Thief In The Knight
Underneath a sunless sky, a boy became a thief and a knight.
Stealing Supplies Were A Matter Of Life And Death.
In Celestalia, there is no night but a sunless sky, hours of a scape of voluminous clouds as dark as ash and coal that blanket the sun. The sun never sets. No one knows what disrupted the skies. Some people believe the sun finally bested the moon. Others say the moon was tired of serving an ungrateful kind. Some have adapted over the century ,but those that haven’t caused them to suffer inexplainable illnesses developed from the endless sun. In the time the sun is smothered in the clouds, the knights strike the well off and provide supplies for the far off. It is only fair since the disappearance of the moon disrupted the balance of life and resources.
Like a thief in the night, Mio becomes a knight, running through the rustic power plant and taking what he can.
Flashlights, scrap metal, lighters, pillows, scrap change. Mio even found an old bottle of aloe vera gel, crusted shut from the spout. “This’ll have to do.” The gel can be scraped off or cleaned by running it under hot water. Easy fix. Off it went in his already heavy backpack. With merely minutes left, he moves quickly and quietly. It’s easy to become the shadows cast on the walls. A trick of illusion he learned messing with an old watch he found could project on him as he moved. A push of a button and he’s as clear as air. It was all fun and games until his Uncle Artio realized the convenience of the technology for his cause, insisting the boy use it for good and not just party favors.
The Boy Reaches Into His Pocket To Count The Seconds Rushing Away On His Cracked Watch.
45 etched to 46… etched to 47… You’re running out of time, he says to himself. Panic hit him like a hard jab to his stomach. Mio slaps the button once again. At that moment the earth stilled. The knight waited anxiously for his limbs to find motion again. Objects blurred, voices warped, his fingertips tingled. The digital hand changed as the watch slowed the pace of time. Smiling like a man who won the lottery, Mio started around the power plant. He had to move quickly, he knew this, but he couldn’t shake the urge to reiterate the urgency of his time. Someone is after him and tonight they may be his match if they catch him. If they caught him, he would fail his family.
He would fail his community.
They could take his secret weapon and he would no longer be a shadow hero. And depending on his new enemy they can do far worse things with this technology. He would fail as the knight underneath the sunless sky. He couldn’t let that happen.
Footfalls trailed in and out of his radar behind him.
The button wasn’t pressed hard enough, he thought, the trance is wearing off. His surroundings are catching up to the present time again. Damn it. Mio is panting hard, sweat cools his brow as he tries to expand his distance from his chaser. He turned corners and hopped windows with the hope the chaser has lost him. Mio was so silly to think that he wouldn’t encounter any trouble in a warehouse that carried minimal security. He was silly to think he could do a lot of things. But what were the odds that he would encounter someone that could keep his pace with the watch? Oh, why did he volunteer to take the place of the real knight? He wished he had never shown his Uncle the watch in the first place. He doesn’t have enough time to regret it. He needed to think.
So Many Thoughts Ran Through His Head.
Mio needs to clear his mind and find this safe. The safe of the power plant is located at the opposite end of the building. This unexpected chase, however, detoured his simply thought plans. He now has to cut whoever this is off and find his way back around to the safe before clouds broke away again. If he makes it out of this situation alive, he is never volunteering to take his Uncle’s place ever again. On the run, he finds more supplies: bandages, duct tape, old magazines.
Old magazines aren’t relevant to people’s skin peeling off every moment of the day. A good distraction perhaps to keep their mind off the treatments. He kept the magazines. His backpack warps and twists on his back. It became uncomfortable as he ran, every bounce and shift caused pokes and dry scrapes across his back. He grew weary from the weight itself. Mio checked the watch again, He had ten minutes left. This route is only dragging him further away. He stopped in his tracks. He whispered a prayer of protection and kissed the surface of the watch. When the watch whirred for the third time, everything froze. Mio froze too, for a moment, he feared he broke the world.
What did I just do?
Everything was quiet, and completely stiff. Except the sound of someone’s footsteps growing heavier behind him. Mio turns to his horror to find a large man advancing towards him. The large man had no distinct figure about him. Just black clothes, black shoes ,his entire body is cloaked in black. He’s wearing a hood and a mask that covered everything but his even darker eyes. He looked almost inhuman. Mio finds the energy to move and breaks into a run again. He slaps the button repeatedly until the world turned back to a present time again. Perhaps he should not touch this watch again, not until the mission is done.
He can hear Uncle Artio screaming at him now if he were here with him. Thank the moon god he isn’t.
He would see how quick it was for his nephew to fail and get snapped in half by a six-foot shadow. Shadow… is this a knight? “Iiiooo!!” It was the man behind him. “Iiiiiiiiiooo!”
The Voice Is Getting Closer.
Mio didn’t have anything sharp to defend himself with. The knight squeezed his eyes shut to think. He can do the tackle move his brother Matheo taught him. Get low, run hard, push. He opened his eyes. He had to face this chaser head-on. He can go home and say he fought or depending on this moment, killed a man. He’s going to do it. He turned and charged towards the shadow. The shadow is still running head on to Mio. As the distance closes between them, Mio crouches but feels his knees shake with fear. You can do this, Mio. You can do this. The shadow sees his plan, he gets low as well. His crouching run is much more intimidating. Mio should’ve run. He shouldn’t have thought of Matheo. He should have never shown his Uncle the watch. The shadow is closer. Mio closes his eyes.
Then there is a loud crack.
Not on Mio. A deadly silence fell for seconds than an angry, “Mio!” The boy opened his eyes, “…Uncle Artio!” The shadow chaser lay flat on his back, an aimless stare filled his eyes. Blood streamed from the back of his head. Uncle Artio swiped the blood from his pants, blood dripped from the slugger in his hand. “Where are you going? The safe is on the other side of the building!” “I was trying to go — the guy started — How did you — “You’ve got three others heading this way, from the south end.” Uncle Artio’s head perked up as he heard indistinct voices behind them. The shadow chasers are getting closer. Mio’s uncle pushes him towards the door. “We gotta move.” “What about the safe?” “Forget the safe!”
Mio And Uncle Artio Ran As Hard As They Could. Or Mio Ran As Hard As He Could.
Artio ran like he hadn’t run as long as Mio. This would be a perfect time for the watch. Mio raised his hand to press the button before his uncle swats it away. “That’s enough, you can run.” Mio’s heart pounded against his chest. He is sweating harder than he’s ever sweated in his life and his legs.. his legs were ready to crumble. How in the world is his thirty-five-year-old Uncle able to glide through windows and skyscrapers like this regularly? He’s sixteen and can’t catch a break.
“Tell me….Mio….” His Uncle started to pant with each step now, “What was that move called back there?”
Mio blinked multiple times before realizing he was talking about the crouch. “Oh… ha… oh… just something Matheo taught me?” “Mialo,” then Artio slowed down to a complete stop, his hands clasped to his knees. Mio froze, worried his Uncle wasn’t going to be able to run any longer. His hard panting became… laughter. His huge arms bounced as he shook with amusement.
“Mialo! Matheo was joking! A boy your size would’ve been crushed by him if you tried that!” Artio’s laugh is so full and hearty. It ricocheted in the building. “Damn!” Artio’s still fighting down laughing in sharp hisses. He unclasps his hands and starts towards an exit again. “Oh my Gods, I can’t believe you let your brother trick you again.” Mio’s face flushed red, like a ripe tomato.
“Hey!”
Artio and Mio turned to see the other three shadow chasers. Mio felt a knot twist in his stomach. “Go!” His uncle shouted he pointed towards the window several feet away. “We’re going to jump?” Horror glossed over the young knight’s eyes. First day on the job. Jumping out of a window. “Yes, go!” Artio starts pushing him again, putting as much distance as he can between them and the enemy. They run harder, faster. From the east, they can see the clouds breaking for the sun.
They had to hurry.
Artio pried something from his belt and threw it as hard as he could from towards the window. On impact, the object left a web of thin lines. To break free easier. Loud pops erupted from behind them. The knights danced around to dodge the bullets coming their way. “They’re shooting!” “Yes, Mio! Get ready to jump!” Mio mimics his uncle, shoulder up to absorb the impact. The window is getting closer and closer. They’re gonna make it.
His hope is shattered as something hot pierces his right arm.
“Mio!” His uncle screamed, his clutched the boy as tight as he could. Mio is screaming in agony now. “Uncle..it burns!”
“You did great son! I’m a proud Uncle… don’t worry about your arm, You’re gonna be okay.” Mio smiles, relieved, and exhausted from this mission. It is official, he’s never going to show his Uncle something he finds in the city again. His Uncle takes a glance at Mio’s arm. A graze. Thank the Gods. Artio and Mio charge the window. Artio covers his nephew’s head from the shattering glass, holding his nephew as tight as he can, and out the window, they fly. Like Shadows in the night.
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