The snow fell slowly, as if time itself was being slowed
The fountain, with its frozen water shooting upward, was shattered.
Its bits lay scattered in the snow
The nearby building, where the buzz cut guy crashed into, had also crumbled to the ground.
In front of the damaged house, on the district road
Was Leo, lying flat on his belly
Everything was normal except his head
Which seemed to have been stomped into the ground, causing a fitting crater for it
Traces of snow were already piling onto his body
Just inches from him stood Marquez, his left hand raised slightly
A lock of his curly hair had grown silver, the rest was already blue
A sly smirk rested on his face
His left hand had completely morphed into a frozen form
From his elbow to his fingertips, his arm had been morphed
A hand almost like that of a beast, the finger tips narrowed into fine claws
Jagged spikes on his hand
Behind Marquez was the same ice wagon with the chained slaves
They didn't seem surprised at what had just happened to Leo
Most of them were still panting on their knees, eyes locked onto the snowy ground
If it weren't for the cold, they would all be sweating
The two guards who exited with Marquez remained at the wagon
"My, my, I like this one," Marquez said, nudging Leo's shoulder with his foot
His arm had already begun chipping away, like scales shedding from the skin
Patches of ice scales began to fall into the snow
Under the monstrous form, his soft, light skin appeared.
The more his natural hand appeared, the quicker his silver hair disappeared
Marquez looked ahead at Ricky and his group, who were twenty meters away from him
The captain was still unconscious, but both Ricky and the buzz cut guy were still bowing
"Sir, please forgive us," the guy with buzz cut pleaded
They both pressed their faces deep into the snow
Marquez stared at them, a half smile frozen in his face
Ricky's hand dug through the snow, his face going as low as possible
"Please," he muttered
Suddenly, Marquez laughed.
The type of laugh a guy who hears voices would have
Even the guards behind Marquez flinched
Marquez took a step forward, standing directly on Leo's back
He looked upward at the hazy sky
"Are you kidding me!?" he shouted, arms spread wide. "Of course I forgive you!"
He began laughing at the sky again, eyes wide
It didn't take long for him to suddenly stop laughing
His mouth hung partly open
As if wondering what happened in the last five minutes
He turned his head, looking at the two guards at the wagon
"Did I do it again?" he asked
"Y-yes, sir!" one of the guards shouted
Marquez sighed briefly, running his right hand through his hair
He stepped off Leo's body
"Pick him up, he'll be a good dog," he ordered Ricky
Ricky stood up, ready to pull Leo's head out of the crater
When—
They all heard it.
The air roared faintly, like God himself was angry.
Marquez turned, looking upward behind the ice wagon
His eyes narrowed
Everyone turned toward the sky, looking past the wagon.
Even the slaves
"What is that?" one of them asked, their voice hoarse and frail
"I knew it," Ricky muttered. "Fucking black-haired freak!"
Suddenly, he dropped Leo while brushing his hands off
He dashed away from Leo, landing right beside his unconscious captain and the guy with the buzz cut.
"He's cursed," Ricky said, still flashing his hands
"Let me see," the buzz cut guy said, checking Ricky's hand
Marquez hissed through his teeth, a frown forming
His eyes scanned the snowy clouds.
Nothing.
Yet the sound got closer.
Soon.
He spotted it. Not God, but a blur, which got clearer by the second
He could see air pressure, being bent around the figure
Causing a weird, pressurized aura.
Everyone had their eyes on it
The figure got clearer. It was a girl.
Autumn.
She slowed to a halt, eyes scanning the battlefield.
Slaves
Guards
Guards
Then, she saw Marquez standing over an unconscious Leo
Without warning
She shot violently to the left, causing a small air shockwave
She arched fast
Turning slowly to line up with Marquez
She clutched the dagger tight
When they aligned, she shot forward with the dagger aimed at his throat
Marquez braced, briefly raising his ice-morphed hand to block
The two clashed instantly
The pressure hit like a train
Momentum dragged Marquez across the street
At least he didn't trip
His heels dug across the snow, even scraping the roads beneath
Dirt flashing upward
They slammed through a house
Yet they were still going
He could see Autumn's eyes flickering violently as she pushed forward
Marquez gritted his teeth, bracing for another impact
But—
The bone-like dagger shattered
Briefly, Autumn's eyes went wide
She tried to stop
Her body jerked violently as her momentum fought against the sudden halt
A sharp pain ran through her body
She lost her balance and crashed into the snow
Meanwhile
A building could be heard crashing to the ground
Autumn opened her eyes
She stood up coughing, blood at her lips
But Marquez was gone
She barely managed to straighten herself before a fist was driven into her guts
She clutched her stomach and fell to her knees
She began panting violently
Not from the cold
But from the punch itself
She began to shiver and cough
Ice itself was spreading over her organs
And over her stood Marquez, a devilish smile on his face
Half his face had morphed, half was normal.
The morphed section was literally ice
No mouth, just jagged, pointy teeth on that side
His nose looked like that of a skeleton, just frozen
His eye was ink-blank, yet his pupil shined ice blue
Half his curly hair was snow-white
"Hahahahaha!" he laughed loudly
By this time Autumn was unconscious but Marquez was still laughing
Marquez picked up Autumn. She hung limp over his shoulder.
Just then, the ice sled rounded a corner
The slaves pulled dearly, every one of the guards riding on it
They stopped at Marquez's feet
The morphed side had a huge grin on it
The normal didn't
He stepped inside the wagon
There, everyone was seated, including Leo.
Inside, Marquez dropped Autumn to the floor
The wagon started to move
"Jackpot!" Marquez said
None of the guards were looking at Marquez
Most were fumbling with their robes or with their hands
"S-sir, may I ask?" Ricky stuttered.
"What are you planning to do with those things?"
Marquez didn't answer
The ice half of his face grinned harder, even causing it to wrinkle.
Ricky looked away slowly, nodding to himself
Fumbling at the edges of his robe
THOMAS'S POV
They were still on the rooftop
Thomas and the old man were seated behind the containers
Thomas fidgeted with his fingers, the old man sat quietly
"Sir!" the guy with binoculars called
Everyone turned to him
"They caught her," he muttered softly
The old man nodded
"I see..."
"Fuck!" Thomas shouted
"Fucking Autumn!" he swore as he punched the container
A huge dent appeared as his fist sank through
The man with binoculars gasped briefly
The old man didn't seem surprised
The two exchanged glances
Then.
"It doesn't matter, Thomas," the old man said calmly
"Change of plans."
Thomas looked at him, fist deep inside the dent
"What do you mean?" he asked
"Follow me," the old man answered
The two turned toward the edge of the rooftop
Thomas ripped his hand from the container
The old man tensed
Instantly, flames ignited at his palms
They flared wildly before becoming focused
Almost like an oxy-fuel torch
A loud hiss echoed from the flames
The old man aimed downward, scorching the rooftops
POP
He went airborne. The other guy did the same.
"Yo..." Thomas muttered, astonished, as he walked toward the edge
The guy with the binoculars did the same thing. Soon, both were floating.
They watched Thomas with intent
"What are you waiting for?" the old man asked
"Oh, I-I can't fly" Thomas stuttered
The guy looked at the old man, not even hiding his expression.
"You're kidding, right?" he asked
End