Escape attempt 60

“This is getting old.” James groaned, tying Major Aven, the elderly-looking gentleman, to the front of his desk. Unlike Dupont, the older man was out cold and didn't struggle at all against his bindings. It was much more manageable than the French woman in the corner.

Even now she was shifting and shaking at the restraints. There had been a distant crack not too long ago which James’ was almost sure was Dupont breaking her wrist in an attempt to wriggle out of the binding. The woman was nothing if not determined. Still, it wouldn’t stop him from getting what he needed.

Once the ropes were soundly and tightly wrapped against Major Aven, the looper woke the man with a light slap.

“Wakey wakey.”

The Major sputtered awake and made a half-hearted effort to push against his restraints before giving up. His eyes were tired and heavy. Still, there was an ember of defiance in them. That much was evident when he spat in James' face.

“Go to hell, I-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence before James backhanded him hard enough to tear the Major’s face to the side, leaving a large red mark.

“Names,” James said simply. “Or death.”

“I-”

“Names or death,” James repeated. “I won’t give you another option.”

The Major’s licked his grey goatee and said nothing. Not a peep. He offered no answer and refused to take James’ deal. Instead, he switched between staring into James’ eyes hatefully and trying to… signal Dupont. No, it wasn’t a signal. The looper could tell by his face, that he was asking her for something.

Begging her.

Does she have another gun? He wondered, but he was sure he’d fully inspected her person for any other weapons. That couldn’t be it. His brain was racking for answers on why a captive would look towards another in desperation. She couldn’t save him? So what was it? James didn’t know, and it frustrated him immensely. He couldn’t escape until he had those names.

He needed those names.

The looper pulled his pistol out of his holster and pushed it against the Major’s jaw, pushing his head into the desk.

“I don’t need both of you.” He said, colder. His voice was solid and filled with intensity. “Last chance.”

The Major swayed his head as James buried the cold pistol barrel into his jaw. The man was a coward. James could tell. He acted tough and played a big game, but inside he’d already given up. As much as he enjoyed his self-image as this incredibly valiant Major, men like him were a dime a dozen. As much as he might claim greatness, he still was ruled by his fear of death when it came down to it.

So why?

“Do you think I won’t kill you?” The looper asked, genuinely surprised. James pulled the pistol from his jaw and shoved it into the Major’s forehead, resulting in a cry of pain. “Are you that much of an idiot?”

“Wait!” Dupont shouted just as the looper was about to off the man for trying to deny him his freedom. “He doesn’t know!”

“We’re running out of time.” Fig echoed in his mind. James had very limited time to interrogate these two before he was swarmed by security. Fig was meant to keep an eye on them, but how effective he was at the task?

Who was to say?

The looper stood, looking between his two captives. Judging what truth he could from their words. In the end, he was inclined to believe Dupont. Despite the seniority in age, Major Aven held deference to Officer Dupont, whatever she was the officer of. He could believe that the Major had no idea about the list of Sparks in Melbourne.

The man valued his life too much to keep the secret safe.

James changed targets. Slowly, he waltzed over to the bound women, kneeling so they were at eye level.

“I’m inclined to believe you,” James admitted. “But that also makes him useless in my eyes. For his sake, you better give me those names.”

“They’re stored on the computer,” Dupont muttered, nodding at the one on the desk. Her whole face was downcast, but there was still the self-assurance hidden in her blue eyes. The looper respected her. That drive to her duty even in death earned his respect.

Which made it so unfortunate that she was lying.

“I’ve checked the computer,” James said, keeping a steadying, open tone. “Its hard drive is completely wiped. That’s strike one. Try again.”

“There’s a USB in the draw-

“Which sends a distress alert to all nearby C.S.O facilities. That’s strike two. Please, Dupont, I want to be the nice guy here.”

“The safe-”

“Doesn’t have anything in it.” James finished for her, eyes peering deep into her own. “It’s just there for the Major’s valuables. That’s strike three.”

“Strike three?” Dupont repeated, and her voice quivered just a little.

James raised his pistol towards the Major and pulled the trigger. Numb recoil wreathed through his hand as three shots splattered across the lovely varnished desk. The smell of fresh lavender that emanated from a flower pot at the back of the office was drowned out by acrid metallic odour.

The Major’s body went limp against his restraints and Dupont’s eyes went wide. The shadows of fears slowly crept into a woman who thought herself unshakable. Or was it fear? Something changed in the woman’s demeanour, but James didn’t get the chance to question her before a distinct crack sounded from her jaw.

“What- No, you don’t get out that easy.” James scowled, grabbing her top and bottom jaw and prying her mouth open. She struggled and tried to pull hard on the ropes that restrained her. The looper tried to grab at whatever substance she had just swallowed.

But was too late.

Dupont started seizing only a few moments later, frothing at the mouth as she stared at him in absolute defiance. Again, James was impressed by her sheer willingness to die rather than let him get the information he needed. On one hand, he felt that deserved some reward in itself. On the other, she was keeping him here.

In the Loop.

Stuck.

And stirred far darker thoughts in the looper's mind. She knew. James was sure now she had the information he wanted. Dupont wouldn’t have killed herself if she didn’t. He could pry it out of her.

James prayed he wouldn’t have to go too far. For his own sake.

*****************

Escape attempt 84

James had to rip her teeth out.

He hadn’t wanted to, but Dupont didn’t give him much of another option. It had only taken one loop of pulling every tooth out one by one before he found the fake, laced with cyanide. Then a few painful Loops later he found the second suicide tooth as well. It wasn’t a pretty experience for either of them. Dupont had been screaming in his ear for most of it, begging him in a mix of English and French.

The former had been in sobs and the latter in raw pain and rage.

The whole thing was a blood and enamel mess which James did not wish to repeat. But would he?

A bad person would probably enjoy it. But a good person probably wouldn’t have done it at all. A semi-decent person wouldn’t have done it. Yet James had, and he struggled to feel guilt. Sure he felt a load of disgust remembering it. But there was no guilt there. No mourning or sorrow or pity for Dupont.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

It had taken twenty-four Long Loops for her to eventually cede the names over to him. In the end, the whole thing was just one bloody mess James would rather forget, but now it was done. He had the names and most relevant details committed to memory. He had the knowledge and skills necessary to do the deed.

James had everything he needed to attempt Fig’s plan.

So why did he feel hesitant?

It wasn’t fear of what he would have to do, was it? No. Jake’s words still burned in his memory. His best friend had said that if everything had to burn for the Loop to fall, then that was a fair price to pay. It may make him even more of a monster and yet James knew it was simply what had to be done.

Then was it fear of leaving the Loop?

No. That notion was silly. James had spent hundreds of lifetimes in this place. The end of the Loop couldn’t come sooner.

So why?

James lifted his head to stare at the mirror ahead, one he’d propped up against the closet in his bedroom. Another James starred back, a look of boredom that didn’t portray any of the looper’s contemplation.

“We have the names and addresses.” Fig reminded him. “I remember them all if you forgot a few. Now all that’s left is to hunt them down and gather enough Spark to burn this god-forsaken place down.”

The mirror’s words echoed in his head like stray thoughts. No volume to them. Just a small, barely perceptible echo.

“What are you, Fig?” James asked, staring blankly at the copy of himself.

“A stray remnant of the system. My consciousness is an extension of something the system has that is akin to a black box, using you as a template.” Fig said, stifling a yawn. “I don’t see how this is important. We’ve been over it.”

“I know,” James admitted, flexing his wrists. “It’s just…”

I used to yawn when I lied, to try and mask it.

“...curiosity, I guess.” James continued, keeping his thoughts to himself.

“Well don’t start questioning things now,” Fig said. “We’re almost out. Freedom is so close I can taste it.”

For a piece of the system, you’re awfully excited about leaving.

Maybe it was because Fig took the appearance of himself. Maybe it was because he was a voice in his own head. But James had never trusted him, and he was sure now, more than ever that his gut instinct was the right one. It only made him more confident Fig’s plan would work. Only, perhaps, not in the way that James would want.

His door to leave was there, but it could be a trap.

“What will happen to you after the Loop ends?” James asked, keeping his internal dispute from showing on his face. That placid grin the looper wore instinctually had begun to unsettle even himself. “You won’t just stay in my head will you?”

Fig moved. He stopped lazily meeting the looper’s eyes and instead let his granite ones drift to the floor.

Hiding.

“No, no, I can’t stay locked up in your head forever. As much as you’ll miss me. Unless I find a way to stop it, I’ll likely just disappear.” Fig admitted bitterly. There was an almost zeal in the echo he did his best to hide. “Just a memory in… the system's mind. Just a report for it, which will stir up hell for you.”

He laughed at the end, but there was no real humour in it. All of it sounded… like the truth to James.

But he’s twisting it somehow.

In the deepest parts of his heart, the looper felt almost innately antagonistic towards the Fig. Like they were oil and water. He’d also noticed that Fig was capable of reading his thoughts if only the surface. That wouldn’t do. James knew how to keep his deepest thoughts of Fig to himself, but still… how would he plan against the mirror man, if they shared the same thoughtspace?

“What about you?” Fig asked, breaking James' concentration.

“What do you mean?”

“What will you do when the Loop is over?”

“Survive,” James said with a shrug. “That’s all I can think of. With the scale of the things on the horizon, it’s all I can hope for.”

“That’s profoundly boring for an ancient superhuman,” Fig said with a snort. “You must be where delusions of grandeur go to die.”

“The Loop killed any of those I had left,” James admitted, feeling his lips curl into a smile. He had once pictured himself as an invincible defender, riding at the forefront of humanity as they finally met the final frontier and the deep unknown. A younger him. Now, he just wanted to keep those he cared about away from harm and maybe read an alien library or two.

“You should think about it,” Fig said, an air of sorrow draping his words. “What you want after the Loop. I get the feeling your purpose won’t end at alien bookmarks, even if you want it to.”

James swallowed Fig’s words. They were heavy and deeply ominous. The looper felt like they might be the most honest thing Fig had ever said to him. Then he stood, washing away the worry and refocusing his mind on the task ahead.

“Time to go?” Fig asked.

James nodded. “I’ll do what needs to be done. No more…”

His words caught for a moment as his eyes lingered on that crack in his bedroom door. Through it, he could see Hugh and Michael having breakfast together. Enjoying a morning that would never end. A precious moment he couldn’t be a part of.

“...No less.”

********************

The night was upon them, the meteors on the verge of arrival.

The park where James had suffered his first death was filled with excitement and anticipation as it was every other Loop. Hundreds, even thousands of souls gathered in festivities to witness a spectacle like no other. One that would not soon forget. The air was ripe with the smell of fresh, greasy market foods, mixed with the scent of freshly cut grass from a well-trimmed park.

Sound was a symphony of joy and family. Kids were laughing and playing in cries of joy as their parents chattered and laughed too. Teenagers eagerly engaging in chatter about the what-ifs of the meteors. Some may have been inspired to see the stars and the darkness beyond in a different light that day.

Old friends meeting over a wondrous occasion. Lovers blossoming under the fateful Azure.

All of it was bundled together.

All the joy, all the heart, all the countless wondrous emotions bound in a simple yet sweet orchestra of life.

And among all that good, some offered to the orchestra something different. Like a crescendo of cruelty lying in wait, preparing to strike. Some of them had been given the system’s warning early. Some of them simply read the signs of the world that were soon to come. Some of them were simply rotten to the core.

And all of them stood in silence as the Azure fell and the streaking meteors stole the sky. Predators lying in wait amongst prey. Wolves in the hen-pen. As the excitement and glee in the air turned to horror and fear, they flexed and readied for the coming dawn.

But there was one among them that had been ready long ago. One who met the eye that gazed at them from the darkness with neither fear nor anticipation. A man who only felt cold acceptance at the task that had been put in his hands.

[Congratulations, you have been witnessed and your Spark has been deemed worthy of the System’s touch.]

[Congratulations, you’ve defeated an Invited Spark and earned the rights associated]

[Congratulations, you’ve completed the first invitation {Defeat a Spark}]

[Quest reward for {Defeat a Spark} have been logged. The System has melded the branches of your potential and founded your Source]

“It’s good to see you too,” James whispered softly, greeting the golden words with a kind smile they didn’t deserve.

He stood in the crowd, alone in his goals, flickering his eyes from target to target. He knew them now. The strange faces greeted the eye of darkness with anticipation. Sorting them through the long, long list of names Dupont had given him was as simple as looking for the Sparks that had affiliations.

Those that did, knew what was coming. They had been told. Dupont had taken them more seriously. But she’d taken him even more seriously than most.

Dupont seemed… scared of Nicholas. Was it because he was an Invited Spark? He wasn’t the only one. There were two others in Melbourne. Dennis Jourten and-

His eyes almost instinctually moved away from the large and armoured Nicholas, swashing past the crowd till he spotted her.

Jessica Mayves. Unknown Aspect. No known afflictions. One of the twelve Invited Sparks present in Australia.

That was what the C.S.O. had on Jessica Mayves. What did they want with her?

James shook his head, washing away the stray thoughts. He didn’t have time for them. The system only existed in the Loop for a few minutes before everything fell away. The looper needed to make good use of it.

A younger James might’ve played with Nicholas. Taunted the man as some kind of ploy for vengeance. The James of now cared for none of that. He simply aimed at the monster who deserved death and gave him it to him with the pull of a trigger.

His revolver sent numb recoil into his hands as signs his task was complete. Screaming shot up around him in droves as people ran from a now collapsed Nicholas, with a big red hole in the back of his head.

At that moment, for the slightest of seconds, James felt something. Something he might’ve felt many times before, but until this moment never noticed.

A burning. An ember. A cage of power buried deep, deep within him. The same power that had flooded out when he commanded the Loop to heed him. He felt it burn brighter, for just a moment.

Is that… my Spark?

The looper was sure it was. A spark that could turn into an inferno. An inferno that might release him from this hell. James' heart beat faster. Faster and faster until it thrummed in his heart like a war drum.

His hand gripped tightly around the revolver in hand and he ran forward, searching for his next prey.

The looper did not like what he had to do. But the act had to be done. So like that James went out into the night of azure and fire, hunting for a fire no one else could see. Buried in the hearts of the brave and the bold alike. Sparks that would bind with his to create something mighty enough to destroy the Loop.

The final hunt, which had existed since the birth of the loop, beckoned forward anyone worthy enough to partake.

And now, it had its hunter.