MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEARS!
Seasons greetings to you, dear readers! As much as I wish I could say that this is a holiday special chapter, I'm gonna have to call a rain check on that. Though, believe me, I do have plans for one in the near/distant future…
For now, though, please enjoy the latest chapter!
Chapter 51: Escape Planning…
The others woke up within the next hour.
They took the news about as well as you would expect.
Which is a more polite way of saying: not at all.
Andr became so nervous, her purple Ender particles were flying off her at almost terminal velocity. If I breathed anywhere around her, I would inhale at least a dozen of those things, leaving a very sour taste in my throat.
Diana wasn't taking the news any better. She'd ALREADY been stuck once before at the old SS Corps place, and I felt as though this was reminding her quite vividly of that experience.
As for Susie…?
She wasn't doing anything. She just looked like she was re-reading the note very, very slowly. That, to me, was even worse than her getting scared.
"What does it mean… when it says 'through examination'?" she asked, shifting her hold on the blanket she had draped around her shoulders.
Paige shook her head. "I-I don't know. At best, it could be just a simple pat down and bag check. At worse… full-body shakedowns, trained dog searches, an exit questionnaire-"
"An exit questionnaire?" I asked. "About what?"
"You'd be surprised what they could gleam from those…" Paige murmured. "At any rate, there's no easy way to even test WHAT they'd do. At best, Cameron would be able to get out, but how would he get back in? You wouldn't just be able to turn back around and get right back in. Pretty sure that'd raise some red flags."
The enormity of the situation started crashing down on me. We were stuck for… Notch knows how long.
"Wh-what about sneaking out? I could teleport us outside the walls-" Andr offered.
"Too risky." Paige responded. "I don't know how far you can teleport, but those guards are posted EVERYWHERE on the top of the wall nowadays, and I've heard rumors that they even have some guards posted at watchpoints in the forest surrounding the city. No way you could teleport the four of you far enough to get out of range of them, not even if you did it one person at a time…"
"Breaking out…?" Diana asked. "Maybe if we find a wall or something-"
"Good luck. Those walls were reinforced very recently. It was a huge project, but the city decided to upgrade the walls and put solid obsidian on the inside of them. I've seen some of the tests they've run on the wall to check it's durability, and nothing short of a diamond pick is gonna make a dent. And even THAT's not a very good plan, as that'll take far too long."
I looked at my friends. The all seemed scared… except for Susie.
I stared at her. She took a deep breath, pulled her blanket around her a little tighter, and then asked, "Well… I guess we should just make the best of it?"
Everyone, myself included, blinked at her. "How… how are you not freaking out about this?" I asked.
"I am freaking out, on the inside at least." Susie replied calmly. "But you have to understand, I've been so worried about something going wrong for so long… it's honestly almost a relief to see that it happen now. At least NOW I don't have to worry about IF something were to go wrong."
It sounded like backwards logic, but it made some sort of sense, at least to me. Not sure how well the others were convinced, but that's besides the point.
"Okay… so… what CAN we do?" Andr asked.
"Well… maybe…" my sister slowly started to murmur. "I have a… friend… over at City Hall. Maybe I can go talk to him. Tell him that my travelling friends wandered in just to spend the day. Maybe he can get you guys out a little easier."
"Is he… trustworthy?" I asked.
"About getting people out? Debatable. He might be able to get the policy swung our way for a little while… but I have no idea how long that could take…"
"I'm coming with." I responded instantly. "It'll make a stronger case if I explain that we only came to celebrate for the one day."
"I'm coming too." Susie piped up.
I glanced over at her, concerned. "A-ah… Susie, that… that might not be-"
"Don't you dare try talking me out of this, Cameron." Susie intoned. "I'd be more afraid staying here than going with you."
A few more words were exchanged, but Susie won in the end. So, after a brief period of dolling Susie up, she, my sister and I all headed out. Diana and Andr both elected to stay behind, partly to reduce our visibility but also to reorganize and set up a temporary base.
Once we were downstairs, me and Susie were basically following my sister as she took us to the City Hall, since she knew the route far better than we did.
However, as we were walking, I noticed suddenly that we were heading away from the more residential area of Blockington, and more towards the front of the city, where the more commercial district was.
I grew confused. I was sure City Hall was in the residential area. "I thought you said we were going to City Hall?"
"We're meeting the guy who WORKS at City Hall. Or at least… he has plenty of contacts at City Hall. I'm never quite sure…" Paige murmured.
Susie nervously fiddled with her sleeve cuffs. I reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. She looked at me with worrisome eyes. I quietly tried to reassure her with my eyes, 'Everything is going to be fine. I promise.'
Before long, we were near the plaza of Blockington. Shops were just starting to open up for the day, so there wasn't a large amount of foot traffic out just yet.
But there WERE a lot of people about. Namely, armed guards.
At least two dozen men and women in full combat gear were milling about, huddled in small groups or otherwise standing at attention nearby several of the shops. They all seemed nonchalant and relaxed enough, but each of them had at least one iron sword strapped to them in some way. I'm sure I saw a couple DIAMOND swords here and there too.
I grew nervous the longer we walked into this plaza. "Armed to the teeth, huh…"
"They're nervous." Paige responded, whispering out the corners of her mouth. "And when people get nervous, it starts to spread fear."
"Yeah, but what's all the fear about?" I asked.
"A recent incident." Paige responded, pausing as we passed a rather surly group of guards. They moved on, and she continued, "A strangely organized group of mobs have attacked in large numbers recently. It tried to breach the south wall, but they were unsuccessful, and the mobs were routed. What made everyone worried wasn't the attack itself, no… what did set everyone was that there were rumors of humans helping those groups infiltrate the walls. Evidence of pickaxe marks on the walls on the inside almost directly opposite where the attack was located, the mobs having a much larger array of weaponry than normal, and so on. The military is worried of an insurgency inside the city."
We stopped for a moment as a group of guards, at least ten in number, passed. "We're almost there," Paige murmured.
She lead us along, and before long, we were in front of…
"Wait… hang on. This is Zach's shop." I realized.
This was Zach's repair shop. No doubt about that.
"Oh, you know the owner?" Paige asked, relief spreading across her face. "If you do, that makes things easier…"
"You don't remember him…?" I asked slowly, surprised.
Paige blinked. "No. Should I?"
"Maybe we should just go inside…" I murmured, seeing a lone guard start to give us the side-eye.
We entered the store. As per usual, Jerry the cashier waved us through to the back, though he did nod in respect at Paige.
We knocked on the door, and Zach responded almost instantly.
The moment he saw us, his face suddenly grew a little stony. "Oh… Cameron. You're with… oh. Come in."
We stepped in. The blacksmith looked exactly the same as it had the last time I was here with Silk, but this time all of the windows were covered with thick curtains, and the furnaces weren't running, so the room was pleasantly cool.
"Sorry to be barge in like this," Paige interjected, "But we've got a small problem."
"Yeah, I figured. How else would Cameron have found you and been brought to me?" Zach responded, casually cleaning a knife with a rag.
"Ummm… you guys… REALLY don't remember each other?" I asked.
Seriously, with all that was happening right now, I figured that these two should've realized who the other was. Way, way back in that town, my sister and my best friend HATED each other, each for their own reasons. Seeing them now talk like normal people with serious expressions on their faces… had the situation not been so serious right now, I might've started laughing.
"What? Cameron, we don't have time for that." Paige snapped, clearly annoyed. "Now, Zach, listen-"
"Lemme guess." Zach interrupted. "Cameron here snuck in a 'friend' of his that wouldn't be good if they were in fact found by a guard, right?"
"Er… yes." Susie responded, obviously blushing even if her dyed skin didn't show it.
Zach looked up and down at Susie. "You seem almost normal… but that isn't saying much. Half-human?"
I take it back: Susie was actually blushing hard enough for her cheeks to show a green blush. She glanced over at me, and when I nodded, she rolled up a sleeve on her jacket, showing off her un-dyed upper arm.
"Huh. A slime…" Zach mumbled in apparent interest. He gently touched Susie's arm where it was dyed and gave a firm swipe.
A bit of the dye came up with it, stuck to his finger. "Hidden under a layer of dye… rather genius. But, I guess it's not permanent?"
"N-no…" Susie mumbled. "It wears off after an hour…"
"Think that hour may actually be up as we speak…" I added.
Susie was slowly turning back into her normal green color. Good thing Zach had all the curtains drawn.
"Regardless, now she's stuck in here with no way to get out, and you want me to help you somehow?" Zach reminded us.
"Yes, that'd be perfect." Paige responded, looking relieved.
"Well sorry. I can't do anything."
Five seconds of utter silence followed that. I blinked and asked, "W-wait, wha-"
"I said I can't do anything to help you." Zach mumbled. "I don't have my contacts at City Hall anymore. They've all been… replaced."
Something about his tone made me far more worried than it should've been.
Then I looked around. And suddenly I realized something wasn't right here.
"Zach… where's Blake…?" I asked.
The effect of those three words was almost instant. Zach's face paled, and he remained silent.
Paige looked between me and Zach curiously. "Who's… Blake?"
"I-I… she…" Zach stammered, ihs face the color of milk.
I was staring at Zach with surprise. Rarely did he ever break down THIS dramatically. "Zach, where is she? Is she okay?"
Zach glanced behind him, towards the ladder that lead to his room above. "She's… she's upstairs… I-I think… I think you should just see it rather than me try to explain it."
He waved towards the ladder leading up to his room. After a quick glance at him in curiosity, I hesitantly made my way up, Susie right behind me.
Blake was laying down on Zach's couch. A large blanket was drawn over her, with a damp rag against her forehead. Even though the room felt cool, Blake was clearly sweating under her covers. Her cheeks were rather shallow and pale. It was clear that she was sick, really sick at that.
Zach climbed up after Susie, with Paige just behind him. He tugged at his collar. "Sh-she's not in the best shape right now…"
Blake slowly opened her eyes as the four of us approached. Even in her weak and sickened state, when she saw me she still rolled her eyes. "Oh great… him again… *cough cough cough*... I thought we agreed my condition was a secret, Zach…?"
"I know, I know, but…" Zach started.
Susie immediately dropped down to a knee and felt Blake's forehead under the damp rag. Blake gave a low growl, but made no move to stop her.
"She's burning up in a fever…" she noted.
"Why am I not surprised he brought a slime, too…" Blake mumbled under her breath.
Susie looked into her eyes. "I don't know what that means, but regardless, I can help."
I nodded. "She's a good nurse. She literally saved my life last year. She knows what she's doing."
"She helped fix my leg, too." Paige added helpfully.
"I'm not letting a monster do anything to me." Blake replied, venom dripping from every syllable. "Like I told Zach, I barely trust that Snowy girl you brought in. Anyone else…"
She didn't finish her sentence. She only shuddered a little and slunk a little bit further under her covers.
"Blake, c'mon… you know that I don't know how to help you." Zach pleaded. "I've done everything I can think of, and it's not like I can just ask some medical professional to help either. At least give her a chance!"
Blake looked like she was about to start getting angry, but before she could get her words out, Susie piped up again. "I'm someone you can trust, Miss Blake. Please. At least let me see what the problem is."
Blake stared at the slime girl for a long ten seconds. Everything seemed to be standing perfectly still.
Then, slowly, Blake closed her eyes. She let out a long sigh, and then, finally, said, "Fine. Here…"
She slowly tugged at her covers. Susie gently grabbed them and slowly lifted them away.
"HOLY-" Paige nearly shouted, until I slammed my hand over her mouth. But I was in total agreeance with what she was about to say.
I can only describe that happened to Blake as what looked like five holes in the side of her body. She wasn't wearing her normal shirt. Rather, it looked like she was just wearing a sports bra and shorts. It gave a clear view of the five red holes in the side of her body, still fresh by the looks of things. A cloth was in Blake's hand, and she had apparently been using it to hold against the wounds, but it clearly wasn't doing enough.
"It doesn't hurt as bad as it did yesterday…" Blake remarked, subdued now that her wounds were on show. "Pesky archers… they saw me yesterday, wearing a hood and everything, but someone sensed something was off. I can only guess my tail was showing…"
Blake took a deep breath. "Anyway, they called for me to stop, and not wanting to get caught, I fled. If I didn't take that wrong turn, I wouldn't have ended up in the alleyway, and woudln't have had to make a mad dash to the rooftops…"
She paused again, wincing. One of the wounds was leaking a little blood still, and Blake hesitantly dabbed at it with her cloth. "They shot me while I made my escape… If I hadn't reacted quickly, I… I would've died."
Susie took a closer look at the wounds while Zach started talking. "When she came in from the back, she looked like she was on death's door. I took her upstairs, carefully pulled the arrows out of her, and cleaned her up as best I could, but…"
He shrugged, completely at a loss. "I'm no medic. I only know a few survival remedies, not for actual combat injuries like this… and worse, I think one of those arrows was tampered with."
"Tampered with?" I asked.
Zach quickly headed for a counter, and pulled out a bundle of arrows wrapped in a bloody rag. I carefully unwrapped them. Four of the five all looked normal enough, but the last one… that one looked… different. A green-ish liquid seemed to be covering the flint tip. Despite that, I knew exactly what it was.
"Poison?" I asked, both amazed and disgusted. "How'd they get arrows coated with poison tips…?"
"It's something someone recently found out." Zach explained. "If you take a potion and dip an arrowhead into it, then the tip becomes coated with whatever potion you dipped with. And it can be both good OR bad potions, too. It's still a very inefficient system, though, since dipping arrows can only be done one at a time, thanks to the narrow bottles, and even so doing it usually ruins the rest of the potion. Something about the flint or whatever, I don't pretend to know. R-regardless, some guards have figured out that they can tip arrows with poison, which is useful since… well, I'm sure you can guess…"
"Doesn't poison usually wear off after a while on it's own?" I asked.
"Usually…" Susie murmured, carefully looking at the wounds while reaching into her bag. She pulled out a small rag and carefully pressed against one of the holes. Blake winced, but made no move to stop her. She continued, "My guess is that those arrows are different. If someone poisoned an arrowhead, and if it broke off inside on impact, then there might be a shard or two still inside that's not exactly poisoning her, but maybe making her feel awful regardless… not to mention that these cuts haven't even been bandaged, or cleaned out, as far I as I can tell."
Blake chimed in, "I refused to let him… it hurt too much at the time…"
Susie removed the rag, looked at the semi-dried blood on it, and then stood up. She started pacing a little. "Okay, okay… Mr. Zach, was it? I need supplies. Basic medical supplies, or even just a first-aid kit should have enough. You should have one lying around somewhere, right?"
"Er, I think so…" Zach responded.
"Then get it." Zach nodded, slightly abashed, and headed for the ladder. Then Susie turned to Paige. "Miss Paige, this might sound strange, but are there any cows anywhere near here?"
"Yeah, there's a couple that are kept in a small pen near one of the markets just a little ways away from here. Why?" she asked.
"I need cow's milk. Like, straight from the cow cow's milk, and fast. The fresher, the better. Trust me." Susie responded.
If Paige found this directive odd, she hid it well. She quickly ran for the ladder and quickly slid down it and out of sight.
Susie then went to work. I watched keenly, standing next to Blake.
Susie was gently using a tweezer in each of the arrow wounds, looking for anything foregin inside of Blake's body. Blake would occasionally sharply inhale out of a spike in pain, but she did good at keeping almost perfectly silent.
Zach came up quickly, holding a standard med-kit. Susie quickly rifled through it, pulling out various supplies. She quickly fashioned a few large patches of gauze and bandage that, after gently flushing the wounds out with disinfectant (at which Blake had to hold Zach's hand to keep from touching them), she gently applied to each of the wounds.
Paige huffed up the ladder, a bucket of milk with her. Susie quickly took it and scooped some into a cup. "Here. Drink this."
Blake scrunched her nose at it. "Why…?"
"It's something that Cameron discovered recently. We've done a few tests with it, and it seems to work best with fresh cow's milk. Please, just try it." Susie instructed.
Blake slowly sat up, looked at the glass, then up at Zach, who nodded. She looked at me, saw me nod as well, and that seemed to steel herself. Taking a deep breath, she raised the cup to her lips and drank deeply.
She finished the glass in one quick motion and lowered the glass quickly, gasping for breath. Susie carefully took the cup from Blake and looked at her expectantly. "You should start feeling a lot better pretty soon…"
Sure enough, Blake's tired face slowly lifted as the milk went through her system. "I… I don't feel… I don't feel crudy, anymore…"
Susie smiled. "You see? I know a good remedy or two."
Zach looked rather excited now that Blake was feeling more herself again. "Oh thank you thank you thank you…" he praised, wringing Susie's hand over and over again.
Blake slowly managed to stand up again and, after getting used to her new bandages, seemed to be pretty much right as rain afterwards.
We all went back downstairs, where Zach continued to shower praise and thanks towards Susie. Honestly, Susie started to seem like she was getting embarrassed by all the praise, constantly repeating, "I was just trying to do the right thing…"
Paige stood nearby the two, apparently trying to pull Zach off the side. That left Blake, who… was standing rather close to me, with a conflicted expression on her face.
"H-hey…" she whispered.
I glanced over at Zach, then back at her. "Yeah…?"
"I… I think… I think I was… a bit too harsh on you and your friends… th-the truth is… it's hard living here, even with Zach. I… I don't really get to interact with too many people, and the ones I do talk with… don't seem to like me much…"
Blake hesitated for a second, and then shot her hand out and took mine. "S-so… I want to apologize. For my behavior. I don't deserve forgiveness for my rudeness, but… yeah."
Surprised, I allowed her to shake my hand. "Uh… no problem, I guess?"
She pulled her hand away and took a small breath, and then wandered off to Zach, who was currently in deep conversation with Paige and Susie about something.
That's when I realized something: Blake had slipped something into my hand. A piece of paper, folded twice. Curious, I shot a glance to make sure no one was looking my way, and then unfolded it.
The note was small, barely the size of my hand. It was clearly written by Blake. Her writing was untidy and small, as though she wanted to get her thoughts out as fast as possible.
It read:
"Zach can't keep us safe forever. He's constantly being checked by guards for anything 'suspicious'. They almost caught me twice. I fear for our safety. We're just as trapped. Please, help us."
…
I read the note once more, and then looked up. Zach hadn't broken his gaze from Paige the entire time, and Susie looked just as into the conversation as the others. Blake stood nearby, away from the conversation yet close enough to hear.
Blake was clearly worried, which made me all the more curious to a bigger question that just occurred to me…
Has she tried telling any of this to Zach?
She went so far as to write a note to me, me of all people. A stranger. A traveller. A guy who shows up randomly, and who I'm ninety percent sure she hated with a passion at one point.
Surely she'd go to Zach first, and voice her concerns to him? Right?
Confused but concerned, I stuck the note into my pocket. I'd have to think about it later.
I quickly went over to join the others in their conversation. Paige and Zach were starting to get a little heated, so there clearly was some kind of disagreement going on between the two, and something told me it wasn't the first time.
"I'm telling you, it's too dangerous that way!" Paige was saying.
"Not as dangerous as your idea!" Zach fired back.
"Okay, okay, hold on…" I interjected, holding my hands up in a 'time-out' gesture. "Mind helping me catch up on what we're talking about here?"
"We're trying to figure out a way to get us out safely." Susie explained, holding a book out and a small quill, taking notes.
"We've established already that there's no way you'll be able to get out with the normal ways. The gates, climbing over or through the walls, even teleporting…" Paige mentioned.
"She's told me about her friend who would be willing to teleport you guys out, but it's far too risky." Zach added.
"So, we're trying to think a bit more unconventional." Paige continued. "But unfortunately, this lunatic's idea of 'unconventional' are a LOT different than mine."
"Look, I'm giving you an idea. I didn't say you HAD to take it at face value." Zach argued, looking angry.
Paige opened her mouth to retort, but I cut in, "Alright, alright. Take it from the top. Zach, care to explain your idea?"
"Gladly." Zach agreed, and he quickly moved to a large board over near the wall. "So, this- (he pointed at a large oval area on the map) is Blockington, not to scale. This- (he then pointed at another larger circle encasing the first oval) is, as far as I can figure through my contacts, what the city has set up as the perimeter of the city. If you can make it out of this circle, you're good. But it won't be easy. To get out of there, you'd need to get almost a good hundred-to-two hundred blocks between you and the walls. Anything less, and you risk getting spotted by the watchtowers."
"Watchtowers?" I asked. "We didn't see anything like that on our way in…"
"You live to the east, right? Well, then you have a little bit of luck. The watchtowers were set up only a month ago, and have been seeing greater use with the rumors of the VIP set to come in sometime this week. Regardless, they are the first and last line of defense, mainly for when something is coming… but also when someone is trying to leave. Getting out of the walls is the easy part. But those towers are the hard part." Zach explained.
Paige took over. "I volunteered just last week to take on a late-night guard session for a little extra cash. The pay was decent, but I didn't really care for the job because it was just boring. There's always at least two people on any given tower, with a maximum of four, and the job consists of you standing near the edge, watching out for anything that might be of any concern. A large group of mobs headed for the city, a band of humans, anything that might be a significant threat to the city. Normally, the 'watchers', as the people are called, refrain from engaging in threats if they are headed towards the city. They are solely meant to be the first warning sign. However, if something was headed away from the city, and they noticed it, they would likely engage to make sure it wasn't something elicit, like an escapee or something."
"In other words… the exact thing we're trying to do." I summed up.
"Yes, unfortunately. However, one thing to note is this: the job is hella boring. Even the most stoic of guard detail wouldn't want to take it, because… well, what's fun about watching for potential threats at one in the morning? So oftentimes, guards are rather lax, and the few times they have waylaid people, there's never been a case of them dragging someone back to town. So that's something to keep in mind while we plan the escape."
"Which brings me back to my idea." Zach continued. "Y'see, while all of the walls, roads, and even outer area is pretty well defended, there's someplace that isn't: underground."
Zach marked a large bit of the Blockington diagram inside of the inner oval, labeling 'Mines'. He continued, "The mines are hardly checked after hours, since they're usually pretty well locked up at night. Which means, it can be the perfect time for you and your group to slip inside, undetected, carve out a room just inside the mines, seal it up, and then dig under Blockington, out of the range of the watchtowers, and then up and homeward bound! The only issue is getting inside the mines at a decent hour, and then actually being able to dig the tunnel for that long without raising suspicion, but regardless, the plan is great!"
"Yeah, but way too slow." Paige interjected. "What if someone sees them enter the mines? Even if they hide themselves, it wouldn't be too hard for someone to comb through and find them. So, I came up with a better plan! A buddy of mine, Obmuj, he showed me a secret contraption his mad genius of a brother Obmum came up with. Restone is a really useful tool, and he showed me something of his brother's design: a flying machine! No, seriously, he figured out that using a combination of slime blocks (Susie gently cringed at that, but otherwise said nothing), pistons, and minecarts, you can, theoretically, build a machine that would lift you and everyone up into the air, and then, by changing some of the blocks around a little bit, you can then fly straight in a single direction. Just think about it: moving the the air, no having to break blocks, no having to worry about tools breaking, just easy, simple and decently quick."
"Sure, until you fall OFF the machine." Zach reasoned. "The trip down is NOT going to be NEARLY as fun in that case. C'mon, dude, my idea is great. No having to worry about pesky heights, and it virtually eliminates any risk of getting seen."
"Unless they get seen going in. Or their tools break. Or any number of other likely cases when it comes to mining." Paige argued back.
The two of them went back to bickering amongst themselves. Susie came closer to me and whispered to me, "What do you think?"
"Well… mining definitely seems like the slower, yet safer option… but we have Andr with us. She's not gonna fit in any two-block gap, so we'd have to adjust for her."
"And the flying machine?" Susie asked.
"Much faster, that's for sure… but Diana isn't exactly good with heights. Plus, I'm just afraid someone would see us rising up and out of the city before we could get high enough… but the rearranging wouldn't be too bad, since at least I can fly around…" I reasoned.
"I had the same doubts… but either one can be worked around." Susie murmured.
"True… maybe we should go ask the others, first…" I decided. Susie agreed.
I clapped my hands together. "Well, as much as I wish I could give an answer here, I feel like the others in our party should hear the two methods first. Cause neither way works for both of them."
"How?" Zach asked.
"Well, one of them is afraid of heights." Susie explained. "And the other is too tall to fit into a normal two-high tunnel. We'll have to explain it to them and get their input before we can make that choice."
Paige and Zach obviously didn't like it, since time was of the essence right now, but they agreed that it would be better to let the others know first.
But, as everyone was putting things away, and as I put my finishing touches on Susie's makeup disguise…
Jerry the cashier came bursting in from the front. "Boss! Boss! It's him! He's here!"
Zach instantly went pale, but just as quickly collected himself and stood up straight. "Alright, tell him I'll be right out in a second-"
"I tried that, sir." Jerry responded in haste. "He's not gonna take that as an answer. He wants to talk. NOW."
Zach paled a little bit again. He quickly shot a glance over at Susie, saw that she was hidden well, and then at Blake to make sure she had her ears hidden under her bow once more, and then said, "Fine. Send him back here."
Jerry nodded tersely, and retreated back to the front. "Who's-" I started to ask.
"No time to explain." Zach briskly interrupted. "Quick, come over here, all of you…"
I quickly sat down in one of the four chairs Zach had put around his desk, with Susie and Paige following suit. Blake retreated to sitting behind Zach on one of his (probably decorative) bookshelves: she looked uncharacteristically worried, which only solidified my thought that whoever was here, it wasn't good.
The door to the rest of the shop opened, and Zach quickly spoke up (in a voice a bit louder than normal), "... and that's how I managed to defeat those zombies, y'see? It was- oh, Governor Reginald!"
Paige immediately turned the color of milk. I turned around to look.
The man that stood before us was the oldest person I had ever seen in my life. What little hair he had on his head was as white as bone, his skin was wrinkled and patchy, and his suit, while expensive looking, clearly was quite old. In his left hand was a cane made of oak, and the other was gloved, holding what appeared to be a book of some kind.
"Dear, dear Zach… it's been too long, my friend." the Governor spoke. Despite his obvious age, I was surprised: his voice sounded rich, young, lively. In fact, the more I looked at the man, the more life I saw in him. Although he seemed to be leaning on his cane, I got the feeling he could walk fine without it. What I initially pegged as age lines on his face were actually wrinkles that showed he definitely smiled a lot. There was something about this guy that… somehow, I didn't feel like he was overtly dangerous.
Nevertheless, Susie was still my main priority. If this guy got even a hint that Susie wasn't completely human…
"Pardon my intrusion, everyone." the old man explained, smiling good-naturedly at us all, bringing me back from my thoughts. "Well, Zach, your cashier never told me you had guests! Who are these fine folk?"
"Yes, sir, this is Paige, she lives here (Paige offered a small wave and nod, she still seemed a bit pale)... this is Cameron, a friend of mine, visiting… and this is his… friend, Susie."
"Visitors!" the Governor exclaimed, moving swiftly to me and taking my hand. "Dear me, I do love seeing travellers in my city!"
Surprised, didn't resist the handshake too much, but before I could even react beyond that Governor Reginald let go of my hand and took Susie's.
I held my breath in, hand creeping for my sword, just in case something was about to happen…
But nothing. "My, you have soft hands, miss. Pleasure to meet you." Governor Reginald greeted, then swiftly let go of her hand.
The four of us all let out a small breath of relief, then Zach quickly started talking again, "Well, Reginald… what brings you in today?"
"Well, I'll make this short, as you have company…" the Governor explained, holding the book out to Zach. Zach took it, and as he thumbed through it, the Governor explained, "That there is a work order. You've done good for me in the past, Zach, but this time, I need some of your finest work yet."
Zach's eyes slowly widened as he read through the book. "Two-hundred assorted swords… fifty bows… almost an entire chest's worth of arrows… a hundred daggers… thirty..."
Zach looked up at Reginald. "That… that is a lot."
"Precisely. You see, our armory is getting a bit dull… running low on weapons and ammunition. If you can make all of those weapons and whatnot in there, then I'd be most in your debt." the Governor explained.
Zach stammered a bit, then explained, "W-well, sir, I'd love to, but… this would take so much resources…"
"Oh, all expenses would be paid for by the city." Governor Reginald explained, waving a hand. Then I noticed an odd twinkle in his eye, and he added, "And… as this is such a big order… five times normal rate."
Zach immediately jumped to his feet and took Reginald's hand, shaking it with vigor. "Yes sir! Right away sir! I don't quite know when I can have the entire order compete, but… give me a day, I'll have a timesheet on your desk by noon tomorrow!"
"Very good, Zach. Very good indeed." Governor Reginald agreed with a smile. "I look forward to it. Well, I'll step out of here, and let you get back to your little group. Ta-ta."
With that, the governor gave a small bow, and then swifty left the way he came.
Zach was in total shock and amazement. I could literally see the desire in his eyes. "An order this size, with the amount of work needed to be done… I could make enough to retire if I do this correctly…!"
Only then did he notice we were still there. "O-oh, right… err… I… I kinda need the rest of today to work. I have lots of planning to do. W-we can talk more about the plan later, of course… but I need time to think right now…"
Zach slowly drew away from us, slowly becoming deeper and deeper into thought. Blake sighed, then excused Zach. "I've seen him get worked up like this before, but never quite this much. To be fair, it is a lot of money… you guys should go, he's not gonna rest until he gets a plan together." she apologized.
We silently stood up, said a good-bye to Zach (that he didn't hear as we was lining his furnaces with coal) and Blake, (who again apologized for Zach) and we quietly left.
We swiftly made our way back to Paige's apartment, not talking much. Part of the reason being to get Susie to a safe zone as quickly as possible, of course. But the other reason was that Paige seemed to be rather worried about what had just transpired.
When we were halfway up the stairs, she stopped us.
"This is not good…" she mused, pacing on the landing.
"What?" I asked. "What's bad about that order thing Zach got?"
"I have a friend who works in the armory. She and I sometimes get lunch when we have a minute. She's always telling me about how hard it is working there, that there's so much product always moving around. Doesn't it sound a little suspicious that there's a large stockpile already, and yet the governor wants a small army's worth of weaponry?"
Susie responded, "Maybe he just wants to be prepared…?"
"Fat chance. You don't need that much weaponry to 'be prepared' unless you KNOW something's about to go down. The way I see it, the governor is planning something. Something big." Paige responded.
"Hey, what the governor does is not any of our concern. Let's just focus on OUR problem: getting out of here safely." I interjected.
Paige nodded, though slowly. She too seemed rather preoccupied about this recent turn of events.
We headed upstairs to the apartments.
As Susie and Paige went inside, I looked down the hallway.
So many doors, so many people.
So many weapons the governor needed…
It doesn't make sense, does it?
Why would he need so many weapons at the ready? Sure, mob attacks COULD be a bit frequent, since this is a massive city. But, if what Paige said was true, about the city's armory being full… then why all the extras?
I shook off those thoughts, and entered Paige's apartment, closing the door behind me.
This was going to be a rough couple of days…
And there we go.
WHEW, this took WAY too long to write!
I guess it just had something to do with the fact that I needed to present the situation correctly, in a way that didn't feel… cheap.
And, looking back, I never really realized just how many ways the characters actually MIGHT'VE been able to escape, and I had to account for each and every one of those without being cheap.
Ah well. It worked out in the end. Let's see where this new development takes us, huh?
Oh yeah, and…
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Another year gone! And not only that, but it's almost the start of a new decade! That is… literally insane.
Here's to a new year, a new decade… and, hopefully, a new me. I'm calling my New Year's resolution early this year: I want to post at least one chapter to each of my current stories EVERY MONTH.
A daunting task, to be sure.
BUT ONE THAT I WANT TO TACKLE WITH GUSTO!
We will see how it plays out soon enough.
As always, guys, I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. Consider it my Christmas present to you all! I know that things have certainly slowed considerably lately, but I still very much enjoy writing, and I do hope you all know that.
But, as always my dear readers…
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and until next time…
Stay awesome! =D
