Amon
Amon was fading in and out of consciousness. Each whip mark on his back pulsed with a biting pain, jolting him back to his senses with every step forward Sonja took, dragging him along with her—his left arm draped over her shoulder and her own arm secured around his midsection.
The sounds of angry shouting had suddenly become distant. They had somehow made it down the same underground passage Amon had taken earlier. His breaths came out in ragged gasps as they walked.
Amon didn’t know how much time had passed when they finally came to a halt in front of the hidden entrance, which was just a rock wall. Sonja leaned forward, her knuckles rapping against the solid barrier. The wall slid away, and they were inside the basement of The Black Diamond, where they had convinced Jeb to join them. Through hazy vision, Amon couldn't see if Jeb and the girl were in the room, but Mencer was there.
“He looks bloody awful,” he grumbled, lumbering over to assist Sonja in hoisting Amon onto a large table. It was cool, reminiscent of the steel box he had been lying over just minutes ago.
“Nice to see you too, Mencer,” Amon retorted weakly.
Amon could feel Sonja instantly starting to work on his back. It was as if a soothing wave washed over him, gradually stitching him back together. It eased the sharp sting, and he welcomed the relief as the pain slowly faded away and cleared his foggy mind.
“I won't be able to heal this completely,” she said, and Amon could hear the worry in her voice.
“A few more scars won't kill me,” he replied, and he didn't need to see her to know that she was rolling her eyes; Amon could practically hear the annoyance in the silent space between them. The thought almost brought a smirk to his lips, the familiar banter providing him with an odd sense of comfort.
“You fool. You promised me you wouldn't get this hurt,” she murmured under her breath. Just audible enough for only Amon to hear.
Some promises are bound to be broken, Amon thought, but refrained from responding.
“You're fortunate that Jeb managed to return with that girl,” Mencer said, shaking his head. “Without him informing us about the situation, Sonja wouldn’t have shown up.”
“It was already chaos when I arrived,” Sonja murmured.
“Chaos?” Mencer asked.
“Yeah, I think Amon’s defiance against Gideon stirred some bravery among the miners.”
“Hopefully not too much,” Amon chimed in. He didn't want them all to be punished to the point they became docile again.
“I guess we shall see,” she said, still focused on Amon’s back. The intense pain was almost completely gone now, only leaving a slight burning feeling behind.
“Where is Jeb right now?” Amon asked.
“He went to the hideout with the girl,” Mencer informed him. “They will be safe there.”
“Good," Amon said. He knew Gideon wouldn't let this slide, especially after it had caused an uproar among the miners. "We won’t be able to get any information from Gideon anymore." His interference proved that, even after all this time, Gideon still couldn't fully control him. "He won't take this lightly. I've wounded his ego too deeply."
"So you're not going back?" Sonja asked.
"No," Amon responded curtly. Years of building trust with Gideon were now gone, but with it came a sense of relief. Losing easy access to information was tough, but never having to follow another order from Gideon felt freeing.
Mencer wore a thoughtful expression on his face. "Gideon will probably send men here."
"Most likely," Amon replied coolly. "But they won't dare to do anything except leave a message for me."
"I'd like to see them try," Mencer said with an amused smirk.
“However, we won’t be able to gather here anymore. Too many eyes will be on it now,” Amon added. With the Banshee keeping an eye on it, even though she didn't know he was Amon, and now with Gideon looking for him, it was best to stay away.
“We’ll just have to gather at the hideout for meetings from now on,” Sonja said.
Mencer sighed. “I’ll miss having something good to drink during them.”
“When this is over, you’ll never have to part with your barrels again,” Amon smiled.
“I will hold you to that,” Mencer said back with a grin.
Sonja finished tending to Amon’s wounds and stood back. “You’ll need some rest to heal properly. I managed to close them, but if you move too much they will reopen. No fighting for a few days.”
Amon sat up, his back still feeling raw, but he could handle that. “Thank you, Sonja.”
With a curt nod and a cold gaze, she acknowledged him. Amon almost let out a sigh. He knew she would be angry with him for the next few days for the choice he had made. But Amon knew that no matter what he had done, Gideon wouldn't have changed his mind. In the end, he had made the right decision for the future of their cause.
“I should get back up to the pub before our unwanted guests arrive,” Mencer said, ignoring the tension that hung in the air. He walked over to the other side of the wall, formed a sign and another passage opened. “There are two guards stationed at the end of the passage. They already know your face Sonja, but do you have your badge on you?”
“I do,” she said, her hand disappearing into the folds of her jacket. Amon couldn’t help but notice that there were blood splatters on it: they must have gotten there when she was dragging him away from the mine. Her hand reappeared, holding a badge depicting an Abyssal Lurker.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Amon’s eyebrows knitted together in surprise. “When was this made?”
“In light of our conversation about increasing security measures,” Mencer explained, “I thought it was wise to have a badge rather than risk exposing sensitive documents with our signatures for entering and leaving the hideout.”
Amon's gaze remained fixed on the badge. An Abyssal Lurker... It was an unexpected choice but somehow fitting. He had only heard tales of these creatures from his father, as a child they had sent shivers down his spine. They were creatures that once, a long time ago, lived in the Undercity, shadows that prowled and attacked without warning or mercy. The corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile as he finally found words to express his reaction. "It has...a certain charm."
A grin spread across Mencer's face. “You should let Jeb know that. After all, the Abyssal Lurker was his idea.”
“I'll make it a point to do so.”
“Well then,” Mencer said and walked to the staircase. He gave them both a look. “I expect we will meet again at the hideout later.”
“Absolutely,” Sonja responded.
Mencer turned and began his ascent up to his office. Sonja's eyes followed him as he disappeared.
“He will be alright, don’t worry,” Amon said.
Sonja’s eyes tore away from the staircase, finding Amon’s. Her lips pressed into a tight line, her annoyance evident in the frosty glint of her stare. “I know. Do you feel fine to move on your own?”
Amon nodded, and stood up from the table, but his body protested with a sudden rush of dizziness. His legs felt weak and wobbly, barely able to hold him upright. He couldn't help but notice his trembling hands - a sure sign that he was not in his usual state of calmness. Sonja was at his side in an instant, her swift footsteps echoing across the floor as she offered him her sturdy support. Her features softened somewhat as she looked at him, concern etching lines around her eyes. "Don't push yourself," she cautioned him gently.
“I just need a moment.”
"Of course," Sonja sighed, her arm reluctantly unwinding from his waist. Her fingers lingered on his side for one fleeting moment before she stepped back, creating the space he had asked for.
Amon closed his eyes, focusing on breathing through the wave of lightheadedness. After a few moments, he opened his eyes again to find Sonja watching him intently.
“You’re still as reckless as you were as a child,” she remarked.
“Is that so?”
Her eyes bore into him like daggers. “You could have died today.”
“But I didn’t.”
"Amon!" Sonja raised her voice. “I thought this cause mattered to you.”
“And it does Sonja,” Amon replied. “More than anything else.”
"Then why..." She hesitated, and her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "why would you risk it all?"
“You know why. If I had just stood there while a child was being whipped to death...how could I expect the miners to follow me if they saw me allowing such cruelty?”
A tense silence hung between them before Sonja broke it. "We received correspondence from our informant today," she said, changing the topic.
“What did it say?”
“She has requested a meeting in three days to share the main location of the Surgeon’s facility and to plan for a raid. She wants to meet a bit outside of Cyx.”
Cyx was a forsaken place, tucked away in the farthest reaches of the Spine where the Undercity breathed its final breaths. It was a deserted landscape of crumbling buildings, a refuge for those lost souls who had gotten themselves addicted to Veil.
“We need to prepare then,” Amon said. They would also have to get in touch with the Banshee again.
“We?” Sonja raised an eyebrow at him. “You are not going anywhere in that state.”
“I will be fine enough to go in three days,” he declared firmly. He had been through this once before and had only gotten four days to recover before Gideon had sent him out on a job which had ended up in a physical altercation. One day less wouldn't be that much of a change.
Amon could see Sonja clenching her jaw, her fingers drumming a rhythm on her folded arms. “It will be dangerous," she finally said. “We don’t know for sure what will be waiting for us there.”
“And that is exactly why I need to accompany you.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly at his assertion. “If you lag behind, you're out.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t slow you down.”
“Fine,” she said, letting her arms drop to her sides. “Now let’s get moving to the hideout. I want to bandage up your back.”
Amon and Sonja made their way through the dark tunnel. Even though most of the pain had faded thanks to Sonja, his back felt like a piece of leather that had been stretched out too thin.
As they approached the end of the passage, Amon saw the two guards Mencer had mentioned earlier. Amon noticed them exchanging a quick look as they approached them.
“Badge,” a quite tall guard demanded when they stopped in front of them. The second guard was staring at Amon with a surprised look on his face.
Sonja presented her badge and the guards allowed them to pass, leaving the door oddly ajar behind them as they entered the makeshift infirmary.
Jeb was standing with his back to them, but he turned around at the sound of Amon’s footsteps. Sonja’s were too silent to be noticed. But Jeb wasn’t alone; about fifteen others were there too and none of them were visibly sick or injured.
“So it was true,” one man whispered while all attention fell on Amon.
“Exactly what I told you! Why would I lie about this?” Jeb responded to the group before stepping towards Amon and Sonja, “Good to see you both made it out.”
Amon nodded in acknowledgment and his eyes scanned the curious faces behind him. “What’s going on?”
Jeb grinned widely. “When I arrived with Ienya, I explained them the situation. And this lot,” he gestured behind him, “wanted to greet you.”
Ienya, so that was her name. Mencer had said they had made it to the hideout, but it was nice to get it confirmed. You never knew. But what was that about them wanting to greet him? Amon thought, still looking behind Jeb at the crowd of people. Some were averting their eyes, probably the ones that had not believed Jeb’s words about what had happened, but most of them were meeting Amon’s eyes with admiration gleaming in them. One of them, who looked a bit older than everyone there, stepped forward to stand next to Jeb.
Deep wrinkles were etched into his forehead, and despite the lack of sunlight in the Undercity, his skin had a brown tinge to it. Years of dust and dirt had left their mark. But Amon recognized the face now that he stood in the lamplight—it was one of the older workers that Gideon had asked him to intimidate. The mines were tough on anyone over fifty, and Gideon didn't tolerate inefficiency.
"Good to see you, Baruch," Amon greeted the man and his face seemed to light up slightly. Amon's father had always stressed the importance of remembering faces and being able to put a name to them. Now he truly understood why.
“Thank you,” he answered. “You've helped me once before, when Gideon wanted me out, you offered me and my family shelter. But today, you stood up for all of us. You showed everyone that you aren't Gideons lapdog and that you won’t turn against us in the end.”
The others in the room murmured their approval, some showing their appreciation with a nod.
“I only did what was right. We need each and every one if we are to succeed,” Amon replied.
"Indeed we do. Gideon and the Uppercity have caused too much suffering. And tonight, you proved to us that you are our true leader in this fight." Baruch bowed deeply and placed his right hand over his heart, and realizing what he had done, everyone behind him followed suit.
Amon was slightly taken aback by the unexpected show of respect and appreciation. But he didn’t let it show. It was an odd feeling to have people who had once despised him now standing before him in reverence. So he reciprocated their respect by returning the bow, catching them off guard as well. “I am honored to stand among you all,” Amon spoke. “Thank you all for your trust and faith, but we are in this together.”
“We trust you, Amon. Lead the way and we’ll follow,” Jeb said.