A Dreamer Caught In The Crossfire

Eluard Rhodes

Eluard Rhodes was talking with Gabriel dos Santos in the grand common room. They were discussing how the latest attempt to prank Vivian went completely south when a messenger dressed in the standard uniform rushed into the room.

"Message for Eluard Rhodes!" he shouted.

Gabriel quirked an eyebrow at Eluard to which he replied with a shrug, looking even more confused. He was not really expecting any news or missions this week. The messenger walked over to the two holding an envelope in his outstretched hand.

"Judging by the look on your face I'm guessing that it's for you," confirmed the messenger.

Eluard accepted the envelope and carefully placed it in the breast pocket of his coat, not breaking eye contact with its courier. He sighed and ran his fingers through his mess of brown curls when the messenger walked out of the cavernous common room and into the hallway. As soon as he was sure he was out of sight, Eluard got up.

"Guess I'll see you around Gabby. Got business to attend to."

"I told you not to call me that!" groaned Gabriel.

Eluard was one of the elite members of the Hellfire Corps, a military subdivision introduced at the beginning of the war. Being a shape shifter was an added bonus since they needed as much stealth as the could get. The walls in the hallways of the H.Q. were almost completely covered in graffiti. He knew the way around the building by the back of his hand but the artworks on the wall still astonished him greatly. The scent of smoke and metal along with the loud noises of work and shouting were abundant in the air. He ran his fingers over the rough surface of the walls as he walked, taking note of all the new drawings that were recently added without him noticing.

"What did I tell you about painting rubbish on the walls?! All new recruits were there when this was announced! I ought to confiscate your cans and brushes and put you on clean-up duty for the rest of the year!"

Roxanne was yelling at a newbie who has hastily painting over his graffiti which made Eluard snicker. Roxanne had a rule about using the walls as a canvas: do it right or face three months of toilet duty. She noticed him and paused her lecture for a moment to send a friendly wave. Eluard waved and smiled back before turning down the hallway that led to the living-quarters.

The outside noises faded out the further he walked. He arrived at his room; a fairly sized chamber with an en-suite bathroom and a kitchenette. The first thing he did was make a beeline for the kitchenette to make himself a cup of tea. 'Aunt Anita's Herbal Honey Tea' made everything better. He smiled when he remembered the day he had to win a sparring match against a senior elite just to get out of dormitory residence. Rules and regulations in the Hellfire Corps were more bizarre than anything he had ever encountered. But that was the thing with the Hellfire Corps, it was way different from all the other military operations. It was a combination of all the great young warriors, scientists and engineers of Griffinstone. They were bound to be diverse from the beginning.

He shook the thoughts from his head.

It was time for the serious things.

He sat on the edge of his unmade bed and pulled out the envelope, his hands shaking with anticipation. By the time the envelope had reached him it had been crumpled, folded over and had a few strange stains on it. It had not lost any bit of its importance though. The messy piece of paper could contain information which most average Griffinstonians were not aware of. He discarded the envelope and held the folded letter in his hands for a moment, staring at it. He shook of the dread and unfolded it. The letter was written in its usual penmanship; hasty and sloppy. The military stopped sending their information digitally following an incident which involved the Aerinians being well prepared for the attack and the military losing about a hundred men. His mission was fairly simple:

"Morph into an Aerinian soldier and sabotage a developing camp near the border."

In and out but easier said than done though. So much could go wrong since he was riding this one solo. Deadline was two days later. Eluard, seeing no use in wasting precious time, got up and started packing clothes and weaponry. Missions that required him to be on the south-west side of the kingdom meant no using any vehicles or modes of transport besides foot, a horse if he were lucky, and seeing that foot was his only option he had to leave early or else he would be caught up in the Shifting Forest at midnight. Again. He grabbed his packed bag and walked out of the heavy wooden door, hanging a "gone fishing'!" sign on the way out.

Xxx

Eluard made sure to leave a note on Gabriel's nightstand just in case the others do break out in panic when they do not see him for a few days. It simply read:

Hey Gabby! Mission on the border. Spread the word! Don't wait up for me! Should be done in a few days! Make sure Brooke to stays away from my toffee stash! If I find anything in my room missing I'll tell everyone about that one time you ran around H.Q. in a towel just because you found a spider in the shower. Roxanne has it on tape.

E.R.

When Gabriel knew something, everyone else did too. He could not tell the difference between a whisper and a yell for the life of him. He took the elevator down to the ground floor. He absolutely despised the stairwells. Most of them smelt weird and always had people in them. Tight spaces filled with people gave him the creeps.

He hastily walked past all the armed security guard and out the exit without stopping for authorizations. People in the elite rank were hardly ever questioned on where they were going, let alone checked. Eluard stopped a patrol truck and ordered the driver to give him a ride to the edge of the Shifting Forest. She looked at him skeptically before reluctantly letting him in the back. The ride was absolutely silent except for the sound of the trucks engine and the occasional animal sound. Eluard saw the forest line come into view and banged the side of the truck as a signal for the driver to stop. He was out the minute she slowed down and mouthed some words of thanks. She nodded and drove off, leaving him standing alone in front of the forest edge. He took a deep breath.

"No turning back now I guess..."he said aloud as he began walking forward.

XXX