Colman walked briskly, taking the lead in front of the two exhausted women behind him. He ignored Vella's moans which echoed louder in the silent tunnel, like she was begging them to stop. But he didn't slow down one bit. Instead, he increased his speed of his footsteps and widen the distance between himself and the women. He had never felt too sorry for the women during this time. The tunnel they were passing through had a very long path and some of the exits had been blocked off by the ruins of the walls. They should have found their way out of this tunnel before sunset and they would find it increasingly difficult to trace the sunlight to find the exit.
"Colman, we've been walking for hours, can we stop? Bella has a fever."
Clio didn't know how far away she was from Colman, but she heard the sound of rubbing shoes starting to slow down and then stop completely.
"We have to keep going to find a way out. Just leave your friends here, the Hyperion army will find her and take good care of her."
"Why do you say that!" cried Clio angrily. Her voice became a terrifying echo throughout the silent tunnel. "We can't leave Vella here and end up in the hands of the Hyperion army."
"Why not?"
Colman's voice is cold and flat, making Clio even more furious and hates Colman's mysterious figure.
"You know for sure why I don't want Vella to be captured by the Hyperion army. They were going to hand Vella over to the disgusting General Colten. He's a damn old man who likes to enslave women to give birth to his babies. You think a woman deserves to be treated like that?"
"General Colten just did what he had to do," Colman retorted coldly.
"No. He didn't know what he was doing. He should have made the earth a better place. Using his advanced technologies to improve the earth. But instead he leads with a tyrant. He kills people and takes women as means of reproduction."
"You should know that it's best for them. Your friend can die if you force her to walk. Or if you want to take some rest here, she will also still die because her injuries might be worse than what you imagine. Just leave her, and let the Hyperion army find her. At least she won't die at their hands."
Every words Colman said was absolutely true. Vella's condition seemed to be worse than what she had imagined. Vella's skin felt hot burning against her skin, Vella's lips started to chatter with cold and she shivered. Clio stroked Vella's hair slowly, feeling rough and sticky in her hands. The dried blood stuck to her hair made it very tangled. Even though all this time Vella has always been a beautiful girl with all aspects of her body that are very well cared for. She remembered Vella's red hair which was as smooth as silk because Vella had always brushed it and treated it with a potion of roots they had found during the long journey to Queens. She felt sad that now Vella had to go through all this.
"Leave her here."
"No. I can't."
Clio bit her lip nervously. She glanced at Vella briefly, feeling the weight of the woman's body getting heavier on her shoulders. Looks like she passed out.
"The Hyperion Army is coming."
"What?"
"Sssshh... They're coming."
Suddenly his body was pressed against the wall by Colman. She could feel the man's face harden, warning her to keep her mouth shut. The sound of footsteps getting closer and closer. Clio put Vella's shivering body behind the wall, then she walked over to Colman to get ready to fight the Hyperion army.
"They may only be two or three. Their footsteps weren't too loud."
"I guess so too."
Clio gripped the knife tightly. Footsteps grew louder and some light emerged from the darkness. The flashlights emanating from the Hyperion soldiers' armor came into view.
"We can take their flashlights to get out of here. If we have flashlights, we can find the exit faster and we can save your friend."
"Then I'm ready to fight them."
Three Hyperion soldiers appeared. They walked straight past Colman and Clio who were hiding behind the rubble, ready to ambush them from behind. Through the flashlight shining from the clothes of the Hyperion soldiers, the whole place in the tunnel became brighter. Now Clio could see Colman's face clearly and he could give her the signal to start ambushing the off guard Hyperion soldiers.
On the count of three, Clio and Colman jumped out of hiding. Colman smacked one of the Hyperion soldiers on the nape and knocked him out easily after damaging the back of his protective suit.
Meanwhile Clio faced off against two Hyperion soldiers at once. She swung her knife to injure them, but her movement missed. It was difficult for her to strike at the nape of the Hyperion army since it was the first time. All this time she didn't know that the Hyperion army's weakness was at the nape of the neck. And just as she was caught off guard, one of the Hyperion soldiers kicked her hard. She was thrown far away and hit the rock wall hard.
Her moans echoed throughout the underground tunnel. Her spine may be crushed or broken. It hurt so much that tears were seeping out of her eyes and clouding her vision.
Colman moved quickly to hit the Hyperion soldiers in the head after they kicked Clio. He growled furiously at their act of hurting a woman and showed no mercy at all to a woman who had the potential to be the mother of the general's babies.
"You shouldn't have hurt her!"
The two Hyperion soldiers were shocked at Colman's anger. They fell down on the rocky ground after Colman beat them blindly and stuck Clio's knife into their nape. He tore their necks fiercely. Blood gushed from their severed veins. Two Hyperion soldiers gasped under Colman's feet who were stomping on their backs, waiting for them to die.
"Colman..."
Clio's groans were heard between the choking sounds of two dying Hyperion soldiers.
"Did you kill them?"
"Only two. I left one person alive to guide us towards the exit. He has a GPS in his hand that will help us get out of here."
"What about the flashlight?"
Clio limped over to Colman. The soldiers' protective helmets were scattered around her feet. She frowned in disgust at the blood pooling under Colman's shoes. Very fresh and red blood. But they deserve it because they are cruel people.
"Take their guns and their flashlights." Colman said to Clio before he grabbed the hand of one of the Hyperion soldiers who was unconscious, then he slapped the man on the cheek hard to wake him up.
"Wake up damn it! Get us out of here."
The man slowly opened his eyes. His face was battered after being beaten by Colman blindly. The man grimaced, the look in his eyes showing the intense fear on Colman's savage face.
"Did you hear what I said?"
The man nodded weakly and frightened. There was no chance for him to sense the throbbing pain throughout his body. He fell miserably on the ground when Colman jerked him hard and left him to retrieve the weapons that Clio had gathered.
"Don't try to run away from us. I can kill you like them."
Clio is stunned at how effective Colman's moves are to take care of the Hyperion soldiers. He is very fast and ruthless. He did not hesitate to kill and torture those who could potentially annoy him.
Everything that is owned by Colman looks perfect in Clio's eyes. If she met the other Centurions, she could recommend Colman to be part of the elite Centurion squad. They could become a stronger clan if Colman joined them.
"Your friend can walk?"
"I'll hold her."
"Then I will carry the weapons."
Colman gathered the Hyperion troop laser gun and tucked them into the waistband of his pants. He threw one of the flashlights at Clio to help her walk through the darkness. After that he pushed away the disarmed bodies of the Hyperion soldiers, and told him to point the way out in front of them.
"How much more before reaching the exit?"
Colman's cold and heavy voice sent chills down Clio's neck. Even though she wasn't the subject of Colman's question, he had goosebumps and felt intimidated. He thought Colman was too superior among them.
"About half a mile. It's the only exit that isn't covered by the ruins of the tunnel walls."
"Okay, keep going. Where are the rest of the Hyperion troops?"
"They have returned to the White Wall."
"Your general has ordered you not to harm the women. Why are you still doing it?"
"We..."
The man's voice sounded hesitant and frightened. Clio was very satisfied to see one of the Hyperion soldiers frightened and intimidated by Colman. This was like proper revenge for all the atrocities they had committed so far.
"What? Answer my question."
"We didn't know that she was a woman. We protect ourselves."
"Even you and your friends still don't deserve to live after the failure you did. One woman escaped and was seriously injured. Your commander will punish you severely. That's if you're still breathing after getting out of here."
The man gulped nervously. He just kept walking and locked his lips tightly so as not to make the man behind him even angrier. The cruelty he showed to his two friends made him smart enough to always be alert and careful.
"That's the exit."
The sun was almost setting when they finally made it out of the dark and dirty tunnel. Clio plopped down exhaustedly beside Vella's limp body under the only remaining shop roof in that place. New York City looks very run down and messy. All the glamor that once looked amazing has been lost after a nuclear bomb hit the city years ago.
"What are we going to do next?"
"We are waiting for help to arrive."
"Help?" asked Clio in surprise. She didn't even think there were any Centurions left in this place. If they had survived, they would have gone a long way to save themselves.
"Do nomads live in groups and form colonies?"
"Look, they've come."
Clio narrowed her eyes towards the west. In the shadows of the dazzling golden sun, she saw an object moving very fast in the distance. At first it was a black dot, then as time went on it got bigger and clearer. A large black plane with the symbol of Ailanthius Altissima on its body moved toward them. It took Clio three seconds to realize that she had been tricked by Colman.
"That's the general's jetbus! What have you done to us?"
"I saved you." Colman's thin lips pulled into a sinister grin.
Clio's face was pale. She is terrified because she is now trapped with a mysterious man who she thought was on her side.
"You… who are you really? You're the general's spy?"
"I am not the general's spy. I don't work for the general."
"Shit! You're a damn bastard. Whoever you are, you are not on our side."
Clio prepares to run away from Colman. She was so sad that she couldn't take Vella to run with her. But suddenly something sharp stung her back. She suddenly stiffened and didn't move at all. Her body fell to the ground, paralyzed and stiff. Her eyes began to move frantically as Colman crouched beside her stiff body. The man's palm brushed away the brown hair that had fallen over her eyes just to allow her to see things more clearly.
"They have come. I'm sorry I had to knock you out with this gun."
Clio cursed as hard as she could in her heart, cursing the evil man who had deceived her with all his charisma. And what a fool she was for not arming herself with the Hyperion army's laser gun.
"You stupid and naive brave woman."
Clio couldn't help but close her eyes tightly, realizing how stupid she was for trusting a man who was too unreasonable for her.
"They're coming, sir."
"Take the injured girl inside. Give her the best care. You must pay for your failure today, Zen."
"Copy that sir."
Clio still didn't understand what was happening in front of her eyes. The black plane of the Hyperion army had just landed, soldiers in black clothes scattered out and lined up neatly around where she lay helplessly.
"Take them on the plane. Make sure they don't get another wound or I'll punish you for hurting my precious women."
Clio's heart sank. She began to understand the situation she was currently facing. The mysterious man is one of the general's soldiers who are undercover to deceive her. Or could Colman be the general himself? Clio really dizzy thinking about it. She just gave up when two Hyperion soldiers took her into a very bright and very sterile plane. The smell of drugs wafted into her senses as she was placed on top of the gurney and her body fastened with the seat belt.
"Don't be afraid, you'll be safe."
Colman's face suddenly appeared and formed a shadow over her dizzy head. Maybe it was another effect of the laser beam gun being fired at her body or maybe it was because her fear was too intense.
"Once you arrive at the White Wall, you will be the mother of my precious babies. Welcome to Ailathius Altissima, Clio Yilmaz."
Colman's cold and cruel voice slowly faded away along with her blurry vision. Someone in a white coat had just injected something into the back of her hand. Then her head became very light. She seemed to be transported into the sky before finally closing her eyes. She had sunk into her darkest nightmare.