Time: 9:05 p.m. February 23, 2071.
Location: Tunnels. Rohania, Tisaia
Spurious crawled on his belly through the storm drain he used to enter Rohania. In the distance he heard the humming of a Scorpion on a road somewhere above. He froze, pressing his ear against the vibrating concrete wall to listen. There was no way to determine how many Scorpions there were; the tunnel muffled the sound making it impossible to determine their location. For a minute he lay petrified on the cold floor, waiting until the Scorpion patrol passed.
Silence washed over the tunnel, leaving only the sound of a slight wind in the distance. He grabbed his pack and started crawling again, knowing it was too late to head back. Anya would ask questions, and he knew his luck was almost gone, having evaded detection for so long.
The heavy pack made it difficult to crawl. It was filled with items he knew they would need to survive until they found a safe house in Rohania or attempted to cross the Wastelands. It was best they left without warning, and it was even better Lana didn’t know they were leaving until the last minute. He knew they would need more than food, water, and anti-radiation tablets to survive; they would need luck, lots of it.
After a few minutes of struggling through the narrow storm drain, Spurious climbed out in to Rohania. He darted down the narrow alley where he’d first met Leo, and made his way down the dark city streets, clinging to the shadows on his way to his old flat.
The slick streets were mostly empty, save for the random drunk stumbling about. It was eerily quiet. Nothing but the whipping wind and the drip of a clogged roof drain. Spurious stopped in the alleyway connecting to his building, looking at the sparse shapes jetting out of the darkness — the crumbling brick of the hastily constructed buildings, the filthy storm drains clogged with trash. It wasn’t the type of place he wanted to live the rest of his life, but he had no choice. If he wanted to be with Lana he would live anywhere, through anything.
Inside the building, Spurious lit a candle and climbed the creaky stairs to the third floor where he hoped Lana was already waiting for him.
Spurious looked down at his watch. Lana should be here, he thought, twisting the knob to his old flat.
The warm glow of orange candle light welcomed him. In the center of the room Lana sat on a pillow, waiting.
“Good evening,” he whispered.
Lana’s dark eyes glowed in the light and her cheeks flared red with blush. “Hi,” she said, her eyes pointed at her feet.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, setting his pack on the ground. He walked over and sat next to her, leaning down to give her a brief kiss on her forehead. Lana hugged him, almost forcefully.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Spurious stiffened, taking a step back just in time to hear the clanking of armor behind him.
“DON’T MOVE!” a muffled voice screamed behind him.
Spurious grabbed her shoulders softly, chills running through his body. He held her gaze for a second before he felt the butt of a rifle smash into his spine. He screamed in pain and collapsed onto the ground, reaching for his back in agony. His mind was spinning with confusion.
He turned to see his attacker towering above him with a rifle aimed at his head. The Knight’s blue goggles glowed eerily in the sparsely lit room.
“Don’t move. Stay where you are," he said, his booming voice muffled by the breathing apparatus.
“Lana, what have you done?” Spurious yelled, trying to crawl across the floor towards her.
“I said, don’t move!” the Knight yelled, bringing the butt of his gun down on Spurious' right leg.
He screamed again, reaching to calm the fire of pain shooting up his leg.
“Don’t hurt him! Please, you promised you wouldn’t hurt him!” Lana yelled from her hiding spot.
“Take him away,” the Knight said, as another soldier entered the room.
“Lana, what have you done?” Spurious yelled again, crying in agony.
“I’m sorry, Spurious! They captured my family a month ago. I had no choice. They said they would deport us all to the Wastelands!"
The pain of the truth hurt more than the fire spreading through his injured body. She’d set him up. It was planned all along. The bruises on her neck in the courtyard the first night they spoke weren’t from Varius, they were from the Knights. Varius never threatened her. He never showed up at her house. It was the Knights all along. She traded him for her family.
How could I have been so stupid?
The sadness and shock quickly turned to rage. His head shot up, his eyes meeting Lana’s for a split second before she turned away to run out into the other room. He turned again and watched the Knight approach him cautiously, the barrel of his rifle aimed towards Spurious’ head.
“No!” Spurious screamed, jumping to his feet and charging towards him. The Knight took a step back and pointed his rifle at Spurious again.
“I’ll shoot!”
Spurious only made it a few feet before his first attacker threw an armored punch. The metal connected with his head, blood exploding from his mouth as he sailed to the floor.
Spurious lay on the ground, curling up and feebly wiping his mouth clean of blood. He blinked, his eyes burning in pain. He watched the two Knights reaching down to grab him, wondering if he was feeling the same fear his parents did so many years ago when the Knights came for them.
Deep down he knew the Knights would eventually come for him, but he never imagined Lana would lead them there. His head spun, fueling the confusing agony spreading through his mind like a wildfire.
One of the Knights tugged on his shoulder with an iron grip and his mind returned to his attackers, rage boiling inside him.
“Hold still!” the Knight yelled, his armored fingers digging into Spurious’ back.
He blinked again, desperately hoping it was all a dream, but the shattering pain from the armored fist of the Knight was too visceral to be anything but real. He wasn’t stuck in a dream. He was stuck in a nightmare.
Time: 12:05 a.m. February 24, 2071.
Location: Abandoned Apartment Building. Rohania, Tisaia
“That’s it, that’s the place,” Leo said, pointing at a crumbling brick building.
Obi stared at the torn CRK poster hanging loosely in the cold wind.
“Are you sure this is it?” he asked.
“Damn sure, and I’m willing to bet the man you want is up there right now.”
Ajax, Obi and Leo stood at the edge of the street, peering up at the white stone, half expecting to see a face looking down at them from an old broken window, but there were no windows anymore: the CRK made sure of it.
“Show us the way,” Obi requested.
Leo hustled across the street, his scrawny body hunched over like a praying mantis as he slyly made his way into the alley next to the old apartment building. Ajax and Obi followed cautiously, their hands gripping weapons hidden within the confines of their large coats. They were both aware of the possibility of an ambush, something Obi always prepared for.
As the small group made their way into the building, they picked up the faint sound of voices muffled by the thick wood of the buildings walls. Leo stole a glance at Obi, who stood positioned in the exit door of the hallway, his rifle drawn.
“It’s the room half way down the hall on the third floor,” Leo whispered. “I need to leave now, there isn’t anything else I can help you with,” he continued apologetically.
Ajax grabbed Leo’s skinny right arm and pulled him towards the hallway wall, glancing back at Obi.
“Let him go,” Obi said.