Jack of Clubs Pt. 1

(Bane)

When Lars jumped out of the building, my father and I rushed to rendezvous with Clarine and Fence. Going after him would’ve been possible but at the end of the day, we need to prioritize everyone’s safety before his death. This is supposed to be a clean bout.

The stairs became less damp the lower we went, and the creaking became much more noticeable. Not that it mattered, as our heavy equipment and clothing made most of the noise as they rustled around from our movements.

There was a rumbling that seemed to be coming from outside the building.

“Dad, what’s going on?”

My father remained still and listened for a few seconds. “Dwellers… There’s a large group of them coming our way. We need to leave, now!”

Rushing down the stairs we began to call out for Clarine and Fence. For a couple of floors, there was no answer to our shouts. My legs began to get tired of moving so much on the stairs. Part of me felt relieved that some sense of feeling could exist in my body even after ignited. Another part of me feared that this fatigue would grow to a point where I became a hindrance…

“Hello, Lord Edwin, are you there?!”

A shout came from below us. It was Fence’s voice!

My father responded, “Yes, Fence, we’re on our way. We need to leave, now! Walkers are approaching in abundance… Is Clarine with you?”

“Yes, she’s here, but she’s injured. We had a confrontation with Lars that didn’t go as planned… I’m not sure how to diagnose her condition.”

“... Okay, we’re on our way, Fence. You begin to make your way to the first floor with Clarine and we’ll help you once we catch up.”

“Yes, sir!”

It didn’t take long for us to catch up to Fence and Clarine. Despite his size, Fence seemed rather awkward with carrying people. In a world like this, that’s a fairly important skill to have, especially if you scavenge on the surface often.

Clarine had this nasty bruise on her forehead. She seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness in a matter of seconds. Throughout this process, she was very quiet. It was hard to tell if she could even process what was happening around her.

My hand waved in front of her face, but that didn’t seem to do anything. I was hoping that the heat in her vicinity would have been able to awaken her somehow.

“Father, she’s out cold. I don’t think she’s getting on her feet any time soon.”

My father clicked his tongue. “Yeah, I guess so. Dammit, Fence, hand her over. Objectively our best course of action is to make a run for it towards the elevator. You and Bane need your full strength, I can make it with her in my arms.”

Even though he seemed embarrassed, Fence handed Clarine over to my father and we set foot out of the building. We initially started to run with no conversation between any of us, but we stopped immediately.

“My lord, there’s two hoverpacks here!” Fence sighed in relief.

What the hell were a couple of hoverpacks doing outside the building? We only had four of them with us when we gathered our equipment.

Even for Ylvonian expeditions, hoverpacks are limited to two per group, but since this was a special mission, we had the luxury to take double that amount with us.

Rocco and Masir had two as they flew around the building’s perimeter and my father and I used the others to fly up to the roof of the building. How did two of them end up here?

Speak of the devil, before any of us could say anything, Rocco flew right above us. His flying pattern was messy and terribly uneven. When he landed only a few feet in front of us, that’s when we all realized he was missing an arm.

I couldn’t help but speak. “Rocco, what the hell?! Are you okay? F-father, we need bandages, now!”

Rocco groaned, “Don’t worry about me, kid. It seems y’all got roughed up as well. I’ll be fine. You all need to leave as soon as possible. On my way here, I spotted a group of what had to be at least thirty dwellers coming our way and they didn’t seem friendly.”

My father interjected, “No, we need to get you bandaged up and then you need to fly back to-”

“No, dammit. We ain’t got time for any hospital care. The kid can take my hoverpack with Fence and Clarine in hand. They can fly back to the elevator. That leaves you and I to run back on our own, my lord.”

My father scoffed, “There’s a couple of hoverpacks on the ground. All of you can wear one and I’ll run back to the elevator myself. My son isn’t used to traveling these distances at this speed, let alone under such conditions. I’ll be fine. This is nothing I haven’t done a million times over already.”

Rocco was silent for a second. “... Well, about that. As I was flying over, I took a glance at the hoverpacks and one of them seemed to be broken.”

Fence ran over to check the condition of the packs. “My lord, he’s right. Only one of the packs seems to be in working condition.”

Lars must’ve thrown them off the roof and only one of them managed to survive the fall. He was probably the person who had our fourth hoverpack and was using it to fly back to the elevator as we spoke. Damn that sneaky bastard!

Wait, if this is all true, where the hell is Masir in all of this?

“Rocco, where’s Masir?” I asked calmly.

He covered his face with one of his hands. “Lars got him. He blindsided us and killed Masir… He almost got me as well. I barely made it out alive.”

This was the power that my father warned me about… The only scavenger in the world who could rival him. Masir… Dammit, I didn’t know you that well, but from what I saw, you did not deserve a death like this. I’ll avenge you no matter what, I swear!

Everyone else remained but my father spoke up. “We do not have time to spare for the fallen. We must make it back to the elevator so we can tell his loved ones of his brave sacrifice. That should be our number one priority! Rocco, Fence, you two are to take the working hoverpacks and fly back to the elevator. Fence, you will carry Clarine as well. My son and I can outrun these creatures and even if we can’t, we can fight…”

I could tell that Rocco didn’t want to be using a hoverpack but in his state, he had no grounds to object.

“Yes, sir!” They both said together.

As they flew off towards the elevator with Fence carrying Clarine, I looked at my father.

“Dad, can we really outrun them?” To say the nerves were getting to me would be an understatement.

My father hovered his hand over my shoulder. “We have to start running now. There’s no doubt in my mind that you have grown to be strong. We will make it back together safely. Even if you get in trouble, I'll be able to protect you, don’t worry!”

My love for my father was boundless. In a confusing world that I hated more than anything, he was always someone I could look to as a sign of hope. If there’s anyone that wants to do the most for the world and me, it’s him. You could even say that this spark in my heart that pulls me towards the surface to rebuild this hell, to build a roller coaster, is only thanks to his influence on me. If my father is here, I could do anything. We could do anything. We’ll make it back home alive!