Twenty Six - The storm drainage will be running all night

What a horrible smell.

I am still alive.

It is dark in here.

I sit up.

My body is fine.

I do not feel any pain.

I do not think I broke anything.

A path is blocked in one direction by various stones and part of the ceiling.

I think the building collapsed.

I think I am in the sewer galleries under the City Hall.

I only remember the ground opening up under my feet.

"Ah! Who are you?" It took me a moment to notice someone close by, crouching and staring at me.

They are wearing armor and helmet.

I stand up.

The person rises too and removes their helmet.

"I am glad you're okay."

It is, still, a bit dark and hard to see, but I recognize that voice.

"Canny!"

"Oh, do you remember me, Bruce? It is good that you still know who I am. Are you okay?"

“What are you doing here? What is happening?”

“I am Number 774. I am here on a mission to rescue you. We have to escape the Capital and regroup at a meeting point in WayDeck. It is total chaos up there.”

“Number?”

“We are the same. We are no one.”

“You are the first one I have ever met.”

“Let us walk and talk. We have to move, now.”

“How we ended up here?”

“I used my earth magic to open a hole beneath you and rescue you. But I think the entire town hall building collapsed, too. The blockade created by the solstice had already lifted, and I still could not quite control the force of the magic. I am sorry. I think I might have overdone it a little bit. But luckily, I managed to keep you from getting hurt in the fall and sealed off the rest of the path. Nobody followed us.”

It is true.

I can feel that the magic has returned to my body.

So, it is already past midnight.

I was unconscious for only an hour or so.

"Do you know where we are going?"

“WayDeck. We are looking for the way out of the sewers. I do not have much information on what's happening up there. My mission is to take you out of the city and ensure we get there by daylight.”

“Do you have any information of what is happening with the city, up there?”

“A lot is happening up there. By the time I entered the sewers, there was already total chaos. Strategic points across the city had been seized or destroyed. Parts of the city's perimeter defenses had been breached. Rebel forces launched attacks at various locations to scatter the defending troops. The city had turned into a battlefield. They are trying to destroy few things as possible. There still a lot of civilians. They have nowhere to go.”

“Any news on the prison break? Any news about the rescue of the prisoners? Did everything go well?"

I hope they are okay.

“Unfortunately, I do not know anything about that. But I heard that at least twenty Council members have been defeated so far.”

“I finished four more Council members at City Hall. But I think Olvad is still alive. He manage to survive the explosion in the desert. I am pretty sure he would survive a simple collapse of Hall.”

“I remember the explosion in the desert. It was the first time I rescued you. After we got separated in the city, I was forced to wait for the storm to pass. Following the massive explosion, a huge commotion broke out, coinciding with the battle for the liberation of the North. I headed straight for the blast's epicenter. You had completed the mission. I found you in the sand. Your body was covered in burns and you were badly injured, but by some stroke of luck, you were still alive. Seeing the desert nomads approaching, I decided to leave you in their care. I was happy you survived.”

If he happy that I am alive.

That makes me happy, too.

What am I thinking?

I have to focus on the mission.

Olvad is still out there.

As long as there are remaining members of the Council, my mission is not over yet.

I have not really had time to think about anything yet.

Olvad killed Karlos right in front of me.

What is going through his mind?

Is he so obsessed with me that he killed his own friend?

He is extremely dangerous.

At the time, I was worried about other things, but now, I have remembered that gruesome scene.

What comes next?

Who will be in charge of the City or the Council now?

It seems the world up there I as know is already gone and a new one is already being built.

I hope it is for the better.

No!

It will be for better.

Now, without a doubt, the Council will be coming after me.

Especially knowing that Olvad has lost his mind and is crazy on finding and fighting me.

I have ended up becoming a problem for everyone.

There is no way for me to run from this fight anymore.

It is fight or die.

We managed to get out of the sewers.

The smell was starting to get me noxious again.

But nothing compares to the smell of the poison, yet.

We are in the swamp surrounding the capital.

I can see smoke flying from across the Capital walls.

The night is brightly lit by the destruction.

The sounds of the fight still linger.

Many people are still in combat.

Canny pulls me by the arm.

No.

774 pulls me by the arm.

How should I refer to him?

I like calling him Canny.

But that is a fake name.

We are no ones.

Well, now I am a fugitive wanted by the Council.

Maybe there is no way to remain a no one forever.

In the end, we do become someone.

I feel like I am someone to Kasamba and to Mrs. Lampronia.

I think I am a person to everyone I have met and crossed paths with over these past months.

I want him to be Canny to me.

That would make me happy.