The Railroad - Terminus - 6.5
Imported from SF2 with no description.
After arriving at the northernmost station, we once again relied on the help of a group of sewer rats to exit the maze of sewers.
Bert led the way ahead, clearly in worse shape. He occasionally rubbed his head and let out soft groans.
"Once we’re out of the city, the final stretch will be taking a boat to the other side, entering the territory of the Grand Duchy of Germany," the yellow dog said, slowing his pace, his voice tense with forced composure. "The Greenland (*The Verdant Isle)."
"Do we need any documents or anything?" I glanced at 74258, who looked sleepy and seemed to be barely listening.
"No," Bert chuckled twice, turning around with a teasing smile. "We’ll use the fast-track checkpoint reserved for the Railroad."
I figured he was trying to lighten the mood, but the exhaustion in his voice was too obvious. I didn’t say much, just nodded to show I understood.
It was still early, or perhaps the sewer exit was in a remote area, because the city seemed to still be asleep, with only a few robots and drones moving about the streets.
That’s why I quickly noticed we were being followed. After so many turns, they were still behind us—no way that could be a coincidence. But the main reason I could tell we were being tailed was that they weren’t even trying to hide it.
That only made me more nervous.
Ignoring the chill that crept up my spine, I checked on the condition of the weary fox, then moved closer to Bert.
"Let’s see... the streets around here are a bit tricky, not easy to navigate without a map," the yellow dog muttered, clumsily fiddling with his terminal.
"We’re being followed!" I whispered, and the yellow dog immediately tensed up.
"The Council already approved it... why..." he mumbled under his breath. Using the reflection from a storefront window, he confirmed that the two Labradors behind us were indeed keeping a close watch. "It’s Ed’s team..."
I could hear a hint of unease in Bert’s voice as he urged us to pick up the pace. The yellow dog glanced at his terminal again, perhaps trying to figure out how to shake off the tail. But just as we rounded another corner, two Labradors appeared at the end of the street, walking slowly toward us. One black, one white, both wearing that same smile.
The collars! Damn it, we were all in such bad shape that we’d completely overlooked such an important detail!
I tugged hard at my collar, cursing my own uselessness as a burden.
"It’s probably nothing serious, just looking to squeeze a bit more money out of us," Bert said, though his tone wasn’t entirely confident. "The Council approved it. They wouldn’t dare do anything." The yellow dog glanced at the two of us in turn, then handed over a white capsule. " Swallow this, just in case things go south. This capsule will let me track your location."
We did as Bert instructed, and after tapping a few more times on his terminal, he stowed it back in his arm strap. 74258 seemed fully awake now, his wide eyes darting around.
"I’ll go check out the situation," Bert said softly, rubbing his temples again. "If things escalate or whatever..." He gritted his teeth. "Run. Run as far as you can. I’ve already sent a request for additional support."
The yellow dog strode toward the black and white Labradors. We stopped and watched Bert walk away, while the two who had been following us also stopped, not moving any closer.
I fiddled with my terminal, trying to identify possible escape routes, but soon realized that the electronic records didn’t match the actual layout of the alleyways.
I couldn’t hear what Bert was saying to them, though there were occasional hand gestures. I could sense the tension in the air. Even though the Labradors wore smiles on their faces, their body language told a different story.
"I disabled the command reception on the collar earlier; it should still be effective, but I’m not sure how much longer it’ll last," 74258 said as he moved to my side.
"For now, that’s enough," I replied, grateful. "Can you run?" The Labradors were wagging their tails now, and their smiles showed more and more teeth.
This was definitely a bad sign.
"I can." Though 74258 didn’t sound very confident.
"Leave everything behind..." I said, glancing at the purebreds out of the corner of my eye. "We might have a small chance if we dive into that tangled alley."
"But didn’t Bert say they wouldn’t do anything?" 74258 didn’t seem convinced by his own words.
"It’s good to stay positive, but being cautious doesn’t hurt," I said, shifting my focus back to Bert.
Suddenly, I saw the black Labrador change his stance, as if preparing to attack. But Bert was still arguing heatedly with the white one, completely unaware of the other’s intent.
I tried to shout a warning, but the black Labrador moved too fast. He punched Bert in the nose, and I could even hear the pained grunt that followed.
"Run!" I didn’t waste a second checking on the yellow dog’s condition, sure that I wouldn’t be of any help and would only burden Bert.
74258 was just as decisive, dropping his backpack and dashing in the direction I had indicated earlier.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the pedigrees behind us making exaggerated laughing gestures, like predators toying with their prey.
But I wasn’t about to waste my energy on them. I just ran as fast as I could.
Just as we were about to reach the alley’s entrance, my collar emitted a binary electronic beep—a signal that the command had been rejected.
Praise 74258 is a genius!
A frustrated, confused barking erupted behind us. I couldn’t help but smile as I kept widening the gap between us.
A burst of heat grazed my ear, blasting a small hole in the wall ahead. I didn’t want to know what would happen if I got hit, so I just ran even faster, plunging with 74258 into the dim alley.
"Are you alright?" I lightly tugged on 74258's coat as his steps began to falter.
"I'm fine." He stopped, leaned against the wall, and shrugged off his coat, tossing it aside.
"We can take a break," I whispered, trying to convince him that we were temporarily safe. "The pedigrees should still be far behind us."
I wasn't entirely sure, but I knew that if we kept running like this, 74258 would pass out.
The fox nodded, accepting my suggestion, and slowly slid down the wall to sit. I took the opportunity to catch my breath and tried to get my bearings.
"There's a sewer entrance ahead. We should be able to lose them down there," I whispered. 74258 acknowledged with a nod.
Just as I was about to peek around the corner to check the alley, loud swearing erupted nearby.
I could hear growls of interrogation, panicked screams, and the sounds of crashing and shattering objects. Then, there was another explosion, sending dust flying.
Damn it! That was too close!
Turning back, I saw 74258 struggling to stand, but he was still panting heavily, barely able to keep upright.
I locked eyes with those stubborn olive-green eyes and made a decision.
"It's time to split up," I said calmly, placing my hands on 74258's shoulders to stop the protest he hadn’t yet voiced, then pressed my terminal into his hand. "You know as well as I do that if we keep going like this, we’ll get caught. As long as the collars are on, there’s no way we can shake them—not even if we run into the sewers."
The fox looked like he wanted to argue but was interrupted by a violent cough.
"Sorry, but it looks like we can’t hang together after all." The commotion was getting closer, and I was sure that if we delayed any longer, we'd lose our chance to escape completely.
So, gritting my teeth, I avoided 74258's gaze, pushed him away, and then turned and sprinted toward the next fork. "Goodbye," I muttered through clenched teeth, unable to bear the abandoned expression on the fox’s face as I left him behind.
As I passed the source of the commotion, I heard some loud shouting. I had probably succeeded in drawing the bounty hunters’ attention to me.
Using the same trick as before, I ducked into every available alley, trying to lose the pursuers in the maze of winding, chaotic streets. If I kept moving, even with the collars helping them, there were only four of them—catching me shouldn’t be that easy. But this time, luck wasn’t on my side.
Unlike what the digital map showed, I had run straight into a dead-end alley.
I immediately turned around, only to see two Labradors, one black and one white, already blocking the only way out.
"Hey, no need to be so tense," I forced a smile, raising my hands to either side of my paw, palms open, trying to buy as much time as I could. Anything would help—just a little more time, and 74258 would have a better chance of getting away. "You’ve caught me."
"Turn around," the black one said, stepping closer. "Kneel."
I complied, hoping to lower their guard, like how Hunter had underestimated me.
As soon as the black Labrador locked the metal cuffs around my wrists, I sprang up and slammed my head into his nose. The satisfying crack and groan that followed sent a wave of pleasure through me, and the black Labrador collapsed, rolling on the ground and clutching his snout.
I shot a defiant glare at the white Labrador, baring all my teeth like a challenge.
But my tiny victory was as fleeting as my luck had been today. The white Labrador moved with a speed I couldn’t follow, pulling something from his waist, and the next thing I saw was the gravel on the ground.
Indescribable pain followed, and then my world went dark.