“But advisor, this incident is of great importance.”
The Mantis continued to walk, unconcerned.
“Advisor! There is a human on the loose. He and another has caused a great disruption!” the highly decorated Blatto shouted.
The Mantis stopped walking immediately. A look of intrigue covered its face. Kinth reacted in a similar fashion, but he was intrigued for a different reason.
Langston.
“A human you say? How do you know of this?” asked the Mantis.
“The Blattos army has been summoned to find the human and his accomplice. The two disappeared into the tunnels.”
“Which tunnels?”
“The external tunnels outside the walls. The ones without gates.”
“Insanity, no one dares enter those tunnels. Does anyone know who this human is?”
“No, Advisor. Madam Pearl’s security had the human detained, but they escaped. For some reason he and another – entered those tunnels. We believe they wish to travel to another corridor, unseen. We do not know which direction they are going; my team is in route now to retrieve them.”
The Mantis took some time to gather his thoughts. His antennae’s moved in unison; the source of his knowledge and vision.
Kinth looked at the Blattos, attentively. He then looked at the Mantis, who appeared to be plotting the next course of action. Kinth contemplated the same.
“I should let them continue their journey, because they will end up making a wrong turn. But for some reason, I think we need to mitigate this situation as well. The Guardian will not be pleased. So, continue forward with this wanderer. I will go with the Blattos to handle this. Thereafter we will regroup.”
Mantodea soldiers swarmed Kinth, grabbing him by his arms and legs. They pierced his flesh with their tibial spines, rendering him unmovable. Kinth could do nothing more than grumble in anguish due to the amount of pain entering his body. The power of the group of Mantodea soldier’s grasp left him powerless, even with his strength.
At least he was closer to his goaclass="underline" finding Langston.
Blattos
Langston and Jesse navigated the tunnels. They moved as fast as possible in the tight environment, unfamiliar with where the tunnels went and the occupants of each route. The only thoughts in Langston’s mind were Snake Valley and Scorpion Lake – two places he didn’t want to visit. The Gatekeeper, whom he encountered the first time he traversed the dark, moist tunnels.
The doors – the circle of doors, whereas Jesse had access to just one. The desert sand that he started out in nearly dehydrated and brought him near death. The people whom were now after him and Jesse; and now his attempted escape.
“I don’t like this idea. These are the tunnels I told you were bad. Very bad. I knew a couple people who came this way, and they never made it out. If they did, they made it out -,” said Jesse.
“Yeah I know – to a bad, dangerous place,” Langston interjected, “I get it. I understand. But we have no choice. You understand? We have to keep moving. Apparently death can be at any corner in this city, so we can’t worry about it.”
“Hopefully we will pick the right corner.”
They continued, with only a flicker of light providing by a small flame. The sound of small taps echoed on the tunnel lining. The sound was not close, based on its volume. Its octave increased rapidly with the slower Langston and Jesse walked.
“What is that?! What’s that sound?” asked Langston.
“I don’t know, but whoever – or whatever – it is, is coming for us!” Jesse replied.
The sound was that of Blattos soldiers, gaining ground on their location. The two ran faster, taking larger strides in the almost knee-high water. The flame, at times, would disappear due to the force of the wind that was increased by the running, as well as the moisture that swept the tunnels.
“Man, man, man, man – I don’t know which way to go,” Jesse spoke nervously. He looked around, flicking the lighter again. “Which way you think?”
“Gimme.” Langston snatched the lighter from Jesse and took the lead.
The Blattos grew closer. The sound they made was as if hundreds of people were typing on a typewriter at once. A sound that was intense and unnerving in the darkness.
“I got an idea!” Jesse exclaimed, “Let me see it,” he added as he reached his hand out to take the lighter.
“What you doing?! We can’t see!”
“Hold on,” Jesse replied as he closed the cap of the lighter. Then he banged it on the tunnel wall. A loud hissing sound started to make its way to them after a moment of unnerving silence. Langston banged on the walls again and the sound grew louder.
“What are you doing?!”
“If this is a dead end, it won’t just be for us.”
The two of them ran toward the sound, assuming that it would lead to an exit – regardless of what waited by the exit. Suddenly, the earth began to shake around them. Muffled voices could be heard, just before the light they were following started to disperse. The sound of Blattos was now in front of them, just as in the rear.
A deep rumble occurred, and then a large piece of the tunnel was smashed into them. Dirt, gravel and various debris fell on Langston and Jesse, right before they were swarmed by the Blattos. Langston fought off as many as he could, but the Blattos were able to increase and decrease their size as needed; a defense mechanism they used when in battle.
The Mantis approached from above once Langston and Jesse were held captive. Mantodea soldiers and Madam Pearl’s security stood nearby. The hissing sound was not from an exit point, but rather from the Mantis.
“Well. So… it is true. A human. I can’t believe it. Never thought I would see one of you with my own eyes. It’s been many, many years.”
The Mantis made the hissing sound again, which sent a chill to run through Langston’s body. The Mantis then spread its wings as the hissing amplified. It was an intimidation tactic that seemed to work without much effort. Langston and Jesse prepared for the worse.
“Pull them out quickly, before we have other, unnecessary company. Put them with the other, and then refill the hole. Tie these two up and keep them separated -put them in line with the other. We will take all three of them to see the Guardian. Tell Pearl to meet us there. We have questions for her that she needs to answer.”
Langston and Jesse were bound by the wrists and feet, and placed between the groups of soldiers.
The Paved Road
Kinth rested on the ground against a wall. He was near a winding, paved road with large red stones. The road to Guardian’s Grove. He relaxed, with his head against the dwelling, as he admired the landscape and nature. He felt peace for a moment. The peace reminded him of when he was young, when Hock City wasn’t infested with greed and madness.
He thought about his decision to come back to the city. Was it worth it? The struggle, that was almost certain? He shuffled rocks and pebbles in his hand while In the midst of his thoughts, impatient with sitting stagnant. He waited and wondered about what would occur next. His displeasure grew uncontrollable.
“Why we still sittin’ here? Can we get movin?’ Just kill me or let me go.”
The Mantodea soldiers had taken another break from the travel; Kinth did not know the reason. They ignored his comments, as they spoke amongst themselves, scanning the area for any threats. Kinth repeated himself, and started to purposely provoke the soldiers.
“Hey! I’m talking to you insect-boy! You know that if it was just us – one-on-one, I could take you, right? Ya’ know that right? You girly – ugly looking things.”
He threw a stone at the head of the soldier, but missed his target. He tried again, but the stone only grazed it. The graze was enough for the soldier to turn around annoyed and face him. It spread its wings and hissed at his actions.