Hexagon
Chapter 54: Flight
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Lionblaze's POV:
I didn't think I would ever be happy to see Brokenstar.
I was kneeling on the bloodied sand, a girl about my age pinned down under my weight. I know a noob when I see one. The clumsy way she had used her spear made it obvious immediately that she had no idea what she was doing. The girl was drifting in and out of consciousness, the knot on her head slick with blood.
"Finish her", came Mapleshade's gleeful voice from behind me. "Put her to sleep, pretty boy." Mapleshade was enjoying this. Her eyes, practically alight with excitement, were fixed on the sobbing girl. I hesitantly raised one of my shock batons, steeling myself for what would happen next.
"Do it, boy!", Mapleshade barked harshly. "What are you waiting for, a written invitation?"
"Enough. Calm down Mapleshade, you are behaving like a child." It was Brokenstar. He strode onto the middle of the sandy battle area, his eyes fixed on me. "Lionblaze. Walk with me." I glanced back at Mapleshade. She was breathing heavily, eyes burning. Her grayish tongue flicked out to moisten chapped lips.
She looked like a rabid animal. Downright insane.
Shuddering, and for the first time in my life, actually thankful for Brokenstar's presence, I followed him.
…
Brokenstar lead me out the main room into the back hallways of the Dark sector, our footsteps echoing in the unnerving quiet. It was a long time before either of us spoke.
"You know, Lionblaze...you have long been one of my most talented and promising recruits." He looked at me through the corner of his eye, as if trying to gauge my reaction. Noticing this, I left my face impassive and blank. "You have something in you, boy. Something wicked. Something powerful. Something….monstrous." I felt bile starting to rise up into my mouth, the disgusting, burning taste overwhelming my senses. I prayed for Brokenstar to stop talking, to just keep his mouth shut, but of course, he didn't.
"Your speed, the vicious brutality you possess, could very well be a valuable asset to the Dark Forest." I recalled the fight earlier, when I had taken down the girl. The move I had used had been so fast, so purposely well timed that she had hardly felt any pain. Brokenstar seemed oblivious.
He led me through another hallway, and finally, through a large, soundproof pair of double doors. Inside was a metallic table. Seated at it, the Dark Forest elites.
Mapleshade was there, too. I assumed she had left shortly after I did to make the meeting. She was seated with the other advisors Tigerstar and Hawkfrost at the head end of the table, near Brokenstar's chair. I scanned the other sneering faces, and immediately saw other people I knew. Snowtuft. Shredtail. Darkstripe. And even more I couldn't be bothered to name. The most vicious people at Hexagon, all in one place. And among them? Heathertail.
She looked right in her element, dressed in a sleeveless black v-neck and skin-tight black pants. With it, a pair of ridiculously high heeled boots. But this wasn't what stood out to me. There, coiled in an almost snake-like fashion at her waist, was a whip. A brand new whip. No doubt Brokenstar had replaced her old one when Firestar had confiscated it.
"Blazikins!", she called, voice dripping with venomous sweetness. "Come sit with me. I've missed you."
…
"Once all final preparations are made, we engage. Not before. Between now and the initiation date, all members are required to be on the down-low, meaning absolutely no terminations of any kind, unless given explicit permission from myself. Do I make myself clear?" Murmurs of agreement sounded around the table. I kept my head down, my fists clenched tightly in the fabric of my clothes.
"Lionblaze?", Brokenstar's voice rang out across the table. My head snapped up. The other elites were giving me vindictive grins. "Do you understand, boy?" By now, the other Dark Forest members were outright laughing. I glared at Brokenstar, wishing on him all the pain in the world. Then, with all the hatred I could muster, I snapped, "Very clear. Sir."
He gave me a sugary smile, then gestured for me to rise. I did, hesitantly. "Come with me, boy." The other Dark Forest members snickered, undoubtedly thinking I was about to be punished for the sarcastic remark. I thought the same, my chest tightening, my muscles tensing as if preparing to fight.
Hah.
There is no fighting Brokenstar.
He took me by the arm and dragged me along the deserted halls. My mind was racing. What was going on? Where was he taking me? More importantly, what was he planning to do with me? He was pulling me toward the training room doors, and strode right through them, pulling me with him.
The second he entered, the room went silent.
It was almost uncanny how everyone seemed to freeze in whatever they were doing. Fists were lowered. Chokeholds released. Heads turned to face our direction. Brokenstar didn't even need to do his customary summoning ritual. One icy glare, and the fighters were coming in one by one to form a huddle around the two of us.
He had released my arm, instead opting to grab me by the back of my shirt. I felt like a goddamn kitten, being carried by the scruff after doing something naughty.
"Consider this a test of loyalty", he hissed. "I will pick someone from this group of people, and you will take them out. We'll make a deal, yes? You show me your inner monster, or I'll show you mine." I felt panic at this point. That was a threat. It didn't matter in what sugary tone he said it in, that was very much a threat. I watched as his cold, calculating gaze swept over the crowd. The other students were still, eyeing me fearfully. I had a feeling they knew what my orders were.
"You. Get up here."
Red hair, pale skin. A plethora of freckles.
No. No. Nononononononononononononono.
Poppyfrost.
I had forgotten she was here. Poppyfrost. I've known her since elementary school. Hell, we were close friends back in the day!
Her eyes locked on mine. She was scared, practically on the verge of fainting. She was hyperventilating, breathing rapid and shallow, trembling. My hand went to my hip, where my shock batons hung in their sheath. My mind was racing: if I executed my movements a certain way, timed the attack just right, I could knock her unconscious relatively quickly. With any luck, she wouldn't feel a thing.
I stepped forward, my batons unsheathed. Poppyfrost took one look at me.
And bolted.
She ran, sprinting across the bloodied ground, toward the doors. She was almost at the exits when it happened. A loud, concussive noise, almost like a crack. A gunshot?
Poppyfrost crumpled to the floor, crimson starting to seep through her clothes and onto the dirty mats. A gunshot wound, straight to the heart. Her body seemed to tremble, shudder, and then go limp. She had died almost immediately.
I scanned the room, trying to find the perpetrator, expecting to find one of the elites holding the gun. Instead, I saw a short, curvy figure dressed in an almost offensively pink blouse and matching flower crown.
I watched in disbelieving horror as Dovewing tucked the revolver back into its holster and smiled charmingly at the stunned crowd. "Did anyone else plan on leaving?"
Silence.
Then I sprung into action. The shock batons still gripped in my hands, I went for her, not even attempting to make it painless this time. I seized her from behind in a bruising grip, and shoved the head of the baton in between her shoulder blades.
I pressed the button.
And watched her body convulse as it was wracked with the electric shock. She was falling as I stepped back, giving her an extra whack with the baton for good measure. The gunwoman having been taken care of, I sprinted toward the exits, and unlike Poppyfrost, actually made it. I burst through the doors, tearing down the corridor. I vaguely heard Mapleshade scream, "After him!" as I distanced myself from the Training Hall.
Just as I rounded the corner, the double doors burst open, and several of the Dark Forest members spilled out. I heard the distinctive clack-clack of high heeled boots and knew immediately who it was.
Dammit.
"Oh Blazikins~", she called sweetly. "Come out, come out wherever you are!" I tasted bile in my mouth for the second time that day, my mind racing. I needed at least a minute to successfully dismantle the light barriers at the sector exits, meaning I either had to evade them, or take them out. I peered around the corner, and saw Heathertail. She had the tail of her whip coiled playfully around her hand, and was being flanked by two hulking grunts, each brandishing a broadsword.
The two grunts would be easy enough to get rid of, but Heathertail concerned me. She was a high ranking warrior for a reason, and her skill and speed rivalled my own. There was no way I could take on Heathertail and her two lackeys in a 3 on 1 match. This information in mind, I ducked out of sight, and prowled down one of the darkened back halls.
One thing I had always appreciated about the other sectors was the fact that there where multiple ways to reach one destination, meaning there was a fair amount of back hallways that led to the same spots as the main ones. This was primarily to decrease congestion in the main halls, but also so teachers could get to different rooms without having to wrestle their way through throngs of students.
It was common knowledge that each of the sectors (Central Sector aside) had the exact same layout. What was different was how each of the rooms was utilized. By now, I had formulated a plan. If I could sneak up on my pursuers from behind and take out the lackeys, I could stand a chance of beating Heathertail.
I ducked through a deserted classroom, crept down a narrow hallway, slipped through an inconspicuous door nestled in the corner of the room. Sure enough, it opened back into the main hall.
I had to be careful now. The slightest mistake could mean death at this point. My heart had jumped up into my throat, and was hammering wildly as if trying to break out of my body. With silent, velvety footsteps I prowled down the hallway, watching for the slightest sign of danger.
There.
I saw the massive backs of the two hulking lackeys, in between them, Heathertail's smaller, slighter figure. I crept along the hall, making no noise. If they turned around and saw me, it was all over.
The second I deemed myself close enough, I made my move. I broke into a sprint, feet pounding against the floor. The two grunts turned, but not nearly fast enough. I leaped. And with one rapid, fluid motion, slammed the shock batons into each of their backs. The two fell like wounded giants, slowly making their way down the floor. After what seemed like an eternity, their bodies collided with the linoleum with a satisfying smack.
Heathertail watched uncaringly as her two bodyguards passed out. Her ice blue eyes locked onto my face, a dark smile spreading over her face.
"Well, look who finally grew a pair", she breathed. "I was getting bored, just being in pursuit. Oh...I'm SO gonna enjoy ripping you apart."
Having said her part, she charged.
…
I fled.
Heathertail was on the floor, coughing, nursing a lump on her forehead. This was it. The moment. I had to escape now, or there was no getting out of here. She had undoubted called for backup.
"Coward!", she screamed. "Fuck you, Lionblaze! Run, like the damn coward you are!" I tuned her out and kept running, letting my footfalls drown out her voice. I tore off my jacket, and bound it rapidly around my arm. I had kept her on the defensive for the majority of the fight, but she had still gotten several lashes in. My arm had taken the brunt of the blows. The jacket was doing a poor job as a bandage, the blood was already beginning to seep through the fabric.
Dammit.
The bluish glow of the barriers was barely discernible, but hope blossomed through me just the same. I disconnected the circuit, waiting for the barrier to fall. As I stepped out into the Dark connective, headed back to the rest of the school, I felt as if a massive burden had been lifted off my shoulders.
It was a freedom I hadn't felt in years.
End Chapter 54
I finally made it to this point. I've been hyped to write this part for YEARS. I don't have much to say, aside from thanks for reading!
Reviews? :3
Azra out!
