Episode 8
“Emson!” Relcheir swore under his breath. He wouldn’t reach her in time before the guards turned the corner. One man wouldn’t hold off three planetary for long.
But I can’t just leave her… fuck what do I do
He looked behind him, towards the street. Towards escape. He looked back toward the gate. Towards Emson. Relcheir was paralyzed by the difficult decision.
Too late
Someone entered the clearing. Relcheir flattened himself on the wall, hoping to remain unseen.
It’s the stranger from the alley? No way
Relcheir watched, brow furrowed. The stranger was fighting both guards at once. He dodged a baton strike effortlessly, then in one fluid motion kicked the guard’s leg out from under him.
I’ve never seen someone fight like that
Who is this guy?
Relcheir hadn’t moved. Even if he had wanted to, he couldn’t tear his gaze away. The stranger stood calmly still. The second guard slowly approached the stranger, arms raised in a defensive position. Suddenly, the stranger was in motion. Almost imperceptibly fast, he took two steps and slammed his shoulder into the guard’s chest. The guard flew backwards into the wall, and slumped down.
Aina shit! How did he do that?
Relcheir regained his composure while the stranger turned to the first guard, who was still trying to pull his kneecap back into place. The stranger didn’t hesitate. He knocked out the last guard with a knee to the face.
This man is dangerous
...and yet he helped us. Why?
I doubt he’s from Founding. I need to be cautious
The stranger started walking to the gate where Emson had entered. Relcheir broke from his position, and started back into the clearing. Another guard came around the corner, but didn’t notice Relcheir. The guard made for the stranger, who had his back to the corner and didn’t notice the guard. Relcheir was already at a full run. The guard raised his baton to strike.
Emson saw Relcheir out of the corner of her eye. He hurtled into frame, tackling the guard. The security baton skidded along the ground, small sparks shooting out everytime it bounced on the ground. The unknown man had stepped out of the way at the last second, startled by the flying tackle behind him. But now he rushed over to assist Relcheir, who was grappling with the guard on the ground. It didn’t take long. The stranger grabbed one of the guard’s arms, and Relcheir started punching the guard in the face. Repeatedly. Emson looked away. She didn’t like violence, and certainly didn’t like seeing the person who just rescued her from a riot resort to such barbaric acts.
She didn’t know when the beating stopped. The gate in front of her swung open. Relcheir rushed in, followed by the man.
“Emson! Are you okay?” Relcheir sounded genuinely concerned.
“Yes I’m fine.” Emson’s voice betrayed her. It sounded timid and scared.
The stranger interrupted them. “We don’t have long. The guard was probably calling for backup. You need to follow me.” He pushed past them into the darkness. He stopped and turned to Relcheir. “Thank you, by the way. I guess we both owe each other one now.”
Before Relcheir could answer, the man turned and swiftly walked into the darkness. Emson and Relcheir looked at each other. Relcheir shrugged, and started off after the man. Emson had no choice but to follow.
Emson’s chest ached. Probably from running, probably because she had been terrified for the last eight thousand pulsars, probably because she was in an unfamiliar environment with unfamiliar people, and even if she did survive, her parents would kill her. A thought flickered across her mind: My parents were right, I should have never come to The Founding. Emson quickly dispatched that thought. This is exactly what she came here to see. To understand. Her parents may have been right about the danger, but they couldn’t have been more wrong about the reasons.
She had been running off and on with Relchier and the stranger for over four thousand pulsars. Zig zagging across town, through alleys, up and down rooftops and stairs and maglev tracks. Planetary was doing some sort of sweep of the inner sectors of The Founding, looking for protesters. Because the stranger and Relcheir had fought back, they were being more closely tracked. She didn’t even know Planetary could track specific people like that, but she was learning all kinds of things from her two companions. That is why it had taken them so long to get to where they were going. They were taking a safer, more complicated route that supposedly would lose the planetary guards. And where were they going? Emson sure didn’t know. She had asked several times, and only was told ‘somewhere safe’ by the man she had never met before. Relcheir seemed to have gained trust in him, as they had agreed several times on which way to go. He wasn’t questioning the man any longer. But Emson had nothing but questions in her mind. Why was there such a big divide between The Founding and The Design? Did these people really have no other way to support themselves? Why was Planetary treating them so harshly? And who was this stranger helping them, and why?
The group turned a corner. It was a dark and deserted street. Faint sounds of activity could be heard over the buildings, but it was at least a few blocks away. They seemed to have finally lost the Planetary guards that were following them. The stranger and Relchier had been talking a few minutes, but Emson didn’t have the energy to listen. She looked up the street. A strange building was up on the right, surrounded by highrises. It had a low, wooden fence, no taller than a grown man’s height. That was odd enough, wood was never used for building anymore. But that wasn’t all. The area that the fence surrounded wasn’t even fully developed. The building only occupied probably a third of the land. And what a building it was! Emson had never seen anything like it. Sloped roofs, wooden beams, curved artistic styling lines. The building looked old and rundown, but she imagined it brand new, beautiful and colorful. A piece of art in the midst of economic efficiency. She loved it. She turned to Relcheir and the strange man, who were still talking in hushed tones.
“What is that building?”
The stranger answered. “That is the old monastery. That is where you will hide.”
“Hide? Hide until when?”
Relcheir turned. “We don’t know… until it is safe.”