Digital Distraction: Part 31

“You know, those guards look horribly out of place.” Tristan commented as he tried to count how many guards were outside the castle. “They’d be better off in suits of armour or something.”

“They obviously gave up on the magic for now. Obviously guns work better. Problem is there’s too many for us to slip past.” Kari frowned, thinking as she beheld the men who were in suits and who were obviously carrying. She agreed with Tristan, the rest of the island had had a projection of a medieval setting laid over it. The modern suits and guns broke the illusion that they had been trying to set. “If we walk up to them, we’ll get grabbed.”

“Only if you’re with me.” Dani corrected her, glancing around thoughtfully before slipping off her DimDisk and handing it and the two cards in her hand to Jamie. “I’ll go in first. Then you guys can walk into the castle without trouble. You claim you found the DimDisk on your way in and keep it safe for me, okay?”

“You sure?” Kari asked, concerned for her safety.

“I’ll be fine.” Dani promised, with a smile she didn’t feel. “Give me twenty minutes.”

“I don’t...” Tristan started.

“I have an...” Dani paused and wheeled around at the sound of the bushes behind them moving. She caught sight of the guards moving towards them, guns pointed in their direction and bolted, leaving Kari and Tristan behind as she darted away.

Before the others could run for the hills the goons were on them, guns pointed at their chests.

“Put your hands up.” One of them demanded, waiting for them to do so before he gestured to one of the other men. Kari let out an indignant squeak as they took her DimDisk and backpack before patting her down thoroughly. Tristan nearly swung for one of the goons when Kari flinched away from an inappropriate touch, only for him to get pinned against a tree.

“I wouldn’t.” Tristan felt the barrel of a gun press against the back of his head, making him let out a low growl as his arms were forced behind his back. He struggled as he heard Kari yelp in pain, only for the butt of the gun to slam into the back of his head hard, causing pain to flare up, his legs to buckle and his world to go dark briefly.

When he came around again he was alone in a small, stone walled, room. It was dark, and dank, the only light entering the cell coming from the tiny, barred window in the thick, heavy looking metal door. He staggered to his feet, pain spiking in his brain as he did so, his world lurching horribly alongside it.

“K...Kari?!” He called, attempting to barge the door open, only to find it didn’t even shudder in its stone frame. “Kari!”

“Tristan!” The voice that answered him wasn’t Kari’s. Tristan let out a frustrated growl when he realised it was Tea speaking.

“Tea?” He demanded, grabbing the bars in his window and trying to pull the door open instead. “Is Yami here too?”

“I don’t know.” Tea replied, sounding a bit desperate, “I don’t think so. They drugged him and were saying something about a first sacrifice when they locked me in here. Where’s Kari?”

Tristan had no answer for her. When the tugging didn’t help, however, he went back to trying to barge the door open, frustration growing when it didn’t seem to help. “Damnit! There has to be a way out of here.” He snarled as he kicked the wall hard with the flat of his foot. To his surprise the stone shifted slightly. When he kicked it again some of the material sticking the stone together fell out of the gaps between blocks, looking like it had crumbled away or possibly just not been mixed correctly.

“Tristan?” Tea asked again.

“I don’t know, but I’m getting us out of here.” He promised, “Just wait a little longer.”