They are finally here Stormboy thought with glee. He lay weakly on the cold floor of the vault, feeling the first touch of hope since this Madness started. He looked sideways at his colleagues lying motionless on the ground with him some laid face up other chest down. he look closely for signs of breathing on them. This assessment gave no results who was too weak to make sense of anything. Still he wondered which one of them was dead again.
The first week of the entrapment had gone then when his men started losing hope of any rescue. Storm had encourage them to hang on for a little while, that the Underworld Lord will sure send another troop to rescue them. If what they came here to steal was really important, then the Lord will get it at all cost, Storm knew. But the first week went by slowly and still nothing happened.
The had endured the first week as brave men would. They ate and drank nothing as there was nothing to eat. Storm resolved then that if hunger would be his end, it would have happened long ago at the Ghetto. then, the second week crept in slowly, and it was now a doubtful thing, all that he thought of was the hunger. Seems hunger will be the death of him and his gang after all.
It was now becoming a reality when they recorded the first death. A 21-year-old colleague had died 2 days into the second week after a few thrashing and wailing about that lasted for hours. His stomach had ached so badly that one could almost share in the pain as his groan reverberated around the Vault.
The second death occurred the next day, with another skillful youth thirsty till death. The dead bodies were dragged to the second vault which opened to the right. Everyone waited, hoping to be the next one to die. Death, it seems was better than this torture. One of them had even threatened to unlock the vault door, since death from a bullet wound was faster, and even more peaceful. And once again, Storm had rebuked the idea, still believing in the Underworld Lord and banking on the little faith that the object was what mattered most to the Lord, so a rescue was feasible.
But when the second week passed and the third week arrived, and no rescue was forthcoming, Storm finally resigned to his fate. By then, nobody has been able to move any longer due to lack of strength. He would have loved to cock his gun and give everyone a quick death, a bullet in the head before finally shooting himself too. But even to hold a gun, one needed a certain amount of strength, and here he was, can't even move a finger. Breathing was the only task possible now, and it is even hard. His chest has grown tight.
But now, glimmer of hope had come with those faint shots coming from outside. Their rescue was at hand but at what cost? He has lost more than half his men already, and the rest are probably lying dead at this moment. His life and the others' no matter. They are only here to collect the glass tube. With everybody lying motionless on the floor, they won't even check to see if anyone was still breathing. It was all a complete mess. A complete loss.
Storm try to move his finger one last time but found it couldn't, just like before. In his mind, he gave a short laugh. The approaching gang won't be able to get in. Yes they won't. The door has been locked from within, and nobody has the strength to get up to unlock it. What a waste...
Storm heard the first bang on the vault door. The approaching gang has seemingly cleared the siege camp laid outside by the City Force, and now they are here for the prize... The tube.
The bang came again, faintly through the thick metal door. Storm tried his finger one last time, but with the same result. He closed his eyes slowly, waiting for that final breath. But as is upper eyelid slid down to meet the lower, saw a standing figure through his lashes in a blur... A small figure standing before the door, in all strength and vigour, legs apart and is back turned towards Storm.
"The boy," Storm thought. He had forgotten the boy, his hostage. How did he survive till this moment? The boy, Jimmy, he thought one last time again before slipping into nothingness...
**********
[JIMMY]
He was not as strong as he looked. His eyes fluttered, and his steps waivered. His body swayed weakly where he stood, his hand trembled as he fumbled with the lock. In the middle of the metal door was a circular shape protruding out, like a large lid that needed to be turned anticlockwise in order to be opened. Since he knew that the gang took no special care to lock it in the clicking pattern of which it is designed, Jimmy thought he knew just what to do.
The banging on the other side was now becoming incessant. Though it's only made soft sounds through the door's thick mass, it still irritated Jimmy and it was messing with his thinking. Of course there are many other things to think about aside getting out of this room. He knew exactly what had happened outside— the showdown between the new gang and the City Force, and it seems certain that the gang has cleared the City Force. Now is the question of what this gang will do to him. Will they hold him hostage as well? Will they shoot him dead? Or will they just run right past him in search of the item they were here for? funnily enough the last thought made him shudder a little, and he wasn't ready to deal with that at the moment.
There was only one way to find out the answer to this questions. He braced his weak legs the best he could and rested his arms on the wheel at the door, a little to the left. Down with the last of his strength, he turned the wheel and his head swam due to overexertion. The wheel made the clicking sound as it roll down anticlockwisely, and Jimmy staggered out of the way as the vault door swung open.
Ten men, all masked and dressed in black stood in the way. That was all Jimmy could see before his eyes went temporarily blind from the sudden daylight he had missed since the past 17 days. He shielded his eyes with his hands at once as a felt wisps of air blow past him into the room.
His question has been answered. they had ignored him, in search of the glass tube.
Time to run...
The last man went past him into the vault, and the outside world became clear to him. A sudden wind blew right at him and his weak figure swayed a little before gaining a proper footing. With the Wind came a strange scent, a purgent smell. The kind he had never known. But right now, he knew what it was.
Littered all over the floor of the Towering Tower are lifeless bodies in a river of red. The dark blue uniforms of the City Force men was easy to make out even when soaked with blood. Black masked figures also lay motionless, but the red blood was almost invisible against the dark clothes. This was a massacre.
For every gang member lying lifeless on the floor, there are five City Force men to go with it. Jimmy shuddered and almost fainted at the sight. But this was not time to pity the dead or let his emotions cloud his thinking. Life is at stake as well. A run might be better.
Quickly, his scrambled towards his right, stepping over a few dead bodies. His shoes found blood and the ground became slippery has he ran on his weak legs. Finally, he crossed the hurdle of bodies and was now on dry ground. He stopped to remove his shoes has he became aware that they will leave a bloody trail behind. He turned the next corner by his right and ran into an open room, full of bunks and scattered plates. Definitely the resting place, Jimmy thought. He looked further down the room and saw a door leading deeper into the Tower. He ran at once towards it, into the dark space behind the door.
A faint light glowed in a dull manner ahead of him. As he ran, he could feel it. That tingling feeling, scratching, probably drawing blood now... The Tube. The glassy Tube. The stolen object.
Jimmy had robbed the gang leader, Storm himself as he was dying on the cold floor. He did not know what came over him, what madness made him do it. Now he has done it, and his life is automatically at stake.
Jimmy crossed the dark corridor, into another room with a faint light filtering in from a small window. As soon as he slammed the door behind him, he heard something familiar. His name.
"Jimmy Freckleton," came the voice, silent and cautious.
Jimmy stopped in his tracks at once and glanced to his right in the direction where the voice was coming from. A man emerged from behind a thick slab of wood. He is a City Guard, fully dressed in the dark blue uniform.
"Don't be scared, boy. My name is Song... Officer Song. I've been looking for you."