Unbound I - Val, the Unwilling

The cool night air pricked Val's skin and fog swirled around his stout body as he shrunk back into the shadows of the rooftop. He idly flicked at the Flashstones in the bulging pouch at his waist – their glow fortunately masked by the leather – and smoothed down the red jacket he was wearing. Six months in the military and he still wasn't used to the uniform. Maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise – he was hardly a normal soldier. Unbound, they were called. Those few people who could flash, turning into streaks of light that could cross cities in seconds. He’d hidden from the king’s men most of his life, and they’d finally caught him. Bastards. It was either register with the government, or be executed – not much of a choice – and now they had him tracking rebels.

Movement caught his eye as a dark-cloaked figure streaked into existence on the roof ahead of him, landing gracefully. Speak of the devil. Val crouched low, squinting as the shimmer of the silhouette’s flash dissipated, noting the daggers at their belt alongside a meagre leather pouch.

Can’t be many Flashstones in there.

He’d been expecting them. It was common knowledge that there’d been an uprising in the outer reaches, and some distant city had even been taken over. Now they were coming for the capital, and he was the one who was supposed to stop them. Was it a test of loyalty? Were they putting him on the frontline because he was disposable? He shook his head. It didn’t matter. Now he was supposedly one of them; he had no choice.

Val followed the figure’s gaze across the staggered rooftops of the capital. Each building was a different height, a defensive measure so that sightlines to the towers were broken in all but a few places – like this one. The guild tower loomed above them. 

Whole lotta Flashstones up there.

Val tensed as the rebel pulled out one of the small glowing crystals, and light began to trace into them. He erupted from his hiding spot, charging at the figure and tackling them from behind. The two clattered to the floor in a jumble of limbs, and Val heard a distinctly feminine grunt of pain as the charge dissipated, wasted.

Oh– he didn’t have time to react before an elbow smashed into his face, and he fell to the floor as a streak of light shot out from under him – she’d flashed. He whipped around, finding she’d appeared behind him, and got his first look at her. A tumble of short brown hair with blonde highlights poked out from beneath the hood, framing a round face grinning defiantly. His eyes followed her hands as she reached for a dagger strapped tightly to her form-fitting clothes. She had an athletic build, as all Unbound did. Flashing was taxing on the body, and only those in peak physical condition could handle it. In fact, she was panting lightly.

Must’ve already been hopping all over the city.

He knew first-hand how intense short flashes were.

She drew the dagger and prepared to hop, but Val threw his arms up.

‘Wait!’ he said. She hesitated, and a small crack indicated the Flashstone she’d been charging from had shattered, now wasted.

‘Shards!’ she swore, eyes narrowing. ‘The government isn’t content with just killing us?’ the woman sneered with barely contained contempt.

‘I’m not–’ Val started to say, but she would hardly believe him, wearing a military uniform. He paused.

‘Even if you get up there, you’ll never make it out alive. The sentries would kill you before you could draw enough to escape.’ he explained. Drawing a charge took about twice as long as flashing did, so short hops were still fast enough – but long distances were another matter.

She cocked her head at him. The military’s men usually killed first and asked questions later, so why was this one talking, and why was he giving up information?

‘How many are there?’ she asked, nodding to the tower.

‘Too many for you to handle.’ he said, stepping forwards. She gripped her daggers tightly, ready to strike. Val gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to kill her. Aiding rebels directly was too dangerous, but if he could persuade her.

‘Look–’ a sudden thwack of wood interrupted him as the door to the rooftop opened, and out poured several guards, pointing towards the woman.

Val held her eyes for a moment, and she was gone, a blur of light streaking away. But he was right behind her. He whipped around, following her line of sight and concentrated on one of the smaller Flashstones in his pouch. Shimmering energy filled him in an instant, surging around his body and leaving his nerves tingling before he shot away at a dazzling speed. He landed behind her on the rooftop across the street, and ducked as her blade whistled overhead. Val brought a fist up but she was gone, the streak of light passing through his body – behind him. He drew and flashed forward towards the wall – though not too close, he wouldn’t want to fuse with it – and her blade whistled through the air where he’d been a second ago.

Light streaked overhead, and he looked up to see she’d flashed on top of the building next to them. He stepped back and calculated the distance quickly. Five meters up. Preparing himself, he leapt up and flashed just over the lip of the roof above, landing in a puff of dust. He grunted as the strain hit him. Horizontal flashes were about as tiring as walking twice that distance, but vertical hops strained your body as if you’d physically jumped that high. And no man can jump five metres. Luckily Val was trained for this. She was already several rooftops away at this point, so he pushed off, boots thundering on the wooden roofboards as he peeled into a sprint – then his feet met air. A Flashstone shattered as he drew it all in, then flashed forwards, appearing mid-air. Then again, and again.

One, flash, breathe. Two, flash, breathe. Three, flash, breathe. Four, flash– 

He tumbled into the woman in a tangle of arms and legs, his chest heaving from the effort, and they slammed into the roof with a crack. Val landed on his back, wrestling the woman from behind to keep her from escaping. It wouldn’t work, of course.

‘They told me the special forces were the best. Maybe the military doesn’t train you that well after all’, she said before flashing several spans directly up. He followed. Right as he appeared below her she twisted in the air, cloak fluttering madly, and flashed straight towards him. Was she insane? Her shimmer shot straight down. She’ll fuse us both! And that would be ugly. Val started to draw but he was too slow. His breath caught in his throat as she appeared in front of him, a hair’s breadth away. Then he felt it protruding from his arm in a sharp stab. She’d been precise. Her dagger stuck out of it at an odd angle. She swung a fist towards him, and he turned, flashing back to the ground, leaving the dagger where it was. As he disappeared it was wrenched free of his body, no longer fused, and he landed in a spray of blood, staggering.
Val looked at his heavily wounded arm. She should’ve killed me. Did she miss?

‘I can do this all night’, she sneered at him. Val looked at her with wary eyes, noting the determined look in her eye even as she panted heavily. They paused as their eyes met, before they both drew in. The woman flashed straight at Val, but he turned his head to the left and side-hopped.

‘You could’ve killed us both’, he said as she turned to face him. Then she charged. He flashed behind her, but she was ready, and swung her leg around to catch him in the back.

‘Military didn’t teach you that one?’ she said, ignoring his comment as he stumbled.

Val saw the shimmer as he fell, twisting mid-air. Two can play at that game. She appeared in front of him, a second dagger raised to attack, but he’d timed it perfectly. His foot smashed into her side, sending her sprawling. She landed near the edge of the roof with a thud, groaning in pain. Val watched her rise groggily. She’s burned through a lot of Flashstones. She barely has enough to cross the city. But she was confident. She’d already wounded him. Could he afford not to kill her?

Val ran at her, aiming a tackle for her torso and preparing for her to flash away. He watched her gaze as he neared – and caught her head on. She didn’t dodge? His eyes widened as they plunged off the roof. Flashing couldn’t cancel momentum. Falling was as quick an end for Unbound as anyone else. Val drew from his pouch and flashed, meeting the ground with a thud, right before she appeared above him. Her leg swung into his neck, but his hand was there already. He flung her down, and she met the ground with a loud crack, her weapons skidding away harmlessly.

She lay on the ground shaking her head groggily, stunned and unable to rise. Her Flashstone pouch had come loose –  it was almost empty anyway. Val pulled his sword free from its sheathe, and stood over her. Footsteps sounded in the distance, closing in. The guards would be here soon. He raised his sword, and she looked up at him, still dazed. There had to be some other way. Why didn’t she listen? If only he could make her leave. His hand wavered as he recalled what they’d done to him. How he’d been captured.

He couldn’t do it.

Val’s sword clattered to the ground as he pulled on his pouch, ripping it from his belt. The woman looked up, coming to slightly as the sound of Flashstones cracking reverberated through the alleyway. It started as a trickle of light, pouring up his arm and into his body, but soon turned into a swirling vortex of shimmering energy. He’d never charged this much before. Overdraw was a real danger – if one drew too much energy from Flashstones without expending it, the results could be deadly.

He stood above her, illuminating the alleyway with his radiance like a beacon in the night. He dropped the pouch into her hand, and without a word she understood. The woman drew a slow charge, breathing the light in as she concentrated on a distant hill. She gave him one final glance, but he couldn’t stay still. He was alive, buzzing with energy. Val let out a roar as he leapt, flashing into the air. He pushed off a wall, jumping higher and higher in short bursts until he cleared the rooftops, and the city came into view. The guards were closing in.

He looked up, and with a bellow, flashed twenty meters into the sky. The strain hit him instantly, rattling his brain in his skull. He desperately clung to consciousness as he hit the apex of his jump, and the energy dissipated, light shooting from his body. The people of the city would talk for years of the beacon they had seen in the sky that night. Val turned in the air, just enough to see a faint light streaking out of the city. She’d escaped. Then he plunged downwards. Have to Flash… he thought, knowing full well how hard it was to escape the clutches of gravity, but his eyes were unfocused from his leap. Val shook his head, focusing – there! The market! He drew in and flashed down, slamming into an awning. It gave way with a sharp rip, and he hit the ground with a crash.

The clank of metal announced the arrival of the guards, out of breath as they found him on the cobbled stones.

‘What happened, Unbound? Where is the rebel?’ an officer said, stepping forward.

‘She… escaped.’ Val wheezed, staring up at the flapping cloth. ‘...thought she was headed for the guild tower. I overdrew and…’ 

The guard shook his head. ‘We’ll have to report this to the council.’ he said.

Val simply nodded, too exhausted to respond. The officer ordered the other men to help Val to his feet, and they escorted him back towards the barracks. He looked over his shoulder at the hill outside the city.