September 01, 4021 23:00 [Matriarch 04- Outer Gates]

Indra leaned against the Matriarch’s outer gate, arms crossed. He closed his eyes, enjoying the way the cool night breeze felt on his skin. It was quiet; not a creature in sight, save for the other personnel on guard duty. He stood under a watchtower, its light sweeping the open field. It turned slowly, occasionally bathing him in light. The silence didn’t bother Indra. It gave him time to think of a way to escape. Just as the Crow predicted, he had been mandated by Tengri to stand guard tonight.

“The job is boring, but it’ll build character,” the Hyena told him before sending him off.

Who is he? My father? Indra sighed, clutching his chest tightly. The entry card for the Cloudburst Aisles sat snugly in his inner breast pocket. It felt heavy; the weight of choice pressing against him. He sucked in shallow breaths. The consequences of being caught for desertion weren’t the only things that worried him. There were other complications.

“You nervous?” Prasanna asked, concerned. “Don’t worry! I’ve done this once already. There’s pretty much nothing out here. And if there is, we’ll see it a mile away.”

Escaping would prove to be difficult.

“Nice to see I’m not alone for this,” he commented. Just my luck. How am I going to explain this to her?

“I’m glad too. What are the odds? We got paired together after so long,” she chuckled.

“Exactly, what are the odds? On my first night of guard duty as well. You requested this, didn’t you?” Indra remarked, raising an eyebrow.

“N-no,” she denied, whistling unconvincingly. The blush on her face betrayed her. She quickly dropped the facade at his incredulous expression. “I didn’t want you to be out here all by yourself, that’s all.”

Indra felt a twinge of guilt. He couldn’t leave her and Emil here, but this could be his only window of opportunity to escape. He searched for a viable solution, wracking his brain. He could only see one way out. There was a garage within the compound near them. It was bound to have a few vehicles. The difficulty lay with acquiring a key for an unattended vehicle. Then, it would be a matter of driving towards the coordinates the Crow had sent him on an encrypted server. He doubted they would remain hidden for long after acquiring a vehicle. They would have maybe thirty minutes before a Hyena would be able to reach the outpost and tail them. They could fend off the cavalry on their own given that they were just human soldiers. He sighed dejectedly. He could see no way to bring Emil along with them without alerting the other officers. It would just have to be him and Prasanna. Indra mustered up the courage, steadying himself. Now, it was just a matter of convincing her.

He turned to her with a serious expression on his face, leaning in close. Prasanna’s eyes widened, her breathing becoming rapid and shallow. A tinge of scarlet spread across her face from the bridge of her nose to the tips of her ears.

“Would you consider running away with me?” he whispered softly.

She stepped back flustered. If steam could rise from a person’s ears, surely it would have risen from hers.

“W-what? R-run away with you? What are you talking about?”

“Shhh! They’ll hear you! Keep your voice down!” he whispered harshly.

“That’s a serious commitment you’re asking me to make,” Prasanna replied, fanning herself.

“I know it seems out of the blue, but I at least wanted to talk to you about it because I trust you.”

Her face was beet red at this point, almost as if she had been locked in a pressure cooker.

“L-look, could we maybe slow this down a bit?”

“We can’t slow down! We have to do it tonight, otherwise, it’s never going to happen.”

“T-tonight?! No way! I’m not that kind of girl!”

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“O-oh, I see.” Looks like it’s just me, then.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m flattered—I really am, and I like you too. It’s just that this is all too fast—”

“What are you talking about?” Indra looked at her, puzzled.

She paused for a moment. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about escaping this facility.”

The color drained from Prasanna’s face. “O-oh I thought you meant…n-never mind.” She did a double take, realizing what he had just said. “Leave the Matriarch? Are you crazy? They’ll catch us and charge us with desertion! That’s an automatic ticket to execution!” she berated him in a hushed voice. “Besides, I have my brother to think about. He has a reputation to uphold. What’ll happen to him if his sister ends up a traitor? Don’t you have a sister as well? Think what they’ll do to her if you leave!”

“I have people looking after her. They’ve sorted it all out. If you come with me, they could make an entry card for you as well—”

Prasanna stopped him, refusing to listen further. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have people looking after me and my brother. There’s no way they’ll be able to reach him in Yoru. It’s just not an option for me. Look, this mission and this war are going to happen regardless. We’ll get caught up in the crossfire somehow. Don’t count on this conflict being confined to just Yuèliàng and Levante. The impact will reach far beyond their borders.”

“I understand,” Indra replied, sadly.

Prasanna’s expression softened. “If you want to leave, then I won’t stop you. If they ask, I’ll say you left to use the restroom or something and that I thought you would be back soon. I won’t hold it against you if you feel this isn’t your fight. Believe me when I say this: I’m not doing this out of loyalty to our country—I’m doing this for my brother. He’s the only family I have left. I could care less about what happens to me, as long as he’s okay. Knowing that is enough for me,” she smiled tenderly.

The moon overhead cast a ghostly glow on the structures situated along the outer gates as shadows danced upon the ground. Yet, for reasons Indra couldn’t explain, Prasanna looked almost ethereal. He stared, transfixed at her radiant smile illuminated by the moonlight. It was as if he truly saw her for the first time. Indra felt a pang in his heart that had little to do with the tension he was dealing with prior.

“Getting cozy, are we?” a voice resounded.

They looked to see who it was. Indra’s stomach dropped. Jin stood before him with a bemused smile. Not good. Why is he here? Did the plan get leaked somehow?

“Ah, the cool night air flowing through your hair. It always ruffles mine, juuust right. Look at you two! Alone together; illuminated only by the light of the moon. Such a moment is ripe for romance, don’t you think? I apologize if I’m interrupting something—”

“Y-you didn’t interrupt anything!” Prasanna hastily shoved Indra back. “We were just discussing what to do if we spotted an intruder.”

“Simple. Kill them,” Jin stated, unconcerned. He turned his attention to Indra. “Tengri told me about a concern he had regarding your Shakti output. I’ve also been informed about your ‘Trait’, so to speak. He thinks it would be better for us to make a special exception for you and have me privately tutor you.”

“But why?” Indra blurted indignantly. Now I’ve done it.

Jin seemed indifferent to his outburst, however, stroking his chin in thought. He removed his glove, placing a finger on Indra’s neck. A searing sensation shot through his nervous system, causing him to scream in agony as he crumpled to the floor. A dull ringing in his ears muffled the shouts of worry from Prasanna as she rushed over to him, placing his head in her lap. Indra couldn’t make out what she was saying, his vision fading in and out of focus. She looked furious, yelling at the Hyena as he stared at them with an apathetic gaze.

Jin crouched low, holding a hand up to Prasanna’s shouts of protest. The Hyena leaned in close for Indra to hear.

“You’re going to be training with me for the remainder of the time, in addition to your training with Tengri. I’ll work you to the bone if I have to. But don’t worry, you’ll have a partner to share in your suffering. That brat Kaluza’s going to be taken off my hands so I can focus on you. He’ll be training with Tengri. We made a special exemption for you both, so don’t go wasting our kindness, okay? And one more thing, don’t even dream of leaving. It seems so simple, doesn’t it? There’s a hangar near here just begging to have a vehicle stolen. I even left a pair of keys in the ignition of one of them. I dare you to try it because I’ll be waiting. I told Tengri to get rid of you that first time, but now that you’ve been deemed an asset by Kǔ Shén, there’s not much I can do about it. Unless, of course, you attempt to escape. I won’t hesitate; the moment you step out of line, I’ll be there.”

He stood up staring coldly at Prasanna, her eyes wide with fear. “Same goes for you, darling. I don’t care who your brother is. Soldiers die on duty all the time…understand?”

She nodded slowly, clutching Indra tightly. Jin walked away calmly, the look of contempt on his face seared into their minds.

“Did you feel that?” Usha’s voice suddenly echoed in Indra’s mind.

Indra stared at the back of Jin’s silhouette before it disappeared behind the gate. Yes.

The burning sensation on his neck and the nausea were all too familiar. It was Amrita. The liquid that was supposed to be divinely pure came from the fingertips of a Hyena. Indra didn’t know what to think, but one thing was for sure: he would not be leaving the Matriarch tonight.