CHAPTER 32 - Fleeing
I am now actually sweating as I have never been before. I just dodged a bullet, one that would have killed me otherwise.
I have no idea what kind of problem I just got myself into or what kind of monster the father of that child really is, but one thing is sure. If that little guy was capable of that massacre with little to no effort… his father is not someone I should mess with.
I start running to get out of here before he comes back with his whole family. My job here is done, thoroughly so. I got rid of both tribes of orcs and even of the not-so-problematic yet troublesome beasts. All in one fell swoop.
Maybe their absence will bring something worse? Yeah, maybe, do I care right now? No, not at all. I am leaving the fucking city, NOW. I will have to think of a way to locate my sister somehow, but I have no clue so far.
Then there is the problem with the base I was working with, they are too close to this new threat of monsters. I am not one to jump to conclusions, but those wings coupled with the blood control sounds to me a lot like the kind of thing a vampire or similar would use to fight.
‘Maybe I should have asked the boy, it did cross my mind, but that would leave the idea of not really knowing about them exposed. Whatever the case, I have yet to make up my mind about what to do with Jake and company. I would need something to either bribe them with or get their trust back, which honestly is kind of a pain in the ass, and a thing I don't feel like doing. I guess they will understand, I have been caring about them in every way possible, so by now they will probably understand. Nothing that some time and a common enemy won't help solve, right?
In the worst scenario, if I really need to leave them, well... I already invested some effort in them, sure, but I can take that loss and move on just fine.
*Bump*
All my body hurts as I hit the floor after tripping with some kind of threat on the floor. My first thought is the return of the kid. ‘I am dead.’
“Look who it is! Our savior and hero!” I follow the voice and look up at Jake, who is holding a gun to my head.
‘Oh… fuck. Damn me and my mouth.’
Jake stands in front of me with something similar to a smirk painting on his face, all around are a lot of the other leaders and most of the warriors of the base surround us too. I don’t even think about escaping, one single bullet would send me to the afterlife, I got stronger, sure, but not to that point. Even if I had the energy, which now I don't, I wouldn't be able to stop a bullet.
I am in a pinch, I already ran out of qi a while ago in the fight with the orc and it is still filling up, but at a slow pace to not damage more my already battered body. To make it even worse, my whole body hurts and it's sore to the point that even moving my pinky makes me want to scream. All of that only because I put it under too much strain on a few occasions, first the female orc in the prison, and then the leader, both instances using too much qi at once and for far too long.
Now, my life is in the hands of Jake and the rest, who in general have some strange expressions.
“Leo, you know what you just did?” He asks me, but by his tone, he is not expecting me to answer, so I first let him fill me in on his perspective. Who knows, maybe I can get away somehow? Maybe some labor? Nah, I am not that cheap.
“You really outdid yourself on this one man. We were all searching for you around the city, not knowing what you were up to, and here you are, making the entirety of the city's monsters go to war.”
“...” I keep quiet, still not sure about what he is going for. I do have to say that I am surprised about how easy it is for me to detach myself. Even now with a gun to the head, and with my life at the hands of a possible enemy, I am not really nervous.
Maybe a bit expectant, about how this is going to develop.
Then, out of the blue, he starts laughing, even if the others around don’t seem to think it is funny, still with serious expressions.
“Hahahaha, you are really enjoying life on your own right?” He fixes his gaze on me and my tattered body with that kind of face you make when thinking about something through and through not wanting to mess up.
“Leo, be honest with us. What do you consider us? Allies? Friends? Partners? Pawns? Or…. Do you think of us as a plaything you can toss to the side at the first sight of it not working well?” He looks at me squinting his eyes, and I look back.
Well, it seems like they are not as dumb as I thought, maybe I should really try some more to appear more convincing next time, even though I really was starting to like my new life. What surprises me, is not them noticing it, is what he says right after that.
“You see, we really wanted you to join us, knowing full well how capable you are. We had some doubts, and that’s why we decided to trust you little by little. You seemed focused on getting stronger, and with you, a lot of us were encouraged to do the same, following you.”
“You helped at base build and prepare a lot of things, gave insight on a lot of our plans too, and even trained together with Adrian and Claire.”
‘This is bad, I don't like where this is going.’ I start to become nervous at the kind of vengeance story that this is turning into.
“By the time you left us, a lot of us felt betrayed, but I didn’t. I thought that I understood your perspective, either not wanting us to get caught in the midst of the mess you were planning to create or thinking that we were no more than a nuisance if we were to follow you as we are now.”
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“That’s why we are here in fact, I told everyone I wanted to pay you back and help you with whatever you were doing just to make sure you knew you were one of us. Unfortunately, I must be one of the few that actually thinks that way.”
‘Wait they came here to help? Why are they doing this to me now then?’
“I called for a meeting where every one of the base could vote. We discussed if we were going to help you or not, and let's say that most of them just think that you are making fun of us. Some said there was no way that someone like you would be interested in doing all that with no kind of ill intentions, or that you were going to sell us to the monsters.”
“So tell me? What was your reason to make this war happen?” He now asks me again, wanting to know my goals.
I think about it, should I tell them the truth? Or should I tell them something more along their goals? I choose to just tell them enough, not going really into detail.
“I told you I wanted to get back our city, but was kind of frustrated to not make any progress at all in all after everything we did, so I found a way to use the monsters to clear our own problems.”
“I got most of the monsters of the area, and saved their prisoners too, the only thing I wasn’t expecting was that there were stronger monsters taking notice of my actions.” I do not lie, not even a single time.
Cassandra, who is next to Jake with Josh and Tom, expresses her worry.
“You mean the kid? That monster really is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, he was hiding so much strength behind that small body.” She maintains a troubled expression, probably out of dread that any of the kids in the base could be monsters undercover just like that one.
I keep quiet while I look at their faces, waiting for something, but it’s Jake again the one who breaks the silence.
“Will you take it seriously from now on?” An he goes on.
“If we let you do as you please, will you do the same again? Will you leave us behind without any warning and go on your own? Risk your life, and in turn, ours, as you fight and maybe die or lose and then leave us unprotected from any threats you bring to us?”
I can't even fathom what they are thinking now… Are they really implying that I did them wrong in any way now? My fault? What? Saving them in the supermarket? Giving them another chance in life.
Or maybe they are mad that I gifted them with protection at the same time I brought them the best monster materials possible? Materials that they wouldn’t otherwise manage to lay their hands on?
Oh boy… Now you make it. I may know I am sometimes an asshole and only care about me, but this. This time I only gave, not taking back a single time, the only thing I got from them was the knives their blacksmith did for me. MY knives, with MY materials, and a work, that I already PAID!
It’s at that moment, that I forget about talking my way out, there is nothing good I can get out of these greedy people who don’t know what's good for them.
I slowly start filling back my qi reserves, making use of my whole body being connected to the ground and using the floor as the focal point of absorption. Just as I did before with my feet while training.
In the meanwhile, they keep talking nonsense, about how I suspiciously got to their base, how I was so eager to help them sometimes.
I see, they are already too far gone. Even after training them, filling up their warehouse with loot, scouting the city for them… damn I even recruited people for them!
The worst part is that it doesn't even end there! After giving so much, I get treated, not only the same way that everyone else, but worse, TAILED 24/7. So much they valued me, that while they were sleeping in their comfy beds I was being watched while I slept by a guy who didn’t even care to answer me when I talked to him.
However, that's okay, I already decided to leave them the moment they pointed their gun at me, but the peak, the climax of it all it’s when they dare to make fun of my reasons to fight.
Josh, the ever so humble and upright guy, questions my ideals the worst way possible for me.
“You sure he won’t do it again in the future if we let him off now too lightly Jake? We should do something to assure us of his honesty, I think all his love for his family is bullshit, he barely left the base or asked us to search for them after he joined.” He says so, and Jake agrees.
“Yes, we can’t be sure that he really cares at all about anyone but himself, anyone have any idea how to test it?”
‘He fucking dares to say that?’ The void I have been filling all this time seems to fill up with rage at that statement. After risking my life, only to know that both my parents are dead, and knowing that my sister is probably too…
Rage keeps rising inside me just as much as my qi, and wanting to shut them up, after hearing all of their snarky comments and lies, I act.
I pour all the qi I restored from the ground into a punch coated in it. Just as before with my hand, making it resemble a blade, but this time trying to make it resemble a hammer.
It hits the ground, and it shakes it just enough to make all the people surrounding me to be taken by surprise, making them fall to the ground. I get back up with great effort, pushing my poor body some more over its limits.
I use my right hand as I get back up to throw some sand at the face of Jake and kick the gun away from him, just to make sure I won't get shot while fleeing. I do my best to run fast enough to lose them, but every corner I cross I can hear them chasing behind.
I don't have much more time left before I collapse. My body it's all sore and keeps screaming for me to stop while my heart, which I thought didn’t feel at all, boils with hatred and sadness.
I try to restore my stamina, but they keep up with me, not letting me take a break. My mind is absent at this point to focus on anything else than running.
Minutes pass and I keep running, every few meters, where the streets are more open, I get shivers down my spine. Knowing that at any time I could get shot just because I don't run fast enough. The mere thought of me tripping appears only once before I get my shit together again and keep running.
After a while, I get to a bridge, which I have no other option than to go through. Having all other routes either blocked or needing me to jump or climb over obstacles, something, that I am not capable of by now.
I take a last look behind with expectation, only to see my pursuers there, taking the last corner I took a while before. I can’t feel my legs anymore, my throat is dry, and I can already hear the beating of my heart in my ears.
There is no more strength in me, no more stamina, no more qi… no more will to go on.
In a last desperate attempt, I leave my life to luck as I let my broken body fall over the railing of the bridge. The last thing I hear is the splash of my fall as the cold water embraces me.