Eternity's War (Books 1-3) (Eternity's War Boxsets)

by Ruben Stelliswolfe

  He walked back to Juliet and crouched in front of her. “Some of them seem to be devoid of any conventional set of reasoning. They become stale and resentful, and they easily lose the focus from their previous lives. Your friend Marion is such an individual, as are those in Black Dawn ... and it is especially true in the Tianzu,” he admitted.

  Juliet's jaw dropped after hearing the outlandish dialogue. She didn't know the eccentric man, but hearing him speak ill of his clan flooded her mind with even more questions.

  “Long ago, we were once the embodiment of true peace,” he continued, a saddened expression on his face. “Perhaps, one day, the truth will be known of what the Tianzu has become. For the moment though, I would implore you to leave this life behind. It's not too late for yourself, or for the other young man.” His voice was hopeful, yet almost remorseful, as though he had endured several lifetimes of ideological affliction.

  Daye vanished, bidding Juliet no farewell.

  Eighteen

  Skye cursed under his breath. He stood hidden behind the shadow of a large tree in a nearby park, surrounded by more police officers than he could count. None of them had seen him yet, but it was only a matter of time before the alarm would be raised. The situation had been a dangerous one, and being trapped in a corner was far from ideal. It went from bad to worse when he spotted Sabina and Aurelius marching down the street with two dozen members of the Presidential Guard.

  “Ren, this is getting out of hand,” he whispered. “Black Dawn and the Guard are here, and they're working together!”

  Ren snorted through the headset at the thought of the strange sight. “They won't kill you, Skye. Nikolai won't allow it.”

  “I'm more worried about Juliet. Or if they arrest me, this mission is finished.”

  Something in the distance caught Skye's attention. It was hobbling nearby behind Sabina.

  “What is that?” he muttered. He could see it clear as day, but his mind was unable to believe his eyes.

  “What?” Ren asked. “What do you see?”

  He stared into the distance, dumbfounded. The slow moving object looked like a person, but its face was horribly disfigured.

  “It looks like ...” he paused, uncertain of the words that were about to come out of his mouth, “a walking corpse.”

  Ren said nothing. The odd words were just as baffling to her as they were to Skye.

  He turned right and watched the distant officers. The expressions on their faces indicated that they weren't pleased to have their authority overruled by the Presidential Guard, but they maintained the utmost professionalism and staged no coup. The Athenian hierarchy was deeply embodied in the state's constitution.

  “Where are Tango and Echo?” he asked.

  “Still on Jalan Raya. The roads into the district are blocked.”

  A loud thud startled him. He spun around to see Sierra standing inches behind him. Skye exhaled a comforting sigh, despite the short woman having startled him. He looked back toward the road. Relief set in when he realised that no one had observed her loud entrance.

  “Where's Juliet?” he whispered angrily, not forgetting the painful kick she delivered earlier. He decided it would be wise to overlook the altercation for the time being, and instead focus on escaping the city safely.

  “I left her on a rooftop,” she answered. “She didn't know where Tahlia was.”

  Skye took a moment to calm himself and control his rage. “Stop it!” he hissed. “We don't have time for Tahlia right now. We need to grab Juliet and get out of here before they kill her.”

  Sierra turned her head and watched Sabina and Aurelius in the distance. “Black Dawn's base must be nearby.”

  “I'm sure it is,” Skye agreed. “My original plan this morning was to find it. However, if you look around you'll see that we're completely surrounded by the police, the Guard, and Black Dawn. The best option right now is to retreat and think of our next move.”

  “You retreat,” Sierra suggested. “I'll stay and find Tahlia.”

  Before Skye could argue, the short woman had vanished once again. He peered out from behind the tree to see that Sierra was in plain sight, standing behind Sabina. Her speed was incredible. She grabbed Sabina roughly and held the blade to her throat from behind.

  “Where's Tahlia?” Sierra demanded.

  Aurelius turned around when he heard Sierra's voice, as did the Guard. They raised their weapons, almost in a synchronised manner. The sudden manoeuvre attracted the attention of the police officers too, who rushed over to assist.

  Sabina struggled against her assailant, trying to pull the blade away from her throat.

  “Release her, now!” Guard Two commanded. Her voice was calm; the Guard were trained to maintain their demeanour in heated situations.

  “Where's Tahlia?” Sierra asked again, ignoring the dozens of weapons pointed in her direction.

  “I don't know,” Sabina choked.

  Aurelius jumped forward, attempting to grab the blade from Sierra's hand. He underestimated her speed. She released Sabina and flipped backwards. Sierra turned around to see a rotting corpse stumbling eagerly toward her. She had never seen such an odd sight, but her instincts told her to stay away from it. She swung her head back to the guards, who had not yet reacted to her movement, but they greatly outnumbered her. Against her wishes, Sierra played it safe and ran as fast as she could from the frenetic scene.

  The Guard stood motionless, defeated. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the mysterious attacker had fled. Sabina fell to the ground, struggling for breath. Aurelius bent over and helped her up. They'd seldom been involved in combat since being recruited by Nikolai, but neither of them welcomed Sierra's unprovoked assault.

  Nineteen

  Skye's feet pounded into the ground, his muscles aching with fatigue. Sierra's diversion had lasted mere seconds, but it provided an excellent opportunity for him to flee and retrieve Juliet. He regretted trying to find Black Dawn that morning. In hindsight, it was a poor decision that could have potentially led to Juliet's death. And, unless he rescued her at once, still could.

  He continued running as fast as he could, the world whirring past him. Unlike Sierra, who was able to move so fast as to avoid being seen, Skye briefly caught the attention of anyone he raced past. He could clearly see the confused expressions of the armed officers as they saw the motion blur. Before they could react, he'd be gone. But it was hardly an advantage; his speed offered little stealth.

  He slid an index finger across his comm, pausing his conversation with Ren and calling Juliet instead. It took her a few seconds to answer. “Can you hear me? Are you there, Juliet?”

  “Skye!” she shouted. “Help me!”

  “Where are you?”

  “The helicopter is attacking me!”

  He looked up and saw two helicopters hovering a short distance away near the alleyway they were originally hiding in. “Hold on. I'm coming!” he called back, realising the danger she was in.

  He returned to his feed with Ren. “Where are Tango and Echo? Have they moved at all?”

  “They're still trapped, Skye,” she responded as she looked at the position of the van on her monitor. While she was unable to track anyone's comms, she made sure to install global positioning chips in both of their vans' computers. “They're on the corner of Jalan Raya and Jalan Agung. They can't get any closer.”

  Skye cursed again, as it was quite some distance from where he was. “Tell them to be ready. I'm going to grab Juliet and meet them at the van.” He darted past more officers, being spotted once again at the last minute.

  “Skye, they're trapped. They can't move their van.” Ren's eyes glanced at another monitor, staring at the innumerable amount of vehicles that clogged the usually free-flowing arterial.

  “Just tell them!” he barked back. “I don't have a choice. We have to get Juliet out of the city right now!” He arrived back at Qing Lu and sprinted north.

  “I'll tell them to try to get the van out
of there. But you're not going to be able to make it to them—they're outside the cordon, so you'll need to break through the line of officers blocking Jalan Raya.”

  It wasn't the news Skye wanted to hear. The chances of a clean escape had now greatly diminished. “Find me another way out of the city.”

  Twenty

  Tango and Echo sat alone in their van on the congested road. Around them were several other Athenians, all trapped in their cars, patiently waiting for the police barricade to be removed. All commuters within the cordon had been ordered to abandon their vehicles, whereas those on the outside were impatiently waiting for news on what was taking place in their city.

  “We should be in there,” Tango said. “We should be helping them.”

  Echo nodded. “Agreed. If anything happens to Juliet, I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself.”

  It had been a sombre morning for the two of them. Sweat began to bead on Tango's forehead. It was another tropical summer day, and being trapped in the car was far from comfortable. His chest plate didn't help either.

  “Did you hear what Daye said earlier?” Tango asked, his mind replaying the incident in the penthouse. “He mentioned that Nikolai has a villa on the island.”

  Echo turned to his friend, having forgotten the dialogue in the heat of the moment in West Tower. “Yes, he did, didn't he? That information might be useful.”

  “Maybe. But it also doesn't give us much. There must be thousands of villas in Athenia. We'd never find it by dawn.”

  “Did you just say that Nikolai has a villa?” Ren asked, listening in on the conversation. She didn't wait for him to answer. “Never mind that right now. Tango, you need to turn the van around.”

  Tango and Echo exchanged glances upon hearing the command. “How? We're stuck in traffic.”

  “Skye's coming your way with Juliet. You need to get out of there. As soon as the police see them, they'll be fired upon.”

  Tango heard the words but was unsure what he could do. He frowned as he surveyed the chaos around him. “I can't move the van without hitting any other cars.”

  “Just do it!” Ren shouted through the headset. “Find a way.”

  Echo pointed to the left, spotting a small gap between two vehicles. “There.”

  Tango looked to see where he was pointing and gritted his teeth. The gap was barely wide enough. “Ren, how far away is Skye? If I crash through the other cars, the police are going to pursue us.” He peered to his right and saw half a dozen officers patrolling the road around them.

  Ren paused for several seconds, carefully studying the surveillance system of the district before her. “There aren't many cars on Yinhang Lu. Go now. Get yourselves to the corner of Yinhang Lu and Jalan Medan.”

  Tango groaned nervously. He knew that as soon as he tried to escape the blockade, they too would be wanted by the authorities. “Understood.” He put the large van back into gear, slammed his foot down and turned the wheel hard to his left. The van smashed loudly into the front of a commuter car and stopped.

  Tango gasped loudly when he realised they were stuck. He turned around to see curious and angered officers staring in their direction.

  “Quickly! Go!” Echo shouted, raising his voice in a rare display of panic.

  Tango shifted the stick up, sending the car flying backwards several metres.

  “Get out of your vehicle, sirs,” an officer said as she approached the driver's side window. Her weapon was not raised.

  Echo looked at the car they had hit, and saw a bewildered Athenian shouting at them.

  Tango shifted the van into gear for a final time, and pressed his foot down even harder. It flew forward, ripping a gaping hole in between the two cars, and narrowly escaping through to the other side. They were free, and flying down the large pedestrian path along the side of Jalan Raya.

  “We made it,” Tango cautiously said as the van picked up speed. Several bystanders had to dive out of the way of the dangerous machine. He peered out the window and saw several officers chasing after them, this time with their weapons drawn.

  Twenty-one

  Skye ran north along Qing Lu, keeping his eyes fixed on the helicopters above. “I'm coming, Juliet,” he called into his headset. He arrived back at Jalan Raya and darted across the enormous intersection. The toppled cruiser still lay on its side near their crumpled van.

  Seconds later, he appeared at the entrance of the building they were hiding behind earlier. The helicopters were hovering directly above, so he took a chance and assumed Juliet was on that roof. He kicked the doors open and burst inside. In front of him was a beautiful marble lobby, with several men and women seated inside, waiting for the lockdown to finish.

  They turned and glanced at the shadow of the masked man that flew past. Screams erupted as he darted through the middle of the lobby, sending a frightened shiver down the spines of the already tense civilians. He reached the other end of the room in a flash and hastily opened the door to the stairwell. Skye climbed one flight after the other, as quickly as he could, leaping several stairs with every bound.

  “Skye, I've sent Tango and Echo to the corner of Yinhang Lu and Jalan Medan,” Ren informed him. “It's the closest street that hasn't been cordoned off or isn't overflowing with traffic.”

  “Great, thanks,” he panted as he continued the ascent.

  “You'll need to act quickly. The police are now chasing them.”

  Skye grunted, not hiding his frustration with the rapidly deteriorating situation which he found himself in. He climbed another flight, then arrived at the final door. He ran straight through it, startling a frightened Juliet who was huddled behind a nearby air vent covered in bullet holes.

  “Juliet!” he shouted, looking up at the dangerous helicopters circling above.

  “Help me!” she screamed back, with tear-streaked cheeks. Her cry was barely audible over the spinning rotors.

  Skye leapt backwards as an array of bullets flew into the air vent, narrowly missing the terrified girl. The assault from the police was relentless. As the state had declared that she be shot on sight, the authorities hadn't wasted a single second by bothering to negotiate a surrender, and instead focussed on eliminating the threat.

  “Skye, you're out of time!” Ren yelled. “The police are being ordered to surround the building you're in. Get out of there, now!”

  Skye had to act quickly. As soon as the stream of bullets ceased, he ran over to his comrade and placed her over his shoulder. He turned and raced across the rooftop, his reflexes too fast for the aerial predators. Skye leapt over the edge, soaring through the air and landing on a smaller building next door. He rushed across the second rooftop, but stopped when he saw the height of the next building—it was far too high for him to jump on to.

  “Hold on, Juliet,” he said as he hopped carefully over the side, implementing a new strategy. Juliet shrieked as she felt herself plummet down to earth like a stone.

  Skye landed nimbly on his feet, standing on the path of Jalan Raya once again. He turned and saw that over a dozen officers were frantically rushing around the area. He wasted no more time, not allowing a single opportunity for the police to spot him and begin chasing. He started sprinting west, desperate to leave the district.

  “Ren, what's their location? Are they ready?”

  His heart started pounding out of his chest. The frantic events of the morning were taking a serious toll on his energy, but he was determined to push onwards and remove Juliet from the crisis surrounding them.

  “They're nearly there, but the police almost have them cornered. You need to hurry!”

  Skye pushed his body harder. He turned as he ran, and saw that the helicopters were in pursuit, along with countless officers who had spotted the conspicuous pair. He bounded past the endless number of cars abandoned on the road alongside him.

  He turned right onto Jin Dajie, and almost crashed into a cruiser that was driving straight toward him. He swiftly strode around it, continuing his esc
ape. His only priority was to now save Juliet.

  “Skye, they're at the intersection, but they can't stay—the police are going to get to them before you do.”

  He took in large gulps of air as he endured the long chase, which seemed to be endless. His fatigue was slowly taking over, and he wasn't sure how much longer he would last. He turned left onto Jalan Medan. “I'm almost there,” he panted. “Tell them to start leaving and I'll catch up.”

  A third helicopter appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and lowered itself in between the large office buildings in front of him. Barely a second went by before a masked man opened fire from the landing skid. The bullets flew with extreme accuracy, only narrowly missing Skye as he shifted his position and moved out of the way. Juliet screamed at the sound of the gunfire.

  He pressed onwards, unable to stop and rest. He ran beneath the chopper, immediately recognising the logo on its underside. “Ren, the military's back!” Dread filled his body. The police were quite adept and lethal, but the Dong Yue military was by far a more deadly and malignant sect.

  “You're almost there, Skye. Keep moving!”

  His body was at its limit, only being urged on by sheer adrenaline. He continued to place one foot in front of the other, moving as quickly as he possibly could. The unrelenting helicopter turned and pursued the duo.

  Up ahead, Skye saw four cruisers parked across the road, preventing any vehicles from entering the district. He breathed a quick sigh of relief when he noticed they were unmanned. He ran even harder, bounding through the cordon effortlessly. He was so close to freedom.

  “Hang in there, Juliet,” he breathed in between gasps of air.

  Less than one hundred metres away was an old, brown van driving away from the scene.

  “I see them,” he spoke into his headset.

  His legs were giving out. He pushed himself one final time, desperately trying to catch the fleeing van.

  Before he could reach it, half a dozen officers emerged from Yinhang Lu and opened fire on the van, tearing several small holes through the back of it.