Chapter 19

Family

Erin and her companions were frozen in place as they looked at the guards surrounding them from both sides. There were at least six guards on both ends with rifles pointed at the three of them and could turn them into mincemeat at any second. If she had the time to think about that, the redhead would have questioned why they weren’t being fired upon.

“Throw down all your weapons and put your hands in the air!” came a command from one of the guards. “You have no chance of escaping! All the guards and soldiers stationed here have been notified of your presence and are ready to take you all out, if need be!”

Finally snapping out of her frozen stupor, Erin sprang into action by taking a quick step backwards while simultaneously closing the door to the dungeon. However, she knew that it was only a matter of time before the guards came busting down the door in pursuit of them. In preparation for that, the assassin took out one of the smoke bombs she had and turned towards her companions.

“Get ready to run like hell!” Erin told Ryle, who nodded in response.

As soon as the door was kicked open, the redhead threw the smoke bomb at the guards. The sudden cloud of smoke caught them off guard, allowing Erin to charge them with her knife drawn out. Ryle followed close behind while carrying Zeke on her back.

Thanks to the confusion caused by the sudden smoke, the guards became easy pickings for Erin and Ryle, who were able to fight their way through them. It also helped that the guards had all tried to go down the stairs to the dungeon at the same time, thus making them helpless as they couldn’t use their rifles for fear of hitting one of their own.

With the first wave of guards taken care of, the escapees tried to get to the mansion’s entrance, only to find that the place was swarming with guards. Neither Erin or Ryle were able to fire even one shot at their enemies, before being forced to retreat.

“Dammit, there’s too many of them!” Erin cursed while hiding behind a wall in order to shield herself from the enemy fire. “We need to find another way out! We’re not getting through here without a tank at least!”

“Where the hell are we supposed to go then!? I don’t know any other exits!” Ryle said while doing her best to return fire to the guards.

“We could try the garage on the other side of the building!” Zeke suddenly suggested, getting the attention of his companions. “When I first visited this place, I made sure to get a good idea of the layout of this place, in case I’d have to make a run for it. I can hot wire one of the vehicles there and then we can drive out of here.”

“You think you can lead us there?” Erin asked to which the blonde boy nodded. “Good. Let’s get going.”

With the guidance from Zeke, the trio of escapees were able to navigate their way through the mansion easily. They still had to face large amounts of guards, but thanks to the blonde boy’s help Erin and Ryle could either move around them or simply fight through them.

The group soon made it to the garage, where a small collection of cars could be found. It seemed like the town’s mayor had a thing for expensive vehicles, even if he himself wasn’t driving them around.

“Okay, so what’s our next move!?” Ryle asked as she closed the door and used a nearby table to barricade the entrance. “I doubt this will hold them for long, so we better get moving and fast!”

“Take me to one of the cars and I’ll be able to get it to work,” Zeke said as he was leaning on a nearby wall. “I’ve done hot wiring a few times, so I should be able to do it here as well.”

Erin helped the blonde boy get to an impressive looking muscle car. She chose it instead of the fast sports cars, as they would need strength more than speed in order to make their escape. Not to mention, driving a really fast car in an area that didn’t have all that much space wasn’t the best idea.

“Alright. Just give me a moment to pick the lock and-” Zeke began to say, only for Ryle to smash her fist through the window and then unlock the door that way. “Or we could do that, I suppose…”

“Sorry, Zeke, but we don’t have all that much time on our hands,” the blonde woman said while holding her bleeding fist. “If we take our time with this, we won’t even get to sit inside the car, let alone get out of this place.”

The blonde boy didn’t respond to his sister and simply went inside the car to do his work. He quickly got his hands on the wires and started to cut and re-connect them in the hopes of getting the vehicle’s motor started. While he was doing this, Erin and Ryle had their rifles pointed at the door, waiting for the guards to come through.

At first, the pursuing guards had been trying to break the door down with simple brute strength, but that suddenly stopped as the sound of people moving away from the door could be heard. It was when Erin heard the sound of a single person walking up to the door that she realized what they were planning.

“Watch out! They’re going to blow up the door!” the redhead yelled at her companions, who did their best to protect themselves from the blast.

As soon as the door was out of the way, several guards swarmed into the garage with guns at the ready. Erin and Ryle were quick to react and began to fire upon their enemies, managing to take out quite a few of them right away. However, this initial success didn’t last long, as the guards quickly took positions and began firing back.

While the fierce firefight was going on, Zeke was furiously working on hot wiring the car. Sweat ran down his face as he was trying his best to make the vehicle start as soon as possible. He finally got his hands on two wires and connected them, causing sparks to fly out. This was soon followed by the sound of the engine starting.

“It’s ready! Get in, you two!” the blonde boy yelled at his two companions.

“Great work, Zeke!” Ryle yelled back with a grin as she shot another guard. “I knew you could do it!”

“Good job! Now we can finally get out of here,” Erin said as she began to make her way towards the car.

Zeke was about to move out of the way to allow the two ladies to get inside. But as he was doing this, he noticed something. One of the guards that had supposedly been shot was still alive and was aiming at Erin. Almost like he was moving automatically, the blonde boy dashed towards the redhead, ignoring the pain in his leg to push Erin out of the way. He managed to save the assassin, as the bullet went past her without even touching a hair on her head.

Unfortunately, it hit another target, as it pierced through Zeke’s chest.

Ryle screamed her brother’s name in horror and rage, before turning her attention towards the guard that had shot him. Without any hesitation, she emptied the clip on her rifle onto the guard, who fell dead. With her enemy now dead, the blonde woman could rush to her brother’s side, gathering his small body in her arms, as she held him gently.

“Oh God… No no no no… Zeke, stay with me,” Ryle said while holding her brother. “We’re gonna get you out of here and fix you up, okay? You’re going to be fine. Just hang in there for me, got it?”

“Ryle, we need to get going!” Erin shouted as she fired a couple of shots at guards that tried to get to them. “The longer we stay here, the less of a chance he will have!”

Both Erin and Ryle got in the car with the blonde still holding Zeke. The redhead took the driver’s seat and put her foot on the accelerator, causing the car to practically launch like a rocket through the garage door.

As one would have expected, the yard was full of guards, along with Lune’s own soldiers. All were running towards where the car of the three escapees was in the hopes of catching them and getting rewarded. But despite their best efforts, they were unable to stop Erin when she was behind a wheel. Back when she had been hanging out with the friends who made her betray Devin’s group, she had been taken to all sorts of activities that a lot of people would deem as “inappropriate”. These activities included the usual things like drinking and smoking, but also some more extreme things like gambling and vandalism. While Erin hadn’t come to enjoy most of these things, the one thing she did take a liking to was street racing, where she had proven to be quite skillful at.

Thanks to her driving skills, the redhead was able to easily drive through the guards and soldiers trying to stop them, before getting through the main gate itself. The trio was soon riding through the streets of the town itself, until they felt like they had managed to shake off their pursuers. It was then that they abandoned the vehicle and continued on foot, using the narrow alleys to hide themselves from any prying eyes.

The trio hid in an abandoned, rundown building after making sure none of their pursuers were around. Once there, Erin and Ryle could finally tend to Zeke’s wounds in peace. The blonde boy was gently laid on the floor with Erin’s jacket under his head as a makeshift pillow. Zeke’s breathing was shallow, slow and sounded painful, like it caused him pain to simply breathe in. His face was pale, even more than usual. He also seemed to be struggling to stay awake and was coughing up blood. It was now that the two ladies realized the severity of their younger companion’s condition.

“Oh God… Zeke, stay with us here, okay?” Ryle asked as hints of panic and desperation could be heard in her voice. “W-We’re gonna fix you up, got it? No need to worry. Just hold still and we’ll make sure you’re alright. Right, Erin?”

Erin gave an unsure nod to the blonde woman’s question. As much as she wanted to deny it, Zeke was in a really bad condition. The redhead doubted that they would be able to keep the blonde boy alive much longer, let alone save his life. She still wanted to keep up a strong front for Ryle, who was desperately grasping onto any hope that her brother would survive.

“It’s alright, sis… I know I’m as good as gone,” Zeke said weakly as he coughed up more blood. “The bullet penetrated my lungs. I can tell that this is it for me,”

“No no no no NO! You can’t die, Zeke!” Ryle begged as tears were now freely falling from her eyes. “There’s still a chance you can be saved! You just need to hold on, until we-!”

“Ryle… Can I talk to Erin real quick?” the blonde boy asked. “I need to say something to her.”

Despite her desire to stay by her brother’s side, the blonde woman relented and stepped back a bit, allowing Erin to come forward. The redhead leaned closer to Zeke, so that the boy wouldn’t have to struggle to be heard.

“I-I know what I did to you was wrong, but I did it in order to protect… my sister,” Zeke said as he struggled to speak. “Nothing else mattered to me, but to see her safe. I didn’t plan for the others to get caught in this mess…”

“I understand, Zeke. If I was in your situation, I’m not sure if I had done things any differently from you,” Erin said gently. “Save your strength. There’s no need for you to-”

“N-No! There’s s-still something I have to a-ask you,” the blonde boy said in agony as he coughed up more blood. “I know I shouldn’t be asking you for anything, but can you promise something to me?”

“Of course. What is it?” the redhead asked.

“I… I want you to look after Ryle,” Zeke said. “While she might be tough, she has a tendency to get into trouble. She goes into fights headfirst without thinking. I always made sure to look after her the best I could, but I won’t be able to do so any longer. C-Can you do that for me? P-Please?”

“I… Of course,” Erin answered a bit hesitantly, taken aback by the request. “I’ll make sure to keep her safe. You don’t have to worry about her anymore.”

“Thank you, Erin,” the blonde boy said with a smile before turning his attention to his sister and struggling hold up his arms towards her. Ryle responded to this by pulling her brother in for one last hug, as tears were now freely falling from her eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more, sis.”

“Don’t say something like that! I knew I could always rely on you to help me with things I couldn’t handle myself!” Ryle said as she held Zeke close. “I should be the one apologizing to you…”

“I wish… that you get to… be happy… like you deserve…”

With his final words, Zeke’s heart stopped beating. The blonde boy was no longer alive.

As Ryle screamed in anguish over the death of her little brother, Erin turned away from the two siblings while crying her own tears.

Some time later, both Erin and Ryle were standing at a cliff outside the town. There was now a small grave in front of them, marking the spot where Zeke’s body had been buried. Ryle was sitting on the ground with her face buried in her knees, while Erin was standing behind her.

Feeling that her friend needed some time alone, the redheaded assassin began to quietly walk away. She was hoping to leave for good in order to make sure Ryle wouldn’t be endangered by being associated with her ever again.

“Where are you going?” the blonde woman suddenly asked, stopping Erin in her tracks.

“I… I just thought you’d like some time alone and-” the redhead tried to explain.

“You’re not answering my question,” Ryle said in a forceful and stern tone. “Let me ask you again. Where are you going? Are you going over to Lune to kill that bastard?”

“...Yes,” was the simple answer of the assassin.

“...Take me with you,” the blonde woman suddenly demanded in a tone that sounded way too calm. “I want to get my hands on that son of a bitch, too.”

“But… But I can’t take you with me,” Erin tried to argue. “I promised Zeke that I wouldn’t get you into danger.”

“Bullshit. That’s not what you promised him. He knew way too well that I would never be able to keep myself out of trouble, so he simply asked you to look after me when that happened,” Ryle said. “What he wanted was for you to take his place as the person who worries over me and helps me out.”

“Are you sure you want this?” the redhead asked. “By joining up with me, you may end up becoming a wanted criminal. Are you ready to face that?”

“Can’t be harder to face than this!” the blonde woman said with fury finally showing in her voice. She turned to look at Erin, showing her a teary face that was twisted in rage and grief. “Lune took everything from me! The people in the slums and my only family! You think I’m going to let that slide!? Would you!?”

Erin was taken aback by the last question. For a moment, she thought about herself in Ryle’s situation. Her family and friends lost because of a man like Lune. Had something like this happened to her back when she was still friends with Devin’s group, the redhead was certain she would desire revenge the same way Ryle did.

“Alright. Let’s get going,” Erin said with a determined look on her face.

The two women began to walk away from Zeke’s grave, swearing to get revenge on the man responsible for his death.