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Chapter 13 Chester, gun in hand was hot on the heels of Shifty, running down tiny passages, up steps, through doors. They were heading for the roof. Chester could hear the rain pelting down on the metal and asphalt roofing above him. Suddenly they were outside. It was raining so hard that Chester was soaking almost immediately. From the roof he could see the whole of downtown LA, but Chester’s sight was focussed on one thing. Shifty was walking backwards away from Chester, never taking his eyes off the gun Chester held before him. He quickly realised he’d dropped his own gun on route somewhere. ‘Clearly Shifty’s not armed with a gun – he’d have shot me by now’ thought Chester. He had the advantage this time. Mike was running blindly. He had no idea which way Rhiannon had been taken. He came to a section of the corridor that went off in four directions and stopped short. His body seemed to choose the direction for him. He turned, opened his eyes and ran, with Brad not far behind. “C’mon then Bennington – shoot me!…” Shifty was taunting him. Back in the main room, Rob, Phoenix and Joe had tied Wes Borland, Sam Rivers and Jon Otto to chairs. DJ Lethal was dead, his skull smashed from the impact of Phoenixs’ foot. Otto and Rivers were bleeding from their gunshot wounds and they were still conscious. Mike and Brad below ground. They were in the basement. They tried several of the doors and found them locked. Mike could not sense any sign of Rhiannon. They made there way through another corridor. Grabbing the gun, he pointed it at the lock and pulled the trigger. The force of the gun leaving the bullet surprised him, but the door flew open. Chester was right. They arrived
at the docks and saw the black Mustang parked near the warehouse where
Mike had killed Epic Mazur. As they got out of the car, they could see a
male figure running from the warehouse. There was no sign of Rhiannon
though. “Mike, me and Chester will
check inside the warehouse,” called Brad. “You four go after him!” They ran after the man,
cornering him on a jetty – his face remained in the shadows,
maintaining his anonymity. “Where is she?” Mike
demanded, gun in hand, shaking with anger - and fear for Rhiannon’s
safety. “Why do you care? You’re
gonna be six feet under again soon!” said a familiar voice. Mike pressed the trigger and the
bullet hit the man square in the chest. “Ouch, damn these bullet proof
vests!” He raised his arm, so that Linkin park could just make out the
gun in his hand. “I’ve lost interest in all
this now – your ‘girlfriend’ is gonna die!” A muffled cry could be heard
from somewhere behind him. “Are you ashamed of yourself
– why don’t you show your face?” asked Chester walking towards the
lads, with Brad close behind. A single street lamp cast a beam
of light between them and him. The guy stepped forwards into it, causing
all six of them to catch their breath. “Fred Durst!” chorused Brad
and Rob. “Why?” asked Chester. “Did
you mastermind our deaths a year ago as well?” “Yeah, I did. You guys wrecked
our popularity – with you out of the way, we had a chance of success
again. Those wankers from Crazytown, also had a personal grudge against
you, so they were more than happy to do the dirty work”. “Well I don’t see the fans
queued up to see you now – you’ve just become some sad, pathetic,
power hungry dickhead, so your plan failed don’t you think?” Chester
continued. “And now we’re back, and your gonna die” said Brad, attacking with no forethought. He lunged at Fred with a knife he’d picked up earlier. Fred attempted to dodge the blade, but it grazed his left arm, drawing blood. Brad stumbled and fell. Fred Durst turned and aimed the
gun into the blackness, firing twice. The first bullet hit something
wooden, it sounded like. The second caused a muffled female scream. “Fuck!” Mike breathed
staring into the sheer darkness. His legs gave way beneath him in
horror. “Hang on Mike,” said
Chester. “We need to finish this…quickly.” Rob aimed his gun at Fred’s
legs and watched as the body gave way with the agony of the kneecaps
shattering. “You can kill me…” Fred
spoke through gritted teeth, “…but I’ll win in the end”. “Chester ran forwards and
kicked Fred in the face knocking him backwards. He struggled back
grasping the lamp post for support. “You’ll never win,” said
Mike having found his feet, and approaching Fred, ready to attack. But Durst was too quick for him.
Suddenly Mike felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He stepped back in
shock, and saw the blood ooze from a puncture wound, small but deep. Joe ended it. He came up from
Fred’s right side, grabbed his head back and siced his neck from left
to right. Fred Durst fell forward, clutching his throat, writhing as the blood poured from his throat and his mouth. Then he lay still and silent. He was dead. Phoenix came running towards them from the direction of the car with a powerful flashlight in his hand. He and Mike ran to the end of the jetty looking for any sign of Rhiannon. Flashing the torch all around,
the light caught a body lying in the water, face down, and a small
wooden boat just sinking below the surface out of sight. Forgetting the pain from his own injury, Mike dived into the water and swam out to her body. As he brought her closer to the
shore, Brad and Rob helped Mike to lift her waterlogged body out of the
water. They quickly removed her gag and bonds. Rhiannon was motionless. The
water had been freezing. Linkin Park crowded around feeling helpless.
Mike’s face was wet, whether from his tears or the cold water, no-one
was really sure. He held her, trying to warm her. He could feel her
heart beat, so there was a chance. “C’mon, come back to me,”
he whispered as he tried to get her to cough up any water she’d
swallowed. After what seemed like hours,
but was really a minute or less, Rhiannon coughed, spitting the water
out. She was shaking from the cold as she inhaled deep gulps of air.
Brad spotted where she’d been hit by the bullet. It had gone into her
upper arm, but from what he could see, only the wound was there now, the
bullet had gone. Gathering his strength, Mike picked Rhiannon up and carried her back to the car. Chester got in the driving seat and Brad got in next to him. Mike held Rhiannon in the back seat. He explained to Chester how to get to Rhiannon’s place. Rob, Joe and Phoenix decided to walk as it was not far. They followed as the car drove away. Back at Rhiannon’s apartment Chester ran her a hot bath. The lads waited in the lounge to make sure she was alright before they left her. Once she was warm and dry, Brad took a look at the wound. He dressed it for her with a first aid kit she kept in the kitchen. Rob made her a cup of tea, while
Mike sat on an armchair near her, with his head in his hands,
apologizing profusely. “Its not your fault,” said
Rhiannon sleepily. She put her hand on his knee. “You saved me – you all came
to find me and for that, I thank you. Now Mike, where’s that smile I
remember?” Mike looked up at her, managing
a weak smile. The sky was beginning to lighten – it would be daylight in about two hours. Rhiannon closed her eyes for a moment. Rhiannon opened her eyes. Had she dozed off? Looking at the clock she noticed
that only about 30 minutes had gone by. She also noticed that she was
alone. Suddenly Rhiannon felt an overwhelming loss. She hadn’t said goodbye. She hadn’t thanked them properly. Getting up off the couch, and
pulling some clothes on, as she was still in her bathrobe, she grabbed
her keys and shot back out of her apartment. The traumatic events of the
past couple of days seemed a distant memory. The rain had eased off although a fine drizzle still fell. As she ran through the streets, she felt her hair curl up with the dampness in the air. She knew where they were headed, and she hoped she would catch them in time. Linkin Park had returned to the
cemetery from which they came. “What happens now?” asked
Rob apprehensively. “Do we have to re-bury ourselves?” “Pass,” said Chester, as
puzzled as the rest. They sat down on the ground hoping it would just swallow them up and solve all their problems. The sky was lightening rapidly.
Chester’s thoughts were
with Sam, and Sam alone now – they would have been married for six
years now if they had been alive. I love you and I miss you so
much His eyes watered and he removed his glasses and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Mike started at a sound. He
heard feet running along the wet sidewalk. Getting to his feet he went over
to the gateway. She was running towards him and he went to meet her. “I had to say goodbye!” she
was out of breath. Mike caught her in his arms and
hugged her tight. Her heart was racing. “You were hero’s all of you.
I’d have been killed if it wasn’t for you guys”. The rest of Linkin Park came
over and Rhiannon let go of Mike who released her with some reluctance,
from his arms. “I wanted to thank you guys
properly. I adored you music when you were alive – I still listen to
it now.” Rhiannon blushed furiously. “I just wanted to say thanks,
again.” Chester approached Rhiannon and
gave her a bear hug. The other guys followed suit. Although they
hadn’t known her very long, they felt like they were saying goodbye to
an old friend. Rob and Brad kissed her on the cheek. She turned to Mike
and the two of them caught each others eye. A tear slid silently down her
face as she knew this would be the last time she would ever see them.
Chester, Rob, Brad, Joe and Phoenix all move quietly away, leaving the
two of them staring at each other without a word. Mike moved towards Rhiannon. He
took her face in his hands and slowly lowered his lips to hers. They
kissed slowly and deeply, they’re arms wrapped around each other,
bodies moulded together almost as one being. For a split second, Mike
thought he felt his heart beat again, in time with hers. Neither wanted
it to end, but both knew that it had to. They separated slowly, forced by
time and fate. Rhiannon turned and started to walk away. After a few
feet she turned and looked one last time at Mike. His eyes were trained
on the ground, but sensing her eyes on him, he looked up and smiled that
smile she had never forgotten. “I’ll never forget you Mike Shinoda,” she spoke sadly, although smiling back at him. Then she turned and left the graveyard. A strong wind blew up bringing
with it heavy rain. Chester sat down on the ground, his head gripped
tightly in his hands. He didn’t even notice he was suddenly alone. The
other five men had vanished. They’re graves lay undisturbed as though
none of the previous events had ever occurred. Chester felt familiar eyes on him and looked up. He stared straight into the face of his beloved Samantha. She looked beautiful wearing a long dark red gown, her blonde hair shimmering. Chester was so shocked he
couldn’t move. Samantha bent down to him and took him in her arms. He
had never felt such love, relief and protection. He allowed her spirit
to fill him with warmth and love. “We’ll always be together
now,” she whispered. “I love you,” Chester whispered back as their spirits vanished, leaving the graveyard an empty place, completely undisturbed. The only thing remaining was the rain beating down on the gravestones as the new day began. THE END | Fiction
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| TOP | Last updated 15 February 2002 19:42 (AUS EST / +1000 GMT). | ||
