Two full minutes at their top speed, and Angel and Karrel reached the elevator shaft, Elizabeth and Irene still hot on their trail.
“I’m ripping those doors apart and we’re going in!” Angel shouted, as he began coalescing black clouds into his fists. With a rapid jab, Angel shot his powerful blast of black smoke at the doors in front of them. With ease, the strike blew a hole into the entrance, revealing an empty elevator shaft and a long fall. “Jump!”
Karrel and Angel leapt into the chamber. In that same moment, the two friends heard a loud panging noise. While they expected to start plummeting down an empty chasm, both Karrel and Angel felt their feet hit solid ground. It was a confusing second, before they observed what they were standing on. Below their feet, a glowing red glaive was underneath them, embedded into the side of the elevator shaft.
“What the fu–” Karrel began to shout, when Angel jumped into action. The red glaive’s light began to increase rapidly, while Angel quickly threw together a makeshift, shadowy platform underneath their legs. As the red glaive erupted in red light, Angel dumped a final plume of fog into the glaive.
The explosion immediately blew apart the layers of smoke beneath their feet, forcibly ascending Karrel and Angel through the elevator shaft. The guard that Angel established had barely saved their lives, but now they were flying through the air.
Before Karrel could realize what was happening, Angel grabbed onto him. The two boys had reached the apex of their trajectory, and the dark-clothed companion took the opportunity to blast another pair of doors open. Flinging Karrel into the now open doors, Angel narrowly snatched the ledge of the shaft, saving himself from a nasty fall.
Karrel landed on his knees and turned around to help Angel out of the dark chasm. As he climbed to his feet, Angel coughed a glob of blood onto the floor. Karrel’s anxiety had peaked. His friend was becoming too injured to fight, and a quick check of himself had made Karrel realize that the orange light surrounding his body had faded completely. He flipped through the pages of his green book in desperation. The symbols resembling “F.Aura” had changed from a bright red color to a deep blue. His defenses were down, and he was not going to be getting them back any time soon.
Surveying his surroundings, Karrel found that they were now in a large, open room. The area was littered with beautiful furniture and art pieces. Glass tables surrounded several comfortable couches and three of the walls were covered in paintings and artistic mirrors. The fourth side of the area was a large glass window, stretching the length of the room, with an abundant view of outside of the complex.
Karrel noted that they must have been blasted several floors up, because this area was no longer an office space. He glanced toward his fatigued friend, “Now what?” he questioned his ally. Angel pointed toward the elevator shaft.
“Now,” a female voice filled the room, as Irene jumped up through the elevator shaft, “we kill a couple of trapped rats.” Following the blonde-haired Executive, Elizabeth climbed into the large room, teal javelin in hand.
“I’m open to any ideas,” Angel coughed. “Meanwhile, I think a bit more pain is coming our way.”
“You have no idea,” Elizabeth broke her long-standing silence, and a fiendish smirk wrapped across her lips. She bull-rushed forward, launching her javelin at Angel in the process. Irene followed.
Angel leaned away from the oncoming projectile, clumsily dodging it with ease. At this point, Elizabeth was on top of Angel’s position. Her hands glowing with energetic power, she opted for a hand-to-hand confrontation, and Angel had no choice but to comply. Black smoke wrapped itself around Angel’s limbs and the two combatants began another deadly dance.
Wanting to help, Karrel tried to sneak in a single strike against Elizabeth, but her partner would not allow such a thing. The woman in white sprang into action, approaching Karrel and aiming a high side kick at his head. Desperately blocking the strike, Karrel felt himself pushed back a few steps.
He had always been confident in his hand-to-hand capabilities, but Karrel knew he was no match for his opponent. The Executive was well versed in martial arts, and lightning fast to boot. There was no time to use his green book. Every action that Karrel took was concentrated on either blocking, parrying, or dodging what could possibly be a fatal blow.
It had only been a minute, but Karrel found himself weakening. Whether it was from the speed of the strikes, or the fact that the young woman in front of him threw jabs with the power of a wrecking ball, his body was starting to give way. His hands and arms hurt from the continuous parrying, and he was struggling to stay on his feet whenever he blocked one of her kicks. He was going to make a mistake soon.
Sure enough, in a moment of weakness, Karrel misread a feint. He positioned himself to block to his right, but the woman in white threw a massive roundhouse kick to his left. Catching him completely by surprise, she blasted Karrel across the room causing him to slam into furniture along the way.
“No!” Angel shouted, as he tried to retreat to his fallen comrade, but Irene had already switched targets. She stepped behind Angel, and with Elizabeth’s help, began the process of slamming Angel to the ground.
Karrel did not know which way was up. All he knew was that his body hurt all over, and something nice and cool was being pressed against the cheek of his face. It took a few seconds for him to realize that the cold surface was the floor, and that the spinning surface above him was the ceiling. Shaking his head, Karrel felt his brain bounce around in his skull. Blood was dripping out of three separate areas of his cranium. To the best of his ability, he began the slow rise back to his feet, all the while looking at the three blurred figures in front of him.
Elizabeth and her associate were tearing Angel apart. Like clockwork, Angel would block an attack, parry a strike, and then allow one of the women to successfully land a blow. He attempted to use his shadowy clouds to his advantage, stabbing with spikes that shot out of the smoke he had leaked onto the ground, but the two female Executives had become accustomed to the attacks and were easily dodging them as they came. Block, parry, pain. Block, parry, pain. Angel took hit after hit, the navy-blue smoke erupting from wherever he took damage. Karrel’s vision was still returning to him, but he could see that Angel was rapidly losing the fight for his life.
Spitting blood on the floor, Karrel peered to his side. The enormous glass window that covered the length of the wall had still remained untouched from the ongoing battle. The view was beautiful. Several buildings, similar to the one that Karrel was standing in now, could be found far into the distance, and the green along the ground reminded Karrel that the Earth used to be a lush world. The true beauty however, was in the window itself. He had found his escape plan.
Looking back at Angel, the fight was not getting any better. He was still standing but only through will alone. The two women were still tirelessly beating through the last of his defenses.
Karrel brought his gaze to the window once more. He knew how to survive long falls. He had survived the clutches of an umbrabat multiple times. Angel was capable of keeping himself airborne for a while as well. One simple jump, and he would be out of this forsaken complex. The question was: would the Executives be able to follow?
Karrel continued to watch Angel fail at defending himself. He could see now that there was a mist of red blood inside of the navy-blue smoke whenever Angel got hit. He was at the end of his rope. Maybe Karrel could use that to his advantage…
If he jumped out the window by himself, the Executives would probably kill Angel, and then, if they could, follow right after him. He would lose his friend, but it would buy him a few precious seconds if another pursuit was at hand.
Facing toward the window, and wrapping the symbols of “Discharge” around his hand, Karrel pointed his palm at the glass. Was he ready to do this? He was going to throw everything he had built with Angel and his group away. It was for the sake of survival though. If he did not do this, he was simply next on the list to be killed once
Angel went down. There was no point in thinking about the consequences. You do what you need to do to survive. Yet, as he stood there with the means to escape, Karrel struggled with initiating his plan. He had grown to like all of his new friends. Was he going to be able to leave one of them to their deaths? Living to the next day should matter the most, though. He had made up his mind.
Karrel released his attack, and a surge of purple and blue energy shot forth like lightning, slamming into the window and shattering it like the glass it was. A massive hole formed in the glass wall, and vast amounts of fresh air rushed into the room. The superdome’s artificial weather felt lovely against his skin.
The warm feeling of fresh air and sun stayed only for a few seconds however, as Karrel turned back toward Angel. He summoned all of the adrenaline in his body and accelerated into a full sprint straight at the two female Executives currently treating Angel as a punching bag. His green book levitating next to him, he began wrapping two more “Discharge” attacks around his hands. “Angel! It’s time to go!” Karrel screamed at the top of his lungs.
Leaping into action, Karrel spun his body around as he approached his targets. Two heel-hooks struck each of the heads of the UWP Executives causing Elizabeth to glow teal and the woman in white to glow red. Angel took the opportunity to disengage, drunkenly hopping backwards away from the fight, while Karrel slammed his palms to the floor beneath the two women.
This is gonna hurt, Karrel thought to himself, and he unleashed his attack. With nowhere to go, the purple and blue energy erupted in a massive explosion. Karrel and Angel were blown backward, while the tiles along the floor were converted into deadly shrapnel. The pathing beneath the feet of the two Executives crumbled and collapsed, forcing them into the newly formed hole in the ground. In an instant, they vanished down to the floor below.
“Let’s go!” Karrel threw Angel back onto his feet, helping him run to where he had broken the glass window.
Angel struggled to his feet, glancing back at the carnage Karrel had just wrecked, when suddenly he shouted, “Look out!”
Karrel snapped his head back around, but it was too late. A red surge of energy connected with the upper left side of his torso.
The woman in white had one hand clutched along the ground where she fell, which she had used to prop herself up through the floor. With her other hand, she had summoned a massive glob of red energy, and successfully targeted Karrel’s body.
As though he was watching in slow motion, Karrel saw the attack pierce through the front of his torso, right where his heart was, and felt it punch a hole through his back as it exited. He instantly collapsed to the floor. Angel, wide-eyed from what he had just witnessed, continued to drag Karrel’s body by the arm as it toppled to the ground, unable to speak.
For a moment, Karrel thought that he was dead. But, it had become difficult for him to breathe, which made him realize that he was still, in fact, breathing. Not a muscle on his body was able to move, and as he shot his eyes down at the gaping, bloody hole that was in his chest, he counted his lucky stars. The hole was precisely where he would believe his heart to be. The fact that he was still alive meant that the attack must have missed his vital organ by a mere micrometer.
Unfortunately for Angel, he was none the wiser of Karrel’s condition. Every swear and curse he could think of was escaping his lips as he dragged what he thought was Karrel’s corpse to the opening in the wall. Elizabeth and the woman in white had only just finished climbing up through the hole in the floor, when Angel tossed Karrel’s body out of the window.
It was a relaxing fall, all things considered. Karrel could see his own blood trail after him while he dropped, but he could not feel it. Shock was taking over. As he started his thousand-foot plummet toward the ground, Karrel felt his eyes become heavy, and the last thing that he saw before ultimately closing his eyes was Angel jumping out of the window right behind him.
Chapter 20
Broken Hearts and Breaking Parts
Being dead was not all that bad. None of Karrel’s body parts wanted to function, but the endless void he was floating in did not require movement. It had claimed his senses, and he could not feel whether his eyes were open or not, but there was nothing but blackness all around him. It would have been weirdly relaxing, had there not been a slight twinge in his chest. The feeling would pass though; it always did. It felt like he had been in this empty dark for an eternity, but the twinge in his chest always disappeared shortly after resurfacing.
This time it felt marginally different, however. The pain was sharper and more intense. He began to focus on the pain and realized that it had been quite a while since he had focused on anything, really. It should have gone away by now, the idea surfaced as Karrel’s thoughts returned to him.
The pain in his chest sharpened, and Karrel’s other senses began to restore. His head was laying on something incredibly soft and warm. It was about the only pleasant sensation he was feeling at the moment. The rest of his body ached, and it quickly became more common for an appendage to be doused in pain than it was for it to be mobile.
Muffled voices surrounded him. They seemed to be arguing in a hasty nature. One voice shouted at the other, “He needs medical attention, now!”
“He aint breathing. Face the facts. We need you focused,” the other voice stated in rebuttal.
“Screw the facts. I won’t accept that we pushed him into giving up his life.” This time the voice was less muffled and sounded steadfast on the topic.
Another voice, this time female, chipped in to the conversation, her sentimental tone masking pain. “Corpse or not, the truck can hold him. But, this doesn’t look good.”
“He’s…! not…! dead!” the intense voice called out again.
There was a pause in the room, before the same female voice broke the silence. She attempted to be as consoling as possible. “Angel,” she lamented, “He’s missing his heart–”
Karrel’s eyes burst open, as he leaned to his side, coughing up blood onto the dark, dusty floor. The searing pain in his upper left chest had fully awoken him. His pupils began absorbing what limited light they could. He recognized the area immediately. He was in the garage that he, and the rest of the group, had entered the superdome from. It was still mostly empty, with the armored trucks sitting dormant inside. Karrel shifted slightly, and he came to realize that he was on his back, lying on the floor with his head propped up against something soft. He had no idea how he had gotten here.
“He’s not dead!” a different female voice shouted at the top of her lungs. Karrel’s ears rang as the exclamation rapidly engulfed him. The voice had been shouted at point blank range. Karrel nodded his head upward and came face to face with Krystalyn. She was looking down at him with damp, puffy red eyes. He quickly realized that the comfy surface that his head was resting on was Krystalyn’s lap.
Angel, Johnny, Puck, Alice, Jessica, and Prisca shot their attention to Krystalyn. Sure enough, what they thought to be the corpse of Karrel, was now coughing and clenching his chest.
“I don’t believe it…” Puck stared at his recently fallen comrade.
The entire group quickly surrounded Karrel. The attention was painful for him. His chest still felt like it was being crushed with a hammer, and his body was no better. Looking down at himself, he observed the makeshift bandages that had been wrapped around him. There was still a yawning hole in his chest, right where his heart should have been, but it was now covered in brown raggedy cloth. Scanning Krystalyn’s cloak, he ascertained what the bandages had been made from.
“How the hell are you still alive?” Prisca’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
Karrel attempted to sit up, but the pain was too much for him. He got as far as lifting his head an inch before plopping it back on Krystalyn’s lap. He coughed enough air out to speak. “I just… really like living.”
Jessica eyed Johnny. “Does that work for humans?” she asked quizzically. Johnny quickly responded with a slow headshake.
“Who cares how!?” Angel smiled. “He didn’t bite the dust. I told you guys that little pin-prick through the heart wouldn’t keep him down.” Angel gave Karrel a quick pat on the shoulder, which combined with the gaping hole in his chest, quickly became one of his most painful experiences to date.
It was good to see everyone’s smiling faces again, though Johnny’s was not included. He was examining Angel and Karrel, and continued to do so for a short while before shifting his attention to his own body. His expression switched to that of one lost in a quiet surprise, as though something of great importance had dawned on him.
Once again attempting to lift his head, Karrel felt electric pain surge through his body. “As much as I would love to be acting tough right now,” Karrel groaned, “we’ve still got a problem.”
Seven blank faces stared back at Karrel. “We’ve got more than one problem,” Puck surmised.
“Not what I meant,” Karrel regretted having to admit this. It made him feel weak. “I can’t move.”
A sly grin formed as Krystalyn stared down at Karrel. “I was wondering why you were taking your sweet time getting off my lap,” she teased.
“Can’t help myself. It’s too comfy,” Karrel replied with an injured grin of his own.
“I fed you some painkillers,” Puck tapped the many cylindrical containers attached to his side, “but I don’t have anything that magically fixes legs.”
“It shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” Johnny finally spoke up. “We’re going to be borrowing one of these trucks for our escape.” He pointed at the armored vehicles lying vacant in the garage. “They’ll do the walking for you until we can fix what remains of your body.”
“What’s the holdup then? Let’s get the hell out of here! You guys aren’t worried about the two crazy chicks coming back after us?” Karrel questioned the group, and a flash of him falling out of the facility’s window raced through his mind. “What the hell happened to them?”
Kin of Exile Page 25