Chapter Forty-Four

Entry:

Talon… communicates with me. Tells me his desires and fears. I could get used to him. No- I hope I never get used to him.

Phoenix.

--

Corton glared down at his gun. His commander, Ax, had given him strict instructions before leaving: protect the box with his life.

Corton stood in a small, abandoned home with half the group and a single box in the middle of the room resting on the floor. Most of the gang had left with the commander to check out where the box would be transported to safety. 

And in the box?

He glanced over at the small wooden box reaching up to his shins. Nails obsessively stabbed the box shut. Now, all Corton had to do was wait until a messenger came back saying that the package was ready for transport. Then Cortan got paid.

A few men under Corton's command paced the room while others opted to remain still. Staring at the box. Corton hated being in this home. It was a single large room with a small food area and a hallway with three shut doors. They had a warehouse, but a friend had tipped them off about an upcoming ambush. 

Dust shot up in the air every time someone took a step. None of the group members were friendly enough to talk to each other. 

A knock on the door shattered the silence. 

Everyone perked up in suspicion and glanced at the door. It was too early for the messenger to be done already. He raised his weapon and walked over to the door.

"Who is it?" Corton yelled

"It's me, the one your wife told you about. I have news."

Corton sighed and put down his weapon. "What is it now?"

 "I saw the royal guard only a few blocks away. Can you help me fight them off?"

Corton checked the others. If the royal guard had found them again, Corton would be severely outnumbered right now. But if Corton had the element of surprise and ambushed the group, then he would have a fighting chance.

"Alright! The left side of the room will go with our informate to ambush the Royal Guard. The rest will stay here if the mission fails to fight for the package. Understood?"

The door swung open and their informate was dressed in all white with a scarf wrapped around their mouth and nose. 

"Follow me," they said. "The royal guard is getting closer."

 The left side of the room followed the informant out and Corton shut the door behind the pack. He looked out the window and saw the group turn down into an alley, out of view. 

Bang!

Corton heard the unmistakable noise of a gun going off. His eyes widened as gunshots went off. There were screams and a shout, and then, there was nothing. People had died, but who? And how did they do it in such little time?

Corton stepped away from the window and looked at the remaining men. There were five of them, including Corton, forming a circle around the box. There was a window behind Corton, and a window across from him on the other side. Too exposed. 

"We need to know who died," Corton reasoned, "and if there are any of our survivors. Mat, you go scout out the area and return. Do not engage in combat. It should be the first alley on the North side of the street. Understood?"

Mat nodded and raised his gun. Corton watched as the man made his way out of their circle and through the door, shutting it behind him. Corton once again turned and studied Mat run down the street, hugging each building as he went. Then, Mat reached the alley. He peered his head around the corner to glance into the alley. A gunshot rang out and Mat's corpse fell onto the concrete.

Corton stumbled back. Four of them left.

"We need to all go and fight the royal guard!" Corton shouted, raking his hands through his hair. "We need to protect this box otherwise Ax will skin us alive."

The men left shifted their weight and looked around at each other, and then back at the box.

"So," Corton concluded, "do we choose to go out and fight for our cause, or stay here and die like sitting ducks? Hands for staying here?"

One man raised his hand and then lowered it when he realized he was alone.

"And all in favor of going out there and attacking?"

The remaining two men lifted their hands.

"But, Corton?" the man in favor of staying asked, "Shouldn't one stay behind in case it's a trap to lure us out?"

"Very good point," Corton rubbed his chin, "I shall stay behind. The rest of you go and kill those nasty royal soldiers. Go, go, go!"

The three men jogged out of the room, making sure to shut the door behind them. Corton couldn't bare to glance out the window, so instead, he turned around and faced the box. He had to protect this box no matter what, if he ran, then Ax would find him and kill him.

Sweat gathered at Corton's brow. He could risk running away. He could evade Ax for a while and hope he loses interest in tracking Corton down.

Three more gunshots pierced the night. Corton flinched with each one and his breath became rapid.

He was alone, and the royal guard was coming to get him. The only saving grace: he would hear the soldiers coming, he knew that there were here. Corton glanced at the box and around the room. 

He paced the narrow hallway. He went down it, then back up, then back down- no- up. Should he flee and be on the run for the rest of his life? Or did he fight here, hoping that he had a chance in this cramped home? That's right. The house was too small for an entire squad of soldiers to come in. He could pick them off one at a time. Maybe they'd make the same mistake Corton made and send in men one at a time. No- Corton should run. 

Corton turned at the end of the hallway and froze. There, in the main room, the door was swung wide open.

Someone was inside.

Corton raised his gun and glanced around, daring to take a step forward. He didn't know how many people were in the building, he hadn't heard anything! The main room was empty. The box laid in the center, untouched. Corton took another shaky step forward. Perhaps the door was blown open by the wind? 

Another step.

The floor creaked, and Corton froze. 

"I know you're in here!" his voice cracked. "If you kill me, just know that my leader will put a bullet in your brain!"

Corton took a baby step into the main room and looked to the left and to the right, outside the window. Then, forward.

From behind the door, a figure whose face pulled out their gun. Corton didn't even have time to fire a shot before his body hit the ground and everything went black.