YP – B3: QtnoWLM – Chapter 20 (Chapter 117)

177 Days Until Confrontation And the Uncertain End (part 1)

Heia awoke the day of the heist, wide eyed and ready. She first noticed Zeydar, who sat with his back against the wall, listening and far from asleep. Evester, too, was oddly seated against a wall, not awake nor asleep fully. Zeydar was awake, Heia believed, because he was too stressed to sleep. Evester, however, Heia knew slept in the way because he had reverted to the form he’d taken when searching for Heia. Either way, she knew both of them were ready for what was to come that day. They’d been in the city for no more than a few hours, but she was already ready to leave.

Shivering, Heia sat up, looking between the two for confirmation that they were ready. It was upon her movement that both looked up themselves focusing on her for the smallest of moments. What felt like a pulse went between them, as they breathed in unison.

“Ready?” Evester asked after a moment of absolute silence.

“Any word from anyone?” Zeydar opened up his hand that had been in his pocket. In his hand was a small box, holding what Heia knew to be his drugs. Evester eyed him as Zeydar opened the box ignoring them both. “I asked a question.”

“No word.” Evester answered.

“Then whats the plan?” Zeydar pulled out a piece of tablet placing it in his mouth, starring at the rest of it as if it were calling to him. Hands shaking he slammed the box shut. 

“Are you sure you can manage on your own?” Evester asked as Zeydar glared.

“I’ve done it before.” Zeydar answered placing the box away.

Heia refused to trust it. All the drug addicts she knew said they’d stop but never did. She was about to say something when she heard footsteps. Leaning his head against the wall, Zeydar cast a spell around them. They’d slept in a unused office room for a night and that was already pushing safety for them. 

“We operate as if they are all compromised.” Evester warned them both as he tried to keep his voice low.

“And if they are?” Heia didn’t want to think about the possibility of her siblings being hurt, or confined, or worse.

“Then we’re screwed.” Evester shrugged. Pulling his bag off his back, he pulled out the laptop that they’d decided to leave behind, the one that Evester had been carrying with him the whole time. It was an old model and not worth much, but it was going to connect them to the world. “Looks like the first video auto posted correctly.”

“How many views?” Heia stood up stretching the stiffness out of her body. She tried to be as silent as possible. Even with Zeydar’s spells, having Mages on the premises meant that they still had to be alert.

“Enough.” Evester began to type and then he tossed the laptop away. He pulled his headset on properly and spoke into it. “It’ll post in five minutes.”

Heia placed her headset back on as Zeydar grabbed his from the floor. There was no response. There was no static either. There was only silence, and silence was going to be what drove them.

“Goal is to destroy everything we can. Absolute havoc.” Evester reminded Heia as he finally stood up and stretched his body. Zeydar followed suit and they passed around water.

“And to save those kids.” Heia had to save the children. She could not let them be left behind, tested on, or killed.

“If we can.” Evester corrected.

“We need to at least get them somewhere, where they can be safe.” Heia disagreed. They’d never survive in Aralax territory, without some sort of help.

“We will do our best.” Zeydar turned to the door, ready to leave and perhaps the only one with any true power to help the kids at all. He then started to look over his staff, and pace the room.

Pulling out his weapon, Evester looked over his gun twice before nodding to Heia to pull out her’s. The next few minutes were spoken about maps, how they’d get back to the kids, and destroy everything they could on the way back. They noted the locations that they’d hurt. When Evester placed a camera on his jacket and gave two more to Zeydar and Heia, Heia knew that it was time. She was not sure how the cameras activated, but she was sure that they’d show their antics live.

“Looks like everyone else has connected.” Evester announced with a smile. Hiding the laptop he walked to the door, hand on the handle. “Let’s do this.”

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