11th Moon
1st Phase
2020
5:32am
It was time to escape. Thanks to noise in the background proved distracting for those on the background, reinforcement was more interested in pacifying the Conductor than the breakout I was performing.
One by one the electronic gates opened, prisoners carefully crossing with the three idols on corralling everyone together.
"Is that everyone?"
"Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one. Yes, that's all of us," pointed Takeuchi.
"Okay. I foresaw a door on the back that could help us escape without the need for attention. Hopefully it connects us to the back entrance. Follow me!"
Taking the lead with the idols, everyone ran with all their strength to keep up with the trail we left. Like a colony of ants, everyone followed in a file line, looking over their shoulders over potential stalkers. Takeuchi stayed a bit in the back while Celine kept an eye on everyone in the front so as to not straggle from the group. Suffice to say, our escape displayed no signs of stalling itself thanks in due part to the crude methods of the Conductor, buying us a bit of time to escape.
Opening through some doors, we arrived on a wooden platform that connected us to the lower docks. The crashing of the waves gave us a gentle breeze, symbolizing the everflowing wind of freedom that was to be handed to us.
"Drat. A dead end."
"And if the waves are anything to tell us, swimming isn't an option as well."
"I recall a passage on one of the corners we passed. If we go now, maybe we can-"
Just as I was recalling a bang caught our attention. An elongated bullet zipped across the end of the dark tunnel. Though my developed reflexes were able to push Trinity to the floor, it wasn't enough to avoid it myself, scraping my shoulder as the blood stained my stripped shirt.
/Crap that was fast, real fast!//
"Ms. Goldilocks!" cried the idols.
"I'm impressed. Normally when I hit my targets they either end up on the floor injured or dead. And yet you somehow dodged both."
A man veiled in the shadows, stepped into the night sky to show himself. Wearing a drab colored navy-like coat, it started right around his fluffy beard and ended right around the calfs. Though no discernable detail could be perceived from his face, the voice sounded that of someone of a late age, having a hoarse voice as he coughed between his words.
"Can't promise you'll get lucky next time lass."
"We're doom, it's the Warden!"
"The Warden?"
"He is the sadist who has had a watchful eye on us. In charge of keeping us in line, he uses whatever methods that comes to his mind, even if it means breaking us in the process."
"How awful!"
"They had it coming though," interjected the Warden. "Had they continued to be his guinea pig, then their fate wouldn't have been sealed. Those that aren't grateful by the gifts he's bestowed deserve nothing less than death."
"Gifts!That damn master of yours cursed us with that thing in our bodies! How am I going to explain to my parents that I've got a living space rock stuck in me!"
//Space rock?//
"That doesn't concern me. I get paid to watch the prisoners and take them out if required. Take it up with them if you have a problem. Who knows, maybe they'll give you that freedom you seek out of your worthless lives."
The wickedness he has shown has been nothing but offending. For the longest time it has proven to be difficult for something to make me mad, for I pride myself to be as serene as possible when it comes to adversity. But this was something else, something that revolted inside me like a vortex straight from the depths of space.
Had I had John, this would have been a different outcome. But because there wasn't a way to pacify him safely, this proved to be a challenge I had never faced before.
"Still rebelling are ya? Guess I'm going to have make someone an example to prove how dead serious I am."
Pointing his Dependent at me, I ready myself to dodge his bullet rain. Though I had the intention to grow closer as I swam through it, it was not enough for me to expect what he did succedingly. Moving his gun to the sides, he aims at Takeuchi, shooting right through her. Blood spilled across the board, and the once popular diva was left on the floor cold and lifeless.
"Takeuchi?"
"Takeuchi!" cried Trinity.
The idols called and called, refusing to believe that she had fallen. Bawling and shrieks bellowed, many falling to their knees as tears intensified the more the body cemented itself. Macabre, the elder villain laughed at us as I observed with confusion and sadness. Guilt plagued my conscience, sorrow filled my blood. The roaring of the people who had put their trust in me became hearingless, with the only sound hitting my ear was the high pitch of an explosion. Until suddenly, something changed.
"The girly was gone anyways. Turns out the moon crystals weren't reacting well to her, so unless we plugged her out she was going to continue to suffer. Can't say that it will be the same as the next one. So unless you want to die like a forgettable background character, I suggest–"
Right on the last second, the man stopped his words as I had come face to face with him. Driven by impulse, I was suddenly in the air above him. Right in front of him my body had twisted itself a bit and my leg was just about near his neck. Had it not been because he noticed it in the last second, then perhaps a gruesome outcome would have changed the narrative.
Old and decrepit, the man jumped back to create a safe distance. Angry but confused, he scoffed at me as he prepared himself.
"Arrogant brat," he sneered. "I'll kill you!"
Again and again his shots ricocheted off the stone walls. The girls screamed in fear, ducking down to avoid any possible injuries that could ensue. Though his attacks scraped my body, they did not scrape my newfound resolve. Whatever pain the skin ate was not enough to overbear the adrenaline that coursed through me.
This was reality, but like a dream it felt all so fleeting. Objects that were once there vanished while those that I had started to protect disappeared from sight. All I could see was the person in front me and the occasional sparks that glimmered across my brilliant ideas. Those thoughts that once bothered me were left cleared from my mind.
Like a piece of glass it was all shattered, new possibilities coming into light. To attack, defend or flee. What this meant, what it was, it was all fleeting ideas that meant nothing right now. What mattered was their escape, and the future that could be shone to those that needed it. No matter the cost.
Sliding to his blind spots, his weak spots were there for the taking, and with each hit done on his torso and sides, it weakened the feeble old man from his strong post. All the wind knocked out from his lungs, he coughed and coughed on his knees. Looking down on him all I could see was the reflection on his eye, staring him down as my golden optics glowed. What expressions he had before were erased. Right now, all he had in his body was the urge to kill me.
"Goldilocks!" called Celene. "Dammit why can't she hear us? It's like she's stuck in a zone!"
"Not only that but she's also keeping up with his attacks. Without a weapon or Dependent, she's not slowing one bit. Like the angry guy from earlier, she's doing things that normally a person could never do. So how is she..."
Their safety was the concern that stood on my mind during that time. Though I weaved around to redirect his attacks with my distraction, Trinity was compelled to stand from afar. Observant, a record of familiar words came to mind, and a theory popped into her head as her friend looked at her curiously. The sudden thought came like a bolt from a blue, leaving her white eyes dangling without words to express.
"Trinity, get down!" cried Celene as she pulled her down. "Do you want to get your head blown off? What's wrong with you?"
"Would you believe me if I told you that he was right?"
"What?"
"Her movement, cognizance, and physical skills far surpass the limits of what we can do. It bothered me before with him, but now we're seeing the same with her. Even Takeuchi, one of the most nimblest people, could not dodge the attack."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that these people possess what that devil has been spouting for the past year: The next stage of human evolution."
Bothersome to say the least, every one of the idols glanced intently at me. Amazement, shock, and a whirlwind of emotions mudded their feelings. Distractions like that detracted my attention, and in that split second he got the upperhand and knocked me against the wall. Laughing in a ridiculing way, he angrily kicked me down, coughing up the air as I squirmed in pain.
"I'll admit, you've done more than what I expected lass. But that's all you're getting from me. And with you on the ground, I'll make sure to enjoy this as I shoot you down while everyone looks."
//Dammit why can't I move?!//
Cocking his small pistol he points at it right in my face. Though my body had given itself up, my resolve to continue fighting for them still pushed on.
//You can't let it end here Hawkins. Get up!//
"Goldilocks!"
Everyone cried for me to get up. But in the end, I wasn't fast enough to do anything, and to my regret I resigned myself with tears falling on my rose colored cheeks. Tension in the air, the wicked man pulled the trigger, until suddenly it fired. The idols, Trinity and even I had looked away. Only when one of the idols opened her eyes, she gasped at the outcome of the altercation.
His aim had changed from its original position. What was once a surefire kill down on site had left the bullet lodged in the mossy ceiling. And the cause of it was none other than the Conductor, who had pushed his hand towards the skies.
What little breath we had was nothing short of relief, and what little hope I still had left inside me was rejuvenated, pushing me to stand up with the strength I had left. Irony at its all-time high, I thank the heavens he had come to rescue us.
"Conductor," I said softly.
His strong masculine frame shadowed the light that came from his direction. Though he would not admit it, pain reflected his display. A feeling of accountability, he could not bear to look at me without furrowing his brow.
"I'm sorry," I said with my vibrating lips. "You entrusted me with exiting with everyone alive but I..."
Glancing around, he picked up everything that had transpired. My odd behavior, the ongoing confrontation and the corpse that embellished the planks. Close-set, the pain made him look down in disappointment. A familiar scene for him, his silence was more than enough to know the melancholy his heart was resonating with. Still, he understood what I was going through, and proceeded to comfort me as he petted me kindly.
"It's alright," he assured me warmly. "You did what you could. Thank you for holding down the line and keeping the majority safe. I'm proud of you, my dear."
"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
"Goldilocks..."
"What the hell?" interjected the elder in pain, "Why can't I-?"
His attention focused on our enemy, his body implored for him to answer the question he had in mind.
"Did you kill her?" he asked calmly.
"What?"
"Did. You. Kill her?"
Bit by bit his overwhelming force began to shatter his hand, causing him to land on one of his knees as he looked up. Whatever sentiments he had were discarded, with fear grasping his body as he stared at the dark shadows that accompanied the criminal mastermind. It was then that it hit him. And yet it was not sinister. No, sinister pressure resembled more of the wickedness of the Magician Sage. It was malevolent but just. not something coming from an unknown infiltrator. It felt more akin to that of an avenger, an avenger who had nothing to lose.
"W-wait. It can't be. You're the Conductor, aren't you?!"
"I am, and I have come to seek retribution for the blood you have spilled, you pathetic worm!
Knocking him flat against the floor, the Conductor placed him under his foot like a squirming cockroach. The pistol that was firing on his side was now at the hands of his predator, now pointing it directly at his head.
"D-don't kill me please!" he begged.
Shooting next to his head, he quieted the fearful man.
"Did you let her leave when she begged for her life? Did you?!"
"I-I'm sorry I-"
Bang! Another shot.
"Tell sorry to the parents who will live knowing that they had to bury their daughter!"
Soiling his trousers, he squealed in fear, asking for forgiveness repeatedly.
"No one can forgive you. Forgive yourself with the end that you've earned you piece of trash."
"No!"
Bang, a third shot rang. Silence filled the air as everyone waited in expectation that he was now dead. Far from it however, it ended differently, with the Conductor on the floor lifelessly with the gun in hand.