Seeking Strays

Red light from the windows above backlit Francis as he stood there. Combined with the flushed state of his body, he looked downright demonic. “Canary, Bojang, we could each take one. All three of us could escape with power far greater than the Awoken.”

I stared at the man for a moment. So what, I kill Bradson, Bojang gets Grace, and he gets Lizabeth? ”I don’t know if I should be offended or not by being included in that.”

”How do you think I feel?” The Peace Keeper muttered under his breath. It was just loud enough for me and the other Apexes to catch it.  

“Think about it.” He walked from side to side in the space he made between pews. He didn’t dare approach without getting someone else on his side. “It’s the only way out of here, right, Sister Lilah?”

”It is your only way out.” Sister Lilah’s smile looked downright predatory. “Continue to sacrifice to me, Francis.”

”See?” He was too far gone to realize she was leading him around by the hook. “It’s not too late to join the right side of this.”

“She said it was your only way, not ours.” I growled out at the man.

”Ah, you’re arguing semantics again. Is that all you’re good for, Canary?” Francis laughed to himself while staring at the other two woman with hunger. 

”Grace, Lizabeth, stay behind me.” I shifted my posture, and directly stepped in front of the two of them. Bojang, Francis, and Bradson all stared at me. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

”Thank you, Canary!” Lizabeth cried out.

“Don’t sacrifice yourself for these old bones, Canary,” Grace said quietly. “If it comes to it, I’d rather go than you.”

”Grace—“

”Your sister would rather have you home than some old windbag.” Grace calmly threw my words back in my face. “I lived a happy life.”

”…” Then that was even more of a reason to let her continue living. 

I eyed the dagger lying on the floor for a moment before changing my mind. Even just picking that thing up might damn me. I didn’t have a weapon, so I’d just have to improvise. It was fine. I’d made it through worse before with a whole lot less. 

“Francis… you aren’t thinking of backstabbing once this is over, are you?” Bojang Whitley asked. The way he watched his cousin wasn’t quite right. It was the familiar gaze of a man who’d seen people lose themselves to power. 

“Of course not, cousin.” Francis barely spared him a glance before turning his attention back to Bradson’s rifle. I had a feeling it was the only reason he hadn’t attacked yet. “We’ll both get out of this together.”

“… if you say so.” Blue light condensed around Bojang’s body as he activated his aspect. It was some kind of speed enhancement, so I half-expected him to dart at one of us. Instead, he stayed perfectly still.

”Peace Keeper, you could take the Canary instead. It’s a fair offer, no?” Francis took a step forward. His exposed skin was almost entirely red now, with even his ears starting to twitch and turn.

Bradson jerked his rifle upward in a threatening motion. ”Stay back! I’m warning you!” 

“Or what? You’ll shoot?” Francis threw his head back in laughter, and took another bold step forward. “At that point, you might as well shoot one of the others.“

Bojang looked at his cousin's back, and then slowly shifted his gaze to me. His eyes smoldered, and his posture lowered. Instead of making the first move, he simply turned to me and mouthed, “I’m with you.”

”Final warning!” Bradson shouted with his finger on the trigger.

”If you were going to shoot, you would’ve done it by now.“ Francis continued to grow in courage with each passing moment.

Bradson pulled the trigger. His finger tensed, and the rifle jerked in his hands as he braced for the kick—only for nothing to happen. The safety completely blocked the firing mechanism from going off. Just as I told him earlier, his gun was almost entirely useless here.

Francis’s eyes widened for a split second before he laughed once more. “My turn.”

The beefy man kicked a pew, and it shattered into a shotgun blast of wood that sprayed Bradson. The wood shards knocked the Peace Keeper backward, and tore across his armor. Francis lunged forward—

I intercepted him, and drove a low kick into the back of his knee before he could reach Bradson. He staggered, and jerked back toward me with a wild flail and a roar. “Canary!”

I bounced backward to avoid the grab, and dodged another wild flail as I backed him away from the group. The enraged White Rabbit only grew more furious with each of his failed, untrained swings and continued to charge me. 

Once we were far enough away to avoid collateral damage, I sprung forward in a blur of motion. My foot planted just long enough to spring myself upward into a kick. Mid motion, I couldn’t help but worry what I was about to do might violate the Cause No Harm rule.

I twisted midair, and snapped my legs around his neck and shoulders. My legs clamped onto his neck and shoulder for a split second before I twisted harshly. The momentum of my motion whipped our combined weights sideways. 

The White Rabbit’s balance instantly shattered like glass. Although he had super strength thanks to Lilah, that didn’t mean he had super dexterity too. Before he could even react, we crashed down toward the ground. His strengthened forward momentum only amplified the force of the technique.

I released the hold and kicked off his shoulder at the last moment, which added another twist to his fall. He crashed down heavily while I smoothly landed in a low crouch just beside him. While he was still struggling to get his bearings, I backed away to the door. “Stay down, Francis.”

”Canary, do you need help?” Bojang asked. He followed right behind the fight, though stayed just out of range. 

“I have this,” I replied with a confidence I didn’t quite feel. At the end of the day, super strength could still crush my bones with just a glancing blow. I’d heal back, but the rest of these guys? No chance.

“You bitch!” Francis slammed his fist into the ground, causing it to deform. The carpet tore, and he lifted his face up to reveal a nasty rug burn. “I’ll kill you!”

“All bark, no bite.” I stood ready for him. He didn’t disappoint and charged me with pounding footsteps a beat later. His feet tore straight through his shoes with each pounding step.

“Nowhere to run!” He, predictably, lunged toward me once more.

I bared my fangs, and dodged toward him. I easily slipped past his reach, and grabbed his arm. His flesh felt like a solid steel berm in my hands. For one terrible second, his momentum dragged me along with him. Then his heel slipped on the torn apart carpet.

 In the next moment, I jerked him backward and smoothly threw him over my shoulder. All of his momentum and strength turned to my favor. His eyes widened in surprise as his feet left the ground. The White Rabbit sailed through the air while his ears swayed.

Thunk!

He slammed headfirst into the weathered wood with all of the strength Sister Lilah granted him, but none of the resilience. He dropped into an unconscious heap on the worn red carpet. From the low rise and fall of his chest, he was still alive though bleeding from his head.

The heavy wooden doors groaned with the force of the throw. They cracked open just slightly. Since when could the doors be opened? Hadn’t someone tried them before the first trial? At what point had that changed? … could I have saved everyone during the first trial if I just checked the door myself?

I checked on him to make sure he was really unconscious. I wasn’t sure whether the rules would accept self-defense in this case. In a way, I was just defending myself while he did all the damage.

“My my, quite the hero.” Sister Lilah spoke up before the dust could even settle. “If there’s anyone deserving of repentance, it’s you, my friend.”

I flinched, and stepped back away from the void. Her words… there wasn’t something innately wrong with them, but the timing made me uncomfortable. In the past, she simply let us act without saying anything unless directly spoken to. This time, though, she took the initiative.

I stepped over the unconscious man on the floor and pushed open the doors of the cathedral. A cold draft billowed in through the door, and the red glow of the cathedral’s windows abruptly cut out. Darkness swallowed the cathedral. I stood there for a moment, stunned by what lay beyond.

We were in a void. There was no other way of putting it. Beyond the walls of the cathedral was an expanse of infinite darkness that made me feel small just looking at it. Out in the void, so distant that it looked like a tiny pinprick, sat a dim golden glow.

”Would you kindly close the door?” Sister Lilah asked me. “You know how these old places get. You wouldn’t believe the draft in winter.”

“Really? After all of this, you’re worried about a draft?” A miffed laugh died in my throat. It seemed like such an insignificant, mundane thing for a hellish abomination to be worried about.

“Yes, well…” The sister coughed dryly. “It’s dangerous beyond the walls of the cathedral.”

”It’s dangerous here.” I nodded toward the bleak expanse. I’d rather take the devil I didn’t know in this case. “What’s out there?”

”Darkness.” Her answer was short and to the point. “And immense danger.”

”It sounds to me like you don't want us to go out there.” I crossed my arms, and my ears perked up. “That’s the way out, isn’t it?”

”Why bother with that? I’ll personally set you free for just a small price.” She lifted her hand, and one of the daggers on the table flew over to my side. It clattered to the ground right in front of me. “Just a small sacrifice for salvation. Isn’t that worth it?” 

“I’ll go out there.” I stepped forward—only to feel a hand around my wrist.

Peace Keeper Bradson stopped me, and pulled me back before I could step out of the cathedral. “Don’t be stupid, Canary. It may be another trap.”

”What choice do we have, Bradson?” I looked around the few people left. Bojang was busy checking on Francis while Grace and Lizabeth quietly discussed something off to the side. “Wait for her to seduce the rest of us into signing away our souls?”

“Still, there has to be a better way than this.” He let go of my wrist, and joined me at the door. “… I’ll go.”

”I have a better chance.” The last rule was to not look back. It hadn’t applied so far, but out there? I had a feeling it would. Call it my lupine instincts. I wasn’t sure how trained he was to resist temptation. I had the highest chance of getting out.

”Thanks for the vote of confidence.” He side-eyed me.

”Not only that, you’re needed here.” I patted his rifle, and jerked my head back toward the group. None of the others had done something stupid yet, but I had a feeling it was only a matter of time. 

Lizabeth Dreary broke off from Grace, and approached us at the door. “Um… Miss Canary, maybe I should go? That light looks like radiance, no?”

I stared out at the golden light surrounded by darkness. “Indeed it does, Lizabeth.”

”If I go, I can scout the way—“ Lizabeth started. 

Grace stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “I’m worth the least if anything happens out there. Already lived past my prime… I’ll go.”

”I should be the one going.” Bojang spoke up from his position next to the unconscious White Rabbit. “I have a speed Aspect. I’ll get out there in a jiffy.”

“Look, I appreciate what you guys are trying to do, but I’m going. That’s final… It's my duty as a Canary. Scouting unknown dangers is literally the job description.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the bunch. Lizabeth and Grace flinched back. “All of you are invaluable, no matter what Sister Lilah might claim.”

”Still, it’s also my duty, Canary.” Bradson dropped his useless paper weight onto its sling, and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Peace Keeper Bradson!” I used my big girl voice for once.

”Ma’am!” He popped into a salute.

”Every few minutes or so, ask if I reached the light, if I escaped, and if I’m alive. Make sure to keep the questions quiet, and don’t accept an answer to a question you didn’t ask.” So far, Sister Lilah seemed the chatty type. I flicked a salute back to him. “Don’t follow me till you know it's safe.”

”Yes, ma’am!” His salute dropped, though he continued to stand at attention. “Good luck out there, ma’am.”

“… thanks.” I looked between all of their faces, and then stepped out into the darkness. The moment I did, it was like I stepped into the maw of some great beast.

— — —

AN: Oh, right, I do have a Pat reon. There’s advanced chapters for this, but it’s only up to five D: I’ll get it further ahead once I stop daily uploads for SS whenever that happens. Probably not worth it quite yet unless you want to support me? Other than my other stories also having advanced chapters. Woah, I’m really not selling this well…

Pat reon.com/lostrain (minus space. NovelPhoenix hates the site for some reason.)