Kai stood up and strode towards the door;
"Which leaves us with very little time to escape….."
"Yeah…" Tala muttered. But then he retraced the words back and looked at Kai;
"Wait….did you say escape?"
"Yeah I did…" Kai nodded" Now come on! Let's go"
"What? But Kai!?" Tala looked at the door with widening eyes.
"Stop questioning! And come on!" Kai snapped, going towards Tala and helping him on feet.
"Kai….what are you…?"
But Kai cut him off by ranting out instructions;
"Go from the backside. There will be soldiers there patrolling, but you need not worry about them, cause the sacks of ammunitions and gun powder is kept there. You simply have to blend in it. From there, go to stables. Your horse is already there, tied to the wooden post. Amount it and ride towards the west gates, Ian monitored the area last night and told…"
Tala listened to him with bewilderment. He was helping him escape. Then he remembered that who was in the dungeons last night. It was Ian, Spencer and Bryan who were tending to his wounds. They all were helping him in fleeing.
They had finally reached towards the door that would lead to grounds in the backside of barracks. Kai opened it and whispered;
"Go….."
Tala looked at him with fear and concern.
"But Kai….what about you?! If Boris has the slightest inkling that you were involved in this….."
Kai held up his hand in air, making Tala shut up instantly.
"Don't worry about me. You are full aware that Boris can't lay a finger on me"
Oh yeah, Tala suddenly recalled, that Kai was the grandson of Voltaire Hiwatari, who was currently the member of chief of army staff, a group of elites that were responsible for making decisions regarding the Russia military. Plus he was also the owner of a factory that produces arms and guns for the army. Balkov better not lay a finger on him…
"It's you they are after Tala….you must get out of here" Kai told him mildly" Last night you pretty much bruised Boris's ego. He at any cost will get you executed"
There was a silence for a while. Kai then said;
"Here…."
He then kept an object on Tala's palm. It was a Beyblade.
"Where on the earth did you get that?"
"Doesn't matter…" Kai said" It will prove very useful in times of need….."
Tala observed the object. The picture of ice wolf was carved in there. He tightly clutched the beyblade. The door opened. It was still dark outside. Stars were twinkling and blinking slowly. The air considerably felt chilly. Oddly enough it felt good on his skin, after being in dark dungeons for so long, where he was forced to breathe in stale and stuffy air.
Kai give a gentle shove and repeated;
"Go….."
Tala took a deep breath before letting it out. He took one step outside, the boot crushing the grit into crumbles. He then turned around and tightly embraced Kai.
For a moment, Kai was in shock before returning the hug. During this Tala muttered, his voice coming out muffled;
"I trust you with my life….Hiwatari….."
The dual haired blader tightened the hands around his broad back and whispered;
"Likewise Ivanov Likewise"
They finally broke apart.
"Go…..i will stall them….."
Without saying a word, Tala ran towards the stables. On the way there was a storage room in which he took refuge just like Kai instructed him. He could see two people there, that were busily slapping the white rectangular paper on the sacks of ammunitions. They were coding the stock.
Silently he went to very end of the room, and began to amble out quietly behind the tall towers of boxes that were containing guns and rifles.
Upon reaching the other door, he could see the stables. They were just up ahead. But just when he was about to make a move, he heard a horde of stamping boots.
The Russian army was out for morning patrol. Tala waited impatiently, until the sounds became faint. Checking twice and thoroughly, he made his way towards the stables. However before leaving he took the rifle.
The black stallion was tied to a wooden post. Its ears jolted instantly as it heard a pair of feet approaching him. Restlessly it kicked the dirt from his hooves, his eyes huge and rolling with wariness.
The red haired fighter went to it, lightly caressing the rough black mane and the strong neck of an animal, the skin almost having a velvety surface. It immediately calmed and after sniffing the familiar smell, it bought his head forward, prompting to be stroked more.
Cтриж (swift) was a black stallion of height nineteen hands that was owned by the Russian army. It was known to be the most troublesome hooved mammal because it won't allow anyone to amount it. Surprisingly enough it wasn't that hostile towards Tala. Don't know why, but everyone has failed to solve the mystery.
"Мы должны идти, мой друг…." Tala spoke softly, untying the ropes.
(We need to go my friend)
He then mounted it, gripping the reins tightly.
"Rотов?!"
(Ready?)
The horse gives a snort, which was close enough to saying 'Yes'
Tala give a steady shake of reins and with cobbling sounds of hooves, they set off and rode towards the west gate.
The west gates were the most deserted one for many reasons. It directly led to the very depths of forests. Secondly the gates themselves were covered with plantations of ivy and Virginia creepers. Given few more years and it might someday become a part of nature. Still two or three guards were always doing shifts there.
The guards looked up, shocked clearly in their faces when they realized who was on the horse.
"Out of my way…." Tala hissed, aiming for the point; the heavy metal locks of the chains. He raised the muzzle and pressed the trigger, releasing the shots.
1….2….3….4
Tink! Tink! Tink!
The locks broke away, with sparks flying due to friction caused by metal against metal. The soldiers ran away, as the huge stallion came nearer.
Tala tugged the reins, making the stallion to rear. The horse stood on hind legs with a shriek like roar and then bought his front hooves on the gates with a mighty force.
The gates now opened apart. With this done, the duo easily slipped and blended into forest. Far away the sound of civil defense siren could be heard.
'Oh no!'
Tala firmly squeezed the sides with heels and the horse considerably sped up. They rode far away, the woods now becoming blurry green because of the speed.
It was then they heard a whistling sound, and Tala literally felt the hair of his neck standing up. He glanced behind and saw with pure revulsion the soldiers on horses running after him, including Yegor Gleb.
The soldiers were shooting arrows at him. Luckily it didn't hit Tala. They either hit the trees trunks or the mossy ground.
The echoes of rushing river could be heard from distance.
'If I just cross the other side of the river, I will come on the safe side'
With this thought, Tala tugged the reins, changing the stallion direction.
"What on earth?" Gleb uttered, frowning at the subject who changed the direction. With a dread, it finally dawned on him that what the captain was doing. He started barking the orders.
"Don't let him cross the river!"
"Why not?" One solider asked.
"Don't ask questions and do what I ordered!"
The reasons why he won't allow the captain do as he please was because the land on the other side of the river was a completely new territory to him. He had never gone there and some part of his insides told him that Tala knows it. He will be advantage at this. Finding him there will be like a needle in a haystack.
The river was now in sight.
'Finally' Tala alleged relieved.
Clock! Clock! Clock!
(The sounds of racing horses)
It was a mad chase. Tala was almost close to the point where the river was narrowing. Gleb saw this and directly positioned his bow, with the arrow in middle.
'You are mine Ivanov!' Gleb gritted out, pulling the bow backwards and whoosh went the arrow.
Tala felt a searing pain on his forearm, making him lose grip on bridles. A blinding pain coursed through its back again. This time it was much excruciating. The second arrow has pierced his wounds, opening one of them.
Tala gasped in agony. Just then a big rock appeared on way. Cтриж made a huge gallop over it. Unfortunately Tala wasn't ready for it. He slipped from the saddle seat. Only his sweaty hands were clutching the slick neck of the horse, all the while his legs were dangling dangerously in air.
To avoid being pierced third time by the arrow, Tala ducked himself, his feet now brushing against the uneven path. It was that uneven path, that slight bump which finally made him lose his grip on the riding beast. The black stallion streaked past him, its powerful body knocking him off.
The captain has fallen in river.
Tala felt his muscles screaming in protest. The water was ice cold. The danger wasn't over yet. Arrows were still raining upon him, but this time the velocity of them was slow. It might be because of the fast river.
"Kill him! Kill him!" Gleb screamed" I want to see the river red with his filthy blood!"
At this the soldiers who were accompanying him, sweat drop (anime style).
"Sir, he's dead…" One soldier claimed.
"Oh yeah?! How can you be so sure?!" Gleb questioned nastily.
"Because you shot your arrow at him twice…"the second soldier pointed out.
"He will die from bleeding eventually….." the third soldier stated.
"Yeah I did….." Gleb frowned.
The stallion shrieked in distance.
"Restrain that horse!" Yegor said. He then added" Let's get out of here. Our business is finished"
.............................................................................................................................
They say water has no color. But all Tala can see was blue. How that can be?
After all the trouble he went through, after all the work his best friends did, all of it went to waste. He was now drowning in a pool, in a deep deep pool.
'If this was my fate….I should have never left the dungeons. If I was to die like this, then why did I escaped in the first place? I should have never…'
His heart was beating, but rather loudly. Strange…it should have slowed down with all the blood clots now making its way towards the arteries, putting a burden on the heart pumping. The temperature in the river was now rising.
'Is it me or I am feeling resonances….'
Then slowly like a sun rising, the light came. It was so bright that Tala had to shield his eyes. He squinted his eyes and was very surprised to see the source of the light.
A large white beast was right in front of him floating. It looked a lot like wolf. Its shoulder blades jutting out huge shards of ice. Pair of glowing yellow eyes were staring intently at him.
"Wolfborg?!" Tala whispered.
He can't keep up. Fate has finally arrived. The death angel was closing by.
The last thing Tala remembered was being carried away. He opened his eyes and saw periwinkle blue skies. He was lying on something very soft and so warm.
'Isn't Wolfborg supposed to feel icy?'
But his question was left unanswered as exhaustion finally blanketed his body.