Monday, May 9, 2011

Chapter 4 Part Three

     Skylar couldn’t help but be a but confused as to why Damian would pair up her with Jack, but orders was orders. She was not going to question it. Whatever reason he had for doing so, she was not going to go with it. He wouldn’t question her on her expertise in explosives, she was going to respect his role and give him the same courtesy. Still, it nagged at her.

    She gave a quick walk around the tomb, taking notes of all the people and how fast they were walking. Popular spots that people seemed to admire most so she could plan this as well as she could. People obviously took a few moments to admire things like the burial grounds and the statues, but they tended to walk slow in general. That was going to be a bit of a problem.

    Skylar also needed to factor in her own team and if she could meet up with them and get them out of there fast enough. They all had to be out of there quick enough for her to set it off without anyone discovering the explosives first.

    Jack hobbled on after her, trying to keep to her side, but she moved very unpredictably. She’d walk briskly in one direction, turn her head, take a one-eighty, then start walking again. Jack saw a questioning look pop across her face every now and then, and she might even whisper and mumble something to himself, but she shared none of it with him.

    Skylar kept moving sporadically, but Jack eventually started to make sense of her movements until she stopped suddenly and he almost ran into her.

    “How fast can you run?”, Skylar asked.

    “Uh-what?”, Jack was suddenly taken aback by the odd question.

    “You heard me, boy. How fast can you run?”, she was persistent on knowing and Jack had no idea what to say.

    “Uhm…I don’t know exactly how fa-”

    “Are you quick on your feet? That is what I am asking”, she barked.

    “Ye-yes! I can’t fight but I can run”, Jack immediately felt stupid for saying such a cowardly thing out loud.

    Skylar almost laughed at how ridiculous he sounded, “alright, then follow me. You’re going to need to practically fly.”

    Skylar, almost gliding on her feet, went towards the back of the pit and Jack, though stumbling at first, kept up. They received a few questionable looks, but in a blink, they were out of sight and out of mind. When they stopped, Skylar quickly put her stuff onto the ground and started pulling out various papers that were a familiar to Jack.

    “Alright, listen, this is the map and layout of the catacombs. We need to do this as fast as possible, but at the same time we cannot rouse any kind of suspicion”, Skylar spoke faster and more in that one moment than Jack had ever heard out of her.

    “I could do it by myself, but that leaves a wider opportunity to be caught or have one of these found and ruin the whole mission. As much as I may not like it, you’re my only help and I can’t do this alone”, Jack just nodded carefully hanging onto every word.

    “Alright, I have memorized the layout of this whole area and I know exactly where to place it. Here’s where you’re going to help me”, Skylar spoke quicker and quicker with the more she said. She removed a highlighter from her pocket and circled a few spots and started writing down numbers.

    “Now this is very, very exact work. If you are not spot on, then this will not go off the way it needs to. Do you understand?”, Jack gulped and nodded, “I’m writing down exactly where you need to go and set one of these.”

    Skylar pulled out an explosive charge about the size of a small brick. She admired her own homemade dynamite. Skylar was sometimes marveled that more people didn’t know how to do this kind of thing. It was relatively easy to make with the materials not very difficult to acquire.

    “What am I going to do with that?”, Jack had no idea why he asked, it was pretty obvious.

    “You’re going to stick it where I need you to with a bit of duct tape without anyone realizing it. It’s a small area, but every second that you can run without being noticed is crucial. If you see someone in the area where you need to plant a bomb, skip it.”

    “But how am I going to carry it all?”

    “That’s the next part. You will have to take it one at a time. You can’t carry more than one on your person without it being noticed and I am the only one with the backpack. You will have to find me every time because I cannot obviously leave this here. I will have to move relatively slowly due to what I have in my backpack. I am relying heavily upon you. Do not fail me.”

    Jack’s palms started to sweat but he grasped the explosive that he was given tightly. She handed him the map and immediately picked out where he needed to go. After one more reassuring look up at Skylar, they each nodded and each went in their own separate directions.

    Skylar, felt something unusual for her-excitement. She was eager to put her creations to the test and feel the vibrations match her own convulsions. She could feel the goosebumps start to crawl up her arms already as she walked off. It was a bit scary to her that she enjoyed something destructive so much, but she logged that out of her mind for another time.







    Lucas crept down the staircase. His team followed suit in single file. They purposely walked slow and let other people pass. If there was some chance of Damian’s team passing them and making this an easy kill, that’d be ideal. Luca’s hoped that he’d have to hunt them down and they wouldn’t make it so easy, but it would be the best way to go about it after all.

    “Yaaaahhhh…”, Adva purposefully let out a loud, drawn out yawn. Lucas moaned in response.

    “C’mon. Can’t we go any faster? I’ll die of old age by the time we get down to the bottom. And if we die, we can’t carry out the mission very well, ey?”

    Lucas just let it be. There was nothing else to say. He knew why they couldn’t move fast, he was just speaking with no substance. Talking without really having anything to say. He wanted him to leave so badly, but knowing him, he’d charge headfirst into a fight without any tact about the mission whatsoever.

    “I have to agree de gozaru. This slow pace is rather…”

    “Irritating? Boring? A slow death that will meet us at the bottom?”

    “Not the words I would have chose but…Hai. I agree”

    That was something Lucas didn’t expect. Hanabi agreeing with such a reckless spirit like Adva. Maybe he was being a bit too slow. He decided to reconsider.

    “Fine, I guess if you feel the same way, it’s not just Adva being his usual impatient self. If you really want to go, do it”, Lucas saw the light brighten up in Adva’s eyes like a child getting what he wants for Christmas. He could tell that Adva was about to run off when Lucas stopped him.

    “Only if Hanabi goes with you”, Lucas figured that was a good enough stipulation to keep him a bit more in line.

    “Yeah, fine, whatever. C’monlet’sgo!”, Adva cracked his knuckles and started to leap down the steps. 

    “Don’ worry. I can keep an eye on him”, and Hanabi followed in Adva’s steps.

    Max was about to ask if he could follow suit, but felt more compelled to stay by Cylvia’s side. She seemed a bit on edge from when she caught up to the rest of us, but as usual, said nothing about it. It worried him a bit, but the best he could do is just remain by her side and behind Lucas.

    Adva ran down the steps as fast as he could. He almost knocked down a couple of civilians on the way, but he corrected himself at the last moment and was able to avoid them. Then he finally reached the bottom and took a deep breath. He let out a large breath of excitement. It was a long time since he was able to go out on a mission.

    Adva flexed his muscles, he was glad that this workout had come just in time. The longer he sat up on base up in space, the more he could feel his muscles degenerating. Workouts weren’t enough though. He needed some resistance.

    “You’re fast de gozaru”, Hanabi was surprised at how quickly he could move when he wanted to.

    “You’re not slouch yourself. You ready?”, though he didn’t really care for an answer, he ran outward anyway.

    He ran forward and looked around and immediately was able to pinpoint Xephyr. That ridiculous hair and his midnight black coat was signature enough.

    What is this…? Does he have a girl on his arm? And a rather cute one at that… Adva was a bit jealous actually.

    Adva cracked his knuckles and silently approached. When he got near enough, he draped his arms over both of their shoulders.

    “Hey buddy, whatcha been up to?”, the look on his face was priceless…





(Long post so thanks for bearing with me. I would write more, but the next part is actually going to have some action and I didn't want to end up having to quit halfway through. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for the support!)

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