Escape - Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Being tied down to one woman for the rest of my life? Not a choice I’d ever make. I believe love has an expiration date.”
Damian, who had been staring intently at his ring, let out a short laugh. Luce tilted his head, puzzled, but Damian’s amusement seemed genuine.
‘Tied down to one woman.’
The very concept of marriage was, to him, satisfying. It was the final boundary line holding Adeline’s potentially fleeting heart.
Damian hadn’t said a word, yet Luce felt mocked. He glanced at his face, but instead of derision, he found the smile of the happiest man alive gracing his already handsome features. He truly was too beautiful to be tied down to just one woman. Luce noticed the female officers nearby stealing glances at him. This ridiculously good-looking man probably didn’t even realize it.
“Be careful, though.”
“About what?”
“You know how in those novels, the happy groom or newlywed husband is always the first to die?” Luce said, his mouth twisting into a playful pout. Damian chuckled, grinding his cigarette out under his dark uniform boot.
“Cut the nonsense and get up. Everyone seems to be here.”
He was right. A quick glance at the square showed that while they’d been chatting, the officers had all assembled. Fifty or so officers stood at attention before the “Gate.” Luce straightened, bracing himself. Playtime was over; it was time to get serious.
Luce followed Damian as he walked toward the assembled officers. As they approached, nervous eyes turned to them. Luce cleared his throat.
“As you all know, we’ll be going over today’s mission briefly. Last night, at 2300 hours, something triggered one of the traps.”
The officers’ faces tensed at the ominous news.
“Once they’re past the first trap, we have no way to detect the Serpiente near the city. Our mission today is to go out there, identify what triggered the trap, and ensure the area is secure.”
The words were simple, and the task itself should be simple as well. Simple enough to entrust to rookies who had never even been outside the city walls. Of the entire group, only Damian had ever truly faced a Serpiente in combat.
Well, perhaps that was to be expected. Surviving an encounter with a Serpiente was next to impossible. That’s why a mission as simple as checking a trap required fifty officers and two lieutenants. But with enough caution, there shouldn’t be any danger. If there were any real danger, Luce wouldn’t be going.
“I have a question.” A freckled officer in the second row raised his hand. Luce nodded, and the man spoke hesitantly.
“Is there a chance it might not be a Serpiente?” A flicker of hope crossed the man’s face. Who would want to face a murderous monster, even from afar? Luce understood the sentiment. But…
“There’s a possibility, but we’ve never seen anything else trigger the traps. We haven’t confirmed any other life forms ‘outside’ besides the Serpiente,” Damian answered before Luce could respond.
The officers’ faces fell at the bleak reply. They were afraid, despite countless hours of training. Deep-seated fear could grip a person without warning. Luce wasn’t the only one who sensed the fear in the air.
“Are you scared?”
A tense silence hung in the air. Damian wore his characteristically serene smile, the one that made the women swoon. But Luce knew exactly when that smile appeared.
“It’s okay to be scared. If it helps.”
When he felt disgust. Not directed at his unfortunate subordinates, of course, but at the murderous monsters isolating their city.
“But if you act like prey, they will act like predators.” Damian’s gaze met each officer’s as he spoke calmly.
“Remember, we are not their food. We are the hunters.” His voice was clear, cold, and controlled. He wasn’t shouting, yet his words carried more weight than any yell.
“I won’t lie and say it’ll be safe. This isn’t training; this is real. You could die out there today.”
Luce’s eyes widened slightly, and he unconsciously clenched his fists. Damian was deliberately instilling fear. The word “death” hung heavy in the air.
“So stay sharp. Hunt, or be hunted.”
At Damian’s signal, soldiers carrying large sacks approached.
“Disarm everyone.”
As the officers laid down their weapons, the soldiers with the sacks moved through the ranks, sprinkling a gray ash-like substance over their heads. Cigarette ash. It was the only thing the Serpiente seemed to dislike, so it was mandatory for officers on missions to smoke that morning. It was a ritual as much for luck as for efficacy.
The soldiers smeared the ash on themselves as if it were life-giving water. Damian casually dumped some over himself and then supervised his men. Luce understood why he was doing this. Checking the trap should be a simple task. Yet, Damian wanted everyone on high alert. He wanted them safe, so he refused to offer false comfort. The opposite of Luce, who dealt in pleasantries.
‘That’s why he always make me so uncomfortable.’
It wasn’t that he disliked Damian. He was a good friend. But moments like these created a strange dissonance. They said you hate in others what you see in yourself. But Luce felt it was the opposite. Damian possessed what he lacked. And that was unbearable.
What was this feeling? Jealousy? Inferiority? Even in a life-or-death situation, would he still prioritize others? Impossible. Damian was only human. He had someone he loved, his own happiness paramount, just like any other person.
“Luce.”
The subject of his thoughts interrupted his reverie. Startled by his penetrating gaze, he flinched, and Damian let out a soft chuckle. “Finished praying? Go open the door.”
Luce surveyed the ranks. The armed soldiers stood ready, awaiting the signal to depart, their faces etched with tension. Slowly, he walked toward the door—the door leading to the ‘outside.’ The only exit in Sector 13, located deep underground. While corridors supposedly connected to other sectors, no one had ever actually been to them. The ‘outside’ was a hellish landscape teeming with Serpientes.
Beside the massive double doors, a square screen glowed. Luce touched his wristwatch to the screen, and a mechanical voice announced, “Beep. Identity confirmed. Lieutenant Luce Gradel, Sector 13 Guard Unit. Please state your reason for exit.”
“Dispatched to check the first trap. Authorization received last night.”
“Authorization confirmed. Doors opening in five seconds.”
‘Doors opening…’ Even now, that phrase sent a shiver down his spine. Luce blinked nervously.
Seconds ticked by.
A grinding, metallic screech filled the air as the enormous stone doors slowly parted. Starting at dawn had been a wise decision. The sight of the doors opening would undoubtedly unsettle the citizens.
With a resounding thud, the doors locked in their open position, and the soldiers began to march through. The intermediate zone beyond was bathed in a violet light, filled with artificial illumination and tobacco leaves.
‘If this place ever caught fire, it wouldn’t be the Serpientes that killed us, it would be the smoke.’
In Sector 13, every precious handful of soil not used for food was dedicated to tobacco cultivation. It was a necessity. In the concrete labyrinth of their underground world, the source of soil was singular: the massive roots of a colossal tree that stretched from the highest level to the lowest. Only officially authorized personnel could scrape soil from these roots. Even then, with the roots only accessible on one wall throughout all 30 levels, the limited soil was dwindling, making it incredibly valuable. The soldiers, many of whom were seeing this much soil for the first time, stared in wide-eyed wonder.
Once all fifty soldiers had crossed into the intermediate zone, the doors closed automatically. They were now between the first and second doors. The exit wasn’t a single barrier, but three. And these doors never opened simultaneously, lest any lurking Serpientes seize the opportunity to enter.
The second door was equally imposing. As they approached, Damian, with a practiced hand, drew a dagger and sliced his palm. He pressed his bleeding hand against the door, the blood trickling down its surface.
He could have asked someone else. The thought almost escaped his lips. He always insisted on being the one to shed blood. That was one of the things that irritated him most about him.
The second door was undoubtedly the creation of some deranged scientist. It opened only to human blood.
With a deep rumbling groan, the door opened, revealing a bare hall, starkly different from the first intermediate zone. No tobacco leaves here, just empty space. Only one door remained. Behind them, the second door closed.
And this final door…
“Weapons check. Maintain caution.”
…was opened manually.
Collective breaths hitched, the air thick with anticipation. The sounds of weapons being checked echoed in the confined space.
Thump. Thump. Luce’s heart hammered against his ribs. It wasn’t as if this was his first time outside. He glanced at Damian, his face impassive. Always calm. Damn him, didn’t he ever get nervous?
After surveying his unit, Damian gestured, and two soldiers heaved against the large sliding door.
With a slow, drawn-out creak, the door began to open. The noise could attract Serpientes. Luce swallowed hard, his eyes darting left and right.
The ‘outside’ was deathly silent.
