Dawn Is Coming

Chapter 21

Akira

I hope Lyndin's doing okay. I've never done an infiltration before, but I practically live on the battlefield. The only battle Lyndin's ever seen was the battered tools and vehicles we send to the Engineering Department when they need fixing. Although inexperienced, I know she's smart. Cunning. More so than me. And that says a lot, since ten years of my life were spent in personal training with the General of the Ruinexan army.

The alleys are narrow but walkable, a comfortable distance between my shoulders and the dark, brick walls of the ominous buildings. I take another turn, seeing light at the end of the alley. Another street, another inspection. I peek out at the end of the channel, looking up and down the empty street. It's getting dark out, and the streets are void of people. You'd see pretty much the same sight in Ruinexus at this time of day.

Tall, black buildings illuminated by unseen projectors in shades of magnificent orange and gold. I pause, just like that. My body hidden in the shadows of the alley; my own gold eyes wide as I drink in the unrivalled beauty of this seemingly evil country. My eyes brush over the scenery, trying to memorize as much as possible. The other streets had a faint, darker orange light that I had mistaken for rust. Now I see that what I thought has not been the case. The longer I stare, the more I'm reminded of the picture I saw of the sun in grade 3. The same warm glow I had practically been able to feel emanating from the picture, now emanating from these buildings. I wish I had something to take a picture with.

This is what I dream to see one day. To wake up in the morning, open the curtains to my room and have unfiltered, golden light flood into the cold room that is my home, to seep into my bones like the warmth of a bonfire after a particularly intense mission.

Or like the warmth I had felt when Grant held me

No Infirmary.

Every alley I peek out wears down my motivation. I'm shocked and proud of how I had managed to gather the courage to do something so atrociously illegal, and I'm starting to regret it more and more. I turn and start heading back in the alley, trudging onward. The anxiety of being in the centre of the smarter and more powerful country of the two left standing after the apocalypse weighs on my shoulders. I stop to take a small break at a corner, catching my breath. I'm not tired, just astronomically stressed. My heart is pounding, but I take deep breaths, trying to calm down – something I was never really good at, especially after I realized that the probable cause for my episodes was stress.

A large, warm hand closes over my mouth.

My body is crushed against a wall, my arms pinned behind my back. A terrifying weight constrains me against the brick wall, and my breath catches in my throat. For most people, the mouth-covering would be necessary. I, however, get paralyzed when I'm this frightened.

Silent psycho.

"Silly girl," A deep, rich voice purrs into my ear, sending a chilling shiver down my spine. "Invading a country, wandering dark alleys by yourself?" The man, I'm assuming, lets out a deep, rumbling chuckle, his firm chest vibrating against my back.

So familiar.

I've heard this voice before.

"Such bravery," He muses. His lips move over my earlobe, curving into a smile. Fear clutches at my heart, threating to crush it. I want to scream, to say something, but I don't know what.

"I like it." He murmurs, trailing the hand covering my mouth down my immobile arm, his warm fingers brushing over my clammy hands. My mind races, rummaging through records of voices I've heard before but coming up empty.

But it's so familiar.

He leans in further, tickling the nape of my neck with stray hairs, his lips coming to rest right at my ear. "Turn right, go forward past two exits, and then go left. They'll help you," He whispers. In a second, my wrists are freed, the weight on my back lifted, and his ominous presence vanishing. I whirl around, looking left and right, feeling utterly disoriented. I don't even want to try and figure out what just happened. A man appeared from the shadows, overpowered me with ease, whispered... directions? And then just vanished.

What?
I sink my hand into my pocket, closing my fingers around the handle of the pistol stowed away within. It probably wasn't the smartest idea to steal one of Grant's backup dual handguns, but he had let me down. I can still feel the sting of his rejection fresh in my heart, tears fresh in my eyes. I wipe them away, keeping a tight grip around the gun.

Anyways. What?

Okay. So... the man said to turn right, walk past two exits, and then turn left. But where was he directing me? Did he somehow know where I was planning to go?

No. He was probably trying to lead me into a trap. I turn left, glancing briefly to the right. I squint my eyes, blurring them. My vision shifts, magnifying the light my eyes receive to essentially see in the dark. But the man is gone, leaving nothing but the ghostly sensation of his lips against my ear and his fingers interlocking with mine.

What was that about?

Do I know him?

I shake my head and blink my eyes back to normal, heading off to the left. Once the soldiers realize that I'm not where this mystery man had tried to lead me to, they'll probably start scouting the surroundings. That's what I'd do, at least. I reach a fork and turn left again, trying to get as far away from the his directions as possible. I shoot one last glance over my shoulder, making sure the man didn't pursue me. I straighten myself, facing forward. I stop in my tracks, my eyes bulging out of my sockets.

I knew it was going to be chaotic, but this is too much.

The biggest building I've ever seen in my life looms up in front of me, made of regal white marble. An imperial staircase, monumental columns and imposing walls rise up to the heavens, a golden spire at the top piercing through the pewter clouds.

The row of guards at the bottom of the staircase brings me back down to Earth. I take a small step back, catching the unfortunate attention of two. I pull out my gun and blur my vision, shooting the one on the left right in the chest. He stumbles but keeps running.

Of course. Kevlar plates.

I shoot at his legs, surprised when the bullet bounces off again.

Are their whole bodies covered?!

I give up on shooting and shove my gun in my pocket, running off into the alley. I barely make it three steps before I feel a powerful blow to my back, crumpling my body and sending me to the ground. My vision fades, sending the world spiralling into darkness.