Shouts echoed from the far end of the hall, the frantic voices of men closing in. A radiant gunshot hissed through the air, shattering one of the glass tubes in the wall. Then another, and another. One slug whistled past my ear.
Damn it.
Light purple liquid began seeping from the jagged holes, sizzling as it hit the floor and eating through everything like acid. I leaped and maneuvered, my boots skidding across the dry patches of stone just inches away from the burning sludge. Behind me, the men charged through the spill as if it were nothing but sterile water. I didn't stop to see if the chemical burned them.
Victor was nowhere to be found. He had vanished back into the shadows.
I was nearly out of breath by the time I reached the main entrance, my lungs burning and my vision swimming in a hazy grey fog. It took every ounce of my willpower to keep my legs moving, even after the heavy thud of pursuing footsteps finally faded into the distance.
That was easy. Tooeasy.
I slowed to a halt, leaning against a rusted iron railing as I fumbled for the weight in my satchel. My fingers closed around the cold, jagged edge of the ruby key.
"I have it," I whispered, panting, a jagged giggle threatening to spill out of my throat again. "Finally"
But as I looked back at the menacing silhouette of the clock tower, a cold shiver traveled down my spine. Victor didn't seem like the type of man who just lost things.
Did he truly not know the value of this key and simply didn't care about losing it?
I limped back toward my lair, my pace slowing with every agonizing step. My legs were sizzling. My vision began to fracture, the edges of the world curling into a distorted, grey smudge. I felt eyes watching me. But I couldn't make out who exactly it was.
Weird!
"No. That can never be," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Did I get infected? No. No, no, no, no!". I said frantically. Not after everything I'd done. Not now.
It took what felt like an eternity to stumble back to the slums, and even longer to reach my lair. My vision began to focus slightly—perhaps it wasn't the plague catching me after all. Maybe it was a side effect of whatever toxin I'd inhaled in Victor's headquarters.
I struggled with the door, my hands shaking so violently the key scraped uselessly against the metal. I really should change this fucking lock sometime.
The room was pitch black and reeked of mold. The walls were rotting, weeping cold water that pooled on the floor. It was disgusting—a literal pig pit. I hated every inch of it.
"Shut up! I know, I know!" I nearly shouted into the empty air. "I'll fix this. I'll find a better place. I'll make everything fine."
The weight of the promise made my shoulders sag.
Then came the Rage. It wasn't just a feeling; it was a physical agony, a heavy pressure impossible to contain. I felt as if it would consume me, seeping away into my skin and bones, touching me until nothing remained but a screaming void of hate. This rage was vile, rooted in the very decay of me, of this place—as if the rotting walls and the weeping mold were made of the same bitter substance as my soul.
I had given up everything. Everything—all sacrificed for Revenge. Vengeance. Justice. The only fuel that had kept my heart beating through this long, hollow nightmare.
I collapsed onto my bed, the springs groaning under my weight. I pulled out the key, turning it back and forth between my trembling fingers. I felt the ruby stone watching me, touching me ,making my head spin and filling me with nausea.
Rage. Wrath, heavier than mine that I couldn't decipher was whispering my name.
Now, all I have to do is wait. I have to endure until the full celestial moon rises and the planets align. According to the prophecy, this conjunction happens only once every twenty years.
I sat there in the dark, the ruby key still pulsing in my grip. Just seven more days.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Time is running out.