Skeletons of the Past Chapter 12

Collection: Age of Youth
Chronicled by: Ghasty

Chapter 12: A Divergence in the Rebellion

​Petra stood in the center of the green flames. Petra decided she needed to do something quickly before the fire engulfed her. Petra held her shield in front of her and jumped through the fire. Her jacket caught fire in a few places, which she quickly patted down. She tried to open the door, but it had been locked from the outside. The door was made of heavy iron door with an airtight seal. Petra realized trying to throw her weight against the door would be futile. She began to bash her shield against the door to try to get a passerby’s attention.

A young man was walking by the lab when he heard Petra’s shield bashing upon the door. The young man had long, blond hair, icy blue eyes, and fair skin. He wore a black tanktop, and black sweatpants with a revolver tucked into the waistband. A satchel was slung over the young man’s shoulder which held several parts for experimental machinery and tools. He ran over the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. He rummaged through his satchel and pulled out a lock-picking kit. He began to open the lock and once accomplishing to open the lock he quickly opened the door. Petra came out of the room, close to hacking up a lung. Once Petra was able to stop coughing, she addressed the young man.
“Hallr, thank you, thank you for saving me from your own invention,” Petra thanked, slowly becoming more sarcastic as she progressed.
“Did one of them spontaneously combust?” Hallr asked.
“No, somebody with a mask lit a chemical and used it against me.”
“Do you know what chemical it was?”
“Traxyth, you know, the chemical you, Mech, and Xanthia kept hidden from me.” A look of panic spread across Hallr’s face.
“Now put that fire out before I shove you into it,” Petra threatened. Hallr almost immediately began to add a fire retardant mixture to the emerald green flames. The flames died down and a scorch mark was left where the flames had spread to.
“Now come with me, you, Mech and Xanthia have some explaining to do.” Hallr followed Petra as she walked quickly through the halls. On their way to find Mech and Xanthia they ran into Eoin and Ren.
“Have you had any luck finding Alexa?” Eoin asked.
“I did,” she responded, “she tried to kill me.”
“How?” Ren asked.
“She used an invention kept behind my back against me,” Petra answered.
“Where are we going now?” Eoin asked.
“We’re going to find Mech and Xanthia.”
“I last saw them in the garage,” Ren informed.
“Thanks.” Petra said. Eoin, Hallr, Petra, and Ren walked through the halls until they came to garage. Petra saw Aileen and Jehan, but not the two she was looking for. Petra approached Aileen.
“How’s Jehan doing?” Petra asked.
“He should be back to fighting shape soon,” Aileen answered.
“Good,” Petra said, “have you seen Mech or Xanthia recently?”
“They went down to the jail cells.”
“Thanks.” Petra and company walked down the staircase until they came to the holding cells. They walked into the holding cells to see someone being locked up.
“What happened?” Petra asked.
“Zenon tried to attack us while wearing some sort of odd mask and robes,” Xanthia replied. The someone being locked up was Zenon, a young woman with blonde hair, forest green eyes, and fair skin.
“Your revolution will fall like the rest of them!” Zenon vociferated at Petra, “What makes your pitiful insurgency any different from the one’s before it?”
“That’s enough,” Desmofýlax said as he locked Zenon’s cell.
“We need to talk,” Petra ordered, gesturing for Mech and Xanthia to follow her. Eoin, Hallr, Mech, Petra, Ren, and Xanthia left the holding cells and stood in the small space around the well piping. Desmofýlax could hear yelling coming from the small area around the well, but he decided it would be best to leave the group to whatever they were upset with, after all, it was really none of his business. The yelling continued for a little bit before a gunshot rang out. Desmofýlax rushed to the door, opening it, expecting to have found somebody injured, or worse. He looked around the group, but everyone appeared to be fine. Eoin arm was still raised upwards toward the ceiling, flintlock pistol in hand.
“Alexa doesn’t need to tear us apart when it seems we’re doing it so easily ourselves!” Eoin yelled at the group around him. “I understand that lines were crossed and trust was broken, but we can’t tear ourselves apart because of that. If we want to stop Alexa, we’ll have to work together, lest the whole revolution falls apart.” A few of the group nodded.
“Eoin’s right, we can’t stand here feuding while the real enemy is within our walls. We must stick together and search for her.” Petra began to ascend the stairs with the group following behind her.