Chapter 11: Every Man for Himself

One instant he was asleep, and the next, Gary was fearing for his life. Almost as soon as he woke up, Orea had told him to stay quiet as they crawled through the vent. The main building was above them, and they could hear gunshots and screams reverberate to their ears. The Prixtal soldiers had returned, and not for the better. Gary couldn’t help but wonder who the soldiers were currently fighting; Brom, Rozik, Al’catraz and Darem, possibly Seema (Orea had filled him in on that), or all of the above? He didn’t know, but he found it hard to care when cramped under a battlefield.

“Are we at the exit yet?” Gary whispered.

“If we were,” the rabbit retorted, “we would, like, be out right now. Just keep moving.” There was a pause. “If I’m, like, correct, this vent follows right under the hallways toward the exit, as part of a, like, underground air conditioning system. That said, I would imagine this thing will eventually lead outside of this place. And a good thing too.” Gary nodded.

“What about the others?” He asked. Orea shook her head.

“Sadly, there are, like, only three real possibilities. Either they escape, they’re captured and forced to work for Prixtal…or they’re killed.”

The pair continued for about fifteen minutes until they saw a light ahead. Quickly, they crawled over to the exit, which was only blocked by a small metal screen. With Orea’s laser taking care of that, it didn’t take much to break out.

“Crap…looks like we’re not done yet.” They had gotten out of the main building, yes, but not the gate. You see, stationed around Prixtal’s main building was a large electric fence with all the fixings; lasers, security guards, barbed wires, and cameras. Add to that the fact that there was enough space to surround and capture any runaways that managed to escape the prison, and you had Gary and Orea’s situation.

“Have we been spotted yet?” Gary asked. From a few meters away, a guard cocked his rifle.

“I think so. Run!” The young hunters bolted out of the hole as the man fired. Gary rushed him, taking him down, and Orea confiscated the guard’s weapon. Unfortunately, other soldiers noticed, and began to swarm toward the hunters.

“We can’t take all of them down!” Gary exclaimed. He would be able to take down a good amount, and so would Orea, but there was always the matters of fatigue, ammo, and injuries. No one could last forever against this army; exactly how Mercy wanted it.

Suddenly, one of the walls on the building’s side burst, accompanied by a sound like booming thunder. A few soldiers were knocked through the hole, followed by Brom shortly after. The bull was charging headfirst at a group of warriors, mowing them down with his warhammer smashing anything he didn’t. The sound of cracking skulls could be heard from where Gary was, and for a minute, it seemed like maybe they could take the army down.

Unfortunately, one minute goes by fast.

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Saying that Lash was ticked was definitely and understatement. Once word had gotten out that the hunters had escaped their cells, Kecht was almost certain that his partner hit the roof. The duo ran through the hallways; the wolverine girl toying with something on her finger as she did so. The wolf beside her caught a glimpse of what it was: a small ring with a silver gem. A Daim Gem, to be precise.

“Lash, please don’t take off your ring,” Kecht pleaded. “Kecht would not like to see you become a demon and kill everyone. You might kill Kecht and his babies, as well as all the other people.”

“I don’t care about anyone here Freak,” the ruby colored beast growled. “But if it makes you feel any better, I won’t be the one turning into a demon. Look.” Up ahead, Kecht could make out two figures. One was flying while the other ran. Apparently, it was Seema and Rozik.

“The bug girl’s a traitor?” The wolf asked in disbelief.

“I suppose she isn’t good with backstabbing one side,” Lash snarled, speeding up. “She had to try and stab us too! Well, it ain’t working. Kecht, got any Arkenic left?”

“Kecht only has a little.”

“Perfect.” The beast darted forward, landed on all fours, and instantly threw herself forward, pouncing on Seema and pinning her to the ground. Rozik turned around as soon as he heard Lash, but before he could react, Kecht was beside him with a hand on the Arkenic needle, stabbing into the white hunter’s skin. He froze, and with Seema pinned onto the floor, the two hunters couldn’t stop Lash from whatever she was planning to do next.

“Hold this for me,” Lash ordered, handing the mantis to Kecht. The wolverine, arms now free, walked over to the paralyzed hedgehog. Both pairs of ebony eyes reflected the same emotion: anger and hate. The wolverine smirked.

“I won’t turn into a demon…yet,” she muttered. “Though I would love to fight you, I’m afraid I’m going to have to wait on that. If you live, of course.” One clawed hand went to the collar around Rozik’s neck, fingering the small silver crystal. It matched the one on her ring perfectly, as if they were carved from the exact same stone.

“Start screaming my name boy; it’ll be the last thing you say for a long damn time.” At that exact moment, both Kecht and Seema realized what was about to take place. The mantis managed to toss her oppressor off, and rushed to tear Lash away. However, it was too late; the collar was ripped away, and Rozik sunk to the ground. A low moan passed his lips, turning to a full-fledged scream as his body began to morph. The sound of bones grinding as they changed in size was almost enough to sicken someone, but not as much as the sight of mezate bursting through the skin, like rapidly-forming thorns.

“You have to stop this right now!” Seema screamed, seizing Lash by the shoulders. “Do you realize what you’re doing unleashing a demon here?”

“No to the first, yes to the second,” The beast growled. “You expect me to care? Ha! All I want is to see you hunters dead, and that’s final.”

Behind her, the ceiling broke, the demon reaching full size at a little over seventeen feet at the highest point on the head. Noticing the potential prey before him, the demon swiped all three of them with his claws, which were like his regular clawed gauntlets, but incorporated into all four paws. The blow knocked Seema and Kecht into the wall, and Lash to the floor, breaking her left side in numerous places.

“Rozik, calm down!” Seema yelled. “You have to turn back to normal before you destroy everything!” Sensing the noise, the beast stared down at her. Sudden fear gripped the mantis as she saw the pure black eyes, emanating nothing of her comrade, just animalistic fury. Nothing but a monster of hatred…

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On the other side of the Prixtal Prison, Al’catraz was much too busy kicking the arses of soldiers to take much notice in the crash at the other side of the building. Darem and Suzy heard the noise, but decided that now was probably not the time to inform her. By now, they had ended up at what seemed like an air dock, where a few Prixtal helicopters were being kept (and some other vehicles as well). Any guards nearby were gone (most likely leaving to investigate the crash), so the trio were alone.

“I wonder…” Al’catraz’s eyes rested on the largest helicopter in the room, which had the official Prixtal flag design painted on the side, colored in turquoise and vermillion. The bat concluded this was most likely Mercy’s personal helicopter, and that he would be showing up any minute to leave.

“Ye be planning something, aren’t ye?” Darem asked cautiously, noting the look in the girl’s eyes. “I can tell by the way ye be eyeing that copter. Got a plan?”

“Kind of.” She replied with a shrug. “I’ve barely ever seen a flying vehicle myself, but the gas in them is flammable, right?” The dragon was silent as he thought about this, and realized what her plan was.

“Lass, if I set that tank afire, ye two are most likely dead. I can withstand heat, but I’mna’ so sure about ye-”

“Don’t worry, I have that figured out.” Al’catraz walked over to Suzy, who was still clinging onto Darem’s back. “Suzy, can I have a ribbon from your dress? The one right there?” The child nodded, handing Al the ribbon. It was a rather long ribbon, and the bat soon had part of it secured around the tank, and the rest dangling down like a fuse.

“You’ll be hiding under the copter, and when I tell you to, you’re going to set this ribbon on fire,” She explained. “If we time it right, it’ll be when the copter begins to lift. The updraft will help get the flames to the tank, and when it’s in the air…you don’t need help imagining what happens next.”

“Right…and I’m gonna’ risk me tail to do this…why?”

“Simple.” Al’catraz, at this point, had a mix of cunning and rage on her face. “No one, and I mean NO one, messes with me or my family. Rozik and Suzy are all I have, and if something happens to them, someone’s going to pay. Besides, I’m sure no one really minds if Mercy’s dead, right?” There was a pause. “Of course, if you don’t want to help me with this…I suppose I could always use that nice little tail of yours in a stew. It’d add a nice amount of flavor, you know.”

“…Fine. Hold ye’re wee friend then.” The dragon ducked under the helicopter, braced to run out as soon as the ribbon was lit. Meanwhile, Al’catraz and Suzy hijacked another fine Prixtal vehicle: a tank. This way, if the blast got to them, the tank would lessen the damage, due to its incredibly strong armor. Sitting Suzy on her lap, the bat readied for the only thing they needed to do now: wait.

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Back in the battlefield, the fight had not been going on too long, maybe a few minutes at the most. Gary had already felled a good number of soldiers, when suddenly, a large crashing noise came from the other side of the prison. Turning his head, the echidna saw part of the building collapse, and underneath the rubble was, surprisingly, a white demon. Remembering the cat demon back at Nauticon, a shiver went down his spine as he realized that the child paled in comparison to an adult demon.

“Holy…when did that get there?” Orea asked in surprise, almost letting her guard down long enough for a soldier to attack. She thankfully noticed, and shot the foe in the head before it could strike. “Is that, like, one of the demons Prixtal captured?”

“I don’t believe it is,” Brom answered from nearby. “Unless I am mistaken, that demon is actually Rozik.” Both of the younger hunter’s eyes widened. Gary was alarmed; that was his partner?

“How are we going to stop him then?”

“Like most demons, I would imagine his weak spot is either on his neck or atop his head somewhere.”

“We should be able to, like, climb up there, right?” Orea asked.

“Looks big enough to.” The bull leader nodded. “Yes, we should. First off, however, we need to attempt to find his gem. It’s most likely somewhere in the rubble of the building. Hopefully it isn’t crushed.”

“…Uhmm, guys?” Gary pointed over to the demon. “Is it just me, or did Rozik just notice we’re here?” The answer, sadly, was the latter.

“Everybody scatter!” Hunters and soldiers alike ran at the very sight of the demon as it ravaged the battlefield. Crimson pools gathered at the beast’s paws as it slayed numerous Prixtal soldiers, either by ripping them to shreds or devouring the bodies almost whole. Now Gary understood how big of a menace demons actually were…and why they were wanted dead.

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It was hard for anyone to tell what Mercy was thinking at that time. The revered leader did seem angered by Lash’s decision to loose a demon in the building, but otherwise, he acted rather pleased with what was going on. The golden echidna was almost at the air dock now, and he could leave this wretched place before it went up in smoke. And, if things went according to plan, he’d have a little “friend” coming with him.

“Master, do not leave without Kecht!” The wolf commander was spotted out of the corner of icy-blue eyes, Lash slung over his back, and a trail of blood (mostly from the wolverine) behind them.

“Commander Kecht, what is the meaning of this?” Mercy asked, thought he already figured out the answer.

“Lash was damaged by the demon, and Kecht needs to get her to a doctor! And…Kecht does not want to fight the demon yet. Kecht really doesn’t want to fight the demon yet.” Mercy noted the fear in the wolf’s eyes; if it wasn’t for the fact that emotionless soldiers weren’t nearly good enough to hold positions over Squadron Captain, he would have taken away the useless emotions from these Commanders by now.

“You may come with me in my copter then. It is the only one allowed to leave until this little scuttle is taken care of.” Entering the air dock, Kecht immediately climbed in with Lash into the back, while Mercy took the pilot’s seat. While most people would not want to endanger their leader by letting him drive, Mercy was one for doing things like this himself; especially with what he had planned.

Installed on the opposite side of the control stick for the driving was another stick, which controlled a small gun called a Warp Gun mounted on the copter’s side. It wasn’t a weapon, but instead fired a beam that would automatically transport the person fired at to a laboratory at Almarant. Unfortunately, the Warp Gun was still not perfected yet; it heated up quickly, so that only one shot could be fired every ten minutes. One miss could be a deadly mistake…of course, Mercy didn’t plan on missing.

“Little guardian, you are going to be mine in the end,” Whispered his chilling voice. “Once that takes place, it is only a matter of time…”