CHAPTER TWELVE,
To Twist the Truth for Pride
“Attention! Will the captains of the two crafts please slow their ships to a halt? Any attempts at escaping will not be overlooked.” Zack glanced out of the window. A massive Republican Penultimate-Class Warship loomed two kilometers away from them. The cowboy looked agitated but kept his cool. Zack had to escape now; he could not afford to spend the rest of his years in a penal colony.
“We repeat! The two crafts are to stop their engines immediately or risk being fired upon.” A second time the threat was aired on the command prompt. The soldier walked over to the communicator and spoke harshly into it. It whizzed and fizzled as he spoke.
“We hear your orders and are proceeding to cut the power. Give us three minutes.” There was a short pause.
“There will be no bargaining. Halt now or we will destroy you.”
“Very well.”
He lowered the receiver and faced the grinning captain.
“How do you stop this thing?”
“Hell if I knew. My brain doesn’t seem to work when I am bound and tied like this.” The soldier just sighed and with a swish of his thin blade, the ropes fell apart. The cuts were smooth and there were no frayed ends.
“Thank you. Now if I may.” The captain trotted casually to the controls and flicked up a switch. He pressed some buttons and finally lowered a lever. The ship lurched to an abrupt halt. The passengers lost their balance for a bit. Zack saw this golden opportunity and made a bolt for it.
“Isaac! Come back here!” The cowboy shouted from behind him. Zack had no idea who he was talking about and the sooner he got away from them, the better. He withdrew one of his pistols and relying on pure instinct, he fired two blind shots behind him. He heard the pings of the bullets on the alloyed walls. He turned around and fired a few more shots, missing their target by a few millimeters.
The man ran forward and using his blade, wrought out fiery whips. He flung them at Zack and maneuvered them so that they bound the victim tightly. Zack struggled and fought to get free but the bind was strong and the fires were hot. He only just managed to adjust his arm to fire a bullet through the coils, freeing him. He instantly flipped backwards and using a trick which a stranger had taught him, fired off a dozen shots whilst midair, upside down.
The rest was pure skill. He landed and fired more shots at random. This barrage of bullets managed to keep the cowboy at bay and give him enough time to reach the lifeboat. When he pressed the button to open the chute, the sword end went for his head. Zack blocked and countered like he had never done before. Block to the head, block to the torso, fake left, fire, block, fire, etc… He fought for his life and did it admirably. Finally, a stray shot got through and hit the man in the chest. Blood landed on Zack’s face and collar when he kicked the man on the wound to paralyze him.
Zack jumped inside the lifeboat and activated it. The man lay dazed on the floor and could, by no means, manage to stop him now. The retro rockets ignited and soon, the pod was heading onto the surface of the planet, leaving behind the scorch marks and bullet holes. Zack laughed and spun his guns in the zero gravity.
CHEKOSKLOVAITCH, Byorn Kornikouva Square,
The escape pod landed safely upon the marble floor. The man who exited was wearing a thin vest with a short jacket. The jeans which he wore so boldly among a city where everything was controlled contrasted with the drab and the dull. He had bright silver hair with a shock of gold. Some plain bronze coils looped around his arms. He walked out off the still smoking craft and walked into the crowd who merely ignored the whole incident. A while later, a cleaning crew would arrive and clear up the hinderance.
“Mr. Chance! I see that you made a beautiful landing. It’s too bad that these people are to bored to notice such a splendid act. Come! We have much to talk about!” A suave older man called to him with a strong Russian accent. He was in a tuxedo and beckoned Isaac to a polished limousine, footman and all.
“Mr….?”
“You can skip the formalities with me Mr. Chance. Just address me as Gustav.” Isaac nodded and entered the limo. The seats were satin and the space was long. Gustav had a word with the footman and got into the car as well. He knocked on the glass and the driver took off. Isaac felt the wheels retract and the car zoomed into the traffic above. Gustav took out a drink from the mini-bar and poured out a glass of white liquor.
“A glass of famous French Perignon, a rarity these days, don’t you think Mr. Chance? Here, sample the fine, taste of this exceptional drink.” The wine was smooth, like silk. Isaac sensed the taste of 500 years locked away in the bottle. Isaac looked out the window; the buildings were all a drab white and black. Like a chess board but less action. The skyscrapers were all the same design, height, and even measurements. Of all the cars that he saw, there were only three types, white, black, or gray; all of same class.
“Boring isn’t it? The structures, the cars, the people.” Gustav paused a while to savor the liquor. “This is the effects of a communist empire. Every, single, person. All the same. There is no ‘I’ or ‘me’, just ‘us’ and ‘we’. We at the R.L.F. will change that my friend. And with your help, let’s just say that I can already see the celebrations.” Isaac looked at the man. He seemed so sure of himself.
They arrived at yet another white tower. The driver landed with a bump on the pavement and the footman came forward to receive them. They stepped across the tiles and into the massive concrete creation. Inside were about a million doors, exactly the same. At the end was a stairway that led upstairs but Gustav took him down a passageway and into yet another similarly dressed door. They were in a room, five by five, with a bed and a small hole on the wall.
“Now, if you would do as I do Mr. Chance, we will proceed.” Gustav tapped the hard stone floor three times. He took a step forward and disappeared. Isaac did the same and before him was a hallway. He stepped in and ended up in an underground area.
The room had but one long table and seven chairs. Gustav was seated on one and signaled Isaac to stand beside him. Some other well-dressed men came in from other secret doors; there were two generals, a man in dark clothing, and two more businessmen types. Six of the seven chairs were seated upon and only the president remained to arrive. Finally, the door appeared and in walked a man, wearing a red jacket and pants. He had a strong brown moustache and was balding slightly. Isaac found it amusing to see such a combination.
“Comrades! Today is a glorious day! We of the R.L.F. will…” Isaac watched as the man continued with the usual boring speech. He scanned the room. No entrance and no exit. The walls were of wood, something which he had not seen since he touched down. The floor was slightly carpeted and there were two guards standing by the invisible door. Then he looked at the inappropriately dressed man. He had long blonde hair which touched his shoulders and there was a pin on his collar. He wore a loose black shirt and loose black pants. The buckle on his belt matched the size of a human fist and upon it was a menacing skull.
The man looked back at him. His eyes were red which contrasted with his pale white skin. When the man shifted a bit, whether purposely or not, Isaac saw rows of silver bullets on his thick belt; there was the butt of a rifle sticking out from his back, polished and shined to perfection. Isaac touched the brass coils on his arm and felt slight heat coming from them.
There suddenly was loud clapping. Isaac awoke from his stupor and saw that the man had already finished his speech. The blueprints of the government building flared up in the middle of the table. Isaac saw as the generals gave their plans on the attack. Arrows and lines drew themselves over the hovering image. This was as interesting to Isaac as sand in a desert.
After an aggravating two hours, the meeting concluded and the members shuffled out of the room. They were all filled with enthusiasm. Gustav told Isaac to wait for everyone to file out.
“What do you think about the plans Mr. Chance? No. No. Tell me the truth.”
“I say that it will fail.”
“And I say that you are right. These men have obviously no chance of winning this coup d’etat and their delusion only makes it more obvious.”
“Then why’d you bring me here?”
“For obvious reasons Mr. Chance. To meet your new co-worker. Come on Mr…ermm… what is your name again?”
The man in black stepped out from the shadows. His hand was rubbing his forehead.
“It’s Ciel, Gustav.”
“Yes, yes… Celt… It is so hard to pronounce these foreign names don’t you think? Anyway, you two will be the heroes to this pathetic project. Now you have to excuse me, I have pressing matters to attend to. Mr. Cell here knows all the plans. Good day Mr. Chance, and to you too.” Gustav walked out and left the two agents standing there.
Isaac couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.
“If you’ve finished enjoying yourself at my expense, we may continue with the operation.” Ciel’s voice was dark and cold. How he even got a cheery name like Ciel was a mystery.
“The only reason I am here is because I have some debts to settle so if you don’t mind, I’ll like to get this over with as soon as possible.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“There is no plan.” The puzzled look on Isaac’s face forced the man to explain more. “A plan is what they expect us to have. We can just do the whole thing randomly and they’ll never be prepared.”
Ciel walked out of the room after taking a sling bag from the chair. Isaac followed suit. They walked until they got out of the building. Ciel made his way to the parking zone and took out a semi-automatic. A shot later, they were inside one of those boring cars, on their way to the only differently shaped building on the planet. It was not long before there was the sound of a monotonous wail behind them.
Ciel weaved through the traffic. His driving was so erratic and there were so many close calls where Isaac felt his heart plummet. At the rate they moved, they reached the Parliament Square in a matter of seconds.
“Make an entry.” Ciel commanded. Isaac smashed open the window, because it wouldn’t open, and looked for the police cars. As soon as he saw it come round the corner, he whipped out the brass coils and lashed them at the car. The coils shone and merged with the air. Isaac saw the car go slower. The middle began to break into the cockpit as if something was crushing it.
Isaac flung his wrist backwards and the car was thrown onto the wall of the building. The bronze coils wrapped themselves back onto his hand. Ciel navigated the car into the hole which the crash left behind. They got out of the car and walked into a waiting lift. Ciel pressed a button and the doors closed. He then bent down and rummaged through the bag. He took out two pairs of tinted glasses and gave one to Isaac.
“Vampires. This building’s famous for them.”
He also took out a dagger and stuck that in his pocket. The elevator came to a stop and with a nice *ding*, the doors opened to show a squad of guards with guns pointed straight at their heads.
“You have no escape! Surrender or Die.” The captain announced bravely.
“Ready Isaac?” Without waiting for an answer, Ciel whipped out the rifle from his back and in a second, took out all the guards. The bullet casings fell onto the floor and sizzled.
“Let’s go.” Ciel walked down the alley with Isaac following closely. The passage was long and winding, not at all efficient as the communist values represented. The walls began to repeat themselves and the end seemed to drag on. Suddenly, Ciel slowed to a standstill and looked around. He took out his rifle and adjusted his shades so that a part of his eye was visible. Magically, the walls straightened out and the place was back to normal. Isaac barely caught a shot of him taking off a strange creatures head with a bullet. The creature hovered temporarily over Ciel before melting into a pool of black liquid.
“Should’ve known a vampire was behind this. Come on, we don’t have much time.” he instructed and signaled Isaac to move on.
Isaac turned around and saw strange figures floating out of the walls. They were fully cloaked from head to toe and there were no openings in the cloth that bound them. Chains and thick ropes bound the tight fabric to their torso but there was barely anything visible below where the knees were supposed to be. Isaac watched as they drifted nearer to him as they twisted and bent their bodies into disfiguring positions. Isaac shivered and quickly turned heels and ran after Ciel.
The corridor started to disfigure again. Corners split up and the pathway broke off into all kinds of routes, all exactly alike. The creatures were missing but Isaac was sure that this was what they were doing. He tried to look for Ciel but he too, was nowhere in sight.
“Isaac… glasses… press button…” Isaac heard echoes of his ally. He searched franticly for a button of the glasses and managed to find a small knob at the rim. The moment he pressed it, all the roads rejoined and merged once more to form the one true path. He saw Ciel standing a few meters in front, fending off some of the illusionists. Isaac uncoiled the brass whip and thrust it at the monsters. It merely flew through them and destroyed the floor behind.
“Isaac! Come on!” Isaac spun around and ran towards Ciel who was heading to a newly opened doorway. It was large enough for a half-giant to pass through yet seemed to shrink as they neared.
“These vampires are really beginning to get on my nerves. Isaac, hurry up.”
“How can I? Look what I have to deal with!” Isaac was facing off with an army of so-called ‘vampires’. He whipped them to no effect and could only watch them curve and twist themselves around him.
“Nique! Qu’est-ce que c’est que ce..” Ciel muttered in his native tongue. He revealed a thin metal rod which he clasped in his hand. With a flick of his thumb, a blinding light scarred the air. Isaac was wise enough to shut his eyes jut before the flash. The vampires howled, enraged. They did not like being blind, or being injured in any way. Ciel grabbed Isaac’s hand and pulled him along. All of a sudden, the door seemed much, much nearer.
“These ‘vampires’ as I like to call them, are perfect creatures. The think very highly of themselves and regard everything else besides the Premier, as toys. No. they cannot be destroyed. No. Creation would only allow the existence of 20 vampires. No. They have no weaknesses. No. I told you. They are invulnerable and can only be stopped temporarily.” He answered all of Isaac’s thoughts like it was written on his face.
“Just who are you?” Isaac questioned.
“A man who wants his pride back.” Purposely leaving Isaac dumbfounded.
They were inside the forbidden room. The ‘vampires’ had already slunk off, looking for easier prey. The room was furnished extensively. A Bohemian Tiger rug lay spread all across the floor. There was a big monitor in front of them and by the shape of the roof, it was reasonable that the room used to be some ancient observatory. Cupboards and cabinets filled with guns and other weapons filled the left hand side. A long table with oddities hanging from it filled the other. All over, there were art works of the forbidden, murder, rape, fraud, etc. A big wooded table with the communist flag draped all over it was a few meters in front of them. The man who was behind it, in military uniform, was clearly dead for some time. The blood was hard and dry, all over the flag. His hand holding the last thing he held; an ornamental pen.
“Imbecile. C’est le nique ta mere ultime.” Again Ciel cursed under his breath. The language was smooth and fluent.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut. A dead corpse fell from the ceiling, blood splattered and bones were broken. The expression on the victims face was of pure horror. Most of the body was already devoured and the flesh was fresh and strong.
“Gordon Vladmir, the state secretary.” Ciel informed Isaac.
Something floated down onto the corpse. It was dressed exactly like the creatures before, but in dark blue robes, tainted with fresh blood. Chains bound its body with a lock fastened in the torso. A fake cloth eye stared straight at them. Isaac could not see the true creature which the chains bound so tightly.
“Remember Isaac, everything about vampires are illusions. Nothing is what they seem and you must not fall for its games. This, my friend, is the ultimate vampire, brilliantly named Nosferatu.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I have my sources.”
“What do we do now? Seeing that the Premier is dead.”
“Well, we have to take out the one who succeeded him then. After all, we can’t leave the city to a murderous vampire.”
The vampire was eying them curiously before clearing its throat to speak.
“I thought this fight was reserved for us only.”
Ciel signaled for Isaac to leave.
“Don’t ask questions. This is a personal matter.”
“I understand.” Isaac proceeded to walk out.
“I have a better idea. Since this fight will be a little, shall we say, brutal, let’s help the boy out a little faster.” Nosferatu whispered something and breathed out a thin wisp of air. The ever-popular symbol of death appeared under Isaac. Isaac cringed as the green fire enveloped his body. He could only just hear the demonic creature utter chants.
“It’s a pity that the only powers that vampires possess are painful ones.” Isaac could hear Ciel whisper from outside the pain.
Finally, the hurt stopped and Isaac tumbled onto the ground. He touched the briquettes underneath him, the fall of feet around him. He opened an eye, expecting the worse. He was back on the tiled square in which he landed, or seemed to be. Everything looked the same, but then again, everything in this city was the same. Again the crowd of busy drones moved around him, not realizing his presence. Isaac touched his arm, which still felt sore from his fall.
A rumble shook the ground, Isaac looked around. Suddenly, the building which he was just in crumbled and fell to the ground. A large, looming shadow burst out from the center of the building and spread across the monotonous city. Isaac could see the flashes of light which could only come from the contact of two weapons. The drones had not stopped and were still moving to their destinations. A few military craft roared from behind Isaac towards the midair fight.
Isaac got up and ruffled his hair. He gave a salute to his mysterious partner, who was fighting for his pride, whatever it was. Then he climbed into one of the waiting cars, hotwired it, sealed the door, and took off for the space hangars, to hitch a ride off the boring planet.
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