Child at Play

Eudokia dropped to her knees. She gave it consideration, but it actually happened. It made her freeze. They took her entire team. ‘Alone…I’m alone, again.’ A fist pounded against the earth. It was real. She felt odd. They were nothing but trouble. She didn’t exactly hate them, but she held no love for them either.

Lifting her head, Eudokia’s face restored the determination that floundered before her reality. ‘I must continue with the plan.’ Eudokia stood up, letting a ripple escape her feet. Faint glows of light began to appear moving away from her. They took the shapes of footprints placed down as though an invisible person walked. Glancing at the path created, Eudokia nodded. ‘So they’re going back the same way. They’ll be with the others then.’

She broke out into a light jog making for the village. ‘I’m coming everyone!’

Chapter 206 – Child at Play

Inside Kapni, things continued to play out as a normal afternoon. Nothing appeared as though there were foreign intruders hiding out holding soldiers hostage. Eudokia used her power to change her appearance to keep the villagers unaware of any sort of danger. She had longer hair and a tunic stylized into a makeshift dress. It was enough to make it seem like any other child running around. ‘I need to keep this quiet, with two teams working they’ll know if something happens. I can’t risk it.’

When she arrived at the house, she waited across the dirt road. It looked no different from before. She didn’t expect things to change. ‘They’re inside.’ A ball appeared from behind her back. It was made from dirty old leather, stitched together poorly. She bounced it on her knee and knocked it around her feet. The entire time, her eyes never left the house.

She watched the house for minutes. Minutes turned to almost an hour. Nothing. No movement came from any of the windows. It really seemed as if no one was inside. Eudokia knew otherwise. ‘I hoped to have seen anything to help the plan, but I’ll just have to go with things as they are. I can’t delay any longer.’

The ball rolled back over her foot. She kicked it up, bouncing it around her leg. It started to move faster and faster. The momentum built up in the ball, spinning quickly in the air. Eudokia suddenly drew her leg back letting the ball fall. Just before the ball touched the ground, she released her foot, sending the ball into the air. It spun off arcing into a wide curve. The angle looked good as it sped towards the house’s window. However, it nicked the railing of the porch, veering it off course.

Eudokia narrowed her eyes, annoyed. ‘Thought I had it…’ The ball suddenly turned an impossible angle as it bounced off the overhang and went into the window. A loud crash of the ball knocking into something came out of the house. Voices erupted from inside.

Grinning, she lowered her foot down. “It’s showtime!”

She ran across the road getting close to the house. The ball caused several voices to come from the house. She picked up the Japanese mixed among Atlantean. Those speaking Atlantean were clearly panicked, frightened by the other voices. Neither could understand the other.

‘Time to act, I can’t believe I’m actually using what she taught me.’ Drawing in her breath and quickly exhaling, she quickened her breathing as though winded. She rushed up the stairs to knock on the door. It caused more voices and skittering of feet. ‘It’ll be the owners, not the intruders that show themselves.’ Eudokia thought through all of the scenarios and settled on the one that made the most sense.

Only a few moments passed before the footsteps were at the door. The door delayed in opening, likely fear in the owner of getting someone else involved. When it finally opened, a middle-aged woman stood in the threshold trying her best not to look completely terrified, yet failing before Eudokia’s well-trained eyes.

It was clear from the sight of the woman, she wouldn’t start the conversation. Eudokia took the lead. “I’m… so sorry!” She worked being out of breath into the performance. “I was…playing…and…the ball got out…of control.”

The woman still said nothing, her eyes darted back to something unseen. “Speak,” a voice said softly. Eudokia carefully scanned the interior. She made sure to understand Japanese this time around.

Lacking the forward movement, Eudokia forced a little more to try to get the woman to play along. “I’m really sorry…if I broke something!” She worked up some tears. “I didn’t mean it! Honest!” Eudokia leaned in a little like she was searching out for damage.

Finally, the woman acted pushing Eudokia back. “N-NO! No.” She caught the volume of her voice and pulled it in quickly. “I-It’s fine. You didn’t break anything.”

“Oh, really?” Eudokia replied quickly, looking relieved. “I heard a really loud noise, so I was so afraid I broke something.”

“It just bounced on the table pushing it into the wall. Everything’s fine!” The woman went to try to close the door on Eudokia, wanting to spare her from the trouble.

Keeping up her child-like innocence, Eudokia leaned her head in looking around for the ball. “Is my ball around here?” Everything moved as she calculated. ‘This is all very easily predictable. The woman will try to get me to leave, but if I force my way in they’ll be forced to act and grab me.’ She just needed to get inside.

“I-I’ll go…get it for you! Don’t come in!” The woman rushed off into the hall to fetch the ball. It left the door completely unattended, allowing Eudokia to step inside fully. When the woman came back, she dropped the ball in panic. “N-NO! I told you!” She ran over to Eudokia, grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her.

Heavy footsteps moved into the hall. “What the hell’s going on in here?” One of the Japanese intruders finally appeared. “Damn! Get in here!” His arm motioned to someone in the other room. He charged through grabbing the woman roughly.

“Run! Flee now!” shouted the woman, trying to push Eudokia out the door.

Eudokia pretended to be completely paralyzed in fear and confused. She said nothing while reading everything. The man closed the door with one hand securing the house. However, the Atlantean woman struggled with him not wanting Eudokia caught. He sharply backhanded her, knocking her to the ground.

A second man ran out to help secure the situation in the hall. The first grabbed Eudokia by the forearm tightly. “Come,” he commanded, in a deep rough voice that needed no translation to understand. The second pulled the woman up and dragged her, still resisting a little, back into the main room.

In the room, she saw all of her men along with six Japanese and two Atlantean civilians. ‘They’re different from what they showed us in training,’ commented Eudokia. The men looked closer to soldiers than researchers did with their mannerisms and equipment. Each of them had at least one gun holstered at their side and a couple even had automatic weapons she never had seen before. ‘There’s something strange about those weapons. They look more advanced than I think is possible.’

Despite their appearance, they didn’t look like they were part of any Japanese organization Atlantis was familiar with. Their training prepared them with all the typical military uniforms, scientific organizations and the related markings for each group. None of it matched anything she had ever seen. ‘They aren’t JSDF, PMCs perhaps?’ She did see they all had the same logo, a sword and shield covering up a sun.

“Captain, we were forced to bring the child in,” the first man said.

Eudokia stumbled forward, from the rough treatment. Her knee slammed into the wood floor, dropping her to the ground in pain. ‘They’ll report my capture to the others.’ She started to cry looking terrified of everything unknown happening around her.

An older man with slightly graying hair, which looked a little premature for his age, stared at Eudokia making silent judgments. “Fine, can’t help it. Sergeant, report this to Alpha Team.”

‘Good, I can act soon.’

“This is getting more and more complicated,” groaned a man, forced to guard the hostages. He always had his hand on his weapon, pointed at the group.

“Quiet,” ordered the Captain. “Everything is still going according to plan.”

“But sir, we still haven’t found the last member of this squad. They’re the most dangerous!”

“Which is why we have the insurance we brought.”

“But we don’t even know if it works.”

“Enough! You’re talking too much, focus on your job!”

“Yes, sir!”

The report ended and the radio closed. Everything looked to be slowly returning to their status quo. Eudokia still lay on the ground unable to move. The soldier just kicked her in her ribs to get her into the group. She continued to bawl softly, not wanting to be hit again. ‘It’s time.’ She flicked her eyes up at Nikon, who sat next to her. They didn’t need any words to understand each other. He understood her.

The ball slowly rolled into the room. Unnoticed by the soldiers, it began to spin. It built up spin until it became only a spherical blur. When ready, it leapt into the air hitting the man holding the weapon, knocking him out instantly. It bounced off his face, already moving to another to take a second out.

At that moment, Nikon stood up freed from his bonds and charged the nearby soldier. The rest of her team sprung into action following his lead. They all struggled with their opponent, but it ended quickly with the intruders subdued. Nikon motioned to the team to tie them up. He went over Eudokia, who helped the Atlantean couple back up to their feet. “Looks like your plan worked. It went completely as you predicted.” Once he helped the husband up, his hand extended out to Eudokia showing him the device she gave him. “This worked perfectly.”

Before she left to track down the trail, she passed off a device to Nikon. It was small enough to hide inside his boot. “Hold on to this. It’s possible that they’re scouting the area for us. So they might find you. Put up a good fight, but let yourself be captured.”

Nikon looked a little confused by the orders. “Get captured? What is this?”

“They’re likely holding Daidalos and Hestia in the same place they’d take you. If you’re captured, I’ll follow them back. This device will take care of any sort of bindings they might use, I constructed for that purpose. When I give you the signal, make your move and take down everyone in the room. You’ll need to be quick. Understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’m glad it all worked out,” Eudokia replied, granting a slight smile to him. ‘Everything is according to plan.’ Her eyes narrowed in response to deeper emotions.

She recalled what Dareia told her. ‘You may be able to do everything yourself, but make them feel needed. Like you need them, that they’re important. If a person feels they’re important, indispensable to the team they’ll follow you. It makes them easy to predict when you control their importance.’

Eudokia shifted herself a little, checking on the woman. She still looked a little nervous. “Everything is fine now. We’re from the South Gate, you’re safe.”

Shaking her head, the wife had something to say that seemed important. Her shaking voice and the relief of the tension made it difficult for her to speak. “N-n-n, there’s—“

“Get down!” shouted Nikon, as he leapt into the air pushing down Eudokia. A loud blast went off drowning out anything more Nikon said. Blood sprayed across Eudokia’s face in shock. The force of whatever hit Nikon knocked both of them to the ground.

The seventh soldier stood over the two of them pointing his gun at them. “Damn, bastard Atlanteans!” He tried to fire his weapon again, planning to finish them both off, but the trigger failed to move. It distracted him enough that he didn’t see Nikon back up on his feet coming at him until it was too late. They struggled with Nikon panting heavily from his injury.

The two men turned and rolled in place trying to best the other’s strength. Furniture pushed back as they knocked into everything in their way. A vase broke and a small marble statue clattered to the floor. Nikon slipped his leg in tripping the two to bring them both to the ground. It did nothing to change their struggle as the Japanese soldier tried to strangle Nikon with the shoulder strap of his weapon. Nikon fumbled about picking up the statue as his breathing became shallower. Summoning the last of his strength, he slammed the statue into the man’s face.

The impact broke them free. Nikon could breathe again, but the soldier wasn’t down. A second later the man was back up coming for Nikon. He swung the statue again, putting the man down. Blood splattered from the second impact. His blood stained the statue. Nikon sighed, rolling off and lying on the floor.

Eudokia rushed over to Nikon’s side. “Nikon! Why did you do that!? I could’ve—“

He grinned at her. The pain in his back made him cough suddenly. “You said it before…we’re family…”

“…you’re stupid…” In the hall the soldier came from, ice disappeared, unneeded. A ripple came out from her. “I’ll patch you up!”

“Thanks…” he said weakly, “…it hurts…a lot…”

She remembered one other thing Dareia told her. ‘You know you’ve mastered it when you can make them move exactly the way you want without giving them an order. When you reach that point, you truly control them. They’ll be yours forever.’