“Oh Spurious,” she whimpered. “I’m so sorry. The Knights caught me a few months ago. They said if I didn’t help them find traitors, they would have my family deported.”
Spurious rubbed the bloody gash on his head, staring at Lana in shock. “So this was all a lie?” he asked disdainfully.
“No my feelings were real. They are real. I love you,” she whispered, placing his hands in hers.
Spurious pulled away, scooting to rest his back against the wall.
“I can never trust you again,” he said.
“Keep it down!” Ajax exclaimed, looking down at him while he plucked another two by four off the door.
“Who the hell are they?” Spurious asked Lana.
“We’re with the TDU. That’s all I have time to tell you. Now help us get these off,” Obi whispered down to him.
Spurious froze. It was the first time he had ever seen one of the rebels in person. He studied the two men as they continued to pry off the two by fours. Finally he realized this is what his parents had lived like, in constant fear. And now he was trapped in the same building they were killed, betrayed by the woman he loved.
Shocked into motion he rose to his feet, a deep pain racing up his leg. Anger gripped him, filling his body with adrenaline.
“There, stop them!” a muffled voice yelled down the hallway.
The group turned simultaneously to see a glowing set of blue orb-like eyes entering the dark hallway.
“Watch out,” Ajax yelled, taking a step back and kicking the door handle, sending chunks of wood splinters in all directions.
“Go!” he yelled, turning to fire at the approaching soldiers.
The hallway erupted into chaos, the Knights returning fire. Pieces of wood and plaster rained down on Spurious. He covered his ears and huddled against the wall.
“Come with me,” Obi yelled grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the doorway while firing his pistol at the Knights with his free hand.
“Get them out of here, boss!” Ajax yelled, finishing off another clip at the two Knights. He watched three of his rounds tear through the chest plate on one soldier, blood splattering onto the wall behind him. The second Knight wavered for only a moment, glancing down at his fallen comrade before returning fire.
Spurious watched Lana helplessly as Obi continuing to drag him towards the door. “Lana hurry! Run!” Spurious screamed.
She stood, hesitating before she took off towards the doorway. Spurious’ eyes followed her, watching the bullets tear into the floor and walls around her.
And then everything slowed. The pain in Spurious’ leg and head subsided. He watched fire erupt from Obi’s pistol, blank cartridges raining down on him as the bullets zipped towards the Knight. His eyes panned to Lana who was still running for him, now only a few steps away.
She is going to make it, he thought, watching one of Obi’s bullets hit the Knight in the kneecap.
Spurious could hear the man’s muffled scream over the gunfire. He watched the man slowly collapse to the ground, his weapon firing wildly.
His eyes darted back to Lana, who was reaching out for him, her beautiful brown hair flowing behind her. Their eyes locked and Spurious pulled free of Obi’s grip to reach out for her, just as two bullets tore through her stomach. Her eyes burned with terror as she fell, blood splattering onto Spurious’ shirt. She landed in his arms just as Obi finished off the last Knight, a round piercing his goggles and burying deep into his skull.
“No!” Spurious screamed, carefully turning Lana onto her back. She looked up at him, blood gurgling in her throat. She tried to speak, but Spurious put his fingers to her mouth.
“No, you’re going to be okay,” he lied, his eyes quickly panning down to her mortal wounds.
She reached for his face, her fingers smearing warm blood on his skin. “I’m…” She paused, choking on her own blood. “I’m sorry, Spurious.”
He watched the life draining from her deep brown eyes, her last breath escaping from her mouth.
“No, Lana. You can’t die! Lana. Lana. Lana!” he screamed, shaking her fruitlessly.
“You have to leave her,” a voice said from behind him. He felt a strong grip shaking his shoulder. Spurious ignored it, whimpering, tears flowing down his face while he rocked her head back and forth in his lap.
Ajax and Obi towered above, looking down helplessly. “There could be more Tin Cans coming,” Ajax said, looking over at Obi.
“I know. We need to move, but we have to give him a second.”
Obi hesitated, watching Spurious hold Lana’s head tightly to his chest. He saw the anguish and grief, a flashback from the past taking hold of him. The image of his father holding his dying mother crawled into his mind, an image he had long since blocked from his memory.
“Let’s go,” Obi said, quickly shaking the image from his mind. He motioned to Ajax with a nod, and instantly, the giant soldier grabbed Spurious and pulled him screaming towards the door. Obi stopped to close Lana’s eyelids before following Ajax into the darkness.
Time: 2:00 a.m. February 24, 2071.
Location: Tunnels. Lunia, Tisaia
Spurious awoke to the rancid smell of raw sewage, coughing the pungent stench out of his lungs. His hand shot to his throbbing forehead, where a deep gash oozed blood onto his fingers. He felt a stab of horror.
Was it a dream?
“He’s coming to, boss,” said a voice from behind him.
Spurious tried to sit up, gritting his teeth, his eyes blinking as they adjusted to the darkness.
“Stay calm. We aren’t going to hurt you,” another voice said, from the corner.
“Where am I? Who are you? Where is Lana?” Spurious said, turning from side to side, desperate to see the faces belonging to the voices. “LANA!” he screamed, before anyone could silence him.
“God damn it! You have to be quiet,” one of the men said, placing their hands over his mouth.
He struggled for a few minutes before calming, his eyes coming to rest on the two soldiers who had rescued him earlier.
“Are you going to be quiet?” the larger man asked.
Spurious nodded slowly. The man removed his hand cautiously from his lips. He sat up and scooted a few paces back, coming to rest against the concrete wall.
“I’m Obi,” the older man said, cracking the most sincere smile he could manage. “This here is Ajax,” he said, pointing at the other soldier, who didn’t bother to smile.
Spurious studied the two soldiers. “She’s dead, isn’t she?” he choked.
Obi nodded. “I’m sorry. There wasn’t anything we could do.”
“She betrayed me.” Spurious said quietly. “I was going to leave Lunia with her.”
“It’s better you lost her now then, there is no life for State workers outside the walls,” Ajax said, with a snort.
Spurious wiped a tear from his eye, scanning his surroundings. He took another gasp of the rancid air and coughed.
“We need to get moving,” Obi said.
Spurious stiffened. “Wait, what? Where are we going?”
Obi lit a cigarette as he waded through the knee deep sewage. “We don’t have time to explain, but soon we’ll tell you everything.”
Spurious hesitated, forgetting momentarily about Lana. There was something about Obi that convinced Spurious to trust him; maybe it was the conviction in his voice, the sincerity in his gaze or the fact that Obi had rescued him. Whatever it was, Spurious knew he had little choice but to follow the two soldiers.
“Will I get a chance to fight the CRK?” Spurious asked, a hint of strength present in his voice.