The final stretch. Their entrance and their exit.
A long walkway before they hit the smoggy, chemical-scented outside air- air that somehow smelled clean and refreshing after their trek through the sewers.
Ironically, the light at the end of their tunnel wasn't all that bright compared to the radiating glow of the golden chemical reflecting around them. It could've even been described as beautiful at times, causing them to slow down and admire it. But the sense of urgency and unease, especially after what they had witnessed, kept them moving.
"Clear."
Noland exhaled with relief as they stepped into the final stretch.
"Hold up," Lucky said, stepping past him. "Let me take a look."
Noland nodded. "We need to cover these up."
He tapped the golden serum canister and briefly glanced at the one Jade held, the glow illuminating the tunnel with dazzling light.
"What? Not interested in being the golden boys of the pier?" Jade joked sarcastically.
"No, no. I wanna be a golden boy."
"Same! I'd do a jig and steal all the brothel coin!" Lucky grinned.
"I can't wait to see the toothless army chasing you down. Oh! You'd get granny gums coming for a good time!"
"Eck..."
"Shut up, you two..." Jade let out a vexed sigh, and the two of them snickered.
With that, Lucky walked quietly toward the large gate with a small metal entrance alongside it. Jade and Noland stood silently, watching. It was a little ominous seeing his outline in the distance, and they couldn't help but tense as he neared the exit.
His silhouette shifted- he looked like he was shuffling to peer out before grabbing the bars and scanning both directions. He waved back, and the tension left Noland and Jade.
"Lucky, you look scary from behind. You know that, right?" Jade commented.
"Psh. That's why no one's fucked with me. I'm awesome and scary," Lucky quipped, quickly adding, "No one's there."
"I sure hope not!"
"AA!" Jade jolted at Lucky as she passed, nearly sending him flying out of his shoes. She snickered as he scowled after her.
"The fuck? Uncalled for."
Heaped trash lined the ground on their right, along the embankment, with tainted green and sickly orange soil. On their left was the chemical outflow as a stream trailing off toward the sea. Low vapors still rose, obscuring vision toward the other side. Metal sheets lined the embankment with small sets of stairs every few dozen meters that allowed people access to this lower level.
Noland's gaze wandered to the tinny houses sitting atop the embankment. There were no windows. Just gray metal stained with sickly colors from the fumes and narrow alleys slipping between them.
"What are you waiting for Noland? Cover your canister."
Jade's voice snapped his attention back to the situation.
"Ah, yeah. Right."
Digging into the trash for foldable bits of thin metal and fabric, he and Jade started wrapping layers over the canister in a very unkempt, trash-ball sort of look.
"How many days will it take to create the elixir?" Lucky asked in a hushed tone as they worked, spinning in place as his gaze scanned the embankment for onlookers.
"Maybe a week?" Jade shrugged. "Two tops. I want to create a copy of the book first, though. That way we can hide everything together until the initial suspicion blows over."
"Yeah? And Fenrik? How are we going to..."
When Jade's silence answered Lucky's unsteady voice, Noland stepped in with a firmer tone."We'll just ask him. He can't hide it anymore. We'll get the full story."
"If he was hiding that, how much else was he hiding?" Jade scowled as she yanked the final tattered cloth around her canister. "It's fucked up! But we deserved to know!"
"Did we?" Noland asked and Jade glared at him. "We're just adoptees- no, orphans. He already gave us a lot by letting us live. Otherwise..."
He sniffed, uneasily eyeing the gate behind them before glancing at Jade, who instantly covered her masked face with realization and horror.
"Fuck!"
"Careful," Noland said sharply, eyeing her gloves on her face. It took her a second to realize and remove her hands, sighing heavily with frustration.
"We're alive now, though!" Lucky cut in, his gaze bouncing between them, trying to keep an upbeat tone. "So is Fenrik! He'll be better soon! Maybe we can think of some workaround on this... Remember those stories about the upper city's food supp—"
Cut off by a set of heavy boots thudding as they hit the dirt, followed quickly by another and another. Five officers, clad in their ominous heavy black tunics and full face masks, leapt over the stream and through the toxic vapors. Their eyes glinted off these fumes that trailed them as if they emerged from the river directly, and their boots glowed a bright blue light that quickly faded.
Fear seized Noland, and he quickly tried rising to his feet, but they were already upon them. In quick succession, all three of them were pinned to the ground.
Twisting and turning with his arms being held behind him, unable to reach for the pills, Noland started shouting, "Fuckers, let go!"
"No! Let go of me!" Jade cried.
Channeling his magic, Noland started to try to focus it into a burst behind him to force the officer off him, when a sharp pain rippled through his arms and made him cry out in pain.
"Noland! Why are you officers doing this?! We haven't done anything!"
It felt like a thousand little needles and cuts radiating from the officer's firm grip, and he heard a mocking chuckle as the officer reached for his handcuffs.
"Assistance required," Noland heard the monotonous tone of an officer before a loud cry of pain. He twisted his head on the ground to try and get a visual, only to see Lucky standing there with the same magical energy creating a thin layer over his body. It wasn't just visual either, but strong enough to the point Noland could feel the magic radiating.
Noland's eyes darted back as he felt the grip of the officer loosen, perhaps out of shock, and immediately he tried to twist and flip. The officer, however, merely placed a hand on the back of his head and slammed his face repeatedly into the ground.
First time, it hurt like hell. Second time, his nose started bleeding. And again, and again until his goggles cracked. Jade was also in a similar pinch when she tried to use the opportunity, only to find her arms twisted so harshly that she began to cry in pain.
Through blurry vision, Noland was unable to see exactly what Lucky was doing as he sent an officer flying backwards. It seemed like he had the upper hand, sparking hope in Noland's heart, when a yellow light flashed and impacted Lucky's neck.
"Lucky," Noland spluttered through a blood-clogged nose and soaked mask. The shock made his vision sharpen briefly, watching Lucky's figure crumple in front of him. A dart with a vial sparkled, the last hints of a darkened yellow seeping away as he spasmed on the ground.
"Status?"
"Unharmed. Minor bruising. These little bastards have contraband."
"Search them."
Groaning in pain, Noland was quickly flipped and had a knee placed on his neck, the lack of air causing his vision to whiten and shake.
"Gah! Bitch!" A sharp impact with a simultaneous, high-pitched cry of pain. Noland didn't need to guess who it was while his world was spinning in pain as they rummaged through his pockets.
"Located the suspected items. Pills. Their exterior is abnormal. I've never seen ones like these."
"Send them to forensics. Lock these three away and-"
"Sir! Serum from the factories!"
Silence fell upon the scene. Noland's vision was starting to fade with the lack of oxygen, and Jade's cries of pain were fading. What he couldn't see, as he lost consciousness, was Lucky's unfortunate reaction to the pill or pills.
In sharp, jolting movements, Lucky's body began to convulse and twist. He began screaming violently as cramps tore his muscles, his left elbow snapping out from his arm. Blood streamed out from his nose and eyes, prompting the officers to step away in shock and horror until it eventually ceased.
"Lucky..." Jade sobbed as an officer stepped up at last, bending over to check his pulse.
"He's alive," the officer reported, prompting tears of joy to mix in with her tears of pain before she finally fainted.
"Good. Take him to The Doctor."
Unease rippled through the officers at just the mention of the name, with a hesitant nod, before the officer who checked his pulse lifted him up and slung him over his shoulder haphazardly and without care.
"The signed execution warrant and death certificate from Command won't be an issue."