Step One

“It's time.” With those few words, Rei sent the base into a frenzy.

“Finally. These ol gray walls make a man crazy.” Kono stretched his muscular arms. His new camp uniform stretched, almost breaking at the seams. None of the shirts could easily fit Kono after all. Only one in a million could dream of having a physique like his.

“Now here's the plan.” Nari pushed my wheelchair towards Rei as he unrolled an old dusty map. Dust flew straight towards my lungs, making my eyes water. The man was I so lucky.

“As yall know, the Baroquin Checkpoint lies ten miles from here as the crow flies. That's our destination.”

A barrage of cries rang out. The Baroqin checkpoint!? That was a suicide mission!

Security was tight there, tighter than any other spot near the border. Raids came up on the news here and there concerning raids at the border. Never at Baroqin; Never.

“I get yalls worries, but there's more to it. When's the last time Baroqin’s seen a bit of action?” Rei paused for a moment. “Anybody? Well, I'm more than happy to inform you that it's been fifty years; Fifty years since anyone dared to breach that so called impenetrable gate.”

“But there's a reason for that.” Nari frowned, crossing her arms.

“And that there is. Rumors fly off the wall, becoming more ridiculous with every bounce. In reality, Baroqin is weak. The guards there are all either fresh off the boat or on death's door.”

“But that's ridiculous! Surely someone would have noticed if that was the case.” Nari said.

“You’d think so. I’m not one to question a blessing from the stars within the sky. Nevertheless, that's where we're heading within the hour.

They’ll be three main groups; Alpha, the main group, and Bravo, the decoy. Most of yall will be in Bravo.”

“Ya said three groups bro, where's the third?”

 
“You’ll see Kono. Anyway in principle were looking at a rather simple operation. Us in alpha will start out the escape, driving up towards the gate with the escapees in the back of the truck.

That's when the rest of yall get involved. Obviously, we don't want any soldiers checking the back, so we'll be causing a bit of mayhem on the eastern flank.

Your squad commanders will have some more specific details. Now, let's load up!”

Footsteps shook the concrete bunker as everyone rushed away to who knows where until there were just a few of us left.

“Ok, now that everyone's gone, I'll give a few more details. We'll be riding in an old Fides transport truck, reinforced a bit by us. I’ll be riding in the back along with the three escapees as Kim and Park act as our drivers.

Once Bravo does their shit, we'll either get waved through or stopped in our tracks. Naturally, things never go to plan, so don't expect an easy exit.

In that case, we'll use the pandemonium to sneak up from under the truck. There are guard uniforms on each of your beds, so once yall change into those we should turn invisible.”

“But what about the western flank? Surely we're going to do something about the soldiers there.” Nari asked.

“Well… let's just say they’ll be otherwise preoccupied.” On that ominous note, Rei made his way over to my wheelchair. “The rest of yall are dismissed. Go change on the double.”

“Yes sir” As everyone booked it out of the room, Rei grabbed a chair and looked me in the eyes.

 “There's one more thing Makoto.” He slowly revealed a clear syringe from his bag. His eyes darkened and his expression hardened.

“This’ll allow you to walk again in an emergency.”

“I can wa-”

“Quiet! This is incredibly rare stuff, especially within Fides’s territory. But it's not all sunshine and roses. It’ll only work for around an hour, and once it wears off you’ll feel pain you couldn't dream of. Not to mention you may lose some functions in your legs forever if you use it.”

“Well…” I shakily took the syringe and stored it away. Was I that desperate to walk? Excitement filled my veins as Rei explained the horrible downsides, yet my heart kept beating like a drum.

It wasn't worth it, and yet every part of me wanted to use it right this second, just for the temporary feeling.

***

A constant whirr of an engine filled the truck as it bumbled along the road.

The five of us bounced up and down, at the mercy of the truck's suspension. Nari and Kono both looked at the floor as Rei muttered something to the only soldier he’d brought along.

I glanced around the pitch black room. Nerves were all around the air, within everyone's eyes. How was it going? What had gone wrong so far? Without any way to tell how it was going, those questions flowed through my thoughts.

“Get ready.” Rei muttered under his breath as the truck slowed to a crawl.

I couldn't dare to breathe, tension all throughout my body.

We were there for what felt like hours, crawling along the road. Cars hummed from outside, their engines roaring, flowing through the thin steel walls. Every sound from outside flowed through as if we were there, right out in the open, listening to every drop of a coin.

Finally, that destined moment came. The engine calmed and the creaking of a door reached my ear.

“What brings you here today?” A gruff voice asked from somewhere beyond the truck's walls. Every word brought me on edge. If one thing went wrong, this was over.

“Transportation of supplies to the Kanto region.” It was short, straight to the point. The less he spoke, the better. There wasn't much room to mess up if he barely spoke.

“Who authorized this transport?”

“Fides’s west district”

“Perfect, let me double check the authorization and we'll send you on your way.”

“Thanks.”

His footsteps slowly disappeared as he walked away from the truck. It was now or never. We’d be in hot water if the guard actually got to look into our so called “authorization.”

“Come on, come on.” Rei glanced around the truck, bouncing his leg up and down.

We could hear his steps slowly getting larger as he approached the truck. “That's weird, I'm not seeing any transports for today. Do you have an access code?”

“8735956332”

It was quiet for a precious few seconds. “I can't say I'm seeing anything on here. I’m going to have to perform an inspection on the vehicle.” Crap, we were screwed.

“That's not an option.”

“Excuse me?”

“The goods are classified.”

“That’s not going to fly. Guards!”

“That won't be necessary.” Park’s voice took on a threatening tone.

“Where the fuck are they!?” Rei muttered something to the soldier next to him. We were all on edge here, but Rei took the cake. His voice was shaking with anger, and his body was on the verge of joining.

“It's the Serial Killer! She’s attacking the western flank!” out of nowhere those words echoed out, potentially saving our lives.

“Fuck! Just stay here ok?” The gatekeeper ran off, cursing as he went.

“It’s in the wrong order, but I'll take it!” Rei shot into the air and shoved a random crate aside.

Underneath was a sleek silver handle. With a snap of his finger, Rei got the soldier to pull it into the air, opening a door built into the truck's floor. “Let's get a move on.”