Renegade Destiny

Chapter 20: Escape Artists Of The Year?

Shen

The dungeons were impenetrable. A series of dark tunnels that felt infinite. I was hoping we'd keep running and find some way back up to the palace, but the chance of that grew slimmer as the three of us darted directionlessly through the maze.

With both the Moon Rangers and Nephatian Army biting at our tails.

I feared we would run into a dead end at some point, especially with the hordes of enemies after us. We lost them for a few minutes after our assault on those Moon Rangers, but I could hear more and more of them coming prepared. We had to act, and fast.

We halted at an a three-way tunnel split. Each of them looked promising, that was until a crowd of Moon Rangers came in with small pockets of light and what looked like Energy bombs. Two of them were rolled towards us.

Chu ran at the first, kicked it back and screamed. "Eat cow dung!"

It detonated in the middle of them, and the sudden flash of light blurred the scene of the damage.The other one had made it too close. I released a web and pulled at the arm of one Ranger, causing him to fly through the air and land on the bomb. It exploded under his stomach, completely vaporizing him.

"Run!" I yelled and bolted at a tunnel randomly. Chu and Bhen's footsteps thudded in pursuit.

"Get them!" Someone screamed.

We sprinted as fast as we could, the momentum catching and ripping my hairtie from me. My hair bounced uncontrollably as I ran, and I almost didn't see the other bundle of trouble heading our way. I bumped into Chu as she bumped into Bhen, and in the end everything was just a cluttered mess.

On the other end of the tunnel, a whole family of Nephatian Eagles charged with their devastating maces. And on our end, the remaining Rangers were on hot pursuit. We were blocked on both sides, our only option was to fight or die.

I damn well was not dying today.

I uppercutted the first Ranger who came at me wielding a glowing Energy sledgehammer. I jumped against the wall and flipped in the air, smashing my fist into the head of another. It was so fast, so exhilirating, a whirlwind of chaos. Chu ran up against the wall, jumping into my arms. I spun her around, her feet kicking an Eagle right in the jaw. She vanished from my arms in the blink of an eye, her black mist slicing right through a man.

I flipped away as the slice of glowing knives nearly cut my chest. A white-haired Ranger tried to kick me, and I caught her leg, instantly lighting it on fire. She screamed and dove to the ground, attempting to put it out. I flipped my attention to the other threats.

My webs grabbed hold of the sledgehammer Ranger and I yanked him toward me, kicking him square in the chest. He flew into the wall and I blasted an Energy beam at his head, which too, caught on fire.

Their screams filled the tunnel, haunting echoes bounced off the walls.

Bhen flipped backward, his foot catching the head of an Eagle. He wacked his fist out, battering the face of another. He vanished in a poof of black smoke, suddenly cutting through three more. They fell to the ground with holes in their chest, their faces tattooed with the look of death.

"Chu, look out!" I yelled as she was pounding the face of an Eagle. A mace swung at her head. I caught the Eagle's wrist in a web, drawing him toward me. His throat flew into my hand and I raised him from the ground, pumping venom into him. He began choking as his throat dissolved, the gooey, squishy skin sticking to my hand. I tossed him at the Knives Girl, who had just put her leg out. She pushed him off of her, giving me a deadly look.

She rose from the ground, her knives spinning around her fingers. Huh, no one's managed to put out my flames before. I admired a challenge.

"I'll be damned if I let you leave here alive," she spat at me. "Clan scum!"

"Enjoy being damned then."

In seconds she was infront of me, swinging like the Hells had filled her up with the energy of a demon.

I ended up blocking and dodging most of her impressively fast advances, narrowly missing each slice. I revolted around the passing knife that attacked my chest, grabbing her at the back of her neck to zap her with venom.

She was quick to spin around and drive her knife into my forearm, pushing me into the wall as she forced it deeper. I suppressed my pain, my anger rising with each second that burning Energy blade rested in my skin.

"I've fought many of you, pretty boy," she whispered hatefully, inches from my face. Her warm pants fanned my lips. "You can pull those hat tricks out of your ass, but I'm not any less prepared than you are."

I growled and jammed my foot into her burnt leg, knocking her back. I exploded my fists with flames, swinging as hard as I could. Her skin blistered with every block she pulled out, and eventually the pain became too much.

She became clumsy, weak. I pulled at her collar, smashing my head onto her nose and threw her into the wall. She cried out in pain as her back cracked upon the bricks, her knife skittering across the floor.

She moved weakly to get up, reaching for her weapon. I walked to her hand and stomped aggressively on it. Her wailing cursed the air and I kicked her across the face, knocking her out.

"Failure," I hissed. I placed my hand on her head, pumping it full of poison. Her nose started bleeding and her eyes instantly flew open.

She began choking loudly, froth gathering on the sides of her mouth. She fell to the ground, her body pulsing and seizuring before going completely still.

I uttered a groan as I tore her knife from my skin. It was in deep, hitting bone. I wiped the blade off on my garb and slipped it into my pockets. I bled for it, so now it would be mine.

I turned to Bhen and Chu, who had just finished off their last Eagles. Chu smashed a man with her knee, grabbed at his armour and whipped him through the air at her brother, and Bhen cut through him with the black mist.

After that no one was left. There was a river of bodies on the floor, and we were overcome with exhaustion.

"Can we just get the Hell out of here now!" Chu demanded.

I listened to the hallways, hearing more of them approaching. I couldn't pinpoint where, but we made a run for it before the sound grew any nearer. We sped down the one way, stopping when we found ourselves at a clearing.

The room was small, but divided two more tunnels. Light fell through the a vent in the ceiling. I looked up, seeing boots crashing onto it as they thundered past. That way led back to the palace. There was no way we were taking that route.

There was another exit in the room, a metal vent that stood out on the floor beneath us. Bhen and I looked at each other, and Chu took the responsibility of being look out.

"Hurry, we don't have much time," she whispered. No pressure.

Bhen and I pulled at the vent that proved to be horribly heavy, even for the two of us. It squeaked open like a dying cat and
hit the floor with a hard clank. A deep hole lied beneath it and water sloshed past at the very bottom.

"What the Hell is this?" Bhen frowned.

"Guys, they're coming!" Chu announced. "And I don't want to sound critical here, but how are our options looking?"

"Cold," I answered, looking at the water rushing past. "This is a well, and by the looks of it, the water might lead to a nearby river or something."

"Okay, who's going first?" Chu rushed to us, looking down the well. A grimace rippled across her face. "Oh geez."

Without thinking twice, Chu jumped. She vanished into the hole, the water instantly pulling her form under its spell. We could no longer see her, but we could hear her screaming just fine.

Bhen held his nose shut and jumped next. I heard the screaming of more of them, all coming nearer. I reached over and pulled the lid up, sitting on the edge of the well.

"There they are!" I heard a voice scream. I didn't even bother turning around. I plummeted into the depths, pulling the lid closed shut behind me. Freezing cold water enveloped me, dragging me so fast I could barely see the world around me anymore.