The Numbers That Brought Our Fates Together

"I am seriously telling you! Everything happened so quickly that we didn"t even have time to figure it out!" Daniel looked at his younger brother indignantly, one could say that the latter one did not take their words seriously.

David looked in the direction of the mentioned entrance, they did not know where these tunnels were leading to and any precipitate move could be fatal.

"So, now I am going to-" he did not have time to finish the phrase, as a sharp pain, like a knife, pierced his chest. "Aggh," the man grabbed his heart and collapsed to the ground.

Every second the pain rolled in with a new force, like a wave of tsunami, capturing his entire body. Thousands of invisible needles stuck into each cell, not giving even the opportunity to breathe, any movement was like the torture of the cruelest inquisitor, and David"s own body was that inquisitor.

Daniel turned pale, he wanted to take a step, but his body seemed paralyzed. The most terrible thoughts echoing in a flash flooded his head when he saw his brother lying on the ground. "No, that can"t be what I think, right? We could not have so little time!" Madame w.a.n.g"s words about the life force of his brother and the fact that there was very little of it left were knocking in his temples, as if a wake, foreshadowing the approach of the worst.

David"s fingers dug into the cold ground, squeezing it in an unconscious desire to ease the pain. It lasted no more than five seconds, but it seemed to the young man that it took at least an hour. These feelings were comparable to those that he experienced in that fateful day, during an experiment more than seventy years ago.

Given that this was a different life and another body, genetic memory turned out to be an extremely insidious thing and reproduced everything with very precise accuracy.

Daniel leaned over to his brother and helped him to sit down and lean on the wall, David was out of breath and drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Are you all right?" he asked his younger brother. If he could, he would give him all his strength now, he would give anything if only he would never see David in such a condition again. The feeling of fear, which he had pushed away from him every possible way before, began to seize Daniel from within. The fear that he might lose his brother at any moment and even not have time to do anything to prevent it. And he himself will be the very cause of it.

David looked at Daniel"s agitated face, this was the first time he had seen him so distracted. The young man smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "Make your face simpler, otherwise, I will have to take on the role of an older brother."

"What? Hmmm, I seem to have been worrying about you for nothing," Daniel turned away to the other side, a sense of relief was on his face. So there is still time.

David got up on his feet from the ground and picked up the torch, "Something happened to Elena, I have to go." He turned to Jun, removed the ring from his finger and handed it to the guy.

"No, I will not take it, the father gave it to you! If you are going to return, return it to my father personally!" Jun got the hint of the young man, and he didn"t like the way David thought at all.

The man noticed the boy"s confusion and grinned, "Who told you that I am giving the ring to you, huh?! As an older brother, I am just asking you to keep this thing with you for a while. Then you will give it back."

Jun looked at David with disbelief, "Yeah, for a while, of course. Why does everyone perceive me in this family as a child?" Reluctantly, he stretched out his hand and took the ring.

David took off his extra things, leaving only a pistol and a spare flare gun, "Daniel, if Elena and I do not return in half an hour, you"ll take Jun back to the car. Then," he threw a cheering glance at his brother, "Then do what you have to do. It"ll be up to you to decide." With these words, he entered the tunnel in search of a girl.

"I won"t go back to the car," Jun thought it was necessary to immediately warn Daniel that he did not intend to execute his brother"s order.

"Ho, and who promised daddy to obey and not interfere?" The elder Anderson sarcastically narrowed his eyes, "I will not cover you if something happens."

"Oh, who needs your care? It"s good that I have Elena as my elder sister, with such a brother like you I find it strange that David did not run away from home." After Jun"s words, Daniel"s face twisted in a displeased grimace. This little brat knew how to p.r.i.c.k. It seems that their verbal duels with David in the presence of this boy were not in vain, the skill of p.r.i.c.king was successfully learned.

Daniel approvingly patted Jun on the shoulder, "Well, so, we obey David and wait, or-"

A loud hum interrupted their dialogue, the sound with an increasing force was approaching immediately from all the pa.s.sages. "What the h.e.l.l is-"

A strong wave of air almost knocked the men off their feet, they were immediately pressed against the wall of the cave. The red light of the signal flares was immediately out, and they again plunged into total darkness.

"Aggh, I will never be stupid to do something like that again!" Daniel cursed and began to look for a spare flare gun, but as soon as he turned on the light, a new problem appeared in front of their faces.

"You are freaking kidding me, probably, yes?! What the f.u.c.k?!"

Instead of the previous three entrances to the depth of the cave, there were four before them. And which one of them would be the one to look for Elena and David?

"Hmm, so what now? Right or left?" Jun asked, scratching his head.

"I have no idea. Maybe some of the two that are in the middle," Daniel felt that this situation was starting to annoy him.

"What do you mean in the middle? Right now there are only two entrances."

"What do you mean, "two entrances"? I clearly see four tunnels," Daniel rounded his eyes, although it was dark in the cave, but not so much as not to notice these huge dark holes, which were tempting them to get inside.

Jun looked at the man in confusion, "What four entrances are you talking about?! Two! One, two," he stretched out his hand and counted the entrances. Silence filled the cave.

"Hmm, we are doomed...." Not more than forty minutes pa.s.sed from their entrance to the cave, and so much had already happened that Daniel began to seriously doubt whether it was worth it to get in here at all.

"Haaaa," he exhaled slowly, and then took a deep breath, "Fuh, right. Apparently, this is the situation when we need to use Sam"s advice. How many times did he say we have to count?"

"Up to fifteen."

"Okay. Let"s try it." They counted to fifteen and each went to the tunnel that was the fifteenth and it turned out that they went into different tunnel each.

Jun"s torch went out for a moment and then caught fire again. He looked around, "Daniel, are you there?" He called him twice, but silence was the only answer. The guy stood still and walked forward, his every step echoed in silence.

He took a few more steps forward, and the last one was echoed twice. "Hmmm, something"s not right here." He stopped, raised his leg, but before it could touch the surface, the other person had already taken his step.

June turned, and at that moment his body was thrown back and hit the wall with great force. "Aggh," he clutched at his head and wanted to raise his eyes to look at the one who raised his hand at him when suddenly a strong grip squeezed his neck.

"Hi, kid. Why are you betraying your teacher, eh? Not only did you not cope with the task, but you also went over to the camp of the enemy?"

Jun opened his eyes, before him was the face of a man who could conquer anyone with its attractiveness, but this appearance was his only good trait. Otherwise, this man was one of the most disgusting and cold-blooded sc.u.ms he had ever met.

Jun suggested that sooner or later their paths might cross again, but he did not expect it at all. That is going to happen here. He caught him off guard.

"Alan?" The guy croaked, he was out of breath.

Alan let go of his throat and took a step back, "Considering how many years we have spent together, so be it, I"ll be generous and give you a choice. Do you prefer to be shot on the spot or beaten first and then shot? What kind of death would you choose, Yun?"

"You think if you are older and stronger, I will tremble in front of you, like a little puppy in front of a wolf? You will not get it! And for your information, my name is Jun Lee."

"Ahahahaha," Alan laughed out loud, touched by this guy"s insolence. He knew him from childhood, and from the very beginning it seemed to him that taking Jun was a mistake, but it was his opinion that he did not dare to challenge the decisions of the Master. Moreover, he considered his main master not Rick, but another person. And this man was here now too.

"I see you made your choice. Well, do not expect mercy from me."

Alan lunged forward, but to his surprise, he just kicked the air. Jun dodged and gave him a power angle kick, with all his strength. His former sensei flew off to the side.

"Hah, let"s see who will ask for mercy," the guy grinned.

Last week of training with President Lee was not in vain. If earlier he considered Alan to be a strict teacher, now Jun knew for certain that he wasn"t even as close as his father. When Chen entered his rage stage, it was impossible to stop him. But it was just the tip of the iceberg. When David joined their evening trainings, the real Sparta began here. Not only did they attack together, so David, with his teleportation, increased Jun"s reaction rate by several times. And now, even the fastest movements of Alan were for him as in slow motion.

Alan frowned and got up confidently, "It seems that even from someone like you it"s possible to make something."

"It"s not your honor make something out of me, you"ve already tried enough, so stop your chatter, Sen-sei," Jun mockingly commented on the words of the man opposite him. Alan straightened and took off his gloves. It was a sign that he no longer intended to restrain himself.

They exchanged a few hits, but still, there was a tie. No matter how fast Alan attacked, Jun managed to put the block in and get away from the kicks, inflicting a response to his opponent. Several attacks drove a cold-blooded killer off balance, and he did not have time to figure out how a direct kick to the head almost knocked him down.

Never before has his vanity been so wounded, up until now. This kid, younger than him, who had been running after Alan, chasing him everywhere and was annoying him with and without reason, managed to knock him down.

Irritation and anger boiled over in a man, this game stopped going by his rules, which means there was no longer any sense to follow them. Just when Jun was going to perform his final kick, his opponent turned around, and the cold barrel of the gun aimed straight at the head.

Alan pulled the trigger, "Sorry kid, I must give you credit, you fought well, but I no longer have time to play with you. So say h.e.l.lo to your mom-"

Alan staggered and fell to the ground.

Jun blinked and saw Daniel in front of him, with a huge stone in his hands, along which drops of fresh blood were flowing down. The guy exhaled. A little more, and he would definitely have been dead.

"Eew, a stone on the head, but from the back... Somehow it"s not cool."

"But it"s effective," Daniel grinned and threw his weapon aside, "Is there a rope? I think it"s better to tie him before he comes to his senses."

"You think he will wake up?" Jun did not feel sympathy for this man, but he also did not want to leave Alan"s blood on his hands, so the best solution would be to hand him over to the authorities.

Moreover, searches in their bases and secret places carried out with the support of Minister Burton, made it possible to obtain enough evidence against their secret group and Alan personally.

Daniel leaned over and checked his pulse, "He"ll not die, don"t worry. By the way, I"m already wandering along this corridor for more than an hour, and not a hint of David"s or Elena"s trail."

"More than an hour?! You know, I"m here for no more than twenty minutes," Jun replied.

"Tsk, well, what a really bizarre place this cave is," Daniel rolled his eyes, "It looks like time also flows here differently. Okay, let"s go. We will drag this body to the entrance, and then we will decide what to do."

They picked up Alan and decided to return to the starting point, as further in this corridor there was a dead end. And if this handsome killer was here before them, it means that the likelihood that Rick is also here is close to one hundred percent. And Daniel didn"t like it the most.