Chapter 39: Chapter 39
He then raised his head to Yelena, looking straight into her eyes, a warm, searching expression on his face.
"Didn’t think you worried about me at all. Guess you really can’t handle seeing me go under." Eric said, a soft, warm smile on his face, feeling a little touched by her earlier defense.
Yelena squinted her eyes slightly, giving Eric a look of confusion, as if he had completely misunderstood her words for something entirely different.
"Don’t flatter yourself. The only reason I need you alive is because I was ordered to bring you back... alive," Yelena replied, her tone cold, sharp, and direct. She walked away from him, turning her back to Eric as she slowly scanned the room.
"And besides... If you die, you won’t get to see that daughter of yours," Yelena added, her cold voice cutting through the air.
Eric, a little puzzled by her reply, had an eyebrow raised as he watched her go completely silent after she spoke.
Noticing the silence and the weird, slow turns she was making, Eric sensed something was amiss. He also began looking around, wondering what the issue might be. His gaze swept over one corner, then another, then a third, and finally, a frown crept onto his face as he realized what was going on.
"There’s no door," Eric spoke, a serious tone and expression on his face, the realization hitting him hard.
"My thoughts exactly," Yelena replied as she continued her meticulous inspection.
It was a wide, but fairly long room with them at the far back. Apart from the wall that Brygo had manipulated to reveal the weapon collection, there was not a single visible opening on the rest of the structure. It was all flat and sealed.
"Bloody hell!" Eric cursed in sudden realization.
He then walked up to a wall and began touching every part of it, desperately trying to find a hidden seam or trigger mechanism, anything that might reveal an opening, just as Brygo had done with the weapon wall.
"We’ve gotta move. Now. Grab the bloody Nebulux before some other bastard does." Eric said, his hands rubbing furiously against the cold walls, searching for any break in the surface.
Yelena, on the other hand, stood perfectly still and watched him, not flinching or showing any interest in lending a hand. Eric, noticing this, turned around, feeling a sharp concern that she wasn’t worried about their predicament.
"Don’t just stand there, do something," Eric said loudly, now walking past Yelena to pick up a heavy, chainsaw like weapon from the floor.
"I don’t think any of that would work," Yelena said, watching Eric pick up the weapon and walk to a different wall.
"We’re sealed in."
She added.
Completely ignoring her, he reached the wall and began to smash the heavy weapon hard into the surface, trying to crack or possibly break it. But to his shock, his attack placed not a single scratch on the wall.
He began smashing harder and harder, yet still, the wall remained pristine. Frustrated and worried, he yelled.
"What the bloody hell!" His voice echoed loudly within the confining room.
He then felt he couldn’t do it alone and needed assistance. Seeing Yelena was clearly not an option due to her absolute lack of interest, he turned around to the only available person.
"Jimmy!" he called out in a loud tone.
As he turned, he was completely shocked by what he saw. Jimmy was standing quietly still in front of Brygo, fixated on the dead body, his eyes slightly wide.
Eric stunned to see Jimmy in such a state, thought to himself that perhaps the young man was finding it difficult to process everything that had just happened, it might be his first time seeing a dead person, or the first time someone was killed in his presence.
"Kid... Kid!!!" Eric called out once more, trying to snap Jimmy out of it.
Hearing his loud voice, Jimmy instantly snapped back and raised his head to Eric, his eyes still slightly widened.
"Yeah, I know exactly what you’re thinking. Stop. It’s sorted. Probably the least awful outcome, all things considered." Eric said softly but loud enough for Jimmy to hear.
"I know it’s eating at you, but listen, it had to be done. Him or us. Sometimes you’ve gotta make the ugly call to walk out alive. So let it go, yeah? Don’t lose sleep over it."
Hearing his words, Jimmy slightly nodded, still fixated at Brygo, before slowly moving away from him and walking hurriedly toward Eric.
"What do you need help with?" Jimmy said, slightly feeling himself again as he reached Eric.
"Bringing down this bloody wall, that’s what," Eric said to Jimmy, stretching out a heavy hammer, which Jimmy received.
Eric then began to pound on the wall once more.
Seeing him start hitting the wall, Jimmy was ready to assist him, raising his hand with the hammer to smash the wall.
But before he could land a hit, Yelena grabbed his wrist from behind as he lifted his arm.
"There’s no need for that," Yelena said to Jimmy as she held tightly onto his wrist before letting go, completely stopping him from proceeding.
"Even if he doesn’t get it, you should," Yelena said to Jimmy, standing taller next to him as she looked at him from over his shoulder.
Eric, confused by her sudden input, stopped what he was doing and turned to them.
"What the hell’s that supposed to mean?" he said loudly, slightly offended by her commentary as he turned.
Hearing him, Yelena turned her face to Eric and stared coldly at him, her eyes heavily narrowed and concentrated without a single blink.
After a few moments, she grabbed Jimmy by the shoulder and walked him away from Eric to a different part of the room.
Jimmy tagged quietly along, wondering what might be the issue all of a sudden, turning around briefly in confusion to gaze at Eric as they walked away. And then they stopped.
"I know this isn’t the right time to say this, but... he’s a complete moron," Yelena said, her face fixed coldly forward as she spoke.
Stunned by her words, Jimmy raised his head and tilted it to face Yelena, a bit of confusion painted on his face.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" Jimmy asked, confused as he awaited a response.
Yelena stayed silent for a while before proceeding to speak.
"Right now, it seems we’re the only reasonable people in the room," she spoke, breaking her silence, still fixated coldly away from Jimmy’s gaze as she now folded her arms together.
"It’s very clear that the walls are all made of titanium, even if they’re disguised as bricks. But sadly, the smartest person in the room is too dumb to notice," she added, tilting her head slightly sideways as she hissed.
"Maybe he’s still mentally stressed like I am. He might act tough sometimes, and I do see a few cracked moments," Jimmy replied, seemingly having a proper conversation with Yelena, his tone calm and relieved.
"I’m guessing that should be the case, because he’s starting to think I care about him just because I saved his ass," Yelena hissed, her eyes rolling away.
Hearing her words, Jimmy’s eyes and emotions brightened up as he looked at Yelena’s face, a new sense of realization and curiosity sparking in him.
"Well, do you... care about him?" Jimmy asked, his gaze facing upwards as he curiously waited for her response.
Yelena fell silent for a bit, her expression and pose still unfazed. It was clear to Jimmy that the question was somewhat a complicated one. He stared intently at Yelena, and just then, he noticed something subtle.
Her cheeks were tenderly becoming redder by each passing second as she maintained her cold gaze forward.
"Oh my God, you’re blushing," Jimmy said loudly but softly and controlled, a wide smile creeping onto his face, surprised and slightly joyous.
"You’re hallucinating," Yelena replied immediately, her voice cold and sharp as she flatly denied it.
Jimmy suddenly felt a warmth within him and had a soft smile on his face as he giggled silently. He then calmly moved sideways to Yelena, closing the gap between them.
"Don’t worry, it’s our little secret," he whispered to her, his voice and expression enlightened.
Hearing him, Yelena narrowed her eyes coldly at Jimmy, feeling slightly disgusted at his presumption as she stared in silence.
"It’s not a secret, Jimmy. Get your head straight," she said to Jimmy, her tone slightly offended by his reply.
"Oh brilliant, priorities sorted. Saving the cat before the house burns down... we’ve got walls to smash, for God’s sake, hello!!!" Eric immediately popped in out of nowhere, completely interrupting their conversation as he stood directly in front of them, holding the hammer and chain weapon as he gestured.
Yelena and Jimmy’s attention instantly fixated on the very outspoken Eric.
"See what I mean," Yelena said, narrowing her eyes back to Jimmy right beside him as she kept her arms folded and her gaze cold.
"Yeah, I see it now"
Jimmy reply, a warm smile creeping on his face.
Just before Eric could utter another single word, the wall behind him but facing Jimmy and Yelena suddenly made a mechanical sound and began to slowly slide up.
Eric and Jimmy were stunned by this. Eric immediately whirled around to face the opening, his arms widely stretched apart, holding on to the weapons.
"Sir, there a call from South Farel you need to—" A soldier spoke up as he came out from the other side, but immediately stopped as he noticed Eric, Jimmy, and Yelena looking directly at him.