"I believe you." She spoke quietly, uncertain that she was being heard.
A few seconds passed before a whispered response came. "About the knight?"
Lauren frowned, shaking her head."About the luck." She clarified. She adjusted a makeshift bandage wrapped around the man's chest. Each breath he took darkened the material. "It's Michael, right? Your name?" Lauren brushed her hand against the man's forehead. He was cold. "Michael!" Lauren said the name sharply. The man's eyes opened but his gaze remained unfocused. "Did you know that things glow when your luck changes?"
No words, only the slightest head shake.
"They do." He was too pale, had lost too much blood. He was dying and all she could do was watch. This wasn't part of her plan. Her plan had been simple. Lauren used her dagger to cut another strip of shirt. 'I'd planned.'
"The Decimator transported me outside..." she began.
[hr]
Thirty Minutes Ago[hr]
'I don't know where I am. Or who I'm against.' Lauren noted as she ducked under the front gate. It looked like a factory. Conveyer belts carried metal in various stages. Vats of bright liquid metal traveled on a fixed route. There was smoke drifting towards a high ceiling. Narrow walkways met metal stairs all along the interior of the building to provide access to every machine. A large forge sat in the very center. A foundry.
Using the machines as cover Lauren stepped into the building. With each collision the machines made, the ground shook. Workers clothed in heavy gloves and aprons labored at the machines or hauled buckets of ore around. They were uniformly dressed with protective helmets. But they were not her opponent.
'There!' A lone man stepped out onto the lower walkway. Softly lit by the perpetual orange glow the man's outfit, from the coat to the quarterstaff, gave him away. Everything indicated he was out of place. Out of his own time. Just like Lauren. The quarterstaff was a problem. But if she could sneak around to his side, she could disarm and disable her opponent quickly.
'It'll be simple.' It was a plan.
"I've never had an disabling strike fail so completely.
But I was too busy making up for the miss to look for a cause."
[hr]
Twenty Minutes Ago[hr]
They were surprisingly well matched. Him with his staff and she with her dagger and baton. The baton was able to block while the blade could follow up with a quick jab or slash. Lauren was favoring her left side and what felt like a bruised rib. Faustus had several slashes on his arms and puncture wounds on his leg. Unfortunately for them both, the workers were larger, had heavier weapons, and were very very angry.
The Champion's private duel had migrated from the walkway to the main floor where a misstep and thrown elbow had disengaged the lock of a single hook. The hook released a vat of molten metal. Which crashed to the floor, spewing the metal across a conveyer belt, the walkway, and several workers. The hot metal ran in rivets across the floor and was carried by the smoking conveyer belt into the next area. Where it caused more mayhem and finally triggered an alarm. It was a series of unfortunate events so Lauren didn't understand why her opponent yelled something about 'bad luck' just before the workers attacked.
"I'm open to suggestions." Lauren called out. The Champions were trapped between the angry citizens and the machinery they'd damaged. Liquid metal was still dripping from the vat and spreading across the floor.
"Do you see that large cauldron?" Faustus replied as he hit one worker in the head with his staff, dropping the dazed man instantly. Another worker stepped forward holding a long metal pole in gloved hands. He swung before Faustus could elaborate.
"The vat. Yes." Lauren's opponent was large but slow. She sidestepped to avoid a fist then pushed off against the halted conveyer.
"We could-"
"Terrible idea!"
"We could-"
"Better. On three. One, two, three!" Lauren vaulted over the conveyer belt. A half-second behind her was Faustus. They ran.
"After the domino disaster I started to wonder."
[hr]
Ten Minutes Ago[hr]
"Sometimes the luck is good, sometimes it is bad. I had better luck defending myself against you." Faustus was explaining.
They were hiding on a lower walkway. Waiting for the next path to be clear. "You can't control it?" Lauren asked. She didn't understand this 'luck'. Nor did she like it. Everyone had what they called 'good' and 'bad' luck. What made this man's so different?
"They're here!" The yell came from above as a man jumped down to their level. The walkway shook at the impact.
Faustus raised his weapon. The worker held up his own, a pipe with two jagged ends as though it'd been ripped away from something. The two men faced each other. Lauren drew her dagger, ready to fend off any other workers who have heard the yell.
The worker struck first, thrusting the jagged edge of the pipe toward Faustus' chest. Faustus raised his weapon to block.
And time fragmented.
Lauren saw Faustus block the attack. She saw him over-balance but still manage to deflect the blow. In another instance he simply ducked. But then everything
shifted, like a watercolor smeared by clumsy hands. A new future slid into place. Faustus misjudged the angle of block. The metal tip collided with the railing of the walkway. Leaving Faustus completely unguarded.
"Every object has a number of influences on its surroundings.
But you have this...extra factor. This force.
That changes -everything- in an instant."
[hr]
Present[hr]
In the bottom of a foundry a stranger died. There were no bright lights. No choir or time freeze. He just...died.
Standing in front of the bodies was a new man. In a suit.
"Congratulations." The man said. A tiny black design was embroidered on the man's lapel. A Club. A hand was extended toward Lauren. "You've won. Follow me."
