Jackson gasped. He breathed a mouthful of air in anticipation.A man with a cloth on his face noticed the movement Rosalia made and turned his weapon towards her.To Jackson’s surprise, the ruby-eyed girl hit her target and smashed the light bulb. The pieces flew in all directions. It made a pop sound just as a bullet hit Rosalia, which sent her backward.In that brief second, it felt as if time froze. Jackson’s focus was on the girl and the floating droplets of blood surrounding her. With widened eyes and visible shock written all over his face, he rushed to grab her, missing her by a few inches.Absolute darkness once more enveloped the train cart.Rosalia made a thud when she fell on the wooden floor. She bit her lips to avoid letting out a shout of pain.Jackson didn’t let the pitch-black environment hinder him. He picked up the girl and went straight to the door without putting in mind the people after him.One after the other, popping sounds followed by ricochets and sparks on t
Jackson and Rosalia crawled atop the wagon, using every ounce of strength they could muster. The high speed of the train hindered their advance greatly.Not only that, but they also had little time, either. The train quickly approached a tunnel which barely had any space for them to crawl through. The slightest mistake would cost them.With Jackson at the front, leading the way, Rosalia followed as best she could. The injury on her arm slowed her down a great deal as the pain kept her from making advancements.Despite that, the ruby-eyed girl didn’t complain. She gritted her teeth and fought through it. There were times, though, when she put too much pressure on it and the pain made her shriek.Although Jackson couldn’t hear her with the wind blasting in his ears, he monitored her through the corners of his eyes. When he would notice this, he would deliberately slow down his pace to let her catch up.Jackson and the girl had traveled most of the way on top of the cart before the peopl
Rosalia blushed. Losing her composure and control like that. It wasn’t like her, much less so after attacking an heir to the main family. Although she was in the middle of a fight, it was an inexcusable thing to do.Once the battle started, the girl’s focus became narrow, only seeing the enemy in front of her. She would cut off any unnecessary information about her surroundings.Unknowingly, Jackson now held Rosalia’s future in his hands. If Jackson disclosed what happened to the Hynkel family, only execution awaited Rosalia.This thought ran rampant in the girl’s head. Dispirited, she followed Jackson with her head down and the ruby-eyes glued to the ground the entire time.They went in the next car where the staff of the Royal Train slept. Separating the two rooms, a metallic wall in the middle and a door to connect them. Large windows provided sufficient lighting in the rooms.They took a few steps into the cart with their guards up, but so far, they hadn’t run into trouble. Jackso
“I see. So that’s his angle…”Rosalia looked at Jackson’s face. Lost in thought, he lost contact with his surroundings. With a light tap on his shoulder, she got his attention. “What will you do?”Jackson shook his head. “I don’t know yet, but our goal hasn’t changed. We still need to reach the engine room…”The muscular man let out a howl as he flexed his muscles. “Leave it to me!”Clang!On his way out the door, once again he bumped his head on the horizontal post.Jackson and Rosalia looked at one another and sighed. From that brief interaction, they understood each other’s thoughts. They both wondered if they’ll be alright with that guy leading them.“By the way, I haven’t told you my name yet…”The burly man smiled at them right before flexing the muscles in his hands. Jackson could swear he heard his pecs making a noise.Already in the women’s area, Rosalia kept close to Jackson with her guard up. They may have paid that man, but there was no way she could trust him.Jackson nod
A cool breeze carried a comfortable sensation throughout the kingdom of Rosenbaum. People walking around would often stop and inhale the fresh air until they filled their lungs to the brim.That same air didn’t have the same impact on all the residents. Further in, to where most people wouldn’t dare walk into, the breeze had a chilling effect.The intensity of the cold would pierce the bones. Hidden away, out of the public eye, the slums felt like a smelly swamp. Many people, including the queen, didn’t know this place existed.Anyone would think that something like this wouldn’t happen, and the queen should know anything and everything about her kingdom and its subjects.The careful steps one man took to accomplish such a feat brought about a disastrous living condition for the people living in such hell.Uneven roads, broken down buildings and people with nowhere to go filled the streets, scouring the rusty trash bins for scraps.At the end of a dark alley, a wooden house with green
Chatter!Chatter!A woman clicked her tongue, scoffing at the voice from the speaker. “One thing after the other… I’m not taking this train again!”Another youth with crossed arms chuckled. “Hale, can you believe this?”Right after the static from the speakers faded, a young man with droopy eyes stood up. “Excuse me!”“Where are you going, Hale?”Hale looked from one side of the room to the other and shrugged his shoulders. “Right. Uhm… Around!”“Kaha! Go do that, then…”He nodded with an expressionless face. “Ok!”Hale then turned around, opened the cart door, and left the room. Just as he stepped out, another person bumped into him.“Out of the way!”Hale rubbed his shoulder where he got hit with an annoyed expression painted all over his face.When the person in a rush was out of sight, Hale uttered. “That hurt a bit…”He let out a sigh, put his hands in his pockets, and walked in the same direction as the one before him.Hale realized after a while when he saw him again going into
Rosalia nudged Jackson strongly in the ribs. A groan escaped his mouth. When he turned to her, displeased, she exclaimed. “We won’t go back!”“What do you mean? I made a promise…”Rosalia interrupted him with a stern look. “You may have made a promise, but don’t forget, this train has many people who just went through an ordeal. Let them get off first.”Jackson’s eyes widened. Surprised by his lack of consideration, he lowered his head to Ulrich. “Please, give us some more time.”Ulrich smiled. “Please raise your head, young master. I'm not in a hurry.”Jackson gritted his teeth. He clenched his fists hard enough for blood to drip from where his nails pierced through his flesh. “Damn my ignorance!”***With Hale as the driver, they reached their destination with no trouble. Jackson and the others had a pleased look on their faces. Just as soon as the people got off the train, they formed a line to the engine room, hoping to meet the people who had saved their lives.No matter how hard
Gray clouds covered the entire Rosenbaum kingdom. Sudden gusts of wind left a chilly feeling in the bones. People walking around hugged their clothes tightly to keep warm. Because mountains surrounded the kingdom, rain clouds had a hard time escaping. The frozen peaks provided an ideal environment for them to charge and respond with a day of rain, snow, and more times than often, hail. Even if the blazing days of summer scorched the entire world, the Rosenbaum kingdom appeared favored by the climate. Their winters breezed through relentlessly. For most people in the Rosenbaum kingdom, such weather wasn’t anything special. Just another part of their life. For those living in the slums, however, it was an entirely different story. One more thing they had to fight against to survive. The roads flooded and roofs caved in. Sickness ate through those who couldn’t afford a trip to the doctor. Each year, the population in the slums lessened and made room for more to live there. A cycle