Mt. Enigma

Chapter 7

Her knees shaking like a leaf when she saw the tip of the knife sticking out of the wall and it was held by a hand that seemed to belong to a man, wearing black gloves. The dazzling reflection of the sun on its blade even hit her eyes. That caused her to close her eyes as her arms to block her face.

Vynx took it one step further. "Don't come closer," he said firmly and took another step back. 

As she looked at the floor, a pair of shoes also stepped forward towards Vynx. Her fear increased and her throat began to dry. She worried that the man might suddenly rush to hurt Vynx.

Vynx took another step back. And as the man in front of him stepped forward. She saw only half of his body. He was wearing black pants, a long-sleeved black shirt but the sleeves were slightly raised that his triangle-shaped tattoo on his arm could be seen, and it looked like there was a rosary around the base of it. 

The rosary is red, the triangle is green, but it's not a perfect triangle shape. It is slightly tilted. When she looked at his face it was covered in a black bonnet so she couldn't recognize him.

"W-Who are you? What do you need from me?" Vynx asked. His back hit the railing. She felt a little dizzy because they were here on the deck of the ship where her body could feel its sailing. It only recovers due to the strong wind she met.

The man didn't speak and Vynx stared at him for a few seconds. "V-Vynx, he...he has a knife," she said shakily.

Vynx looked at her as if he only noticed now that she was there with him. "C-Chaleigh? What—"

She let out a loud cry as the man raised the knife to take advantage of Vynx talking to her. But Vynx quickly looked at the man and immediately caught his arm holding a knife. She screamed even louder and her blood run cold. "Vynx!"

"Just go!" Vynx ordered her with difficulty as he forcefully defended himself against the man. He looked like a body builder compared to him. "I said go Chaleigh!"

She didn't know how to calm herself. Every move of the knife in everywhere while they were fighting was the same force as her scream. "Be careful, Vynx!"

"Get out of here!" He quickly slammed the man's arm against the railing. She heard his groan but still fought and Vynx struggled.

"Enough! Let him go!" she shouted and didn't know which part of her face she was going to touch because she's panicking. Is it in her ear? In her mouth? In her cheek? She confused. She wanted to help Vynx but she's afraid that the point of the knife might go through her if she got too close.

Her scream got louder when Vynx fell to the floor. The man rode at the top of him and her tears fell from fear. She cried even more when she saw that the knife pointed at Vynx's eye and the man tried to press it but Vynx still pushed his arm. But even so, if that lasts, Vynx will also get tired.

"C-Call for help!" he ordered her while trying hard to fight the man.

"W-Where? Who?" She didn't know what to do yet.

"Hurry up, Chaleigh!"  

She let out another scream as the tip of the knife hit the floor just near Vynx's ear. Vynx's eyes widened at that but he had a chance to stomp the man in the thigh. 

The man writhed in pain. She walked backwards to ask for help. But she's afraid to leave him because maybe something bad happened to Vynx when she returned.

Vynx kick on the man's knee. He was already on the floor and he made one more kick to the man's face. Now the man grabbing his nose. When she saw Vynx getting up and the man couldn't move properly, she ran away from them. 

She was even confused about the doors through which she would enter. First, she entered the wrong door. She saw a seafarer and she is the one, she rushed to but the lady still confused by her reactions. She left her and looked for the door where they were Mamo.

Her tears were falling from fear and she entered another door. She bumped into a woman and fell to the floor. 

"Chaleigh?" 

She knew whose voice it was, she just couldn't look at her because her eyes were blurring with so much dizziness. She just blinked and soon her vision cleared. When she looked at her, it was Vyze. "What happened to you?"

She quickly grabbed her by the arm, she still on the floor at that time. "V-Vyze! Something happened to Vynx!" she said crying. 

The expression on Vyze face changed. "He's on danger. The man will stab him!" she explained frightened and her lips were still shaking.

"What?!" Vyze exclaimed and her eyes widened. Even the people around them were surprised by what she was saying, especially her reaction.

"The man has a knife. He's going to kill Vynx!" Even she hardly knows how to speak well. The people around are automatically whispering.

"Where? Why? Who's the guy? Where's Vynx, Chaleigh?" she asked urgently and spilled the drink she was holding.

"Outside!" she answered quickly while groaning and shaking her hands pointing Vynx's direction. "On the deck, on the terrace over there with the taper—j-just, in the bow!" She was even confused as to what Vynx's whereabouts were called.

Vyze quickly stood up and ran outside. "Vyze!" Her fear increased even more because she's the one to rush out. "Vyze!" She tried to stand up but she groaned again when she felt the pain in her leg. It still has a little bruise.

"Chaleigh! What happened—"

"Wynce! Please help!" she said pleadingly.

"Oh okay," he said and quickly approached her. He remove his hand when he touched her.

"No!" Wynce stopped but she pointed outside. "V-Vynx is dangerous, please help. The man will kill him."

"Huh? Where?"

"Just outside! Get out, then look to the right and go to the end, quick!" She felt annoyed but he seemed to get what she meant right away. He immediately stood up and ran outside.

In Vynx's situation, the man is currently strangling him and squeezing of his neck blocks his breathing. His weight adds to his suffering because he was too big a person. 

Maybe he's thirty-five years old based on his behavior and body shape. He also tried to recognize him even just by his eyes but he didn't even become familiar with the man. His face was covered by black bonnet so there was no hope that he could see the man's face.

He coughed from the agony. When he tried to catch a glimpse of the thrown knife earlier, it was too far from them.

He just tried to reach for his shirt and pulled to hit the railing but it just stretched. He tried to wiggle his way out of it but that didn't work either. 

"L-Let go of me!" It's hard for him to speak. He was getting weak but he had no intention of giving up. 

He couldn't be killed without knowing the reason so he prepared himself to pour his strength to punch him in the face, but suddenly he hit the railing at the same time as a woman shouted, "Let go of my brother!"

The man groaned and held his head. When he looked at the woman he immediately recognized her—Vyze.

"V-Vynx!" 

She rushed her feet came to him and held him by the arm to help him get up. While she was pulling him, he touched his throat. 

"Get up! Hurry!" Vyze said crying. 

The man rushed again and then choked him by the neck. When Vyze noticed that he couldn't get out, she pushed the man and that he got off of him.  

"Go leave!" He pushed Vyze because the situation was difficult. He intended to take the knife but the man was already on his feet. He was just worried that maybe if he did that, Vyze would be captured by him.

"No! What about you, huh? He's going to hurt you Vynx—"

"Go away! Go!" 

It was even more difficult for him because he was just sitting on upright when he saw the man who quickly crawled towards where the knife was. 

He tried to kick it, but it only went away a little so he decided to take the lead in getting it.

"Vynx!"

He didn't touch anything because the knife was already in the man's hand. He noticed that the man looked at Vyze while standing up. He quickly stood up and pulled his twin sister when she was about to be stabbed by the man. 

The blade just hit the air and he saw Vyze's eyes widen in surprise as she looked at it. She was almost cut with a knife. 

"What do you need?" he asked irritably and coughed even more. He was just annoyed with this man that he hadn't spoken since earlier. He does not answer his questions.

"W-Who are you? Why do you want to hurt my brother?" Vyze asked whining as he held her waist. "What wrong did he do to you?" The man didn't answer either, instead he quickly approached them and intended to hurt one of them again. But he once again grabbed his arm with the knife.

He wanted to send Vyze away but he too had hardened his strength. "Who are you? Why don't you answer me?" Vyze shouted and his brother leaned against the railing with man's strength. He planned to spit on his thigh but suddenly he pushed Vyze out of the railing.

"Vyze!" he screamed in panic at the same time as Vyze was clinging to the steel and below it was the main forecastle deck of the ship.

"Vynx!" she cried out in fear, his eyes widened. It was the floor below and he was sure that if Vyze let go she would break a bone when she fell down there. 

"Hold on!" he instructed and quickly twisted the man's arm.  

He tried to punch him but he thought of a more effective way. He twisted the man's arm even more until he let go of the knife. At least he has the ability to match his strength even though he doesn't have enough knowledge when it comes to this type of battle unlike his best friend Wynce who is good at martial arts.

"Vynx I can not take it anymore!" his sister crying, begging him and he even more worried about it. Even if others say that they don't get along and there are many times that they always quarrel, he still won't let her get hurt.

"I'm coming!" He quickly kicked the knife away from them but the direction of what he did was wrong. 

It splashed with the force of his kick and the man looked at it. It fell to the bottom and he stunned that there might be someone else there.

The man pulled him with all his might towards Vyze when Wynce suddenly arrived. "Vyze! Oh, my god! No!" he shouted and quickly approached them to attack the man but suddenly the man kicked Vyze's hand.

He screamed in worry when one of her hands let go of the railing. Vyze also screamed in fear. 

He let go of the man and immediately came to his sister. He quickly grabbed one of her hands that was still holding onto the railing. "Hold on!" He handed one of his hands to her. Vyze couldn't stop crying. 

"I-I'm scared!" She shook her head and tried to look down.

"Here's my hand, h-hold on," he said. One of the most painful scenario for him was to see the tears falling from his twin sister's eyes. "Keep holding," he whispered, feeling hoarse.

"The knife!" Vyze cried and looked down again. "The knife underneath!" When he peeked down, he even more felt a bundle of nerves. 

The handle of the knife was buried in the hole in the floor, apparently it had hit. Of all the holes in the floor that was the biggest and that was where the handle hit. Its tip is pointing upwards and when he lets go of his sister, she will fall on the very tip of it.

"J-Just hold on!" after he said those words his tears fell. He knew that at this time Wynce and the man were currently fighting.

"Bax! Please help Vyze!" he heard Wynce order. It's the sign that their companions have also arrived.

"Oh my god! The knife underneath!" He has also heard Mamo's voice. 

With Vyze's weight, the bone in his shoulder seems to be broken from being pressed against the railing, but that does not mean that he will let go of his sister. 

Fortunately, Bax is also prompt. He quickly grabbed Vyze's hand. "Hold...tight—ly!" Bax couldn't speak straight because of Vyze's weight as they pulled her up. When she got up, she immediately stepped on the railing. 

She quickly jumped up and hugged him while crying. When he looked at the man, Colthen, Wynce and Nivo were currently fighting with him.

The man has no way to escape, because he is surrounded by people. Wanting to run away because he was already injured, he chose to jump down. 

His jump was still sloppy, due to his panicked—his hand that holding the railing slipped. He only closed his eyes when he heard the man fall down. He even hugged his sister tightly. 

But people screaming. When he looked at them, he saw that many were startled, looking down and while others were covering their mouths. Others currently gaping. 

He and Vyze looked at each other, and together they peered down. When he saw what the people saw, his eyes widened. Vyze also tightened her grip on his arm.

The man was lying on the floor, his eyes openly wide and his blood gushing out of his mouth. He also saw the tip of the knife that had slipped through his throat.