Hal, despite the orders given to him, released us. He unlocked the cages for Saber, Jack, and myself.
But he didn't free Roger. Nor did he need to, I surmised, considering that the intruders would likely be the ones doing that.
He led us three out of the storage room, into the chaos of the shopping aisles. Spells and arrows shot through the front entrances, shattering the gigantic glass-paned doors into smithereens. The fortification outside the entrance, from what I saw, had already been knocked down and set aflame. Members of the LCS hauled massive, metal shelves to the entrance, then toppled them over for barricades. I wondered if that was wise at all.
Hal spared a quick glance at the chaos, then beckoned us to follow him in the opposite direction.
"Back exit," he told us. We were joined by a small but steady stream of LCS warriors as we evacuated away from the frontal onslaught. Hal led us on a small detour, to a separate locked storage room, from where he retrieved our weapons and gave them over. For me, both my railgun and my deprecated crossbow.
I overheard shouts in the distance that announced the siege had yet circled around to the back side, leaving us a way out.
"Is this a lure?" I asked Saber. "Is Bounty Hall leaving the back open on purpose?"I knew of historical battles, where tacticians would leave an easy out for their surrounded opponents, only to corral them into a deadlier trap.
"Hard to say," Saber half-shouted over the din of escape and the clanking of her armor. "This is a huge building to surround."
I supposed she was right. The Bounty Hall had a bit over 100 members, and I doubted they'd risk their entire fighting force in a single skirmish. Even if they could outgun the LCS here, they wouldn't have the coverage needed to properly encircle the entire supermarket without gaps.
Thankfully, when we made it out the backdoor, an uninterrupted stream of escapees led the way before us. No sign of battle here. Perhaps the LCS only wanted to retrieve Roger, possibly other prisoners, and seize the supplies – not kill everyone here off in a bloody slaughter. Nonetheless, I had my battlehat snugly worn, and my finger around the railgun trigger.
We soon made it away from the site of the supermarket. I could still hear the distant sound of battle raging over there - explosions, the toppling of stone, and occasionally the noise of some indiscernible magic. But we had fled too far to hear any screams.
The group around us, perhaps a dozen people or so, stopped on the front lawn of a suburban house. One of the strangers in the group walked up to the front door, and managed to open it with a pair of keys. She waved us in.
I looked to Hal for confirmation.
"Lucky us," Hal said. "Didn't know her house was this close."
"If I lived right here, I'd have joined the LCS too," Jack pointed out.
Hal nodded at us to go ahead and take shelter inside.
"You know her?" I asked Hal.
He thought for a moment. "Work friends."
The living room of her house turned out to be pleasantly spacious, at least sufficient to fit all twelve-ish of us without too much trouble. It had modern decor – white walls, glass tables, granite countertops by the kitchen, and a dark-gray marble floor that lent weight to the space. The owner of the house scurried about to draw the curtains close. Someone flipped on the light switch. Instantly, the homeowner hissed at them to turn it back off.
Everyone seemed to have gotten the gist of things, and conversation settled down to hushed but hurried tones. I suppose we were here to wait it out in stealth-mode.
"How long will we be here?" I leaned in and whispered to Hal.
"Beats me," he said.
My teammates joined Hal and myself in one corner, where there was a dark-blue armchair. No one took it, perhaps out of politeness, and we all ended up standing in a semicircle around it. We said little. I listened in to the conversations rallying back and forth among the strangers in the room. They talked about their abilities, about sustenance, about plans to regroup with the rest of the LCS.
Suddenly, a familiar chill crawled down my spine.
The ground froze beneath us, all around.
A thin, continuous sheet of glistening ice built up across the marbled floor, stretching outward across the kitchen, and then the entirety of the house. It even crept outside, onto the yard and all-around, until a large oval encompassing the house became carpeted in ice, like a rink.
A short fence of ice manifested around the frozen domain.
This technique! Wasn't it…
I scanned the room for James. Anyone that remotely looked like James.
But no trace of him could be found.
Hal, despite the orders given to him, released us. He unlocked the cages for Saber, Jack, and myself.
But he didn't free Roger. Nor did he need to, I surmised, considering that the intruders would likely be the ones doing that.
He led us three out of the storage room, into the chaos of the shopping aisles. Spells and arrows shot through the front entrances, shattering the gigantic glass-paned doors into smithereens. The fortification outside the entrance, from what I saw, had already been knocked down and set aflame. Members of the LCS hauled massive, metal shelves to the entrance, then toppled them over for barricades. I wondered if that was wise at all.
Hal spared a quick glance at the chaos, then beckoned us to follow him in the opposite direction.
"Back exit," he told us. We were joined by a small but steady stream of LCS warriors as we evacuated away from the frontal onslaught. Hal led us on a small detour, to a separate locked storage room, from where he retrieved our weapons and gave them over. For me, both my railgun and my deprecated crossbow.
I overheard shouts in the distance that announced the siege had yet circled around to the back side, leaving us a way out.
"Is this a lure?" I asked Saber. "Is Bounty Hall leaving the back open on purpose?"I knew of historical battles, where tacticians would leave an easy out for their surrounded opponents, only to corral them into a deadlier trap.
"Hard to say," Saber half-shouted over the din of escape and the clanking of her armor. "This is a huge building to surround."
I supposed she was right. The Bounty Hall had a bit over 100 members, and I doubted they'd risk their entire fighting force in a single skirmish. Even if they could outgun the LCS here, they wouldn't have the coverage needed to properly encircle the entire supermarket without gaps.
Thankfully, when we made it out the backdoor, an uninterrupted stream of escapees led the way before us. No sign of battle here. Perhaps the LCS only wanted to retrieve Roger, possibly other prisoners, and seize the supplies – not kill everyone here off in a bloody slaughter. Nonetheless, I had my battlehat snugly worn, and my finger around the railgun trigger.
We soon made it away from the site of the supermarket. I could still hear the distant sound of battle raging over there - explosions, the toppling of stone, and occasionally the noise of some indiscernible magic. But we had fled too far to hear any screams.
The group around us, perhaps a dozen people or so, stopped on the front lawn of a suburban house. One of the strangers in the group walked up to the front door, and managed to open it with a pair of keys. She waved us in.
I looked to Hal for confirmation.
"Lucky us," Hal said. "Didn't know her house was this close."
"If I lived right here, I'd have joined the LCS too," Jack pointed out.
Hal nodded at us to go ahead and take shelter inside.
"You know her?" I asked Hal.
He thought for a moment. "Work friends."
The living room of her house turned out to be pleasantly spacious, at least sufficient to fit all twelve-ish of us without too much trouble. It had modern decor – white walls, glass tables, granite countertops by the kitchen, and a dark-gray marble floor that lent weight to the space. The owner of the house scurried about to draw the curtains close. Someone flipped on the light switch. Instantly, the homeowner hissed at them to turn it back off.
Everyone seemed to have gotten the gist of things, and conversation settled down to hushed but hurried tones. I suppose we were here to wait it out in stealth-mode.
"How long will we be here?" I leaned in and whispered to Hal.
"Beats me," he said.
My teammates joined Hal and myself in one corner, where there was a dark-blue armchair. No one took it, perhaps out of politeness, and we all ended up standing in a semicircle around it. We said little. I listened in to the conversations rallying back and forth among the strangers in the room. They talked about their abilities, about sustenance, about plans to regroup with the rest of the LCS.
Suddenly, a familiar chill crawled down my spine.
The ground froze beneath us, all around.
A thin, continuous sheet of glistening ice built up across the marbled floor, stretching outward across the kitchen, and then the entirety of the house. It even crept outside, onto the yard and all-around, until a large oval encompassing the house became carpeted in ice, like a rink.
A short fence of ice manifested around the frozen domain.
This technique! Wasn't it…
I scanned the room for James. Anyone that remotely looked like James.
But no trace of him could be found.
