The minutes stretched. His non-dominant hand was weak and his movements were clumsy. He grit his teeth and forced his fingers to stay steady.
'Come on…'
Click.
The lock gave.
Chael froze, listening.
No one stirred.
Slowly and silently, he pushed the cage door open. The rusty hinges let out the faintest groan, but the snores of the mercenaries covered the noise.
His gaze flicked to the guard standing just a few feet away his back turned and his arms crossed. He let out a monsterous yawn and muttered to himself, "Only ten minutes left till my shift is over..."
Chael moved like a shadow.
Step by step he moved silently and slow and he crept forward, keeping low and keeping his breath quiet. The guard shifted slightly but didn't turn.
The moment Chael was close enough—
He struck.
His left arm snapped around the man's head in a vicious twist and a sickening crack echoed in the dimly lit cavern. Eclipse's right hands, despite being mangled, covered the man's mouth so he couldn't as much let out a single noise. His body simply crumpled to the floor with his neck facing an unusual angle.
Chael exhaled through his nose, steady. He wasn't used to taking human life, and he's rather avoid it unless it was completely neccesary but this was a situation which required no other alternatives.
One thing Chael came to realise growing up was that cruelty springs from weakness. If he had absolute power over these mongrels right now, he'd never have to resort to such tactics, but because of his vunerable state, if he wasn't going to kill, he was going to be killed.
He quickly knelt and searched the body. A knife sat sheathed at the man's hip. Chael took it and slid it free and tucked it into his belt.
Chael then crouched behind the cage and looked for anything that might be of use. To his side he saw a bag filled with Cinderfoil leaves. Leaves of the Cinderfoil Tree which was naturally high in oil content and thus very flammable. During travels, travellers of often carried bags of Cinderfoil leaves for ease of starting fires. They were a much better alternative to wood which is difficult to set aflame in this unusually cold climate.
Chael stealthily attached the bag to his waistband and then his gaze flicked across the hideout.
A few mercenaries were still awake, standing at the cavern's entrance, keeping watch. He counted three. Too many to take head-on in his current state. He needed to move carefully.
Then-
A voice.
From deeper inside.
Chael crept forward, keeping to the shadows. The dim firelight barely reached this part of the hideout, but he could hear Echidna's voice, along with Garren and a few others.
They were gathered around a rough wooden table, a map spread across its surface. Echidna leaned against the table with her arms crossed and her black cape draped lazily over one shoulder. Garren stood nearby, arms folded, eyes scanning the map.
"…We'll move at dawn," Echidna was saying, tapping her gloved fingers against the paper. "If the storm lets up, we take the eastern pass. If not, we head south through the crags."
Garren grunted. "You sure about this? The south of Enir-Ilim's crawling with those bastards."
Echidna took a drag from her pipe, exhaling a slow plume of smoke. "That's the point. We're not sneaking in-we're selling a high-value prize. We want them to know we're coming."
Chael's eyes narrowed.
Enir-Ilim.
They were taking him there?
'Shit. Of all the places...' Chael gritted his teeth. As Chael neared edged closer to them, his gaze flicked to the table not far away.
There, was Echidna's musket. It was long, polished wood with a silver barrel. The same weapon she had shot him with.
Chael's fingers twitched.
He looked at the musket.
Then at Echidna, who was now only several metres away. The table was right behind Echinda. A cold sneer spread across Chael's face as he moved like a ghost.
His breath was slow and steady and his body ached, his broken arm throbbed, but he ignored it. It was now or never.
Echidna stood before him, her back turned, still focused on the map. Garren and the others were locked in conversation.
With a sharp, sudden movement, Chael lunged. In an instant, his good arm snapped around Echidna's neck, yanking her against his chest, while his broken hand ripped her musket from the table with what little strength he could muster from it and pressed it against her head.
The entire room froze.
For half a second, silence reigned. The crackling fire was the only sound in the cavern.
"The fuck—?!"
Chairs scraped against stone as Garren and the others surged to their feet and heir hands flew to their weapons.
The moment stretched, thick with tension.
Garren's face twisted with pure rage, his fingers twitching near the axe at his belt. The other mercenaries were the same-waiting, ready to pounce, their bodies coiled tight.
Echidna, for her part, remained eerily calm and silent.
Her silver hair was tousled, her tricorn hat knocked slightly askew from the sudden grab. She blinked once, then exhaled a soft breath, as if mildly inconvenienced.
"...Well," she muttered, "this is new."
Chael tightened his grip. "Don't move."
Echidna gritted her teeth. "Tch. You bastard."
The rest of the mercenaries slowly inching forward, like a pack of wolves closing in.
"Back up!" Chael snarled, pressing the musket harder against her skull. "Or I'll blow her head off."
The room stilled again.
No one backed up.
But no one moved, either.
For the first time, Garren spoke. His voice was low, simmering with fury.
"You little shit," he growled. "Let. Her. Go."
Chael bared his teeth. "Or what?"
Garren's knuckles went white over his axe handle. "Or I'll rip you apart myself."
Chael ignored him. His attention was on Echidna, who still seemed way too relaxed. Chael couldn't tell if she was just feigning her non-chalant attitude, or not. Regardless, they was inching closer and closer to the exit.
"This is a bit dramatic, don't you think?" She said again, reluctantly following his steps one by one.
This time, Chael caught onto a tremble in her tone and he grinned menacingly, "Not as dramatic as your face when I pull the trigger."
"That musket's got a nasty kick. Sure your wrist can handle it?"
Chael clenched his jaw. His fingers twitched slightly on the musket. His fingers were initially twisted in very unnatural angles after Garren had broken them, however he had taken time to put them back in their place as best as he could. Even holding the gun up was causing unimaginable pain and taking insane willpower.
He edged toward the cavern exit, inch by inch, dragging her with him.
The mercenaries followed, around twelve of them, and matched his steps, like predators waiting for their moment.
The closer he got to the exit, the more the cold wind howled, sending chills through the cavern. The Black Storm was raging outside.
Echidna seemed to get more and more concerned the closer they got to the door. She tilted her head slightly toward him, voice dropping lower. "You're not actually thinking of going out there, are you?"
Chael didn't respond.
Her lips curled slightly. "You're not that stupid, right?"
He yanked her closer, forcing another step toward the door. The cold was biting now, creeping into the cavern, mixing with the fire's warmth.
She sighed. "Look, kid—"
Chael snapped.
"I'm not a kid." His voice was sharp, venomous and filled with hate. "And I'd rather take my chances with the storm than rot in this shithole with you mongrels."
The mercenaries were too close now. A few more steps and they'd have him. He had to move faster. More and more of them were waking up and they were joining the others. No one dared to make noises or sudden movements, though.
Garren growled, patience snapping. "Enough of this bullshit—"
Garren was about to move forward but Chael's grip tightened on the musket, insantly causing him to stop in his tracks.
He glanced at the guard by the door - the only thing standing between him and the storm outside.
"You," he barked. "Open it."
The guard hesitated, glancing at Echidna. She arched a silver brow, still somewhat calm despite the barrel of her own musket resting against her head.
Chael jerked her forward, just enough to make the guard flinch. "Now."
The man swallowed, then reached for the door latch.
A deep click.
Then-
ROOOOAAAAGHHH!
The moment the door creaked open, the Black Storm howled inside like a living beast.
A violent force of wind and ice exploded into the cavern, slamming into everyone. The fire in the hideout flickered wildly, nearly extinguishing under the sheer force of the blizzard. Snow poured in, whipping through the air, turning everything into a white abyss.
Men staggered back, cursing, shielding their faces.
Chael barely saw Echidna's mouth move. It seemed as though she was shouting something but he couldn't hear her with how loud the storm was.
Chael lifted up his head then-
CRACK!
His forehead smashed into the back of Echinda's skull in a brutal headbutt with every ounce of strength he had left.
She then went limp in his arms.
Garren roared in fury, but in that instanly, Chael lifted her body onto his shoulders and bolted through the door.
And the second he stepped outside he had disappeared into the storm.