CHAPTER 3
The train skidded to a stop at the terminal, and its passengers swiftly moved over the threshold in droves, eager to return to their homes after the day's work. Cecil coolly drifted through the crowd as he headed toward the escalator to the world above. Just as he reached it, however, he heard a commotion coming from just above him. Curious, he walked up the escalator as it ascended in order to satisfy his curiosity.
As he departed from the gloomy underground, Cecil turned on a swivel after moving from the outlet to face the crowd which produced so much noise. What greeted him was a massive surprise, as he had never seen one in person. "Wh-Why is that here!" Cecil thought incredulously as he gazed at the figure, wide-eyed. It was a massive metal monstrosity; armed to the teeth with missiles, a machine gun in its enormous arms, and the ingenuity of its pilot. "Back away!" the pilot's voice boomed through the machine's speakers as he pointed the barrel at the terrified crowd of people. "This area is currently off-limits! Please return to your business!" one of the police officers next to the knightmare frame bellowed. "Wait a sec…" Cecil muttered as he looked to the sky. Black smoke pervaded the air, and Cecil had just begun to smell the distinct scent of chaos. His uncle's house wasn't far from the checkpoint. In fact, it was in the direction of the smoke.
"Shit, before long the crowd will disperse, and I need to get over there to check if my uncle's safe" Cecil thought. He scanned the street for any possible venue of slipping past the checkpoint. There was nowhere he could run without being gunned down by an overly anxious officer, no matter where he moved. Astonishingly enough, a homemade explosive flew above the heads at the front of the crowd, causing the group of officers to scurry behind the knightmare for protection. "Every group has its idiot" Cecil said out loud with a devious smile on his face. The explosion did no visible damage to the knightmare, but two men who took cover behind it were injured by the shrapnel. "Fire into the crowd!" one of the officers shouted, visibly shaken and afraid.
The knightmare aimed its gun at the mass of people. The pilot hesitated, also afraid. Though of the consequences of his actions rather than the people below. "You heard me, FIRE!" the enraged officer screamed once more. The gun in the knightmare's hands flashed a bright yellow as large caliber bullets ripped through the crowd. Limbs and blood flew all over the scene, coating the street in a dark crimson. With both the knightmare and the snipers on the roofs occupied, Cecil took the opportunity to slip into an alleyway which lead to his uncle's house. "I'll have to thank the genius who threw that bomb" Cecil thought, laughing. Sirens from cruisers and lights from helicopters flooded the scene at the checkpoint, leaving the path to his uncle's house unguarded. Cecil quickly crossed the street, lest he be shot for something as foolish as moving too slow to avoid a bullet in the back.
After moving through another alleyway he reached his uncle's house, or at least the flaming remains. "Shit!" Cecil said much louder than before. For some reason, both the firefighters and the police were afraid to venture outside, and the latter group had their weapons pointed at the windows and doors. Another nearby explosion drew the rest of the officers who were guarding the door away from their positions. "We have a downed knightmare unit" one of them said to the rest as they ran to Cecil's former position. Taking advantage of the moment, Cecil ran into the flaming house.