My Short Stories

The Guilty, Pt. 2

Heathen anxiously walked in between the shadows, carefully avoiding any source of light as he ducked and weaved from one side of the road to the next. He turned left and moved into an alley, hurriedly making his way through it to avoid catching the gaze of any midnight straggler. The jacket he wore was tightly zipped all the way up to his neck, inside he held the package tightly against his chest under the guise that he walked quickly with his arms crossed over his chest.

The alley took him to a more open part of the township, a road which could be considered a main avenue back in its time. He stopped, but only temporarily, to look both ways and make sure that things were as they should be, before making a right. Directly ahead of him, to the end of the road, was the palace.

The palace was the nicest building in the settlement, but that was stretching it. Though the best was done to keep it up to shape, it was easy to see the wear and tear of time taking a toll on the outer walls. Even at night, it didn't look its best. At the very least it was sturdier than it looked. It had to be. Heads would roll if the Headmaster was injured in a structural collapse. The two Commanders, as far as Heathen could remember, also worked inside the palace. Looking at the place now sent him some slight chills all the way to the tip of his fingers.

He bit his lip and shook himself out of his trance by looking down at the watch strapped to his wrist. He was almost cursed out at the time, and quickly looked back up and hurried toward the gates of the palace. The South Gate, to be precise. It was the one closest to the Throne Room, where the Headmaster would preside for public displays. The Throne Room was the most secure location of the settlement as far as he knew. Closely supervised by the High Guard. So it came to his surprise that, as he approached the South Gate, he found it to be nearly devoid of any life. At neither end of the gate did he see a member of the High Guard, nor any Enforcer, or Warrior for the matter of fact. It was quiet save for his labored breathing which picked up in pace as soon as he set eyes on the man he was scheduled to meet.

Vaas, right on time as Heathen was told he'd be. It made him regret being late. Most of all, the man's silence and cold stare made Heathen want to get this over and done with. "You're Vaas, correct?" It was a dumb question. Vaas was dressed the way he'd been told the man would dress, stood where he was meant to be standing, and acted just like he was described he'd act. A silent rouge. A dangerous man, no doubt about that. 

Vaas' silence was a partial confirmation to Heathen that he found the right man. Very quickly he unzipped his jacket and pulled out a somewhat large and flat package from within. His hands trembled slightly as he looked left and right before holding out the package. "Everything I was told to give to you," he added in a low whisper, "everything is the best quality. Nobody will be able to tell the difference between the real and the fake. Now you tell whomever you're working for that my debt is fully paid for now. This took too much risk and-" 

The bells suddenly rang loudly, louder than they ever had before. It began with one, at the far left end of the palace. Then the second joined in, and then a third, and a fourth, and finally, the fifth one. It was the fifth one that caused Heathen's blood to run cold as he looked up to the roof of the Palace. The dark building, ever so slowly, began to light up, floor by floor, until at last a large spotlight suddenly illuminated down from the roof of the building unto the street. Heathen nearly fell back at the sudden blinding light, recovering quickly to dash out of the way and to a side road, away from the spotlight. His eyes looked in all directions, but the man whom he'd come to meet, Vaas, was nowhere to be found. Vanished like a shadow, leaving Heathen alone.

He knew he needed to head back home, and soon. It wouldn't be much longer before the High Guard had the surrounding four blocks quarantined and secured.