A Devious Exchange

No Escape

Atticus looked stunned by the insult, his cheeks practically growing red and fist clenching at his sides. He glared at the soldier, who didn't seem to have a clue of what he just did. Atticus' voice wavered, trying to maintain his regal, professional tone,

"We have a trade ready if you are willing to oblige."

My fingers were now bleeding from my continuous picking, though it didn't stop my nails from cascading up my arms in harsh drags. I shook my head quickly, trying to pull myself together. This was no time for trying a trade.

I sternly called out to the group, managing to break Atticus' stare down with the beast, "We need to leave immediately, the entrance has been blocked!"

If my calls weren't heard then, my pointing at the blocked wall definitely struck a chord. Atticus' eyes widened in alarm, his pupil dilating and locking with the closed entrance. He shoved past the group and me, marching up to the rock in a panic. His fists thumped against the solid stone, growing more forceful and louder with each blow. I was shoved to the side as other others joined in too, the atmosphere growing intense and some even beginning to hyperventilate. My breaths were shaky too, crossing my arms even tighter around myself. We all knew what was about to happen.

Atticus was muttering incoherently to himself, slewing a chain of curses while clutching his chest with his palm. He looked as pale as a ghost and on the verge of collapsing.

"You Addle Pate! Let us out right now!" A man snarled, shouting out more profanities at the demigod. He slashed his sword at the rock with such ferocity. The sword's hits and scrapes produced ear-piercing clangs and grinds like nails on a chalkboard, making my teeth grind together.

"This is ludicrous! The pomp would rather throw a hissy-fit than talk like a man!" Another growled, his yellow teeth clenched as he pointed his sword threateningly at the shadowed rock. Sweat beaded down his bald head to the junction of his sunken, brown eyes and flared, alcoholic nose. I flinched at the loudness, dodging the spit flying out of his mouth.

I back-stepped over to where Miook and Nicholas were yelling at each other, not wanting to get accidentally slashed. Shock and frustration were a couple of words to describe the look on both their faces, Nicholas tugging his hair back whereas Miook had his sword out and ready to go.

"He blocked it off." Nicholas sighed in disbelief, growling lowly, "He really is made by magic."

I quickly snapped back, a bit of venom in my words, "Reginani warned us."

His head whipped to the side, scanning the walls feverishly. Paranoia became heavily present in the room, fueling beads of sweat to drip down our foreheads. Truthfully, we had no idea what the monster was capable of. It could come from any direction now, pouncing on us at any moment. I looked around in every direction like a hunter's hound, a collage of blue and black all I could make out. The worst part was I didn't know what I was looking for, not even if it was monster or man.

Miook quickly rushed out, panting, "There's got to be another exit. We need to start running before it comes out."

"Yes!" I nodded, shuffling closer towards his side. Nicholas looked between the Commander and us in debate. Miook shoved past him, cupping his hands over his mouth and shouting aloud, "Oi! We gotta go now!"

The shouting and yells of the men landed Miook's words on mostly deaf ears, the time only ticking away. A few heads did manage to turn to us, but only half of that actually ran over, one including a familiar, blonde blurb of Tomathy.

I thinned my lips, a pounding headache on my forefront. We needed to leave now! We couldn't wait for all of them to be gathered up. Nor could I take another second of Atticus' poor leadership or idiotic men. I quickly snapped to Nicholas with urgency, my hands flying around in emphasis, "Look, we either leave with or without the the rest. I do not care if Atticus comes or stays, but we need to leave now if we want to survive."