ASTAKSA - Preamble

9 - Trust Issues

As the bullet train made its way out of the mangrove forest, so did the fight. Bodies of Minervan soldiers who were lucky to not be thrown out from the train remained in the cabin. Blood seeped through the mangled armours of the soldiers and left them slashed and shattered.

Meanwhile, Faust, Mr Dodic, and Kaya slumped on the floor, exasperated. The gaping side of the cabin gave plenty of ways for the midnight air to rush inside, replacing the already long-gone air-conditioned cabin atmosphere. It felt especially cold for Faust. He was sweating bullets, his body burnt out from all of the fightings earlier.

Faust pushed himself up and sat on the floor with his hands holding up his back. He looked at the elf who had saved him from falling off the train. A few minutes earlier, she was also the one who held him hostage. That's a weird weapon for sure, Faust thought as he glanced at the rope weapon that had saved both him and Kaya, laying on her left hand. On one end was a blade of a scythe — the one that latched onto the door — and on the other was a dagger. Both blades were connected by a metal cable-like rope. Messy, but not tangled.

Amidst the gushing air from the open door, he heard a commotion from the other side of the cabin. Faust got on his feet quickly and looked through the window to the tailing cabin. Inside, the lights were intact, but there was intelligible screaming and grunting.

Thud!

One soldier slammed their back against the door, slightly cracking the glass. Two loud thuds followed in rapid succession. Then, the door broke loose and flew over Faust's head. It flew high enough to miss Faust, who was tucking his head. Looking up, he saw Rina standing with her knees bent, her palms bunched up, and her eyes radiating a weak green glow. The soldier remained unmoved on the floor. Mr Dodic slowly stood up behind Faust and dusted off his coat.

"Faust, are you okay!?" Rina jumped over the soldier's body and ran over to him. She lent her hand wearing metal gauntlets.

Faust took her hands and pulled himself up. "I'm fine. Wait, how did you—"

"Stay behind me." Rina then pinned her eyes on the blue-haired elf who slowly stood up with a stifled breath, looking exhausted. Before Kaya could go to her fighting stance, Faust extended his hand between them.

"Rina, it's okay. She saved me," Faust said.

"Saved you?"

"Yeah. I almost fell off this train when she... grabbed me to safety."

Kaya pushed herself up, brushing off her hands. "Heh, yeah, I did." She laughed. "And he, uh... returned the favour to me."

"Ah, I see." Rina lowered her hands. Her eyes returned to normal. "Glad to know another friendly one."

"How'd you get here?" Faust asked.

"Albert and I moved out of hiding once we heard lots of footsteps rushing past us, then we fought our way through here. Hopefully there won't be any of them left."

A gunshot echoed through the cabin, startling everyone. Rina glanced over her back, recognizing who made the deafening noise. "Albert! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Rina held her chest. She did not actually have a heart attack.

The startled Albert, holding the same rifle as the soldiers, lowered the weapon down. He had shot the body of the soldier that Rina had punched through the door. It was a clean shot through the forehead. The trio and Kaya were unaware that Mr Dodic quietly listened in. "What? He's the one who almost had me before. He could wake up at any moment!" Albert said.

"He's just knocked unconscious!" Rina said.

"So what? We're just gonna let them stab me with their katanas while we bicker around with this... whoever you are."