Firewall

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jack peered out from in between the bars of the railing, looking out at the world beyond with wide eyes. The sun was now high in the sky, shedding light on the strikingly beautiful landscape before him "it's so... bright" Jack whispered, looking away to give a nearby Felix a bewildered stare "will we really go out there?"

"The other fighters will. Most defiantly not you, though... Not yet" Felix's sapphire blue eyes were locked onto the scenery, drinking in the glorious sight "you're too little to go out there, it's dangerous... Mark and I will train you how to fight when you get a bit taller."

"When is Mark even coming back?" Jack changed the subject, knowing he couldn't argue with Felix about such a topic "he's been gone for a while..."

"Patrolling the outer ring takes longer then you think. It's a hefty trek, but Mark's a tough guy. That's why I usually send him out there."

Jack looked back out at the world, standing on his tippy-toes in order to get a better look. He frowned as he was still too short to get the best view possible. Jack turned to Felix, reaching up to grab the leg of his pants; barely reaching up to the man's hip since he was so short "I can't see well" he complained "Can I stand on something?"

"Here" Felix suddenly picked Jack up from under his arms and put him down onto his shoulders, ignoring the resulting squeak of surprise.

"D-Dang it Felix! Not you too!" Jack intertwined his fingers into Felix's sandy blond hair, paranoid he would fall even with Felix holding onto his knees "you and Mark gotta stop doing that!"

"Oh don't be such a baby" Felix chucked "one day, you'll be an adrenaline junkie just like the rest of us."

Jack rolled his eyes and looked out at the land once more, blinking rapidly as he saw something draw closer within his peripheral vision. He turned to see that something was flying towards them, nothing but a speck in the distance "hey Felix, what's that?" he released his grip on Felix's hair and pointed out at the oncoming object "is that Mark?" his hopes rose "Mark can fly, right?"

"..."

"Felix?" Jack looked down at the hair he gripped so tightly as the taller man didn't respond right away, his hands suddenly gripping Jack's knees so fiercely that it startled him "F-Felix?" he repeated, growing worried as he felt him begin to back away from the railing.

"Jack" Felix suddenly took him off his shoulders and set him down on the ground "get inside, now."

"H-huh? What-"

"Get inside!" Felix whirled around to look at him dead in the eye, his blue eyes baring a look so emotionally fierce that it made Jack back away out of fright. He had never seen Felix look such a way, it actually scared him to the point of him wanting to leave simply because of that glare alone.

Just as Jack turned to run down the stairs and away from him, there was an earsplitting screech and a hefty gust of wind. Jack had to grab hold of the stairs' railing so he wouldn't fall down them. He stiffened as he heard Felix yelling out of what sounded like pure anger.

Jack hesitantly looked back, his eyes going wide as he saw what that small thing off in the distance actually was.

It had a total of six eyes, all of which were an unsettling orange, its entire body made of some sort of mucus like goo that convulsed every few seconds. It had a dangerous looking beak of sorts that was decorated by a couple rows of pitch black fangs. Two gigantic wings spread out from its murky sides, beating against the air with such ferocity that Jack couldn't even comprehend if they were feathered or not.