A Snap Of The Fingers

*Snap*

*Tink*

As the dagger plunged down, the sound of the tip digging into the damp stone path rang through the tunnel shortly after a soft but sharp snap.

With his heart in his throat, Loki's eyes nearly popped out as he struggled to see the point of impact but the cold edge at his throat kept him pinned in place. His anxiousness was only heightened as the figure hunching over Rykar was posed in such a way that his arm obscured the vital scene from his view.

With his hand still firmly clasped onto the dagger, the person above Rykar was still looking Chance dead in the eyes as he began shuddering uncontrollably. A muffled groan left him as he scrunched towards the ground covering Rykar completely.

At this moment everyone's tension was at its peak, all eyes were on the two bodies splayed on the ground in front of them. Suddenly the narrow walkway seemed like an unsurpassable distance. Despite being so close, the stalemate was impossible to bridge as anyone moving from their position would open up their counterpart to move freely.

A few seconds passed in near silence. The body covering Rykar continued to shudder occasionally before a weak whisper could be heard before being cut off once again. "Let me-"

In a fluid motion, the body leaned to the side without resistance as Rykar emerged from underneath.

*Clack*

*Pop*

Mixed reactions were shown on the faces of everyone present. Loki and Chance were visibly relieved as they breathed out a massive breath, the relief in Loki's mind completely blinded him to the blade who edge was now shallowly embedded under his skin, drawing out a small sliver of blood.

On the complete opposite, even under their masks, the eyes of the other two assailants were plastered with worry and despair as the third member was put into a full mount by Rykar.

A sliver of his neck had been cut open which allowed for a steady stream of blood to soak into his cotton shirt, giving the black cloth a muddy grey colour. The assailant on the other hand was completely powerless under his grip.

The hand he had been clutching the blade with was in a weird contest with Rykars own. Despite holding onto the majority of the handle, Rykars much smaller hand managed to latch between his index and middle finger.

The origin of the previous snapping sound was obvious after seeing the angle of the fingers in Rykar's grip. It seemed unimaginable that in just a moment, both fingers were bent almost to the back of his own palm while his middle finger looked to be snapped along its two joints. What was left looked more like an inverted spider limb than a finger.

Without a doubt, the only thing holding the person from shouting themselves hoarse was Rykar's right hand which was clasped tightly around his throat. It can't have been more than five seconds since the grip was established but, through the gap in the mask, the persons eyes were already frantic and bloodshot.

Without relieving the pressure on his throat in the slightest, Rykar looked up and locked eyes with the last functioning member of their team.

"Let him go or I swear to God, this little freak is a dead man!" In response to the deadpan eyes, he shouted while pulling Loki from the wall.

Whether it be to intimidate Rykar or simply due to fear causing him to place an extra shield in front of him, threw his own back onto the wall, instead taking a stance behind Loki's back. After the rapid adjustment which was far smoother when compared to Rykar's, the deformed edge was once again poised to slit Loki's throat from the front.

Silence. Rykar continued staring for another few seconds before once again…

*Pop*

One of the few remaining joints in his captive's index finger was popped out of place due to his exerted grip strength. As if on cue, the person in his grip began to thrash about wildly as as his remaining arm and leg dug into the ground but this was soon stopped as the grip on is throat was adjusted.

His eyes began to dye red as the blood vessels within began to rupture. Any strength left was used to tilt his eyes towards his companion in a begging look as his eyes began to lose focus.

Being on the receiving end of this final stare, the person holding Loki began to tremble. Completely torn between leveraging Loki for his own safety and, on the other hand, a chance to save a friend.

Before having made a decision, an arm wrapped around Rykars throat while another clasped his right hand which was digging into the assailant's neck.

Without a chance to react, his forearm was clenched just below the wrist, causing him to release his captive as he was yanked to his feet. Even with his rapidly increasing strength and weight, he was shocked to find that, unlike with the previous assailant, he was powerless against the hold being applied to him.

Almost as quickly as he was picked up, he was put down once again before whipping around to find Chance standing next to him.

"That's enough. Let him go." Since the twins had met Chance, never had they seen him without his joking Attitude, even when seemingly angry he would always have traces of softness which made it hard to take him seriously.

If anything, it served to cross the bridge between their ages, causing the twins to develop a childish relationship with him as friends rather than that of the respected older brother.

It only took two short sentences to completely obliterate that image.

Chance was not stood straight with an intimidating atmosphere leaking from him. Even under the dull lighting, everyone present couldn't separate their eyes from his as he seemed to watch everything in front of him.

There was no room for question as he coldly stared at them one by one yet even as his eyes moved, it felt like each of them were still locked down by a searchlight.

"Charlie, get up. Rob pick him up. Boys, follow me. I didn't mean for it to go this far but were nearly there." Before his words even finished, he turned away and continued down the tunnel as the others picked themselves up and silently followed after him as a single group.