The night air chilled the two
people standing on top of the building, despite their long clothes. They stood
in silence, overlooking the city they jointly despised. A gas mask hung from
the neck of one of them, while the other wore a long, thin scabbard.
“Look at this place.” The one with the mask around his neck spoke. “It’s beautiful. A beautiful fuckin’ cesspit of corruption. I can’t wait for it to burn.” He spat off the edge of the roof, counting the seconds until it hit the ground. He gave up after four, the droplet of saliva shrinking from sight as it fell to the earth far, far below.
“Reckon they’ll catch us?” It was her first time, unlike the other rebel.
He laughed, his lips peeling back like a wolf’s snarl. “Catch? Not a chance. They know it, too. If they get us, we’ll be dead on the ground before you can say a thing. These bastards’ll be shootin’ to kill.” He mimed firing a machine gun, the movement making the flamethrower by his side swing on its strap. “They sure as hell won’t be expecting you, though. I doubt you’ll have to worry about too much”
The girl smiled, absentmindedly fingering the handle of her sword. The wind blew stronger, and they both hugged their coats tighter to combat the cold as they waited for the signal.
“They don’t even know who I am. The only thing they have is the police sketch of my mask.” He took a swig from the flask on his belt. “They caught me once, right back at the start. Sat me down in a room, flooded the air and made me breathe. They didn’t know who I was, though. Didn’t have my mask back then, and they’ve never made the connection between me and him. Besides, I didn’t look half so pretty back then.” He smiled again, the muscles in his face pulling at the shiny scar tissue that covered half of his face. How he’d kept vision in his right eye, she had no idea.
“Yeah, they told me about that. They all thought you died in the explosion.”
“Well, for four minutes I technically did.”
They fell back into silence, looking over the glittering lights of the city. He was right. It was beautiful.
As she watched, the upper stories of a building in the distance erupted into flame, spewing concrete and glass in all directions. Moments later, the sound of the explosion reached them and the man’s grin grew wider.
“There’s our cue.” He turned to her, putting on the gas mask. “Remember, get in and out as fast as you can. We need you for the smarts. Leave the real fun stuff to me.” Somehow, she could still feel smiling through the mask.
She nodded, adrenaline coursing through her veins, fastening the smile to her face and turning it slightly manic.
“Alright then. Let’s watch this city burn!” With a howl, the man hurled himself off the building, opening his arms and letting the air fill his wingsuit and carry him to the building opposite. The girl waited a moment longer before doing the same, her heart beating fast enough to explode when she leapt into the empty space, looking down at the ground, so far away, and feeling a laugh born of excitement and terror bubble up through her throat as the wingsuit finally caught the air and carried her across the divide. She crashed through a window, narrowly missing the concrete support strut inside as she rolled to absorb the impact on the floor, drawing her sword as she stood. As the sword left the scabbard, the flint engaged and spat fire onto the blade, engulfing it in moments. She ran from the room and saw the other rebel, who nodded to her, laughing raucously as his flamethrower spewed fire into a room she couldn’t see. She turned towards the stairwell, reaching the door just as a man in uniform burst through, pointing his gun at her. She didn’t hesitate as her flaming sword sliced through the air towards him.
“Look at this place.” The one with the mask around his neck spoke. “It’s beautiful. A beautiful fuckin’ cesspit of corruption. I can’t wait for it to burn.” He spat off the edge of the roof, counting the seconds until it hit the ground. He gave up after four, the droplet of saliva shrinking from sight as it fell to the earth far, far below.
“Reckon they’ll catch us?” It was her first time, unlike the other rebel.
He laughed, his lips peeling back like a wolf’s snarl. “Catch? Not a chance. They know it, too. If they get us, we’ll be dead on the ground before you can say a thing. These bastards’ll be shootin’ to kill.” He mimed firing a machine gun, the movement making the flamethrower by his side swing on its strap. “They sure as hell won’t be expecting you, though. I doubt you’ll have to worry about too much”
The girl smiled, absentmindedly fingering the handle of her sword. The wind blew stronger, and they both hugged their coats tighter to combat the cold as they waited for the signal.
“They don’t even know who I am. The only thing they have is the police sketch of my mask.” He took a swig from the flask on his belt. “They caught me once, right back at the start. Sat me down in a room, flooded the air and made me breathe. They didn’t know who I was, though. Didn’t have my mask back then, and they’ve never made the connection between me and him. Besides, I didn’t look half so pretty back then.” He smiled again, the muscles in his face pulling at the shiny scar tissue that covered half of his face. How he’d kept vision in his right eye, she had no idea.
“Yeah, they told me about that. They all thought you died in the explosion.”
“Well, for four minutes I technically did.”
They fell back into silence, looking over the glittering lights of the city. He was right. It was beautiful.
As she watched, the upper stories of a building in the distance erupted into flame, spewing concrete and glass in all directions. Moments later, the sound of the explosion reached them and the man’s grin grew wider.
“There’s our cue.” He turned to her, putting on the gas mask. “Remember, get in and out as fast as you can. We need you for the smarts. Leave the real fun stuff to me.” Somehow, she could still feel smiling through the mask.
She nodded, adrenaline coursing through her veins, fastening the smile to her face and turning it slightly manic.
“Alright then. Let’s watch this city burn!” With a howl, the man hurled himself off the building, opening his arms and letting the air fill his wingsuit and carry him to the building opposite. The girl waited a moment longer before doing the same, her heart beating fast enough to explode when she leapt into the empty space, looking down at the ground, so far away, and feeling a laugh born of excitement and terror bubble up through her throat as the wingsuit finally caught the air and carried her across the divide. She crashed through a window, narrowly missing the concrete support strut inside as she rolled to absorb the impact on the floor, drawing her sword as she stood. As the sword left the scabbard, the flint engaged and spat fire onto the blade, engulfing it in moments. She ran from the room and saw the other rebel, who nodded to her, laughing raucously as his flamethrower spewed fire into a room she couldn’t see. She turned towards the stairwell, reaching the door just as a man in uniform burst through, pointing his gun at her. She didn’t hesitate as her flaming sword sliced through the air towards him.
No comments:
Post a Comment