Morai leaned wearily up against the building just across the street from the experimental laboratory. There were guards all around the lab, standing at intervals on premises. Morai had been watching the lab for almost a half hour now, ever since he saw Ehkra walk out of it briskly, followed by over fifty guards. Just moments after she left, scientists came spilling out of the doors and charging into the streets in a blind panic. They were desperate to get home, to get somewhere safe. The scientists bolted for their cars or just kept running.
Some, however, charged the guards in the attempt of stealing a weapon. Those gallant few were stabbed where they stood, or concussed and sent sprawling with a heavy hand.
Morai didn't see Marfa or Hazira among the fleeing scientists. They had to be inside.
But try as he might, Morai couldn't figure out a way past the guards. The sun had set just a few minutes previous and dark was falling fast, but there were emergency lights on backup power all around the laboratory, so sneaking through the shadows wasn't an option. Nor could he hope to outfight any one of the extensively trained guards- and that wasn't even mentioning the risk of alerting the others. But after waiting and waiting in the dark, an opportunity presented itself when a swarm of people came flooding out of a nearby apartment building. Smoke was rising from several windows, and orange flames could already be seen through the glass.
A portion of the guards ran over to the building to find out what had happened, while the rest watched curiously.
Morai wasted no time. He leapt up and sprinted around the side of them. Just as they were turning back around, he dove into the landscaping bushes by the front door of the lab. At first glance through the window, there didn't seem to be any guards inside, so Morai crept forward, leapt up, and bolted into the lobby.
Morai's heart sunk- it was a mess. Potted plants were toppled, dead wires trailed across the ground, and more than a few bloodstains marked the lobby. The only light in the room shined through the windows, making squares of light on the floor. On one side of the room a woman was slumped up against a table, breathing shakily.
"Ma'am... what happened?" Morai asked quietly, walking up to her. He jumped back as the woman moved, looking up into the light. It was a soldier, though some of her armor was missing.
"Y...you need to get the hell out of Reia," she gasped, touching his stomach gingerly. When she removed her hand, it was stained with red. It seemed that the scientists had put up a fight after all.
"Why?" Morai asked, staying back. He felt he knew the answer.
"The Four are insane," she said, breathless. "...g...get out- as far away as you can... I hear... there are already people building settlements outside of the mountains."
"I can't," Morai said quietly. "I have to fix this."
"Take... my knife if you want, then," the guard breathed, dropping her weapon on the floor with an unnaturally loud clatter. "Best of luck... kid..."
She closed her eyes and slumped back against the table. Morai drew a shuddering breath, covering his mouth as he stepped away. The knife glinted evilly in the low light, and Morai couldn't bring himself touch it.
He steeled his nerves and had begun walking towards the stairs when a startled shout rent the silence.
"Morai?!" someone yelped. Morai spun around. Marfa was pressed up against the window of the office, looking absolutely deranged in the dim light.
"Marfa!" Morai gasped, running over. Marfa's labcoat was torn, his face bruised, and blood was dripping down his fingers. "Marfa! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine! Listen, the door's locked from the outside," Marfa explained, speaking loudly through the glass. "But that doesn't matter. You have to get out of here, Morai."
"But-"
"I don't have much time!" Marfa argued. "I've been in here for hours already- there are a few guards in here pretty adamant about me telling them the passcode. I think I knocked one of them out with a chair. Hazira's in my lab. You two need to get out of Reia. Do you hear me?"
"We caused this mess, we have to fix it!" Morai argued.
"We can't fix it!" Marfa shouted. "The only way this is going to end is with the Four tearing themselves apart! And we're stuck in the middle."
"I'm not leaving without you, Marfa," Morai said firmly. "There's got to be a key around here somewhere!"
"I heard him!" someone shouted from inside the office. A paperweight was thrown desperately out of the darkness, and Marfa jumped aside as it hit the window. There was a satisfying crash sound as it hit, leaving behind a spectacular pattern of cracks. The soldiers were shouting at each other.
Making up his mind, Morai darted back. He grabbed the knife from the floor, ran forward, and smashed it into the damaged glass. For a moment, the world seemed to freeze as the glass arced through the air, shimmering in the low light.
Two guards came barreling out of the depths of the office towards Marfa, who squeezed frantically through the broken window. Morai and Marfa together began running through the lobby and towards the basement stairs.
"Stop there!" a guard shouted from behind them. There was a whoosh and suddenly Marfa wasn't running beside Morai anymore. The scientist hit the floor with a violent crash, clutching the back of his leg.
"Stop! We can't kill them!" one guard shouted at the other. Morai spun around, freezing in his tracks.
"MORAI! RUN!" Marfa commanded, getting up as fast as he could. Morai grabbed his hand and pulled him forward.
"They're asking for it," the guard snarled lethally, holding a knife in his hand. With a violent flick of his wrist, it arced through the air.
Time slowed down. They started to run, but Morai suddenly he felt a fiery pain in his lower back. The shock of it knocked him straight down the stairs and onto the ground below, where he collapsed as the world around him grew dark. Pounding footsteps reached his ears as if through a thick fog, and the emergency lights of the basement swam before his eyes.
Out of the haze, arms lifted Morai up under his shoulders and helped him hobble weakly down the hallway.
While Hazira had been waiting just outside the WSEC, the shouts were faint and hard to identify. After hearing a second scream, however, she made up her mind to leave. She met Marfa at the bottom of the stairs, and together the two of them frantically dragged their wounded friend back to the safety of the lab. The two guards upstairs were still arguing.
"0719," Hazira muttered, punching the numbers into the passcode keypad. She and Marfa half-dragged Morai inside and locked the door behind them.
Marfa could feel his heart pounding as his mind raced. He needed a plan.
"Morai," he muttered, supporting his friend awkwardly as Hazira checked through the window for any guards.
Morai blinked, making eye contact with Marfa. He gingerly held the handle of the knife that struck him.
A silent understanding passed between them. Some stupid bandages were never going to be enough to save Morai. It would be drastic measures or nothing.
"Th-there's a first aid kid in the other room," Morai croaked. "Right?"
"Of course," Marfa agreed. "Let's go, Morai."
Hazira turned around and made to come after them, but Morai said, "Marfa studied medicine in school as well, Hazira," he lied. "I... trust him, but I don't know if I'm... going to..."
"Morai!" Hazira shouted. "You- you'll be fine. Don't say that!"
"Just stay here, alright?" Morai pleaded. "I-I don't want you... to... Just- stay, please? For me, Hazira."
Hazira stood still. She gulped, nodding reluctantly. "If- if you say so, I suppose."
Marfa supported Morai all the way into the chamber, where there were no first aid boxes. There were only books and torn up papers, strewn about like fallen leaves. Marfa helped Morai hobble across the WSEC and lean up against the podium while Marfa rummaged through the paper and debris.
"Look, Morai, this isn't my decision," he said nervously, pulling a thick volume from the mess. "And I'm not going to do it for you. I- I can't. There's the book."
Morai sat up before pulling himself into a standing position. He was leaning heavily on the podium. Marfa put the book down with a gentle thud and opened it. Morai fished a pen out of the podium shelf and circled a passage with a shaking hand.
"I'll tell Hazira you're resting," Marfa said. "Or...something."
"Alright," Morai said with a pained voice. "I'm... going to read it."
Marfa stood there awkwardly, looking at the book. He turned to go to the stairs.
"No," Morai insisted weakly. "You have to wait a minute. If you go back too soon Hazira will suspect something."
Marfa paused. He nodded.
They stood quietly by the podium as Marfa struggled to maintain his composure.
Awful, he thought bitterly. Those Four are the spawn of demons. And it's... my fault. Marfa himself had written the word string, had gone along with Morai's plan. The Four had been respected and trusted by the people for generations! Whoever took up that mantle managed to at least keep Reia from falling into chaos. But Marfa's word string- the same word string his apprentice was about to read- had changed everything. Ruined everything.
Morai was hunched over the podium, breathing shakily. With a gasp, he pulled the knife out of his side, holding it limply in his hand. The bleeding was far worse now- he didn't have much time left.
It would serve me right to lose a friend like him, Marfa thought, self-depreciative anger rising in his chest. But Morai doesn't deserve this. What have I done?
"Are you alright, Marfa?" Morai croaked.
"I'm fine," Marfa said quietly. He paused, looking away. "That should be long enough."
"Alright," Morai replied through clenched teeth. Marfa nodded, shrugging nervously, before limping back up the stairs. He'd tell Hazira that he'd run out of bandages and didn't have enough to take care of his wounded leg.
"See you, Marfa," Morai called weakly, as Marfa turned back to face him.
"Stay safe," Marfa answered in a strained voice. He forced himself to turn around, to not run over and hug Morai himself, to not burst through the door and run, run straight to the capital building, where he would bash down the walls if he had to, and obliterate every one of those depraved monsters. Instead, he walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.
Hazira stood up immediately upon Marfa's return.
"Is he okay?" she demanded.
"I think he'll be alright," Marfa said quietly. "I got the knife out, anyway, and put enough bandages on. But I don't know for sure. He's still in a really bad state. I'll go check on him in a bit, but we need to let him rest."
Hazira nodded, looking hopeful. "Maybe... maybe we can go outside and... see if we can help anyone while Morai is... resting."
"That's not safe," Marfa assured her. "Even if you get past the guards, then-"
"We can't be the worst off in this city," Hazira interjected. "I'm not hurt, but only because I've been hiding in here all day! It's cowardice, and I'm sick of it." She smiled weakly. "After this is all over, I'm going to feel left out if you and Morai are the only ones with battle scars."
Marfa forced a smile. "Don't say things like that."
Hazira shrugged, sighing. "Either way, we do need to know what is going on. I'll check every so often. And I'll try not to get stabbed."
"That's probably for the best," Marfa sighed. The two of them sat in silence for a while.
Morai was reading the word string aloud in the other room. His voice shook with every syllable. He held the knife in his hand, digging his nails into it as he tried to ignore the burning pain in his stomach.
Then he finished the word string.
(Chapter 14 will be up later today.)