Ray's last bits of consciousness was exhausted as a bullet tore through his stomach, out his back and into the bike's seat.
Ray's vision completely darkened, not even having the time to register what happened.
His body started to loosen and relax as Ray began to fall off the bike.
Feyd immediately noticed Ray falling off the bike as he tried to catch him with an alarmed expression.
He leaned his body forward while bringing his legs up, wrapping around the unconscious Ray with haste.
The bike shook as it's balance started to waver, both Ray and Feyd about to fall.
Feyd struggled to maintain this position with his weak body while driving.
The bike's constant shaking due to the uneven terrain further increased the difficulty.
Unfortunately, Ray's body was still slipping from the bike!
Feyd didn't have enough strength in him to fully stop Ray from falling off especially in such an awkward position.
But he then noticed a slight bump ahead of him on the slope. An idea flashed in his mind as he raced towards it and just as he hit the bump he loosened his grip on Ray.
Ray's body jerked upwards just before Feyd's legs once again wrapped around Ray's body while he was about to fall back down guiding him to lean on his back!
He then quickly shifted back to a normal position since the bike was nearly veering off balance.
The bandits looked flabbergasted as they witnessed Feyd somehow save Ray while continuing to drive at fullspeed.
The bandits reloaded their guns for the third time. They had to more bullets left. The only way they had managed to scrounge up those bullets was by checking the body of their vice captain who was knocked out before he could use his revolver.
The mentally deranged bandit once again spun the barrel of his revolver with his tongue before aiming at Feyd.
Both bandits fired their shots as Feyd used one of his hands to hold onto Ray and the other to strafe the bike.
Most of the bullets missed except for two that managed to hit Feyd on his right shoulder and left leg.
Feyd grimaced in pain as his vision pulsed black.
His weakening body began to fail him as his grip on Ray began to slip, his body drooping and growing heavier.
He gritted his teeth before biting his tongue.
The surge of pain barely managed to keep him hanging onto his consciousness as he neared the top of the slope.
The bandits' car began to have difficulty coming up as it started to slowed down.
Nust then as Feyd reached the top he realized that up ahead was a massive drop.
A sinking feeling started to creep in as he realized there was nowhere left to run!
The cliff ended in a fall to his left, right and front. Behind him was the bandits who were quickly catching up.
He stopped the bike right at the edge as both Feyd and Ray jerked forward almost falling off the cliff.
Some dust and a single rock grumbled off the edge as they began to fall to the bottom.
It took about 6 seconds for the stone to reach the bottom as the dust dissapeared from with the blowing winds.
Feyd gulped as he estimated the fall to be more than 500 feet!
He looked back to see that more vehicles were coming from a distance.
He noticed a man with a rifle in hand looking at him through a hole in the hood of one of the cars.
The bandits began to reach the top of the slope as they realized there was nowhere for Feyd to go.
The bandits, especially the strange one, began to cackle and grin.
"Heahhahaha! You have nowhere else to go!"
"Serves you right for messin' with us!"
"Kuakakaka!"
Drops of sweat came together and dripped from his chin.
Feyd squeezed his eyes, 'Is this where it ends? Am I going to be caught here? No!'
Feyd immediately began to think; thinking of anything that could help him escape.
He began to observe and inspect himself.
'Stamina– Almost finished... Fire– Drained completely... Anything that can help... Nothing...'
He started frantically looking around qfor any paths he could take.
There was only a fall infront of him and solid ground at the bottom.
'I could try going backwards... Taking a detour to escape past them... But they'll just end up blocking or shooting me... And I'm sure my body is about to fall unconscious any moment now...'
His mind started racing as he considered all possible actions he could take.
However each possibility he passed made it clearer that there was no escape!
The bandits were about to reach him, and the vice captain started to aim his gun at him from a stationary vehicle.
Beads of sweat ran down his forehead.
'No wait, I got it!'
Feyd immediately took off his cloak, which had been slightly tattered from fighting, and tied himself and Ray.
Feeling this still wasn't secure enough he took off the belt on his waist and tied Ray's left leg to the bike.
He took off Ray's best to do the same with his right leg.
He then glanced back at the bandits one last time while shifting his bike backward.
"Hahaha! Surrendering are you!?"
"Come here! I'll make sure to tear you limb by limb!"
"Kuakakaka!"
Feyd then attempted to accelerate his bike but it didn't work.
The vice captain of the bandits steadied his breath as he aimed at Feyd's legs, hoping to incapacitate him.
Feyd frowned as he tried multiple more times untill the bike finally began to move forward.
And then boosting the bike forward Feyd drove...
...Straight off the cliff!!
Feyd's eyes were locked head on, starlight ahead. He noticed neither the exclaimed voices of the bandits nor the bullet whizzing past his ear.
The air blew against Feyd and the bike. Ray's body slumped backwards, staying on the bike due to being tied to it and Feyd, while Feyd leaned forward.
He subconsciously relished in the air blowing past him, the adrenaline coursing his veins and his heart beating like drums.
He tilted the bike forward untill it was parallel to the cliff's wall, at a 90 degree angle to the floor.
And just as they were about to hit the floor they fell through it and came out some few metres away, perfectly parallel to the floor.
Behind Feyd was a circular Rift, just big enough for them to fit through which led to another Rift on the ground where they were about to land.
He had used his spatial Rifts!
He had forgotten about this ability in the heat of the moment, and due to both the tranquilizer and the weakness of his body his mind wasn't sharp enough to remember it.
He had stopped himself from using it in the train due to the unkown consequences of using a spatial rift in a high speed train, and he also stopped himself from using it during the escape since he only had a limited range with this power.
Additionally he would immediately be forced to belch out the contents of his stomach due to the side effects of his powers.
Speaking of which, Feyd immediately felt an extreme discomfort emanate from his stomach, following which he sensed it begin to flow up rapidly.
"Uaghh–!"
The bike and Ray's body wobbled before Feyd eventually stabilized the bike, a yellow droplet by his lip.
Feyd was sure he was on the verge of knocking out but steeled his will and forced himself to stay conscious.
He drove off further and further untill he eventually left the cliff far behind, where the bandits watched him disappear into the sunset.
One of them shouted to their vice captain, "Sir! They... They got away..."
After traveling a great distance away Feyd eventually found a few trees to rest under.
He noticed the setting sun as he carried his tired body to the shade.
Feyd untied Ray from the bike and carried him under the shade too.
Knowing the desert was cold at night he forced his body to slice and dice a few branches, eventually making a fire to last the night using some energy he had recovered.
Feyd set the bike on the floor, tore his cloak and sleeves, revealing arms lined with scars, to bandage his and Ray's wounds.
Realizing that it wasn't enough also tore Ray's cloak to use as a bandage.
The fire calm crackled beside them as night descended. The sun had set and the moon had risen.
The stars glistened in the night sky as what seemed like a comet crossed the sky, following by a streak of light blue in the sky of the Wastelands that steadily headed towards the ground far away.
Both Ray and Feyd had already fallen asleep, their minds tired beyond belief and bodies pushed far past their limits.
A peaceful greeted the two as silence surrounded them.
...
(A few hours ago)
The vice captain of the bandits Feyd and Ray had escapes from looked up at the cliff bewildered.
The two elves he was after, to the point he ruthlessly killed the rebelling slaves and ignored chasing the ones that had escaped, had dissapeared!
Specifically they had driven off a cliff on a bike!
Those two elves would've been worth enough for him to buy a decent noble title, huge acres of land, and a start a bunch of businesses.
Especially with their myriad powers and combat skills, the organization he was in contact with would've even paid above market price, and given him special benefits!
But then they just... They just killed themselves?
"Aaaggghhhhhh!"
He roared out in part frustration and part anger as he threw his rifle to the floor.
His burnt legs gave out and he fell onto the car seat bellow.
"Start the car! Go there and see what happened!"
He slammed the driver's seat with his hand shaking the whole car.
"Y-Y-Yes Sir!"
The car soon sped up as they reached the bottom of the slope.
A bandit that was looking over the edge turned towards him and said, "Sir! They... They got away..."
The sound of glass shattering could be heard as the vice captain's voice bellowed out.
"FUCK! WHATDOYOUMEAN–THEYGOTAWAY!?
His fist was clenched so hard the knuckles had turned white, with blood flowing from glass shard lacerations.
"I-I don't know Sir... They drove off the edge aND–!... Somehow landed unharmed?"
The bandit's nervous voice cracked as he spoke, his body shaking from fear.
He was the one licking his gun, excited that he could get the merit of catching the two elves.
The moment they turned towards the slope he knew they had won, since the slope led to a cliff he had been to.
Atleast 500 feet high he didn't think anyone could survive that fall.
He cackled as they reached the top of the cliff, unworried even though they had long run out of bullets.
"UNHARMED!? UNHARMED! HOW!? HOW!?"
The vice captain's face turned red with anger as veins bulged up.
"FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!"
Eventually everyone headed back to the train, the journey eerily quiet.
But after reaching the train the vice captain began to berate each and every one of the bandits.
Why reinforcements hadn't arrived... Why they didn't fight hard enough... Why they couldn't catch the elves...
When a few bandits shouted back in frustration they were all brutally beaten up by the vice captain whose legs seemed to have recovered already.
Everyone else stayed put out of fear, glad that some idiots had stepped up to appease the vice captain.
Eventually after barely calming down he asked for an explanation on the insufficient reinforced, after which he found out that the captain had died in his room.
Right as the battle started the captain began to shout from his room, screaming in pain.
After a minute of bandits banging on the door they eventually managed to break the door down, only to see the captain on the floor convulsing.
The bandits with medical knowledge immediately ran forth to help, as the others lingered around to watch the spectacle.
A few stayed to help, a few stayed to watch, a few were happy, a few were sorrowful. Some even stayed just to search for money and valuables in the room.
Thus they didn't hear much of the battle which was several freights away.
The few that did come to help in the battle didn't return to remind the others for further reinforcements since the door was first blocked by objects, then crushed by one of the elves.
Veins bulged as the vice captain swallowed a bitter thought.
'So it's my fault the reinforcements didn't come... Because I poisoned the boss...!'
'He just HAD to die TODAY at THAT TIME HUH!'
The vice captain's fist balled up as the frustration buried within his heart began to surface once more.
Misinterpreting their vice captain's anger the bandits immediately spoke up.
"It's such a tragedy that he died Sir!"
"Yeah! It must've been those slaves– And the elves!"
"But look on the bright side Sir! You can be captain now!... And I'll be the vice captain..."
The last few words were as soft as a whisper.
They were all shouted at once more.
The vice captain walked through the destruction that was was the last four freights of the train.
When he first began making his way through the carnage he was indifferent, yet as he passed by the dead men, destroyed weapons and vehicles, damaged walls and floors, the holes and burn marks, the...
His anger flared up once more!
By the time he reached the last freight, the freight where the slaves were kept, his wrath was on the verge of exploding.
As he looked around at the destroyed cages and the three special boxes where he kept the tribal chieftain and the two elves he noticed their damaged locks.
Two of them were still open, with their locks having been melted and broken off.
However one was missing...
After looking around for a few minutes he noticed a box hidden behind cages and covered by cloth.
Narrowing his brows he shoved the cages aside before snatching the cloth to reveal a black box with multiple, intact locks.
The vice captain's furrowed brows furrowed even harder untill they almost touched each other.
As he began to insert his key, twist it, and open the locks with a clicking sound he noticed that the box had began to shake.
Strange muffled sounds came from the box as he continued opening the locks.
The last lock fell to the floor making a clanging sound as the vice captain opened the box.
Those three bandits who had been stuffed inside by the children, tied up and gagged, had been trying to escape for hours.
They had eventually given up, with the box filled with heat and the smell of sweat, body odour and... Other more unsavory smells.
They grew increasingly more excited as the they heard the locks for the box begin to be opened.
And as light peered in through a crack, their eyes brightened up and their red, sweat covered face had a relieved expression.
When the lid was opened they saw their vice captain's face. They had previously held a grudge against him, but the fact that they saved them from being trapped in that box had immediately elevated his position in their hearts.
In the heat of the moment those three bandits didn't notice that their vice captain's furrowed brows relaxed, eventually becoming more and more indifferent untill he had a dead-pan expression.
A cruel glint flashed in his eyes, his boiling anger ready to spill out, as he cracked his knuckles.
The three bandits looked up with eyes filled with gratitude, as their vice captain looked down at them with clenched fists ready to relieve anger.