The door slams open as Markus and the fae rush into the hallway from their room. Everyone quickly heads over to the nearby stairwell on the right. As Markus begins taking a step down, yelling rises up from the lobby. He immediately pulls his foot back, looking down over the banister rail. Only the L-shape stairs can be seen winding down to the floors below.
“Get outta my building ya bastards!” Phil yells from the lobby. Arguing with Crimson members no doubt. “I saw what you did!”
Another man's voice cuts in “Tell us where he is! We don't have time to bust every door!”
“Goddammit! Too late... We need another way out.” Markus says to the fae. He moves away from the stairs, back tracking down the hallway with Eclair and Aurora following closely.
Running down the hall, the group makes a sharp right turn. Markus immediately sees a large window at the end of the path, sprinting faster to reach it. The window has a console table and chair placed in front for decoration. Markus kicks them aside as his hands begin pushing up against the window. It's locked tight.
Thinking fast, Markus grabs the war hammer from his waist. He swings the hammer backwards and smashes the window with a powerful blow at its center. A crashing sound echos through the hallway as shards of glass dance in the air. The window is broken, but many pieces of glass remain attached. Markus now uses the top of the war hammer to knock off the bits left over.
“I can't believe this is happening! Why are they coming for us!? We did everything right! Nobody should know about Markus!” Eclair yells in a panic. She's visibly stressed and on the verge of tears. “They know he's from Earth! We need help now!”
“Who's going to help us!? The sheriff!? Little Creek!?” Aurora yells back.
“Stop! It doesn't matter what they know about me.” Markus interjects. The last piece of large glass is finally removed, and he puts the war hammer back in its place. A quick look out the window reveals an inclined roof leading down to a neighboring building.
“Go first girls. I'll be right behind you.” Markus says to the fae.
Eclair and Aurora immediately fly out the window. They stop a few yards away, hovering in the air while beckoning to Markus. He acknowledges them, throwing his backpack out the window first. It slides down the incline before bouncing onto the neighboring flat rooftop.
The next step is Markus climbing through the broken window. He stretches his legs over the window sill and uses his arms to leverage his body. The sound of crunching glass fills the air as he prepares to jump. He places his left hand on the window frame for balance, but suddenly feels a jolt of pain. He screams before clumsily falling down.
Markus hits the inclined roof hard, and immediately looks at his left hand. A large, deep cut is just under his thumb. Skin and muscle have been sliced open to the point where white bone can be seen. All of a sudden, blood starts pumping into the wound. Tears form at the edge of his eyes from the pain.
A groan escapes Markus before he can slowly stumble his way to the neighboring rooftop. He grabs his backpack and swings it over his shoulders with the right hand. The left hand is crippled, forcing him to slowly slide the left sling of the backpack with his good hand.
Eclair and Aurora rush toward Markus to see what happened. Eclair speaks first saying “Markus! Are you okay?”
Markus can only show them his left hand. Blood is pouring from the wound. Drops of red are landing all over the rooftop. Eclair covers her mouth in stunned silence.
“It's alright Markus! I can heal you.” Aurora says when she sees the deep cut. She uses her hands to make a calming gesture to Markus. “It's okay.”
“Oy! They're on the roof! Get over here!” A man suddenly yells out from the broken window Markus just came through. It was a Crimson thug.
“Can't stop now!” Markus says to the fae. He begins sprinting away from the Mountain View Inn. Eclair and Aurora follow Markus closely while zipping through the air. Various rooftops are jumped over in an attempt to escape any pursuers.
Markus eventually looks back and sees no one following. The rooftop he's on drops down to a narrow alley. He gestures to Eclair and Aurora as he jumps from the roof. Markus lands on several stacked boxes, then jumps again to reach ground level.
Blood is covering his left hand now. Throbbing pain and stiffness are settling into the wound. Out of desperation, Markus grabs the blue cloak concealing his folded AMD-65 rifle slung across his chest. Hiding the weapon didn't matter now. He wraps his left hand in the cloak as he moves back into the streets of Montillo.
As Markus reaches the exit of the alley, a Crimson member walks into view from the side of a building. Both men startle each other in surprise. The thug quickly raises the wooden club in his hand above his head.
With all of his strength, Markus grabs the man's face with his right hand. A powerful push is given, slamming the Crimson man's head against the metal lamp post behind him. The man is out cold, but nearby civilians begin running for cover at the sight of the skirmish.
Down the street, several more Crimson members are already running toward Markus. They all have clubs or pieces of wood in their hands. He doesn't think about why they have such weapons. Taking off again, Markus crosses the street and slips into another alley way. Eclair and Aurora follow closely behind.
The alley way is long and narrow. Soon, it converges with another alley to form a t-crossing. Markus runs straight through the intersection, continuing forward rather then turning.
“Wait! Markus!” Eclair yells from behind. Markus stops and sees the fae trying to navigate the narrow alley. They're flying speed is limited in the confined space. Aurora passes the intersection first, then Eclair follows right after.
From seemingly nowhere, two Crimson members dash into the alley from the t-crossing. It's the man with the scar and his friend. Eclair stops flying in surprise, instead looking back at the men that have appeared behind her. Hesitation allows the scarred man to swing his wooden club in her direction. The power of the swing is reduced due to space, but Eclair is still clipped by the weapon.
Eclair is sent reeling backwards, her body smashing against a nearby wall before falling to the ground. Aurora screams Eclair's name as she flies to her side. The friend of the scarred man is slowly starting to lift his own club as he walks to the fae. Markus feels something break deep within.
Rage. Countless emotions are filling Markus. Sadness, fear, pain, but mostly, rage. His right hand quickly undoes the holster to the Steyr pistol on his vest. For the first time in his life, Markus points a gun at another human being. He doesn't hesitate pulling the trigger.
