13 Escape (1/2)
Pieces of broken metallic doors were scattered across the ground, dust was flying everywhere, making it hard to breathe. The once quiet hallway now looked like one of his old world war zones. Aleran knew there was no more turning back, not that he would want to turn back, he wanted to escape this place at all cost. Even without knowing exactly where to go after.
He looked at the prisoners and almost immediately he could differentiate three groups. The first, was gathering next to Fedrin. Those who could still cultivate were sitting crossed legged trying to gather as much energy as they could. They knew it would not be enough for a long fight, but they only needed to have an extra boost to run faster. They would try to put as much distance as possible between the guards and them. If they were lucky, the guards would concentrate on others. Those who couldn't cultivate were just standing there waiting for Fedrin, who was also sitting crossed legged to charge out. Although Fedrin could fight even without qi, because his body had been permanently altered by his cultivation, he would still need qi to fight someone above the heaven opening stage.
The second group was almost as big as the first, but they were behaving erratically. Some started running to the other pavilions. Some stayed in their cells even after their doors were broken. The worst of them were already fighting each other. Two men and one woman were trading punches and kicks in a three-way fight that started without logical reason. One prisoner was sticking his fingers into the eyes of a fallen opponent, the fallen victim was screaming at the top of his lungs, but no one was willing to intervene.
At the corner of his eye, Aleran caught sight of a man going for the unconscious Corif. He was about to move when he felt a hand gripping firmly at his shoulder. ” Let it go kid. You are already in deep s.h.i.+t, don't bother about someone you don't even know.”
With guilt vibrating in his voice, Aleran turned to Zarasen. ” Whatever happens to him is my responsibility old man, I can't let him to the mercy of these madmen.”
Reinforcing his grip Zarasen berate him. ”If you fight that maniac you may attract the attention of others to fight you, and we don't have the time to enter in that mess.” Zarasen pointed to the prisoners fighting. He was right most of them stayed away from those who were quiet and only fought with those that were as aggressive as them.
”Kid, look around, this whole mayhem is our doing, whatever they do when they are outside is our fault too. Each and every action we make has consequences that escape us. There are some consequences we can control like this one just now, but the questions are simple. Are you willing to pay the price? Are you willing to risk the escape? Is it because you are worried about him or because you want to feel good about your decision and to care for your own ego? ”
”You knew the consequences when you agreed to it. Now that they look ugly you want to stop? No, you have to keep going, kid. As long as the escape is not compromised you stick to the plan. It's not pretty nor poetic but that's how you survive.”
Aleran closed his eyes, his mind was a mess. He had the power to stop that man, the guy didn't have energy fluctuations which meant his spirit-veins were probably broken. G.o.d knows what that maniac was going to do to the unconscious guard, that thought weighted like a mountain inside Aleran's heart. 'But Zarasen is right. Maybe it is a way to justify the actions of a coward but I can't do anything to jeopardize my escape. Much less for someone who would probably lock me up if he were awake.' When he opened his eyes they had a much more resolute look. But for some reason, they looked dimmer.
In the end, Aleran stood there, like the third group of people. They were only three, besides Aleran and Zarasen there was a bulky man with a diamond-shaped jaw. The three were the only ones that were like outsiders, watching as the more organized group gathered strength and the others tore each other apart. They were located near the entrance to the second pavilion far from the chaos. Aleran could see the glow of intelligence in the third man like he had his own plans.
”Bam!” Suddenly the door to the second pavilion was opened and two guards came in. One had a blade drawn and was dripping with blood, while the other had no weapon whatsoever. Clearly, they had run into some of the lunatics that went towards the other pavilions.
The first pavilion became silent. Even the fighting prisoners went still like statues, frozen in their combat poses mid-fight. For a second, guards and prisoners looked at each other.
”Oh no, this can't be happening!” The first to react was a guard. As fast as he came in, the unarmed guard, turn around and run to where he came from.
The other armed guard was a few seconds slower to react and as he was turning around when the hand of Fedrin grabbed the back of his neck. The guard quickly wielded his blade in a backhand grab to stab Fedrin but he only managed to pierce his clothes. ” If it's not an artifact, don't bother using it against me.” Fedrin soft voice was now a whisper of death. He squeezed his hand and the guard died instantly.
From Alerans perspective Fedrin had been sitting near the center of the corridor. But somehow and in a way that escaped Alerans perception, he stood up and appeared instantly behind the guard. What followed was the unpleasant sound of the guard's neck breaking and his body falling like a rag doll.
Aleran had been far away to see the death of the first guard clearly. But with this one, he could see the life leaving his body and thanks to his enhanced senses he could even hear the guard's last agonizing breath. The insipid food he ate before was threatening to reappear again but Aleran forced the vomit to stop in his throat.
”Okay, the time to gather strength is over. Let's leave.” Fedrin spoke to the other prisoners. He then looked at Aleran and Zarasen. ” It looks that this is where we part ways, I will never be able to thank both of you enough for your help. I hope we meet again, no matter the situation, you will always find a friend in me.”
With that, he turned and enter his cell, followed by most of the prisoners. He went to the wall and stood there with his legs flexed and apart from each other. One of his arms was extended, almost touching the wall while the other was at the height of his waist closed in a fist. He inhaled and suddenly his arms started to glow, it was the glow of qi. His arms started to give cracking noises and they started to look more like boulders than arms, they literally looked like rocks. The walls that were connected to the outside were much thicker than the inner walls so he needed much more strength to open a hole in them.
”That's what a body cultivator can do with qi. The Levian family specializes in defense techniques but their strength is not to be underestimated. Like all body cultivators, they can integrate their images to their bodies changing their properties.” Zarasen explained to Aleran who was looking with all his attention, he had already forgotten of the sickness he felt for the dead guard or the moral issue of rescuing the unconscious jailor.
Breathing out Fedrin punched with a quick movement, unlike what his arm that looked to be made of rocks suggested, the speed was unbelievable. Aleran could not see the punch only the sound was heard It was like when a ball or a fast-moving object pa.s.ses next to your ear. Only that now, the sound came from a few tens of meters.
”Booom!” The whole building experienced an earthquake and a huge hole was opened in the wall.
”We better prepare too, let's go.” Zarasen started walking. Aleran looked behind to see that the previously killed guard was now naked. The man with a diamond-shaped jaw was finis.h.i.+ng changing into the guards uniform. As if sensing Aleran's look he stopped changing, he looked up smiled and winked at him. Then he turned around and went towards the second pavilion.
'That is strange, I had a.s.sumed he was going to wait like us to escape, but it seems he has other agenda.' With that thought, he also turned around and followed Zarasen.
Gudran was currently standing on top of the outer wall near the gates, preparing himself for what was to come. He was clothed in tight-fitting robes and had spiky hair. His eyes were brown and with a frown surrounding them. He looked around at his men, they were standing at a distance from each other, some were equipped with bows, others with blades. But all of them, from time to time sent looks of worry and concern towards his side, but they were mainly questioning looks.