Chapter 4
Mist clung to the ground, only stirring when Alita and Jansen stepped onwards. As Alita walked on, being as silent as a jaguar on the hunt, Jansen hooted with joy. Alita ignored him as they continued ahead, not really knowing where they’re going.
Jansen glanced about, watching crows and other scavengers scampered away while squirrels followed them at a distance out of curiosity. As Jansen walked with, what seemed like, not a care in the world, while Fizzy hissed and spat at the too-bold-for-their-own-good squirrels. “What’s wrong, Alita? You’re so quiet,” Jansen asked softly as he tilted his head slightly to the side.
“I’m fine, I just feel uneasy. It feels like someone is watching us. But I can’t hear anything out of the ordinary. No sudden quietness or any other footsteps then the squirrels’ and ours,” Alita informed as she glanced into the brush on either side of her. She stopped walking and looked back to Jansen just long enough to flash a smile to add on, “but then again, I could be going crazy since I don’t have a warm bed or meal.” She looked ahead, letting out a sigh at the sight of the endless view of trees and bushes.
“If you want a bed and a hot meal so much, why did you run away from the academy?” a gruff voice asked from one of the nearby clusters of firs. “What was the reason that you ran away? Ms. Ganda is very mad at you two. With the prank and then leaving,” the voice added with a small chuckle. After the voice became silent, a man walked out from behind the tree wearing a brown trench coat that covered his black hiking boots. His sharp emerald eyes gazed at the two teenagers, almost as if he was seeing whether or not they were worth his time and effort.
“Who the hell are you?” Jansen asked with fake bravado as he moved in front of Alita in a protective manner. “And how do you know about Alita and I running away from the academy? I don’t remember seeing you around the academy,” Jansen then asked as he eyed the stranger with curiosity.
“Word of you and your female companion is all over the academy schools. The schools in Denmark, Calarin, United States, Australia and England all know about your little act. They asked every school to be alert and send out their guards to search you two down by any means,” the trench coat man said casually, acting as if this was an every day kind of occurrence.
“So you’re just a government dog, scenting out the prey to please your master? I’m glad I left. I never want to be someone’s lacky. It’s distasteful, if you ask me,” Alita said with a grunt, telling her thoughts as they were. She didn’t care what he was; he wasn’t going to force her to go back to that damn academy!
The man only chuckled as he heard Alita’s words. “Was that supposed to hurt my feelings or something? Because you didn’t do a good job. He glared at Alita and then Jansen before glaring back at Alita before continuing, “I don’t care what you want or feel. You’re going back to an academy and you’re going to stay there, you’re going to learn, you’re going to graduate, and you’re going to work for us or you die. You two were specially chosen from the High One, and you will not back away from the job offer.” He then let out a little grunt before taking out a stick of chalk from his pocket and braking off a small piece and crushing it between his hands. He let the dust fall to the ground and muttered a few words, making the chalk dust move into a circle around his feet that glowed gold.
Alita let out a small oath as she shoved Jansen aside and then took out a small pocket knife. She flipped it open and cut a line on her palm, making it bleed instantly. She muttered a few words while using her finger to make a small circle on her palm with a triangle then a diamond in the middle. She blew on the blood then slammed her hand onto the ground, still muttering. A silver seal like the one on Alita’s palm formed in front of Alita and started to glimmer like a piece of glass then fog slightly.
“I’ll break that shield down in one hit, Alita. I know your strategies! I don’t know how the hell you were able to use Alchemy, but it won’t matter. You’re a novice and I’m an expert!” The man growled as golden strings started to seep up from the circle under him and form above her head into a sizzling bolt. The man snapped his finger, which sent the glittering bolt towards Alita’s shield.
Alita stood where she was, not fazed as her shield shattered from the impact from the man’s Alchemy. “As that all you got? I thought a guard was supposed to be stronger,” Alita said softly as she gazed the man, amusement in her eyes as she watched him try to act tough. Alita tapped her foot gently, tapping to a nonexistent beat. As she rapped her foot to the beat she moved her hand with the circle in the air and then clapped her hands together, making another circle like the one on her hand form in front of the guard. As the silver circle appeared, strong vines started to seep from the ground, moving in a serpentine motion.
“Are these twigs supposed to scare me? I’ve seen dust look more deadly. Leave it to a girl to depend on plants,” the man chuckled as he snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. “What the Hell?” he exclaimed than let out an oath in confusion.
“If you paid attention, you would have known whose Alchemy the vines were. I thought you knew Alita better than this. I think you have no idea what her strategy is,” Jansen said with a casual shrug. A soft green circle glittered under Jansen’s feet. “Alita, I would like to continue with our journey, if you don’t mind,” Jansen uttered softly as he leaned against a tree. He crossed his arms across his chest than started to look at the surrounding bushes.
“Very well, Jansen,” Alita whispered to her companion. Alita stared at the man before putting her hands in the air. “Sir, we weren’t the top in our classes for nothing. I hope you remember that,” Alita said formally before muttering some words to trigger her Alchemy. The Alchemy circles flashed red, setting forth something.
The man screamed as he flew backwards. A loud thud was heard as his back collided with a tree’s trunk. The man fell to the ground and let out a grunt before blacking out.
“Come on, Alita. We should hurry along. Some one might have felt the energy from our Alchemy. I also don’t like the feeling of this area. It’s giving me the creeps,” Jansen said smoothly as he started to walk ahead, leaving the guard without thinking twice.
Alita let out a heavy sigh as she watched Jansen go on ahead. She looked at the academy guard, not sure if it was a good idea to leave him out in the wild. “What about the guy? We can’t just leave him here, Jansen,” Alita whispered. Her gaze flickered from the limp pile of flesh to the mass that was walking away.
“We can, and we will, Alita. His fellow guards will find him sooner or later. He’ll be fine by himself. If we help him, he’ll probably try to catch us again once he wakes up,” Jansen replied as he continued to walk.
Alita hesitated for a moment before sighing in defeat. She quickly ran to Jansen, not wanting to be left behind with a stranger.
As Alita and Jansen disappeared into the dense vegetation, an entirely new stranger walked out of the brush and walked over to the man that was unconscious on the ground. The new stranger wore tight, black, leather pants and a white silk shirt. “You’re pathetic, Blake. You said you would be able to take care of the kids. I’m disappointed in you,” the stranger said to the limp man.
Alita and Jansen fumbled through the woods, not wanting to stop and get caught. They stopped every once in a while to catch their breath, than started off again.
“I don’t’ know about you, Jansen, but I feel like a rabbit, and I don’t like it!” Alita grumbled as she stopped running and leaned against a tree for support. “We need to rest a bit longer. I’m going to fall over soon if we don’t,” Alita informed with a weak smile, fighting for breath at the same time.
“Go ahead and relax. I’m going to scout ahead to see if we’re close to a town. That way we can plan where we’re going. I’ll be back as soon as possible,” Jansen said with an equally as weak smile, than disappeared into the underbrush of the woods.
Alita let out a small sigh as she watched him disappear. “He better come back before nightfall,” Alita mumbled to herself as she sat down at the base of a thick fir tree.
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