Tale of The Broken Sword

Chapter Fifty One : I'll Take Your Word For It

15th March, AD 1657

Southbound Train Depot, Veillrichtstadt

Everent ran as fast as he could, avoiding any patrols that might have come into contact with him should he be reckless on his way out. Carefully making his way into the train station which would give him a chance to sneak out of the capital city, he kept his mind working, looking out for anyone that might've tailed him all along. With every step, Everent felt the ground shook less often, and the short burst of gunfire waned as he makes his way out of the battleground, a bloodbath in the inner districts of the oppressed city.

After several long paces across the open field which made Everent shudder for a moment when he heard a loud gunfire nearby, he finally stopped facing a long chain of barbed wire. Catching his breath, Everent turned around to see if anyone or anything was following him. Open spaces are a perfect hunting ground for snipers holed up in a nearby building overlooking it, and there are plenty of tall industrial buildings across the large complex. He would have to quickly get into a shelter area if he'd wanted to make it out alive.

Pulling out a grenade from his belt and pulling the safety pin, Everent quickly tossed it into the barbed wire and ducked down. The explosion certainly blew part of the wire away, but it wasn't loud enough to echo across the vast field, and into the suburban areas. Convince that no one came out, alerted by the sudden force of sound coming out in the relatively quiet neighbourhood, Everent got up to his feet and raced across the open gap.

Reaching a corner of the building, Everent craned his head out towards the edge of the wall, observing the complexes and the parked carriages on the railway. All he needed to do was to find a document supposedly displaying the time for every train departing out of the city, and board onto it without raising suspicion. It might seem a daunting task but it was the only chance left for him to safely get out of the city, unless ramming through miles of road covered with heavily-guarded patrol bases would be a better idea.

It was quiet out there, so quiet that it seemed too true to Everent. Shifting his slung bulky machine gun to the front and pulling the safety bolt of it, Everent cautiously inched closer to the door of the building. Within the few last paces to the wooden door, he heard another loud gunfire echoing nearby. It was very close and it made Everent quickly ran to the door without hesitating. Upon grabbing the handle and pulling the door, he hears a sound of a pulled pin. When he'd had finally spotted a hidden cache of explosives in the building, he was too late to avoid it.

The shockwave of the explosion sent him flying backwards, away from the large fireball climbing into the sky. For a moment, it made the sky turn bright-orange before returning to its nocturnal colours.

Amidst the searing heat of the burning building, Everent lay there, bloodied and his skins filled with wooden shards and pieces of tiny glass. He struggled to crawl out of the area, trying to get away before anyone sees him. His sight lost its sharpness, and everything seemed twisted to him. His felt too hot to breath, and his body was begging for air. But he couldn't inhale, no matter how hard he tried. He felt a sharp tingling all over his body, then a sharp chill running down his nerves. The air around him was clouded with poisonous smoke and gunshot roared nearby, and then Everent finally lost consciousness.

"Hey, buddy! Come on, don't pretend now. I still see you're curling and groaning so you're definitely not dead yet!" And he was hit across the cheeks, bringing him around.

"I hope the bandages wouldn't break him apart!" The other man said.

"It won't," The first voice said. "You did a good job anyway. At least this guy is not dead yet. And I would've not thought he would be here, in the south end of the city... Could he be...? Sophia, do you know him?"