EquinoxSol x RangerKay

  • So many newbies lately! Here is a very important PSA about one of our most vital content policies! Read it even if you are an ancient member!
"Okay," he answered, waiting patiently. He sighed to himself, not because it was a burden, but because he didn't want to make friends with someone who was probably going to be executed in the coming weeks.
 
"Do you think people will remember the singer Annabel, or the thief?" She asked, her voice quiet and shy.
 
"...People remember what made the most impact on their life. My father, for example, would remember me as not only his only son, but the son who ran away to join the Republic Army. Some people might remember you as the singer, but I imagine most would remember you as the thief. It only makes sense..." he trailed off, not sure if he was making sense or not.
 
"I was afraid of that...." Annabel looked away and towards the wall. Tears escaped her eyes, unbidden.
 
After several quiet moments, Niko said, "I wish I could help you..."
 
Niko didn't answer. Instead, he had gotten up off of the wall, hearing something odd in the room where the two guards from earlier had disappeared into. The guards were gone, and in the center of the relatively bare office space was a bomb with a time counting down from 4:25. Wasting no time, he remembered his training for both the Republic Army and what his father had taught him.

Muttering to himself, he said, "It's a 2.63 box explosion bomb, Father. You need a screwdriver to open the casing and you cannot use the colors of the wires to tell you which ones to cut." Digging through his pockets, feeling a drop of sweat roll down the side of his face, he quickly found a mini-screwdriver. Kneeling down next to the bomb, he worked at getting the screws out. The screwdriver wasn't the right head, and he had to work to get each of the screws out. "Shit, shit, shit," he muttered to himself, knowing that this kind of bomb could destroy the entire compound.

Inside the case, he found a note sitting atop the actual wires, that said, "I think we won," and signed, "Love, US."
 
"What's going on?" Annabel asked, fear at his silence spreading through her. She wondered what was happening.
 
Crumpling up the paper, he searched through the wires, trying to find the incendiary device and the trigger. "That one's a false trigger," he told himself, seeing a wire leading to the incendiary but not the trigger. "Don't cut it, there could be a second trigger for it." His heart felt like it was beating its way out of his chest, and he tried to calm it by taking several deep breaths, keeping his gaze on the countdown. I'm not going to make it, he thought. It was at 3:45 already, and he knew from past experience that it would take him at least half as long to disable the bomb, let alone find the right parts to disable.
 
Annabel cringed in her cell. She could hear him muttering and the thought they were discussing her death scared her. She scooted to the far corner and sat.
 
Biting his lip, he continued searching for the right wires to cut, letting out long strings of curses as he periodically glanced at the timer. Finally, when he realized that he wouldn't be disarming the bomb at all, he jumped to his feet, the timer reading 0:16. Running to Annabel's cell, he opens it, shouted a quick, "On the floor!" and covered her with his body, determined that if he couldn't live, at least he would have a clear conscience.
 
Annabel squeaked in fright as his body flew at her and covered her. "What the hell is going on?!" She hissed, his unexpected behavior scaring her. The heat from his body enveloped her and she covered her head with her hands.
 
"Keep down!" he shouted, right before time slowed to a crawl. As if in slow motion, he witnessed the explosion, fire and shrapnel raining down on him. A searing pain hit him as a shard of the wall buried itself in his side, black spots appearing in front of his eyes as the outer wall of the cell burst out, revealing the city.
 
Annabel could hear the explosion, her ears ringing as stuff rained down around them and the wall burst out, revealing the city. "Freedom.." She mouthed, her ears still ringing, unable to hear anything going on, it sounded like she was under water.
 
"Get out of here!" Niko shouted, seeing outside. "Leave me here, I'll be okay!" he told her, even though it was obvious he wouldn't be: the wound he had received was bleeding profusely, blood staining his uniform and filling his nose with the smell.
 
Annabel could smell the blood. She stumbled to her feet before turning around and kneeling by him. "Let me help!" She shouted, shaking her head at the ringing. She tore part of her tight tank off, revealing her stomach as she bent forward and prodded his wound. She knew enough from helping at the orphanage to be able to take care of such wounds. She shook her head, knowing she would have to pull the shrapnel out and then wrap it well.
 
His breathing was labored as she knelt by him, struggling to stay conscious. As she attempted to heal him, he said, "No! Soldier's'll be here any minute now," just as a helicopter flew overhead. He winced, before saying, "It...hurts to breathe...I think some of my ribs are broken..."
 
"I need to get you out of here...they'll blame you" Annabel quickly removed the shrapnel, taking her strip of cloth from her tank top and tying it around his middle. She bent close to him and put his arm around her shoulders. "Looks like you don't have a choice but to become one of us..." Her face took on a determined look as she attempted to lift him up.
 
Crying out as she took the piece of shrapnel out of his side, he felt several tears running down his now dirt-stained cheeks, leaving clear lines through the dust, dirt, and blood. Drifting in and out of consciousness afterwards, he barely noticed as she lifted him, his legs feeling like jelly. It seemed that as soon as he was in enough pain, everything he had learned about how to deal with blood and pain went out the window.
 
"We need to get to Mother Crow..." She grunted as she supported him, beginning to move towards the slums. Her people would hide her, help her, and protect her. It was slow going with her doing most of the work, but before long she was in the slums, her people looking at her in shock before coming alongside her and helping her. A child was sent as a runner to inform Mother Crow of what had happened.

Mother Crow listened carefully to the child, standing carefully to clear off a table for the young man. She chuckled, "Leave it to Annabel to live on a day the saints were powerless."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back