Chapter 16 Into The Abyss

Words : 1134 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

*** {Inside The Projection} One moment, Malik was staring at the ceiling, broken, bloodied, and dead. The next, he was back on the bed, Sinbad in front of him, pinky raised with that same hopeful look in his eyes. Malik froze. His mind felt like it had been flipped upside down. What the hell just happened? Was he dead? Dreaming? Had he finally lost his damn mind? But his body didn't wait for his brain to catch up. It moved on its own, driven by some primal instinct. He lunged forward, wrapped his arms around Sinbad, and pulled him close. "Step out the window. Now." His voice trembled. "Please... please just do it." Sinbad looked up at him, wide-eyed and confused, but the desperation in Malik's tone left no room for questions. Slowly, the boy nodded and turned toward the window. The frame was already loose, so they easily pushed it open. Sinbad carefully climbed onto the sill, clutching it with one hand as he balanced Huda on his back. He was halfway out when— 'Dammit.' The door slammed open. "I KNEW IT!" Malik's heart dropped. "You've been hiding something, haven't you, boy?" The leader of the three men stood there, a cruel grin spreading across his face as his bloodshot eyes locked onto the two little ones. "Thought you could keep them all to yourself?" Malik didn't give him time for another word. He grabbed his stick—the same useless, withering thing—and stabbed it forward with everything he had. The wood crushed the man's throat, sending him stumbling back into his companions. "RUN!" Malik shouted, but he didn't need to; Sinbad was already outside. Smiling softly, he didn't wait for the dazed men to recover and bolted through the doorway, shoving past them. His bare feet pounded against the wooden floor as he raced down the hallway, making the building groan around him. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the receptionist at the desk glanced up, her face as blank as always. "Help—" Malik started, but he stopped himself. She didn't care. Of course, she didn't care. The woman didn't even flinch as he rushed past her and shoulder-slammed the front door open with a loud crash, the brittle hinges giving way instantly. "Sinbad!"@@@@ He screamed, spinning to face the first floor of the building where the boy stood. Sinbad was hugging the wall with one hand while holding Huda to his back with the other, his feet barely balanced on the protruding limestone. "Drop her! NOW!" Sinbad hesitated for a moment before doing as he was told and letting go. Huda's limp body tumbled down, and Malik surged forward, catching her awkwardly in his arms as he fell backward onto the dusty ground. Pain shot through him, but he didn't care. He clutched the girl close and scrambled to his feet. "Sinbad! You're next!" But the boy froze. His small hands gripped the wall even harder, his eyes darting between Malik and the window to his left. "Come on! There's no time!" Malik yelled again, but Sinbad didn't move... again. His legs trembled every time he put any strength in them, halting his attempts before they could even start. "The boy's still up here!" Just then, the thinnest of the three men kicked the window open and climbed up while the other two arrived outside. "Get him!" 'Better dead than a slave.' Malik shot forth, running faster than he ever did as the wooden floor creaked under his weight, every step threatening to send him plummeting into the darkness below. He stopped just a step or two before the cliff, where the wood dangled down, about to fall. "Wait!" The leader of the men shouted. "Kid, don't be stupid! You don't wanna die, do you?!" Malik inched further back. "I don't, but what choice do I have?!" The man continued, his tone turning desperate: "Better a slave than dead kid!" "No!" "Listen, just listen, yeah? We leave the boy alone; just give us the girl! We can share the profits! I might even think about not tasting her—" Malik took a whole step back, reaching the edge, his golden eyes blazing with rage. "SHUT UP! IF YOU DON'T, I SWEAR I'LL DROP HER RIGHT NOW!" It was a look that brought shivers down the man's spine. "O-Okay! Just calm down! I'll stay quiet, alright?" The men slowly and quietly tried to get closer to Malik, moving like crabs a few meters ahead of him. Their eyes constantly darted into the void, unable to resist its terrifying pull. Malik didn't react, not feeling the least bit threatened by them. It was a scene that mirrored their first interaction, only now that instead of Malik being the threat, it was the platform beneath him, its edges splintering with each second that passed. "Sinbad!" Malik called out, his voice echoing across the chasm. The boy was still on the protruding limestone, though on the left side of the building instead of the right, just above the devouring abyss. It seemed that he and his pursuer had managed to do a full lap around the building. "Do you trust me?!" Malik had left him for dead seconds ago; one wouldn't expect anything but a "n-n-no," as a reply. "Y-Y-Yes!" But it was Sinbad; though they had just met, he grew to love his big brother quite a lot. Enough that forgiveness came easy—Hell, this didn't even feel like a betrayal to him. His big brother's actions had been to save Huda, his sister, and Sinbad couldn't hold that against him. If anything, it made him respect the guy even more. "You agreed when I said you'd do whatever I told you, right?!" Sinbad nodded furiously, tears streaming down his face. "Then jump!" "..." "..." "..." "..." For a moment, there was only silence. Malik leaned back, his body teetering over the abyss. He stared at Sinbad, his eyes filled with something the boy couldn't quite place. And then he fell. The darkness swallowed him whole. "NO!" Sinbad screamed, his hand shooting out like he could pull him back. But, a moment later, he quietened. Though the sight of them falling gave him incredible shock, it also quelled any hesitation left within him—like a switch had been flipped. He was no longer afraid. He trusted Malik. He always would. Squeezing his eyes shut, he took a deep breath and pushed himself off the wall. "You idiots!" "Fucking dumbasses!" "NOOOOO! MY GODDAMN MONEY!" The last thing they heard was the men's furious curses fading into the distance as they plummeted into Al-Fawra, the maw of the devil.

Chapter 16 Into The Abyss

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