“It’s clear. Come on.” He stepped out and was hit on the back of the head with the handle of a sickle. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground with no other movements. I couldn’t think clearly, so I rammed the door, hitting someone on the other side with a sickening thud. Their sickle slid across the floor and hit a nearby wall. I rushed out, seeing my opportunity to strike.
“Didn’t think I’d ever see you again, Cade,” Cornelius said. He wiped blood from his nose, using the back sleeve of his Demoral outfit. So, he had finally reached the top level, and now he was here to put me back where I belonged. Or at least the place he thought I belonged. For a second, I had to talk myself out of grabbing him in a huge hug. I didn’t think I would ever get to see him again, and now that I was standing here with him, I didn’t think our reunion would go down like this. He had changed. The Cornelius I had joked around with, had shared stupid comments with, and the one who had tried his best to help me, was gone. He was the same as the rest of them, cold, ruthless, and a thorn in my side.
“Same here,” I said through gritted teeth, casting a look at Ryker’s slumped form.
Cornelius followed my gaze. “Don’t worry, he’ll get what he deserves for helping a prisoner try to escape. Can’t believe you would stoop so low down in that cell. Grudgers are a useless waste of space.” Heat raged through me, every nerve felt as though an electric shock charged it. Cornelius’s leg swopped around, trying to sweep mine out from under me, but I was too fast. He should have remembered that from when we sparred, but now I was so much more. He didn’t begin to realize what I could do to him with my hands. I jumped up, grabbing the top of the door, and kicked him across the face.
Despite wanting to beat the hell out of my ex-best friend, we had to keep moving before more Demorals got here. He had turned into everything I now hated about Demorals. Cornelius’s eyes were open, staring up at the ceiling, but he wasn’t going anywhere. At least not for a while. I snatched the back of Ryker’s shirt and pulled him up to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
“What happened?” he asked, still dazed.
“You got hit on the back of the head. You’ve got to tell me where we need to go to get out of here.” I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was behind us, but there was nothing. The place was still empty. Weird, they wouldn’t put up more of a fight over someone escaping.
My thoughts were apparently correct. The next corner we took made us stop short. Paradan and at least thirty Demorals stood in front of the door Ryker said we needed to go out.
“Shit, dude. Looks like we’re not going to make it out. That’s the door to the roof. We needed to get out there to climb down into the back ally. I’m sorry. I tried.”
“Awwww, Cadeus. You’re always going to be a pain in my ass, aren’t you? If only Grim would’ve killed you, I wouldn’t have to be here doing this with you right now. No escapes. You should know that. And your friend there…well, let’s just say that he won’t meet a pleasurable end. I’ll make sure about that. Slow and painful. As for you, well, Grim isn’t around anymore, so I can do what should’ve been done all those years ago.” His words were so poisonous; I could practically taste the venom on my tongue.
“We will get out of here.” I snarled each word in his direction. His eyes widened at my sudden backbone. I even caught Ryker giving me a startled look out of the corner of my eye. No matter what I had to do to get out of here, we were going to make it.
“Have it your way,” Paradan said, waving his fingers through the air. The others pulled out guns and began firing at us. I shoved Ryker down behind a stack of boxes. The two of us shuffled across the ground to a nearby wall.
“We have to go out the window over there,” I said, motioning to the window across from us. It was the first time I had gotten a good look at Ryker. He wasn’t what I had always pictured when we chatted. I pictured an overset guy with bright red hair, one that probably sat at home alone every night. But shockingly enough, he was a decent looking guy. His frame was much smaller than mine, and he was shorter, but he had muscle tone. High cheekbones, and thick eyebrows complemented his eyes. I could see him being a real ladies man.
His gold eyes bulged. “Are you crazy? We’ll die going out that way.” His voice was panicked, higher than its normal gruffness. He contemplated my crazy suggestion for a few seconds while the gunfire still went on overhead, and finally nodded. There was no other choice.
“We might die either way, so really what do you have to lose?” I gave him a skeptical look, letting my words sink in as he assessed the situation. “Just let me go first, okay?”
“That won’t be a problem. Maybe your dead body will be a cushion for when I go out,” he said, peeking through the boxes at the Demorals whose attack on us had stopped. I tore toward the window, my shoes squeaking against the smooth concrete.
“There’s one of them!” a voice shouted. As my body crashed through the uninviting glass, the gunfire started back. I searched for the ground beneath me, only a few stories drop, not nearly as bad as Ryker made it out. I brought my knees closer to my chest as the surface of Nekroun Earth screamed toward me at an undeniable speed. At the last second I extended my legs, just enough to take the blow of the landing. It sent a painful jolt through my body, if my abilities hadn’t been taken from me, this would be nothing. I stood, trying to get my legs to work. They ached, resisting against the movement.
“Aaaahhhhh!” Ryker’s screams filled the sky above me. A second before he splattered against the ground, I caught him by the back of his shirt. “Ugh! Dude, I think I totally just shit my pants. You think you could’ve caught me before I was so close the tip of my nose was touching the ground? Geez, talk about giving me a heart attack.”
“Not to mention the shitty pants.” I laughed. He stood up straight, brushing himself off, and narrowed his eyes. Commotion from above let both of us know we weren’t out of danger yet. “We need to go.” He nodded and led the way out of the dark alley.
Six
Shots sprayed from above, making our feet move. We bounced from one side of the alley to the other, trying to avoid being hit. The last thing we needed was to be wounded. We turned a corner, grateful to have the safety of the wall. Ryker stopped and squatted, his back heaving as he attempted to regulate his breathing. I took that moment to peek around the corner to see if we were being chased. The alley was clear for the time being.
“Yeah, I can tell I’m really out of shape compared to you.” He glanced up at me, taking in my muscular frame. “Not that it’d be hard to see that.”
“I had more time to work on it,” I said, half paying attention. I searched the area around us, antsy. Demorals didn’t give up that easy. They wouldn’t be far behind. We needed to get away from there as quickly as possible, and if Ryker didn’t get up soon, I was going to throw him over my shoulder. “You good to go?” I asked while casting a look up toward the roof of the building we were next to.
He took a deep breath and slowly let it escape. “Yeah, I think so.” He jumped up and started to jog. I followed him until the street came into view. I stopped for a split second, the noise already starting to surround me. My temperature began to rise, making it even hotter. Could I do this? I had to. I forced my feet to move.
Nekroun Earth was off the charts different from what I remembered. The city had expanded. Years ago, the tallest building was the one I escaped from. Now, curved skyscrapers practically pierced the atmosphere. The stone used for the structures was stained with black. A churning, dirty mist hovered around the top floors of the buildings. I searched for anything that remained the same, but there was nothing. I noticed even the prison was different. Bars surrounded most of the building with a large statue of Fate on the roof.
“My apartment is on the other side of town. We won’t be able to stay there very long. Once they find out where I live, I’m sure that’s the first place they’ll look. But you need to get cleaned up cause your ass stinks. Also, I got you some clothes t
hat I think you might like.” I laughed at his excitement. We stepped out onto the streets of the city. It was loud, with people everywhere. More than I remembered and was used to. Their clothes were odd. A multitude of colors that had no rhyme or reason to the pattern. Women wore huge hats that towered off their heads and the makeup was just as wild to match. Then it hit me. They were dressed like Fate. Of course, everyone wasn’t dressed to impress. The ones who were of lower stature, obviously Grudgers, wore regular dirty clothes. They mainly stayed to the inner sides of the moving sidewalks, making sure to keep distance from the others. It was a lot to take in at once. My heart hammered like an offbeat drummer. I looked up to the red sky and tried not to think about my surroundings. I didn’t have time to have a panic attack.
“Let’s get to your place.”
People and creatures shoved by with serious lack of manners. A few of them cussing in our direction when we didn’t get out of their way fast enough. Ryker ignored them, as if it were an everyday occurrence. We stepped off the sidewalk and took a place in a line. I glanced in front, curious why we were standing there. A woman placed her hand on a flat disc like object, hovering about three feet from the ground. A minute later, a clear bubble materialized. A door slid open, and the woman stepped inside, taking a seat on a cushioned bench. The door closed as she hit something at the front of the bubble, lighting a keyboard in blue. The bubble darted up and to the right, joining the rest of the traffic humming through the air above us.
When our turn came, I let Ryker take charge, watching with curiosity. “This is different,” I said as we stepped inside our bubble. As the door closed a blast of cool air hit us in the face, mixed with a minty smell.
“We got these a few years ago. I can’t afford to take it every day, most of the time I walk. It takes about two hours on these legs.” He patted at his thighs. The bubble darted up, leaving my stomach on the ground with the rest of the people waiting below. My head swayed with nausea. I closed my eyes, the mint smell suddenly seemed like it was getting stronger. “It takes some getting used to. I threw up all over one of these things the first time I rode in one. Of course they go through a good cleaning before the next person uses it, so if you need to blow chunks go ahead.” I didn’t answer because I seriously thought if I opened my mouth, I would projectile vomit all over everything and everyone. I pressed my forehead against the glass. The sweat beading there made my skin stick. We started to lower, until there was a small jar of it touching the ground.
Ryker’s apartment was in a bad area of town, of course, it seemed since I had been away the entire city had gone down. The complex was made of hardened lava, the cheapest material used for buildings. Several large pieces had already started to break away, leaving wide holes in some apartments, which the tenants had covered with some type of cloth.
“Who’s your friend, Ryker? Haven’t seen him around.” A short, green girl got up from the steps and walked toward us. Her clothes clung tightly to her body leaving little to the imagination. The closer she got the more pungent her body odor became. She smiled, missing a few teeth, the others remaining were jagged and broken.
“Back off, Stovia. He’s not a potential paying customer,” Ryker said. His lip curled in disgust as he eyed her up and down. He grabbed at my arm, pulling me around her.
She jumped in front of me, causing me to halt from running her over. “Don’t you think he should decide if he needs a little lovin’?” Before I could move, she grabbed my dick and squeezed. Her smell became too much for me to take after riding in that bubble. The vomit hit her dead in the face. She stepped back, brown liquid dripping from the contours of her features. Ryker’s laughter exploded behind me. With a shaking hand, she swiped across her eyes, her face contorting in anger.
Ryker pulled me back. “Told ya he didn’t want none of that smelly ass.” We ran up the steps as she started cussing. The inside of the building was just as bad as the outside. Only a few lights worked, and those put off a tangible hum of electricity. Trash was everywhere. Wires hung freely, dangling through holes in the ceiling. The building probably needed to be condemned.
“That was priceless,” he said, still laughing. “You have no idea how much it sucks having a Goblin hooking outside your building. She attracts some of the nastiest things living in this place. Maybe that will teach her a lesson and she’ll go somewhere else.”
I felt bad about what I did, but at least my stomach was a little more manageable now. We climbed four flights of steps in silence. A musker, most like a rat on Earth, scurried by our feet as he unlocked his door. They were a gross creature that often fed on decaying corpses. I glanced down the hall wondering if one of the neighbors lay dead in their apartment. Ryker didn’t seem to care, so I followed him inside. His walls were fully intact, and surprisingly it was really nice on the inside. I glanced around at all the electronics, and statues lying around.
He disappeared through a back door and brought out a bag. “Here,” he said, holding the bag out for me to take. “The bathroom is right through there.” He said pointing in the direction he had come from. “There’s a razor in there also.”
“Thank you, Ryker. I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”
He smiled and looked down at the tattered carpet. “I think what you just did outside was a good damn start. As for something else, well, how about you teach me some of those bad ass fighting moves one day when we aren’t running for our lives, and we’ll call it even.”
“Deal.” I found the bathroom and sat the bag down on the floor beside the door. I took a deep breath to calm my overactive nerves as I stared at the mirror. This was the first time in over twenty years I would see my reflection. Would I even recognize myself? I liked to think I hadn’t changed much due to the non-aging factor, but that didn’t mean the time I spent in the cell wouldn’t have worn me down. I gripped the sides of the cool sink and slowly pulled my head up to see the person staring back at me. My skin looked tougher, and I was very hairy. I could see why Ryker made a point to let me know where the razor was. My hair reached to the lower part of my back and was dreaded beyond salvation. The purple eyes that searched the mirror were no longer warm and naïve, they were cold and afraid. My lip quivered slightly, staring at myself. It was the little things I took for granted in my life before that cell. Something as shallow as staring at myself in a mirror was a lot for me. Emotions flooded me, and I couldn’t help but smile. I was free.
I sighed deeply and opened the cabinet to my right, finding the razor. I plugged it in and flipped the switch. Once the hair on my scalp was on the floor, I worked on my face, and when I was done, I looked like a completely different person. A thin line of hair ran down my jawbone to a small patch of hair on my chin. My brown hair was buzzed short on the sides, but spiked in the middle like tendrils. I glanced to my bare shoulders. Hair stuck to my sticky skin. Leaning down to the shower, I turned the water on, and allowed it to warm up before stepping inside. I sat on the floor of the shower, letting the heat course over my body. I was only granted ice-cold water at shower time. Nothing had ever felt so heavenly. Beads of water rolled down my skin, causing my muscles to contract. I hadn’t stopped to notice how cut I’d become until now.
A knock at the door made me jump. “You aight in there?”
“Yeah.” I hadn’t realized I had been on the floor enjoying the water so long, it had started to cool. I opened a bottle of cleanse, its sweet smell made my eyes burn. I lathered it into a soapy blob and covered my body and hair. After rinsing, I stepped out feeling squeaky clean and smelling rather nice. I opened the brown bag I had put against the door and pulled out a black Demoral uniform. Odd, all the ones the others were wearing were navy and red. I had never seen a black one. The color wasn’t the only difference between this one and the originals. This one had silver buttons lined down the front of the jacket, the sleeves were taken off, a hood had been attached, and the forearm guards were made with the lightest, most durable metal known. I slipped on the bottom
s and then the boots, which reached to the middle of my calves, lacing them over the pants. Pulling on a fitted muscle shirt, I covered it with the jacket. The front and back came to a point, with the sides being shorter. Intricate symbols ran along the hem that could only be seen in certain angles of light. I wrapped a thick scarf around my neck, before placing the guards lined with fur around my forearms. Exiting the bathroom, I pulled the hood over my head. The point of it came so low; it was hard to see anything above the tip of my nose.
Ryker let out a low whistle as I came back into the living room. He got up from an old couch and circled me, looking over the clothes. “Damn, I did a good job fixing that thing up for you, huh? Looks much better than it did when I stole it from that dude’s locker.”
“What do the symbols mean?” I asked, pulling the material up and looking at the designs once again.
“I thought it was fitting for you.” He studied them with a look of pure respect as he spoke. “It’s an old language dating back to when Grim was alone doing everything. Back before things became so political and people became so power hungry. I know I didn’t talk about me being such a history buff down in the cells, but hell yeah, I love that shit. Anyway, it means ‘death is upon us, and I am death’.”
I looked at the symbols again, this time with the same admiration Ryker had showed them. It meant a lot that he thought so highly of me. The symbols seemed to burn into me, sending a surge of power. Despite being locked away from society for over twenty years, this was no time to feel intimidated by what this world was now. I had to embrace it and the new me that was foreign to it. Sure, as of right now I didn’t have my Demoral abilities, but I couldn’t let that stop me. It was time to man up and put my life back together. I was still Cade no matter what, and I was determined to let others know that.
Defiance Page 6
