Solomon's Crucible 74. The Exit Survey (1) (Patreon)

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

Solomon followed behind his sister as she headed for the exit. Or, rather, towards what the signs were calling the "Out-Processing Zone." He was accompanied by three of her friends. Solomon had been hoping they could rally a bit more of an army but his sister could only identify three people who she was absolutely sure would be on board. Others might have been, but it wasn't worth the risk of having somebody sounding the alarm if they chose poorly.

First of the three was Tiffany's roommate, Julie. She was taller and more athletically built than Tiff, but that wasn't saying much. Eventually that kind of thing would become irrelevant thanks to the system, but for now that meant she was best served staying out of combat. Solomon had given her a dagger just in case, but her role in the coming fight was to act as a lookout for reinforcements and, if all went well, to spread the news that the exit was open.

The other two students joining them were Julie's brothers. Her oldest brother, Todd, stood half a head taller than her middle brother Alan. Both of them were in reasonable shape, although they hadn't had a chance to buy any attribute points from the system to bolster their natural abilities. They were both, however, royally pissed off at being herded into a prison camp by alien invaders. They each had a sword tucked away in their inventory, waiting for the right moment.

Tiffany also had a sword, even if Solomon didn't want her close enough to a real fight to use it. She'd insisted.

The out-processing was done in the open plaza right next to the exit gate opposite the stadium from where Solomon had come in. Velvet ropes had been set up to organize the line of students waiting to leave. The actual paperwork was done by a young man with a green armband standing in what had been the box office window.

The exit itself was heavily guarded. As Tiffany had said, a quartet of red-armband wearing guards stood ready. Three of them wore the sword and dagger that Solomon had seen the other guards use indoors. The fourth, nearest the exit, had a spear on display. All four were only paying passing attention to the exit queue, no doubt lulled by the steady activity and lack of violence.

The final member of the exit team was another man wearing a green armband. He had a device that he used to scan every person before they left. Whatever it did, nobody was allowed to leave until he gave the all clear. Another pair of ushers wearing white armbands made sure that everybody joined the right line and kept moving.

Their little group split up as they entered the lobby. Julie hung back by the exit, doing her best to look casual as she watched the people heading for the area. His sister went straight to the line for new member sign-ups, Julie's brothers trailing behind. Solomon headed for the exit line but held himself out of the queue, leaning against the wall and watching his sister's gradual process toward the ticket window.

Traffic was relatively light. There were only a handful of students ahead of Tiffany in line. Each one took about half a minute to process.

Meanwhile, other than the new signups, only a couple of people had passed by Solomon on the way outside. He could feel the eyes of the guards as they checked him out, but did his best to ignore them. His focus on the box office should make it obvious that he was waiting for someone.

When Tiffany made it to the second spot in line, Solomon casually took a swallow of magic powder. Since he was the one who most needed the element of surprise, he had the honor of kicking things off. He should also make a hell of a distraction for the others.

The guards had focused on him when he moved, only to relax when they didn't see him do more than eating a snack. Solomon wondered just how long he would be able to count on people not recognizing the significance of what he just did.

Well, these guys wouldn't be warning anybody of anything, not if Solomon had anything to say about it. He knew that what they were about to do was going to end the relatively soft treatment the prisoners were getting. He felt a little bad about it, but it was probably for the best. The harsher the invaders had to be, the more rebellious sentiment would spread.

Solomon watched Tiffany move forward in line as he waited for the Powder Charge to kick in. The delay was annoying. He could manage it in a situation like this, where he'd be initiating the hostilities, but for a mid-battle boost he'd need to figure out some way to speed things up.

His heart was beating faster. At first in anticipation. Then, as his vision started to tint purple, his heartbeat kicked into overdrive to handle the sudden surge of energy.

Solomon pushed himself off the wall and walked briskly towards the exit. He passed one guy who was waiting in line, ignoring his dirty look.

The guy with the scanner was the first to notice something was wrong.

"Hey, pal, you have to-"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Solomon grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. With a grunt, he heaved him towards the red armband-wearing guards. The flying body tangled up two of them. The third, with the spear, was still too far away. That left Solomon alone with the final guard.

Solomon stepped in close as the guard was drawing his sword. It seemed like his target was swimming in molasses as Solomon pulled his dagger from its sheath and stabbed it up through his jaw. The blade was just long enough to reach into his skull and hit something vital. 

The guard's body started to slouch as the energy left it. Solomon used the dagger's hilt as a handle to lift and toss the corpse at the two guards who were just starting to untangle themselves from his first human missile. All three of them went tumbling to the floor at the impact.

When they fell, Solomon could see that the final guard was moving to relieve the pressure on his colleagues. He had lowered the spear and was charging in, looking to skewer Solomon or at least force him to back off.

Instead, Solomon drew his pistol out from inside his sweater. He thumbed the safety off as he brought it to bear, absently using the system to enhance the effect of the bullet as he took aim. 

The sound of the shot was still deafening, no matter how he tried to get used to it.

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >