Escape

Lahel stood outside the entrance to the city patiently. He had been doing so for the past hour, waiting for the village leader to arrive. He didn’t know what to expect or when to expect him. All he was tasked to do was wait. It wasn’t until half an hour later when he saw a group of people in the distance, making their way towards him.

There were several people huddling around a stout chubby man. They were saying something to him but the man raised his hand and the others backed off only for another group of people to surround him. Lahel guessed that the chubby man was the village leader he was waiting for.

As he came closer he raised his hand once more. He then left his caravan of people and walked, or rather he waddled, his way over to Lahel. Lahel bowed, raising his head when asked then greeted, ‘Welcome, Sir.’

‘No need for formalities.’

‘Forgive me, Mr Ching.’

‘Just Larry is fine.’

‘Oh, but you are a man of such a high status. I cannot possibly call you by your first name, sir.’

‘You have earned the right to be my right hand man for today and just for that you have my respect.’

‘Your words flatter me. I will do everything in my right to guide you and meet your expectations.’

‘And I’m sure you will Mister...er...’

‘Lahel Bints’

‘Yes. Now guide me to the barracks.’

Lahel knocked on the floor three times before the ground gave way, showing a set of stairs. He led the village leader down them, followed closely by the people that accompanied him. The sound of several footsteps echoed all the way into the city, causing a small crowd to form at the bottom.

A woman pushed his way on the staircase and ushered the crowd away. The others that came with the village leader must also have tedious jobs such as that, Lahel thought. The woman raised a hand signalling that they could carry on, to which the village leader nodded in gratitude.

The barracks were only a few hundred metres away. However, it seemed like a chore as Lahel had to slow down to match the speed of the leader’s waddle. He had noticed most water mages had his chubby physique, usually because they had to store water in their skin, but the waddle was unique. With that limited mobility, was he really an A rank? Lahel wondered. The greater the weakness, the stronger the strength must be, he concluded wary of the village leader.

Upon arrival, Lahel showed a letter to the guard posted outside the barracks. He flicked through the letter and further documentations before nodding, opening a door completely made of stone and several metres tall. The guard made it seem effortless to open though, using just one hand to pull on the doorknob while using the other to shake hands with the VIPs.

The halls were vast and spacious and bustling with soldiers. The village leader didn’t show any emotion, however, as if to say this is nothing special. Lahel couldn’t help but feel a hint of jealousy but hid it well by acting busy showing documentations to various individuals. The final person handed over a key. Lahel turned back to the village leader and his impatient entourage. He handed over the key to the leader. It was metallic but was brittle with rust. The village leader held it tightly before placing it in his back pocket.

‘Shall we get on with the tour?’ Lahel said.

‘Let’s hurry up, Mable,’ he replied.

‘Lahel...’

‘What?’

‘Nothing.’

The village leader made a hand gesture and half of the group that accompanied him dispersed. The others joined Lahel and the leader on the tour of the barracks. Most of them came with an air of boredom, sighing or yawning as they went along. It didn’t faze Lahel, however, as his job was just to guide the village leader. He had no responsibility over the others.

During the tour several rooms were shown ranging from the stables, where the mages that use a familiar was kept, to the bedrooms. Along each stage of the tour, one or two split off from the group. That stopped when there were roughly half a dozen people left. These stuck close to the village leader at all times, without sign of leaving. Lahel didn’t like their presence but knew they were probably bodyguards.

‘We’re onto the last stage of the tour. For this part, can I ask for some privacy between us?’

‘We can’t allow that. We must go with him wherever he is,’ a beefy man rejected.

‘Even to his own bedroom?’

The village leader raised his hands in response.

‘It’s fine. He has done a fine job guiding me around the barracks. Sending me to my room shouldn’t be too troublesome. You can stand here while I go with Rachel.’

‘Lahel...’ Lahel murmured.

‘Fine. We’ll rush over if anything happens though.’

‘As I should expect from you.’

After leaving the bodyguards behind, Lahel and the village leader made their way down a long corridor. They reached a door that was unique to the building. Instead of the knocking system that opened doors automatically upon the right pattern knocked, this was one was manual. It had a lock which had to be opened by a key. Luckily, Lahel gave the key to the village leader beforehand who opened the door and the pair walked inside.

‘Not bad Neal. The room is large enough and well cleaned. It’s acceptable,’ the village leader commented.

‘I’m glad it is to your liking,’ Lahel replied. ‘You will be resting for a long time here.’

The door closed. The leader turned around. He felt a shocking sensation. His legs gave way. His eyes rolled. He saw two people. Was he hallucinating? No there was another. He panicked. He opened his mouth and fired pressurised water from it. He couldn’t see straight. He randomly aimed. He heard a cry of pain. Words he didn’t quite catch. Another shocking sensation. His mind went blank. His heartbeat stopped.

‘You Idiot!’

‘Calm down, man. I was just toying with him. No fun killing him straight away.’

‘What is wrong with you?!’

‘Chill, Jack. I killed him now and that’s all we needed.’

‘He’s made so much noise just before he died, and you want me to ‘chill’?’

‘We’re far away from anyone. No one’s gonna hear.’

‘You underestimate of some of those bestials, Esper.’

The sound of footsteps was heard by the pair and they were closing in. Jack cursed his luck. They had no time to hide the lifeless body of the village leader. The footsteps of the people coming grew louder. Their voices confirmed that the room, that Esper and Jack were in, was indeed their destination.

‘We can take them on, Jack,’ Esper said hesitantly, clutching his arm, the pain from the pressurised beam of water causing him to wince.

‘There are three thousand people in the building. Even if we manage to beat his bodyguards, we will not survive everyone else,’ Jack replied.

‘So what? It’s easy stuff.’

‘We are not going to win!’

The pursuers grew ever closer. Jack had no time to talk with an idiot like Esper, who lived only for excitement. There was no point in both of them dying right now. Their mission was completed after all. He lowered his heart beat and body temperature, matching the thirty degrees in the room, and entered into stealth. Esper’s eyes widened as he realised what his partner was trying to do.

‘Hey, Jack.’

Jack didn’t reply to his partner’s call. He moved to the other side of the room, where the door was located. The sound of footsteps indicated that they were getting ever closer. Esper started to panic. He had no plan and he definitely didn’t want to die now. In a last ditched effort, he tried calling out again, eyes fixated on the location where he last saw his partner.

‘Jack! Jack! Hey! Man, you gotta be kidding me. Without me you wouldn’t be able to do anything. This mission wouldn’t have succeeded without me! Stop staying silent! If you leave me here, I will make sure you die with me! Jack, are you listening?!’

Jack heard everything. He made his mind up. There was nothing Jack could do to save his partner anyway. Suddenly, the door burst open. A group of ten entered, all well built physically. They didn’t look like they were the types that could be beat in a battle of brawn easily. They had a look at the floor, where the village leader laid, then at Esper who seemed to have frozen on the spot.

A white man, with curly brown hair, the same one that tried to stop the village leader from leaving the bodyguards in the first place, stepped forward and began speaking. ‘It seems like the leader was electrocuted. The guy over there must be a mage that can use electricity. Kabal. Ren. Pin down the suspect.’

Two men, who looked exactly like one another, with their leather like albino skin, and black eyes and hair, rushed at Esper. They floored him easily. Esper instinctively sent out a wave of electricity through the men holding him down. However, they didn’t even flinch, as if it had no effect on them. Esper’s mind snapped due to the helpless feeling he had, and the fact his partner abandoned him. He began laughing manically and began mumbling gibberish.

‘What do we do now, boss?’ asked one of the men, still pinning Esper down.

‘Poor guy’s gone mad. Did he try doing anything to you, Kabal?’

‘He did try to electrocute me,’ Kabal said.

‘Same here,’ added the other.

‘Luckily I brought some Electricity resistant types with me. But that confirms it. He must be the culprit. Karma, what’s the status?’

A woman looked up. She was inspecting the body while Kabal and Ren were dealing with Esper. You could tell the news from her frowning face. Everyone in the room looked down, mourning the loss of their leader. Esper’s laughing began to die down. However, this didn’t shut him up. His eyes were those of a madman. He began shouting. Everyone ignored him. But the one that appeared to be the leader of the group picked up one something.

‘What did you say?’ he asked Esper.

‘You’re all idiots!’ Esper shouted.

‘Boss, why are you speaking with him? He’s obviously crazy,’ said Karma

‘Hush. I think he knows something,’ he replied before turning back to Esper, ‘Why is that?’

‘Did you really think I could kill him?!’

‘All the evidence is there. I don’t see who else it could. No you’re right.’

‘Boss?’

‘Think about it. The leader was always with that guide. He was also the one who went with him to his room. I didn’t see the guide leave though. On the other hand, I’ve never seen this guy before. He couldn’t have done this alone.’

Esper burst into laughter again. The whole room knew their boss was right. Jack, who was standing there the whole time, began to make his move. He was foolish. He should have left as soon as possible, but he wanted to see if he could save his partner. Now he lost all that time that he could have used to flee. His partner was hopeless till the end and Jack’s existence was sure to be found out soon.

The building, a place where soldiers were called upon for meetings and announcements, was huge, containing over two thousand rooms, being several kilometres in length and width. It also served as a residency and a hub for social gatherings. The sheer size of the place made it impossible for Jack to escape in one go. To remain undetected, he has to constantly keep his breathing and heartbeat to a minimum. Over long distances, this proves troublesome as Jack’s body starts to demand oxygen. Even if he were to catch his breath just for a moment, the sound of his heart beating could alert any nearby soldiers. It didn’t help that everyone was gathered for the arrival of the village leader.

Luckily Jack knew the building’s layout. He made sure to memorise it beforehand. There was one safe room. One that no one would dare enter: The King’s room. The room every village in the AAA had, dedicated to the king of the continent, in the rare case that he may one day visit. If Jack could get there, he could rest and then think about an escape route. He had to make sure to lurk in the shadows. Despite being camouflaged, he couldn’t run out in open light. He would have cast a shadow regardless of being in stealth or not, and should anyone notice, his cover would easily be blown.

As Jack glided his way past those on patrol, he overheard some of the conversations. As he predicted, word of his disappearance had been circulating around and soon almost everyone in the vicinity should know of him. However, it seemed so far that knowledge of him being a stealth bestial type hasn’t been discovered. Everyone must be informed to look out for Lahel Bints, the man whose identity Jack had stolen. No one knew of the village leader’s death from what Jack overheard. This was to not bring panic and chaos, Jack thought.

As he meandered between the soldiers, corridors and rooms, he went through the events that led up to the present. Back in Eurasia, Jack was bred to be the ideal stealth bestial. However due to his inability to kill anyone, he was rejected by every single Squadron. He had to swallow his pride and apply to Squadron W. He was thoroughly surprised at how strong SW actually were. What he thought were the ‘rejects of the MBP’, were actually people who were in the same scenario as him. Bred with strong abilities, but due to one flaw or another, they weren’t accepted into the army and were forced to join SW.

One thing that Jack found strange was how hard the members trained. For people who weren’t going to fight anytime soon, it was as if the enemy could be just outside. Jack, moved by the determination of everyone there, trained hard himself, perfecting his stealth and learning some new tricks which he wasn’t intended to be able to do at birth. He thoroughly enjoyed being part of SW, having joined thirty two years ago, but he felt like he wasn’t accomplishing anything. It wasn’t a surprise when he leapt at the chance for a potential assassination mission.

Jack still remembered the smile on Maria’s face when he was told that he was chosen to do it. Jack was told that the target was a water elemental and was advised to bring someone suitable with him. Being the only electricity elemental in Squadron W, Jack felt like he was forced to bring Esper on the mission. Anyone else and either they would be too weak to carry out the assignment, or too large of a presence that they would be found out immediately.

Everything was planned out before his infiltration in enemy grounds; who to target, how to move about, the layout of the city of Egypt. All the information was provided by Eurasian spies, situated in several locations in Africa, along with his experience working as a medic. It did come as a surprise how important his target really was. Jack would have taken the mission regardless, had he known anyway.

The next step was infiltrating the building where the leader was going to stay. That was simple enough. Jack could say he was lucky at the role Lahel played, being assigned as an guide for the leader’s arrival. The physique and assignment he, now a dead soldier, had been perfect for the mission. Jack had played the role perfectly, as well, biding his time to when he could be alone.

Jack wasn’t alone with the village leader, however, as Esper was always tailing them. The aura mages emit was something he could manipulate. No one knew how he could but it allowed Esper to remain unseen, or rather unnoticed. It required someone else to be nearby in order to divert the attention away from him, which was its only downside. Esper could easily make all eyes were set upon the leader and Jack with no one noticing Esper following them.

The plan was going so perfectly, Jack thought. His expertise in espionage allowed Jack to never break character; to never arouse suspicion. Once Jack had gotten the leader isolated with just the three of them, he gave the signal. That’s when everything went wrong.

Instead of the swift assassination he was instructed to do, Esper just gave a mild shock to the leader. It paralysed the Leader’s lower body, causing him to collapse. Jack had thought it was finished and congratulated his partner. However, Esper wasn’t focused on the mission. He wanted to enjoy inflicting more pain on the victim, which is why he left him alive. Jack only realised when it was too late, once the body, which he thought was dead, began attacking them. Now he was forced to flee, abandoning Esper, and making his way to the King’s room.

Jack eventually reached an unlit corridor, knowing he was close. The building was filled with secret passageways that would have allowed the king to leave, in the case of a disaster that could jeopardise his safety. They were never used due to the unlikelihood of his visit. As a consequence, such corridors and passageways were kept unlit in order to save fuel and resources. With knowledge of them being scarce amongst the community as well, there was really no need to maintain them. Jack himself only found out about them recently from a reliable source.

As Jack made his way down the corridor, he was feeling the wall along the way. His hands caught the soft tissue of insects that had clung onto the wall. It almost made Jack want to recoil in disgust. He ventured on, however, looking for something in particular. The lack of light made it difficult, but he found it: a thin line that went vertically on the wall. He dug his fingers into the line, a few inches in width, and began pulling.

He had found the entrance to one of these passageways. Unlike the other doors, which work automatically, the doors that linked the passageways had to be opened manually. The building was old itself and so it came as to no surprise that the new invention, automatic doors, would not be installed on these old passageways that no one has used in ages.

Jack looked into the passageway. He couldn’t see anything. The black abyss, which was waiting in front of him, beckoned him to go forwards. Having closed the entrance behind him, Jack dropped his stealth and began to breathe. His body ached from the lack of oxygen in his body and he needed to lie down, heart beating furiously. Surely he was in a safe enough location to do so. Although he could keep hold his breathing and beating for much longer, the symptoms that came after such a feat took a toll on his body. He attempted it once but was unconscious for several days after that. He needed this time to rest.

The surroundings produced almost no sound. Jack saw just pure darkness. At first, the lack of noise comforted him as it meant no one was around. Then he started hearing the beating of his heart, the pumping of blood through his veins and then the deep breaths of his lungs. At first he didn’t think too much of it but after a few moments it got to him.

He then heard a buzzing sound rang through his ears. He began to see images of animals, faces and at one point he thought he saw Esper. How long was he resting for? A minute? An hour? A day? Jack couldn’t think straight. He knew that if he wanted to keep his sanity, he needed to get out of there.

He made his way through the passageway, searching for a way out. Maybe Jack should have planned things out more. He should have predicted the possibility of something going wrong. He should have figured out more escape routes. Was the strain on his mental health worth taking this route?

Caught in his train of thought, Jack didn’t notice the wall opposite him, crashing into it. He stammered backwards, getting a sense of reality once again. He pushed at the wall and, after some effort, the door began to push forward. The seams of light above him brought joy to Jack. He clambered up some stairs to the source of that light. He opened up another door above him and suddenly the seams burst into rays of light, blinding Jack momentarily.

Jack regained his eyesight and quickly made his way out of the darkness. The room he emerged in was much more lavish than he expected. The floors and walls were made out of marble, carved to perfection. They were shiny enough to see your reflection in them. The room itself was massive. The bed was king-sized, with soft feather mattresses. There was even enough space for a tap! Just how spoilt was the king?! Normal citizens would have to walk a mile or two to get their water supply, but he can get it straight from his room. This was also temporary accommodation. It made Jack wonder what the king’s real home must be like.

He lay on the bed, testing it out. Immediately a wave of exhaustion hit Jack. The physical toll of using his stealth, as well as the mental toll from being in the dark for so long, drained his energy to the point where he ran over to the bed and collapsed onto it, going into a deep sleep.

Even during his sleep, Jack was constantly thinking of his next steps. He was always like that, never one to miss something and always blaming himself if something goes wrong. It was for that reason that he was chosen to carry out the mission. Even if he did die now, he succeeded and that’s what mattered.

Jack opened his eyes, still dreary from what he had experienced, as a beam of light hit him. As he lay on the bed, Jack realised where the light had came from. It wasn’t from torches that everyone used; it actually came from the outside world. Directly above the bed was a shaft, or rather a hole connecting the outside to the king’s room. Jack noticed that it had gotten dark outside, with the light from the moon hitting his face. The stars above mesmerised Jack and he felt a sense of serenity.

He felt hungry though. He got up, looked around the room and went through all the cabinets and drawers in the room. He then stumbled across a small tree that had a few fruits on it. Jack didn’t hesitate to eat them all. He was now thirsty. Jack remembered that the room contained a tap. He went over to the basin, admiring the fact that there was a mirror as well, before taking a few gulps of water.

Jack then turned to see a box. It was unusual as it was made of glass and surrounded by plastic. What purpose did it serve? He walked closer to it and could see his reflection in the glass. However, through the glass showed a greyish darkness. The box was detached from everything and so it couldn’t possibly be a window. Next to the box, Jack found a stick, made of the same plastic as the rim of the box but it had several buttons on. There were some numbers and symbols that Jack didn’t recognise on it.

He was drawn to a big red button when suddenly Jack couldn’t feel his body. His knees buckled causing him to fall forwards towards the ground. Unable to cushion the impact with his arms, his chest collided with the side of the box, causing him to be winded. His eyes looked up towards the reflection in the box and saw hair in a spiky formation.

‘Found you.’