"Nothing in here either", he said, annoyed.
"Thankfully, yeah", his patrol companion asked.
Having searched the designated areas that, they were in charge of patrolling, they made their way back the route they came from, back to the canteen area where they could grab some leftover meals.
"I'm just glad we're done"
"Be glad that we don't have night duty"
The two Koopa talked along the way, past the rooms that they had already checked. Along the way, one of them stopped dead in his tracks. He could've sworn that they heard something. It was late into the night, with barely anyone, aside from the guards. Not wanting to go through the trouble of doing a thorough search again, he decided to take a quick peak inside.
The room was dark, but he could make out the large hospital beds. Long wooden boards, with white mattresses on top, and with white cloths draped from the mattress, stopping just about a few inches from the floor. There weren't any curtains used to cover the patients, mostly because there wasn't any need since there never were that many injured to ever stay too long. His companion grew impatient, "Come on, there's nothing in there"
"I know...I'm just checking is all"
"Well our shifts over, let's move"
After a short gaze into the room, he walked out and went along with his partner down the hallway. Once they were gone, he sneaked out, ran over to the entrance and peeked through the corner, looking as far ahead as he could down both paths, with no sign of anyone else walking about, he decided that the coast was clear. Still fast asleep, he was trying to figure out how to get Luigi moving.
"What the hell did they give you that I can't even knock you awake"
He tried shaking him a couple times but he wouldn't wake up. He wasn't in the mood to be wasting any time on him. Shaking him a lot harder this time, there was still no response. Frustrated, he gave up and tried coming up with another idea. At the back of his mind, he did have a backup plan if a situation such as this one was to arise. Thinking back to the day when he and Luigi left camp.
On that day, just before the sun could rise, Mikael was getting debriefed by their leader on the journey they were about to take. Luigi was still asleep; Mikael had gotten up earlier to prepare for the trip when he was called in. The boss wanted to check in on him, whether he was ready to handle the job of taking care of Luigi. He assured him, that even with a rookie to follow him around, he'd manage.
The boss was pleased to hear that; however, he couldn't help but think, that even with the extra hand, the situation can turn south at any given moment. What was most important, was that whatever remained of their group, was kept a secret, especially from the Koopa. He advised Mikael, that should he get stuck in a situation that posed a risk to them, he'd get rid of Luigi. Mikael had been a part of the group for a long time, so he knew what he had to do. It wouldn't be easy, but he was ready.
He thought about that day while looking at Luigi, lying defenseless in bed. It would've been easy, done in less than a minute or two. He stood there thinking. Around him, the few things available were blankets, pillows and empty beds. Even the table stands, nothing but bare wood. There wasn't anything around that he could use.
He stood there thinking. He had traveled with Luigi for a while now, a few days in fact. In that time, they've experienced some high and lows, especially in the last 24 hours where their journey had turned into a huge wreck. There were times that he took a chance and did what he had to do to keep Luigi alive and he was helpful when it came down to it. In the end something had to be done. He tried shaking him a couple more times, all the while calling out his name, but still no response from him. Running out of options, he had to do something, and carrying him wasn't an option.
in that moment, he finally made his decision. Walking over to Luigi, he pulled the pillow from under him and positioned it above his head. He gripped it hard enough so that he wouldn't lose his grasp over it. It had been a long time since he took a life. After taking a few deep breaths, calming his nerves, he brought it down onto Luigi's face. Just inches away, he stopped when he heard some voices, followed by a lot of shuffling. He looked at Luigi, immediately deciding that it was more important for him to get the hell out of there.
He ran towards the last bed in the furthest corner of the room. Luckily it was a big room and the beds bigger than normal hospital beds. There, he waited. Finally, he saw a few of them ran past, feet stomping. He could also hear a voice, but couldn't make out the words clearly enough. He figured that they must've finally caught on that he escaped, and now they were out looking for him.
I've wasted too much time already by being here! he thought.
Besides, for all he knew, once they were done with him, Luigi would be next. Only, he wouldn't give them a chance to get a hold of him again like last time. He didn't have the luxury of being slow and stealthy when everyone's out looking for him.
Not wanting to stick around, he bolted for the exit and down the hallway. He didn't waste any time in tip toeing, and just ran as fast as he could. Along the way he passed the door which led to the dungeon area he was trapped in, left wide open. Some of them could be still be down there, on there. He definitely wasn't going to tick around to see if it was true.
A little further ahead, he was able to see a lot of more open pathways to take. Undecided on which one would be his best route out of there, he took a peek in each one. When he got to the third on his right, before he could poke his head from the corner, he heard some footsteps approaching, not sure from which direction and immediately turned back and ran into the second room open on his left, leaving the door open.
He looked around in the room for a place to hide. A room with barely anything but a couple large chests lying around. He quickly ran to the one chest situated in the middle of the room, one without a lock and hid in there. Leaving just a small gap to peep through, he could make out two or three silhouettes come and go. After roughly five more minute, there was another, until finally after waiting another five, he quickly jumped out and made sure if the coast was clear.
Once checked, he continued moving forward. Along the way, he stopped in front of a huge opening, which led to the outside. He followed the path, which led him to courtyard where he and Luigi were brought to earlier. He walked over to the path that was furthest to his right. What happened next was the last thing he needed. When he saw them approaching, he quickly bolted in the opposite direction. They spotted him to and wasted no time in chasing him down.
"Hey!", the Koopa yelled, but Mikael wasn't paying any heed to his threats and continued to run. He didn't know where he was going but he had to get as far away from them. He had an advantage over them in that he was lighter and faster than they were. And after sometime, he managed to outrun them. After some minutes, he looked back and didn't see them anymore. Making his way through the castle wasn't an easy task, so was finding the exit.
He didn't take any other paths and stuck only to the one main route that would hopefully get him somewhere. He stopped running and took a couple seconds to catch his breath. He took a moment to think about where he'd go next. Unfortunately, not too far away, he could hear footsteps approaching fast. He took that as his queue to get the hell out of there.
He ran, and took a quick turn into another courtyard, but this one had no other paths available, only piles of wood, wooden planks held in place by thick iron polls, stacked all the way to the top of the wall, cement blocks lying in some corners. Fortunately, the wall wasn't built so high. With patience, he could reach the top. He took a good look at the structure, a bit shaky at first glance, but he was going to climb it. He walked over, from the base, he started climbing. Each plank felt tightly connected to each rod on all corners.
He started to carefully climb his way to the top, observing each step he took. He couldn't shake off the feeling that the whole thing would sway and come crashing down, with him falling right into the mess. It made him even more tense. With just a couple more ways to go, he tried to climb a little bit faster. Once close enough, he tried to reach the top of the wall. With just a tiny gap to cover, he stretched his arm out as far as he could, but still couldn't reach.
When he jumped, he managed to graze the edge of the wall, at the same time, the structure swayed a bit too much. Once it settled down, he tried, and managed to get a good grip but let go at the last moment, otherwise he would've stumbled, and accidentally fall all the way down. He stopped to give himself a few seconds to get ready for the next try. He took a deep breath, bent his knees and jumped. He got his left hand firmly grasped onto the edge, and managed to get his right up there to. Quickly, he pulled himself up, until he was high enough to throw his legs over and secure himself. He quickly pulled himself over and laid there at the top. Relieved, he let his body slump forward. There was enough room for his whole body to lie down, enough space to walk, if he was careful.
He looked down on the side of the wall that he just came from. It didn't look like there was anyone around that saw him, but he wasn't free just yet. He turned his head over to the other side, a moment later, he pressed his body as firmly as he could to the surface. What he saw was a long fall drop down into certain death, one misstep and it was over for him. He could also see the desert, but there was a huge gap between him and the other side. Fed up, he closed his eyes and prayed, "Just when is this nightmare going to end? I'm sick of this shit already"
To be continued...
To everyone, I pray for all our sake, when this is all over, we get to see all our loved ones again. Staying at home sucks, but have faith, or pray, do whatever you need to do to take your mind away from the fear. I wish times weren't so difficult, on the bright side, now's the best time to do some self-reflecting. Who knows, we might all come out of this as a better person. Watch over your loved ones, pray for those who are unable to reach their family due to lock down and keep practicing good hygiene : )
Stay safe everyone!
Next Chapter: 20/05/2020