The Fox, Red

108 - The Final Fated Meeting

Morning comes with its usual call. The light breaks through the windows of the buildings lighting them up with a natural glow. Everyone regroups and everyone seems to make the same observation. They weren't able to sleep easily but none of them felt tired. As I join the group they all look to me for an answer. I just shrugged my shoulders. I don't have a solid answer for them. I also don't see how it's relevant to what we are doing.

Their gear is loaded up into their respective vehicles before we continue on the path. The beaten road runs for another hour before it just stops. Everyone piles out to try and get a gauge of where we are or where we need to go. No one knows where to go. This entire area is off the map. We passed through that forest and the world seemed to change. We have no choice but to keep going forward. These vehicles were built to go almost anywhere.

Everyone gets back in and heads in the direction that the road was pointing. They roll slowly to avoid rocking the vehicles too much. The hills are gentle but the dirt shifts under the weight of the tires. We roll over the hills until we cross one. The lead car comes to a hard stop at the sight before us. A castle, ancient but still standing, is located in the center of this weird area. The other vehicle pulls up with its window rolled down, "Is that where we go?"

I look forward to the castle. There's no mistaking it. "Yes, that's where we go." No one looks happy at that answer but they know what they need to do. The wheels start rolling down the side of the hill toward our new goal. The castle's size and scale begin to show the closer we get. The main gate is open with no one around.

The others take this time to check their gear before loading themselves up. "We go in quick and quiet." I stand looking at the gate until I feel a small disturbance. I look back and none of them felt it. I know that's Red. "There's no need to be quiet. He knows we're here." They all look at me confused. "He just knows we're here. Now you just need to be careful."

No one looks happy at this news. They change their tactics to go in slow, room by room, clearing out everywhere they cross until they find Red. I wish it was that simple. I don't think Red is going to grant us an audience without earning it.

They get themselves ready while I start observing what I can from the outside. I was never able to learn Red's scanning ability no matter how hard I tried. It was always interesting when he spoke about it. I could never piece together the technique to make it work for me. It just goes to show how capable he is.

"Odette, we are good to go." They've got armor on and their weapons at the ready. I don't know how survivable this undertaking is. He wiped out a small army with the flick of his wrist. We are just six people. No matter, we still have to try. If anything, I have to try to talk to him. "OK, let's go." I give them the order and they switch from the guys who were talking and chatting to warriors of deadly accuracy. They moved to have me near the center of all of them as they moved from the walls into the courtyard.

They scanned every window looking for movement and anything unnatural. We moved into the first room and they were quick. They moved to side rooms and hallways clearing and calling out what they found. A lot of empty hallways and rooms filled with furniture showing that this structure was once lived in.

They have me check every room to see if there is something significant. They only know the person they are looking for. I would know the clues he would leave behind. Or so they think. I'm not sure what I'm looking for. I only know that I'm looking for Red just like they are. We cleared the ground floor after about an hour. This place is massive and I feel it's not going to get any smaller the further up we go.

Everything started to get weird as we hit the first hallway on the next floor. There was one scream from behind me. We all quickly turned to see we were missing someone. The person who was last in line was missing. His partner turned to us. If I could see his face beyond the mask, I imagine that his eyes would have been wide as he exclaimed, "The floor opened up and he was gone!"