Twisted Empire - Episode 11&12

 

TWISTED EMPIRE

Twisted Empire - Episode 11&12

(Her Blade, His Neck )

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, or reposted in any form, or by any means without a written permission from the author.

Copyright © 2025 

by Naomi Cindy B.

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"Permission from Snowman? Now I know why everyone dislikes her in the base, she thinks too high of herself" Abbey said immediately Teal left the field.

Rook was ready to attack him, but Brent pulled him, so he had to stay with Brent and wait in silence.

"She'll be back with the permission, I trust her" he said, and Brent nodded with difficulty, shutting his eyes and trying to keep in the pains.

Silence continued, and Kash secretly dialled Four's number.

--

The closer Teal got to the Master Sergeant's Unit, the faster her confidence thinned.

What if he doesn't give in? Honestly, she has nothing in mind. She just knows she has to get it.

she stopped walking when she arrived in front of his Unit.

Thanks to the tag in front of it, it was easy to locate, and it's also the biggest.

She walked to the door and raised her hand to knock, but she found out it's not locked, so she pushed it open and entered.

She was immediately welcomed with his scent... Tom Ford.

Does he cream with it? Everywhere he steps has the fragrance, and it's...

She shook her head, shaking off the intruding thought before sweeping a look around the living room, noticing the furnishings are all colour brown.

She smirked, the sound of her boots against the floor so soft.

She walked past a particular room, and she stopped cos she caught a glimpse of something.

She took a step back, and she saw him—through the slightly open door.

He's partly laying on a bed-like chair, and his right leg is up on the bed, the left one is down.

His elbow is resting on the bed, pushing up his right knuckles which rested on his temple.

His eyes are closed, and she briefly wondered how a man's lashes can be that long. He's got long lashes.

She opened the door wider, and she stepped in. The smell of ink embraced her immediately.

There are several paintings on the wall of the room.

Big, legendary paintings. 

And the insane thing? She recognizes them all. Everything.

Every single painting on the wall was drawn by her dead parents. They were their most precious paintings which they sold for millions.

Her mouth widened, but before she could make a sound, Four's eyes opened, and he dropped the one leg from the chair, standing giantly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He questioned, fiery and fierce.

"Why are my late parents paintings on your wall?" She questioned back, and he did fast strides to her.

She didn't move—she didn't expect something kind either, and she was right, cos he grabbed her by the throat, squeezing her neck so hard that she grunted in response.

"The hell are you doing here?"  He questioned, again, their eyes dancing wildly like the flames of hellfire.

"Why do you have my late parents paintings on your wall? Answer me" She questioned back, again.

Four tightened his hand on her throat, choking her harder and causing the corner of her eyes to fold as a pool of redness formed there.

"You're not the only Private here, and you're not the only one whose parents were painters, so quit this arrogance, or I'll burn it down with every visible and invisible fabric of your soul" he lorned devilishly, throwing her out of the room.

Teal staggered out, but she didn't fall, thanks to the couch behind her.

Four came out of the room too, and the double doors of the room closed behind him with a gentle slam.

Teal was about to press further, but her eyes widened when she remembered the reason she came here.

Brent.

"Brent is sick, I need your permission to take him to the clinic" she said.

"I want him to die" he replied plainly, and her eyes widened.

"What do you mean you want him to die? He's a part of this base which means he's your responsibility! I was starting to think you're better than your brother—personality wise, don't ruin that" she said, and she saw him smirk sardonically.

"Better than Axel, personality wise? You must be the delusional type." He said, walking away from her.

"Isn't the keyword of this place togetherness? Follow it and give me the darn permission!!" She shouted.

"I created the keyword" he replied, stopping to face her as his nose scrunched.

"Destroying it should be a flex" he finished, then he resumed walking towards his bedroom.

Teal quickly ran to block his way, stretching her two hands sidewards as she stood in front of his door, stopping him from entering.

Four stayed silent, but his brows are sharply arched, and his shoulders are straining against his shirt.

"I'm asking...as your wife" she unexpectedly talked, and the arching of his brows turned shallow.

With a taunting curl on his lips, he folded to her level.

Teal is tall, but not just as this goliath.

She rolled eyes to the left, resting her head on the door with a faint clearing of her throat.

"Your wife should get certain benefits, don't you think?" She said.

Four stopped moving when his lips hovered above her ears, and his breaths began fanning her skin again—smokey but clean.

She definitely didn't expect his next words...

"Get lost" he whispered, and then he's hauling her, throwing her out of the Unit before shutting the door at her face.

"Four!!!" She yelled, kicking his door and hitting it with her gloved palms.

"You... Incorrigible man!!" She yelled again, using her palms again, but this time, she punched instead of hitting.

When she realized her display won't bring the desired solution, she stopped punching, and her arms dropped.

She can't go back to the field without permission, else...Axel would be feeling funky.

At the same time, Brent is dying...

Her phone chimed in her pocket, and she digged it out quickly to see a message from Rook.

Rookie: We're already at the clinic, I've been calling but you weren't picking. Immediately you left, Sergeant Kash called Snowman, and he permitted us to take him. We used the base emergency car.

Teal blinked after she finished reading.

This means he already gave them the permission even before she got here, so he was pulling her legs by saying he wanted Brent to die?

"Scum" she muttered, kicking his door one more time before walking away.

Getting back to the field, Rook and Brent aren't there anymore for real... Sergeant Kash and April aren't present too, they must have followed them to the clinic.

Axel and some other Sergeants are the ones present with the rest of the Privates.

Morgan is helping Stormy clean the bruises she got from Abbey, and Abbey himself is rinsing his face with water.

Theo is sitting silently, and Shannon looks tensed in her standing position.

The moment Teal stepped into the field, Axel obstructed her, his smile full of mockery.

"Let me guess, you got there and flashed him your nakedness, but he threw you out and told you he doesn't f+ck whores" he said.

"It'll really be hard to respect you" Teal replied, and Axel's brows furrowed.

"What!"

"Yeah, not only do you behave like a d+ck, but you also look immature" she said, and Axel drew his shotgun, placing the barrel on her chest and sliding his finger under the trigger.

"Can this bonfire get any sweeter?" Abbey smiled.

"He needs to shoot that gun" Stormy said. Morgan has finished wiping her face for her, but the bruises are still fresh.

Shannon held her breaths, wishing Teal would just stop talking so all of these would be over.

Theo remained sitting, unconcerned.

"You know everytime I see you, I feel like putting bullets in your skull. You're not just a bî+ch, but you're a rotten one whose presence is unpleasant to the eyes" Axel said, still pressing his gun barrel to Teal's chest.

Teal's bravado didn't lower.

It's the first time she'd be feeling the coldness of a gun on her body, but she's not scared, and for that? She's proud of herself.

If she dies, at least she'd die a heroine.

"I didn't flash your brother with my nakedness—i'm not that easy. But guess what? If I had flashed him, your brother would be on his knees for me right now cos I have the body of a goddess and even you would bow!" Teal slammed.

Axel's finger retracted on the trigger, and his eyes shook.

Shannon smiled, but through her smile, it's obvious she's still scared 

Axel should better not pull that trigger.

And it seems her prayer worked cos Axel lowered his gun, a bully smile tugging at his lips.

General Pedro is leaving tomorrow, he only has to wait, and things will work themselves out.

He returned his gun into his straps and walked out of the field.

"You're so cool!" Shannon complimented, but Teal just gave her a non-existent smile before walking out of the field too.

Shannon followed her since it's already past 11

"I'm disappointed" Stormy muttered, leaving the field with Morgan.

"The body of a goddess? Sounds magnetic" Abbey said, his eyes are lustful as he left with his friends.

The Sergeants began leaving too, and in few more minutes, the field became silent.

No more Private in sight except Theo who's still sitting beside the fire.

He's staring at the fire, and his laps are clenched as he remained still, the fire glow bathing his face.

He didn't shake, he didn't blink.

--

[11:30]

Axel's new car was smooth against the pavement as he drove to the back property of the base.

It's a Cherokee, and the windows are down, allowing air into the car which blew his hair in a wave.

It's a expectedly cold night, and it's snowing slightly, bathing his windscreen with the flakes.

He stopped the car at the enclosed pavilion, and he slammed the door shut after he came down from it.

He opened the pavilion with the remote, and as he stepped inside, he breathed out in relief.

Finally something to let out his anger on.

The pavilion has no roof, so the snow is falling directly inside, decorating the bricked walls.

It's so cold, and Axel made sure to not let his skin make contact with the walls as he took the brisk steps to the power button.

He switched on the yellow lights, showering the scapegoat with it.

It's a guy.

He's in the middle of a cemented concrete. The concrete covered every part of his body, leaving out only his head.

His eyes are yellow inside their sunken brackets, and his lips are peeling. His nostrils are bloody, and his facial skin color is almost blue with the cold.

"Skye, It seems to me that you enjoy these sufferings,, and that's why you're refusing to tell me why you colluded with the terrorists" Axel said, flashing a torchlight on the second wall where several pain instruments are hung.

He took a small container, shaking it's content as he began walking to Skye.

"You've been here for two months, but you're still so headstrong, makes me wonder what you're really keeping. Because of you, your girlfriend April was sent back to the barracks, and she lost everyone's respect." He said.

Skye couched out, the blood in his nostrils dripping on the concrete.

"Don't...don't harm April" he grunted, his voice a melody of sufferings.

"I have no plans to touch her. She was the most brilliant one in my squad, and that's her saving grace, but if you keep this stubbornness up, then you'd leave me with no choice" Axel said, stopping in front of him.

Skye grunted again, his hair a nest of snowflakes.

"But luckily for me, I'm not here to seek the truth tonight. Someone pissed me off, and I'm here to take it out on you" Axel said, opening the small container.

A small ant crawled out of it, and he placed it on Skye's face.

Skye gulped.

The fact that his hands are inside the concrete worsened things cos he can't even touch as the ant crawled around his face.

"Ah...uh...rr...ghh!!!!" His groans were painfully bitter.

Axel stood in front of him, watching closely and laughing, enjoying his cries of torture.

"No...argh... hh!!" Skye cried again, and the ant crawled into his nose, ruining everything.

"Ohhhhhhrr!!!" Skye sang in torture, and Axel shrugged.

"Oops, sorry. It'd only play inside your skull for two minutes before finding it's way out, enjoy" he said.

Skye's screams stretched out of the pavilion, reaching the clouds.

--

[Cantonment Clinic]

Teal did the walk from the base to the  cantonment since there's no bike or car to use.

Maybe she'd tell her uncles to get her a bike, they're ok enough to afford one—with the money she made from her fake paintings.

She arrived at the clinic and dusted her uniform, getting rid of the snowflakes.

Shannon entered the clinic with her, and she began dusting her own uniform too.

Teal knew she followed her, but she only pretended not to notice her.

"Why did you follow me?" She faced her.

Shannon smiled a bit... "Hi, I'm Shannon. The junior sister of Sergeant Kash's wife"

"I didn't ask who you are" Teal replied point-blank.

"Oh... right. I wasn't following you per se, I was coming to see my friend too. Specialist April" Shannon said.

Teal left her and entered the clinic.

"So cold" Shannon muttered, going in too.

They were shown to Brent's ward where he's resting in bed with Rook and others beside him.

"Brent" Teal rushed inside.

"You're a real one, Teal. Thanks for taking Sergeant Axel's challenge cos of me" Brent said in bed.

His voice is weak, but better than before.

"I didn't do anything, it's Sergeant Kash after all" Teal replied, facing Kash.

"Thank you" she said.

"It's nothing, I'm returning right now" Kash replied.

"You've tried enough. We'll stay with Brent till daybreak" Teal said.

"Just get back to the base before 5am, trainings starts tomorrow and Snowman is crazily strict with rules. You know what I mean" Kash replied.

"I understand" Teal said.

"You're here too?" Kash said when he saw Shannon.

"Specialist April is my friend, so if she's staying the night, so am I" Shannon replied, standing beside April.

"She'll be fine" April said assuredly, and Kash left.

"Battery" Rook smiled, stroking Teal's hair, but when he noticed her red neck, he frowned.

"Who choked you?"

"It's not important, what was the problem with Brent?" She asked.

"The banana smoothie he had for lunch contained saccharine, and his body reacted to it since it was his first time tasting it" Rook explained.

"Thankfully it's not severe" Teal said.

Brent is already sleeping by now, so she sighed, resting her lungs.

April and Shannon came closer, but Teal immediately left the ward.

Rook faced the two girls.

"Give her time, she doesn't believe in girl friendship for now" he said.

"I get" April smiled.

--

Teal went outside the ward, sitting on a flat chair and thinking about the room in Four's unit earlier.

How come all the legendary paintings of her parents are on his wall?

Why was he resting in that room?

Why did he get mad about her entry into the room to the point of choking her?

These questions danced in her mind, and she touched her red neck, cussing him inwardly again.

"Scum" she muttered, sighing.

Sierra walked past her, and she looked up from her bench.

"Look who's here, it's the arrogant sl+t" Sierra said, stopping.

"Look who's here, it's the best friend of the borehole" Teal replied, and Sierra smiled.

"You have answers for every word, don't you? Let's see if you'd keep that up till the end. You have no idea" she said before disappearing down the hall.

She entered Allegra's ward and settled on a chair beside the bed.

"Looks like someone pissed you off" Allegra said.

She's smoking sinisterly in bed.

"Teal is in this clinic" Sierra replied.

"For real?" Allegra came down from the bed quickly.

"What?" Sierra stood too.

"What do you mean what? The logical thing to do would be to destroy her hands before daybreak" Allegra replied, dropping her cigar and wearing her singlet since her upper body was naked.

Sierra pushed her back to bed, making her sit.

"You saw her abilities by yourself, you know what she can do. Make a plan that'd make her a prey to everyone, implicate her and let her get locked in the enclosed pavilion like Skye, then the rest is easy" she said.

Allegra smiled..."why didn't I think of this before?"

"Cos I'm smarter?" Sierra shrugged, and Allegra took her cigar, returning to puffin.

"What do you plan on doing with your new puppies, Morgan and Stormy?" Sierra said.

"I don't know yet, but they'll be useful" Allegra replied, resting back on the pillow as smokes filled her mouth.

"And Axel really didn't come?" She smirked. "General is leaving the base tomorrow, i have a feelings things are about to get loud" 

Sierra sat back, mounting her legs on each other.

--

[4:30am, Brent's ward]

Teal didn't sleep at all.

She sat on the flat bench ward till daybreak, so she was in time.

She woke everyone up at 4:30, and they left the clinic, starting the journey back to the base.

Brent is fine now, and his chatty gossiper self is back with Rook.

The two are talking and laughing in the front while Teal stayed behind with Shannon and April.

Shannon and April are chatting too, but Teal is silent, just shinning flashlight on their paths while still thinking of what she saw at Four's unit last night.

She didn't stop thinking about it till daybreak, and till she gets an answer from him, she won't stop being paranoid.

"What's your best weapon, Teal?" April suddenly asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She looked sideways to see the girls staring at her.

"Guns? Dynamites? Grenades? Rifles?" Shannon listed options.

"Bombs" Teal calmly replied, and the girls blinked.

"Wow, it's the first time you actually talked kindly to me" April smiled.

"What are the missions like?" Teal asked.

"Hard, especially during winter like this. Blood on the snow, scattered bodies across the grass, stepping on mines, deadly bombs in the suburbs. Casualties are always much, and yunno what's insane? We're up against just one person—leader of the terrorists... He's a beast, and his targets are mostly children schools or camps" April briefed.

"Children?" Teal's face squeezed.

April nodded. "You'll receive lectures about him and get to see his picture after today's escapism trainings I guess" 

"Now i'm scared" Shannon held her chest.

By now, they've entered the base, and it's just three minutes to 5.

The base bell is ringing, so Privates are already rushing out of their barracks.

Teal and the rest joined the rush, arriving at the training ground at exactly 5am.

Four is already there.

Thanks to the bright lights surrounding the training ground walls, his face is clear, and Teal gave him a brief stare before standing on her line, grinding her jaws when she remembered what April said.

The terrorists bombing children?

Now she wants to stay in this base more than ever before.

She wants to undergo the cruellest training ever.

She wants to get crushed to the bones, get tumbled and tossed.

She wants to be strong enough to face the so-called terrorists.

No one should ever hurt kids and get away with it.

Her bones were hardening the more she thought about the wicked things she'd do to these terrorists if she gets her hands on them.

She wants to be their karma.

"Private Rook, Private Theo, Private Shannon, Private Stormy, Private Teal" Four called out the five names, and the five of them stepped forward.

"Shirt off" Four ordered, and they didn't complain before taking off their shirts since they're wearing singlets underneath.

But Teal isn't wearing a bra under her singlet, so her nîpples are poking her singlet, and it's so obvious.

"Shirt on" Four told her, and she confusedly picked her shirt back from the ground.

She wore it back, and when their eyes met, she gave no expression away—just like him.

The five of them were led into the building beside the training ground, and they were taken into a large room where five chairs are.

Junior sergeants are already waiting in the room.

The five were made to sit on the chairs, and the junior sergeants zip-tied their hands with their legs, so tight that it hurts.

It was Four himself who tied Teal, and he made sure to tie her the hardest—the cable nearly entered her skin.

Her eyes kept stabbing him throughout his tying process, but he didn't make even one eye contact with her till he was done.

Five tables were dragged into the room, and five knives were left on the tables for each of them.

"This building will be set on fire, you have thirty minutes to free yourself and escape. After freeing yourself you're to escape alone, you can't help another" Four said, his voice steel, then he led the junior sergeants out of the room.

The Privates thought it was a joke before, but it wasn't.

Four really set the building on fire from outside, and immediately the building began burning, their eyes widened.

"This is sick! Sick!!" Stormy shouted, trying to drag her chair towards the table to get the knife, but her tied hands and legs hindered her, and she fell with the chair.

"F+ck!!" She groaned.

Theo started moving his own chair forward too, dragging it carefully so he won't fall like Stormy.

As he dragged, his chair made squeaky sounds against the cemented ground.

Rook started making the same move, and his chair nearly fell like Stormy's,  but Stormy held his chair from the ground, preventing it.

Rook looked down at her, and he stopped for a while, allowing her to hold his chair.

She supported herself with it, pushing herself to sit back up.

"Thank you" she smiled, but Rook just continued his shifting.

Stormy started shifting too, then Shannon.

Teal is still sitting there.

She can't shift her chair even if she wants to.

Four intentionally did this, there's no space for her to shift with the chair since he tied her too hard.

If she tries to move, the cable might dig into her skin, but then she has never liked it soft.

Rough is bae, so she began shifting nevertheless, and as she shifted, the cable wounded her skin like she predicted, but she didn't stop.

She kept it up.

The glow from the burning building heated her face, and she began sweating like the others.

The building has burned into the insides, and it's spreading to the walls.

Theo is almost at the table, and so is Rook.

Stormy and Shannon are on the same length behind the guys.

Teal groaned when the cable ate into her skin again, and Rook looked back.

"Battery!" He gasped.

"Keep going Rookie!" She shouted at him, and he resumed reluctantly.

It's already twenty minutes since they began shifting, and there are just ten minutes left now.

She looked around at the burning walls and summoned a new bout of energy.

'I'm strong as fûck' she thought, then she continued shifting as blood erupted from the cable pressure on her skin.

Theo got to the table first, and he picked the knife with his mouth.

Now he's left with how to untie himself.

He lowered his head, trying to cut the cable with the knife in his mouth, but it was hard, and the knife kept falling to his laps.

He kept picking and starting over again.

Rook also arrived at the table, picking the knife with his mouth too.

Shannon and Stormy arrived, picking the knives with their mouths too.

Shannon got insanely lucky cos she only tried once, and she cut the cable with her mouth.

Immediately she cut it, she stood, screaming oot.

"I'm free!!" 

But she stopped, gasping when she saw where Teal is still far behind.

She made to go help, but there are cameras on top of the ceilings—the fire hasn't reached the ceilings yet.

"Go, Shannon" Teal said.

"Good luck" Shannon said, rushing out of the building.

Theo was the second to free himself, and he stood, facing Teal.

He gave her a small nod, then he left too.

There's only three minutes left, and the fire is spreading to the door.

The heat is killing.

Rook and Stormy released themselves at the same time, and immediately they stood, Stormy grabbed Rook's hand.

"Let's go" she said, but he broke free and faced Teal who's still halfway to the table.

He made to go closer, but a glare from Teal made him stop.

"Leave, I'll handle it" she said.

"But there are only two minutes left before timeout, and the building will blow" Rook replied.

"I said leave! Y'all did it on your own so I won't receive help from anyone, not even you." Teal glared again.

"If you get hurt, I'll kill you" Rook replied, finally running out of the burning room.

Stormy gave Teal her middle finger before running out too.

On getting out of the burning building, it's full of panicky Privates who're watching from a distance.

"You did it girl!" Morgan stuck hands with Stormy.

"Dude!" Brent rushed to Rook, but his smile fell when he didn't see Teal.

"She's still in?" His eyes widened.

"Congratulations, you passed the escapism!" April hugged Shannon.

"But Teal is still in" Shannon said.

"What!" April gasped.

Four is standing in front of everyone, staring at the burning building with lifted chin.

He knew this would happen—he intentionally tied the cables very tight.

She'd fail, and she'd get thrown out.

It's one minute left now, and she's still not out.

Axel is just coming from the enclosed pavilion, and he was wowing as he came down from his car.

"I'll never get tired of his sick training methods" he smiled.

Sierra and Allegra are back from the clinic too, and they're both standing behind the crowd, arms crossed.

"Is she really gonna fail? That'd be disappointing" Allegra sneered.

Sierra was smiling as she stared at Four.

"He's the best stepbrother ever, I love that he dislikes her too" she said.

Now it's 30 seconds left, and Teal is still not out.

Rook almost fainted.

"Teal you better come out!! You can't get thrown out when I haven't tasted you!!" Abbey shouted.

It's already timeout right now—the building will blow up at anytime.

Rook made a move to run into the building.

At the same time, Four made a move, but immediately he took one step, the front door of the building fell off the hinges, and she ran out.

Teal.

Fire is burning on her trousers, so April quickly got a water pipe and pumpe on her, putting off the fire.

"You ok?" She asked, and Teal nodded simply, then the building blew up completely in two minutes, burning to ashes.

She left everyone dumfounded as she stood there, breathing heavily with the red cable marks on her arms.

Four began walking to her, and she balled her fists, keeping in her anger in check as he got closer.

All eyes are on them, and she was ready to bombard him with words, but when he got to her, it was a different story entirely.

Four showed her the calculator watch which showed that she spent more than thirty minutes inside.

She actually spent 30mins, 2secs.

"You intentionally tied me harder than the rest" she muttered, her hand itching to punch him, but his next words stopped her...

"Submit your uniforms to my Unit before 10am, and leave the base afterwards." 

"What!" Her eyes sparked.

"You're stepped down from military service, go back to your hometown" he muttered.

TBC.

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