Escape From the City

Maikeru looks at Zen in shock. He has never been talked to like that and it made him feel uncomfortable but somewhat fluttery inside. He begins to follow Zen back into the bar when he sees him kiss Emikos cheek.

He walks through the door and lets out a devious smirk.

"I did say anything didn't I?" He calls out to Zen, somewhat laughing. "Curlert! I'll take another drink!"

Emiko, like Maikeru was a bit surprised by Zen's flirtatious actions. But she thought for a second and realized that she probably asked for it through her own seductive actions. She got a bit confused though from seeing the ordeal that went on between Maikeru and Zen. Emiko never really appreciated people who just used others for their own gain... But she couldn't shake the odd attraction that she had to him. After staring off into space for at least 5 minutes getting distracted by her own thoughts, Emiko went into the bar with the other two.

"Well aren't you just a philandering flirt?" Emiko said to Zen, raising her eyebrows at him. She raises her hand so the bartender will see her and orders a pint of beer.

"I have a feeling I'm going to need this tonight if I'm going to have to put up with the two of you!" She chugs it down and within seconds it's gone.

"Sooo, where will we be staying for the night?" Raising the question to be answered by either of the men.

Emiko walks over to Zen and whispers in his ear "Maybe I'll have to take you up on that offer sometime?" And as she pulls away her lips run across Zen's cheek.

"I get it now.." Maikeru pauses. "You two ought to get a room!" He exclaims and winks at his two new friends, taking a sip of his drink.

He walks over to Zen and whispers in his ear "good luck, you might just get more action tonight compared to todays occurrences!" He sets down his empty glass and walks drunkenly over to a group of women to begin flirting with no avail.

"Hey, Zen! I guess we can't all be winners!" he yells across the bar laughing. Maikeru then turns his back to his friends and continues to try and get some action of his own.

"A couple empty bedrooms upstairs, so two of us are going to have to sleep together. I'm fine sleeping with whoever, so you two can decide."

Zen glances over at Mike, and hits his forehead on the bar in front of him. A small groan escapes from his mouth while his forehead is still on the bar. Taking his face from the bar, he seems to be debating something.

"Ownership of this bar goes to whatever person bangs that guy right there! Tomorrow this place will be yours!"

He points at Mike.

"That's right, I'll sign over the entire bar to you!"

Five girls and two guys flock over to Mike, and try to start talking with him.

"Take your pick Maikeru! Courtesy of me!"

He turns back to Emiko, smiling a genuine smile.

"I guess that leaves us together, doesn't it? Well, whenever you're tired, we can go up to our room. We'll need all the energy we can get to keep that oaf alive tomorrow."

Maikeru walks back over to Zen, more sober than before and slightly frustrated. "I rejected them all." He pauses. "This bar is yours and wouldn't be the same if anyone else ran it." He says.

He them mumbles "also, once they got close they all dispersed.." he then begins to laugh.

"Could I just get my own room tonight? Or join you? It doesnt matter either way." He asks politely.

Emiko watched the people flock around Maikeru and was sure he'd chose one. She was shocked to hear that he had turned them all down. Although she chuckled slightly to herself when Mike mentioned that they weren't so impressed with his looks. Emiko was somewhat confused with the whole room situation. Since Mike was now alone for the night, the question again came up of who would sleep with who.

Emiko, now slightly tired. "Well I'm ready to relax for the night. I'm going to go get settled in one room while you two figure it out who is where. I'll be waiting." She flicked her hair off her shoulder, gave Zen an enticing look and went upstairs.

Maikeru notices Emikos gesture to Zen and chuckles. "Zen, I'll be fine alone. You have quite the opportunity in front of you." He says.

"Ill be fine alone. Ill just try my luck a little longer down here" he winks before he wonders off again.

Maikeru sits at a table alone and enjoys yet another drink, observing the bar. "Goodnight!" He calls to Zen and Emiko.

Zen gives Mike a slight nod before he follows Emiko up to the room. As he walks in, he pays no attention to Emiko and jumps right in the bed, pulling a few quilts up over him to stay warm.

"Just climb in whenever you feel like. If you don't want to sleep in the bed... The floor is open!" He winks, patting the empty area next to him.

*********

As Mike wanders around the bar, failing to attract any sort of sexual attention, he feels a gentle tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, but do you know a place that I can stay tonight? I heard that man say I would own the bar if I had sex with you, but I don't want that. Instead can I sleep with you?"

She smiles shyly, trying to avoid eye contact.

"I might be able to be of service to you to repay you, if I can stay with you."

Maikeru looks at this strange girl in shock. A girl has just asked him to sleep with him for the first time in his life and he didn't know how to react. She seemed so shy and she didn't even want sexual intercourse.

In a small and quiet voice he replys to her "if you would like, you can stay in my room with me.." he sets down his drink and walks to the stairs, giving the motion for her to follow him.

******

Maikeru sits down on the bed of the small room and looks at the door, waiting to see if the girl actually meant what she said.

Emiko was slightly annoyed with Zen's obvious effort to blatently ignore her.

She says to Zen "Well you see I wasn't actually tired. Being part vampire allows me to go on without sleep. You on the other hand, have fun with that, I'm going for a walk in the moonlight." She walks over to the chair in which her cloak was draped over and put it on.

As she walked out of the bedroom she then saw Mike and a girl go into his room. She went to say something witty to him but stopped herself trying not to embarrass him in front of this new girl.

Kerrin steps into the doorway, drooping her head so Mike can't make eye contact with her. Slowly, she walks over to the side of the bed and sits down next to Mike.

"Turn around, so your back is to me."

When Mike does what she says, she puts her hands up the back of his shirt, pulling it up over his head so it sits in front of him. She begins to massage his back, kneading the knotted muscles in his back.

"Your back is really tight, have you been stressed lately?"

As she continues to massage, Mike feels a warm wave come over his body, almost forcing his body to relax. She does this for another five or so minutes, then stops.

"That's your reward for letting me sleep with you."

And with that, she removes everything but her bra and panties, lays down on the bed without covering up, and falls asleep.

**********

"But Emiko, you walked all the way up here for nothing then! I'd be happy to occupy you, I don't need sleep either, but I do it to blend in. After all, nobody wants to be an outcast, do they?"

He gets up to sit on the edge of the bed, clearly not tired at all. He kicks his feet back and forth against the bed like a little kid.

Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk.

And then he stops with his head dropped, looking at the ground.

"I can tell you don't want to sleep with me, and that's fine. As much as I'd like to force you into circumstances that make you sleep with me, I can't bring myself to do it."

His head slowly turns toward her, his eyes piercing into hers.

"You're like me. Too much so. That's why I'm attracted to you."

He lies back down in bed, staring at the ceiling. His eyes pierce the brown swirls of wood like they did Emiko's eyes.

Snap

His eyes are shut now, the world black to him. He doesn't hear anything, not even his own voice. Nor do the sheets caress his skin, or the scent of pine penetrate his nose. His senses are blank, with him in his own head.

"Go ahead and take your walk now, I've said my piece."

Emiko turns around as if to continue walking away, but Zen's words continued to play in her head. She feels a knot in her stomach begin to form and she knows what's happening. Usually she would have no problem manipulating someone and simply leading them on. But as Zen said, they were alike... And she was attracted to him because of this.

She turns around and walks back into the room. "Listen, it's not that I don't want to sleep with you. It's that I just don't get close to people. I've been betrayed too many times to sacrifice myself again." Her expression softens as she strips herself of her cloak, takes her hair down, and lays on the bed beside him. Staring at the ceiling as he is.

Emiko laid there in silence for what feelt like hours.

"I like you. But I can't let that cloud my thoughts. We have a mission, remember?" She turns to face Zen and lays her head on his chest listening to the heartbeat that she lacks.

They lay until the sunlight begins to creep in through the curtains. And the smell of fresh dew comes in through the open window.

Maikeru sits there with his shirt on his lap, staring down at the young girl that is now sitting in his bed, wearing absolutely nothing on her body. This is actually the first time that he has seen a naked woman before and he doesn't know what to do.

"There is a girl in my bed..." he thinks to himself.

He is truly in awe at the beautiful young maiden before him but decides against doing anything hasty. He walks over to the window and looks out into the night sky, lit by a magnificent full moon. He feels the light breeze hit his face and feels at peace from the girls massage.

Maikeru then turns back to the girl sleeping in his bed and smiles. Her gesture of a massage was a very kind one at the least and makes him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

He then feels the weight of his eyelids slowly making his eyes close and decides to go to sleep. He attempts to get in the bed as quietly as he can muster and lays beside her. Not sure if he awakened her but doesn't dare ask to find out. Slowly he becomes more and more tired, until he falls asleep..

As the sun shines in, Kerrin wakes up with her face nuzzled in Maikeru's chest.

"It's so warm... Do I have to get up? Wait, who is this? Oh yeah, it's that guy from yesterday."

After she realizes that she's nuzzled into Mike, she pulls away gently so as to not wake him up. She cleans herself off in the bath in the other room, and comes out fully clothed.

"What to do now?" She whispers to herself.

When she reaches the hall, she tries to tiptoe past the the other room, but falls and makes a large Thud on the ground.

********

"I'm awake now."

He sits up mindlessly, and stares at the wall in front of him.

"I apologize for last night. But anything that happened after I told you how I felt is blank. Don't tell me what happened, please. I'm happy enough that you know my thoughts now."

Thud.

"God damn it Mike, you better not be hung over!"

When he opens the door, he sees a girl getting up off the ground. She's much, much shorter than him, which comes as a surprise. A hand hovers in front of her while she's still on her knees, so she takes it and gets pulled to her feet.

"And who might you be?"

"Kerrin. I slept with that man last night."

"His name is Maikeru. So I guess I owe you the deed to the bar, then?"

"No. We didn't have sex. But I am in Mike's debt for giving me a place to sleep." She giggles, thoughts obviously going through her mind.

"Did he ever mention anything about escaping the city?"

"No?"

"Well we can let him answer that. Can't let you get away without repaying that debt, now can we?

Maikeru wakes to a heavy thud outside of his door and sits up in the bed. Looking around he begins to recall the events from last night.

"There was a girl.. She asked to sleep with him..." he recalls.

Maikeru slowly lowers back down into the warmth and comfort of the bed and stares at the ceiling. He can't help but let a smile grow across his face when he thinks of her. She looked so cute and innocent when she slept, besides the fact that she was almost completely nude.

Looking around he realizes one thing. "Something is missing." he says in a whisper. The girl that he had met and slept with already disappeared without a trace or even a goodbye. He wanted to talk to her a little bit and ask why she asked him to share his room, and the possibility that she would want to escape the city.

Maikeru climbs out of the bed and puts his shirt back on and goes to the bathing room to freshen up a little bit.

*******

In the bathroom he washes his face and hair. Brushes his teeth. Relieves his bladder. Then, before he can leave the bathroom he looks at himself in the mirror. It has been a long time since he has done this because he has never had the need to. He looked into his own cold, sky blue eyes and gets a small chill in his back.

He leaves the bathroom before he can look into any more details.

Knock Knock Knock

"Mike!"

Crash

"I didn't feel like waiting. But I heard this girl slept with you last night."

Kerrin peeks out from behind Zen, trying not to attract too much attention.

"You've got to keep track of these things, I can't be your maid all the time."

"I don't think he's done getting ready for the morning, shouldn't we let him finish?"

"Pfft. You think guys need that long to get ready? He's ready to go now, aren't you Mike?"

Kerrin steps out from behind Zen. She stares awkwardly at Mike, trying to avoid eye contact.

"So.... Do you want me to join the escape?"

Maikeru is a bit slow to comprehend what Zen and Kerrin just asked him but slowly he understands.

"Yes i slept with her, but before you get caught up in your imagination we did not have sexual experiences last night" he yawns from drowsiness.

"Also, I'm fine and ready for the day" he says, adding "and of course you can join the Escape! And how about we all get acquainted as well?" he smiles at the girl and looks to Zen for approval.

Maikeru then begins down to the bar carrying his good mood with him.

"And Zen, How was your night with Emiko?" he calls up to Zen halfway down the stairs.

"Are you ready to get out of this city?" he asks before leaping down the last few steps and through the bar to get into the light of the new morning.

********

"Now all we need is a plan.." Maikeru mutters to himself.

Emiko sat up in bed and stretched. She then got up and turned the shower on, almost scolding hot. Once showered and dressed she realized that Zen wasn't in the room.

"Now where did that little shit run off to now?" She laughed at her remarks, amused by herself and then heard distruption in the hallway.

She sees the same girl with Zen that she saw leith Mike last night. "Ahhh do we have a new friend?" She says to Zen, smiling brightly at the girl, which was odd for Emiko, she almost never smiled.

"Our night was great, neither of us got any sleep though... Not like we need it." Replying to Mike's question as she nudges Zen.

"You guys have some breakfast or something, I'm going to go somewhere quick, I'll be back soon!"

********

Emiko knew the group needed a game plan so she decided to as least start to get ideas flowing. She walked to the library and went to the city's records and mapings. She grabbed a few that looked like they could be of use and got back to the bar to the group.

*******

"Well I'm back!" She laid her maps and blueprints out on the table. "So I gathered these. If we're going to escape, we need to learn and understand the city along with its inner workings from the ground up."

She grabs the map of the sewage system. "There has got to be a way out through these pipes. The city can't just hold in all the waste, it's got to go somewhere. I think if we can at least figure out how the waste gets out, we might be able to start there."

She looks to the group, awaiting a response.

Silence, until Emiko returns with the blueprints.

As she lays the ones of the sewer out on the table, Zen laughs, deviously and quietly. Little did she know that they didn't exist anymore.

"Emiko... Those pipes don't exist anymore. There's a void after you penetrate the ground further than one hundred feet."

He leans back and looks at the ceiling, trying to make it less of a big deal.

"In case you haven't taken the hint before this, I'm one of the few that sealed the city like this. Originally it was a beautiful plan, the city would never die. It's been a long time since then... I'm the only one around to remember the panic."

He pauses, the memories flooding back to him.

"Anyway, the only way to get out is to free the entire city from the field I helped put around it. It's at the top of the tower, guarded by everything the other magicians put there."

After going outside Maikeru found himself wandering the city a bit more than usual. Most days he just causes mischief for the folks but today was different. While walking the city he noticed it felt a little colder than usual. Not that it bothered him though.

While lost in his thoughts he somehow wandered right back to the entrance to the bar. Without a second thought he goes back inside.

****************

As Maikeru walks into the bar he hears Zens voice from the stairs. He cant believe his ears. Zen was one of the madmen that trapped all of the people in the field...

"You did this to us!? We are trapped here because of you! how could you do this..?" Maikeru yells at Zen with hatred. "I may go my whole life not knowing whats out there..." he says as he drops his head into his hands.

Maikeru gives one glance at the group and runs back downstairs where he grabs a bottle of scotch and runs out the door.

******

Outside he runs. He just wants to get away from Zen. He knows it may be his only way out if he goes with Zen but he doesn't care. He just runs toward the tower in the center of the city.

Emiko was annoyed with Zen's failure to tell her this information before she hauled her ass out to find the maps. But then again, she had just met these people rather recently, so she couldn't have blamed Zen for not telling her. As Emiko got downed in her thoughts as she always caught herself doing, Maikeru had come into the bar and almost immediately stormed off. Emiko rolled her eyes.
"I suppose I should take care of this, I doubt he wants to talk to you right now." She said to Zen before she went to follow Maikeru.

********

She noticed him running towards the tower and yells to him.
"Would you please stop acting like an ignorant, impulsive, child Maikeru? Yes, Zen helped build this cage we lived in. But have you tried to understand the reasoning of it all at the time? Who knows what's beyond these walls? He could have been trying to protect us all from some unknown entity. And now you want to just run to this tower, protected by things that would kill you in minutes. You need this team if you ever want to think about freedom." Annoyed with Maikeru, Emiko storms off, knocking down a crowd of people in the process.

"That little shit..."

For whatever reason, the two hadn't picked up on the subtle clues that Zen had dropped when they met. But no matter, Zen couldn't care any less. Whatever Maikeru was thinking, whether he knew it or not, he probably didn't want to see the outside. He watched Emiko storm after Mike, but failed to get up himself.

"Any ideas on what to do, Kerrin?"
"Um... Why are you asking me?"
"Because I ran out of ideas long ago."
"Well, should we go after them?"
"I don't think so."

Kerrin lets out a small sigh, clearly thinking hard about what they should do. "Don't worry about it, Kerrin. Wouldn't want to be hurting that little brain of yours!" He laughs.

"But, I want to help if you want me to." She pauses. "We can finish planning the escape and drink our tea, but then can we please go after them?"

"If that's what you wish." Zen gulps down the rest of his tea and has Culert steep another cup. They sit there in silence, both too preoccupied with their drink to speak. After about an hour passes, Zen breaks the silence.

"The plan is as follows. I'll gather the supplies we need, and meet you at the tower. Mike has an unhealthy obsession with that place... I don't even know what you see in him." Kerrin's cheeks flush a deep red.

Shyly, she asks: "...How did you know?"
"Eyes as old as mine know too much."
"Oh.. Please don't tell him!"
Zen snickers. "I won't, that would be mean."


************

"Emiko! Maikeru? Where did you go?"

Kerrin stands at the edge of the circle surrounding the tower, clearly out of her element. Her voice is shaky as she shouts again. "Guys!!! Come on!" Slowly, her knees buckle under her from the nervousness.

Before her knees can scrape the ground, Zen catches her by the arms. "Don't want to rough up those pretty little legs of yours, now do we? Adonis is behind me, carrying the supplies. I just don't want him getting caught in the fight that might break out."

Kerrin and Zen walk to the tower door, and in a very swift movement, Zen opens the door. Behind it, nothing. It's black.

"Kerrin, do you have any sort of way to create light?"
"No."
"Damn."

Just as Zen was going to punch something, he notices that Adonis had run into Emiko.

'Emiko, follow me please. Get on my back if you wish'

Kerrin, who'd given up her attempts at calling for Maikeru, notices his face in the crowd, running up to him, she latches onto his arm. "Mike! Don't run off like that! The expedition is just about to begin!"

"Plus I might've missed you a little..." She says, almost incoherently.

With tears in Maikeru's eyes he looks down at Kerrin, looking small and frail latched onto his arm. He still can't look Zen in the eyes. Not that it mattered anyways.

"i may have missed you too... a little" he says to Kerrin.

In his confusion and anger Maikeru dropped the bottle of scotch but he didn't care anymore. Looking around he realized that something was wrong. The emotions and facial expressions shown on the town folk were not much different than his. confusion.

Looking back at Zen he realized that he held the answer to the questions he needed to know. Like why the people were at the tower, why he built the barrier, how can we reach the top of the tower. And many more..

Before he can get his answers he knows there is one thing he has to do first. Looking down at Kerrin he wipes the tears from his eyes and hugs her tight. Lifting her up of the ground for a moment.

While she is in his arms he whispers in her ear "I'm sorry to make you worry, and don't let me do it again."

"Now Zen, Tell me what the fuck is going on" He says after setting Kerrin down.

A part of Emiko wanted to go off on her own. Forget about the team and only have to worry about herself. Trying to work with others was something she never had to worry about before now. She was content living by herself.

But despite this, she felt inclined and commited to these people. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this.." She said to herself, as she climbed on the manticore's back.

Returning to the group, Emiko notices Kerrin and Maikeru in an embrace. Such affection tended to bore Emiko. At this point, she was still fed up with Maikeru and his behaviors.

"Okay, guys. That's real cute. Are you done now?" She says in a dry manner.
"Hmmmm, I prefer my men more... Mature." While eying Zen up and down as if he were a delicious piece of meat. "Anyway, could we get on with this mission of ours? Zen, Where shall we begin?"

Maikeru gives Emiko a glare, clearly pissed off at the situation as much as she but she wasnt helping and neither was he.

"I agree with her, Zen. What now?" He asks Zen.

Seeing the look Emiko gave Zen sent chills down Maikeru's spine. In his daze though he didn't notice he was still holding Kerrin and awkwardly let go of her. He then looked at her and realized that there was a light frost on her chest. He shyly smiled at her hoping she wouldn't get mad.

Looking back at Emiko on the Manticore he decided he should probably join her. Cautiously he climbed onto the manticore and did his best to distance himself from Emiko, who clearly disliked him.

"Now lets actually get something done." he said to himself.