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Chapter Three: э x τ r α - c u r r ı c u l α r s (cont.) |
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They rounded another corner, their eyes wandering all about in different directions. They were inspecting the stores and streets, windows of buildings - no one was home or setting up shop. And, this was strange, for even a few minutes after Dismissal Hour. Something wasn't right.
Their feet smacked against the ancient, concrete sidewalk, resounding a gallop with their three, separate strides. They looked a bit winded, but they had done this so many times that it was merely the warm-up for the day. While Ditta ran ahead, Pyro was tight on his right flank and Fore squared off the lead-vigilante's shoulders. With a huff, he focused back on the scene where they had just left their most recent catch. "I don't hear anything..." He thought aloud. Ditta didn't whip around, but his voice had the same lashing effect as if he were to turn around and knock the boy into the ground. "All the more reason for us to have taken him with us! Hate that b*****d..." He growled, careening left around a building. They slacked a bit in pace, but kept up the light jog.
Perspiration had conjured from their most recent run-in, but this run wasn't doing the tallest male any justice. His eyelids fluttered a bit, and he decided that if he didn't try to keep pace and instead used his strides, that he'd fair better. The transition didn't seem to do any justice. He slowed a bit and let them run ahead. And as he continued to run, he felt nauseated, ready to collapse right onto his face. He didn't know why he was growing so tired, but as they neared another crosswalk, he stopped running completely. His legs were dead-tired.
"Guys... wait..." He turned to face the adjacent street, pressing his back against the brick wall behind him. It was a face of a building, whose entrance was on the other side. It seemed fairly large from what Fore could gather from mere perspective, though his mind was a bit fuzzy. His friends didn't seem to hear him, though, and they continued to run on into the street. Through their peripheral, they spotted a line running the length of the street parallel, as if it were a barricade. They looked to one another, and looked back to Fore - or at least where he should have been - and were surprised to find that he was resting back on the building.
When they approached him, he looked like he was paling in color, sitting on the ground with his legs straightened. His arms draped over his thighs and he attempted to relax, but only pangs of draining energy coursed through his entire body. He laid still, not wanting to exert any energy more than necessary before he lost consciousness. Pyro crouched next to him and felt at his neck with two fingers and checked his forehead. "Weird." Ditta looked on, wary of medical conditions himself because of his parents' professions.
"I'm... fine..." Whispered the male. "I just need to rest a little... I think... lunch isn't sitting with me... well..." He wasn't entirely sure of what it was, but his stomach felt fine. He just had to pinpoint the cause of this disturbance. "Well, don't move." "What was that... you guys saw? A... line?" His voice was growing weaker with every passing moment, but he still wasn't close to falling unconscious just yet. Ditta was already back at the corner, peering around. The people all seemed to be waiting in line for something, but he didn't recall seeing the line from the street before. Looking up at the building, his state of contemplation was jarred with an ear-piercing cry.
Gritting his teeth, he looked over to Pyro, who stood up from examining their fallen friend to look at him. Fore sighs, trying to get a mental grip on one of the individuals in the line. The building nearly takes up the entire length of the distance between them and the line, so it proved to be quite the task. Once he successfully infiltrated someone's mind, he began sorting through their thoughts and the task seemed to be fairly difficult - Fore was minutely scrunching the muscles in his face.
Ditta looked to Pyro once more, and nodded. "Go ahead, I'll stay with him." And flames erupted about both of his gloved hands. They swirled and buckled, sending him rocketing into the sky with a miniature explosion, and once he had reached an altitude higher than the enormous building, he looked in the direction the aviator-call came from. Without looking back down, he vanished in a cyclone of flames. "The line..." Fore drew Ditta attention once over, the male positioning himself so that he was crouched next to the seated individual. His eyes were closed, but rolling all about to try and gather all the visions. "They're waiting... the house..." These sporadic and dreadful messages were so distant and taxing to retrieve. He inhaled heavily, his lungs growing weak and his mind growing feverish. "The house..." He repeated before the visions fled him and his will had been knocked from the young boy whom he had invaded.
Ditta looked over at his friend, who was now unconscious, and sighed. He wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon, and whenever Pyro returned, he would be able to go and inspect the house. This place, Ditta looked up from his perch at it, inverted against the sky, it didn't bother him as much as it did Fore, for some reason. He rest his back against the building and slid into a similar poise like his friend beside him.
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The sound of chirping whistled violently. Electricity stemmed out in all directions from the constant friction of a spherical figure that was aggressively rolling into a line of rings. Somehow the rings were able to repulse the foreign body, and back went the human-sized ball. Flying up into the air, Kenya extended his limbs and floated there, watching as his ally would then follow-up. Gathering up his blue stream of energy, he thrust his open palms forwards, first alternating then simultaneously before finishing the combination with a thrust of his waist and a roar of fury. The size of the first two beams were identical while the third was large - having been combined - and the last was thinner, coming from a less-than-expected spot.
The assault, however, fell short. The assassin held up his fans as the three-pronged, floating cylinder of sharp and bone-framed rings deflected the blasts into nearby obstructions. One of them aimed at Kenya. In turn, the uniformly black figure dove backwards, out of the path of the stream of energy. He was all too familiar with the impact of those beams. Kenya did an assortment of flips until he landed on the glassy surface of the highway. The two squared off with the enigma before them, not seeming to be bothered by this handicap match in the least.
The three circles overhead fanned out alongside one another, still hovering over his figure. He held out the fans at his sides and closed them before opening them again, another set of fans present, presenting him with four. In an elegant show of grace and skill, he sent the bladed accessories flying at his two targets. The fans were blindingly fast, barely leaving any room for fault in their evasive maneuvers. Gathering his energy, the suit glowed a moment before an explosion of blue energy knocked a couple of the fans away. The rest he weren't worried about, because they weren't able to penetrate his suit.
Or so he thought.
The blades sliced at the light-weight metal, and he heard this, instantly coiling away from the remaining fans. One was arching from the side - a great throw on the aggressor's part - towards Kenya. He did his best to deflect it without getting hurt in the process, rolling up into his human cannonball and rolling into it. He let out a grunt of distress as he felt it slash into his side, unrolling from his stance. He fell to the ground, awkwardly landing on one foot and a knee, using his hand to support him. While it appeared as though their opponent was going to pull out another set of fans to finish the job, there was a barking of flames off to his left, their right, that sounded like a flamethrower.
At the pillar of fire that manifested, Kenya and Ejaculator seemed visibly hopeful, their attentions drawn to the male. "Pyro!" Kenya called, looking over to their aggressor. "Quick!" He pointed at it while looking over his shoulder at the heap of cyan metal to his left. Without a second to waste, the boy threw his hands forward, attempting to strike the man with all he had, but to no avail: the three circles reconfigured themselves, this times in such a manner that they were so large, the bones didn't make contact to form the circle.
The aggressor seemed very upset with the way things were turning out now. Glancing over at Pyro from his helmet - the boy capable of seeing his own flames dancing in the dark, gleaming visor - he concluded that there was only one way to win this fight. Rearing its grotesque mask back, his chest rose and he stepped forward violently. What was produced was nothing compared to what these boys had experienced yet.
The screech was so horrendous that it caused all three of them to shut their eyes, clasp their hands over their ears, and even have Kenya and Ejaculator fall to their knees, Kenya having fell onto his side. They screamed in agony, as if their ears were bleeding, and the noise intensified shortly before it completely ceased. When they opened their eyes, they would find that the glass about them was cracked beyond capabilities, near to shattering completely. They were all exhausted, but managed to get to their feet, Pyro having descended delicately on a patch that didn't seem too fractured to support him.
"What the hell was that?" He asked, not even able to comprehend what just happened. "I don't know," Answered the robot-like figure, whose own visor was cracked, while Kenya tugged at the side of the fabric where his gash was being prodded. He winced lightly, though this couldn't be seen from behind his guise. "Yeah, I'm not... too sure either. He just came out of nowhere and attacked me." He looked around, wondering if the stranger was still present. Much to his fortune, it didn't seem like the individual was.
"Well, we'll find him next time and ******** his a** up." Growled Ejaculator. He rubbed at the plates on his chest, attempting to console his overheating system. He stood still for a moment, working the internal computer with his mind while Kenya turned to Pyro. Looking at the shorter male, he scratched at the back of his neck. "What are you doing here? You with Ditta and Fore?" His voice sounded a bit upbeat at the mention of their names. "Yeah. I heard the noise from that... thing, and I came right over. Dit's back with Fore. Fore, like, passed out as soon as we found this line. You know anything about that?" "Oh!" The runner looked over to his fellow athlete and thought about it for a second. "Is it a really long line?" "Yeah!" He turned towards where it was, pointing in the general direction where he had come from. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about," Chimed in Ejaculator.
"Well, he was trying to figure out what it was for when I left. C'mon, I think he's probably got something by now." "Alright, well, let's go see'im." Kenya bounced before hopping and being picked up by his own capabilities. The machine with them whirred a bit before his jet propellers coincided with him and lifted him off the ground, Pyro using his own flames about his hands and feet for the same purpose.
They flew over buildings and pathways away from the demolished highway, where the signs were twitching with fault and the entirety of the surface area was cracked to the point of mandatory repair. Pyro flew at the head of the figure, balled fists at his sides and straight legs his means of steering if he needed to. On his right was Kenya, who was flying with his arms out-stretched before him, mimicking the flight of Superman, without the cape. To their left was Ejaculator, who flew with one bent knee and his hands extended to either side. Even the jets on his shoulders aided in the guidance system, but he was taking a manual control for now, seeing as how he needed to follow Pyro to wherever it was they were going.
In a show of finesse, they flew high over the line so as to not gather attention and flipped over the top of the building, falling downwards to where they left Ditta and Fore. Pyro appeared at the bottom in a flurry of flames, Kenya bounced lightly when he was mere inches off the ground to greatly reduce the impact, and Ejaculator's landing mechanisms released compressed air so that he could land smoothly on his two feet. Assembling about their downed comrade, Ditta looked over the two familiar entities with a squint, having the glare of the sun reflect off the windows across the street.
"Oh, hey guys." "Hey, Ditta," "Is he alright?" Pyro doubled over to tap at the boys shoulder. "He was out two seconds after you left, Py." He rubbed at his eye and got to his feet as best he could. He dusted off the back of his tux jacket, thumbing his nose out of habit. Once he was peering around the corner again, he turned to the lot of them and spoke: "He said something about them waiting in the line for something. Obviously, there's more to it than that, but I have the feeling that there's something pretty damn important for just about the whole Province to be in line waiting for this thing." He mused, looking each of them over.
Kenya squinted. "The whole Province? You mean you'ven't seen anyone since D.H. [ Dismissal Hour ] either?" "And no one's come out of that building, from what I've seen. Thoughts?" The boys mused over it. They all looked at one another and nodded, as if they shared the same thoughts. "It looks like we'll be headed on in." "But the line hasn't moved in a while. In fact, I don't think it's moved at all." "Well, we'll just wait." "Oh, that sounds like a very pleasant idea." Pyro plopped down next to his friend on the ground, who was drooling a bit in his slumber. Ditta had placed him against the ground so that he didn't get some muscle hurt while sleeping against the wall.
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A sigh escaped her lips. She had no time for this! Why was this taking so long? This was supposed to be a simple reservation. If she was capable of doing this herself, she'd be in and out quicker than anyone could even complain about it - really. She tugged at her earring, wondering what was making it so difficult. Her feet were hurting and she was probably one of the many people in this line who were inwardly groaning of agony. This line! It was killing her!
She couldn't stand it! She was going to do it. She was going to run past all these people and just get in and get out before anyone could notice her. She only had to watch out for people in her way and make sure that she stayed on her toes - she couldn't be running into people. She couldn't blow her cover like that. Really, Remi? Do you want to blow your cover at all? She questioned herself altogether, and deflated a bit. She woudln't try it, no, but it definitely wasn't worth waiting in this line. She couldn't bear it!
"Uhm, excuse me?" She tapped at the shoulder of the tall male before her. The man seemed startled because of the intrusion of personal space - no one else in this line was talking to one another. It was as if they were brainless. As he turned to face her, he held a bewildered look on his face, as if she possessed fourteen faces on one head, only six eyes shared amongst them all. "How long have you been standing in this line?" She peered down the length of the line, elated that they were at least at an interval of a block separating them from the block that the building was on. "Obviously longer than you have," Came his snarky response, and he whirled back around, indicating that he did not wish to be bothered.
Remi glared up at the man and pondered punching him in the back of the head and running up further into the line or something. Granted, that would get her noticed. But, what if she put him at the back of the line? She looked from her left shoulder at how the line had grown since she last looked backwards. Maybe if she put him back there, no one would notice. She smirked and made a grab for his collar, but something from the side of her vision moved. This line hadn't moved, so any tiny bit of motion was like a beacon to her and any other sensible being in this line. They were two boys, a bit younger than she, she assumed. With a purse of her lips, she watched as they scampered where they had come from, as if the line had intimidated them.
She mused running on over for a quick second or two and running back, just for the sake of being nosey, but as soon as she realized that, she could get this guy in front of her out of the way, and she made a grab for his collar. She would have gotten it too, and darted down the line to place him at the end before he could blink his eyes, but he stepped forward. It looked as though the line was moving. She let her hand fall to her side, a bit elated and overjoyed at the sudden motion. With patience she didn't believe she had at all, the line slowly crawled forward and forward, closer and closer to what she had been waiting so long for.
She pulled her hair over her should and twirled it absentmindedly about one of her fingers. This was a deed that would gauge how long she could wait before she either got inside, or lost her mind. She was biding for the first option, lest they didn't let her in at all. It was all about self-discipline.
The mocha-skinned girl set her brown eyes on the concrete of the next block, seeing that she was a few yards away from the steps of the building, where she could step up, file in with the rest of the people, and leave out the back, as they were being instructed to. She could barely contain herself! Never before had moving so slow been something she could appreciate! At least they weren't standing in a parking lot any longer. She squared off with the steps, now moving at a regular walking pace, and the pure ecstasy of each step as her foot touched them left her yearning for the next ascension. Once she had reached the final step of the thirteen, she stepped through the doorway, and anticipated what was to happen in this apartment-like complex.
Yes, finally! I'm in!!
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"The line's moving." Ditta announced, peering around the corner from his crouch. He looked over the three males with him. "It'd be best for you to suit down and try and get in now. Otherwise, whatever's going on is going to get blown up before you even get the chance to step inside." "Right." They nodded in accord, their reverting simultaneous yet unique all the same. Pyro's street attire was similar to his uniform, but not so much that he would be able to be pinpointed if someone he hung out with noticed him. His shades were gone, and in their place, his large, brown eyes inspected the other two. Kenya's suit crawled back into his pants, taking the form of his compression shorts as he tugged at the waistline lightly. Ejaculator's suit buckled and underwent a rather rapid withdrawal, crawling into his pants as well. Now with two cross-country runners and a kid in jeans a shirt and some sneakers, they could fit into the line and sneak in for whatever it was they were being gathered for.
The strangest part was that there was no music, so their initial thoughts of a rally or a party were already tossed out the window. "Hurry, they're headed inside." "Alright, I'll keep in touch with you." Kenny tossed something to Ditta, who was still suited up. Catching the bud, he stuck it in his ear and gave him a thumbs up. "Let me know what's going on, and try not to talk too much." And with that, the three boys sprinted to where they could see the tail of the line, hopping in and acting as inconspicuously anxious for whatever awaited them inside this building.
Ditta fell back onto his behind, seated beside a sleeping Foresight. He closed his own eyes and let the warmth of the weather comfort his stressed body. Something told him today was going to be a long day.
 Montferer - Maestro · Sun Jun 19, 2011 @ 06:34pm · 0 Comments |
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