said from behind her. Garulia stepped out and grinned, resting his chin on the end of his sword which was now embedded in the ground. "You have my daughter, I see. Now choose. Your husband, or your daughter?"

Abrupt and to the point, just the way Gar liked it!

Lex watched Gar leave, his face red. "Don't you dare bring her into this you bastard!" He knew his yelling wouldn't make Gar stop, but Lex did not want Christy to have to make that choice. He wrenched his hands trying to get free, his wrists rubbing raw until they bled. He looked around him desperatly. "Fuck!" He said it to no one, the room was empty.

Christy jumped when she heard Gar say her name. "He's not my husband yet." she said looking at him and then down at their daughter. She held the girl tighter to her. She didn't want to have to make the choice he was wanting her to do. "For all I know you've already killed him." she said looking at him, "I won't make any choices Gar until you let me see him."

Garulia shrugged and pulled his sword up out of the ground.

"That way," he said, pointing in the direction of the shed. "But first...can I hold my daughter? If I try to run you can freeze me. I just...wanna see her up close for the first time..."

His eyes glazed with real tears, beseeching her.

Christy looked at him hesitantly, "You swear you'll give her right back to me?" she asked crying the entire time because she knew it would come to where she'd have to pick between her daughter and Lex. She didn't want to have to do that. She felt torn...as much as she disliked Gar for what he did, she still did care for their daughter.

She looked in the direction of the shed, "You can hold her as you're taking me to him." she said looking at him.

"Yes, I swear, please!" Garulia said, holding out his arm, one arm still holding out his sword towards the warehouse. "I know you hate me but...my daughter..."

His words grumbled together as he glanced at the ground.

"If I try to run you can kill me. I swear."

"Put the sword down and you can hold her." she said looking at him. She held her hand out for the sword. She could easily handle the weapon and holding Alessandra easily. Once he either put it up or handed it to her she handed the baby to him. Her arms already felt empty as did her heart. She looked like she was about to fall down from her tears as he held Alessandra. "Lead the way." she said between sobs.