"Careful." Lee Seng warned his friends. He stuck his hand out and Ritsuka and Evan slowly helped Calis to Lee Seng. He grabbed Calis and carefully helped him up the jagged and rough hole entrance. He carefully lifted Calis up and helped him sit down and help the others.
"Ugh, this is harder. We should just use your cheat." Evan huffed as Lee Seng lifted him up.
"We can't. We'd bang our heads or legs trying to get out." Lee Seng pointed out. Evan huffed. They had climbed three-fourths of jagged rocks that were about five feet tall. Ritsuka hoisted himself up and sat with his legs dangling off the cliff. "We're almost there. Just rest and before you know it, we'll be outta here."
"I don't think I can take it anymore… This is too much for me." Evan huffed. Lee Seng chuckled at Evan's dramatics. Calis splashed some water on Evan to cool him down and offered water to Lee Seng. Lee Seng shook his head and motioned at Ritsuka. Ritsuka was sweating and quietly taking in the small amount of breeze that came their way.
"Rituska, doin' okay?" Lee Seng asked. Ritsuka turned and noticed there was water floating in front of him. He gladly scooped some water and splashed his face.
"I'm fine." Ritsuka answered. He scooped up some water and drank it and then shook his head to Calis. "I'm good now. Thanks." Calis nodded and dismissed the water. "We're almost out… Just a bit more to go." Evan groaned at Ritsuka's observation.
Lee Seng brushed the back of his neck and nodded. They didn't have much more to go. It was at least five more and they would be out. He rallied the group and they continued their way to the top.
"Finally!" Evan crumpled to the uneven road. It was filled with dust and rubble but he didn't care. He was done with the treacherous climb. There was a slight breeze up here but it was hot. "Gooooood, it's hot! Let's go back down!"
"Nope." Lee Seng shook his head. "We're going back to Chan-Yeol. Keep your eyes peeled for anything. I don't know if its even safe out here. C'mon, get up." He walked over to Evan and motioned with his hands for Evan to get up. Evan groaned and lifted his tired arms up. Lee Seng grabbed Evan's hands and lifted him to his feet before drawing two runes.
Evan death gripped Lee Seng the whole way back. Night was quickly coming and the once pristine city was looking very scary without any sign of life outside. Lee Seng thought about the night life. How he could easily walk the streets, get a bite to eat, and fool around. He missed those days. Who knew the problems he'd face then weren't anything like now.
Lee Seng sighed and illuminated his face with Akio's phone. He didn't need to get lost and there was still mobile data about. They were coming up on the large building lit up with lights and people standing watch.
Lee Seng slowly descended behind a building a couple blocks away. He didn't need people panicking about him. They slowly made their way back to the start and there, they saw a familiar face standing with a small group of people outside.
"We have to go back for them. If things are bad like Chrissy has said, we'll need to be alert." A man in all black addressed the small group. Chrono was standing next to this man, quietly nodding along. Chrono's eyes flicked over to Lee Seng instantly. His scent was easily traceable. She watched as the group entered the field of light, revealing themselves. The watchers immediately pointed their guns and magic at them.
"It's my group." Chrono told the group. She broke out of the small huddle and jogged over. She scanned the group and noticed they were a bit worse for wear. "We have one injured!" People began to scramble. Medics quickly moved over and took Calis from Ritsuka and moved him inside. Chrono turned her attention to the remaining three.
"Are the others with you?" The man in all black asked the group. Lee Seng shook his head.
"They were on our tail earlier." Lee Seng informed the group. "We were about halfway up the climb towards the exit when I heard them. I think they were trying to get something up the exit."
"You didn't help them?" Chrono asked. Lee Seng shook his head.
"They didn't want our help." Evan defensively answered. "Argh! Just thinking about it makes me mad all over again!" Lee Seng gently poked Evan and sent him into a spiral of hurt. Ritsuka covered Evan's mouth and turned him away, pushing him towards the darkness.
"There were a couple of people who didn't take my… appearance too well." Lee Seng frowned. "One vocalized about it a lot but there were others who silently agreed with her, so I had no choice but to bring my group to safety first since I had an injured person." Chrono sighed and nodded. The man in all black silently nodded. His eyes lingered on Lee Seng's ears for a while before snapping out of it.
"We should still look for them then. If you guys got here just now, who knows when they'll show up?" The man in black pointed out.
"I'll go with you." Chrono turned to the man. "Let me make sure they're fine first." The man nodded and excused himself.
"We're fine." Lee Seng told Chrono. "Nothing we can't handle." Chrono turned and stared at Lee Seng.
"Are you fine, though? It must've been tough to deal with that."
"I'll gladly swallow my pride if I have to. I'm fine. We're okay." Lee Seng motioned. Evan turned and quickly moved straight to Chrono.
"He dropped who he was to those bullies!" Evan truthfully told Chrono. "He told them the truth that he's a Fox Spirit and he died!" Chrono's eyes narrowed onto Lee Seng.
"Is that true?" Chrono asked.
"Ain't nothing. I did what I had to do to get Calis treatment." Lee Seng motioned.
"It wasn't worth spilling secrets over! What if they start telling everyone that? Then what? Will everyone be okay with an intelligent species different to them here?" Evan asked. Chrono licked her lips and sighed. She ran her fingers through her hair and cleared her throat.
"Who knows? Does all of the crew know?" Chrono asked.
"Yeah." Lee Seng nodded.
"I'll handle it. You three make sure Calis is fine. Don't do anything in the meantime, alright?" Chrono pointed at each one of them, making sure to get a head nod from them. When she landed on Lee Seng, he didn't do anything. "Got it?"
"Lee." Ritsuka tapped Lee Seng. Lee Seng sighed and nodded.
"Fine. I won't do anything." Lee Seng responded. "We're not going to be here long anyways. I need to cash in this favor for Chan-Yeol and get moving anyways." Chrono pushed her hair away from her face and nodded.
"Just don't get yourself exposed… or killed." Chrono responded.
"Chrissy, we're ready to leave!" A member shouted. Chrono turned and gave a thumbs up.
"I have to go. Be good." Chrono told the three boys. She pointed at Lee Seng. "Especially you."
"I'm always good." Lee Seng smiled. Chrono shook her head and turned, leaving them.
"What is she gonna do?" Ritsuka whispered.
"That's the look of someone who's going to make things right." Evan pointed.
"She's mad." Lee Seng told them. He started towards the entrance. Evan and Ritsuka followed after him, taking a look at Chrono.
"How can you tell? She had a neutral face the entire time." Evan asked.
"It's the face I make when I'm mad." Lee Seng answered. "It takes one to know one." He grabbed the door and opened it. There were loads more people standing guard in the lobby. They all looked at the trio as they passed. Most were keeping an eye on Lee Seng. "Let's find Calis and see how he's doing. We can talk to Chan-Yeol later."
"Do we have the luxury of time?" Ritsuka asked. "Shouldn't we be trying to find you know whos?"
"Our friend comes first. You know that." Lee Seng looked at Ritsuka. Ritsuka nodded and the three moved over to one of the guards. "You know where our friend went? He was injured, clutching his stomach."
"Oh, him." The guard nodded. He pointed down the hall. "Into one of the temporary med bay areas. Didn't look hot. What happened?"
"Long story." Evan interjected. "We got ambushed." The guard nodded in sympathy to that.
"Excuse us." Lee Seng smiled. The guard nodded and the trio turned down the hall. They looked through each room, noticing a variety of patients and healers about. They found Calis in one of the empty rooms towards the end. The room used to be an office, but was hastily turned into a room of rest and healing. A healer was in the middle of observing Calis when the three stood in the doorway.
"It seems like internal damage." The healer told Calis. She lifted up and moved to the box. She pulled out a stick on band-aid. "This is infused with magical properties to heal internal damage since I am not versed in that kind of magic. A night or two of rest will make it better. Don't exert yourself, alright?"
"Thanks." Calis nodded. The healer pulled the sheets apart and applied the stick-on onto Calis's stomach. Calis winced at the cold adhesive that began to activate.
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm "It might get a bit hot but it'll pass. If you need anything, just call one of us, alright?" The healer stood up.
"Thanks, doc." Calis nodded. The woman turned and noticed the three men standing at the doorway. They parted and let her pass.
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