He had no idea where he was going.
From the pounding in his head to the pain in his leg, his entire body screamed for him to stop and give up. No matter how loud it screamed, he didn't stop, didn't let the pain gain that much power over him.
Back in that office, he'd lost control. The one thing he swore he wouldn't do and then he went and did it.
Rexton had fought back as he should have. And it wouldn't be longer before he was back on his feet and calling for Cassius's capture.
He didn't know how much time he had or if there was even a slim chance he would make it out of the building. He blew his chances when he lost his temper. Now he had to work with what he had.
He turned on the next corner and followed what he thought was the path to the front entrance. It would be guarded by at least two guards, but the doors weren't a security risk like the front gate was. It was easier to exit the base than to enter.
His mind was still reeling from the fight. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been and how strong Rexton was. The man was like a brick wall. He'd reflected Cassius's magic so well.
Nothing Cassius threw at him had set him back like it would any normal Remu. It made him a little weary of what Rexton could do to him if he was captured.
Rexton was probably already dreaming what he would do to Cassius once he woke up from the blow.
Fuck. I've done it this time.
But it was better this way. It beat being chained like a dog and submitting. This was better than being the docile slave serving the Exterus wants and needs.
He remembered Rexton's threats and then the bombshell that he was being transferred. He'd spun out of control at that. He couldn't help it. All the things he'd done and endured for an opportunity and it was flushed away by some asshat from the Capital. He was a slave to the Exteru, but he wasn't a slave at all.
His mind and body were his own and if he had to destroy everything just to keep it that way, he would.
If he was going to die, it would be by his own hands only and on his own terms.
The hallway ended and opened up to a commons. He ducked behind a half-wall and waited for a sound. After hearing nothing, he peeked out.
There were two large sofas facing each other and a glass office to the left. He couldn't see anyone in the office, but they could be in the back. Just beside the office was a door that would need to be buzzed open from inside the office.
If he got through that door, he would only have to go down one moe hallway before he reached the front doors. It seemed impossible thinking about it, but if he was still moving, it was possible.
He looked around the commons once more. Still, there was no one. He ran from the wall to the office and tried the handle first. As expected, it was locked. He jiggled it a couple times though he already knew it wouldn't make a difference.
He could feel his time running out. Minutes were turning to seconds and each second was a droplet of sweat on his face.
He grabbed the first thing he saw which just happened to be a potted plant beside the sofas.
The planter was of no use, but he saw a piece of metal forced in beside the plant to keep it upright. He pulled the piece of metal out and went back to the door.
This was when training came in handy. Besides being used for just hand-to-hand combat, it was a tool he could use when he couldn't use brute force. He'd thought about smashing through the glass to get into the office, but there were probably alarms set to go off if he did. But if he picked the lock…
The metal piece began to melt in his hand. He hissed as the pain registered, but he held still. He stopped the flow of the heat and watched as the metal cooled. He flipped the metal around, settled on his knees in front of the door, and pushed the metal into the lock.
There could be an alarm on the door or there might not be. He hadn't thought about what he would do if it did go off or if he was caught right then. He didn't want to think about it at all because he was going to get out of here.
He had to.
He focused on the metal tip, pushing out his magic to melt the wire. His magic came off in ripples, flowing through him and through the air. As his eyes closed, he hushed his mind until there was nothing but the wire. It was melting, pooling inside the lock and taking its shape. He changed the heat and cooled down the metal.
He opened his eyes and turned the metal.
The lock clicked.
He slammed through the door. The air whooshed out of him and when he heard no alarms, he started searching for the switch to open the sealed door. The desk had nothing but one computer, a pen, and a pad on it. He knew the button had to be around the desk, somewhere that could be accessed easily.
His hand slipped under the desk. He felt nothing.
Time was running out. Rexton would be waking up by now.
He knocked the chair back.
Where the fuck is it?
He flipped the pad over and pushed the keyboard out of the way. It made no sense to put the switch anywhere else but here. He'd seen the guards do it before. He knew the didn't need to move from their desk to buzz someone out.
Once more, he slipped his hand under the desk. He growled when he still couldn't find it. Then he got down on his knees and looked around.
There was a set of cords running down the wall that disappeared under the carpet.
Are you fucking serious?
He laughed. He really couldn't believe it.
He sat in the chair and pressed his foot on the carpet where he guessed the cords ended.
The doors opened.
Finally.
***
Mica Rexton pulled himself from the floor using the chair as leverage. Blood ran down his nose and temple, but the pain had left him long ago. He felt numb and confused.
That Mekiah had been something else. He couldn't describe the crazy feeling he got when they were together nor could he comprehend what it could mean.
It shouldn't have happened. The fight. And Mica should have been able to handle it.
Mica wiped his nose and sat in the chair. He caught his breath as he pulled out his phone and dialed the alert signal. The message was sent and in about thirty seconds the alarms would go off. It had been a solid five minutes since Cassius had run from the office, but he couldn't have made it too far. If he made it past the security box, he would have a tougher time getting through the guards at the front gate.
Mica should have been angry. A Mekiah had overpowered him and escaped under his watch. It was embarrassing and humiliating. No general would ever admit to being beaten by a Mekiah.
But he was impressed.
Cassius had shown more will than any other Mekiah Mica had met. And even under the control of the Dissipater, he'd shown an unbelievable amount of magic.
A wailing siren sounded off in the hall. Mica stood from the seat and walked to the door. As he peered out with one hand covering his bloody nose, he messaged out another command and hoped they hadn't captured Cassius just yet. He was confident they hadn't. The Mekiah was stronger than anyone could anticipate and would fight until he couldn't anymore.
It was going to be hard to break him down, but Mica was sure he could do it. His methods would be as civilized as he could make them out to be when President Maxem was going to be watching him closely. But there would be sacrifices made. He was sure that in the larger scheme of things, his unfortunate cruelty would be forgiven.
Once he had Cassius in his corner, he would have the most powerful Mekiah in Xtavia. For that, he would do anything.
The blood ran down his lips. He hadn't bled this long since he was knocked down when he was five. And that had been his own fault when he was testing out his own powers.
No one had ever beaten him down like this before. It was humiliating but wondrous at the same time. The anger he should have felt was just awe and though he would punish the Mekiah for what he'd done, it just proved how much the Mekiah was worth. Mica needed his hands on him, to have him on his team. But there was something else that was starting to change his plans.
General Iza wasn't going to give Cassius up without a hard fight. He wasn't worried about overruling him. Mica was the highest ranking general in Xtavia, but it was Iza's unethical attachment to the Mekiah which worried him.
Iza had moved beyond viewing Cassius as a slave on his SWARM. Somehow, he'd started to think the Mekiah was his own personal bed slave.
The bond would have to be broken and Mica wasn't unnerved about that. What he was unsure about was Iza's reaction and what he would do if Cassius was removed. If he went rogue, it would mean hell for Mica to settle and if he wanted to finish in time for the deadline, he couldn't let that get in the way.
He walked out of the office. Outside the door was a faint trail of red down the wall and around the corner. He bent down and examined the red. It was blood.
The pen was back in the office, covered in blood most likely. He frowned at the trail and looked around. The blood was heading toward the entrance, but there might be another way to get outside. Cassius was probably panicking now, though he was smart and would figure a way out if he was caught.
Mica stood and turned around in the opposite direction as the blood. He wasn't going to hope this worked because it was going to work. Cassius was smart for a Mekiah and powerful too. He was just what Mica needed to finish his plans, but if he didn't knock him down a few pegs, Mica would find himself being the one on his knees.
And that was not acceptable.
As a smile crept across his face, one that was too small to be even considered a smile. He thought to himself how pathetic it was. So he wiped it away.
He thought about his next move when he did have the Mekiah in his possession. He'd been planning this for so long and now that everything was coming to fruition, he was excited for it to be all over.
He pulled his hand back and gazed at the blood coating his fingers. Rolling it between his thumb and forefinger, he imagined a world without all of this. The bloodshed and excitement.
Perhaps it would be better. Boring but better for everyone all around.
He couldn't predict who he would be in the future, but he doubted he would be much different than who he was now. Cold, unforgiving, and a right out dick.
The cowards back in Keshtin never said in right out in his face. He just knew.
Oh, how strange the world was. And how defenseless it would be once he showed them who he really was.
***
The exit led to an open hallway. Beyond that was another set of doors. And beyond that would be the front doors.
Cassius slid down and looked out one more time before he sat. There was no time left. He was pushing it the longer he thought about what he was going to do instead of actually taking action. But his racing heart told him how he really felt. He tried to push down his uneasiness and tried to place his mind somewhere else. He thought maybe if he thought about nothing but escaping, he would be able to cure his nervousness.
As expected, it didn't work.
He pushed his shaky hands under his thighs and waited for his heart to settle. After a minute, his fingers stopped their trembles and his heart wasn't high in his throat. The courage he'd had back in the glass office was gone, replaced by the fear of being caught. This would be worse than anything he'd ever had to endure in his life. No beating by Iza would compare to what they'd do to him if he was caught now.
He was done living this life, caged until they needed to use him. He was tired of being the Mekiah instead of Cassius. He was nothing here, but out in the world, there was a place for him. All he had to do was shed his chains and cut away from his old life.
But his chance was cut short when he saw the shadows of five men. They marched out from the opposite corner, arms loaded with military issued pistols. Cassius caught the Xtavia symbol on the side of the guns. It was a bee-hornet hybrid with its body curled and wings straight up in a position to strike.
It glowed a faint purple hue. The bullets were made of silver and enhanced with magic from the hands of the Exteru. They were used against Mekiah because they were easy for non-exterminators to handle.
But they weren't fool proof. A Mekiah would have to be weaker than normal for one bullet to do any damage. That reason was why the guns were mostly used on escaped house slaves.
It was kind of insulting if they were planning on capturing him with those. He was military trained. Not a fucking bed slave.
Cassius watched them walk past the door before he hid himself from their line of sight. He waited for them to keep walking, but they stopped just a few feet away from where he was. His breath caught in his throat. For a brief second he thought he might have given himself away with a frustrated scream.
He pushed his fist into his chest, his teeth gritting as his anger tried to take over him. His raging emotions would do him no favors right now. There were fucking five of them. He had no chance against them and their weapons.
Cassius peaked out, risking it just this once. His eyes fell on who he thought was the leader of the group. She had her gun drawn and pointed up. She gestured to the four others to take the lead. They nodded and followed the order, walking around the next corner. The woman surveyed the area and after a long minute had passed, she started moving in Cassius's direction.
He stood up and pushed himself back against the wall as close as he could. The woman's footsteps grew near and as the foot falls got louder, her held his breath. He waited for the right time. The seconds slowed to an agonizing pace.
The tip of the gun edged into his line of sight. She came around the corner, gun pointed and ready to shoot.
He took the chance. He grabbed the gun and swung her around. They slammed back into the wall, knocking heads together. She was stunned for a moment, but she gained back her balance and flung the gun back. It hit Cassius in the face and before he could push her back again, she flipped him over her shoulder.
He landed on his back. The gun clattered to the ground to his left. Gasping, he turned over on his side. She came after him and as he spotted the gun, still glowing its signature purple, she slammed her boot clad foot down on his back.
"Ah! You fucking bitch." He grabbed the gun and whirled around. Her foot pressed into his back, but it wouldn't matter once he put a bullet through her head.
The gun pointed at her face. His eyes met hers and for a brief second, he saw the fear rise in them.
He pulled the trigger.
Her head snapped back. Blood splattered out from the wound, painting the wall in a grimy red littered with small chunks. Her eyes rolled back, lids fluttering. Suspended in time, Cassius watched as her body crumbled. It started in her knees. They buckled and then her back gave out. She fell face forward and before he thought about what was about to happen, she came tumbling on top of him.
His eyes stared widely at the ceiling. A scream began to bubble in his chest and the feeling of blood pooling at the base of his neck, made it much worse. He pushed her body off of him. The gun was still in his hand and he wasn't willing to let it go just yet. He fumbled to move her body. He was covered in blood now and a little shaky over what had just happened.
He'd met her eyes. Those lifeless eyes that just creeped the fuck out of him.
He searched her for any other weapons of use but found nothing. They must have heard the gunshot and the four others would be heading back here soon. The sirens were still going and maybe that had muffled the shot somewhat though he didn't know if they were tracking each weapon that was being used.
Taking his chance, he rushed toward the doors. They were open, thank god, and without much trouble, he slipped through them.
"Hold it, Mekiah!"
Three shots were fired. One hit him in the shoulder, one in the leg, and the other flew past him. He fell to his one good knee.
"Drop it or I shoot again!"
His energy was dropping fast, but these shots wouldn't knock him out. This was it. This was all he had now. The chance he'd been planning was gone in a second.
He turned. His hand shook, but the will was there, strong as before. The gun felt a hundred times heavier. He raised it.
He was ready for it to end. It didn't matter how.