Flee The City

"Matthew," Theodore called out...

"Hey, sorry but we might as well tell her right?"

'Besides, I'm not going to be staying in this city much longer.' Matthew thought to himself. He started to think of how he could silently leave the room to get his stuff.

Lilly could sense that Theodore still had some reservations about her, and she didn't blame him for it. While Matthew didn't think much about what he was saying to her.

"Theo, I need you boys to trust me, these people are dangerous, especially Blessed ones with access to artifacts. You have to be high up in the church for them to send you out with a rare artifact like the one Matthew described. I don't entirely know what it does but Blessed ones go through intense training to prepare their bodies to wield artifacts and perform dangerous rituals all for power and mainly at the behest of the church."

She scrambled through some of the random stacks of books and loose papers, picking up a couple from the table and holding them up for the boys to see…

on the half-torn, half-burnt pages were gruesome drawings of people with their tongues cut off, blood running from the hollow places in their heads where eyes used to be, others had their bowels exposed with intestines and other vital organs hanging out, all the pages had symbols drawn on them and equipment and severed limbs.

"These are rituals… done with normal people?" Theodore said as he drew closer to inspect the papers in Lilly's hand. Matthew followed right behind him.

"Humans, animals, food, even self-mutilation and sacrifices to be used; it all depended on the god, or church, and power the Blessed one seeks," Lilly answered, watching as Theodore and Matthew scanned through the pages.

She was still anxious about all that was happening and if she had disclosed too much. 

She looked at them, 'They are alright.' She concluded as Matthew made puke faces at the images.

 "So, when you say powers. What kind of magical powers are we talking about?" Matthew asked as Theodore continued with the pages.

"I have not personally encountered many Blessed ones, the ones that don't die from excessive experimentation stay weak or are sworn to secrecy by the churches in other to gain access and gain more power, but some have been known to be able to manipulate the elements like fire, water, and air, others through spell have shown incredible healing abilities and enhanced reflexes, agility, strength, and durability. They are formidable in battle but it's their reliance on artifacts that gets them."

Lilly had seen more, she knew more than she was letting on, however, she already felt like she had said more than enough.

She was no older than them when she had to abandon everything that she knew, and now it seemed like they were going to go through that, and it weighed heavily on her heart. She thought she would be better prepared.

As Lilly spoke, the room seemed to come alive with the hum of machinery, and the flickering lights casting eerie shadows on the peeling wallpaper. Lilly revealed a bit of a hidden world of knowledge to the boys.

Whoosh

A sound from outside the window prompted Lilly and the boys to shuffle towards it.

Looking out the window Matthew exclaimed

"Where did the weirdos go?"

"We only looked away for a few minutes right?" Theodore asked no one in particular.

The men standing outside in trench coats were nowhere to be seen. And once again the air in the room was thick.

The tension in the room ran at an all-time high once again.

"I'm telling you right now Theodore, if one more person shoots at me tonight I'm going to lose my mind!" Matthew broke the silence as he clenched the blueprints underneath his shirt lightly. He wondered if it was time to tell Theodore about it.

He wondered if he had somehow led the cultist to them by holding on to the blueprints.

"We don't have much time." Lilly expressed as she hurriedly walked to the tables in the apartment picking up some papers, keys, and some books off a shelf and stuffing them in a satchel that hung by the wall.

"They will be back soon, perhaps with more people," Lilly mentioned. "We need to leave." She added.

"We? Where? Why would we need to leave with you? You still haven't explained to us how we're in danger." Matthew said frantically.

Although he understood that he was in danger, it was already in his plans to flee the city after stealing the blueprints. In fact, he had packed his baggage days ago.

Matthew was just against the idea of having traveling companions. For obvious reasons.

Theodore and Matthew watched as Lilly frantically added things to the bag as it swung from her hand. She ignored Matthew and continued as though he didn't say a word.

"Take this," She muttered as she handed the bag to Matthew.

"Why do we need these?" He said, subtly accepting that he couldn't ditch them. He immediately stuck his hand in the bag as he spoke. "And why do we need it in such an ugly bag… no offense."

"There's information in the bag on where to meet in case we get separated," She informed.

Theodore remained silent but observant as the cogs in his head continued to turn. He understood that they were in danger and they needed to run to safety, although he wasn't sure if fleeing the city was an overkill or not, he didn't voice his opinion.

He accepted his circumstances even though he didn't like it or understand it entirely. Theodore didn't have complete trust for Lilly, despite knowing her for a long time, but he was certain that she wasn't out to hurt him.

And for Matthew, he still couldn't understand why he felt like he had lived with the guy for as long as he could remember. Nonetheless, there was a type of trust between them.

'Is it because of what we experienced together tonight? Have we formed a type of camaraderie just from one unfortunate experience?' Theodore wondered. He felt like the trust he had in Matthew was unreasonable as they had just met a few hours ago.

Theodore shook his head and returned his attention to the room.

"We have to leave, don't we? Whatever protection you had on this building has been compromised… Yes?" Theodore inquired, causing Lilly to stop and face him directly.

'Smart,' Lilly complimented in her mind.

"Yes," Lilly answered with a sigh. "I don't think they know about you yet, but eventually they will, the Pantheon is relentless, but worry not, they will buy us some time."

Theodore nodded, wondering who she referred to as 'they', nonetheless, he lowered his walls to trust her a bit, he could see the dread in her eyes, she was very afraid and that was an emotion he could latch on to.

"We need to get out of these clothes," Matthew said, "We are still in our uniforms," He pointed out, creating an opportunity to inspect the blueprints and hide them better.

They had forgotten that some minutes ago they were freezing in the cold outside.

"Do we have time?" Theodore asked.

"Give or take we have 5-10 minutes. You can use my bathroom. There are clothes in the closet that should fit you." Lilly answered.

"Sweet, I feel so sticky," Matthew exclaimed in relief.

In no time Theodore and Matthew threw their wet, dirty work clothes in a pile on the floor, Matthew's replaced with black trousers, a white inner vest, and a brown long overcoat, the satchel hanging on his arm underneath it, his blueprints safe tucked away in one of the many compartments of the satchel.

'Safe… for now.' He reasoned.

Theodore was in a similar attire but with brown trousers and a black overcoat that was way too big for him.

Lilly dusts off a flat hat and hands it to him. Theodore wore the hat, stuffing most of his brown curly hair in it.

"Come with me." She called for Matthew and Theodore to follow her. They moved through the cluttered apartment, passing by strange machinery and arcane symbols drawn on the walls.

In a secluded corner, concealed by a heavy curtain, Lilly unveiled a hidden doorway. The boys exchanged hesitant glances but followed her into what seemed like a makeshift study. The room was lined with dusty books, scrolls, and peculiar objects that hinted at a history steeped in mysticism.

The labyrinthine passages seemed to echo with the weight of centuries-old secrets. Matthew and Theodore couldn't help but feel that they were becoming a part of something much larger than themselves.

Theodore looked around him in awe as they passed intriguing pieces of art and technology, he couldn't believe all this had been beneath where he laid his head to rest this entire time.

The mere fact that he didn't have the time to study any of the symbols on the walls or find answers for himself tore at him so intensely it hurt. His curiosity was a savage beast begging to be fed.

Matthew held on to the satchel tightly as they made their way through Lilly's secret passage… He felt a momentary guilt because he felt that perhaps what was happening was more important than him. He banished the thought reassuring himself that all he had was himself and that money never hurt anyone. 

Guided by Lilly, they navigated through hidden passages and secret tunnels beneath the apartment building, evading the prying eyes of the supposed Pantheon's enforcers.

"Wait," Lilly suddenly whispered as she stopped, pointing above them. "Listen." She ordered.

Matthew and Theodore looked up as if to see what Lilly was talking about. Sand and dust dropped from above as the sound of boots flooding the apartment echoed through the tunnels.

"What the heck?" Matthew muttered under his breath.

"They are in the building."

"Hurry." Lilly urged, beckoning them to move quickly.

Emerging from an alley and into the cold night air, Lilly led them through the shadows, away from the apartment building.

To Matthew and Theodore, the journey ahead was uncertain, fraught with danger and mystery, but the boys knew that they couldn't turn back.