Shattered Remnants of a Dream

17. Those Who Seek Death

The morning rain reached its peak as Vance, Eden, and Cliff followed the Petro policeman outside. At the bottom of the stone stairs that led up to the station was a two-door sedan. The policeman climbed into the passenger seat next to the driver and waited for the three Knights to climb into the back.

"This is going to be a tight squeeze." Cliff grimaced, then slid into the backseat as far as he could go.

Vance moved in next. Between the two of them, there was already hardly enough space left for another person. Eden put her foot in and tried to slide as much of herself onto the seat as she could. After shoving Vance and Cliff against the right side with a few sharp elbows, she managed to get the rest of herself inside.

"This sucks," Vance complained. He was smushed sideways against Cliff, whose head was jammed into a rear corner of the car. Eden managed to stuff her arm in between herself and Vance, the only thing she could do to keep her upper torso from being flung into his.

Realizing he'd rather be smashed up against Eden than Cliff, Vance tried to twist his body to the other side. As he shifted his hips toward Cliff's side, inadvertently hip-butting Cliff deeper into the side of the car, he also managed to dislodge Eden's arm from the seat, making her fall right into his lap.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Eden shouted, flailing around to get herself back up.

"Just trying to get comfy..." Vance murmured shyly. "What's the problem?"

"Just stay on your own side!" Eden yelled, punching him into the arm as she pulled herself away.

"Oww!" Vance shouted. "You had psynergy on your fist, you psycho!"

"Oops..."

The tall policeman humorlessly watched them through the rear-view mirror as he started the car. "My name is Josef Stein, Chief of the Petro Police Department. We guided your Knights to the Kantor District several days ago. Things were still peaceful back then. Yesterday, the entire city was shaken by a massive explosion that erupted in the area."

"None of them returned?" Cliff asked.

"We immediately sent police in to check it out, and most of them were killed. The ones who managed to escape were barely able to do so with their lives, and from what I gather, we dealt no significant damage to the enemy. With our remaining troops, we attempted to rescue the survivors in the district and create a barricade around the perimeter in the hope of keeping the rest of our city safe."

The car left the downtown area as Josef finished talking. The scenery changed from drab buildings into paths lined by a mixture of houses and trees. Not far ahead was a large concrete wall with noticeable damage and cracks lining it. Guarding the houses within were iron gates patrolled by armed guards.

"Criminal activity has always been underground here, Vice-Captain Walden," Josef continued. "They did what they did and stayed out of our way...we in turn kept out of theirs. Crime against common civilians was at an all-time low. Most of their activity had strictly concerned trafficking assassins and other resources to outside dimensions. They did not attack their own.

"Not until this week had we seen such a level of destruction in our city. I lost over half of my men, most of them on the first day. And from what we have learned so far...the instigator of this violence seems to be the Guild itself."

Cliff let the words sink in, staring to the black trees outside until he decided on a response. "Our call to duty became a scapegoat for your city's apathy."

"I will be honest with you," Josef countered, as the car came to a stop. "I do not care what is going on there. It does not concern me; it is above my pay grade. All I care about are my men and the safety of this city. I bring you here right now so you can finish what you started."