Chapter 99: The Search for Noir and Etienne (3)
The air behind the stage was thick with tension. Lanterns cast dim, flickering light across the worn floorboards and the line of wheeled iron cages.
Noir and Etienne sat huddled with the other captives—children, wounded women, and pretty young men, all stripped of dignity, and consumed by fear.
Two guards remained behind to watch them, stationed lazily near the exit as if they’d grown bored from the repeated cycle of pushing cages and slamming doors. The other two were the ones delivering the wheeled iron cage to the stage.
The sound of the wheels was traumatizing to the victims. Once they heard it approaching, it meant one of them was sold, and the cage was coming back to get the next victim.
Etienne couldn’t bear watching the victims cry, frightened and hopeless, so he buried his face on his knees, biting his lips until they bled. He lost count of the times he wished he were as strong, powerful, and courageous as his other team members, just like his team captain.
"Etienne," Noir whispered, his eyes flicking toward the guards.
They were looking away, distracted by distant commotion.
Noir nodded at Etienne. Etienne nodded back. He took a deep breath and followed Noir’s careful and noiseless movement. They moved in tandem. All the victims’ eyes were downcast, resigned to their fate, so they were unaware of the two brave victims trying to save all of them.
Noir hadn’t thought about how to run away from the building after defeating the two guards, but right now, what mattered to him was to buy time.
"Now!" Noir mouthed, his eyes burned with courage and determination.
As soon as he was given the signal, Etienne surged at the left guard, tackling him by surprise.