PLANET AGAFRA - TOLLINDO CITY

(7 years ago)

The light from the drone’s scanner passed over the truck so fast that Echo’s foot was almost seen peeking out from underneath the empty shell. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat as she swallowed hard. When the drone moved on, Echo let herself breathe out a long breath, tapping her forehead to her clenched fists as if praying. 

The ragged exhale was distorted through the scraps of metal that formed a breather mask; crudely made with whatever pieces Ember could find lying around. The rough edges prodded and poked at Echo’s skin like little needles, but the worst part was that it drained mana like a desert drank water. At this moment, It was running out of power. With each breath, Echo could feel herself inhaling deeper and deeper to try and get enough oxygen in her lungs.

“Does it still work?” Ember was hiding under the next truck over. The light caught in his gold-yellow eyes, filled to the brim with concern. 

Echo gave a curt nod and a thumbs-up. She was lying. “Are you ready?” Luckily whispering was still appropriate because Echo didn’t think she had enough air in their lungs to project her voice anymore. 

Her brother also gave a thumbs-up.

After checking the coast was clear, Echo motioned with her hand to start moving. They both rolled out from under the vehicles as quietly as possible. The bright lights of the factory did nothing to hide their presence from the security system. Drones and robots worked ceaselessly on the production of armoured vehicles. 

They were one of Tollindo’s main exports to other planets. From what Echo had learned after arriving, all of these manufacturing and warehouse facilities belonged to one man: Tsoukalas. He wasn’t one to mess with. Echo took that as a challenge more than a warning.

Growing up in the engines of manastone mining machinery had made her believe that nothing in the worlds could be more terrifying than a small dark space and krindles. This same experience was what caused her to develop a severe lung illness as a result of too much manadust inhalation. It was incurable unless someone had some spare lungs floating around. In the meantime, her only option was the make-shift apparatus Ember made for her. It was dying. Ember needed a specific part to repair it, one that could only be found in manufacturing facilities like these.

Ember led the way to their left through the row of metal skeletons as Echo counted in her head. The drones were on a programmed route; they needed to hide every 5 minutes. Being unchipped and unregistered didn’t stop the motion sensors from detecting abnormalities in the empty warehouse; there should only be robotic movement on pre-programmed cycles. Something as minimal as twitching a finger was enough to trigger the sensor and alert the security system.

Echo had seen a bird get completely eviscerated when it flew just a little too low to the ground while she was scoping the factory out. It was lucky timing; beforehand, Echo wasn’t aware of the height sensor. As long as they kept their heads lower than a metre, the security system couldn’t detect them. Any taller than that triggered yet another sensor. Tsoukalas really didn’t take chances when it came to securing his property.

Unfortunately, Ember had just recently gone through a growth spurt and was having a hard time staying low. His head was skirting dangerously close to the limit. Echo quickly grabbed the collar of his shirt and tugged him down to his hands and knees. “Crawl,” she instructed in a raspy distorted whisper. 

Ember looked up as though he might be able to see the invisible line that triggers the sensor, biting on his lower lip. Then again, maybe he could see it. He had talked about seeing manaflow since they were kids. Trust Echo’s luck that while her brother was blessed with unique abilities, she had lost her ability to breathe instead.

All of a sudden, she could smell the colour blue as she writhed in pain, her hand gripping her own face. Echo had run into the back of Ember when he had stopped without warning. She took a breath to complain, but voices nearby caught her attention first.

“I hate dealing with Yoshida’s creeps. You just know they’re looking to pull one over on you. I don’t know why Tsoukalas still trades with them.”

“I know what you mean. I heard that their policies got tighter after one of their own stole from Yoshida. Now they’re all trying hard to lick his feet.”

“I heard about that. I wonder what they did to the kid.”

“I really don’t want to know what horrors those people cook up for traitors. I’d rather just get this job done and get home again as fast as possible.”

The good news was that the sensors were turned off if people were present and very much alive. The bad news was that they had just walked right into a smuggling deal between two shadowlords. If they got caught, Echo had no doubt they’d wind up buried in the desert somewhere.

The goons had their back turned to the twins as they started sneaking past, using the vehicle parts as cover. There were a huge number of plastic barrels neatly lined up in the clearing the men were waiting in.

Echo suddenly gasped for air, clutching at her throat. She felt like she was drowning. Frantically coughing, Echo buckled over, struggling to get air through. Ember rushed to her aid. There wasn’t anything he could do; not against the illness and not against the men who were now aware of their presence.

“Can you run?” Ember asked desperately. 

Echo couldn’t even take in enough air to answer him. She shook her head and took deep, gasping breaths to try and calm herself enough to think. Ember hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her up to her feet, triggering all the little scanner drones nearby. 

Alarms screamed wildly as Ember dragged Echo through the rows of unfinished trucks. The surveillance drones followed them as they clumsily rounded a corner. There would be nowhere to hide now. They needed to get out of there, fast.

“Truck,” was the only word that Echo had enough breath to say, gesturing toward one of the other warehouses through an open roller door. Logic told her that if this one was the shell storage, then one of the other ones had the finished product at the end of the production line. Echo separated herself from Ember as they sprinted across the driveway to the next warehouse.

Echo collapsed forward when a breath caught in her throat and she started coughing profusely, again. When she looked up, Ember was nowhere to be seen. She searched around frantically as she tried to stand on her unsteady feet.

“Stop right there!” one of the men shouted, pointing a gun at them, “Who are you?”

Echo couldn't answer. She didn’t have any breath in their lungs as their chest heaved quickly. She felt lightheaded and dizzy. It was hard to stay focussed on the men when Echo raised their arms in a show of non-aggression.

“I asked you a question!”

Shaking her head, Echo wavered on her feet.

With a vroom, a truck careened through the open door of the warehouse and stopped in between Echo and the armed men just as the armed men opened fire. The back of the truck was open and filled with more of those plastic barrels. Ember was in the driver's seat. 

Echo clambered into the passenger side and Ember took off again before they even had the chance to close the door or put on a seatbelt. Laser shots pierced through the windows, shattering them in an instant. Glass showered the twins as Ember shifted gears and tore out onto the street.

With laboured breathing, Echo struggled to get the wiring under the dashboard open. She struggled to stay up when Ember screeched around a corner on the main road, tossing her around like a ragdol. He apologised, but she wasn’t really listening. She just wanted to breathe by any means necessary.

“They’re chasing us!” Ember informed them while they continued to struggle with the compartment. Echo looked up in the rear vision mirror and saw three trucks, similar to theirs, approaching fast from behind. 

“They have more guns!” Echo declared, trying to use her boot for more leverage against the latch. When it finally sprang open, it forced Echo backward and some cables fell to the floor. She didn’t have time to pick any up before she was being thrown in the opposite direction again.

Laser shots zipped past their heads, both of them ducking as low as possible while still being able to see clearly. Ember swerved out onto another street that was dense with traffic. The truck clipped past another vehicle, breaking off the side mirror as they scraped past.

Ember tried to weave between cars, but at the speed they were going, one wrong hit sent the car spinning. Small, round seeds spilled out of the barrels like a water sprinkler. Echo had to hold on for dear life when another vehicle collided with theirs. Pushing the truck into a lampost. Her head was still spinning and pain coursed through her body from where Echo hit the dashboard. Always wear a seatbelt.

It was hard to think clearly with the ringing sound in her skull. She could barely make out the face of the terrified driver fo the other car as Echo sat gasping for air again. Ember had to help pull her out of the wreckage. Luckily, for the most part, she seemed to still be in one piece.

Ember wasn’t. He was hurt. Echo only noticed the bleeding cut on his forehead and the busted lip, but wetness soaked into their clothing as Ember tried to support her by the waist again. He’d been shot. There was so much blood! Echo wanted to ask if he was alright, but there was no breath to do it with. On top of that, Echo could see her brother’s face getting pale too quickly to be a minor injury.

Under her shoulder, Ember wavered and staggered, losing his balance. Echo tried to keep him on his feet, but they were both on the ground in seconds. Echo watched as Ember’s eyes blinked slowly closed, staring at the sky. She breathlessly called Ember’s name, rolling over to reach him.

Heavy black boots crunched over the scattered seeds that littered the street and stopped in front of Echo. She looked up at the middle-aged man in time to see a boot come down hard on her chest, pressing her down on the asphalt.

“You like racing, do you? I think I know what to do with filthy rats like you.” The man’s voice chilled the very essence of her soul. He took a drag of his cigar and crouched down low to get closer to Echo’s face. He waved off one of his lackeys as he blew smoke into her face. She gasped and sputtered under his boot. She felt so small and helpless. The man pressed the lit end of the cigar into Echo’s shoulder, but Echo didn’t have enough air to scream with pain. 

“You’ll pay for all this damage or die trying,” Touskalas told her a moment before his boot came down on her head.

-

There were very few things in the worlds that made Echo nervous. Ignatio Tsoukalas was at the top of that list. Echo hated it. A trigby outbreak was nothing compared to the terrifying presence that was the shadow lord Tsoukalas. 

Trev was standing on the other side of the holodisplay, out of sight of the camera. Even he looked nervous.

The man on the display was in his mid-to-late forties with sharp features. His black, slicked hair was greying above his ears. His dark eyes were shadowed by the heavy eyebrows that formed a resting scowl. 

“What makes you think you can make requests of me?” Tsoukalas said in a tone so low that Echo felt like she might pre-emptively soil herself.