It was beyond their expectation. As they started dispersing and moving into groups of smaller sizes. They had managed to blend in with the people of the nearby town that they went into. Maki and Damian who were together in a group, looked around as they walk along with the crowd.
The town was one of the towns that had completely idolized the current government. Kneeling and bowing their heads to murderers and chauvinists made them gain a little more freedom compared to the other towns.
As a result, this town had more bustling streets and their people had more freedom to roam around without guards at every corner of the street.
This was a favorable situation for the mutiny as they had the perfect camouflage to blend in and pass the town without any hesitation.
Damian kept an eye up ahead and saw the Mohawk head he was looking for. Commander Zeph neither looked around nor behind him. He had every faith that all of the members of the mutiny will be able to reach the destination. He looked straight ahead and quickly spotted a large arch.
Before reaching the unguarded border of this town, he already had a rough patch of where they should head to reach the front house. To reach their destination, the shortest route and so far safest would be to pass the town and go underground. The underground railway had long been out of commission. It was deemed unusable due to multiple blockages that were set up to stop any revolution from coming through.
But all of that talk was just a front. The railway runs under four consecutive towns starting from this one. When the government started colonizing this country, they bombed multiple cities and towns to get them under their control and no town was spared.
The bombs that were dropped would have caused some big rocks to fall underground acting as blockades for the railways.
But Zeph and the others know that they don't need to mind those blockades as they only need to pass two more towns after this one to reach the front house.
While Zeph's mind was occupied by both the mission and the anxiety of fulfilling it, Maki who was silently following Damian since they left the bunkers glimpsed at the latter.
They couldn't remember each other but they had this vague feeling that they should look after each other. Damian spared a glimpse at Maki and somehow felt relieved to see him following. All their memories and feelings had been sealed but they couldn't deny the feeling of relief seeing how they had each other's backs.
While the group focused on blending in with the crowd, an ominous feeling crept up on Damian's back making him turn around, searching for something that he didn't know what.
Maki saw the change in the older male's behavior. He quickly tugs the end of the other's clothes making Damian stare at him.
"Focus, you'll attract other's attention"
Seeing Maki's reaction and how he didn't seem to feel the fleeting hostile feeling, Damian decided to just focus on ahead and ignore the feeling.
Up ahead, Commander Zeph who was also wary of his surroundings decided to notice the things that were happening on the town's plaza.
People chattered and enjoyed themselves as if they had never been under strict surveillance from the government's military forces. Businesses also prosper as if the taxes weren't as high as you would think.
"It would have been nice if I had also lived in this town"
As some of the rebels thought this, it was then that they felt the huge difference in the air they were breathing.
The hostile and ominous feeling that Damian brushed aside was starting to come back to him. Maki who was determined to meet at the point stopped walking all of a sudden. Damian looked back at him and as if realizing why the younger male stopped, he looked around only to realize that the people who were bustling on the streets had to face masks on them.
"Shit, run"
Damian grabbed Maki's hands and pushed through the crowds. But it suddenly became harder for them to get through as some people purposely blocks their way.
Noticing the odd change in the air and the behavior of the townspeople. Commander Zeph who was usually calm and calculative fired up a red flare and started dragging some of his comrades while running through the crowd.
They were in danger. Rendezvous at the point using other means of the pathway.
Damian and Maki immediately ran for an open alleyway and made a run for it. Damian noticed that both of them were running out of breath and that would only mean one thing.
The air in this town was already poisoned.
"Sulfur tetrafluoride"
"What?"
As Maki stopped running to catch his breath a little, Damian stared at him.
"It's Sulfur tetrafluoride, that would have explain the irritating feeling in my bare skin and eyes"
Looking up at the older male, Damian only noticed the redness of the eyes and on the little bare skin in his neck.
Damian who was clothed from his neck down to his foot couldn't feel the irritating feeling but he couldn't deny that he had the urge to scratch his eye out at the moment.
Maki grabbed two triangular bandages from his medical stash and gave one to Damian.
"Better cover your nose to not inhale that much gas, we could die with it"
Following Maki's advice, Damian eyed the latter and wondered how he had known what gas was it but it wasn't the place to ask that.
After securing the cloth on their nose and mouth they then again run out of the alley and looked for the nearest path that could lead them underground.
The two male's eyes widen and quickly hide behind a stone pillar of a house. On the ground were some of their comrades. Coughing blood as they draw out heavy breaths. The townspeople who were wearing gas masks just stood on the sidelines with their arms crossed.
"Hah, that's what happens to pests"
"You trying to ruin this peaceful town?"
"Tsk don't go deciding on your own that you should change this country"
"Such pests sure deserve to die pitifully"
Words echoed throughout the streets as they watch the rebels draw up their last breath.
Damian clenched his fists as he watch his comrades die pitifully and fall one by one. He looked at them one by one and noticed that most of them were in his faction. But, commander Zeph wasn't in it.
"Our commander isn't there, he should be alive so the mission continues regardless of our loss"
Damian looked at Maki and with no emotion etched on his face.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*DAMIAN'S*
I don't know his name. I don't have our memories but the connection is there. I looked at his reddened skin and eyes and decided to take out the map that was given to some of us.
"You're right, let's search for another way. We couldn't go this way anymore"
I looked at him again and as a response, he only nodded at me and looked at the map I was holding. I wonder if that was how I look right now.
I shook my head and focused on the map. Before we felt the change in the air we were going as straight as we can but now we had strayed far away from the supposed entrance of the underground railway. This town was mostly made by multiple alleyways that would lead to one place.
"What about this?"
I looked at him and saw that he was pointing to the alleyway that leads to a church.
"Churches had long been out of commission since the government had colonized us."
I looked at the map again and saw that the church was only a few feet west of the entrance of the underground railway.
"Let's go, we don't have any other choice anyway"
He stood up raising the bandage on his face a little higher before turning to the alleyway that leads to the church. I rolled up the map and walked on ahead.
He was right. We don't have any other choice. The church was the nearest and safest point up until the underground entrance. Not only that but we can feel the air getting heavier again. With heavy feet, we ran towards the church, occasionally stopping whenever a person passes by.
As we ran I noticed how every house has a large pipe on top of their houses. Does this mean they knew about the toxic gas and they released it voluntarily?
If so, then that would be the only explanation why there aren't any soldiers around. This person had completely succumbed to the ways of the government for them to be trusted to get rid of rebels or intruders.
I shook my head and put on more effort into running.
"there it is"
I looked up ahead and saw a rundown church. In no time we reached it, on its west side, about ten feet in the distance was the underground entrance.
We were about to run towards it but stopped and quickly hid on the church's side when we saw many masked people guarding the entrance.
"Shit"
"looks like they already know what we're up to"
"There's no other entrance isn't there?"
I asked the raven-haired boy right next to me but there was no answer. I looked back and saw that it was only me there.
"Wha—"
"Hey, I think I saw some of them come this way"
Shit. I heard footsteps coming near my position. Damn it, I don't have any other choice. That and the fact that my partner suddenly vanished. I felt myself panicking as I draw out my guns but before I could even pull out the lock a hand quickly dragged me out of the place that I was hiding.
I let my guard down.
I told myself that I would see this up until the end but damn it is this how it'll end.