Varren was half-tempted to stop the woman before she even left the room. Though, such a handicap would force quite the hindrance on the group’s mobility. He wouldn’t have been able to carry her, since the boy wasn’t strong overall, and Isaac’s contraption would be spotted in a matter of minutes. Though he resented himself for doing so, he respected the woman’s noble sacrifice, if one could even dub it that. Though, this seemed to be the only option. Varren could have easily just kicked open the door and gunned the soldiers down, before they even knew what happened. But the remaining sentry units would hear the shots and collapse on the house, ensnaring the group. He let out a quiet sigh, it was a sight that one could never get used to. Families split apart in a span of seconds, torn away from each other’s embrace, forced apart with such ease. Even though the Crucible was armed with weapons of mass destruction, and had almost completely dominance, their true power lied in their ability to inflict fear amongst the hearts of millions. Yinyues placed a hand on his shoulder, giving a light yank from the stairwell which his mother proceeded down to. He glanced back at the other two, a young adult who he deduced was named “Isaac”, and a younger teen whose age was challenging to pinpoint. 

Whether it was a hallucination or the truth which the woman prophecized, Varren felt contempt in leading the trio out of this hellhole. He perked up at the sounds of gunshots in the distance, probably discharged from rifles similar to the one he was gripping tightly in his hands. [i]”...Thirty separate firearms…”[/i] Being able to pick up and decipher each rifle’s firing, the amount of soldiers was frightening. “My comrade can keep them distracted for a little while longer. But we have to move. Fast. Don’t worry, they have no reason to take her into custody.” Yinyues whispered to the three, knowing the Crucible’s standards from past experiences. They only sought out those who could be drafted into their ranks, increasing the power of the government. “We’ll have to take one of the far routes cutting through the town. Unfortunately, they are all perpendicular to the town square, so there’ll be one point where we will be directly in the line of fire.” He spat out quickly, trying to move with haste. He fickled with the hoodie strings with his free hand, then gripped the assault rifle tightly. Taking point, the group quietly moved out of the back exit, basically tip-toeing on the creaky wooden deck. The two soldiers were too preoccupied with their mindless debate to notice the group sneaking by them. [i]”Those bastards could have been dead by now. Though, they’d probably notice the chink in their formation and respond quickly.”[/i] Varren lead them down the road, checking every corner to make sure the coast was clear. As they progressed towards the city center, the chance of running into Crucibellian soldiers got higher and higher. It was only a matter of time until they ran into trouble.

Varren made a motion for them to stop, raising his hand for a group halt. He peeked around the corner and set his eyes upon two sentries walking down the road towards them. The one on the right was armed with the same rifle as Varren, meanwhile the other only had a metal rod, which was probably electrified. “Wait a moment.” He murmured to the trio as he slid his pack off of his back, then began rummaging through its contents. Once the boy found what he was looking for, he retracted his arm and readied the tool in his hand. It was a smaller baton which had the same properties and use as the rod wielded by the soldier. “I’ll be right back.” His acquaintances’ gazes followed him as he rose, probably thinking that the boy had gone mentally insane. [i]”Let’s hope that the soldiers in the center are too busy getting demolished to care about these two.”[/i] Varren thought as he hid the baton behind his back, he then stepped out from behind the corner and wore his usual greeting smile. “Hello, dear soldiers. Looks like you are doing quite the job cleaning out this town. It’s about time they got rid of that mayor, the senile fool.” Though he didn’t look anything like a commoner, the soldiers bought it. 

[b]”Hm, he might be useful. Surprised he isn’t hiding like the rest of these rodents.”[/b] Varren playfully laughed off the insult to the natives, [b]”Look, we just need to bring you back in restraints, you have no reason to not comply.”[/b] The eighteen year old cocked his head to his side, debating his options. The boy was naturally good at putting on facades, this was just a temporary face, “Ah, yes, of course. Here, I’ll even hold out my arms.” In a few seconds, the soldiers were standing in front of him. Though, Varren only had one arm held out, [i]”Hook. Line. Sinker.”[/i] One of the soldiers was about to ask a question, though the man was interrupted when his knee was kicked inwards. Varren readied the baton and forced it onto the rifleman’s arm, the nerves controlling his muscles were given a sudden jolt. He then elbowed the man in the stomach, and placed his hands on the trigger, aiming the firearm towards his comrade. The soldier with the rod wasn’t even given the chance to react before a round was sent through his chest. The man’s body flopped to the ground, his rod clanking next to him.

[i]”One down. One to go.”[/i]

Varren turned his attention to the rifleman, who was still in a daze from the electricity he received earlier. Though, the man had the instinct to clench onto his firearm, and refused to let go no matter what pain was forced upon him. Yinyues quickly twirled the firearm, its user’s arm following suit, and brought his elbow downwards on the soldier’s joint. The man let out a cry of pain, but was quickly silenced by his own weapon, yanked from his hands. Varren dropped the firearm and sighed, evading yet another close brush with death. He stared at the two men who died on the job, fulfilling their role until the very end. The boy followed through with the same procedure as earlier and tore their dogtags from their necks, then folded them gently on their chests. 

Varren quickly stood back up and sprinted back around the corner, sliding to a crouch. He swung the backpack over his shoulder, grabbed the assault rifle and nodded, “Let’s get going. Are you three alright? We’ll have some food on the ship, and a nice lounge to calm down in.” The three who had probably never seen bloodshed in their lives, had just witnessed two men killed in less than a minute. “Sorry if that was a little bit…” He trailed off as he nodded for them to proceed. As they reached the road intersecting with the town center, the shots rose in volume and consistency. Varren look to his side, running out in the open. He was able to get a clear view of the human tank in action, standing in the middle of enemies, relentlessly ending lives with the swing of his blades. Though he appeared completely focused on the fight, Weston’s eyes met Yinyues’ for a moment, the boy gave his comrade a nod as the group crossed the street. “Come on, let’s get to the forest. We’ll be able to move to the ship under the protection of the treeline, and hopefully pick up any citizens who want to vacate the island.” The group rushed into the forest, roughly ten minutes away from haven.