The ship went down in a manner befitting its size and possible weight. From within what had once been a quite and stable environment turned and turned and turned. Zed’s feet kept him firmly in place. He swayed as a paper boat in a spiraling pool of water but his footing never failed. [Equilibrium] refused to be bested.
Ash and Oliver battled with keeping from being knocked into anything of consequence even as Oliver held Chris pinned to the ground with one hand. Discomfort clouded their eyes and pain was ever present in the twisting of their lips. Whatever [Mana pulse] was, it was doing a great number on them. Shanine was quite clearly passed out, unconscious from whatever effects it had had on her. Zed kept her from anything truly dangerous with a hand wrapped around her ankle. A part of him feared the constant chaos and a too firm grip could lead to a broken ankle.
One of the first things to happen to Trevor when their unsavory descent had begun was that he’d found himself crashing into one of the walls. There he remained, holding on to something for dear life.
Zed’s mind whirled with thoughts. How long had they actually been airborne? How far had they gone? Where were they now? Who was after them? Why now?
They were questions he would have answers to soon. After all, he doubted this was the end to the attack. Whoever was behind this would need to confirm the success of their attacks. When they finally hit the ground, there would be people to greet them, which meant that it was in everyone’s best interest to stay awake.
Trevor’s eyes rolled up into his head. His grip waned as he passed out and he was shunted down the hallway and into some unknown part of the ship. Zed heard a loud clang and winced.
So much for staying awake.
Oliver and Ash still struggled to stay safe.
…………………………………..
When the ship made impact with the ground, it was loud and cantankerous. The ship shook with the unsavory chaos of a tossed boulder. Dents riddled some part of it so that Zed could see where one of the walls of the hallway behind him had caved in, indubitably blocking off the path.
He was seated on the ground, one hand still wrapped around Shanine’s ankle. The impact on the crash had finally given [Equilibrium] far more than it could handle and tossed him from his feet. Landing with no more than a mild pain in his butt was fortune he was more than happy to accept even if his head had smacked the wall so heavily he felt he might have a headache. Curiosity getting the better of him, he shook his head slightly, tested the limits of the head ache.
Nothing happened. No pain came, no further discomfort reared its head.
I guess I’m good, he thought to himself.
He checked on Shanine first before anything else. She remained unconscious, leg firmly held in Zed’s hand. He leaned over to her, checked for injuries. She had a small cut above her right eyebrow, nothing serious. He turned her head gently and found nothing else. Head injuries always had almost unpredictable effects so he was glad she had none.
Done with her, he finally took stock of himself. Not that he didn’t know what state he was in. As he had already confirmed, apart from the discomfort from falling on his butt and the false headache that seemed to be there but wasn’t, he was fine.
Only then did he turn to the others.
He was pleased to find them awake. Alive and arguably well.
Ash was groaning as she pulled herself to her feet. A few cuss words slipped from her lips but he paid them the littlest attention. Chris was… moving. She somehow dragged herself across the ground, face twisted in pained determination as she approached the closest thing to a hand hold that could help her get to her feet.
Considering her state didn’t seem too horrible apart from the burn marks that still marred some parts of her body, Zed wasn’t surprised to see her moving… per say. He did wander if there was anything else to her state, despite the burn marks.
She did get hit with [Mutilate], he thought. The effects of [Mutilate] were a dangerous thing. Every creature he’d ever hit with it had lost a chunk of themselves, a leg, an arm, an entire head.
Chris had lost nothing.
Oliver was already on his feet, face twisted in discomfort. There was a touch of pain there, but it was gravely oppressed by discomfort. One would have to look for it to see it. Now on his feet, he offered Ash a helping hand.
She took it graciously and completed her rise to her feet.
Only Chris was yet to stand. Chris, Shanine, and Zed.
Oliver placed a gentle hand against the back of his head. He rubbed it gently then brought it back. He checked it, pleased with what he saw, he gave a simple nod.
“It’s been forever since I last got a headache,” he complained.
Ash took a step forward, swayed, then caught herself against the wall. Oliver turned to her but didn’t necessarily look at her.
“Concussion?” he asked.
Ash’s response was an angry frown and a thumbs up. A miniscule amount of light streamed in from a tear in the ceiling above them. Dust was clouding the space they were in, coming through some hole somewhere that they couldn’t see. Zed gave it the littlest attention.
“Zed?” Oliver called.
Zed raised his hand. “Present,” he answered.
Oliver turned in Zed’s general direction. Zed watched him look around, squint. “You good?” Oliver asked.
“Yeah,” he answered. “Thought I had a headache but it was just in my head.”
“Odd time to be making a joke,” Oliver pointed out. “But I’m glad you’re alright. Chris? Say something if you can hear me.”
A slight groan passed through the air, slithered through like a strand of hair carried by the wind. Zed looked at Chris somewhere in the corner. She wasn’t standing yet. She sat against the wall, breathing heavily, a scowl on her face. He wondered if whatever injuries she still had were affecting her voice.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“She’s over there,” he told Oliver, gesturing in her general direction. “I think there’s something wrong with her voice, but she’s good. Well, not good, good, but better than she was a few moments ago.”
Something sparked above them. It drew their attention, abrupt and sharp. Looking at it, Zed saw naked wired peeking out from a hole in the ceiling. They were large and the sparks looked deadly, if not exaggerated.
They each inched away from it instinctually.
“Trevor?” Oliver called as he inched away from the sparks. “You good?”
Zed shook his head. “No Trevor,” he said. “He got blown down the hallway.”
Oliver grunted in confirmation. “You think he’s okay?”
“They say mages are sturdy,” Zed said. “So… A hard maybe.”
“Alright.” Oliver placed his hands against the walls and patted it gently, touching his way forward. “We need to try and get out of here.” He paused. “How’s Shanine.”
“Unconscious but fine.”
“You sure?”
“Certain. I got her by the ankle and everything.”
“Odd, but okay… I guess.” Oliver took a few steps forward.
“Watch out for that loose iron,” Zed warned as Oliver inched a bit too close to a piece of iron that looked like it had been sheared off the wall during their crash. He expected to see wires behind it but found nothing. Only another set of iron walls.
“I completely forgot,” Oliver stated, stopping where he was. “You can see in the dark. Why don’t you take the lead.”
“You know…” Zed got up, he picked Shanine up and tossed her over his shoulder as gently as he could manage. “It’s a bit confusing that mages don’t have very good eyesight. You’d think that with all we’re capable of we’ll be able to… shite.”
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Quest: [A Breath of Fresh Air]
* Objective failed: Escape the woods in time: 0/1.
* Time remaining: [00:00:00].
* Quest failed.
----------------------------------------
“Well, I guess I should’ve seen that one coming,” he muttered to himself. He walked up to Oliver then patted him on the shoulder to indicate his presence.
“I can’t see clearly in the dark, Zed, but I’m sure I could tell you were there,” Oliver said.
Zed merely shrugged. “Maybe. But I wanted to let you know that someone might have to help Chris. We both know it’s not me. Also, I think we’re going to run into some trouble once we’re outside.”
Zed thought about [Titan’s Axe] and frowned. Would it be possible to navigate his way back to his room to get it?
“How do you know?” Ash asked. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you, I’m just saying you always seem to know when we’re about to run into trouble.”
“What would you say to aura manipulation for an answer?” Zed asked, giving her an amiable smile.
“I’d call balderdash.”
Zed nodded. “Good call. Balderdash's an old friend of mine, so I can testify to her usefulness.”
Oliver was already moving, making his way towards the minute ray of light that pierced through the hole in one part of the ship. Standing under the light he turned.
“Which way?” he asked.
“So right now I’m your nine o’clock,” Zed answered. “That would make her our seven. The least you could do is make a sound, Chris—oh, sorry. You’re trying.” He leaned forward and peered at her dramatically, a hand held above his eyes as if to ward off the sunlight. “Like you’re really trying. Really putting in the work. I’m almost proud of you.”
Chris was groaning at this point but her voice didn’t carry. Zed could only tell from her lips twisted in pain and her constantly moving throat.
If she can’t talk that would be a blessing and a curse, he thought.
When Oliver had gotten to her and picked her up, Zed turned and led the way. Simply because he wasn’t all too ignore about talking, he allowed a bit of his aura seep out of him as he walked down the dark hallway. That way they could follow him.
Oliver and Ash followed after him.
----------------------------------------
New Quest: [Mad Max]
Unable to escape the dangers lurking around the corner, you have found yourself at the heart of it. Your continued refusal to die despite this is the only thing aiding in your mission to stay alive.
* New objective: Survive.
* Reward: [Riot shield] (rune carved).
* Bonus objective: Defeat enemies: 0/6.
* Bonus reward: +178 [Exp].
----------------------------------------
Zed read the notification as he moved. The [Riot shield] was still the reward, despite the new quest. It assured him that whatever opponent they were going to face was almost definitely a mage. Monsters didn’t use riot shields, after all.
At least I hope they don’t.
The fact that there were no consequences to failing a quest was also a positive. He went through his mind and couldn’t remember ever having failed one. This was his first, and if he was being candid, he hadn’t really thought about what could happen if he failed one. Nothing was the best outcome he could hope for. After all, if completing a quest had the ability to reward him, it wouldn’t be far fetched to believe that failing one would have the ability to punish him.
They went farther down the hallway. It twisted and turned, bent and circumvented. There were broken walls, naked wires, cave ins, and, to their greatest surprise, a dead Olympian. The last was the only thing that told them how lucky they were.
From the looks of the Olympian, the crash hadn’t been what killed him. He bled from his eyes and nose and ears. Eerily, no blood flowed from his mouth. His body was in pristine condition save some bruises here and there, all superficial. Zed couldn’t count on such bruises to kill a church rat.
He was an Olympian they had seen a couple of times, blue-dyed hair and scarcely noticeable. They knew him. But they did not know him. He was merely a character that had wandered in the background. A cog in a machination that was this platoon of the VHF. Still, the sight of his corpse touched them. If not for being another dead being, then for being a reminder that death lurked in every corner, waiting for anyone to befriend.
They found the exit from the ship scarcely fifteen minutes after. Well, they found an exit. It was a massive rend in the side of the ship, perhaps ten feet wide and equally as tall. It pointed them to something they did not expect. It was not an open field or a forest of scanty trees, hungry and malnourished. They were presented with the sight of a dilapidated town, perhaps what had once been a business district. Tall buildings, skyscrapers and shorter ones but no less daunting in height stared at them. They were covered in algae and moss and things Zed did not have the biology expertise required to name.
They had not run into Trevor during their short journey, and the dead Olympian was the only Olympian they saw. There was a slow tension growing between them like a baby in a womb, collective as they all were. The fear of wondering just how many people had survived was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. But as old wives were often known to say, bad things are best kept unsaid lest they be drawn to an individual. So no one said anything. They thought it, but that was the extent of it. Thoughts were thoughts left in thoughts to be thought only by thoughts.
No one wanted to be the one to jinx things
“Do you think the others ended up like that dead Olympian?”
Zed turned to Ash, mouth agape. “For the love of fake colors, why?” he complained.
“What?” Ash returned. “I’m sure everyone’s thinking it.”
Zed slapped his forehead and let his hand fall down his face. So much for jinxing it, he thought.
“You know what,” he grumbled, looking out the exit that was not truly an exit. “Let’s just get out of here.”
He looked down and found the ground was a good distance away from them. By his estimate it was a good twenty feet drop. Daunting, very daunting, if he were simply human.
Oliver stepped up beside him and took a glance.
“That’s a long drop,” he said.
Zed nodded.
“You sure you want to take it?” Oliver asked.
Zed shook his head.
“Then don’t you think we should keep looking for more exits?” Oliver asked.
Zed nodded.
Oliver nodded along. “Yea, I take it I won’t be getting any words out of you. Anyway, let’s keep going. I’m not that big a fan of—”
“I miss my axe,” Zed sighed wantonly.
Oliver paused. “What?”
“My axe,” Zed repeated. “I haven’t known it long, but I miss it.”
With that, he adjusted Shanine’s body in his arms and stepped out of the ship.
He fell like a dropped stone and the wind rushed up to meet him.