Centum Malediction

Chapter 5-5

Sunday, September 26th. 2010

Alexander couldn't afford to hesitate. He knew Fiona had no intentions of hurting him, but at the same time he knew her plan would lead to his death. He had to escape. Allowing his instincts to carry him Alexander quickly ran between the closest two buildings into a dusty alleyway. There was a wooden fence at the end of the alley, but nothing he couldn't get through. He turned to see Fiona incredibly close to him. Alexander wasn't in the best of shape, but her ability to move that quickly astounded him.

"Xkaein." He yelled back, creating a barrier to separate him from Fiona. With a small thump she slammed into the invisible wall, nearly falling to her feet. Alexander let out a sigh of relief, but the relief was short lived. Fiona drew her sword and struck with one quick motion. He felt the energy of his wall dissipate around her blade, canceling his spell entirely. It made him feel a little queasy. He could keep putting up more barriers, but she had already proven her ability to surpass them with ease. His only hope was to make it to the fence and phase through it.

"Alexander get back here!" Fiona yelled enraged. Maybe she did seek to hurt him. Adrenaline pumped through Alexander's body as he rushed to the end of the alley, using Faerina's power to make it through the fence just before Fiona caught him. It only bought him a small amount of time, he knew she could jump that fence with ease. He turned and saw her hands at the top of the wooden fence. She was already pulling herself up. Alexander knew he had to put a more drastic barrier between him and her if he was going to escape. He turned and leapt into the wall to his left.

Everything went dark as he made his way through the thick walls of the building. When he emerged through the darkness he found himself in some kind of back storage closet. Part of him wanted to stay hidden in the closet and catch his breath, but he knew better. Fiona was persistent, she would find him if he didn't get farther away.

He let the spell fade and opened the door, casually walking out of the storage closet and found himself in the hallway of some kind of apartment building. He was an employees' only area, likely where they stored janitorial supplies. Thankfully no one was around. He closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. His first instinct was to leave the building from the other end and escape through the city, but that was too risky.

He recalled watching a film when he was much younger. It was a horror film where the victim ran upstairs to hide from the killer. Running upstairs to the apartments wasn't a good idea either.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be back here." Alexander opened his eyes to be greeted with a man in a red uniform and a nametag reading Jim.

"Sorry, I'm really lost right now. I was looking for the bathroom." Alexander was disturbed at how easy it was becoming for him to lie.

"Sure you were vagrant. Come on. Let's get you out of here." Jim replied calmly not buying the story at all. He gestured Alexander to follow him back towards the lobby. Alexander had a better idea. He turned around and ran down the hallway the other way, reaching a door on the end.

"Don't make me call security!" Jim yelled. Alexander tried the door but it was locked. "There's nothing for you to steal down there anyway." Jim mocked.

"Faerina." Alexander whispered under his breath. He was passed the point where he cared about other people seeing his powers. Leaving a bewildered Jim behind he phased through the door entering a dark room that glowed red. There was a metal staircase leading downwards into some kind of boiler room. This was perfect. He wasn't going to hide here, but it would be the key to his escape.

He heard screaming from Jim through the doorway, screams that Fiona would likely hear as well. There was little time. He made his way down the metallic stairs, trying to keep as calm as possible so he wouldn't slip. There was a bunch of labels around a large hot water heater and numerous pipes ran all around him making it difficult to move. It was hot, dusty, and dark. Alexander made his way to the back end of the boiler room. He hesitated for a moment, fear running along his spine. It was going to be dangerous, but he had no other choice.

"Faerina." He said again before running through the wall.

Alexander ran straight through the darkness. He was under the streets of the city. His plan was to run into a sewer, but was he even low enough for that? The dark seemed to grip him tighter and tighter the further he ran. He was stretching his energy beyond its greatest limits. What would happen if the spell faded when he was in solid rock? Would he die, or be expelled to the nearest open area?

He tried not to think about his inevitable fate as his spell diminished quicker than he expected. Sharp spikes of pain shot through his body. It was almost enough to make him fall over, but he had to keep running. There had to be an opening, an end to this darkness. He had long passed the point of no return. Even if he turned around, he wouldn't make it to the boiler room in time. His only hope was to keep moving forward.

He was falling. With a slam he hit concrete underneath him. The spell faded, but it was dark, too dark to see. Where was he? He heard the squeaking of rats which was enough to send chills throughout his body. He shuddered, struggling to stand, but he couldn't. He was in an area large enough to stand, but he didn't have the energy. It took every ounce of will just to stay conscious.

There was some splashing from behind him, and then the smell hit him. A stench more awful than anything he had smelled in his life. His plan had worked, he had found a sewer pipe, but he didn't feel any sense of accomplishment. He tried to push himself up once again, but only managed a few inches before falling back down on the concrete. The only thing he could be grateful for was that he landed on a dry walkway of some kind.

"What have I done?" He whispered to himself, not even bothering to try to stand. The realization of his actions was finally beginning to hit him. Mr. Reynolds expected Alexander to comply to Fiona's requests. It was the only way his life could ever return to normal. Now that was no longer an option. In a fit of anxiety he ran and threw his life away. Any hope of getting a degree was gone. Any chance of becoming a member of Hyakume Industries, of using his knowledge to help others, it was gone.

"Satori." He whispered. He would probably never see her again. The connections he had made with her had been broken. What would she think? She had lived such a painful life, and now she had finally opened up to someone, him. Now he was gone.

Alexander wanted to stop the tears from forming in his eyes, but he didn't see the point. He sobbed quietly alone in the darkness. He never thought he would end up like this. How could one bad day destroy everything he had worked for, all of the connections he had made? Where would he go? What would he do? Part of him wanted to go back, even knowing that would lead to his death. It would at least mean something, wouldn't it?

He cried more intensely than he had since he was a child, since the day of his parents' death. It was all gone. There was nothing left. He was alone in the solitude of darkness. What could he do? Finally, he allowed himself to fall into a deep dreamless sleep. It was the only way to recover from all the magic he had used.