"Ali, you're HERE!" Natalya's shout echoed off the cold, concrete walls, her voice strained but full of relief. She clung to the bars of the cage, her wide eyes glinting with hope.
Ali approached with a half-smirk, "Natalya, do you enjoy being behind bars?" he mocked, stepping closer, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"Nooo! Please, get us out of here," she replied, her tone shifting from relief to urgency. She stepped back, creating space as Ali's hands closed around two of the thick metal bars.
"These people need help," she added, her voice lowered, concern flickering in her eyes.
Ali's grip tightened, the muscles in his arms flexing as he applied raw strength to the bars, straining the rusted metal.
CREAK
The iron bars groaned as he pulled, bending slowly but steadily until they were wide enough for Natalya and the children trapped inside to escape. One by one, they carefully climbed through the gap he'd created, emerging from captivity and gathering around their rescuer with wary eyes.
"Once everyone's out, you're explaining everything," Ali said, fixing her with a stern look. Natalya nodded without hesitation, understanding the weight of his demand.
Moving methodically, Ali strode to the other cages, bending and breaking the metal bars with the same ease, freeing a group of elderly captives in one cage and healthy women of all ages in another. There wasn't a single adult man among them.
The newly freed people huddled together, looking at Ali and Natalya with a mixture of awe and apprehension. They could still see, in stark detail, Ali's brutal dispatching of the guards who had kept them captive. For the children especially, the memory of blood and violence lingered, and they clung to the adults, eyes wide and fearful as they glanced at Ali.
"Speak," Ali commanded, his cold gaze boring into Natalya.
Natalya took a deep breath before starting, her expression turning somber.
"When we first arrived here, there was already tension brewing between the leader of HOPE and the captain of the guards. The captain wasn't happy about his boss's decision to let players into the base-resources were stretched thin enough as it was. But the leader disagreed. He believed in helping anyone he could," she said, pausing as her face clouded with grief.
"I wasn't there at the time, but from what l've heard, an argument erupted between some players and a few guards. Things escalated, and someone was killed." Her voice faltered slightly. "From there, everything spiralled out of control.
The captain seized his chance— he killed the leader, destroyed the bridge, and launched an assault on the players in the chaos that followed. I was captured by a guard on the lower levels and brought here. Since then, the players have taken control of the upper floors, while the guards control the lower levels," Natalya finished, lowering her voice to add, "As for your request, I looked everywhere I could. The building was spotless, nothing suspicious to be found."
Ali's eyes scanned the people surrounding them, and then shifted back to Natalya. "So, the ones up top-they're friendlies, or...?"
"They're led by an apostle of the Fire Guild," she answered. "They should be willing to help against the guards."
"I see... An apostle..." Ali murmured, his mind turning over the information.
"Alright, here's the plan: you stay down here with these people. Keep them safe while I clear out the building and make contact with the players. No one moves until I get back. Understood?"
Natalya nodded immediately, while the others exchanged wary glances but gave no objection to Ali's orders.
She cast a worried look at him and added, "Be careful. They have guns."
Ali raised an eyebrow, a touch of disdain flashing in his expression. "You think a gun's enough to be a threat to me?" he scoffed, stepping closer. With his hand, he tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. Caught off-guard, Natalya blushed, momentarily lost in the intensity of his dark, fathomless eyes and his perfect, impassive face.
Ali smirked, letting go of her, then turned toward the staircase. He paused on the final step, glancing over his shoulder. "While you're here, use anything you find to reinforce the barricades. The horde outside is getting bigger," he added with a calm, authoritative tone.
Message delivered, Ali continued up the stairs, his footsteps quiet and steady.
He passed through the lower levels he'd already cleared, finding them just as he'd left them. Soon he reached the floor he had initially entered from. Everything was untouched, eerily still, as if frozen in time.
He climbed higher, moving from floor to floor, his senses heightened, eyes scanning for any movement. All he encountered were remnants of the brutal struggle that had taken place earlier-bloodstains, discarded weapons, and the occasional corpse of a fallen guard or player who had sided with the former leader.
Here and there, he dispatched zombies left unfinished by the guards, his blade flashing as he efficiently cleared out anything that moved.
Despite the signs of battle, he found no traces of the guards-only the evidence of their violent encounters with players and loyalists. The silence weighed heavy, and Ali's patience wore thin as he methodically searched, until finally, the faint sound of human voices reached his ears.
He halted on the stairwell, listening intently as hurried footsteps echoed down the concrete steps, coming closer. He stepped back, and hid behind the door of the floor closest to him. He didn't close it fully, leaving it ajar to avoid arousing suspicion, his hand poised on his weapon as he waited.
The footsteps grew louder until two guards appeared in his line of sight, their uniforms splattered with fresh blood. They were hauling a third guard between them, one arm missing and a leg mangled almost beyond recognition. They moved with a sense of urgency, their focus entirely on their wounded comrade.
Taking him down to the medical floor, most likely, Ali thought, noting their intent expressions. The moment they passed the door, Ali silently pulled it open. He whipped his machete from its sheath and, with practiced precision, hurled it at the guard bringing up the rear. The blade struck true, embedding itself in the back of the man's skull, killing him instantly.
BANG
The other guard staggered, thrown off balance by the sudden loss of support. He slipped, and he and the injured guard tumbled down the stairs, leaving a splatter of blood across the concrete from the half-severed arm. Ali didn't hesitate, leaping down the steps in a smooth arc, landing just as the second guard tried to regain his footing.
Ali's fist came down like a hammer, smashing into the guard's head with lethal force. The man's skull crumpled under the impact, the blow powerful enough to kill instantly. The wounded guard lay on his back, breath ragged as he watched his friend collapse in a lifeless heap beside him, his head horrifically misshapen.
In his final moments, the injured guard looked up at Ali, terror contorting his features. But all he saw was the sole of Ali's boot descending toward him. The stomp crushed his skull, sending fragments of bone and darkened blood splattering across the floor.
Ali stepped back, examining his blood-streaked boots with a slight frown. He bent down, wiping them clean on the guard's shirt before straightening up, satisfied with their appearance.
Without another glance at the bodies, he continued up the stairs, leaving the grisly scene behind as he moved toward the upper floors, where the players and more guards waited.
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