Protector of Men Ch 65
"Find a door," he said after a few moments, "Any door."
It was quiet again for the next few minutes while they searched in the dark for a portal.
"Here," Cover said, his voice sounding a bit muffled as it came from a side hallway. Silently everyone came to him, and they all stepped aside so Neo would be in front. Zandra watched in anxiety as he stood there, and was about to ask him what he planned to do when he hit the door with his palm – the shattered wood chips instantly flying away into the air around them. The door no longer lay on its hinges. Everyone was a little startled; not only because of Neo's ability, but because of the scene in front of them: mountains.
Zandra's phone rang from the folds of her coat: Neo turned around expectantly. Shade held the door open with his foot and was looking a little bewildered. Zandra opened her phone automatically, her eyes still trained on Neo.
"Zandra, get out!" Came Kesia's breathless shout. Zandra instantly snapped to attention – something was very wrong. Cover gave her a look of questioning, but she did not explain. Not yet.
"What's wrong?"
"Get out!" she repeated, "The sentinels are here!"
"Where's our exit," Zandra asked monotone; this was no time for more hysteria, if in fact Kesia was right…
"It's 500 miles south," she answered slowly… little by little coming to the realization that...
"We can't get there."
"No, not now," Neo had answered. Zandra was impervious to the fact that Neo could see her conversation in the code surrounding them all, and without even thinking relayed the fact back to Kesia.
"How do we get out then?" Zandra finally asked the quiet line. Kesia sighed hurriedly.
"The Oracle-"
"The Oracle?" Zandra repeated.
Cover's ears perked up at the sound.
"Gray door," Kesia continued, "It looks like the only option for now."
"The Oracle, Kesia."
"Zandra," Neo warned, "She won't kill us."
Zandra clenched her teeth. He doesn't know, he doesn't know…
"A Gray door."
- "Don't know where,"
"We'll find it," Came Neo's answer, finally surprising Zandra with his eavesdropping skill. Zandra suddenly heard yelling in the background and the line went dead. She looked around frenzied for a moment – expecting death. But it would not come.
At least not now.
"A gray door," she sighed after a moment, looking down on the ground. A wild goose chase from the prophetic snake. And too little time.
"Zandra," Cover said, stepping close to her, "It's the only option,"
"We can get out here if we have to!"
Neo's brows furrowed and he cocked his head to the side, examining Zandra.
"Not everyone can do that," he advised, still looking only at Zandra. Shade's cheeks grew hot – did he just insult them? His jaw clenched unconsciously, his hands writhed together. Not everyone?
"We can't stay out here," Cover finally voiced, a little unsure of his own words. Neo nodded, and the battle was over.
"But we'll have to be ready."
"Kemp!" Trim shouted over the din of the battle, "Help Alias at the other end!"
He could hear Alias faintly in the background of his headphones – he could tell she was trying, but he could also tell that this was not the time to make mistakes. Two sentinels were down, but there were still five to go. This was their trial; this was the test of Purgatory. The decision to live or die would be made soon, willing or no.
The guns fired explosively every second – each round finding its way into either the pipeways around them or the squids attacking. Already they were making progress, but there were still foes awaiting their doom. It was quick business too; if the sentinel got too close to the ship, their guns wouldn't be able to reach them. And then they'd be reduced to using the portable EMP gun – deadly if not aimed correctly. And Kemp had never been trained with it… things are not looking good!
"Kemp, are you there?" He shouted into his microphone, frustrated. He hadn't taken his eyes off the coming army yet – and suddenly was very thankful that Cover had always kept them stocked with ammunition… even though before it had seemed so pointless…
"I'm here," Kemp suddenly said.
"Got one!" He could hear from Alias in the background. A third squid erupted into flames, and soon a fourth crashed into the ground in a ball of blue fire. Only three to go.
They were back in the darkness; none of them knew the danger they had put themselves in by going back into the Chateau. If only Shade had moved his foot a little, perhaps they could have saved themselves much of the trouble they would soon be in. The urgency was soon building. Each knew that they had only minutes – perhaps even seconds to live. Even Neo was bound to the cause – without Purgatory, he'd never be able to escape from the Merovingian. Time was of the essence.
They were all walking quickly the way they had come, taking little heed of the weapons and torture devices that littered the walls around them. Had they known what lay beyond the next turn, they would have stocked up. Zandra was leading the way again for them. Neo was close behind and Zandra's two crewmates held up the back. Nerves grew as they wandered further into the abyss – time was diminishing with each second. Zandra turned left, and they followed.
"You don't think he'd let you leave," Said a voice from the shadows. Zandra spun around to find figures closing in.
"After a performance like that," The other twin finished. Zandra found herself outnumbered; her support had suddenly disappeared for the moment.
"Help!" she shouted as the twins flew at her. Her call went unanswered, and she was left to the exhausting talk of attempting combat with the two creatures. Two was much harder than one, and despite her ability, she soon found herself behind held with her arms behind her back. Things were very quiet.
"Finished so soon?" asked the one holding her, his face again dangerously close to her own. Zandra was revolted, but could do nothing.
"Here they come," he continued sweetly, watching the darkness. Zandra watched too, and in moments her following appeared. Instantly they were alarmed.
"Drop your weapons," the other twin breathed, his face devoid of all expression. Zandra squirmed under the twin's firm grip, and he only held her closer.
"Let her go, exile," Neo answered, still holding his sword. The twin smirked.
"We are no more exiles than you," he answered colly. Neo paused a moment – it was true. Neo was as much of an exile as the Twins. Nothing more. Everyone was silent for a moment; the twins basked in their glory. Not only had they captured the One, but they had stumped the previous One. Oh, the Merovingian would be happy indeed…
Shade couldn't just let her stay in the twins' hands. His passion for Zandra was finally beginning to take over. He was beginning to accept his part in the web of the battle. He looked from Neo to Cover – they weren't doing anything. It's up to you then, he decided in a split second, and turned tail. He ran off back into the darkness to find a weapon. He had dropped his knives once the twins had appeared. He'd show Neo who was 'capable'…
His mind raced as he ran through the darkness. Not so far… he stopped in front of a pair of shackles hanging on the wall – no doubt to keep a prisoner from escaping. But something made a noise that distracted him, and he looked down the hallway to his left to see what it was.
No time!
The Merovingian's lackeys had finally caught up, and now they were wielding guns as well as some very ominous looking weaponry. They hadn't seen Shade yet in the second that he had recognized them – get back! Warn them!
His haste had incited something in him that had never come out before; perhaps it was his strong bond to Zandra, who was now in peril, or perhaps it was the perpetual feeling that he was living his last moments, but he had finally let go. He grabbed the two chains attached to the wall and flung them off with a pull, the large metal links snapping under his strength. But the men had seen him, and were aiming their weapons.
No time! He screamed at himself, launching back behind a wall as the bullets ripped through the air around him. Chains dangled against his legs, the cuffs clanging together in the otherwise explosive air. He waited only a moment before retreating back to where Zandra should have been, but the corridor was empty. He could hear scuffling, but didn't know where it was from. He looked around him desperately – where was she? Where had they gone to? His chains swung in pointless parabolas about him, he was quickly losing hope. This battle was so convoluted, so confusing… so drawn out that he was almost out of energy to even fight.
But time was of the essence. He could worry about other things later. Remember, he told himself, every minute counts. Their ship could be in shambles in the desert of the real… they'd never know…
He started to run again in the direction he fancied the sounds came from. And then the bullets from the other hallway suddenly stopped. Everything was very quiet again.
A/N – OMG Protector of Men has over 150 reviews overall. *head explodes* Thank you so much everyone! You all know I looove reviews and suggestions and criticism (as long as it's nice, even though that one flame was really funny… lol) I'll warn you now, theory is coming.
Wow, writing this gets harder and harder. The part I'm writing now has 45 bad guys, and I have to color code my fight paper so I know what's going on. This is confusing as calculus.
DarkStorm3 - :) I'm so glad you like my story! Geez, I bet reading it all was a bit tedious… but thank you so much!
AquaPhoenix1 – Yeah, the dungeon is pretty icky. But not that they were supposed to be paying much attention to the decorations…
MicroChips – really! I know it's suspenseful… but things will be… 'rectified' soon.
