TA Chapter 17 Poor Condition
"All I have to say in the face of your threats is, bring it on!" Chief Lutalo leaned forward after turning to face us instead of the front, his mouth curved upwards in a grin that split his lips to expose his white teeth, with his intense crimson pupils swimming with chaos.
We all froze at that exact moment, unsure of what to do, or say. I, for one had thought that the man would back off in response to mother's threat.
"I will speak with Luthor." said mother after a few seconds of just the engine's droning echoing in the surroundings. She was pointedly glaring at Chief Lutalo, as if daring him to do, or say something. But the man simply ignored her to sit himself properly, closing his eyes, as if resting.
I exhaled a breath I hadn't known I was holding, turning my gaze out into the fog.
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Forty minutes later, the bus was just outside a military base, one located outside Mazi city, in the eastern direction, atop a hill. The fog was no longer troubling us. And as I gazed down the hill while stretching, my breath was taken away by the view down below. It was a beautiful lake of fog, smothering even Mazi Fortress to the point that the walls were faint smudges in my eyes.
My bones popped as I went through the motions, releasing the tension that had accumulated. Sometime had gone by without exercising, yet here I was, prepared to expedition into most mysterious continent on our planet. But, it was a chance I didn't want to miss. All the leaders were going, with each being allowed two others in accompaniment.
"Will you really be okay, out there?" a faint voice caressed my ears.
"Estella! Don't be like mother!" I chastised after inhaling deeply, having brought my stretches to a close.
"She just wants you to be safe. Ril, we have absolutely no idea about what we will face upon setting foot on that continent." Estella said, her voice heavy enough to smother whatever comeback I had prepared.
I swallowed my words and simply nodded before turning towards the entrance to the base.
Two massive concrete blocks, one on each side of the road, painted a dark green, stood beside the iron gates.
"We are wasting time." complained Chief Lutalo before making for the gates, with the hinges screeching in torture as two soldiers pushed them open, letting our group into the base.
The first thing that entered my eyes raised heat up my cheeks. It was a squad of soldiers doing their morning routine, clad in black vests that emphasized their well endowed upper bodies, exposing the six packs and the rippling musculature.
We walked all the way through the base, passing by infrastructure that was almost at completion, proving that it was still new. Past a certain point, everything else vanished to expose four massive buildings, all concrete walls and steel roofs, within which four dark green metallic behemoths sat, waiting for the moment they could take to the sky.
I paused, jaw hanging down, as I gazed at the impossible objects within the buildings. Small ones already existed, those that could only accommodate a single person, and from what I had heard, uncomfortable as hell. But these, were entirely unknown!
"Dugavu state is almost leaving us in the dirt." someone commented, their voice a bare whisper, yet my ears picked it up all the same since all the others were silent.
My eyes and mind left the gigantic constructs to fall upon one of the figures standing just before one of the hangers. A powerful beat of the heart hammered beneath my ribcage. It wanted to rip itself out of me and go towards the man in the millitary uniform with a familiar face that had haunted my dreams since a long time ago.
I picked up one foot and placed it infront of the other, before the other followed with the motion on a subconscious level. Yet when I arrived within a distance where I could read his emotions from the expression on his face, impulse gave way to reason and worry, with my heart twisting itself in knots.
Luthor Dugavu had an intense dark expression, eyebags underneath his eyelids, and the eyes of a rabid creature that would jump anyone that entered it's sight.
He was pacing to and fro in impatience while another man, one with messy wheat colored strands of short hair pointing in different directions as if he had been electrocuted, then passed a hand roughly through them, stood by, his posture one of someone who wanted to do something, yet lacked the place to start.
"Well... This is certainly the first time I am seeing this version of the man. It is now debatable whether he will even be reliable." commented Snow Mpale, her tone nonchalant.
"That looks like the lion's den, Dan." said mother, her face a stoic mask that hid her thoughts.
"He's... I can't even find the words. I had always thought he was the more logical mind among us." sighed Dan Mpologoma, worry etched upon his face.
"Let's go." Chief Lutalo said, a faint smile playing upon his features even as he took the first step, which broke the frozen spell upon us.
"It looks like you took your sweet time to arrive." spoke Luthor, his voice desperately trying to ooze nonchalance, yet failed.
"The bus ride was uncomfortable, Luthor. It was better that we walked the rest of the way." said Dan Mpologoma.
Luthor paused, his expression freezing for a whole few seconds before he let out a long breath, as if trying to calm his nerves.
I gulped before feeling a hand settling upon my shoulder. I was caught off guard and squeaked, attracting everyone's attention even as I glared at David, the culprit.
"It will be better if you keep a respectable distance from my young mistress, barbarian." threatened Estella, having taken up position between us. Her voice was calm, yet her body was tense.
"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't know the girl was that sensitive to a little skin contact." David apologized with a carefree chuckle while raising his hands in surrender.
"If you encroached within a meter around my daughter again..." mother paused, a smile that didn't reach the eyes on her face.
"Mr. Luthor, a private word." she continued after placing her attention back on my idol, before walking away without looking back, confident that he would follow.
"If you could follow me to your supplies, please." invited the man with the wheat-colored messy hair, a fake smile plastered across his lips. His eyes weren't warm, yet also not cold. I hurriedly averted my gaze when he caught me staring, but his eyes weren't ones that could easily be forgotten. David was scary, but this man... Was eerie!
"Hoh! Where are the weapons?" asked Chief Lutalo.
My eyes followed Luthor and mother, who were now somewhat far enough that their conversation wouldn't reach us.
I should have been happy, going on an expedition with my idol, yet now, I was filled with worry and uncertainty.
"Let's go, Ril." said Estella dragging me away by my hand.
"Why the hurry?" I complained after dislodging it from her grip.
"Luthor Dugavu's impatience is deep. Ravena won't be able to convince him. It would be better to get on with the preparations within the limited time she is buying us."
Though I didn't answer, I picked up the pace all the way to the bags resting closer to the tail of the plane.
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Kisol Continent, Unknown Forest
16th Blue, 2043. 12:24PM
Luthor Dugavu(POV)
I was frozen, no, in a daze as I gazed at the people surrounding Ril Milena. Crimson had stained her clothes on the right side of her torso, with a piece of wood sticking out, having punctured deep into her body.
A cloth was securely tied around her mouth to muffle her screams while also curbing the possibility of biting into her tongue.
Was it my fault? This accident? The truth was that it wasn't my fault, yet I was certain that the blame would lie partially with me.
I had foregone sleep, running on dopamine and adrenaline... And now, these were the results. Her chute had snagged within the canopy, just like ours, but she had picked the short end of the stick as the force of the break had swung her harness with such speed that she had ended up impelling herself on a tree branch.
Was bad luck finally catching up to me after I had found what I have always been looking for?