Entering Somewhere New
Next were the countless images of the notes that were found across the missions Fox took. The program showed them throughout quick flashes before finally letting them pile up beside each other. They only had numbers along with letters from left to right, but they also had colors drawing a filled rectangle at the right. Most had their color to the right, while a few to their left, but the first one always had it to the left.
Every single note had multiple codes like these, up to 8 at most, but it was irregular. The notes spread from the center to give space to the final note, which the vice president showed to the police, solving this enigma.
The voice returned, and as it did, the notes moved, glowed, and started forming lines, some longer than others. It was easy to differentiate, as some colors traced on longer than others, while the intensity directed the distance each color traced. A paler yellow wouldn’t be as lengthy as an ordinary yellow. A stronger yellow would be longer than those 2.
“They were coordinates. Each of them pointed to different cities in other countries, starting by their capital. The column of numbers would dictate which country to start with, but all 3 factors for each code meant a trail, which continued until it established its path. Another note would complement it, over and over again. They didn’t make sense at first, even after discovering the truth.”
“But the government’s forces burned their brains to get their answers. Hundreds upon hundreds of lives. All lost to the mere ultra intervention of a lagj secret organization into Lýmoca’s internal affairs.”
“Then, it was found out. These coordinates, all those paths that connected to each other; they all formed a map! This map wasn’t put in any order, and even after placing them corresponding to the date they were found, it didn’t make sense… until experts started assembling the hidden truth right before their naked eyes… Lýmoca!”
All the notes established paths, lines that became black and slowly comprised the political borders of Lýmoca with a white background, but only a third of the trails were used. Furthermore, as the voice trailed off, the remaining lines first established every Ly state before tracing a path towards every city.
But that wasn’t the end of it. As the ‘climax’ approximated the spectators, Fox wore a resting, impassive expression.
The program changed to show so many teams of national guard and specialized police forces working together, forming large groups of even hundreds of people as they moved into what is now known as Riverlye HQ.
“Vamos, pa dentro!” An old voice encouraged everyone. The large group rushed into the HQ, searching every room and further upstairs as a few national guard teams moved into the elevators. They worked, somewhat surprising Fox.
The national guard sweated, knowing what they were messing with next. However, when the elevator opened its doors, and they rushed out, all they saw was a hallway filled with bloodstains and limp, cold bodies littering everywhere.
Fox lifted his eyebrows. Some, which he let live, moved from the spots he remembered he left them. However, it was only a small distance before they stopped, dying anyhow.
Nevertheless, the national guards were stupefied. But after the initial confusion, they lowered their presence and checked the area, confirming every single body was dead. Then, they waited for others to come down.
Once they grouped at least 100 elements, they moved further into the HQ’s corridors. One by one, they went through new halls, discovering it wasn’t just at the start, but everywhere in the HQ that some passed by first and annihilated every living thing. At some point, there were fewer agents taken down by bullets or bions… most were mauled instead.
The program started showing short clips everywhere, with the gory parts blurred, but blood wasn’t censored. Fox watched clips of the national guard moving through the corridors until they arrived at ‘his spot’. They had already gone past the small study he had with Pheli.
“…” Fox’s expression changed, a little for the worst. He watched as they entered the main workshop, finding only burned, charcoal remains of everything as they rapidly gave up on it. Then, the national guard teams arrived at the security post, where everything was blown up.
The national guard was fearful the ceiling would collapse, but nothing happened after they walked around it. Nothing was inside, not even the slightest bit of a structure or living being remaining.
“Sigh,” Fox briefly sighed. He changed his position to lay on his left side as the program continued. This time, the national guard and some special police forces moved out of the various elevators in the underground garage, which was all empty.
However, when they came out and back into the streets, and felt relaxed, a person appeared before them. Fox didn’t believe it at first, but then, he sat up, sweating from his hair as he saw… Teon blast against the national guards and police forces!
“Reporting to HQ, there’s a possible Riverlye agent out here! Sh- she’s engaging…” The appearance of the agent paralyzed everyone, allowing Teon to kill a few tens of national guards and police units and officers in several seconds.
Teon moved swiftly, instantly blowing heads, torsos, and especially limbs away, stealing firearms and killing everything that moved. She… she moved like him!
Fox felt a special pride in his little, lonely heart, but it ached so. With what he’d had done, he only hoped, like María and their team from Preut, she would never meet him again and live better. No secret organization would keep records of their people, unless it was a hoog. She was free to leave…
But she didn’t. Of course, she wouldn’t, she was Teon!
Fox watched as the gunshots weren’t blurred and saw Teon getting hurt. She continued still, killing and surviving as her body became riddled with bullets. His breathing ragged, and his fists clenched until he made the sofa tremble, if only a bit.
Seeing all of this, with some cops and NGs’ deaths censored, but she… getting hurt…
“FOOOOOOOOX!” At last, Teon was shot four times in the left thigh in a row. She fell to her knees, but the leading NGs ordered the rest to stop. They saw no one alive in the HQ and didn’t want to waste their opportunity, not knowing if the other bases were also the same. They couldn’t risk it. But that gave Teon time to roar into the skies, deforming her facial features and turning her beautiful, young face into an ugly one filled with hatred.
After her hoarse roar, she took flight and escaped amidst the numerous yells trying to stop her and everyone from killing her. Teon fled the area, turning into a hidden shadow that disappeared into the tunnels nearby.
Vehicles went after her, but she disappeared from their radar. Then, the screen darkened bit by bit. Fox’s eyes stared into the void with no thought in his head. A few seconds later, the screen returned to the map of Lýmoca traced by the ‘Martyr notes’.
“It was tunnels.” The voice returned. The screen evolved into a vast, high and wide tunnel with well-built ‘sidewalks’ to the side. Several police cars and NG vehicles raced through these tunnels. The program showed the map once again, this time zooming out of the shown tunnel to form one of the smallest, thinnest lines traced in the map. Then, the voice concluded.
“One of the most powerful lagj secret organizations in the world was taken down by one man, and a woman. The man is someone whose age was but 17 years old when he accomplished this, Phesx Caolia. While the woman, an appreciated member of the Forzt family, Pheli Forzt.”
“Together, under a most secret mission by the government’s hand… They saved the vice president and hundreds of student lives in the Lye martyr of Lýmoca!”
“There you have it! The Lye martyr of Lýmoca briefly explained over the course of a few minutes.” The male announcer, everyone’s ‘favorite’ person for the moment, reappeared and smiled to the camera. The blonde took off from where he left with her tantalizing appearance, “Now, we’ll see the statements the vice president herself gave after the program was first shown nationwide. Here is Lesly Rivera.”
Compared to how they called the president, Lesly seemed pretty more important and relevant to these announcers, and perhaps all of Lýmoca? Fox couldn’t care. He dropped his head back on his crossed arms and stared at the ceiling.
“I want for first and foremost, as my President stated to me, to inform you that all the lives lost in Sargonde that night won’t be forgotten. They will be reimbursed now, whether the Supreme Court Justice decides to ‘accept’ the new bill or not. And if they do after the new laws, they will still be paid!” The vice president firmly declared.
“All students in the building were returned safe and sound, with a scarce minority suffering light injuries when fleeing the building.” Lesly took a pause before continuing, “I want to formally extend Lýmoca’s apology to the contributors of this operation, Phesx Caolia and Pheli Forzt, for their success.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“The lost lives unrelated to the now disbanded Riverlye were the result of a misunderstanding, and the lack of judgement from part of the guards responsible for this massacre. Regardless of the guards’ mindset when dealing with the situation, if they put money or their country first, their families will be reimbursed without a missing credit and no delays.”
“This will be all. The cabinet will turn in a formal documentation in 2 days, where we’ll present-”
The TV was turned off. Fox couldn’t care anymore. He lied down and didn’t move for some time, simply staring off into nothingness again, with his left arm hanging from the sofa and in an awkward position. After a bit, he moved, sighing and exhaling heavily before sitting down.
His face was tired, and so was his body. Clutching his face, Fox sharply breathed in. Oh so, so many thoughts traveled back and forth in his mind, which quaked and cracked, but immediately healed.
“Oh- wooh… woo- how!” Fox started tearing up, muffling howls came out of his mouth. His hands became wet until the fat of his palms slid past and revealed his face a little. He couldn’t see himself right now. Otherwise, he’d see just a man crying. Maybe with the last bits of the boy he truly almost was for the past 5 years of his life.
“In other news, the Preut civil war is seemingly coming to an end.”
Fox turned the TV back on. He knew a lot of time passed since he turned it off, but he didn’t think the same channel would’ve looked so different already. It didn’t even seem the same as before, with a more ‘static’ and ‘decent’ coverage as President Luis Heartez was shown in the screen.
Was Fox’s attention grabbed? That was an understatement. He stared fixedly at the TV as a voice continued narrating and the screen changed to show numerous shots from varying sources. “The last week, only 300 casualties from all 3 military camps were reported by the Ly intelligence.”
“After years without a leader, and losing the support of manpower and the wealthy folk they forced to stay, freed a year after the border opened, and our country negotiated with these camps. It seems like, at last, the end of the civil war is nigh.”
“Talking about the end of a page in human history, last day, haha, a few hours ago. There was surprising news. As many know, the investigation to search for Phesx Caolia, a young boy who once brought his mother out to the borders in rags and poverty, had become the nation’s #1 most wanted criminal.”
“Well, that boy, today,” as the voice spoke, Fox saw the shot where the BLF news anchors streamed of him when he brought Rubena Caolia to Lýmoca. “Has become a hero. That is true. He was actually working with the government.”
“Mn, I think they saw something we didn’t, and read his file. Did you know he went from one military camp to another?” A female voice sounded, interjecting and adding intrigue to the piece of news. The male voice spoke again, sounding preoccupied. “Ah, Amanda, you know that is classified, right?”
“That’s right, but this information came to me just a few minutes ago. It’s incredible, isn’t it? I even read about General Medina confronting General Hungish Salazar for ‘stealing’ him away.” Amanda continued. The man went silent, seemingly startled, before recomposing and saying, “Woah! I did not know that! So the government did see something in him that others didn’t.”
“Mhm. Who knows if he’s the only one, you know? Of course, everyone knows of Pheli Forzt’s valiant deeds as she infiltrated Riverlye earlier than Phesx, but he did so smoothly and ‘took down’ an entire lagj by himself! Who knows how many other Phelis and Phesxs are out there?”
“And let’s not forget,” the male voice complemented, “Preutians do seem to have a strangely higher physical quality and mental faculties. To endure the savage beginning and climax of the Preutian civil war, nothing the world had seen, ever… Phew! It’s true that natural disaster were involved, but these only became part of the high number of casualties in such little time.”
“Well, now let’s repass through the ‘knowns’ this Phesx hero knew about and their reaction to finding out he was a ‘criminal’! To commemorate his life from criminal to hero! Oh, I’m so excited!” The woman exclaimed, showcasing her eloquent charm before the screen changed.
First, a camera angle showed an old lady well past her hundreds. She gave wrong, wrong eyes to the reporter trying to question her. “Excuse me? Did you know you gave lodging to a criminal? Phesx Caolia is the enemy of the entire nation, don’t you know? What could you tell us about him so he might be found and brought to face justice?”
“… … …” The lady just stared at the reporter, not even moving her head, as if she wasn’t breathing. The reporter grew restless, fearful he killed the lady, or at least killed her from the news. They were so shocking, after all. Fox recognized everything. This was in southeast Chtsté, where he massacred a cult, with 2 other Artistas felled in the nave.
That was the lady who ‘fostered’ him and the 3 groups in her house back then. And as she was questioned, the reporter continued trying to juice something out of her once he confirmed she was still alive. Yet, the lady said nothing. Nothing at all.
The screen changed, with a glitched sound and visual static, annoying Fox, before showing a very well-known corner to him. It came from the pizzeria. A reporter, a young woman this time, gentle and worried, blonde and tender like a mini-moon, interviewed the owners.
“Did you know Phesx Caolia?” She asked. The others nodded, with one of them responding louder than the others, but Fox heard everyone. “He has always been our adopted son here. He lived above our pizzeria and was our guard. Even those ruffians stopped coming… I wanted to engage him to tie him with the pizzeria in the future. That much he was loved!”
“But, don’t you think he was faking all that life? You’ve seen the news, do you have something to add or rebuke with?” The young woman was a clever one. Another owner nodded with crossed arms and bravely stepped forth. “No pizza, no tea, no snacks from us ever again!”
“!” The young woman was startled. She hurried to apologize and offer double the prize before the store owners went soft on her…
The screen showed an old lady this time, but feisty and active, alright. Nothing like the first old lady. The reporter was a young woman, but older, with jet-black hair and brown. As Roberta opened the door, she raged her old heart out. “Who the hell knocks at my door without an appointment? Huh? Oh, you’re cute.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I’m a reporter for the Nights in the Neighborhood news anchor. I’ve come to ask about Phesx Caolia, he-” She barely got to that point before Roberta showed her weapon, a broken broom without its head, and threatened. “Don’t you dare come here to talk bad about that little guy. He always paid rent! Hmph!”
“Well, but ma’am, he’s-” The reporter futilely attempted again. Roberta just sighed, putting her weapon down and leaning her left arm on it. “Okay, little lass. This is something worth talking about. You’re not so bad, childbearing hips and an honest heart. Mn, your attitude reminds me of my old self, proud but not stupid. Tell you what, you can be my son’s second girlfriend. Yeah, you can.”
“Uhm, ma’am-” The reporter tried again, and failed again. Roberta lifted her right palm. “Ah ah ah. Hush. My boy is cute, and he’s growing like his f… growing. See? This is him. Tell you what, all the good ruffians in this city answer to me. If you listen closely…”
“Mm, I mean, he does look cute…” The reporter was conquered, and the screen changed.
Fox wore a small smile on his lips as he watched these interviews one after another. After landlady Roberta, the screen turned to the tall building where he used to move things around. The female supervisor whom Fox worked directly under appeared surprised and cooperative, badmouthing Fox in a light demeanor without intending for much drama.
Fox didn’t even hear this interview.
When the screen changed to Paloma and Ñoño, the farmers, all he saw was a pregnant belly, very big, and heard them talk lovely things about their future. Needlessly said… Fox felt jealous.
“There you have it, folks! The knowns of the hero knew the vibe of the hero…” The favorite male voice sounded again after Paloma and her big ass belly disappeared. The TV sound slowly trailed off as Fox fell pensive.
It was all too different. Entering the PSD showed him a hint of the life he now had. Even now, part of him wished it wasn’t true. Yes, indeed, that… that would make things easier.
But no more of that, no more of the previous life. Even if he was to not meet those who aided him the most, and remain alive, soon, he might in the future. But only if the situation did present itself, not just because he could meet them, like now.
‘Leaving everything behind.’ Fox stood up, cracked his neck, and stared ahead without focus. The TV turned off on its own after the mute and sleeping button were pushed from the sofa armrest panel and the cancel command wasn’t given or pressed. Fox suddenly felt his head’s coursing blood, making it feel heavy but alive. ‘I’m the only obstruction and rival stopping myself from here… and onwards.’
Beep. Just as Fox felt every inch of his body, and his breath refreshed his insides, everywhere. His cellphone rang. Fox looked at the table near the living room, 2 steps higher than the living room. He walked to it, and on the 4th ring, he picked it up, smoothly taking the call.
“Tomorrow at late in the morning, my office.” Butler’s voice sounded on the other side before abruptly hanging.
‘Just what?’ Fox frowned, feeling absurd. He still felt resolved, but he’d rather not have had such dumb orders. But then, his phone screen turned on and showed a message. It was just a message, with no sender or even the time it was sent. It probably also didn’t save in the messaging box.
It read: ‘The President will be receiving you. He wakes up too late.’. Fox felt his mind clarified. He thought, ‘I guess it’s true they have a connection. I was wondering how deep. Mn, I am possibly an alarmingly useful asset. I would only be betrayed depending on the president’s intentions. I can decipher than in- … What the hell?!’
“!” It took a moment for Fox to realize what he was getting into. No, what he got into. There was no going back, he just put those thoughts into creation. Now, all the little poor him could do was eat the pill and swallow it.
Fox frowned hard, incredulous at the situation. He thought of the vice president, she was cute and pretty decent. Despite the things he’s heard from others, and knowing what a fooled, desperate person looked like, the way she threatened him with Luis’s wrath and her spiritual dependence on him intrigued Fox that night.
Of course, Lesly only had that chance once before he ‘helped her’ into a recently disconnected fridge after briefly explaining things. But this… this was different! He should’ve hit her or something. Now, what if she thought well of him? And what if she spoke about him to that president with that erroneously good impression?
No, it isn’t ‘that’ president anymore, but ‘the’ president. Lýmocan, he was a Ly; Fox had to accept that now, too.
With a furious frown, he steeled himself and turned the TV back on, sat back on the sofa, and grabbed a few small laptops from the sofa’s hidden back compartments. Then, he searched for content in all channels and selected Preut and Lýmoca before setting the speed to x1.3.
Time to study. He would only begin now, but the first programs Fox was going to watch had a ‘slow pace’ warning, which was the reason why so many old Lys had good sleep at… any time of the day.
This was Fox. Decisive and unstoppable after selecting a route, a path… a door.
…