Breachers

(OsiriumWrites) Breachers -I- Path of Steel - Chapter 10 (Inequivalent Exchange)

He carefully reached out and pressed his hand against the strange transparent wall, applying gradual pressure and feeling how his hand slowly slid through it. Though it seemed as if he were pushing through a jumble of shattered and floating crystals, it seemed more like moving through a dense, invisible gel until his hand emerged on the other side. Confused, he followed his hand, noticing that the resistance was barely noticeable as long as he moved slowly. Seconds later, the resistance disappeared, causing him to stumble forwards on the other side and momentarily losing his balance.

As he struggled to steady himself and maintain his forward motion, he observed that the blue hue had vanished, revealing a normal night sky. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the thing he had just crossed covering most of the junkyard in a light blue. 'It's confined to that huge area?' Marcus wondered while picking up the pace again and shifting his gaze forward. His camera captured the presence of two guards stationed at the gatehouse, urgently signaling for the fleeing crowd to hurry up.

When Marcus noticed the guard on the left, he sensed a mix of confusion and wariness in the man's expression, unable to fully comprehend Marcus's unusual appearance as he came closer. The guard raised his left hand to halt Marcus, while his right hand hovered near the gun holstered at his hip. Remembering the fire arrow, Marcus charged forward. Like his father and uncle had taught him, Marcus delivered a powerful punch to the guard's side, hitting him in the liver. Meanwhile, the second guard scrambled to draw his weapon and managed to fire twice before Marcus closed the distance and took hold of the man's wrist. What followed was a quick steel knee strike to the guard's stomach before the man collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath in uncontrollable heaves.

Marcus wasted no time and sprinted away from the gate, leaving bewildered workers and the two wounded guards behind him as he rushed to the surrounding neighborhood, intent on disappearing. And as the shouting near the gate picked up again, he began to panic while hoping the two fresh punctures in his torso hadn't struck anything vital.

- - -

A while later, Marcus inspected his HUD, taking note of the time that had elapsed. '1829 seconds have passed already. So, I've already spent about a fourth of my time just reaching this point,' he pondered, standing atop a tall building a few blocks away from the junkyard after climbing up via the external fire escape. From his elevated vantage point, he watched the junkyard at the outskirts of town. 'How many months or years did I spend in that hellhole?' he pondered; his mind plagued by memories of the torment. Shaking off the unsettling thoughts, he redirected his optics toward the north while his steel finger traced circles around the two new holes in his torso.

The city sprawled before him, boasting towering skyscrapers and apartment complexes at its center, while smaller houses dotted the surrounding areas. Noticing a street sign that read 'Nieuw Haven' in Dutch with the English translation 'New Haven' beneath it, Marcus went over what he had learned, 'I know I'm in the Netherlands. But I've never come across a city quite like this, and it seems way too big for me to have never heard of it before. So, time has passed, I guess.'

Speeding towards a large building in the North were the flashing lights and the blaring sirens of an approaching ambulance. Marcus immediately recognized the familiar colors and was glad that some things were still the same. 'The hospital,' he told himself as he connected the building to the unexplainable pull he felt towards that direction. 'That has to be it. I'm there!' With a clear path in mind, Marcus made his way off the rooftop, descending using the fire escape before proceeding down the alley.

As he walked, his gaze lifted towards the night sky, drawn to the stars and the moon shining in all its glory, no longer tainted by unnatural red or blue hues that had taunted him before. It felt comforting to him to see and experience the world like this again, despite being trapped in his robotic frame. Reaching the end of the alley, he glanced left and right before crossing the street and entering another narrow passage lined with dumpsters and stacks of cardboard.