Kingdom of Raine (Chapter Five)

Chapter 5

In the outskirts of Roen, the cool night air swept into Erwin’s lungs. His eyes were drawn skyward from the dark streets. A crescent moon glowed against the black. It amazed Erwin to see thousands of stars dot the sky in seemingly random patterns. He turned his attention to the shrouded alleyway surrounding him. I need to find Clef before sunrise. It’ll be a thousand times harder to break him out after that. Erwin spotted a spear-wielding man walk past the alley. “Damn,” he cursed under his breath. Sentries patrolled the city at night. It was a precaution taken by the statesmen in control, a feeble attempt to uphold order and enforce submission. This could only complicate matters.
Erwin scanned his surroundings. Buckets, planks, and barrels lined the walls. Useless, he thought. Erwin walked deeper into the alley. He eyed the rooftop, only twelve feet high. I need to get up there. Then, I could get by the sentries without being seen. His shoes caught something, and Erwin toppled over. A clamor of wood sounded as he landed on the ground. No! Erwin thought. They could’ve heard that! He turned and sat, staring back to the main road. Nothing was there. His eyes shifted to the thing he had tripped over, a ladder. Relief exposed itself on Erwin’s face. He could not have seen it before because it had been shrouded in the shadows. After climbing to his feet, he rubbed the dirt off his hands then grabbed the ladder. It was leaned against the side of a building. Erwin slowly climbed up. As he reached the roof, he could see hundreds of shingled rooftops. The sight added to the enormity of his situation. He knew where the jailhouse was, but what happens if he’s not there? Erwin shoved the thought from his mind. I’ll worry about that when, and if, the time comes. With that, he stepped out on to the roof and climbed to the top.
His leather shoes slipped against the shingles. Erwin braced himself with his hands. He looked like a gorilla atop a mountain. Roen was dark except for the torchlight of the patrolling sentries. Erwin grinned. This way, I know where they are. He shimmied down the right side of the roof, bracing his feet against the gutter. The gap before the next house was only three feet across. He could easily make this jump. Then, his brown eyes gazed downwards sucking the air from his chest. A tingle ran down each of his legs and his heart began to race. Twelve feet, he thought, If I fall I’d break my legs… or worse. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes to calm himself. This is easy. You can do this, he told himself. With a glance to see if there were any sentries around, he readied himself for the jump. His legs wound back and sprung him into the air. The wind rushed against his face as he overshot the gap, landing on all fours against the other roof. He began to slide back down, so he quickly ran up to the top. It felt like slippery ice under his shoes. As he reached the top, he stopped and listened to his heart pumping. All right, Clef needs me. Erwin slid down the rooftop and jumped over the next gap. No problem, he smiled as his muscles tingled with exhilaration.
He made his way towards the jailhouse while avoiding the sentries. Whenever a sentry got close, Erwin stopped and lay down against the roof. The torches would fade away around another street, and Erwin continued. After thirty minutes of house jumping, his legs began to get sore, so he stopped to rest. The night crept by. It would be dawn in a couple of hours. It was nothing to worry about; He estimated ten minutes until he reached the jailhouse. Hopefully, there would be no guards. Erwin got up and continued forward.
It was about an hour and three close calls later that Erwin finally reached the jailhouse. He landed atop the flat roof and began to plan the breakout. The building was made of gray stone bricks, impossible to break through. Iron bars made the windows inaccessible. The only way in was the front door. Erwin grimaced at the thought. It would leave him at the mercy of any guard inside. Erwin could not waste any more time. With only one plan, Erwin made his way the edge of the roof. A window was right below him. He lay down on the roof and bent down to get a view of the inside. A lantern lit the inside, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Through the window bars, he could see that he was above a cell. Further in the room, a fat man snored at a desk. That’s Jasper, he remembered, the chief of police. He had been here last time Clef had been captured. It was a stupid mistake to let him stay in here. Erwin felt the blood rushing to his head from being upside down so long. He got back on the roof, then dropped down the street. Erwin walked around the building to the front door. His right hand grasped the brass doorknob.
Clef sat in his cell. It had been hours since Petal and Jasper fell asleep. He had stared at the door the whole time, waiting for the rescue. The doorknob turned and the door creaked open. A silhouette of a tall man entered the room. Light danced across the room as the flame flickered inside of the lantern. Finally, the light caught the face. Clef’s green eyes met sandy hair, brown eyes, and a familiar face. “Erwin!” he whispered excitedly. His friend crept toward him, then froze. Jasper’s snore had stopped. Clef looked at the chief. He was still asleep. Not a sound could be made. Clef shuffled to the door of his gate and pointed to Jasper’s pockets. “Keys,” he whispered.
Erwin nodded and walked toward Jasper. Two unlit candlesticks stood on the desk. Each had a metal base and a white wax. Clef pointed to the candlesticks then to his head. Erwin could not understand him. “Knock him out with the candlestick,” Clef whispered. Jasper’s snore started up again; he was asleep and defenseless.
Okay, this should be easy, Erwin thought as he reached the desk. He gripped his right hand on the candlestick and walked behind Jasper, careful not to make any sounds. A dull clank sounded as the metal collided with the chief’s head. The snoring stopped abruptly and Jasper fell to the side. Erwin caught him before he struck the ground, then set him down lightly. We wouldn’t want the sentries to get here now, when I’m so close. After he was sure that the chief was knocked out, he looked back at Clef.
“Keys!” he said. “They’re in his left pocket!” Urgency resounded in his voice.
“Okay, okay,” his friend replied. Erwin reached into Jasper’s pocket and took out the keys. Ten keys hung around a metal ring. They jingled in Erwin’s hand as he walked to Clef’s cell. “I’m getting you out of here.” He fumbled with the keys, choosing one.
“Thanks Erwin, I knew you would come,” said Clef. A key slid into the lock of the cell’s door. It stopped halfway in. Clef remembered back to when he first got here. Earlier in the day, Jasper had unlocked his cell. It was… the long metal key! “The long one, try the long one.” Erwin shuffled through, finding the key. It slid into place and turned. A confirming click came from the lock; it was open. Clef dashed out and grasped Erwin’s shoulders.
“No thanks necessary,” he said. “We both knew I was going to come for you.” They both smiled, and then Clef looked to the other cell. Erwin had not seen the other prisoner. It was an old man with white hair. He was crouched against the corner of his cell, hugging his legs.
“That’s Petal,” Clef said. “He’s a friend.” Erwin followed Clef to Petal’s cell.
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know,” Clef replied. “But I made him a promise.”
“What promise?”
“He wanted me to take Anima.” Clef took the keys from Erwin and unlocked Petal's cell. Erwin cautiously examined the man, letting Clef approach alone.
Petal’s eyes opened slightly. He gazed at Clef through narrow slits. Fatigue ran through every nerve in his body. “Hello…” he coughed.
Clef put his hand on Petal’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “My friend is here, and you’re coming with us.”
“No,” Petal whispered. “I cannot. I have only a few moments left.”
“What?” Clef asked. A few moments passed in silence as Petal’s wrinkled face melted under an expression of sadness.
“Anima. Show me my Anima,” he said. Clef looked back towards the chest.
“Erwin.” He tossed his friend the ring of keys. “Open that chest, and bring me whatever is inside.” Erwin nodded and walked to the chest. After four keys, he finally got the right one, and opened the chest.
Erwin examined the chest and looked back at Clef. “There’s a lot of stuff in here. I don’t know what you want.”
Clef patted Petal’s shoulder, then walked to the chest. His eyes scanned through the items in the chest: a dagger, two pouches of money, a chain mail shirt, and a strange canon-like device. He squatted down and picked up the small canon.
“Yes! That’s the one,” Petal called from his cell.
Clef held it to the light and examined it. The canon was about foot long and a fist wide, much like his forearm. The mouth was intricately designed with a round muzzle. A scaly pattern descended down the body. It was made of a black substance, not rock or metal, but something in-between. He held it in one hand as he walked back to Petal.
“Let me hold it one last time,” said Petal in his faltering voice. His bony hand extended towards Anima, shaking unsteadily. His arm inched toward the weapon, shaking more violently the closer it got. Clef was alarmed when he felt the hand canon vibrating. He gripped it tighter to keep it from falling to the ground.
This thing… It’s alive, he thought. Something’s not right. Clef could feel his heart beginning to race. A prickly feeling slid down his spine. “No!” he yelled. Petal’s arm dropped to his side. For a moment, his lifeless face gazed at Anima. Then he toppled over, to the ground. Clef could do nothing. This strange sensation froze him. He was powerless. Thoughts flew in, through, and out of his mind in milliseconds. His racing mind took in every aspect of his surroundings.
A warm hand gripped his shoulder, snapping him out of the trance. Erwin’s worried face was staring at him. Clef dropped his eyes to the ground. Petal is dead.
“We have to get out of here!” Erwin loudly whispered. Clef nodded and wiped the water from his eyes. “Now!” Erwin tugged Clef out of the cell. A grunt could be heard coming from behind the desk. Jasper was waking up.
Clef immediately thought of hitting the chief again. He could put him out for good. It would only take a hard blow on the head. No, he said to himself. I’m not a killer. We need to escape. Erwin had a panicked look on him. “Lead the way,” said Clef. They both ran to the door. He glanced back at Jasper only to find him staring back. He knows what’s going on. He’ll try to catch us. Clef gripped Anima tightly and ran out the door.
Clef could see that the sky had begun to turn pink in the east. It was almost dawn. Erwin jogged down the street then dashed into an alleyway. Clef followed.
“He saw me,” said Clef. “He’s going to come after us.”
“Right.” Erwin nodded. “We need to get out as quickly as possible. Are you up for a run?” His voice was confident and reassuring.
“Yeah. What do you have in mind?”
“We’re going to run for the edge of town without stopping. There’ll likely be sentries, but we’ll be able to outrun them,” Erwin explained.
“You want to run a mile, then sprint to the tree line?”
“That’s what I said.”
“But they’ll see us. We’ll never be allowed back here.”
“We need to get away now. If the chief catches us, he’ll lock us up for good.”
Clef nodded. “Okay.” He smiled at the difficulty of this challenge.
They broke into the street at full sprint alongside each other. Clef was surprised at the lightness of his hand canon. It was too light for its size. Deep breaths and rhythmic strides overcame them. When they reached the end of the street, they heard shouting coming from behind them. The words were inaudible against the rush of wind against their ears, but Clef was sure that it was Jasper enveloped in an unfathomable rage.
Erwin ran ahead of Clef. His scarf rippled through the air behind him as he turned a corner. Clef saw a torch in front of him. A sentry was walking toward them, spear in hand. Erwin charged toward him, not daring to slow down. The sentry did not have time to comprehend the situation. The two had sped past him before he had given the command to stop. A few moments after the two boys had disappeared around another corner, Jasper caught up with the sentry. His head had a giant bump where it had been struck. After explaining the situation, the sentry began to chase the escaped prisoners.
After five minutes, they began to near the edge of town. Clef jumped over a barrel in an alleyway. He was getting tired, but at least keeping pace with Erwin. Sweat poured down his face. Clef counted five men behind him. They were scattered through the streets. A sweeping maneuver, he thought. It was no matter; Clef focused himself on his sprinting. Just then, he saw Erwin stumble over his feet. His friend fell to the ground and rolled over the dirt. He must be exhausted. He did make it all the way the jailhouse. Erwin lay on his back heaving in air. Dust swirled in the air around him, causing him the breath it in. He coughed wildly. Clef stopped beside him and sat him up.
“I’m so tired,” Erwin mumbled. “I can’t go on.”
“Yes you can,” Clef said. He dragged him into an alley. It bright now, the sun was going to rise soon. “We can rest for a little while. They won’t find us.”
Erwin coughed again, still breathing heavily. “No. We need to get out.”
Clef’s attention shifted to the trotting of a horse on the road. Could it be the sentries? Clef pushed his back against the wall and watched the road. A wagon rolled passed with an old man at the reigns. This is our chance, he thought.
Clef ran out of the alley and grabbed the horse with his free hand.
“Get off,” he said flatly.
The man was frightened. He hesitated. Erwin appeared beside him and grabbed his arm, pulling the man out of his seat. A whine escaped the horse as Clef and Erwin boarded the four-wheeled wagon. The old man remained speechless as he watched them steal his greatest possession. The horse was a fine black steed, fit for all kinds of work. Erwin took the reigns and flipped them, sending the horse into a full gallop. Clef looked back as Erwin guided the horse. He could see, approximately one hundred feet behind them, another horse galloping toward them. A face red with fury glared back at him. It was the chief. The wagon finally reached the road leading out of town. The wheels shook as they hit the cobblestones, occasionally bouncing the wagon into the air. Clef had to cling onto the boards just to keep from flying off.
On their ride to the tree line they could see that the sentries had stopped at the edge of town. The chief was the only one pursuing them, and he was gaining ground fast. Erwin glanced back to get a bearing on the situation. He looked towards Clef.
“Here! Take the reigns!” he yelled over the gust of wind in their ears.
Clef nodded. He climbed into the rider’s seat as Erwin got into the back. The horse showed signs of fatigue. It was clear that the horse was not used to running with such ferocity. After a few minutes, they made it into the trees. Jasper was now just ten feet behind them. Clef could hear the galloping of his horse behind him. We’ve got him outnumbered, he thought. Then: No, I’m too tired to fight. He could crush both of us in this state. He glanced backwards. Five feet away…
The trees raced past them blurring together into a dark tunnel. Erwin crouched in the back of the wagon watching Jasper inch closer. He knew what he had to do. Now, Jasper rode alongside the wagon. Erwin put an arm on Clef’s shoulder and smiled. Clef raised his eyebrows in confusion.
Erwin let out a yell and got to his feet. Before Clef could react, Erwin had leaped at Jasper and tackled him off of his horse. They both hit the ground, screaming in agony. Clef’s wagon kept on going, shrinking Erwin into the distance. Clef didn’t have time to stop the horse; he leaped from the seat and hit the ground running.
“Erwin!” he yelled back to the two motionless bodies. He heard nothing in return. Silence engulfed the forest. There was no beating of horseshoes or whistle of wind. Everything had stopped for this moment. Clef ran towards Erwin and Jasper. They were almost fifty feet away.
When Clef reached them, he saw blood on the ground. Erwin had landed on top of Jasper, mostly breaking his fall. A scratch lined his forehead. Jasper’s legs and arms were bruised and bent out of shape. Clef suspected they were broken.
“Hey you,” Erwin said dreamily. “Did you like that?” he added. A thin smile appeared on his lips. He was proud of what he had done. Clef stared back at him, registering the situation.
“I’m speechless,” he finally replied helping Erwin to his feet. They looked back at the paralyzed chief. “We can’t do anything for him. They’ll find him later in the day.”
“Aye,” Erwin agreed. He turned and began walking into the forest. “Come on, we need to get home before noon.” He stopped, and turned to face Clef. “What is that thing you’re carrying?”
Clef looked to his hand to find the hand canon firmly locked in his grip. It was strange that he had forgotten about it. His eyes glided back to Erwin’s. “This is Anima. It was Petal’s… weapon.” He looked at the paralyzed chief. “We better get going.” Erwin nodded. Clef pushed a bush aside as he made his way into the forest. They would have much time to talk on the way. I’d be lost without friends, he thought to himself. The two men slowly faded into the forest.