C. Schmidt - Hock City

“I’m not strong enough for that!”

“Yes you are; together we are.”

“I don’t know about this, Mr. Langston.”

“You wanted me to trust you, right? Now trust me. Ready? On three.”

Langston looked at Jesse, who in returned looked at him with squinty, concerned eyes. The gas was beginning to suffocate them and strain their vision. Langston motioned his fingers to count: one and then two. On three, Langston used all his strength to push down on the rod pipe, forcing the drain cover up a few inches from the ground. Jesse immediately kicked a rock under it, but hard enough that it went into the drain. It fell into the darkness below.

“That’s okay, get another one! Quick!”

The veins in Langston’s arms and neck increased in size; he used the little strength he had left. Jesse ran and grabbed another stone. This time he used his hand, placing the stone between the drain cover and the ground. Langston’s stamina gave out at the same moment as he let go of the pipe. Success again. They grabbed the drain cover, and counted to three once more. At three, the two were able to slide the cover free from the hole, enough for Jesse to get inside.

“Good, good! Go!” Langston shouted.

Jesse quickly climbed down the ladder inside the hole. At this moment, the guards turned the corner and were just a few yards away. They stood for a moment and breathed heavily – looking ahead to gauge what Langston was doing.

“I made it down!” Jesse shouted from below.

“Human, stop!”

Bystanders were alerted at the word ‘human;’ a word that many of them hadn’t heard for a long period of time. They wanted to see who and where this person was. Unknowingly, they created a barrier by getting in front of the group of guards to watch the events unfolding.

Langston heard the guard, which prompted him to jump into the hole instead of using the ladder; unsure of how far down the tunnel went and what was below. All that mattered was Jesse was down there and safe.

The guards continued to fire rounds from the HeatMods. The shots, in combination with the gas, caused an explosion. It knocked them and others in the vicinity to the ground. The force of the blast shook the area, causing Langston to slam into the wall of the tunnel. This caused his arm to get tangled in the ladder.

Langston screamed in anguish, “I’m caught on something! Shit! I can’t get loose! Just go – keep going!” He shouted to Jesse.

“No! No! C’mon! Free yourself! I’m not leaving you!” Jesse replied.

Langston grabbed the ladder with his free arm, pulling himself up enough so that he could straighten and release the other. He was then able to grab onto the ladder correctly, just as specks of flames and dirt fell past him.

“Just slide! Slide down!”

Langston widened his legs, so that his knees and feet hugged the outside of the ladder. He slid down rapidly as larger chunks of the earth fell through the hole. Commotion from the people above continued.

“Get him! Get him! What are you idiots waiting for?!”

Pearl’s security forcefully made their way through the extravagant casino. They shoved gamblers to the side, without a care, in a hurry to get upstairs. They stormed into Pearl’s penthouse without notice. There was news to share.

“Madam Pearl, we have an issue. We lost your Seeker, and the human,” said a guard.

“Didn’t I tell you fools to knock before you come in here? Now what happened?!”

“I don’t know, Madam. I—”

Pearl shot him in the head before the guard could continue his explanation. The guard fell to his knees, with a gaping, bloody hole in his forehead. His eyes continued to move around. The last muscle reaction he would have. Others in the room scattered at the sound of the blast.

“ I don’t know is not what I want to hear! Oh my sweet Jesse, what are you doing? You, what happened?” she added, as she pointed to another guard, using a purple .45 magnum handgun, with a pearl grip.

The guard looked at his counterparts. He cautiously stepped back, creating space between him and the gun. He stammered before gaining composure, “Um, while we were at the armory, there was a commotion in the courtyard. During that commotion, the human and the Seeker ran off. We lost them after they entered a drain hole near the Water Collection area.”

“Dammit, Jesse; them damn tunnels. I am going to ring his little neck. They are trying to get outside of the walls. That boy is really testing my patience. They are in for a real surprise going that way, though.”

“Should we alert the Guardian, Madam?”

“No! No. We handle this ourselves . I don’t need that asshole knowing about this. He already makes my life miserable.”

“Do you want us to contact the Blattos? None of us can fit into these tunnels. It would be easier to work with the Blattos, since they are responsible for keeping watch on the external tunnels.”

“Makes sense. Do it, but do it quietly. No more commotion, you hear me?!”

“Yes, Madam.”

Back on the northern side of the city, Kinth was under travel restrictions from the Mantis. He was not far from his destination of which he did not plan on visiting: Guardian’s Grove.

“We really don’t need to go this way. This pin is not that important.”

“Shut up.”

A Mantodea soldier shoved him in the back to insist that he keep walking. Kinth was to keep quiet. The soldier struck him again when Kinth did not move as he was directed, but not hard enough to cause him harm.

“I suggest you tell your boys back there, to keep their funny looking arms to themselves. Especially if he likes having ’em,” he stated, after he wiped dust from his shoulder.

Offended by his statements, another solider attempted to grab Kinth, but Kinth latched on to its front leg at the same time. He bent it in a direction by which it was not designed to move. The injured Mantodea soldier let out an enormous wail in response to the pain. Other soldiers rushed the area, but the soldier at Kinth’s mercy nodded his head for them to not approach. Any more pressure and his leg would have snapped.

“I do say, this behavior is quite unnecessary. Please, release the soldier,” The Mantis spoke in a soft tone.

Kinth didn’t budge. The soldier continued to squirm by his grasp.

“The pin that you have has not been worn by anyone for many years. Hasn’t been seen for many years either. Very important people wore these pins. I’m sure the Guardian would like to know why you have it. So, again – please, release the soldier,” responded the Mantis.

“Advisor, advisor!” someone shouted.

Kinth slowly freed the soldier; his attention was now directed upon the new voice. The Mantis turned in the direction of the excitement, while a Blattos soldier ran towards them.

“Yes, what is it?”

“We have received word that there is an incident in the city.”

“There is always an incident in the city,” the Mantis replied. He began to walk again in the direction of Guardian’s Grove again.

“But advisor, this incident is of great importance.”

The Mantis continued to walk, unconcerned.

“Advisor! There is a human on the loose. He and another has caused a great disruption!” the highly decorated Blatto shouted.

The Mantis stopped walking immediately. A look of intrigue covered its face. Kinth reacted in a similar fashion, but he was intrigued for a different reason.

Langston.

“A human you say? How do you know of this?” asked the Mantis.

“The Blattos army has been summoned to find the human and his accomplice. The two disappeared into the tunnels.”