Chapter three: Day one: New surroundings
The first thing I remember doing when I woke up was clutch my head. The throbbing pain was persistent and painful, blurring my vision.
At first, all I noticed was how dark it was around me. Soon after, I realized that I was sitting on a thin, worn sheet of cloth.
This was definitely not where I had landed, that's for sure.
As my eyes focused, I saw Dakota sitting in the corner of the room. He had his arms on his knees and was staring patiently at me.
Dakota Way: (Whispering) ‘Yo.’
X.D: (Groaning) ‘What happened? Where are we?’
He shushed me.
Dakota Way: (Whispering) ‘Try to keep your voice down.’
He pointed out through one of the small cracked windows. I could see a few of the IWEC low orbit ships circling the area above us.
Dakota Way: (Whispering) ‘When we all dropped down, we landed just a little while away from here. You didn't bro. You hit the ground like a missile next to this place!’
My memory came back to me.
X.D: ‘Atsuko!’
I almost yelled out her name, but I caught myself just in time.
X.D: (Whispering) ‘Sorry. Is she ok?’
Dakota nodded towards the door. Atsuko was sat with her back propped up against the doorframe. She had her laptop on her knees and was frantically typing away.
She had her headphones in, so she had not noticed me getting up.
Dakota Way:(Whispering, winking) ‘She's been worried sick about you dude. Go talk to her a bit.’
I did just that.
Clumsily, I got to my feet and wobbled over to where she was seated.
She noticed that it was me as soon as I sat beside her.
Atsuko Viola: (Removing headphone, whispering) ‘Xyro! You're awake!’
She looked down at the computer screen. Yuuto was writing me a message instead of speaking out loud.
Yuuto Ito: (Message) ‘Hey Xyro! Great work up there buddy!’
Atsuko Viola: (Whispering) ‘D...Dakota told us about w...what you did for us. Thank you…’
X.D: (Whispering, cutting in) ‘No need to thank me. We all need to keep each other's backs. It's not something to thank me for. It's my job.’
I Laughed a little.
X.D: (Whispering) ‘Besides, thanking someone is too overrated.’
Atsuko Viola:(Whispering) ‘But, w...what do you w...want me to say to y...you for saving m...my life?’
X.D:(Whispering) ‘You don't need to say anything.’
I got up from the floor and leaned against the wooden door frame.
X.D:(Whispering) ‘What I want to know is how they haven't found us yet. Surely we should stick out like a sore thumb on a thermal imaging camera or something.’
Atsuko Viola:(Whispering) ‘N...Not necessarily. Yuuto has put up s...safety measures that delete our th...thermal picture in a small r...radius around this building. We are p...practically undetectable u...unless we make allot of noise…’
Dakota Way:(Whispering) ‘...Or if we deliberately draw attention to ourselves.’
To me, Dakota seemed to sound more intelligent when he was silent.
X.D:(Whispering) ‘Another thing…’
I scanned the room.
X.D:(Whispering) ‘Where are the others?’
Dakota Way:(Whispering) ‘Lewis is on the roof. I think he’s checking out the place. I'm not sure what the other lovebirds are doing though.’
X.D: ‘I will go check on them. I need a good stretch anyway.’
A message popped up on Atsuko's laptop. It made a silent 'Bing' as it appeared.
Yuuto Ito: (Message) ‘Go and have a wonder. Just don't go too far away from the building. I don't think I can cover that kind of range. I'm not a fucking super computer after all!’
He then added a winky face at the end of the message.
I walked out of the room and down a short corridor. Rubble was sprawled across the floor, cobwebs smothered the walls and droplets of water seeped their way through the ceiling. This place was truly abandoned, left to turn to ruin.
At the end, I was greeted by a small room, which acted as an entryway to the building. It was filled to the brim with old furniture.
Ignoring the room’s content, I made my way out of the front door.
The outside of the building began to lead out into an open village. Old cottages were scattered around the small, green hillside. As it was nighttime, the only available light for visibility either came from the full moon, or from the windows of a few of the cottages.
Stepping out into the garden of the building, I noticed that Miu and my brother were sat beneath an oak tree. The two were on opposite sides to one another.
Miu was writing something into her diary, whilst Ryu was jotting something down in his journal.
If these two were not the perfect match for each other, then no one was.
I can understand the frustration of being interrupted during writing, so I Ignored the two of them And began to look for a way to get up onto the roof to see what Lewis was up to.
Eventually, I found a small metal ladder that was propped up against the roof.
As I pulled myself onto the top of the building, I saw Lewis sat on one of metal boxes in the centre. He was staring off into the distance, watching every ship with intent as it flew by. Cans of beer were scattered across the floor, and a few unopened ones were next to him.
He turned and noticed me.
Lewis sterge:(Whispering) ‘Glad to see you on your feet kid. I knew you wouldn't get knocked out that easily.’
He cracked open one of the cans and threw another one at me. I caught it, opened the top and sat beside him.
Normally I don't drink, since I have never been one for alcohol.
But, considering the circumstances, I couldn't really care less.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering, pointing) ‘That's where you landed.’
Looking in the direction he was pointing, I could see a large indent in the ground. It was the perfect shape of my body.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘You really hit the ground hard.’
He began chuckling to himself.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering, passive) ‘*Sigh* You know, It's so nice to be able to see the sky like this…’
We both stared out into the distant void of space. Beyond the constantly circling planes was the vast, star-filled sky. Each and every individual one let off a twinkle of light as if the universe surrounding us was that of a canvas.
Lewis sterge: (Whispering) ‘...I just wish Leona was here to see this now…’
He shed a small, white tear, which trickled slowly down his cheek. He wiped it off and smiled off into the distance.
It's surprisingly hard to watch a guy like Lewis get sad. It just shows you that even the toughest shells have a breaking point.
X.D: (Whispering) ‘Just know Lewis, that somewhere out there, she is smiling down upon you.’
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘I hope so.’
X.D: (Whispering) ‘I know so.’
I took a large swig of the beer. It tasted rather flat, mild, warm and above all else disgusting in taste.
Politely, I place the can down beside me. I didn't want to drink any more.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘You know, the first time we met, I thought you were a tough guy, Xyro. Now, I know you're just a big softy.’
X.D: (Whispering) ‘The same can be said for you!’
He smiled and began sharpening one of his blades with a small piece of flint.
X.D: (Whispering, in thought) ‘What can I say, I'm not exactly built to be a tough guy in any sought of way. You and Dakota have taken that role anyway.’
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘True, True…’
He paused to think.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘...Hey, kid, do you remember that promise that we made?’
I remembered it clearly.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘We both kind of failed there, hey? Miu saved our asses.’
X.D:(Whispering) ‘Hey, I was waiting for the right time to shoot the button out of his hand!’
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering, rolling his eyes) ‘Yeah yeah, sure.’
We both remained silent for a little while, with Lewis slowly taking sips of his drink.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘None of us are useless. None of us have ever been useless.’
He flipped one of his knives in his hand, twirling it around his fingers with elegance.
X.D:(Whispering) ‘At the end of the day, we all have something to improve on. But thats what lifes all about, right?’
Lewis laughed.
Lewis Sterge:(Whispering) ‘Yeah, you're right kid.’
Clouds began to fill the night sky. Each one began to choke out the moon's rays, preventing us from having a clear view of the ships above.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘Right, I'm going inside now. It's going to get darker, so I would try getting some more rest.’
He jumped onto the ladder and slid his way down it to the bottom. I just jumped from the roof onto the ground.
As we were about to enter the building again, Lewis stopped.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘Oh, and one more thing Xyro…’
He looked over his shoulder at me.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘...Leona was right about you.’
With an internal smile, I accompanied him back inside.
Dakota, Miu, Ryu, and Atsuko were all sat around a small fire in the middle of the room. Miu’s bird was fast asleep on her shoulder.
Dakota Way: (Whispering) ‘*Yawn* Man I'm tired. That was one long flight.’
Miu Shizuka: (Whispering) ‘It was rather tiresome indeed. I just wish we brought some more food with us. We're almost out.’
Ryu’s stomach grumbled.
Ryu Jianar: (Whispering) ‘I could really go for something to eat.’
Yuuto Ito: (Message) ‘There’s nothing we can do about that now. Get some rest, and in the morning we can all worry about it.’
Atsuko yawned, and almost instantly dropped to her mattress asleep.
Miu Shizuka: (Whispering, smiling) ‘I think we should all do the same. Goodnight to you all.
As everyone got comfortable and went to sleep, I kept staring out the small cracked windows.
The feeling of being constantly hunted was one that I didn't expect to ever be in.
Yeah, ironic that the hunter was now the hunted.
Still, I guess the idea that you could be caught at any time can really grind on your mind. Especially when you are trying to help out your friends as well as yourself.
Now, it was less of an adventure and more of a survival.
Because without teleportation, what else could we do?
Turn ourselves in like idiots?
I don't think so!
Besides, I wasn't prepared to give up without a fight. Not now, not ever.
I shut my eyes and dreamed of falling.
Because, I mean, what else?
Chapter three: Day two: Through the countryside
The mass chirping of birds filled my ears, forcing my eyes to open. Daylight had flooded the room around me, revealing more cracks in the already crumbling walls of the building.
Everyone seemed to be fast asleep, except Dakota, who was nowhere to be seen.
silently, I got to my feet and made my way outside in the hopes of finding him.
As I left the front door, I found him outside in the garden, punching the tree. Beads of sweat were pouring down his face as he took swing after swing with his fists.
X.D: ‘Mind if I join you?’
He took one more punch, then turned to me with his fist still pushed up against the bark.
Dakota Way: (Panting) ‘Sure thing.’
I dropped to the ground and began doing press ups. Dakota continued with his regime, until the two of us were exhausted and couldn't continue.
Dakota Way: ‘Man, that was good.’
I pushed myself from the ground and sat back on the soft grass.
X.D: ‘Agreed.’
He sat beside me.
Dakota Way: ‘When the others get up, we have a long-ass walk ahead of us dude.’
I took a glance at the surrounding countryside.
X.D: ‘Well, at least the scenery is nice. It's really nice weather too.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘I guess we are lucky then. Britain's weather is not normally this nice.’
Ryu and the others came out of the building. Atsuko, Lewis, and Miu were discussing something else, so they sat under the shade of the porch.
Dakota Way: ‘I wish it did rain. I'm boiling man!’
Ryu jianar: ‘Get into the shade then.’
Dakota Way: ‘But it's nice in the sun.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘So why are you complaining about the heat?’
Dakota Way: ‘Bro, I didn't say anything about the heat. All I said would that it would be nice if it rained so that I could cool down a bit.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘B...but...stop contradicting yourself!’
The small smirk on Dakota's face spoke a thousand words.
X.D: ‘He’s winding you up Ryu.’
I gestured for him to take a seat next to me. He walked over and set himself down beside me.
Ryu Jianar: ‘So, what is or future plan anyway? I mean, what are we doing exactly?’
X.D: ‘The plan? Oh, that's simple really…’
I laid backwards onto the grass.
X.D: ‘...The plan is to find Ronnie, as he is the only one that knows how to get into facilities. Then, all we have to do is break into thousands of them until we find those teleportation devices that we need, Which may not even exist, Whilst fighting off as many IWEC troops we can and whatever else the facilities have in store for us.’
I gave him a sideways glance.
X.D: ‘Simple really.’
Ryu’s face went blank.
Ryu jianar: ‘Yeah, “Really simple”.’
Dakota and I chuckled to ourselves.
X.D: ‘*Sigh* It's going to be one hell of a task, hey?’
Dakota Way: ‘At least it's fun! Well, so far at least.’
A large rumble emitted from Ryu's stomach.
Ryu Jianar: ‘S...sorry. I'm just hungry.’
Dakota Way: ‘Yeah, I could go for something to eat.’
X.D: ‘There's nothing we can really do about that at the moment.’
We all stopped, and sighed.
Lewis Sterge: ‘You guys enjoying the sun?’
The three of them came over from the porch of the building and sat in front of us. Miu sat a little further back so that she was still in the shade from the building.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Yeah. I think we are lucky to have arrived on such a warm day. It's usually a lot colder this time of the year.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘We should really head off at twelve-ish.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘W...what's the t...time now then?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘It's quarter past eleven.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Great! That gives us forty-five minutes of relaxing in the sun.’
Like me, he sprawled himself out on the grass and placed his arms behind his head.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Speaking of which, Atsuko, can you extend the solar panels on this thing. It's almost out of battery.’
Atsuko reached around the back of the laptop, pulling out the two small panels from a backboard. She then carefully placed the laptop down onto the ground.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Ahh, that's better.’
X.D: ‘Yuuto, What are we going to do first?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Well, obviously we need to find Ronnie. By the looks of things, his last known location before going dark was here…’
He put on the screen a small map of the London area. A red dot, which represented Ronnie, was in the outskirts of the map.
Yuuto Ito: ‘...I guess we have to go to there and figure out what to do from that point.’
Dakota Way: ‘Be real with us man. How long is the walk going to take?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘About five days. Three if we are persistent.
Dakota groaned. So did Miu.
X.D: ‘It’s not that bad. At least were walking and not running.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I'm not annoyed about that…’
She was clenching her stomach.
X.D: ‘Yeah, we’re all hungry too.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Is there any food around here at all?’
Atsuko Viola: ‘M...maybe one of the c...cottages have some s...spare food…’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Hey, good idea!’
We watched as Lewis darted over to the nearest one, and knocked on the door. After a short while, an old woman opened the door, looked at him from head to toe, and slammed the door in his face. He sulked over to us.
X.D: ‘What happened?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Well, I guess I may have scared her a little bit.’
Miu ground at him in annoyance.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Xyro, you try!’
X.D: ‘If Lewis scared her, then I would give her a bloody heart attack!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Fine! I guess I have to do everything myself!’
This time, Miu went over to the cottage opposite to the woman. After knocking, the door was answered by a man, who looked to be about in his late twenties. After a short conversation with Miu, the man went into the house and came back with a bowl of fruit. After the man had left back inside, Miu skipped over to us with a smile on her face.
Miu Shizuka: ‘See, It wasn't that difficult.’
She began handing out fruit to everyone. Unfortunately, she was one piece short.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, I guess someone will have to share.’
X.D: ‘Have mine, Miu. I'm not very hungry.’
(I lied)
Miu took the piece of fruit from my hands and began eating it with the others.
I watched hungrily as they all finished off their morning meal.
After we all had finished, we began to pack our stuff for the journey ahead.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Let's get a move on guys! We can't afford to take too much time.’
Atsuko placed the solar panels back into the laptop and placed it into the front pocket of her rucksack.
We knew the general direction we were traveling in, So we set off down the large, stone road.
Leaving the small village, We began to move further through The countryside. The vast open fields of grass were Almost entirely empty, except a few stray trees and old farming buildings. Hedges were aligned roughly along the side of the snaking road but seemed to break off into a few parts, Revealing more open fields.
After two hours of walking, we were greeted with our first encounter with normal citizens.
At first, they waved at us. Then, they saw me and began to run in the direction they were going, slamming the door to their house shut.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Xyro, p...please don't take o...offence to this, but you r...really stick out.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘You know, being a robot and all.’
X.D: ‘I know, but what am I supposed to do?’
Atsuko thought about it for a while.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Oh, I know!’
She took off her hoodie and threw it at me.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Try it on!’
I placed the hoodie on. It fitted almost perfectly, except the hood wouldn't fit my head. It may have been something to do with the great big horn located in the centre of it!
Yuuto Ito: (Muffled) ‘Xyro, You can put your horn down if you slide it backwards on your head.’
The spike seemed to retract as I pushed it backwards. The hoodie fitted on perfectly.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Now you should not draw as much attention. As long as you keep that hood up.’
X.D: ‘What about my legs. Aren't they still going to draw attention?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I'm not sure. But I don't think Atsuko is going to be willing to give you her skirt.’
Miu smirked at me.
X.D: ‘Thats not what I meant!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I know. I think We will find some trousers or something soon enough.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘Lewis, y...you need to h...hide your b...blades.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Oh yeah? Well, how do you propose I do that?’
Ryu grabbed Lewis's jacket, Turned it inside out, and handed it back to him. All the blades were now out of sight.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Problem solved. Let's get a move on already.’
I guess Ryu was just agitated at the time, but I didn't stop to ask what was wrong.
Further ahead of us,was Dakota. He was steadily jogging along.
Miu Shizuka: ‘For such a lazy tool, he really doesn't give up with exercise, doesn't he?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘What can I say. You have to give respect to the guy, though.’
X.D: (Shouting) ‘Hey, Dakota!’
He turned around but kept jogging backwards.
Dakota Way: ‘Yeah? What's up?’
X.D: ‘Take it, easy buddy! You're going to tire yourself out completely before we even get close to London.’
He paused and waited for us to catch up to him.
Dakota Way: (Out of breath) ‘Quick question. Does anyone have any water?’
Atsuko took a small bottle of water from her bag and handed it to him. He quickly gulped down the entirety of the bottles content.
Dakota Way: (Gasping for air) ‘Thanks.’
I noticed that Atsuko was giving me a funny look.
X.D: ‘Do I have something on me, or…’
She smiled and closed her eyes.
Atsuko viola: ‘No, it's n...nothing like that. You j...just look w...weird in a hoodie.’
Lewis sterge: ‘It really doesn't suit you. I think a trench coat would look better.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘A trench coat? Realy? It would drown him!’
The two argued about what would look better on me for the rest of the day. I personally wouldn't want to wear either, but I didn't want to interrupt the argument (As it was the only interesting thing to do. We were walking on a dirt road in the middle of open fields for half the day after all!)
After enduring field after field, we finally arrived at the outskirts of town. The fields were now replaced by bunches of buildings. Since the day was coming to an end, there was next to no one outside, except a few people on their way home or to drink.
We didn't enter the town, though. Instead, we stayed just outside, behind the tree line.
Just like always, we set up a small fire and went to sleep.
Miu and I kept guard duty. We didn't have a clue about how people would react to seeing us, so staying clear of town was a high priority for the moment.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Xyro, if you need to go to sleep, then please feel free to do so. It's the least I can do for you after you allowed me to have that last piece of fruit.’
X.D: ‘Its fine Miu. I don't need to sleep.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘In that case…’
She dug deep into her bum bag and took out her small flask.
X.D: ‘You don't even need to ask.’
So, the evening slowly went by.
The only interesting thing of the evening was watching Miu's bird fly around a small branch
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. After considering it for a while,she finally decided to call the bird Raisin.
With the two of us on watch, the evening seemed to fly by.
Chapter three: Day three: The enemy with a friendly face.
Remember that I told you the day before was beautiful and sunny?
Well, as the time hit five am, we were greeted by torrential rain.
Typical British weather!
Luckily for us, the trees covered the fast falling rain.
The drops of water fell like crystal bullets from the sky, shattering as they came into contact with the ground.
Miu Shizuka: (Moaning) ‘The fire's gone out…’
I turned from my post. Since Miu was up all night taking turns to watch with me, she began trying to re-boil some tea. Unfortunately for her, the rain had quenched the fire. All that remained now was a soggy mess of ash and sticks.
X.D: ‘I guess this is what Ryu meant by the weather not normally being nice.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I don't mind it. The sound of the rain is rather peaceful.’
She took a seat beside me, taking small sips from the lukewarm liquid.
We sat in silence for a while, watching the downpour of water. Miu tried to mimic the way I was sitting, with her legs crossed and suspended slightly.
Miu Shizuka: ‘How can you find this comfortable?’
X.D: ‘I don't.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Why are you doing it then?’
X.D: ‘Well, my father told me that pain is one of the only things during meditation that keeps a true link to reality. Sitting like this allows me to endure a lot of pain without harming myself in the process. I guess I have grown numb to it now.’
She nodded in agreement but didn't say anything more.
A sudden shout startled the two of us. A transport vehicle had just arrived in the centre of the town. Heavily armed IWEC troopers began emerging from the inside and terrorizing the civilians. They were showing posters of our pictures, and asking if they had seen us.
Miu Shizuka: ‘This is really bad!’
Hastily, I got to my feet and signaled everyone to get up.
X.D: ‘We need to get going. Now!’
Without questioning my authority, we all began making our way around the far side of the town, hiding inside of the alleyways behind buildings.
The narrow twists and bends were almost limitless and began causing me to feel nauseous as we all ran through the labyrinth of brick.
The sprint ended at a dead end. We were blocked off from all sides by buildings.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Damn, we need to go back.’
We were already too late.
IWEC Trooper’s: ‘Quickly! Down this way! They're trapped!’
A band of troops equipped to the teeth with protective clothing and riot gear surrounded the only exit available to us.
They all went into formation; Riot shields at the front, marksmen at the back.
This time wasn't going to be the same as the last.
Me and Lewis stepped forward in an attempt to shield the others.
They did not fire.
Instead, a teenage boy, equipped with a battle suit, stepped forward from the group. He was roughly my height, with short black hair. He had his head down as he walked towards us.
???: ‘*Laughing* I hate to say it, but you guys really look pathetic. How was I even able to tolerate you all!’
The boy lifted his head. The right half of his face and his lower jaw were replaced by a robotic equivalent. Both his robotic eye and his normal one were glowing green.
But that wasn't the concerning part.
It was the scar on his left eye that boiled anger inside of me.
X.D: ‘Yukki!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘What have the bastards done to you!’
Yukki Ito: (Laughing) ‘Nice to see you too, you lowly experiment!’
He reached over his shoulder and unsheathed two of the same black blades that the soldiers were using on the plane wing.
Yukki Ito: ‘Let's just say that they made a few...improvements....’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Yukki, please…’
Yukki Ito: ‘The names Viro now. Face the facts, your friend Yukki is dead.’
He was right. The person standing before us was no longer Yukki. Instead, it was the shell of my former friend.
Viro: ‘IWEC policy number 028: You may surrender yourselves to us, and we will take you to the nearest facility to be reworked. If you refuse or try to resist, then we will have to treat it as an act of violence towards the IWEC…’
He stabbed the ground with one of the swords.
Viro: ‘...You should all know this policy for damn sure, especially after what happened to that stupid bitch before me. What was her name again? The dirty rat's name slips my mind.’
Lewis went to charge forward, but I stopped him.
Viro: ‘Hmm, pathetic…’
He raised his hand.
Viro: ‘Well, it's been fun. To be honest, I don't care about capturing you all. I would rather watch your sorry carcasses get riddled with bullets.’
He dropped his arm towards us.
Viro: ‘Open fire!’
Viro jumped backwards over the barrier of shields. The wall of lead began to shower towards us.
Lewis pushed me aside, drawing every blade that he could fit in his hands from his jacket.
His eyes were glowing white.
With quick and precise movements, He cut every bullet mid-air as they zipped towards us. Every single one of them dropped to the floor with a loud ting.
Soon, the squad was out of bullets.
Lewis charged forward, breaking through the wall of kevlar with his shoulder. The soldiers didn't stand a chance. His blades dug deep into each of their bodies, leaving them dead where they once stood. Their first line of defence was defeated.
Lewis Sterge: (Shouting) ‘Xyro, take the others and go! I can keep you covered.’
X.D: ‘But..’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Just go!’
Viro lunged towards Lewis with surprising speed. The two began to clash in a heated battle of steel. I rushed the others around them, telling them all to go ahead.
By this point, Viro had turned Lewis's blades into a pile of broken metal. He stabbed him in the back of the leg, bringing lewis to his knees.
Viro: ‘Oh, I remember now! Her name was Leona, right?’
He lined up the swords blade to his neck.
Viro: ‘Give my regards to her in hell!’
He took the final swing.
The sound of metal echoed as the sword collided with my arm. Before Viro could retaliate to the block, I punched him hard in the stomach. The boy went flying backwards, landing in front of newly arriving troops. As he went to get up, he puked blood over the floor.
Dragging Lewis on my shoulder, we made a run for it.
As I turned the first corner, the sounds of gunfire filled my ears. Eventually, after running for so long, the sounds of shouting could no longer be heard.
The others were waiting for us just outside the alleyways, standing next to the main road. As we emerged, Dakota placed Lewis’s other half onto his shoulder.
With no time to stop and take a rest, we followed the main road towards the distant city area. After hours of maintaining a constant jog, The weight of Lewis became too much for me and Dakota to bare. We had to take a breather.
As the night began to fall, we decided that a break was necessary. So upon coming across a bridge next to the main road, we decided that it was the perfect place to sleep for the evening. Laying Lewis onto the ground, Miu began to check over his wounds.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Don't worry Lewis, the cut isn't too deep. Your blood should repair most of the damage.’
Lewis Sterge: (Chuckling to himself) ‘Great, I guess. Still hurts like fuck though.’
Miu began to bandage up Lewis's cut with a torn piece of her dress.
I was more concerned about Yuuto at the time. I thought for certain that he would have been heartbroken to see his brother changed into something they all resented for so long.
Yuuto Ito: ‘I still can't believe it…’
Atsuko Viola: ‘He d...didn't deserve t...this...’
Out of the blue, Yuuto made a hard decision.
Yuuto Ito: '...As his brother, I give you all permission to fight him to the death, no matter what he says. We just can't trust him anymore.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Xyro, could I ask you a question…’
He shuffled around on the spot in discomfort.
Lewis Sterge: ‘I watched you send Yu...Viro flying after a single punch. Why didn't you finish him off?’
The others stared at me, eager for the answer.
X.D: ‘At the end of the day, he is still Yukki. If I don't have to kill him, I won't.’
Lewis gave me an agitated look.
Lewis Sterge: ‘After what he just said, I think I don't mind ramming my foot up his ass the next time I see him.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Saying that, there's another thing that is concerning me, Lewis...’
Nothing more was needed to be said.
Lewis Sterge: ‘I know exactly what you're going to say. If it's true, then I don't think I could stand to fight her either.’
I heard a little bit of silent conversation behind me.
Ryu Jianar: (Whispering) ‘I still have no idea who these people are…’
Miu Shizuka:(Whispering) ‘ It's a long story. Now shush!’
From the sounds of things, Miu slapped Him, As Ryu let out a sharp, silent huff of pain.
Dakota Way: ‘So, how far away are we now Yuuto?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘We are still two full days of walking away. We can't afford to have another encounter like we just had. We need to stay A little bit more stealthy.’
I gave Atsuko an expectant look.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Don't l...look at me like t...that. I have nothing to c...contribute.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘I do, but you guys will need to pay close attention.’
We all gathered closely around The laptop.
Yuuto Ito: ‘A few miles away from here, there is a train station. One of the trains goes directly into London. Now, the main train that goes there isn't available at the moment. But, if we can find the track, then It would lead us directly into the city, without drawing a lot of attention from people.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Sounds like a plan. One question though…’
He sat against the concrete wall of the bridge.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Could we wait until morning please. I know we're on a life or death adventure and all, but I really need to keep my sleep schedule in check.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘*moan* Fine, we can rest for the night. But we really need to go as soon as possible, so make sure your up and ready by sunrise!’
Miu Shizuya: ‘Oh, don't worry, I will make sure he does.'
Her red eyes glowed menacingly at him.
This evening Was Yuuto’s turn to take watch. He set up a motion detection for our local area. Lewis also volunteered to take watch, as the pain from his leg was keeping him up.
Since this was my first chance to get some sleep in a few days, I took the opportunity heartily.
…
Quick rant, outside of all this…
Dakota snores like a maniac. I mean, seriously, it's so bloody loud!
I sleep so far away from him now, and yet I can still hear him from up here!
It's ridiculous!
Chapter three: Day four: All paths lead to the same fate.
It was still rather dark as I awoke. The sun had just started rising over the horizon, casting a small amount of light over the area.
Yawning, I pushed myself off the concrete wall and stretched out. The metal plates across my body made snapping noises as I extended my arms and legs.
The sound of a silent conversation above me caught my interest. I decided that it was best to find the source, so I went around the back of the bridge and climbed up.
Sitting on the railings of the bridge was Lewis and Miu, who had their legs dangling over the side. I was more eager than ever to Listen in on the conversation.
Lewis Sterge: ‘...You just have to give yourself some time to think it through.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Yeah, your right. But how am I supposed to choose?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘I don't know. Who would you say is more your type?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, they both are.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘*Sigh* I'm not going to be able to help you with this. With me and Leona, we just got on like a wild fire as soon as we met.’
Miu Shizuka: (Paying no attention) ‘I mean, Pumpkin and I have allot in common as well, with his drop dead gorgeous eyes and amazing….’
I decided to speak up before I got creeped out even more.
X.D: 'Am I interrupting something I shouldn't be?’
I vaulted over the railing and sat beside them. Miu jumped from shock.
Miu Shizuka: (Blushing) ‘How long have you been standing there for?’
X.D:(Laughing) ‘Long enough.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Have you got any input to this Xyro? I’m not the best at giving this type of advice.’
X.D:(Still laughing) ‘Honestly you two! Dates are the least of our worries at the moment!’
By this point, the sun had already risen just past the horizon line.
X.D: ‘We better start getting ready to go. I can't stand to listen to Yuuto moan anymore.’
Agreeing, We began to make our way down to the others. As Lewis walked off ahead, I decided to take the opportunity to whisper something to Miu.
X.D: (Whispering) ‘You and Ryu are perfect for each other…’
She tried to slap me, but I was just out of arm's reach.
After a short chase, Miu gave up. The rest of the morning just involved us packing all our stuff up. Yuuto explained to us that we had to pass through a heavily populated town, which didn't really take my fancy. He explained that it was a heavily built up area, as buildings of varying sizes were packed together.
Yuuto Ito: ‘I have my suspicions that the IWEC will try to intercept us there. We have to make sure that we keep our eyes peeled, and keep our guards up.’
The sound of loud snoring became more and more apparent.
Ryu was still fast asleep against the concrete wall.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Typical, Just typical!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Don't worry, I have this covered.’
She walked over and jabbed him with her finger.
Miu Shizuka: (Joyfully) ‘Wake up sleepy head, rise and shine!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘*groan*...Five more minutes….*snore*’
Miu Shizuka: ‘...’
She took hold of his arm and bit the back of his hand.
I have never heard anyone scream as loud as he did in my entire life. (Being under a bridge didn't help with lowering the noise either.)
Ryu Jianar: ‘ARGHHH......WHAT THE HELL! SHE BIT ME!’
Miu Shizuka: (Giggling) ‘Good morning, now get moving!’
She kept kicking him with her boots until he was ready to go.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Right, everyone, move out!’
Without wasting time, we continued on our way.
The further into the walk we got, the more and more people and buildings started to appear.
Atsuko’s hood was a big help. Although I still got a few weird looks from people, at least nobody freaked out.
Out of everyone, it was Atsuko who I felt sorry for. She was never the type to enjoy being surrounded by people, so she was trying her hardest to stay centred between us, and avoid as much eye contact as possible.
At least Dakota was enjoying himself. As people walked past, he either greeted them with a smile or a wave. Luckily for him, the people around seemed to be nice enough to wave back or at least give a short smile.
More and more buildings and people seemed to come and pass.
We soon came across a cross section. A sign pointed to the left, which showed a small picture of a train.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Y...Yuuto says that the s...station is a few miles ahead. We j...just need to pass t...through this town and keep w...walking straight.’
Just walk straight through a town. Doesn't sound that difficult, doesn't it?
Trust me, it is if you're us.
We entered the built up town. Although the majority of the streets were packed closely together, the sheer amount of people surprised and overwhelmed us.
Like all towns, this one was stocked with merchants at market stalls.
People were selling everything under the sun to the people that passed by, attempting to sell as much stuff as they could. It was funny to see the amount of fully grown men cower when Miu stared at them with her menacing red eyes when they attempted to haggle with us.
All distractions aside, I realised that Atsuko wasn't with us anymore. Instead, she was further back, browsing one of the market stools. She seemed rather excited about something.
X.D: ‘What have you found?’
Atsuko Viola: (Excitedly) ‘I n...need that…’
She pointed at an oddly shaped tool that was hanging from the back of the stool.
X.D: ‘What type of tool is that?’
Atsuko viola: ‘I...it’s a screwdriver.’
X.D: ‘I have never seen a screwdriver like that! What do you need it for anyway?’
Atsuko Viola: (happily) ‘R...remember that p...project that I'm working on? Well, I kind of n...need that to finish off a f...few details.’
I saw the price tag.
X.D: ‘Well, do you have one hundred and twenty pounds?’
Atsuko Viola: ‘...n...no…’
X.D: ‘I hate to say it, but we have to keep going Atsuko.’
Disappointed, she followed me through the crowd of people and back to the others. They were seated around a water fountain in the middle of the town square.
Miu Shizuka: ‘It always seems to be you who splits off from the group Xyro.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘S...sorry Miu, w...we were just l...looking at the market…’
Dakota Way: (interrupting) ‘ Check it out dudes, I got you all something!’
Dakota strolled over to us. He was holding a few bags of candyfloss in his hands.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Err, Quick question, how did you buy them?’
I half expected him to say that he had stolen them.
Dakota Way: ‘Oh, I found some cash on the floor, so I got everyone this stuff. Pretty cool, right!’
He took a large bite out of his and began passing out each individual bag to us. Well, everyone except me of course.
Dakota Way: (Halfe Guiltily) ‘sorry Xyro, I didn't have enough to get everyone one.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘Y...you can have s...some of mine if you want.’
X.D: ‘No, it's fine. I have an apple anyways.’
It's hard to eat in a hoodie. Trying to keep the hood up, I raised my head in order to slide the whole apple into my mouth at once and seal it shut. It was more of a task then anything
As the others were tucking in, Miu slowly inched closer to me and whispered into my ear.
Miu Shizuka: ‘How did you buy that?’
X.D: ‘Good point.’
I winked at her. She didn't look too impressed with me.
Food aside, we decided to take a half an hour break from our travels, just to explore and browse the marketplace, before we inevitably needed to head off.
The half an hour seemed to fly by for me. All I did was wander around aimlessly.
We all decided to regroup back at the fountain.
When I arrived, I found that Atsuko, Ryu and Lewis all were waiting there. Dakota was just around the corner, “flirting” with two girls working on a fruit stall.
Miu arrived carrying a bunch of bags. To my surprise, she had bought herself… Well, I will let the conversation speak for itself.
X.D: ‘...Why do you need this many swimming costumes.’
Ryu held up one of the costumes. It was rather small and was covered in frilly bits. (I won't give you extra marks for guessing the colour. Hint: the same colour scheme as almost everything else she wears.)
Miu Shizuka: (Snatching it out of his hands) ‘When I have some spare time, I wouldn't mind relaxing at a beach to take a swim.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘In Britain?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Who said anything about swimming here? I'm talking about for the future. Obviously, with the chances of this facility not being the right one, we have a relatively high chance of going to other, more exotic countries. Don't patronise me on the things I buy.’
I nodded in agreement.
Miu Shizuka: (Winking at me) ‘You wouldn't mind helping me try them on, would you Pumpkin?’
X.D: (Changing topic) ‘Shouldn't we start making a move soon?’
Atsuko checked her laptop. A blush of embarrassment spread across her face.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Ermm, I t...think Yuuto a...agrees with you Xyro.’
Taking a quick glance at the laptop, I noticed that Atsuko had received a few hundred messages from Yuuto. Since she had placed him on silent, he had been trying to get into contact for a while. To summarise his message politely, he wanted us to get a move on.
Lewis Sterge: (Shouting) ‘Dakota, we need to head off now!’
Dakota gave us a thumbs up and quickly said goodbye to the two girls, who each handed him a small sheet of paper. He rushed over to Lewis.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Did you get them?’
Dakota Way: ‘See for yourself!’
He Flashed off the two small slivers of paper.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Nice!’
The two exchanged a fistbump.
Miu Shizuka: ‘*tut* you two are pigs.’
I took the pieces of paper out his hands. They were meant to be phone numbers, however they were clearly fake, since the the numbers were way too short to be tied to a mobile or house phone.
Yet, I gave the pieces of paper back without saying a word.
As we walked out of the town, I still felt surprised that the IWEC had not taken this opportunity to attempt to intercept us. The enclosed streets would have been perfect for an ambush.Maybe they just lost track of us after all.
Just like before, the rest of the walk was rather pleasant. The highlight for me was watching Atsuko dance around as her, Lewis and Dakota played a game of tag. For weapons of mass destruction, we were all rather soft. Even Miu found the whole chase enjoyable to watch.
The sound of passing trains caught our attention. They whizzed past at surprising speed. We were getting close.
Just ahead of us was the station. It was a rather small building, which contained a vast amount of people waiting to board their train.
We didn't enter the building, as we weren't getting a train. Instead, we loitered just outside, assessing how we should get onto the track. A large fence blocked off our access to the tracks.
X.D: (Whispering) ‘Do we go in, or climb over?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘I think we need to go in. there are too many people to just climb over.’
We stood there, thinking up an answer.
Miu Shizuka: ‘I have an idea…’
She gestured at us to follow her.
To my surprise, she began leading us away from the station.
Yuuto couldn't stay silent any longer.
Yuuto Ito: (finally off mute) ‘Excuse me, earth to miss Shizuka. The stations back that way!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I know that. But what do you really expect us to do?’
She began checking her nails.
Miu Shizuka: ‘..we can't just climb over in front of that many people. We also can't go inside to get tickets, because the train is currently in repairs. So…’
She stopped us all and turned towards the bushes to our right.
Miu Shizuka: ‘...We make our own path.’
Miu began making her way through the bushes. Just behind the thick shrubs, was the same fence leading to the tracks.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Nice work Miu! Quickly, let's climb over…’
Miu began to laugh.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Climb over?’
To my disgust, Miu turned to the fence and threw up a bright green liquid onto it.
The metal fence bubbled and melted away in a few seconds.
I guess Miu’s stomach acid had to be strong enough to melt away bodies. Still vile though
Miu Shizuka: (Wiping her mouth) ‘Ladies first.’
She gracefully stepped through the newly made hole. We followed soon after, deciding not to question what we just witnessed.
“Finding a single set of tracks? That sounds easy!” I hear you say.
Remember who you're talking to?
Three separate tracks lead off in three separate directions. One headed to the left, one to the right, and the other headed straight.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Ok, so we have to follow the Left track. Let's go!’
We walked halfway down it before Yuuto stopped us.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Wait, I'm sorry, its the right track we need to follow.’
So we moved over to that side.
Yuuto Ito: ‘...Or is it the centre one?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘...You have no idea, don't you?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘*Sigh* ...no…’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Can't you just use the map?’
Yuuto Ito: (Shouting) ‘I am...it's just...well…’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Oh my! You don't know how to use a map!’
Yuuto Ito: (Angrily) ‘Maps aren't my speciality, ok!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘...We need to follow the left track.’
Ryu began to follow it.
Dakota way: ‘Hold on, how do you know that it's the right track?’
Ryu turned and smiled.
Ryu Jianar: ‘As we were passing, I noticed that two trains went by. One was attached to the middle track, and the other was on the right one. You told us Yuuto that the track we need has a broken train on it. Looking at the departure times on the board at the station, it said that all trains arrive and depart at the same time. So, that would mean that this track is the one with the broken train, and therefore the one to London.’
Satisfied with himself, he continued forward.
Lewis Sterge: (laughing whispering) ‘Man, he showed you up big time Yuuto!’
Yuuto Ito: (Passive aggressive) ‘Yeah….shut up…’
Everyone followed Ryu. But I noticed that Atsuko was trailing behind. She seemed to be deep in thought.
X.D: (Playfully) ‘Hey miserable, what's up?’
My words broke her from the trance.
Atsuko: ‘Oh, nothing! It's just… How did Ryu get that so easily?’
X.D: ‘He's pretty observant when it comes to small details…’
I made sure to whisper.
X.D: ‘...when Ryu was younger, he always wanted to be a detective. we watched so many shows.’
I pointed out the small journal sticking out his back pocket.
X.D: ‘He keeps his notes in there. I bet you anything that he has been making notes of our trip so far.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘I'm s...still impressed that he w...was able to get us on t...the correct track.’
I laughed.
X.D: ‘Actually, this is the wrong one.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘Wait, what!’
She stopped me.
Atsuko viola: ‘W...what do you m...meen that were on the w...wrong track?’
X.D: ‘Well, Ryu was right about everything he said. He just missed out on a few small details.’ I looked back over my shoulder. ‘Speaking of which…’
I called over to the others.
X.D: ‘Hey, guys, Move off the tracks for a second, will you?’
Confused, they obliged.
Just in the knick of time too, as a train whizzed past us at full speed.
The strength of the wind was enough to knock everyone to the ground, except me.
When it finally passed, everyone gave stern looks at Ryu.
Miu Shizuka: ‘I thought you said this was the right track!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘But...I...I don't understand…’
I patted him on the back.
X.D: ‘As I was saying to Atsuko, you missed out a few important details Ryu. One example would be that you missed the neon sign that said one of the trains would be late by ten minutes.’
Ryu turned pale.
Ryu Jianar: ‘But, I swear I saw two trains go down the other tracks too!’
X.D: ‘Exactly, you did.’
He was more confused than ever.
Ryu Jianar: ‘I...a...how does that make sense? Yuuto said that the train was being repaired!’
X.D: (Sympathetic, laughing) ‘Ryu, the public train is being repaired. You watched two trains go past. The one on the right was a public transport, and the one in the middle was a supply train with building material on it.’
He blushed brightly.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Great, so we have wasted our time walking this way! Well done smart ass!’
X.D: (laughing) ‘Well, I need to tell you all something...’
I pulled out a small map from the pocket of atsuko's hoodie.
X.D: ‘...Just a few miles up ahead, all three tracks meet at a split off point. So, when we get there, all we have to do is continue through the middle tunel.’
At least Dakota found the funny side of it all.
Dakota Way: ‘So we could have just followed any path? That's funny!’
After a long walk, we eventually arrived at the tunnels. The tunnel in the middle had caution signs laid just across the outside. The cargo train I saw earlier was just next to it. Luckily for us, the builders seemed to be taking a break.
Ryu Jianar: ‘You don't need to be a detective to figure out which path we need to follow now.’
Pressing further on, we walked through the tunnel. It was rather cold, but that didn't seem to mind anyone. Arriving on the other side, we found….more track to follow.
Yeah, it was like this for two hours.
Eventually, the sun began to fall and rest. Accepting the fact that we wouldn't be able to press on in the sheer darkness, we set up camp for the night.
The sky was a beautiful shade of grey! Clouds completely choked the sky and drowned out the moon completely.
I was laying next to the fire, when Ryu came over and sat next to me.
Ryu Jianar: ‘I can't believe how stupid I was today. And I thought I was the one who was a better detective Xyro. I guess i'm just another useless idiot.’
He put his head against his knees.
X.D: ‘You're in no way stupid Ryu. In fact, you impressed me allot today!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Impressed? I got the direction wrong!’
X.D: ‘Technically, neither one was wrong, they all ended up in the same place.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘And I wasn't even smart enough to figure that one out. Miu was right, I really am useless, ayyy?’
X.D: (Serious tone) ‘Ryu, What do you think I see you as?’
Ryu stayed silent.
X.D: ‘I have always looked up to you. From the moment we first met, you treated me like a little brother. It was you who taught me so much more about the life around me. It was you who taught me how to read and write. It was you, who accepted me as your brother, even when we fell out over the most simple of things. Ryu, you could never be a disappointment, or a failure, or even just stupid, because you raised me to be who I am today.’
I laughed.
X.D: ‘And besides, you were the one who got me to watch all those damn detective series with you. Do you really think I would forget that?’
Finally, he broke a smile.
Ryu Jianar: ‘To be honest, I couldn't have put it any better, brother.
He nudged me on the shoulder.
Shortly after, Ryu went to write more into his journal. I had one last thing to do before the evening was over.
Atsuko was sitting on a log, trying her hardest to fix the velcro straps on her work boots.
X.D: ‘How's the project going?’
Atsuko Viola: ‘Project? I...I already told you, I c...can't do any more until I have m...more equipment.’
X.D: ‘Oh yeah! I remember now. You needed this, didn't you?’
I pulled out the weird shaped screwdriver From the pockets of the hoodie.
Atsuko Viola: (Excitedly) ‘Xyro! D...did you get t...that for me? I…’
Her Excited expression formed into a confused smile.
Atsuko Viola: ‘...How d...did you buy that? It was o...one hundred and twenty p...pounds!’
I placed the tool onto the log next to her.
X.D: ‘Ahh, don't question it. Just take this gift.’
She placed the tool into a case in her backpack. I could feel the pure joy radiating from her wide smile.
Atsuko Viola: ‘T...thank y.. I m...mean, thanks!’
X.D: (Happily) ‘See, now you're getting the hang of it.’
I walked back over to my place and began to wrest my eyes.
Miu Shizuka: (Whispering) ‘Don't worry, I won't say anything.’
I opened my eyes to find Miu kneeling beside me.
X.D: ‘Say anything about what?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘You know, about whatever that thing was. I know how you got it.’
X.D: ‘Oh really, How did I then?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘The same way you got that apple.’
She winked at me.
X.D: ‘I didn't steal it Actually! I bought that screwdriver with money!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Oh, so all this time you had money? Thanks for being so stingy with it.’
She began to walk away.
X.D: ‘Miu!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘What?’
X.D: ‘How do you think I got the money?’
I pulled out four different wallets from the quivers in my arms. Each of them had belonged to *someone*, not sure which people, though. You don't really want to catch the Details on people's faces when you're robbing them blind.
Miu just shook her head at me in disapproval and continued walking.
Happy with myself, I went to sleep.
Chapter three: Day five: the five freindly f***ers
Here's a quick question for you:
What’s the most embarrassing way you have ever been woken up?
Because I think I have that topped already.
Still asleep, I kept dreaming of a warm sensation emitting from my lower back. It kept getting stronger and stronger over the evening until it became unbearable.
Miu Shizuka: (Faintly) ‘Xyro….Xyro….’
Opening my eyes, I realised exactly what was making me feel so hot.
During the night, I must have felt uncomfortable…. And kind of rolled into the bonfire.
Miu Shizuka: (Shouting) ‘XYRO, GET OUT OF THERE!’
I scrambled to my feet and rushed over to the grass.
As I sat down, the sound of a burning hiss filled my ears, as the heat radiating from the metal on my lower back (aka, my butt) set the ground alight.
That was when Miu emptied the entirety of her flask onto me and the ground. The liquid quenched the flames on my back.
I sat there drenched in silence, as Miu began to tighten the lid on her flask.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Firstly, this was a waste of my tea. Secondly, what the hell! How could you manage to fall asleep on a fire!’
X.D: ‘Just… don't question it.’
Miu Shizuka: (Giggling) ‘Be carefull next time Pumpkin! Your hot enough as it is.’
She winked.
X.D: ‘*Sigh* You're going to keep doing that, aren't you?’
Miu Shizuka: (Mockingly) ‘For certain, cutie!’
She turned to face the others, who were still fast asleep.
Miu Shizuka: ‘At least we know now that this lazy bunch would be “Ever so useful” if we ever got attacked whilst we are sleeping.’
…
The rest of the morning was rather uneventful.
Everyone got up, unaware of the little incident that had happened, packed up their stuff, and we all began making our way forward on the long journey to follow the track.
Twenty or so minutes into the walk, we came across a small, desolate town. Clearly, at one stage, this town was an incredibly vibrant place, filled with a close community. Now, all the buildings were charred, burnt and destroyed.
Nothing seemed homely here.
Dakota Way: (Jokingly) ‘Man, this country’s not very good with home furnishings, am I right?’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Yuuto, why are so many places falling to ruin anyway?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Dont quote me on this, but I think the IWEC has control over most countries worldwide. One of the plans they introduced for keeping population at a minimum was to give town’s and major cities a community tax, which if they can't pay….they end up like this really…’
He paused for a moment, giving me a chance to look around in more detail. It's hard to think that each of these buildings were in fact somebody's home.
Yuuto Ito: ‘...I guess this town was unable to keep up with the tax demand.’
I could hear him trail off for a second, then he returned.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Well, hacked into a satellite. You were right, this town got wiped out last week. It says that the…..’
He went silent for a moment. I could hear the panic in his voice.
Yuuto Ito: ‘R...Ryu, you didn't by any chance get a glimpse at the name of this town on the way in, did you?’
Ryu jianar: ‘Yeah, it was Luxenpot. I think.’
Yuuto ito: ‘Oh no….’
Yuuto went completely silent.
X.D: ‘Tell us Yuuto! We need to know!’
Yuuto Ito: ‘...The leveling squad’s meant to be here now…’
As he said this, the sound of shuffling came from behind one of the buildings in front of us. Appearing around the corner, was a small, humanlike mech. He looked strikingly similar to the ones in the facility, only the same height as me.
It was dragging a bloodied human body along the ground. The corps was clearly once a young man, probably only just going out to start working. I hate it when a life of potential is cut short for such stupid reasons.
As it came into the open, it only just spotted us, dropped the body, and raised its rifle.
Mech: ‘Halt! Permission in this area is strictly forbidden unless given authority to by an IWEC official.’
Dakota Way: (Sarcastically) ‘Oh no! I'm so scared? Whatever am I supposed to do against the tiny tin man!’
That's when the mech gave a small press of a button on the back of its neck. Hundreds of the same robots seemed to pour out of the buildings around us, all ready to take fire.
Lewis slapped Dakota around the back of the head.
Lewis Sterge: ‘You just had to fucking say something, didn't you!’
Mech: ‘Please remain where you are standing until direct orders are given.’
Another one of the mechs stepped forward. This one was much more different than the others. It was a bright color of red, amplified by the sheer darkness of its eyes. It was completely covered with handheld guns of all types, strapped around every part of its body that it was able to. For a robot, he had an incredibly strong Irish accent. The thing would have been terrifying…
...If it wasn't for the fact that he was half Atsuko's height.
???: ‘Listen to me well you reject weapon scum! I want you all on the ground!’
Because of his height, I was unable to take him seriously. We all broke out into a muffled laughter.
???: ‘Aren't you listening! I said get to the ground, now!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Xyro, you thinking what I'm thinking?’
She nodded towards a solid wall of concrete that was laying just a few steps in front of us. Then I looked behind to see that one of the buildings had a huge hole blown out the side of it.
The perfect cover.
X.D: (Whispering) ‘Dakota, on a scale of one to ten, how good are you at lifting super heavy objects?’
I hinted at the concrete wall.
Dakota Way: ‘Dude, Lifting stuff is my life!’
X.D: ‘...That's not a number, but I can deal with it.’
I whispered the plan to everyone.
???: ‘I don't have time for this! I will give you to the count of three to get down and shut up!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Seriously, what is it with you guys and countdowns.’
X.D: ‘Let's get this started!’
Dakota rushed forward, grabbed the wall of concrete, and used it as a shield. As the robots kept on firing, we slowly backed up towards the building behind us.
Both Miu and I gave cover fire, killing a few of the mechs on the way backwards.
Once we arrived at the ruins, we all dived for cover behind the walls, shooting back shots through stray cracks in the cement.
Ryu Jianar: ‘There's too many of them. I don't think we can hold out in a place like this for too long!’
X.D: (Shooting) ‘There's nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition Ryu.’
Atsuko Viola: (Head in braced position) ‘W...when did getting s...shot at become a h...healthy thing!’
After what felt like an eternity of gunfire, everyone stopped firing entirely. All the mechs were now hiding behind cover, awaiting orders to continue shooting.
???: ‘Listen up! I think we kind of got off on the wrong foot here. The names Pint for your information. If you surrender now, then I will give you my word that none of you will be harmed!’
He said this as he was loading a mass of shells into one of the assault rifles strapped around his waist.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Sorry, but we have other plans.’
Pint: ‘Very well then. I was kind of hoping that I got to use this.’
Peeping through one of the holes in the wall, I watched as the robot stuffed a rocket down a large tube.
Atsuko Viola: ‘I c...can't see. W...what is he d...doing Xyro?’
X.D: ‘Unless anyone here knows how to stop a high explosive, then we may be in for a bit of a rough time.
Pint: (Laughing) I may be small, but I have an *explosive* temper!’
He laughed hysterically at his own joke.
Ryu Jianar: ‘Really? You're going to kill us on a bad pun?’
Pint: (Folding his arms) ‘I thought it was pretty good actually.’
He pulled the trigger on the gun. The rocket flew towards us with exceptional speed.
Then, it exploded.
To my surprise, The explosion didn't even hit us.
Instead, something had blocked its path.
After the smoke had cleared, I saw what had happened.
Dakota had rushed forward and punched the rocket before it was able to hit us.
Smoke was floating from his closed fist, and yet he was completely unscathed.
Pint: (Shouting, kind of impressed) ‘That was a type five explosive! Why aren't you in pieces!’
Dakota Way: ‘Dude, do you think I don't know how to read!’
He turned and gave us a small smile.
Dakota Way: ‘That fact sheet thingy said that I was completely resistant to explosions! How epic is that!’
But, the time for victory was not now. I grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and pulled him back behind cover, just before the mechs were able to shoot him.
The fight continued. Yet something wasn't right. I started to notice that some of the robots were dying by themselves.
Miu Shizuka: (Noticing it too) ‘It's not just me who is seeing this?’
I spotted just off in the distance a small flash. Peering closer, I could just make out the silhouettes of five people, all armed with some kind of weapon.
The mech leader had noticed too.
Pint: ‘Damn it! Everyone, retreat!’
The remaining mech troops disappeared in the same way they arrived.
Yuuto Ito: (Smugly) ‘Well, that was easy enough.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘W...who are t...those people?’
The five individuals were now standing up. I couldn't give you any detailed descriptions about them, as they were at such a distance that I could barely make out their figures. I could tell that they were using some kind of sniper rifle, as no other guns would have been that accurate at such range.
Dakota started waving at them.
One waved back.
And another took aim and fired at an angle.
The bullet went deep into a piece of wood next to me. Yet, this wasn't a clear threat to us, since the bullet was fairly large and clear.
Inside, we could all see a note of paper.
Ryu screwed open the shell and began to read the message.
Ryu Jianar: (Reading out loud) “Hey, Sorry about the delay. We have our orders to come and guide you guys into the city. Keep following the track until you reach the outer wall. There, you will need to find a way past the guards and into the city. Once inside, make your way over to the old district, then find a place called the one stinger. Everything will be explained when you arrive.”
Ryu slipped the page over. There was a small note on the back
Ryu Jianar: (Reading out loud in slight confusion) “P.S: If you don't know already, your friend has been a little bit strange recently. Whatever you do, please don't mention anything about squirrels. Thanks.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Squirrels?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘*Loud sigh* It's a really long story. Let's just keep going.’
X.D: ‘Wait one second.’
I went over to a few of the mechs bodies and took two of the guns from them, and a combat knife.
X.D: ‘Ryu, Dakota, Atsuko. I think you guys are going to need these.’
I handed the larger rifle to Dakota, the smaller one to Ryu, and the knife to Atsuko.
Dakota Way: ‘This thing is sick! It looks all futuristic and stuff!’
He began aiming it towards some of the buildings.
Miu Shizuka: ‘I don't trust him with that. Can someone please put the safety on that thing!’
Ryu didn't say anything about his. He just strung it around his back.
Atsuko was another story.
Atsuko Viola: ‘I d...don't want to u...use this Xyro.’
X.D: ‘You may never have to use it. I just want you to be safe Atsuko. Please, keep it.’
Atsuko viola: ‘O...ok…’
Knowing that she had no chance of arguing against my plea, she accepted the knife, placing it into the side pocket of her bag.
As soon as weapons were settled, we began making our way forward.
Looking back over my shoulder, I saw that the five originally standing on the roof were now gone.
…
I love how some people complain about walking to places. Imagine trying to walk for six hours straight with the same old scenery bombarding your eyes. It's about as bad as watching paint dry.
Finally, after hours of walking, we arrived at the wall. It was much, much bigger than I would have expected. It completely towered over us, casting a gray shadow around.
Hiding behind the treeline, we began to scan the area. Firstly, I noticed that the track lead to a tunnel opening, but that was blocked off heavily by security.
The second entrance was a door. This was also heavily blocked with security. As we wrapped around the wall, we slowly realised that every entrance point was completely choked with security.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘Brilliant! Now, what do we do.’
Atsuko Viola: (Whispering)‘I c...can see w...where we n...need to go…’
She was looking further up the wall than I would have expected. Directly ahead of us, was a large pipe leading into the city.
Yuuto Ito: ‘That's lucky for us.’
But, to our dismay, night was coming, and visibility at this time began to deteriorate, especially considering the fact that there were no lights active, as the security were all mechs with night vision.
Yuuto Ito: ‘We should really go to sleep a little further out than this. We don't want to set up a fire either, just in case they see the flame.’
So, we all found a thick section of the tree line, set ourselves down and began to rest.
The night was rather cold without the fire.
But to be honest, at least this time I wouldn't end up waking inside of one!
Chapter three: day six: Doomed from the get go.
I'm normally the one who wakes up before everyone else.
Today wasn't one of those days.
I felt someone tugging at my shoulder. When I opened my eyes, it was Lewis.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Hey, kid, wake up. We're on the move.’
X.D: ‘Why is it still so dark?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘It's about three in the morning. Security is a bit lower at this time in the morning.’
Creeping over to the wall, I could see that Yuuto was right
Only a few guards were standing around, giving us the perfect opportunity to try and aim for the pipes.
Miu Shizuka: ‘How are we supposed to get everyone up there? Only Xyro and I can climb up steep walls!’
X.D: ‘You can?’
Miu’s fingers snapped into large claws.
X.D: (A little bit disgusted) ‘Ahh, right.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘I s...still, have s...some rope. One of y...you could climb and t...then lift us up.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Allow me…’
With her blade-like fingers, she climbed up the wall with ease. Arriving at the pipe entrance, she lowered the rope. Quickly and quietly, we all climbed up with her, making sure that the guard remained unaware of our presence.
The pipe was barely wide enough to fit two of us side by side, so for comfort sake, we crawled in a single file. We followed the twisting pipe for what felt like a while until we could finally see a patch of light radiating from a hatch ahead of us.
X.D: ‘I think I see an exit up ahead. That wasn't too bad, right?’
(Simultaneously)
Lewis Sterge: ‘My jackets wet…’
Atsuko Viola: ‘S...something is stuck in m...my hair’
Dakota Way: ‘Wooow, my hands are the same size!’
Yuuto ito: ‘Move faster, I can't see!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Ryu, stop staring at my butt!’
Ryu Jianar: ‘Well, if you shuffled faster, It wouldn't be staring me in the face!’
….Honestly, there is no way of pleasing these people!
Arriving at the hatch, I was barely able to see through it, as the light was blinding.
Lewis Sterge: ‘You see anything out there?’
X.D: ‘No, but could you all please back up.’
Everyone backed up slowly, nudging each other on the way.
Shuffling onto my back, I reared my leg and gave a huge kick.
The grate flew off its hinges, clanging loudly on the pavement below.
Lewis Sterge: ‘What happened to stealth?’
I dropped down onto the ground below, landing on a cobbled street.
I looked around, over encumbered with the sight I saw.
Buildings stretched into the sky, barely inches from touching the heavens. Lights of various colors and patterns filled my eyes. The sound of music, beeping, people shouting and the sound of advertisement filled my ears.
I was in awe as I watched cars fly past. It's crazy to think how impressive science and engineering can be.
The others dropped down and were also awestruck by the city.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Y...you may w...want to turn a...around guys….’
We did, and the sight was not so impressive.
We were standing directly in the old district. It was relatively small but stuck out like a rotting thumb. The pavements were covered in filth, buildings were crumbling to pieces, and the city smelled rancid.
X.D: ‘Do we really have to go here…’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Unfortunately, yes. Just… try not to breathe.’
Geez, thanks, Yuuto, great advice!
As we traversed the streets of sludge, we passed many hopeless souls, all being on the side of the street. Some were… already gone. Their bodies lying on the street like rubbish. Nobody cared for these people, so they were left to rot in this mess of an area.
Yep. Reality sucks at times.
I could see it in Atsuko's eyes. She was trying her hardest not to break down into a fit of tears.
I reached out and held her hand. She didn't say a word, and instead gripped it tighter.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Look, there it is!’
Just in front of us was a rather large warehouse. The windows were all shattered, and the building itself seemed to be only half completed. A large neon sign was hung outside a heavy duty door. It illustrated in big letters “The one stinger”
Ryu Jianar: ‘Do we knock or….’
As if on cue, the door slowly creaked open.
Ryu Jianar: (Cowardly) ‘S...so...who wants to go first?’
Lewis took the first step inside, followed by the rest of us. We were now standing in what seemed to be a large, open storage room. It was so dark, that we were unable to see anything inside.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Hello? Anybody here?’
A deep, dramatic voice boomed throughout the room.
???: ‘I have been expecting you….’
A light in the corner of the room flickered on for a second and blew up. Whoever it was that was making the voice screamed like a baby.
???: ‘Don't panic, I installed the second one!’
The sound of movement could be heard through the darkness.
???: ‘Wait a moment.’
Another bulb flickered on, and this time stayed on.
The light illuminated most of the room around us. I could see that the majority of the warehouse was incredibly old, cracked and worn down. Boxes were stacked high in places, all of which seemed to have been placed there out of convenience than in any order. However, the corner at which the guy was sat in was another story.
The floor was tiled perfectly, glinting off a perfect shine. The walls of the small corner were painted bright blue. The desk at which the man was sat at was one of high quality and covered in office equipment.
Lewis Sterge: (Unimpressed) ‘*Sigh* Hi Ronnie.’
Taking a closer look, Ronnie was a funny looking man. He was wearing an incredibly smart business suit, which was completely ruined by the bright pink tie he had, which was tightened up incorrectly so that the wrong end was much longer than the front. His facial features were worse. He had absolutely no hair whatsoever on his head, as it all must have migrated down to his eyebrows. I couldn't tell how he was feeling at all, as his eyebrows made it look like he was in a constant state of excitement and anger at the same time. He had an incredibly deep, and serious sounding tone to his English accent.
Ronnie Manning: ‘It's been bloody ages since I've seen you. All these years and you still look as young as the time I left ya!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘It's only been a few months.’
Ronnie Manning: (Ignoring him) ‘Time really does fly by!’
He looked past Lewis at the rest of us.
He gave a small, but weird wave.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Atsuko, it's good to see you…’
An excited look sprang up on his face
Ronnie Manning: ‘...does that mean everyone made it out!’
Lewis shook his head.
Ronnie Manning: ‘What about the twins?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘I'm still here! Yukki is kind of working for them now…’
Atsuko placed the laptop onto the table.
Ronnie manning: ‘How in gods name were they able to fit you into that thing! You were nearly my height when I last saw you!’
Yuuto ito: ‘Ronnie, we don't have time for this. Please, can you help us get into the facilities?’
Ronnie Manning: ‘Of course I can! That's why I called you, remember?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘I don't! You haven't given us a ring in ages!’
Ronnie manning: ‘Then, whose number have I been wringing then?’
He flipped out his phone and began to call a number. A voice picked up on the other end.
The voice was a very angry individual, who after swearing numerous times, told Ronnie to stop calling the restaurant for no reason.
I could hear the person on the other end slam the phone down.
Ronnie manning: ‘...I guess that explains the random takeaways.’
X.D: ‘Sorry to interrupt, but Yuuto is right. We really don't have any time to lose. Please, can you help us now?’
Ronnie looked deep in thought.
Ronnie Manning: ‘...Sorry, for a second there you reminded me of someone I used to know.’
He stood up from behind the desk. To my surprise (Or shock, or disgust, or whatever word you want to describe it as) Ronnie wasn't wearing any trousers. Instead, he was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts, which were adorn with heart-shaped patterns.
Disturbed, I tried my hardest to avoid looking down.
Ronnie Manning: ‘I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be able to help you today…’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Why not?’
Ronnie Manning: ‘It's nine forty, and I'm already in my Pj’s’
The day seemed to have whizzed by without any of us paying much attention at all.
Ronnie manning: ‘Well, You can all sleep her for tonight. We need to wait for the others to arrive and then….’
He stopped and was staring at Miu.
He swiped his head as if to be coming back his hair.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Hello beautiful….’
She showed her claws, and snapped her jaw line out of place, revealing her sharpened mouth.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Touch me and I will feast on your corpse…’
Ronnie Manning: (Sweating, Sorting out collar with his finger) ‘...Anyway, We might as well get some sleep. Just pick a spot, any spot. I don't mind. goodnight!’
He jumped up onto the table, kicked the equipment of, and laid down, falling instantly to sleep.
Awkwardly, we all found a comfortable position and tried to sleep.
Honestly, if this guy was our only way into a facility….
Then we should have been boned from the start.
…
Chapter three: Day seven: Food for thought?
Sleeping for over eighteen hours sounds long and boring, but in our case, it was one of the best things ever!
Especially in my case, as this was the first time in the entirety of the trip that I was finally able to get some actual sleep.
It's just such a shame that my lucid dreams were disrupted by the hall door being thrown open, colliding on the wall with a loud thump, before swinging back.
At first, I began to panic, as I assumed that it was the IWEC. So, I dashed as quickly as possible behind the nearby stack of crates to my right.
??? (Voice 1): ‘...Ok, ok, here's another one: two guys walk into a bar…. The other one ducks!’
???(Voice 2): (Serious) ‘That's not funny Andrew.’
???(Voice 1): ‘Shut up Chris! Jamie, im funny, aren't I?’
??? (Voice 3): (Laid back) ‘Not really!’
???(Voice 4): (Timidly) ‘He is a little bit funny…’
??? (Voice 2): ‘Shut up Jack!’
??? (feminine, Voice 5): (Whispered, demanding) ‘All of you shut up! Be more considerate when the others are sleeping! They have probably done more in the last few days then you idiots!’
(Voice 1,2,3,4): ‘Sorry…’
I watched The silhouette of the five people pass the crates, and towards the other end of the hall. When I peered over the crates, the five must have exited through one of the doors on the other side, as they were nowhere to be seen.
A small shift in the corner of my eye turned out to be Miu, who was hiding behind the crates next to me. Slowly, she made her way over to me.
Miu Shizuka: (Half-arsed whisper) ‘Honestly, you could set off a bomb in here and they wouldn't even batter an eyelid, the lazy things!’
X.D: ‘That's kind of tempting to test out…’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Xyro, no!’
I began to chuckle to myself. Miu Knew that I was joking … I hope.
A third laugh from behind us startled me. Ronnie was laying on his back on the crate above us, with his bald head tilted backwards over the edge.
X.D: (Startled, confused) ‘How and where did you come from!’
Ronnie manning: ‘I don't know, I just wanted to be part of the conversation.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, stop being so weird please.’
Ronnie Manning: ‘I'm not weird, I'm just…. Special at being not-normal.’
He sat up, crossing his legs.
Ronnie Manning: ‘I’m so sorry that I haven't even introduced myself properly. The name is Ronnie Manning, at your service!’
He gestured at a handshake to the both of us with his arms crossed.
I shook his hand normally, whilst Miu placed a tissue over her’s before even considering placing her hand on his.
Miu Shizuka: (Half-arsed) ‘...Miu Shizuka. It's a ...pleasure...to meet you.’
X.D: ‘My name is Xyro Donatus. It's nice to have someone on our side.’
Ronnie Manning: ‘The pleasure is all mine! I'm just happy to finally have something to do after all these years of waiting!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I swear Lewis said something about it only being a month…’
Ronnie Manning: ‘Hey now! Swearing is bad for your health!’
He jumped down from the top of the crate, landing squarely on his feet.
Ronnie Manning: ‘let's test this out shall we?’
He pulled out a small bunch of firecrackers from his top pockets of the suit, igniting each one, and placing them in the centre of the room. As they went off, the others began to wake up in a panic, rushing to their feet. Me and Miu couldn't help but laugh. Well, I laughed until I saw that Atsuko was about to cry.
Like a responsible person, I took it upon myself to apologize to her and the others about the incident, whilst Ronnie was rolling around on the floor in laughter.
After a long time of calming down the situation, and watching Lewis scold Ronnie about his actions, it was finally time for us all to stand around and talk about what we were to do for the future.
(Sarcasm Alert!) Fun! (Sarcasm Alert!)
We let Yuuto do the majority of the talking. In detail, he described our plan to Ronnie, and how we needed to get into the facilities.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Well, it sounds like you all need a specialist to get into all these facilities. Worry not, I will help you all. But on one occasion!’
Lewis Sterge: *Sigh* ‘What would that be?’
Ronnie Manning: ‘Pull my finger!’
Lewis Sterge: '...’
Ronnie Sterge: ‘Well, go on then!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘This is stupid…’
Lewis pulled Ronnies finger. His finger came clean off, revealing the top of a USB drive.
Ronnie Manning: (Grinning) ‘Ta Da! Here is your key!’
X.D: ‘Wait , so you're a..’
Ronnie Manning: ‘A robot? No, not really. Just my hand. Still cool, right?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Is this USB the reason you were able to Escape undetected?’
Ronnie Manning: ‘Yep! This bad-boy holds every network breach and clearance code for every facility worldwide. Call it a master key, if you will.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Great, Let's get going then!’
He turned, beginning to make his way out.
Ronnie Manning: *Tutting*’...So impatient, so impatient. We haven't even had morning diner yet!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘You mean breakfast?’
He ignored her.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Well, what do you guys want to do?’
Everyone remained silent, trying to make a choice out of the most *difficult decision ever*. It was clearly obvious, and in my interest, to get straight into action.
Atsuko Raised her hand timidly.
Atsuko Viola: ‘I...I'm a l...little bit h...hungry…’
When it comes to refusing food to complete a task, I can do it in a heartbeat, without thinking twice. But when it comes to refusing Atsuko anything, I just can't seem to bring myself to do it.
Lewis Sterge: (Huffing) ‘Fine. We can come up with a plan while we eat.’
Ryu Jianar: (Patting Lewis on the back) ‘You're beginning to sound allot like Yuuto.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Really? Oh…’
Yuuto Ito: (Angrily) ‘Hey! What's that supposed to mean?’
Ronnie led us out through the back doors, into the other half of the building.
This half was also rather open, but slightly smaller than the bit we were in before. The entire room was furnished; one half decorated like a living room, the other as a kitchen.
Sitting around an incredibly large oak dining table, were the devious five.
Upon entering, they all stood to attention, forming a well organised line.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Geez, you all don't need to be so fancy!’
The girl on the left stood forward, standing with one hand on her hip, the other clenching an incredibly long sniper rifle, that was propped up over her shoulder.
Kiri: ‘Kiri, at your service.’
She was a rather tall, slender women, who wore a full, dark green stealth suit, that appeared to be at least a size too small for her, as the sleeves and ends of her trousers didn't meet up at the right length, and a partial bit of her stomach was showing. Miu told me that it was fashionable, but I personally think that her clothes had just shrunk in the wash. Sadly, I never was able to tell what her face looked like, as it was always covered with a stealth helmet, designed for sniping use. It had a variety of different lenses located around the dome like helmet, so that when she needed to have a certain ranged zoom, all she had to do was rotate it to the required section. The bottom of her face was left open, showing her chin and lips.
One of the boys then stepped forward, arms to the side in an almost military style pose.
Christian Baraster: ‘Christian Baraster, at your service. It will be an honor to serve under your command.’
The boy bowed. He was the tallest out of all of them, and the most tanned. His hair was a thick black, and his face was precise and flat in many places.
I noticed that like Kiri, all the boys were wearing similar, military style stealth suites. Luckily, all theirs were made to fit, so no unnecessary skin was showing.
Although tall, Chris seemed to always carry around the smallest out of the sniper rifles, but with an incredibly large scope.
The second boy slowly walked forward, hands in his pockets. He had a lazy smile on his face.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Yeah, it's Jamie. Nice to meet you all.
Jamie was slightly shorter than the others, and a bit more chubby. He had bright brown hair and a pair of round, silver-plated glasses. Although he was slightly spotty, his relaxed nature and calm smile made him look rather cool.
The third boy didn't step forward. Instead, he made a slight B-line towards Atsuko and Miu.
Andrew Weber: ‘The names Andrew, Andrew Weber. Who are you two beautiful ladies?’
He took an elegant bow towards them.
Andrew was a slender, precise person, who was described by many women as being a “dream boy” (He would tell you that). He was only a Centimetre smaller than chris, with extremely sharp, blond hair and bright blue eyes.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Don't talk to me or Atsuko you creep!’
Jamie grabbed him by the back of the stealth suit, tugging him backwards.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Sorry about that.’ (Whispering to Andrew) ‘Stop being such a weirdo!’
Lastly, the small boy on the right stepped forward, tripping over his own feet.
Jack Jenkings: (Cautiously) ‘My name is Jack, it's nice to meet you all.’
Jack was small, had pointed glasses, and short, dark oak hair. He didn't seem to be the shy type to me. Instead, he just seemed to be completely unsure of himself.
You already know us so I'm going to save you the pain of us introducing ourselves to them.
Once introductions were over, Kiri offered us all a seat at the table.
Jamie Eruu: ‘If you guys are all hungry, we can order breakfast.’
Dakota Way: (Stomach grumbling, excitedly) ‘Yeah, that would be awesome dude!’
Jamie passed out a bunch of menus from nearby shops. The first thing that took my fancy was a cinnamon pretzel, that stared me in the face!
After we all decided what we wanted, Jamie wrote down a list, and gave it to Chris and Jack, who went out to get them.
Well, two conversations went down at this point. One was with Lewis, Yuuto, Atsuko, Kiri and Ryu.
The other, less serious conversation, was between Miu, Andrew, Jamie, Dakota, and Ronnie.
I listened in on both conversations, so I might as well list them both separately.
"The Plan" conversation:
Yuuto Ito: ‘Do we have any sought of intel on this facility, or are we going in completely blind?’
Kiri: ‘Well, yes and no…’
She placed a small metal square onto the table. It vibrated rapidly, projecting a holographic map.
Kiri: (Pointing to parts of the map) ‘So far, all we know is the entrance to the building and the top floor of the facility itself. This is because as far as we know, all facilities worldwide follow the same design as each other, until you get past the first floor. Anyway, the nearest one is located directly under London’s central tower…’
She swiped the hologram, showing us the outline of the tower. It was much higher than any other building around it, towering over them.
Kiri: ‘...I have my suspicions that they are using the tower in association to the facilities research, But I can't quite pinpoint it.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘What's the plan of action then?’
Kiri: ‘Well, we wait until nightfall. That way, security's easier to bypass. First, we take out any IWEC or police security around the bottom floor of the tower. Then, I need the brawn of your team to take out any hostiles on the way to the entrance of the facility. Once there, Ronnie should be able to use the master key to bypass the locking mechanism on the doors. The only problem is that we need to find a way to activate or get around the elevators, as they require clearance cards to work.'
Yuuto Ito: ‘Atsuko knows how to cancel the scanning and re-establish the elevators rotary system, don't you?’
Atsuko Viola: ‘Y...yes, b...but I will need t...time to do it.’
Kiri: ‘You should be fine Atsuko. After all the guards are eliminated, you should have all the time in the world to hack into the mainframe.’
Kiri shut off the hologram, placing the mechanical device into her pocket.
Kiri: ‘That's all the intel I have. I'm warning you now, we're not going to be able to enter in there with you. We are snipers after all. Close combat just isn't our thing. Don't worry though, we will cover your exit.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘That’s fine. But does that mean Ronnie has to go in with us?’
Kiri: ‘Yes, of course.’
Lewis groaned loudly.
Kiri: ‘I know he can be a bit of a handful at times, but you have to remember that he is a tactical genius…’
We all glanced at him. He was shoving bread sticks up his nose, with his eyes crossed.
Yuuto Ito: (Sighing) ‘Brilliant….’
…
The “Not-so-plan” conversation:
Jamie Eruu: ‘Well, what are your abilities then?’
Dakota Way: (Excitedly) ‘I'm immune to explosive stuff!’
Andrew Weber: ‘That sounds awesome!’
Dakota Way: ‘I know, right!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, it gives you a small purpose for being apart of the team…’
Jamie Eruu: ‘What about you, Miu?’
Andrew Weber: ‘I bet that it's the power to put any man in a trance with your sheer beauty.’
He placed his hand on top of hers.
Miu Shizuka: (Flirtily, smiling) ‘Oh, Andrew…’
She inched close to his face as if to be going in for a kiss.
Then, she morphed her jaw into the one we know and love.
I could see the horror in Andrew's eyes, as he shot backwards off the seat, screaming like a child.
Dakota, Miu and I broke out in laughter. Jamie just smiled casually.
As Andrew recovered, Jamie asked me about my ability.
X.D: ‘I'm still not sure actually. I guess I'm just a cyborg…’
I never really thought of my purpose as a weapon up until that point. Yeah, I was a cyborg, but what was it that made me a powerful weapon. Was it just the parasite’s, rr was it something else.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Well, the boys and I are training to be professional snipers.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Why snipers? Why not work on a normal job?’
Andrew Weber: ‘Have you seen the world recently?!?!’
Jamie punched Andrew hard in the arm.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Of course they haven't you twat! They have all been stuck in a facility!’
Andrew Weber: ‘Oh, right, sorry.’
Jamie Eruu: (back on topic) ‘The world is kind of in a crisis at the moment, so it's in our best interest to aid anyone trying to go against the government. Even if it's for personal gains.’
Dakota Way: ‘But why?’
Jamie Eruu: ‘Over the past few years, the world has changed for the worst Dakota. Things are far more different than the good old times.’
He paused to take a sip of water from a flask in his side pocket.
Jamie Eruu: ‘Now, I hate all the political crap, so i'm not going to go into any detail. All you need to really know is that it's not just us fighting for freedom against the IWEC…’
Even though he said this with a calm smile on his face, his eyes looked as if they would burn holes through you if you tried to argue against him.
So I didn't even try.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Hey, guys, look!’
This is the same part when everyone turned to find Ronnie with breadsticks up his nose. No surprise there really.
…
After all the conversations were over and done with, we began to laze about, waiting for our food to arrive.
We waited…
And waited…
AND waited…
What else can I say? It was six PM, and we were still waiting for Chris and Jack.
Dakota Way: (Stomach grumbling loudly) *Moan* ‘What's taking them so long?’
Kiri: (Crossed armed) ‘It's always like this. They probably got sidetracked by something…’
As she said this, there was a faint knock at the door.
Kiri went over cautiously and peeped through a crack in the doorframe.
Kiri: (Angry) ‘...Oh, you gotta be kidding me!’
She opened the door violently.
Well, I wasn't exactly sure if it was Chris and Jack, as the two of them walked in covered in bags and bags of food. Each one with another stacked on top of it. They wobbled in, and placed the mound of bags down next to the kitchen area.
Kiri: (Shouting) What the hell happened!’
Christian Baraster: ‘“Somebody” ordered everything on the menu… ten times!’
Jack Jenkings: ‘I...I…’
Kiri: (Shouting) ‘What! How?’
Jack Jenkings: (Embarrassed, short for breath) ‘Well, I got kind of distracted when ordering… and I may have put down the wrong number.’
She sighed, and went over to Chris.
Kiri: ‘Just...hand me the bill…’
Chris handed her a shopping bag.
Kiri: ‘I said the bill, not…’
Chris tipped the bag upside down. A large block of paper fell out, thudding hard on the ground.
I watched as Kira's eyes widened, fists tightened, and knuckles whitened. She was either going to fall over or combust!
I tried to avoid the impending explosion.
X.D: (Clasping hands together) ‘...So, Let's eat!’
We all tucked into our so called *breakfast* at twenty minutes past six in the evening. I had ten cinnamon pretzels all to myself, so I couldn't complain in the slightest.
Before I took a bite out of my first one, I made sure that the others were not looking at me, as I didn't want to either scare or gross anybody out with my mouth.
I tried my hardest to conceal my mouth, which hurt a lot, as I had to physically ram the food between the small gap.
After the fifth one, Lewis noticed what I was doing.
Lewis Sterge: (With a worried tone) ‘Kid, you don't need to hide your mouth from us. Nobody here is going to judge you on it!’
X.D: ‘Oh, it's not that. It's just that, I don't want to put anybody off their appetite…’
Kiri: ‘Trust me, I have seen way worse in my time.’
Cautiously, I removed Atsuko’s hoodie, and opened my mouth, placing the sixth pretzel into my mouth. It was so satisfying to finally be able to eat without the pain of trying to ram something in.
As soon as I ate the final one, the time had already reached one in the morning.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Look at the time! We better get rested for today!’
Ronnie ran out of the room with his arms flailing in the air.
Kiri: ‘Sorry Lewis, But It would be best for all of us to get prepared for tomorrow instead of today.’
Lewis didn't say anything back. Instead, he found a small corner of the room and went to sleep.
If there is one thing in the world that annoys Lewis, it's being told something he doesn't want to here.
Anyway, I did the same. I found a small space next to an old, beat up TV, that was no longer working.
…
Ok, picture this:
You're in a very large room, which is prone to echoing, and it's rather peaceful.
Then, all of a sudden, three people start snoring as loud as bears.
Yeah, and people wonder why i tend to sleep so far away from others!
Chapter three, Day eight: Looks can’t be made from plaster
All was silent, all was still.
The only sound throughout the entire room was the sound of deep breathing from the others. The entire atmosphere was incredibly peaceful.
That is, until Ronnie started playing a bloody trumpet!
He was trying to play the same song you see in army films. Instead, he was just making random noises that sounded nothing like it.
Unlike the military, we all raised lazily, with the urge to punch Ronnie right in the gut.
Ronnie Manning: (Shouting) ‘Rise and shine everyone! We have work to do!’
Lewis Sterge: (Yawning, grumpy) ‘Was the trumpet really necessary?’
Raising to their feet, everyone began to pack up and prepare for the evening ahead. This was obviously going to be incredibly dangerous, but I had faith in us all. Besides, we are all weapons after all. If we were unable to fight for our freedom, then we truly must be failures.
But we would have never known unless we tried. Am I right?
As soon as we were all ready, Kiri sat us all down to discuss the exact plan in full. It was more to inform those who weren't listening to the conversation before.
To summarize, she went over our positioning, tactics, and escape plan.
All of which were boring as heck. I didn't even pay attention throughout the meeting, so I can't inform you on what she said exactly.
Kiri: ‘So, any questions before we start?’
Miu raised her hand.
Kiri: ‘Yes Miu?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Where did you get that outfit from? it's hideous!’
Kiri: (Angry, red in the face) ‘What has that got to do with anything!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I’m sorry, you didn't specify that the question had to be about the plan.’
She gave Kiri an evil smirk.
Exchanging filthy looks, the two eventually broke eye contact.
Kiri: ‘Anyway, here is the list of stuff we need.’
She took a fairly long piece of crumpled up paper from her pocket and handed it to me.
Kiri: ‘I expect that you are all capable to pick these up with no problem….’
She turned to face her squad
Kiri: ’...more capable than these fools at least.’
X.D: ‘What are you doing then?’
Kiri: ‘I’m taking the boys out to do some target practice. Tonight, we are going to need to be on top of our game.’
With that, she rounded the guys up, and marched them out the door. Honestly, Kiri is one bossy lady!
I looked over the list. I couldn't believe how much stuff we needed. I counted one hundred and fifty four items in total.
X.D: ‘This is going to so much easier if we split up into groups of two…’
Everyone agreed.
X.D: ‘So, Dakota, I will let you choose first!’
Dakota Way: ‘Oh right! I'm going with Ronnie!’
The pure, petrified look on everyone's face as he said that. Those two are a health hazard individually. Together, they could burn this city to the ground trying to make ice cream.
We politely said one thing.
No!
X.D: ‘Dakota, youre going with Riu. At least then I know you won't end up getting lost.’
Ryu Jianar: (looking up from his book) ‘Wait, why me!’
X.D: ‘Do you trust Dakota with a shopping list?’
Ryu knew what I meant.
Miu Shizuka: ‘I will happily go by myself. After all, a girl needs some time on her own.’
I didn't even need to ask. Atsuko was already standing beside me.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Wait, so…’
X.D: ‘Lewis, I guess you're with Ronnie.’
Ronnie rushed over, and gave Lewis a bear hug, lifting him off the ground.
Lewis Sterge: ‘...Kill me now….’
In order to make it fair, I tore the list into four similar sized parts, giving each group a piece.
X.D: ‘Try to get what you can. We will all meet back here as soon as we have what we need.’
Ryu Jianar: (Reading over the list) ‘How does she expect us to buy all this? We have no money.’
Dakota gave an expectant look at Miu.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Don't look at me like that cone-head. I have already paid for enough of your problems!’
X.D: ‘Take this…’
I handed all of them one of the wallets I “Found”.
X.D: ‘Let's waste no time. Make sure you get everything you can.’
As everyone cued out, I held the door open for Atsuko. We stepped out into the cold morning air.
Everyone split off into separate directions, but we all headed off into the direction of the nicer part of the city.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Wait, Xyro!’
Atsuko ran over to me, and grabbed my hood. She then pulled it over my head.
Atsuko Viola: (Smiling) ‘We d...don't want to b...bring attention, do w...we, silly.’
Although Atsuko was rather nervous the majority of times, she seemed rather excitable whenever she was out with me. I'm not sure if it was the cool air, or something else, but it was much nicer to see her happy and joking about.
Atsuko Viola: (Trying to step on the back of my feet) ‘W...what is on the l...list exactly?’
I checked it over in detail.
X.D: ‘I don't understand why we need so much gasoline!’
Atsuko Viola: ‘Let me see…’
She read through the list. After a moment of running it through her head, she came up with a conclusion.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Kiri will be m...making bullets with this e...equipment.’
I looked over the list again. The only thing on that list that I could relate to bullets were the thin sheets of metal, but apart from that, nothing really spoke out to me as to suggest bullets.
X.D: ‘Are you sure? Aren't bullets hard to make?’
Atsuko Viola: ‘N...not really. You can make the m...most potent with just simple items…’
She winked and put her thumb up at me.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Trust me, I'm an engineer!’
X.D: ‘That doesn't explain the bleach and the spoons though.’
Atsuko Viola: ’I'm not s...sure either.’
X.D: ‘Whatever. They are listed as important, so we need to grab them.’
After walking around aimlessly talking about different tools, we finally came to the border between the poor and rich side. It was just like stepping out of a swamp into a kingdom. The dirty cobble walkways were now replaced with rich, multicolor paving. Buildings went from ruins to posh bars and cafes. This was the true heart of London.
Both Atsuko and I couldn't stay focused on one thing for more than a few seconds, as there was just so much to see.
Flashy cars, interesting people, the vast amounts of shops, neon lights, elaborate displays, intense smells.
All my senses were being bombarded at once.
But through all these beautiful displays, there was only one gem that outdid them all.
The excitement twinkling brightly in Atsuko’s eyes.
Atsuko Viola: ‘X...Xyro, once we get e...everything, can we look around m...more?’
X.D: ‘We aren't needed until twelve, so as long as we drop off everything on this list, we should be able to have some free time.’
Atsuko began to walk with a slight skip in her step, humming one of her songs.
I realised all too quickly that I had never truly heard Atsuko sing. I noticed at the facility that the notebooks she had were filled to the brim with sheets of lyrics and yet I had never heard her sing a single one of them. All she ever did was hum.
X.D: ‘Can I ask you a question?’
Atsuko Viola: (Smiling giddily) ‘S...sure, anything.’
X.D: ‘Why have you written so many lyrics for songs, if all you do is hum them?’
Atsuko Viola: ‘Oh, I, uhm…’
although embarrassed, she still had a small smile on her face.
Atsuko Viola: ‘I j...just really like w...writing songs. I can't e...explain it. I guess it's just my h...hobby.’
X.D: ‘Would you ever consider singing them to us?’
Atsuko Viola: (Blushing with a nervous smile) ‘M...maybe…’
She seemed more focused on what was ahead of us to give a proper answer.
Atsuko Viola: (Excited) ‘T...there it is!’
Directly ahead of us, was the shopping centre. It was incredibly large. Large enough that it had to have maps around in case you got lost. As we stepped inside, we could see that the building was made up of tons of smaller shops, each with their own merchandise, ranging from the basic food to advanced gadgets.
To the everyday person, they would probably think “Well, that's what a shopping center is. That's not very special!”
What you have to remember, is that neither me nor Atsuko had seen one before in our entire lives. Yeah, we had a few shops back home, but nothing compared to this colossus of industry!
X.D: (Looking at the list) ‘I think we can get all of these from a DIY store.’
Atsuko ran over to a map on the wall. There were two of them in the centre. Both of them were on complete opposite sides, so we made our way over to the one in the back right, as it seemed to have less people.
As we walked towards it, we passed many people, all getting on with their lives. People of buisness were discussing work, families were enjoying an outing. It was just so weird to see all these people leading completely different lives to us.
And yet none of them seemed bothered by the surrounding corruption of the IWEC. I guess when you're rich, you tend to just forget the world around you.
Money is the root to all evil folks. You will learn that the hard way. Everyone does at one point or another.
Still, I wonder how they all ended up.
I went to walk through the doors into the store, when Atsuko tugged at the back of my, well, her, hoodie.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Do we need one of those?’
She pointed at a bunch of shopping trolleys.
X.D: ‘Good point.’
I went to pull one out, but it was chained to the one behind it.
For a second, I was confused, until I noticed that these trolleys all had a small mechanism that you needed to insert a coin into to release the chain binding them together.
I mean, what's the point in slotting a coin into a trolley, which for the record could be used to purchase something, only to lug the trolley around, and then return it to get the coin back! It just seems like such a useless ordeal.
Especially since this was inside. It's not as if anyone is going to be willing to break into the centre, only to steal a trolley. Honestly, humanity needs to get its priorities straight!
I went to grab some change until I remembered that I gave all of the wallets to the others.
Smooth move Xyro, Smooth move.
So, whilst Atsuko was distracted, I snapped the chain holding the two together.
Yeah, I'm bad. But what would you have done?
Pushing the trolley through the double doors, we began to search each shelf for the items we needed. As we went around, Atsuko tried to get everything on the list herself. But, because of her height, she was unable to reach the items on higher shelves. Trying to maintain her dignity, she tried to use the trolley to reach them. This plan failed miserably. So I grabbed them instead.
One by one, we checked items off the list. We were even able to find a nice pack of wooden spoons.
With all items in the trolley, we happily lined up in a long queue.
Now, as you already know, I don't have any money on me, as I gave all of it to the others.
Luckily for me, there was a young man in a suit in front of us.
Hey, it was his fault, ok! His wallet was practically hanging out of his pocket.
Don't worry about it though. I checked his ID. He was an off duty IWEC officer.
I did still feel a little bad though, but what else can I do?
Anyway, I took a bit of money out, and returned it to his pocket unseen.
How much money that was exactly?
I think it's best if I don't say.
Since there was only one person working on the till the line seemed to drag on for ages.
I felt guilt-ridden when the guy in front of us opened his wallet to pay, only to discover that it was half empty. Luckily, he made no commotion about it, paid for his items, then went on his way.
I may have gotten away with it, but I'm sure that karma was going to turn around.
The women at the till seemed incredibly rushed and clumsy. She kept dropping items, apologizing every time.
As soon as we paid for everything, we made a B-line back to “The one stinger” to drop off everything.
Nobody was around when we got there, so we dropped everything into the living room.
Atsuko Viola: ‘N...nobody's back yet, soooo…’
Still holding onto her backpack, she tapped the tips of her shoes on the ground.
X.D: ‘*Sigh* Fine, but please don't drag me through a whole load of clothes stores.’
An excited Atsuko ran passed me.
Atsuko Viola: (Excited) ‘Let's go! I w...want to look at all the s...shops!’
Although it was amazing to see Atsuko so positive, I would have preferred it if she slowed down a little. In about half an hour, she had already made me go through over thirty different shops of various sizes, all having something to do with technology.
Thankfully for my health, she stopped to stare into a window of a clothes shop. More specifically, she was staring in awe at a pair of black, steel-tipped boots.
Atsuko Viola: (Whispering to herself) ‘I w...want those so badly!’
I checked the price tag.
There were not enough wallets around to even come close to the price that they were asking for them.
Making sure that Atsuko didn't get attached to them, we continued around.
Two more painful hours of walking later, Atsuko finally calmed from her shopping spree.
Atsuko Viola: (Blushing shyly) ‘X..xyro, I was w...wondering if you, uh, w...would like to g...get a coffee with me?’
X.D: (Tired, jokingly) ‘If you're suggesting that we should take a break from shopping, then yes, I would love to.’
A small, cute looking cafe caught the Attention of Atsuko. The inside was decorated impeccably. All the tables and chairs seemed to be old fashioned, but polished up to a glossy shine. Each table was decorated with small red cloth.
Atsuko took a seat on the smallest table next to the windows.
I was put in charge of ordering, as Atsuko was too shy to do it. The old lady who served me the drinks was incredibly nice. She even complimented me on my use of pleases and thank you’s.
Honestly, it puzzles me to think that in such a complicated multi verse, full of billions and billions of different species, I have never come across anything as friendly as common courtesy.
The old lady (I'm sorry that I can't remember her name. This did happen a long time ago) handed me a small tray with both cups of coffee on it. Thanking her, I went to go sit with Atsuko.
Three girls were standing over her. Each of them were covered in more makeup than a wedding cake, whilst wearing outfits that looked as if they came straight from a wild animal at one point in it's life.
Girl 1: (Pointing) ‘Like, what even are those!’
Atsuko Viola: (Nervously, shy) ‘Th...they're boots…’
Girl 2: ‘They look trampy! What's that stupid thing in your hair?’
Atsuko Viola: (Uncomfortable) ‘T...th...that's my r...ribbon my d...dad...’
Girl 1: ‘Take it out. It looks ridiculous!’
The third girl grabbed ahold of the bow, yanking it out of Atsuko’s hair. The girl then proceeded to crush the fabric under her shoes, leaving the ribbon a complete mess.
All Atsuko did was watch in complete despair.
Girl 3: ‘Anyway, move! That's our spot!’
As Atsuko went to get up, I arrived at the table.
I'm so thankful that I was able to control my rage. The urge to strike out against them was filling my body.
But my mind knew that it was the best option to leave them with a message instead of a quick end.
Girl 1: ‘Who are you? Her boyfriend or something?
X.D: ‘I was going to ask who you were, but honestly, I don't care.’
The girl went to sit down on the table, so I *accidently* spilt my iced coffee over her.
X.D: (With a sassy tone) ‘Oops, I'm so sorry...you see, It runs in my genes. All my family have shaky hands if some stupid bitch tried to steal our seats whilst being a disgrace to our friends.’
I looked her dead in the eyes with a sarcastic smile.
X.D: ‘It just runs in the family.’
The girl screamed, storming out the front door.
Her friends glared at me.
X.D: ‘Let's hope you two aren't as thick as your makeup. Get out of my sight!’
As soon as they left, I checked on Atsuko.
She was sitting With her head down. Her hair was covering her eyes, But I could see the steady stream of tears flowing down her cheek.
I picked up the tattered bow and sat beside her.
She moved her head slightly towards me, still looking down to the ground.
Atsuko Viola: ‘(Silent, Defeated tone) ‘A..am I..r...Really such a t….tramp…’
X.D: ‘Of course you're not! Atsuko, you could never be anything close to a disgrace like them, even if you tried!’
Atsuko raised her head. Tears had caused the bottom of her eyelids to become red and sore.
X.D: ‘Never listen to people like that Atsuko. They’re just scum.’
She placed her head on my shoulder, hugging my arm tightly.
To my surprise, the old lady came over to us. She handed us a replacement coffee, and a slice of cheesecake. She said that it was on the house, as she hated those trouble makers. (It's weird to think that a seventy-odd year old lady gave me a fistbump.)
More importantly, she told Atsuko that she was an extremely cute girl, and that she should stay the way she was. Leaving us alone, She went back behind the counter.
People like her are the ones who need way more in this world.
Then again, she already has wisdom, happiness and respect for others, so it's hard to think of something better to give to someone who already has some of the best attributes in life.
I pushed the cake and the spoon to Atsuko.
X.D: ‘Don't let them ruin your day.’
She ate it in small mouthfuls. At least she calmed down enough to talk about the day to me.
Sadly, her bow was in pieces though. I placed it into her bag, for safe keeping. That's when I realised that Yuuto hadn't spoken the entire time, even though he was in her backpack.
Turns out she muted him.
The time reached eight thirty, so the lady sent us on our way with a smile. The walk home seemed to change from the vivid colors and lighting of the city, back to the boring grey and black filter of the old side.
Although it was pitch black, the neon lights outside the one stinger guided us back like a lighthouse.
I held the door open, allowing Atsuko to go in first. Everyone was inside, waiting for us.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Did you two enjoy your evening?’
Atsuko paid no attention, walking past everyone into the back room.
Miu and Lewis gave me the face of “What happened?”.
As soon as I showed them the bow. They could tell.
Kiri and the boys seemed to be working on a production line of bullets, each of them passing the shells along to a case at the end. Lewis and Dakota were suiting themselves up in kevlar armour, Miu was throwing Ryu’s armour about, and Ronnie was staring at the wall.
As soon as everyone finished preparations, Kiri grabbed her gear.
Kiri: ‘Right, is everyone ready?’
We all were.
Atsuko came out from the back room. She also suited herself with a small amount of kevlar. She had Yuuto in her hands.
Andrew Weber: (Shouting excitedly) ‘Let's do this!’
Jamie, Andrew, Jack and Chris all ran out through the door (Chris being the least excited out of the lot).
Kiri followed slowly, shaking her head with disapproval.
They were planning to split off to go to the highest building with a view of the facility.
We were to head there by foot.
Great, because a bunch of teens walking around in armour with guns doesn't exactly do us any favours in a crowded city. Sticking to alleyways and dark streetsides, we made our way over to the city's main tower.
This was going to be one tough night...
Chapter three: Day nine: Diving back into it
Creeping our way through the dark, twisted alleyways of the central city, we arrived at the central tower of London. Sticking to the alleyway, we hid behind a set of large bins, observing the area.
As far as I could see, the entrance to the building was smothered in citizens, but the occasional guard kept going on his rounds. Ryu counted a total of five on the outside, each rotating their positions. The entrance itself was rather large, with three direct entry points (Also known as doors, if you don't want to take in the serious atmosphere) all made out of glass.
We all crouched around the back of the bins, waiting for a call from Kiri’s group on our headpieces.
The silence was important, so in order to avoid detection, we did hand gestures.
I gestured for everyone to get back against the wall.
Pressing our backs up to the brick walls, We sat there patiently.
To me, it seemed as though more people loved to be out and around in the dark compared to daylight. Although the streets surrounding the building were full of late-night partiers and people just returning from their day at work, nobody apart from IWEC staff and a few troops approached and entered the central tower.
Finally, a call came through.
Christian Baraster: (Over the headpiece) ‘Ok, we are in position. Give us a sign when your ready.’
In order to show where we were, I used my hand blade to make glinting light in their direction. It was barely noticeable from the ground, yet Chris picked it up.
Christian Baraster: ‘Good. On our signal, You all need to rush to the front entrance.’
Then, radio silence.
Dakota Way: (Whispering) ‘Signal? What’s the signal?’
The loud, echoing noise of gunfire sounded. The five guards standing around the entrance fell to the ground dead.
An uproar of panic spread through the crowd of people. Rushing around in total panic, people started to find nearby buildings and alleyways to hide.
X.D: (Not impressed with the stealth) ‘I guess that's the signal.’
Rushing through the crowds of screaming people, we forced our way into the building. The main lobby was barren of anybody, except the receptionist, who was cowering behind the desk.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Lady, it's best if you get out of here!’
She ran out.
We locked the doors behind her, making sure that nobody else was following us.
Ryu Jianar: ‘huh, stealth mission? Yeah right!’
Dakota Way: ‘Now what?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Remember the map Kiri showed us?We have to find a way to the lower levels of the building. The entrance to the facility is down there.’
I honestly forgot that Dakota and Ryu had guns. The two scooted off ahead, peeking around the corners of the lobby to make sure that nobody else was around.
Ronnie went over to the counter and began to pillage the front desk.
Lewis Sterge: ‘We don't have time for that Ronnie. Let's go!’
With a disappointed sigh, he followed us all down the right hallway of the building. Just like a typical hotel, the carpets were in pristine condition, as well as the walls maintaining a rather milky white coloration.
Each hallway had exactly six doorways on each side. They were all guest rooms.
At the end of the hallway was another set of stairs, leading down to another floor.
We kept following the same winding path. Each passing hallway seemed the same.
The occasional people let us pass without a fuss, since they were either all too drunk or too busy to care.
By the eleventh time, we were all starting to get confused by the similarities.
Honestly, they could have at least changed the paint job or something.
Finally, we arrived at the last public floor. A door at the end of this hallway was locked, with one of those signs that say “staff only”.
Snapping the lock, We pushed through.
Yet, Ronnie wasn't following us.
X.D: ‘Ronnie, what are you doing?’
Ronnie manning: ‘Oh, it says staff only. I'm not staff. I can't go through. You know the rules!’
Dakota Way: 'Is it?'
He went over to Ronnie.
Dakota Way (With realisation): 'It is staff only!'
Already tired of their stupidity, Lewis grabbed the Both of them by the back of their shirts, yanking them through.
Walking down another, less decorated set of stairs, we were now standing in a concrete hallway. left leading to a room filled with people, right to a metal door. I was just about to walk forward when Miu shot out her arm to stop me. Standing just by the entryway to the overfilled room, was a group of IWEC troops, all carrying guns.
Miu Shizuka: (Silently) ‘We need to find a way to get those guys out of the way...’
Miu poked her head around the corner to get a better look. She quickly turned back to us.
Miu Shizuka:(Silently) ‘I have a plan, but we need to execute it perfectly.’
Once she had whispered the plan to us, we got into position
As soon as Miu gave the command, we started phase one of the plan.
Ryu stepped forward, turning to the guards.
IWEC trooper: ‘Hey, what are you doing down here!’
The guards all rushed over to him, guns at the ready.
Ryu Jianar: ‘I'm so sorry, but I’m lost.’
IWEC trooper: ‘We are going to need to see some ID first.’
Ryu began to search his pockets.
Then, I, Miu and Dakota choked all of the guards until they were unconscious.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Good, now let's get out of here before anyone in there decides to take a wonder.’
Atsuko, who hadn't spoken the entire time, suddenly began to laugh. Only silently, but laughter nonetheless.
Lewis Sterge:(Concerned) ‘What's so funny?’
Atsuko Viola: (Giggling) ‘L..look…’
She pointed through the slight gap in the door of the bar. I walked over cautiously and took a peek inside.
Amongst the immense amount of troops was a familiar figure, sat on one of the bar stools, legs dangling off the sides.
Pint: (Drunk) ‘...And if I were you…*robotic hiccup*.. I would totally go out with me. ‘
The bar counter was covered in pint glasses ( I guess that's how he got his name).
What Atsuko was laughing at, was the fact that Pint was flirting with, none other, than a beautiful, majestic, very hot... toaster…
Yeah, a toaster.
Look on the bright side, at least she had hot buns.
...
.....
*Waiting for laughter*
........
................
(Ok,let's be honest, That joke was terrible and I'm ashamed of myself.)
Pint went to give the toaster a drunken kiss, but gained an electric shock, as the alcohol covering his mouth short-circuited the wires on the device.
Covered in burns, he fell backwards off his seat.
My stomach hurt from uncontrollable laughter.
I guess I may have accidentally alerted the whole bloody bar.
We all rushed over to the metal door at the end, as hundreds of angry troops began to pour out of the hall.
The door had a large steel bar blocking it. All of us except Ronnie grabbed hold of the bar, trying to lift it.
Ronnie Manning: (Panicking) ‘Open it! Open it! Hurry up! Open it already!’
Ryu Jianar: (Pushing with all his might) ‘I…*puffing*..don't see...Arghh...you doing anything!’
With a huge push, the bar went up, opening the door. We all rushed inside, just before the soldiers opened fire.
As the door closed, we pushed down the latch to seal the door from this side. Exhausted, we all sat down on the stairs to catch a break.
Miu Shizuka: (Panting) ‘Yeah...nice work….Pumpkin…’
Lewis Sterge:(Panting) ‘Great… fucking work Xyro...that's...stealth out the window!’
X.D: ‘Oh come on, as if we had any kind of fucking stealth to begin with!’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Look, shut up and let's keep going, alright? We have a mission to do, not a mother meeting!’
Moaning, we continued cautiously on our way down. But, as the others pushed forward, Atsuko seemed to be dragging slightly behind. She hadn't spoken to me at all since the incident at the cafe.
X.D:(Slowing down) ‘Atsuko, come on, we need to go.’
Atsuko seemed to snap out of her trance at my voice. As we were catching up to the others, she began to speak to me.
Atsuko Viola: ‘L...listen, I’ve been t...thinking Xyro…’
Before she could start her question, the others in front shouted for us to hurry up.
Atsuko Viola:(Change of thought) ‘N...never mind, I w...will tell you later.’
Once we had caught up with the others, we found ourselves standing at the entrance to the facility. It was a huge metal door, surrounded by a group of engineers. Each of them fled like chickens as soon as we arrived.
Lewis Sterge: (Talking into Headpiece) ‘We’re here Kiri. now what?’
There was no response.
Atsuko Viola: ‘I g...guess the s...signal is j...jammed.’
Lewis Sterge: 'Damn it.'
Ryu Jianar: 'It's over to Ronnie now.'
Ronnie was already opening up the door to the facility. He inserted a finger into a black metal box attached to one of the walls. With a huge clash of metal, the door opened like a vault, as the two blast doors slide apart, revealing a set of two elevators leading down. Happy with himself, Ronnie jumped straight into the elevator on the right, facing the corner.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Atsuko, you're up.’
She took a few tools out her backpack, breaking the seal on the control box of the elevator. She then proceeded to place a pair of goggles over her head, before using a tiny blow torch to cut bits of metal circuitry out and replace wires. In no time, she had already rerouted the system entirely.
Atsuko viola: (Proud,smiling) ‘Done!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I must say, fine work.’
Miu extended a hand to Atsuko to help her up off the ground.
Miu’s kindness weirded me out.
Cramming us all into the two separate elevators, we began to descend into the facility. I was with Atsuko, whilst the others split off into the other one.
Not sure why, since the two of us had allot of room left over.
Atsuko seemed happy enough. She was humming on the spot.
X.D:(Jokingly but supportive) ‘So, have you finally snapped out of being miserable?’
Atsuko gave me a stare of approval.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Yes. I have b...been thinking about what you s...said, and it made me realise, t...that words don't mean anything. Like you said, thank you d...does not mean anything after a while, so being b...bullied with words shouldn't either. After all, y...you are all my friends, and you all like me, so I'm doing s...something right!’
She gave me an incredibly wide smile. I remember that once, she was so shy that forming a sentence was impossible. Now, with all our help, she had finally come to terms with it.
Although she never truly broke out of being the timid, shy type, she was now at peace with herself at least.
That's all I could ever hope for really.
X.D: (Rubbing her hair) ‘You are important to us all.’
Blushing, she stopped me from rubbing her hair, and jokingly punched me in the arm.
The elevator suddenly shuddered to a halt.
We were now on the first flaw of the facility.
Atsuko and I looked at one another.
X.D: ‘Ladies first.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘G...gentlemen just b...before!’
I wasn't going to argue with her.
The elevator doors slid open. Taking a small gulp of air, I stepped out of the elevator doors.
Our first facility raid had begun...
(End of chapter 3)