Chapter Fifty-One
The quiet night that seeped into the air made his movements more rigid. The helmed man stepped forward peering through his iron mask checking his perimeter before resuming his careful trudge. Behind him was a tunnel that was lined by lit lights that stretched against the walls and curved out of sight. Connecting it was a white-lined, beneath his feet, was a black concreted highway that was desolate without the usual traffic and the soft breeze echoed the roaring sound of engines. An unnerving foreboding made him press his rifle closer.
A footstep, too obnoxiously loud too be considered nonchalant, made his finger twitch at the trigger as he aimed into the shadow crossed road. Then he noticed a lone body advance towards him. The tension that made his muscles ache left him comparing the two but an odd gleam reflect off the man's right shoulder.
When the newcomer stepped out of the shadows and into some gray light, he realized him straightway if it was not the firearm he possessed as well.
His knees bent into a crouch giving of an imposing pose, "What brings you here, traitor?"
Felix's brown eyes winked behind his curtain of blond hair, "Traitor? I don't know what you're talking about…"
"KNEEL!" Felix knelt quickly. All teasing gone.
The sound of metal rustling made it obvious that the man was walking over. There was a quick pause before a cold voice ordered, "Drop the gun…"
"But I just wiped…"
"DROP IT!"
Felix's shotgun clattered against the pavement as he held up his hands in silent surrender. Felix scowled feeling the waste of minutes polishing it seep through his fingertips like grain. The cold muzzle of the gun pressed against his forehead and the Adam's apple of Felix's throat bobbed.
"What business do you have here? One being a fugitive, such as your self shouldn't even have one." Felix noticed how his finger crooked over the trigger.
"Whoa hang on a sec…wa—wait!"
"What?" he asked irritated itching to kill him already.
Felix inched away from the gun's barrel slightly with a wryly smile, "I…I have information."
Information about the enemy? Impossible…unless the deserter was somehow involved of being a spy…The armored man hesitated and he took a step back holding the rifle more securely. The gun's barrel returned at Felix's brow. "Like what?"
"It won't take too long. It's important!" Felix squeaked.
He mused to himself watching Felix, "What's important about it?"
"Trust me, its pretty big deal."
"Does it have to deal with the crystal? Or about the prince's weakness?" Felix only shrugged much to his annoyance. "Tell me or I'll—"
"Ok ok." Felix said hastily, "Sheesh. Impatient aren't we?"
"War doesn't have time for patience."
Felix held up two fingers, "Two words…" A blade slipped through the man's ribs from behind, stained in fresh scarlet and his scream was muffled by the hand that clasped over his mouth. With a sharp motion followed by a sickening crack, the head lolled to the front, his neck broken. "Watch out." The blade withdrew from his corpse and released all contact from the body allowing it to crumple to the ground with a hard thud. Felix let out a whisper of a breath clutching his left breast, "You took your sweet time." He said sourly at her.
Elia looked up at him from the body, frowned, and nudged the carcass at her feet, "I was being stealthy." She answered sheathing her sword.
He rolled his eyes talking under his breath but he said finally, "I don't care what you being, I could have died."
She pretended to think, "Nah, not really. I would have stopped him." She wiped her hand and slipped her hands under the man's arms preparing to drag him away. Felix picked up his shotgun and mumbled to himself wiping the invisible dust off it. At a groan, his brown eyes glanced at her as she took a step back, "This guy is heavier then I thought he'd be."
"Or else you're not that strong enough." Gareth said coming up from around Felix.
He slapped Felix on the back; he winced but took the good-nature mood from it. Gareth may mean gentle but his name clearly contrasted from his own strength and was often hard. His powerful forearms slipped under the man's stomach and slung it over his shoulder and carried it to the right side of the tunnel's entrance.
Elia looked angrily at him not at all amused by his comment at he placed down the body as though it was just a sack of potatoes, "Oh, so when did you start judging me by my strength, Gareth?"
"I'm not criticizing you if that's what you're trying to point out." He said running a finger over the stubby hairs of his jaw, "I just don't want you to do everything yourself. And plus," he added grinning, "You really can't pick it up." He flexed his forearm, displaying the muscles that knotted up and down his arms. She rolled his eyes unimpressed.
"Nice job Felix." Said Durante quietly pushing his glasses further up the brink of his nose, "You looked innocent…for the first time in your life."
Felix let out a quiet sarcastic laugh in response.
Elia overlooked tranquil as a marble statue. Her eyes were fastened at the distance watching the gentle movement of the clouds conceal Tenebrae in a dark world. The balmy air brushed against her skin like a cold feather impaling her with a small concern. The noise of the battlefield had dropped several levels to an almost silent degree no matter how her ears strained to listen. The ruffling of armor and shuffling of impatient feet were the only major sounds she could hear.
Noctis shoved the body's head against the wall, angled as if to appear in slumber, moving without a sound but efficiently. His bent posture straightened to put some distance between him and the body as he made haste join them.
"Remember, we have to be quiet once we're in. The tunnel echoes and it magnifies the volume of our voices by some quantity. Keep you're thoughts and voices to yourself until we're out." Mainly he was addressing this to Felix, who everyone knows was the biggest chatterbox in all of Tenebrae.
"Relax Noct, like I don't know that?"
"You don't."
"Do too."
Noct refused to continue.
Gareth placed his hand on his hips letting out a low whistle eyeing the tunnel like some piece of art, "So…what kind of work is beyond this tunnel?"
"Question is: Why would they have a man stationed here?" Durante whispered buckling his smallsword.
"This highway is the main road of Tenebrae." Noct said quietly, his dark bangs hiding whatever thoughts pierced his eyes, "All roads are connect to it in someway or another."
"And does this 'Andreas' know of this?" Gareth grumbled.
Noctis shrugged, "Perhaps…but I'm not sure?"
"Very clever of him trying to take this highway." Durante said quietly aside, Elia traced her finger on the smooth metal, her eyes flicking from the highway to the tunnel, "Wouldn't it be the perfect ploy to have control over something that goes throughout all of Tenebrae?"
"But there was only one man." Elia said holding up a small, gray pebble from the ground eyeing it like an insect before flicking it away with a finger, "How do we know that there's not an ambush waiting for us on the other side?"
The four men glanced at each other as she folded her arms waiting for a response. Noctis claimed her attention—as he always does—and walked towards the wall of the tunnel near her. He pressed his palm against the tunnel closing his eyes.
He's using his crystal to look for any others. Elia placed a hand on her throat carefully watching the eyes of the other men who were fixed on Noctis. Slowly, her hand slid down to where her crystal rested and touched it. There was no glowing, no sign of light that confused her. Maybe it's asleep. She tapped it.
"What are you doing?"
Elia looked up piercingly to Durante, who crooked an eyebrow watching. Her hands fell to her sides quickly, "Nothing."
He didn't answer studying her with a wary eye. But the mood left him as he focused his gaze back to Noctis. She studied Noctis's face and was surprised on how it was contorted in frustration at the wall with his fingertips almost desperate to claw against the hard surface. He remained at that posture for a few more minutes and when his eyes opened, the deep lines on his face were erased smooth and flawless.
"You ok?" Gareth asked.
Noct glanced at him sharply, strangely not showing any sign of weariness from his mental task, "Perfect." He paused, "Why?"
"You looked…um…well like…"
"Like a grimacing gargoyle." said Felix quickly.
Noctis perked a dark eyebrow but decided that there was no answer. He straightened up to regain a regal mien.
"I didn't sense any sort of presence beyond the end of the tunnel." He said staring into the stretching road, "We should be safe and if there's any sign of another existence besides ours, I will feel it."
"Why did you look like you were in pain?"
Noctis met Elia's eyes and considered the tender look in her eyes before speaking, "I had to use more of my power to search and at the same time, keep my conscious protected. It's nothing." She didn't seem convinced and he shook her shoulder, "I said 'It's nothing'." He notched his chin facing east where he inspected the distance with unidentified emotion. "We should go. Standing here and wasting time isn't what I had in mind and this tunnel isn't short."
"Let's." Durante confirmed. "Shall we run gentlemen? Lady?" he added who returned with a nod of her head respectfully.
Felix nodded too and sped into the tunnel. Gareth followed a second after matching Felix's distance taking two of Felix's steps with one. Durante started ahead in large strides—with a brief glance at Noctis—he turned and fled.
Elia turned to go but Noctis held her back, "Don't you worry about me." He said fiercely, "Just take care of yourself."
This was strange. Him telling her to not care.
"But we're a team. There's no 'I'in team in case you haven't noticed."
"Just let us handle it."
"When did you think of all this?" she asked appalled, "I know how to defend myself Noctis, I know how to fight! I can dodge but not how you can and I'm positive I can watch out for the bullets! I beat Felix!"
"But you got hurt all the same. You were almost about to die, El!" he said crossly.
El. Her first nickname.
"But I'm still alive!" She retorted. "I'm ready to take down Andreas just as much, or even more, then you are!" She held up her hand forestalling his answer, "And what would you want me to do? Stand by while you guys get hurt? I don't think so." She shook her head to hide her wounded pride. "I can't do that. I…" I love you too much. "… just can't." Noctis watched her with guarded eyes. "Even though you are the next heir to the throne…" Elia said, "Even if you could have all the power in the world…you can't stop me. This is my home, Noct, I've been training to defend it and defend it I will."
She glared into his face—which was like trying to stare down a destroying angel.
"Don't die on me," he said turning his face away, "or else I'll have no choice but to fetch you."
Elia stared at him in surprise unsure what he was saying. But he turned away from her into the tunnel before her lips could find the words to speak.
Yeah...
Sorry for this e x t r e m e l y slow update.
Busy life and if you guys were expecting more...then that's my fault. I ran into a writer's block awhile back (and it hasn't left yet!)
Hope you guys enjoy
Ok, got to go work!
~Animangame02freak
PS: Tell me what you liked ok?
