The dull sound of the impact drowned Maria's scream while the wood split, unable to resist the violence of the blow.
The subject instantly went rigid, as if his wires had been cut, and the knife slipped from his fingers to hit the floor with a metallic clatter.
However, the nightmare did not end there.
Instead of falling, the man swayed on his heels and turned with a dreadful slowness, when the grotesque mask was in front of Maria, his eyes did not reflect pain, but a homicidal incredulity.
"Ah..."
A moan escaped from Maria's throat. Her legs, turned into gelatin by the lack of adrenaline, gave way under her weight, collapsing her onto the floor. The piece of wood that remained in her hand slipped from her numb fingers.
All her courage had been exhausted in that single blow.
The subject shook his head to clear it and let out a low roar and completely ignoring Jennifer, he focused his fury on the girl on the floor.
"Hey, big guy. Do not forget about me."
Just in the instant when he was leaning toward Maria, a red blur crossed the room.
Jennifer closed the distance like lightning and adhered to the man's back before he could react.
"Hmph!"
With lethal precision, she brought down the tip of her elbow with a devastating force directly into his kidney, punishing the unprotected lumbar area.
"Ugh!"
The man let out a moan and his back arched involuntarily from the pain, leaving him completely vulnerable.
Jennifer did not give him even an instant to recover his breath, bringing down her rigid right hand in a brutal edge blow against the side of his neck, aiming directly at the carotid artery.
Pum
This was the drop that broke his resistance, his eyes rolled back and his body surrendered, collapsing like a demolished building that hit the floor with a crash so heavy that it made the mirrors in the room vibrate.
"Tch. He had a harder head than he seemed."
Shaking her hand, Jennifer made a grimace. Then, her expression softened and she walked toward where Maria was, extending a hand to her with a smile of approval.
"Good job, little ghost. That blow from a moment ago... I have to admit that it was quite impressive."
"..."
Maria looked at her stunned. Her eyes shifted toward the unconscious figure on the floor and then returned to Jennifer. The reality of what had just happened hit her fully and the tears finally overflowed.
She grabbed Jennifer's hand as if it were a lifeline and let her help her get up.
"I... I hit him... I really did it..."
"Yes and you saved both of us," affirmed Jennifer, holding her by the shoulders so that she would not fall.
In one of the intact mirrors to her right, the figure of Airam manifested for a brief second, with crossed arms and with a satisfied smile, offering a single nod before slowly fading until merging with Maria's own reflection.
"... W what do we do now?" she asked, wiping her tears and looking with suspicion at the lump on the floor.
"The obvious thing, go look for Lief and Carrie," answering Jennifer bent down, tore off a long piece of cable that was hanging and, with quick movements, tied the subject's hands firmly to his back and then his ankles.
Upon finishing, she shook the dust off her hands and took Maria's cold hand again, giving her a comforting squeeze.
"Let's go. Do not be afraid. From here on, leave the rest to me."
...
At the same time, in the other passage...
The instant the masked subject destroyed the control panel, the logic of the mechanism disappeared.
The hydraulic system collapsed and the dozens of axes that hung from the ceiling and the walls lost their predictable rhythm.
They began to swing and spin wildly, accelerating to erratic frequencies, turning the narrow corridor into a meat grinder.
Carrie's face lost all color instantly. The little confidence she had managed to gather was crushed.
The deafening buzz of metal cutting the air mixed with the stroboscopic flickering of the red emergency lights and in the middle of that storm, the killer advanced.
Swish
His massive figure moved between the shadows of the blades with a terrifying familiarity and with his eyes already fixed on his target, he raised the hammer: Carrie, completely paralyzed.
Lief, standing just behind her, did not move.
He could stop the hammer and dismantle the subject in the blink of an eye, but he did not do it.
He could feel it... He could perceive how that latent force inside Carrie's body was boiling, agitated by the pressure of extreme fear.
This was the crucible necessary for her to stop being a victim and transform into something else.
If he intervened now, she would always depend on him and if she happened to fail, he had the absolute certainty that he could intervene before the metal touched her skin.
But he chose to believe
"Ah...!"
From Carrie's throat a scream burst forth, but the sound barely began to rise before it transformed. It was no longer the shriek of panic that resonated; instead, the background note became charged with a vibration of frustration, of absolute lack of resignation, that made way for a volcanic anger.
Why...? Why did she always have to be the victim!? Why did she always have to run!? SHE WAS FED UP!
Booom
A shockwave exploded from the center of her body, expanding in all directions.
Zooom...
The physical reality of the hallway bent.
It was as if someone had pressed the pause button on a movie. All the devices, the pistons, the chains and the gears, froze instantly.
The dozens of axes that were swinging frantically stopped dead and some of the larger blades vibrated just a few centimeters from Carrie's face and hair.
And the subject was no exception.
The man, caught mid stride with the hammer raised, remained petrified in that posture.
His muscles tensed, the veins in his neck swelled while he fought against the invisible force that wrapped around him like quick drying cement, but it was useless.
Literally, time seemed to stop.
Carrie, with sweat soaking her forehead, had both hands extended toward the front. She could feel every piece of steel, every breath of the subject... everything was under her control.
"Excellent, Carrie," said Lief's voice right behind her ear, reassuring her a little. "You got this. Now, teach him a lesson, make him taste his own medicine."
Upon hearing his words, doubt vanished from Carrie's gaze, giving way to eyes that shone with determination while, without taking her eyes off the subject, she shook her right wrist violently.
With her movement, the hammer was ripped from the subject's hand and spun in the air describing a perfect arc, before shooting downward impelled by the force of thunder.
Crack
The hammer smashed with devastating brutality against the right knee.
The sound of bone and cartilage being crushed was so loud that it made Lief grind his teeth.
The killer let out a miserable shriek when Carrie intentionally broke her concentration, freeing him from the paralysis only to allow him to collapse to the ground, writhing and hugging his deformed leg, howling in pain.
But Carrie was not finished, waving her left hand, one of the axes spun on its axis and, orienting the blunt part instead of the edge.
Thud
It shot out to smash directly against the man's sternum.
"Gah...!"
The impact made him spit a mixture of saliva and blood through the holes of his mask while a violent convulsion ran through his body from the chest; with his eyes rolled back, he finally surrendered to gravity and collapsed, remaining totally unconscious on the cold floor.
Instantly, the adrenaline that kept Carrie standing evaporated all at once and her knees wobbled violently to the side, about to kiss the ground. But Lief took a step and pulled her toward him: "Woah, easy. I got you."
Leaning on him Carrie breathing with difficulty, looked at her own hands... On her pale face, beyond the exhaustion, shone a sensation of relief mixed with confidence.
"I did it... Lief, I really stopped him," She murmured with incredulity.
"You are much stronger than you imagine, Carrie. And much more dangerous," He congratulated her with total sincerity, letting her go gently once he saw that she could remain standing. "Never doubt that again."
Stepping away, Lief crouched next to the subject, examining him with a clinical eye. He touched the subject's neck; the pulse was slow and heavy, like that of an animal in hibernation...
He frowned.
The physical resistance of this guy was well above the human average. Those two impacts would have killed any normal person. But this monster was only gravely injured and knocked out.
Right at that moment, the sound of footsteps resonated from the end of the hallway, getting closer.
Jennifer emerged from the shadows, dragging a Maria who still seemed a little in shock.
"Seems like over here you guys also had your own party," whistled Jennifer, observing the chaos, "Nice decoration."
"I suppose that you girls also met someone..." Lief stood up, wiping his hands on his pants.
"A guy with a knife and a little skinnier than your gorilla, but just as ugly," responded Jennifer with a smug smile, pointing with her thumb toward Maria. "But our little ghost decided to stop being transparent. She ambushed him and broke a stick on his head. Now he is tied up in the mirror maze."
Lief looked at Maria, who blushed under the sheet but straightened her back a little.
"I still do not regret what I told you, Maria."
Without wasting time, Lief went to look for the other subject. He dragged the skinny guy to the hallway and, using cables and straps, tied the two killers together, back to back, making sure that the knots were impossible to undo.
Then, he took out his mobile phone and dialed 911.
"911? Yes, I need patrols at the 'Maximum Fear' attraction, in the west district."
He paused, listening to the operator.
"We have two armed assailants. They tried to attack the customers. No, do not worry about our safety."
He looked at the two lumps on the ground, "They have already been neutralized. They are tied up and ready for pickup. Send an ambulance too, they are going to need it. Thank you."
Hanging up the phone, he turned toward the girls, "Alright, listen to me. Jennifer, get Carrie and Maria out of here and take them home."
"What!? And you?" Jennifer frowned, crossing her arms, clearly reluctant to abandon him.
"They need to rest," explained Lief, "I am staying."
Smiling, he pointed to the two unconscious men at his feet.
"Someone has to stay to receive the officers and explain to them what the hell is going on with these two who take their job too seriously."
"..."
Jennifer looked him deep in the eyes for a second and nodded, immediately after, she approached him, invading his space one last time.
She stood on tiptoes and brushed his ear with her lips.
"Master... come back home quickly," she whispered with a husky voice. "You have an outstanding debt with me for tonight."
Immediately, she separated recovering her air of command, took the hands of Carrie and Maria, and urged them with a firm voice: "Come on, girls. Let's go before the blue lights arrive."
________
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