Conviction

Andor looked around the elevator at his men, and saw mostly scared young men with the rare guard veteran sprinkled in. He gripped the pommel of his sword a bit harder and fell back into thought. The Bravelle family had ordered him to find and capture Saphira Gariel, a known criminal who apparently drew a gun at a noble during the ball incident a few months back. However Andor knew Saphira; he had talked to her several times before and even worked with her brother Cindred countless times. They wouldn’t betray Loflein, right? His thoughts were whisked away as the elevator stopped on the second level. His men nervously grabbed their weapons and awaited Andor’s orders. Andor puffed his chest and ordered “she was last seen in a warehouse 6 minutes to the west of here. Be on your guard, we have all heard of the missing patrols”. Andor’s men nodded and started walking in formation as he himself had trained them to do.

As they walked the streets, the people of the underground levels watched them meticulously, as if they were an invading force. There had always been a difference between the people of the upper levels and lower but the animosity between the two had only grown in recent times. Several missing patrols and worker strikes all over could only lead to more dissent among the population but it didn’t matter.

Andor did as he was ordered to do. His nation’s leaders had assured him this was the way of justice and that Cindred and Saphira had committed treason to the highest degree. He was not comfortable with killing them and would avoid it at all costs, however he would do his best to capture them and give them a fair trial. He looked up and saw the warehouse that had been marked with a green streak of paint by their informant.

Andor looked to his men and said “if Saphira is truly here, Cindred will also be there so be ready and whatever you do. Do not let him cast spells”. His men simply affirmed and stood ready by the door. Andor elected 5 men to stand watch outside as the remaining 20 entered the warehouse.

The first thing they saw inside the warehouse were stacked wooden boxes in large rows leading from one end down to the other. Seeing no other way to secure the capture, Andor sent his men down each path in groups of four. Andor and his men walked cautiously between the rows expecting either a sword strike or a spell to be cast at any moment. Just a few moments later, after running into one of his own men, Andor was guided to a corner of the warehouse. Once there, his men showed him a chest with a large piece of cloth draped over it. He turned around, checking every position an attack could be coming from. Had they caught the hideout when cindred wasn’t there? If that’s the case, where’s Saphira? It all connected for Andor then and he tried to stop his guard from opening the chest, but it was too late and with the following *Click* He knew it was too late.

As he lay dazzled on the ground he heard something fall in the direction of the entrance and soon after he heard screams from the men he stationed outside. Looking back towards where he had just stood he saw the scattered remains of the 3 guards that were closer to the chest than him. The three remaining guards formed up around him to protect him. After a short but eerie silence a gunshot rang out from the dark in the warehouse. As another shot rang out Andor could see the outline of their attacker on the high beams above the maze of Wooden crates. The more experienced Guards rushed to the attacker’s location while some of the newer recruits rushed for the exit only to find it blocked by a mountain of boxes dropped from above.

As time went by, the yells and screams of pain from the other guards disappeared as there was only Andor and the three guards from his group left. He had finally gotten to his feet and was prepared to return a shot with his own pistol the second the next shot was fired.

“To you who smiles so sweet”

Andor felt a thud in his chest as he was thrown back into a wooden crate. He tried to stand but it was to no avail.

“It is time for you to sleep”

He looked up to see his men charge at their attacker. The first to fall was Victor as he got a bullet in each knee and then one in the forehead.

“When there’s no more light, and it turns to night”

Owen was next as he got a bullet through the neck as he swiped towards their attacker.

“Nothing but monsters creep”

The last was Kellan; he had just joined the guards as his 2 brothers before him. He got a bullet through his left eye as he stabbed towards their attacker. Andor tried to regain his strength and stand but it was no use. Before the attacker could approach him he heard another voice from his right.

“We didn’t need to kill all of them, we just needed to see if our target was with them”.

With some light shining in through the now reopened door he could finally see his attacker. A man with a mechanical mask that sent shivers down Andor’s spine.

The man replied “They got sent here to kill Saphira, and you expect me to feel sorry for them?”. The other man stepped into his vision. He had a long beaked white mask with all black clothes. “You don’t know that and even so, Saphira was never here, you just used her to lure them here in the first place.”

Andor having finally regained his strength grabbed the handle of his pistol and quickly drew it at the masked men and fired. The bullet hit through the forearm of the man with the mechanical mask. The masked man winced in pain as he rushed over, kicking the pistol out of the way and pinning Andor’s hands to the ground.

“Wrong choice Andor lordel, guess your kids will never see their father again ey?” He felt the cold barrel of a pistol towards his forehead. “you’re just like-.