Bat Out of Hell (RD, Closed)

[Steinerman]

It was a lonely road in the middle of nowhere, barely more than a dirt track in the grass. And currently, a man was dying on it.

He was a big man, heavily-muscled, with a neck like an ox. Dressed in the garb of a Stamarian Sergeant, with a smaller sigil indicating he was from a prison detail. His attacker, on the other hand. Was a skinny, malnourished woman who looked barely fit enough to move, let alone fight.

And yet, he was the one on his knees, bleeding from a trio of light slashes to his chest. And she was the one without a scratch.

The big man's voice was slurred as he spoke, a gash on his head suggested head trauma of some sort. "Vic! I need help, Vic! This girl is...Aahhh!"

He fell flat on his back, propelled by a hard push from the woman. She stared down at him, knife in hand. "Vic can't help you right now, he's a little busy thinking he's blind." She replied viciously. Referencing the second man (also dressed in Stamarian Prison garb) who was currently crawling around on his hands and knees, apparently unable to see.

The big man glared up at the woman, "Well well well, looks like the little Korin finally woke up from her sleep." He said, spitting blood.

Alexis Vister nodded once, and then dropped down and plunged the knife through his throat, and then at various places along his torso until his harsh shouts of pain faded away and his breathing slowed.

"This!" She hissed quietly, "Is for being a raping, sadistic monster who preyed on all the prisoners in his cell-block. Now die." She slammed the knife once again into his throat, and left it sitting there.

A moment later, she slumped over, exhausted by the work she'd been performing for the last month. A powerful mage, she had required sedatives to keep her powers in check while staying in a Stamarian Prison. But a guard had accidentally missed one of the injections, and her powers had reawakened. From then on it had been a relatively simple, yet draining task to form an illusion to get herself out of the prison.

The guard she had just killed had thought he was transporting a shackled and fettered prisoner to a Stamarian base nearby. She had led him so far astray as to get their small group to Cher Plek, which at last she knew was still largely Korin friendly.

The other man's cries for help brought her out of her rest, however. She had to do something about him. Tiredly, she stood and half-walked, half-stumbled over to the man. And then waved her hand once. His cries stopped, and he looked up from his kneeling position towards her, his eyes full of fear.

She paused for a moment, she had never thought of herself as a particularly frightening woman. But then she looked down at herself. Her plain prison-greys were soaked in blood, the blood of that man's superior.

'Pu---Please don't kill me." He whispered, tears streaming down his face. Alexis looked down at the man, taking in his boyish looks and handsome face. She then shook her head tiredly.

"I'm not going to kill you, Vic. I killed him," she said, waving a bloodstained arm at the rapidly-cooling body, "Because he was a monster. Raped me a couple of times, beat me almost every day. Did about the same to his other prisoners."

She smiled, the expression still beautiful even with the blood speckled across her face. "No, you didn't do any of that. You're actually pretty nice, come to think of it. Brought me steak a couple of times, loads better than moldy bread, or nothing at all."

The man, fear still in his eyes, smiled nervously. "So...what are you gonna do with me?"

Alexis dug in her pocket and withdrew the rock she'd been enchanting for almost a whole week. "I'm going to make sure you have a chance at getting out of here. A lone Stamarian in Cher Plek? You'd be a dead man walking. This rock, yes put it in your pocket like that. This rock has an illusion ingrained into it, it'll make you look like a small animal. Not enough meat on the bones to be worth killing. The Illusion will only last a day, two at the most. Get back to Stamarian Territory fast, Vic. I'd hate to see you die."

The young soldier took the rock and stuffed it in his pocket, and then nodded. "What do I tell them when I get back?"

Alexis shrugged, obviously not caring what he told his commanders. "Whatever gets you in the least trouble. The truth should do nicely. I could melt your mind right now, if I wanted too. Not much you can do against that."

With a last thank-you, the young soldier took off down the road, back in the direction they had come from. Leaving Alexis alone on the road with the dead man.

She shook her head, she felt a horrible headache coming on, and she hadn't been able to eat for days. She quickly grabbed the packs that had been left on the ground, searched through them and packed everything useful into one pack, which she slung across her back. She then started marching down the road, breathing in the free air, and trying not to keel over from exhaustion.

She walked for almost half-an-hour before realizing she had to stop. Spotting a small wood a little ways off the road, she made her way to that. To her delight she found a crystal-clear stream which ran into a large, relatively deep pool before going on it's way.

She quickly made a fire, then stripped off her bloody prison clothes and tossed them onto it. A moment later, she splashed into the pool. Enjoying the first true, worry-free bath she'd been able to have in nine years. She lay there, listening to the sound of the wind through the trees, letting herself float in the water. Letting it wash away the blood and dirt and sweat. Freedom was sweet.

[The Rising Dragon]

"Remind me again why we're out here in the middle of nowhere?"

The area around the former capitol of Territory 8, formerly known as the Cher Plek kingdom of Verivia, was in an utterly sad state of affairs. While not as rich in vegetation as the southern kingdoms of the continent, Verivia had been considered a beautiful land that often gained plenty of tourists hoping to take a vacation here, including many from Stamaria itself, back when the Empire wasn't as greedy for land as it was today. But now?

Now, Verivia's lush forests were ruined and sparse. Large swathes of dirt covered the lands from where battles had been fought. Craters from artillery and magic spells pockmarked the region around the capitol and the other cities, testament to the furious battles that had been fought against the Stamarians when they invaded. And everywhere there were mounds of dirt with planks of wood and weathered stones sticking up from them... the final resting places of many Verivian soldiers. Occasionally, Stamarians permitted the honorary Stamarians to go out and retrieve the bodies they had buried. It wasn't often, though, and only done as favors to the more valuable members of their invasive society.

The sky was looking dreary and gray in these autumn months. Combined with the wartorn look of Territory 8, the entire place looked depressing. Roas hated it.

Roas D. Kateran was waiting with the rest of his compatriots in one of the sparse copses near the former capitol. It was one of the few places not checked out by the routine patrols, and luckily they'd gotten their transport there without incident. He just hoped it'd last, because with the objective they had, things could get very ugly in a hurry. He kept his hands in the pockets of his jacket while he waited, leaning up against the machine. He was keeping an eye on the roads, but they were clear for now.

"Because, Devon, Carn's cell caught word of a prison transport heading through here," Llare said offhandedly. "Since we're the best ones with mechs, we were the top choice for the mission."

"Really?" Devon replied, still sounding annoyed. He was sitting on top of their transport, using binoculars to view the road. "Because if that were true, they'd probably have BEEN here by now!"

"Shut up, Devon," Roas finally snapped, growing tired of his complaints. "They may be running late. Probably too busy beating up the prisoners for spilling water or some shit like that."

"Hey, look at that," Jerome called from the edge of the copse. "Finally, something worth eating around this place."

Roas looked up, following Jerome's pointing finger to whatever he had spotted. There was a skinny-looking jackalope hightailing it down the road.

"Looks kinda skinny," Devon said, looking at it with the binocs.

"Shoot it anyway," Roas said. "We need all the meat we can get and we haven't seen anything else since we've out here. Even if its skinny, it'll provide us with SOMETHING we can use."

"Roas has a point," Llane said, cocking his rifle. "Nighty night, my spiky-headed little fellow."

The operative took aim on the hunting rifle's scope and lead the target, hoping to make a clean kill. Seeing his opportunity present itself when the creature slowed for a brief moment, he fired. The crack of the shot was loud in the quiet Territory.

[Steinerman]

Vic had been running for all he was worth, hoping to make it to a nearby friendly unit and get help. The prisoner had shown him kindness, for which he was grateful. But...he remembered stories his partner had told him about that particular woman. She was a terror, and it wasn't a good thing that she was loose again. He had been equally shocked at the knowledge that his partner had been abusive towards their prisoners, Vic had just transferred into the prison unit a few months ago, and hadn't noticed anything particularly odd about his now-dead partner.

It was as he mulled over those thoughts, running at full speed. That a bullet hit him in the leg. The shock of the impact and his great speed caused him to trip violently forward, as though some monstrous vehicle had kicked his legs out from under him. His head hit the ground hard, bringing with it a woozy daze. Even through the daze, his mind lit up with a surge of terror as he realized that he hadn't secured the small enchanted rock as well as he thought. He watched helplessly as the rock bounced like a skipping stone away.

His training kicked in, he was a soldier of the Stamarian military still, even with the prison guard uniform. The wound could be fatal, assuming he wasn't able to stop the bleeding, but whoever shot him could now see him for what he truly was, and odds were decent that it wasn't another Stamarian soldier. Still on the ground, face bloody from the impact, he awkwardly reached for his holster and pistol.

It was with complete surprise that he found his pistol wasn't there. He bent his neck enough to look down upon his body and confirmed the dreadful fact. The prisoner must have used her illusions to take his gun, without him knowing.

He tried to stand, at least get on his feet and hobble for cover. But his leg wouldn't comply, his entire body felt like it had been hit with a large hammer after slamming into the dirt and gravel. He gave an exasperated cry as his body refused his wishes. He couldn't run, and unless he could get off the ground he couldn't defend himself very well either.

"Light save me, Light save me, Light save me." He started whispering hurriedly under his breath, pushing all of his strength into his arms to push himself off the ground.

[The Rising Dragon]

"What the hell?" Roas swore, standing up straight as the events unfolded. When Llare took his shot, nothing seemed to happen to the Jackalope--but then blood splattered and something heavy hit the ground, and a pale-skinned Stamarian in prison-officer gray hit the ground with a yell.

"Shit!" Roas heard Devon swear as he observed from the top of the transport. "That's a fuckin' Stamarian!"

"No shit, Devon," Roas growled, pulling his pistol out from his jacket.

Jerome was doing the same thing. "Roas, you're with me," he ordered. "Llane, cover our asses and let Ker know what's up when he gets back from the patrol."

"Got it," came simultaneous replies. Roas checked his gun to make sure it was loaded and flicked the safety off, and then both Korin operatives darted out of the cover of the copse, cutting across the field to the fallen soldier on the side of the road. It was only a minute or so that they got there, and both slowed down, keeping a safe distance from the wounded soldier. Never could tell if they were carrying.

"Good call, man," Jerome said, keeping his gun trained on the guard. "He's definitely a jailer. Guess we know where that transport's at, huh?"

"He's unarmed," Roas said. "No knife, no gun."

"Take him," Jerome said in response.

Roas crossed the distance to the soldier and roughly shoved him over onto his back with his foot, keeping his gun trained on the guard's chest. "Alright, asshole," he said. "You gonna do this the easy way?"

[Steinerman]

Vic raised his hands in surrender, eyes full of fear. "Of course, of course. I surrender." He half-squeaked. Right now his only goal was to live, if that involved being a prisoner for even a lengthy period of time, it would be worth it.

But...Korin weren't noted for their mercy towards Stamarians. Maybe these ones would be different. Maybe he could trade information for his life. "What do you want?" He asked, voice quavering.

[The Rising Dragon]

"We want a lot of things, Stamarian," Jerome said as he sauntered up. "We want you off our land, for starters. And reparations for all the shit you did to Verivia when you first showed up. And then we'd like you all to jump off a cliff and die, but let's start small, shall we?"

Jerome hauled the wounded guard up to his feet, checking the wound in his leg as he did so. Sure enough, it was superficial at best and wouldn't cause him to bleed out in minutes. Instead, the operative draped the guard's arm over his shoulders.

"Let's talk while we take you back to our little hiding place, shall we?" the Verivian operative spoke amiably.

Roas walked beside them as they headed back, keeping silent while Jerome did all the talking. "So, let's start things off with... why were you running around as a jackalope? Shouldn't you be with your other Stamarian buddies, hauling our people off to prison?"

[Steinerman]

Frightened, but reasonably sure that he wasn't going to die in the next few moments. Vic began talking, concentrating on keeping his pace steady and words even.

"A woman gave me an enchanted rock, said it would make me look like a small animal. She was..." He paused, even in an enemy's company he was slightly embarrassed by the next part of his tale. "She was our prisoner. Our vehicle broke down...or at least we thought it broke down, I can't say for sure anymore. And then we started walking. She murdered my partner, but let me go. Said she'd give me a fighting chance of reaching other Stamarians. Guess she took my gun too..." He ended, referencing his markedly empty holster.

[The Rising Dragon]

"Well, ain't that swell of her!" Jerome said cheerfully. "Careful, pothole."

He helped the guard maneuver around it; it just wouldn't do for a man to get shot in the leg AND break it.

"How far down the road is your transport?" Roas asked, sparing the man a look. They could use the transport to supplement their cell. At the very least, they could sell it out on the black market for other goods, like more pilfered Stamarian weapons.

[Steinerman]

Vic nodded his head gratefully to the Korin, a pothole would not have been an improvement on the situation in the slightest.

"Uh..." He began slowly, thinking back to the transport. "It's probably a good three or four hours back down the road I was running along. We'd ditched it and had walked a good ways before we realized she wasn't shackled anymore." He stared at the man who'd asked the most recent question. Vic was only nineteen, barely more than a year out of bootcamp, but in his experience...the quiet ones were the most dangerous. And that one had be extremely quiet until just a moment ago.

[The Rising Dragon]

"And I guess that's when she jumped your friend and killed him," Roas said dryly. "Good of her."

"So, where'd she go after she took care of your buddy?" Jerome asked. "Seems kinda strange that she'd just up and leave you behind after going through the trouble of killing your friend."

"How'd she even manage to escape in the first place?" Roas asked.

[Steinerman]

Vic shuddered as he recalled the bloody mess that had been his sergeant less than an hour ago. "I don't know where she went. She went to a lot of work to make sure we ended up here in Cher Plek. I assume she headed for the nearest town. Maybe even along the same road I came on. She didn't seem to be in a particular rush when I ran. As to why she killed my Sergeant and not me...I think it was..."

He paused, organizing his thoughts. "personal, between she and my partner. She's been in prison for almost a decade now. And he's been her guard for that entire time. Don't think she had many good feelings towards him."

He paused again as the quiet man asked another question. How had she overpowered two muscular men? when she herself looked about as thin as a twig? He was quite sure of what she was capable of, but would it be wise to tell these men? "She...she's a mage. Some sort of really powerful one, really powerful. That's what they told me. She was in a cell-block of only three, and there were about twenty of us guards for that block. She could make..." He shuddered at the screams his partner had made when he'd been fighting the prisoner, he didn't want to know what the Sergeant had seen in those moments before his death.

"She can make you see things, anything, really. Horrifying stuff. She can make you think you're on fire. Or drowning, or whatever she wants!" He blurted in a panic. "Just stay away from her. She's a monster."

He had to try something to get them to leave the woman alone. Odds were pretty good that if they went looking for her, they'd either bring him along or kill him. And the last thing he wanted to do was get close to that woman again. He doubted she'd show mercy a second time, especially if he brought robbers...or vagabonds or whatever these men were along with him.

[The Rising Dragon]

"Well, I'll be," Jerome said, acting as if the description of the "monstrous" woman was familiar. "She sounds like a right terror! But then, the Korin usually are, you know?"

They had made it back to the copse, where Vic could see the transport they had used, with leafy branches stacked on it and hung over it, as well as the three others--Ker had shown up, still wearing his hunting jacket, with long dark hair hanging down from his shoulders and a newly-lit cigarette held in the corner of his mouth.

"Well, look at that!" Llane said, bringing his hunting rifle up. He was of a lighter complexion than most Verivians, and his hair was brown and tied in a rough ponytail. He wore a simpler jacket, like Roas and Jerome did. "I bagged a good one that time, didn't I?"

"That you did," Devon said. Vic could see that this one had heritage from more southern parts of Cher Plek, as his skin was darker than the others. His black hair was also cut short, and his tank top showed off muscular arms. "Too bad for him, really. Us Korin don't get along with Stamarians."

"Aw, cut him some slack, guys!" Jerome called them off. He helped Vic over to the back end of the transport's trailer, where a deactivated Dwarven Constructor sat, its cockpit dark. "He's been a big help. Didn't hesitate to tell us what we wanted to know."

"Oh, really?" Ker said, taking a drag on his cancer stick. "So he told us who's in that prison truck we've been waiting for? And where it is?"

"You bet, Ker," Jerome said. "So let him relax a bit, and get off that injured leg. He's one of those guys I've been telling you about."

[Steinerman]

Vic glanced around warily, quietly taking in the news that these men were Korin. He'd partly suspected it, but now it was confirmed by their words. His chances of survivability were dropping with every second, it seemed.

One of the guys he's been telling them about? He thought, curious even in this situation.

"Uh...one of what 'guys?"

[The Rising Dragon]

"A good Stamarian, of course!" Jerome exclaimed, causing Devon to roll his eyes in exasperation--they had heard this one before, it seemed. "I keep telling these guys that there's good Stamarians in the world."

[Steinerman]

Vic visibly relaxed, though inside he was wound tighter than he'd ever thought possible. He'd signed up for the Stamarian Military because it was solid pay and good benefits. He hadn't signed up to be partners with a rapist, and definitely not be taken Prisoner by the Korin. But here, both those things had happened in one day. And he was still alive, that seemed a good sign.

He sat quietly, trying not to make any sudden moves, unsure of what the Korin planned to do with him.