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During the reign off Louis XIII, in the years 1600’s, a phenomenon appeared in the area of France, more so in Paris. This phenomenon was a gathering of the homeless in back streets, where they would be left in piece by higher authorities. It became known as ‘La Cour des Miracles’ (Miracle’s Court).
As time went by, it also became a hideout for local gypsies and thieves, burying itself deeper in the undergrounds. The core of the Miracle’s Court became unknown to all who didn’t search it for safety. With the passing years, it was forgotten by the everyday population, becoming more a legend than a historical fact.
Stories are told, about an underground city, deep under the soils of European grounds. A city where criminals rule over, their own laws in actions, trading, selling and learning, out in the opened, unfathered by the ‘righteous’ part of society.
And deep undergrounds, in the earthly versions of hell, it lives: Miracle’s Court. Each person earning their way to the entrance will be registered through the world’s most dangerous and least known crime lord before being given their own little title. They must thrive to evolve in this guild like society, to earn their own little mercantile space and rights. Meanwhile, they must find a way to heighten their fame, or simply take advantage of the Court for their own little shopping and trading needs.
Few laws exist in the Court, the main one being secrecy. Revealing the location or even the existence of the Court will either get you hunted by the crime lord, or put away to an asylum by the surface society. Law number two, every man for himself, which underlines, you mind your own business, and make the laws on your own ground. Do not interfere, or a bounty will be placed on your head.
Prologue
Part 1
Part 2
Prologue
I’m gonna die. We’re gonna die. It’s all his damned fault. I hate him….
Shadow could feel the rushing speed of his heart beat through his temples, the only sound exceeding the thumping of his feet on the cold rocky ground as he and Zenith ran side by side in the stale dark tunnels of deep Miracle’s Court. Sweat covering every piece of skin clothed or not, he kept going, assailants running behind them, screaming profanities uselessly, the words muffled by the haze the high dose of adrenaline was creating the men’s minds.
The level of excitement and danger along with the speed they were running at forbid the scenery from being clear, making it feel like they were racing in a colorless warp whole. The air was stale and ventilation non existent, making the rye breathing all that much more difficult. All of this trouble, enhanced by shooting pains in his muscles working more than they were built for, was fuelling Shadow’s irritability and mild anger.
The way ahead being in a straight line, he risked a glance backwards, his pale grey eyes contrasting the rest of the scene. Even though he expected to see the three heavily armed men to be running after him, he couldn’t help but feel and show shock and fear. He returned his attention to where he was going, the way ahead coming to a sharp turn.
Bracing himself he leaned to the right, rocks slipping under the white sole of his tennis shoes as he twisted for the curve, the edge of his black cotton sleeve coming into contact with thus of his ‘partner’. The touch sent a shiver of alert through his entire body but due his abnormally acute senses, human phenomenon caused by this life or death situation, he knew the contact was without danger. Still, nerves gave him a usual reaction and was almost too much pressure to handle, and he made no effort to hide it, his voice panic stricken and rough due to the tightness of his screaming lungs and aching throat.
“This...is all…your freaking FAULT!” Shadow panted, his lungs hardly able to spit out the words. “You’re an ass, you know that?”
With very little light to guide their ways, the boys nearly rammed full speed into a partial wall rising at the end of the curb, a tight black opening barely big enough for a man standing on the right side of the hall like tunnel. Shadow let out a rough curse word as he was forced into a screeching halt, his heels and legs screaming in protest, knees ready to give in any second. He saw Zenith weasel himself in the opening and Shadow pushed himself behind. A loud whistling sound zoomed right by his ear before the bullet landed in the wall in a dry thud, forcing Shadow to wince and raise his arms near his head in a typical defensive reflex, his ears now buzzing annoyingly before he himself, vanished in the lightless hole before resurging slightly behind Zenith in yet another long hallway, his nerves overflowing mild relief through his lips.
“I HATE YOU!”
Behind them the sound of metal grinding rock was heard as their pursuers made their way through the tight pass. At this point, Shadow wondered how much longer his physical system would be able to handle. At least the rock funnel had given them a couple meters advancement, but the lighting was so dim now it was nearly impossible to predict what was in front of them, everything being now composed of abstract shapes and shadows.
How ironic.
But like an answer to his silent prayers, they reached a part where the road split two ways. Shadow followed Zenith into the narrower of the two ways, light becoming completely non existent and being forced to a halt.
Panting heavily, Shadow placed his hands on the humid rocky surface of the cave wall, sliding them slowly to guide himself. It only took a minute before his luck shone once more and he found a crevice in the wall.
“Pssst.”
He couldn’t see Zenith, but from the other man’s forceful breathing, he could make a good assumption of his proximity. Feeling around quickly he estimated it wasn’t going to be easy to squeeze in, but the hole looked deep enough for the two of them to fit in and hide well enough.
Holding his breath, making his lungs and heart ache like they were being stabbed by a thousand little needles, he tucked his chest best he could and squeezed in the narrow entrance. Being forced to push his flesh in, Shadow held back a grunt of pain as he felt the surface of the skin on his back rip along with the cotton of his shirt, slowly wetting the loose material with his own blood. In the nearby tunnels, he heard the deep voices of the men having reached the fork, debating which way they would go. His heart still racing even though he was no longer scurrying to keep distance between him and his pursuers, stress being enough of a trigger for such physical reaction, he leaned near the hole’s opening and swung his arm like a loose tentacle in the open space, trying to grasp Zenith. His hand quickly came in contact with a cloth like material and his fingers took a strong hold of the tissue before yanking backward in a strong pull, making Zenith slam into the wall near the opening. Shadow whispered, not really paying attention to what the man might be having for reaction, partly focused on getting them both hidden and partly to what the three men were now deciding.
“Get in here, now!”
The men had made their choice to split up into two groups, and as soon as Shadow had finished his sentence, a small ray of light invaded the darkness of the tunnel, making Shadow’s heart skip a beat, his palm moist in anxiousness at the sight of the nearing flash light.
“Hurry.”
Death.
A horrifying element of life.
But one that happens.
And one that can even sometimes be predicted ahead of time.
Whether your prepared or not, scared or ready-
It's coming.
“This - is all - your freaking fault! You’re an ass, you know that?”
Words, such stupid words, spoken to deafened ears.
Zenith's mind was somewhere else completely, not for one moment focused on the rantings of an idiot. There was no time for it, the darkness of the tunnels wrapping him in a blanket of
intensity, his thoughts narrowing to only one goal.
And that was to survive.
His feet propelled him forward at a rate he'd never known possible, adrenaline tearing through his veins, heart practically exploding under pressure. He attempted to keep his lungs at a steady rate, muscles screaming in anxiety as he pushed forward, not giving a damn what happened to the man beside him. As far as he was concerned he could die a slow and painful death. And as they propelled forward it was looking so much more likely, the dank air growing thicker, light not only scarce but practically nonexistent.
And then came the partial.
Zenith allowed himself a smirk as he slipped through the small gap between the two thick, stone walls, bolting ahead, his shirt plastered to his body with a sickening mixture of sweat and blood, his skin stinging harshly against his surely rotting muscles.
The violent screams of bullets ripped through his eardrums, almost as harshly as the voice of his all too lively comrade.
“I HATE YOU!” Shadow spat in what seemed like obvious annoyance and anger, his tone and attitude not flying with the other man well in any sense at all.
"Would you just shut the hell up for once!?" Zenith shouted, frustration taking a strong hold on his overworked system, angry for not just shooting the kid, himself. He didn't have so much as a moment to even consider his gun, though, as a major obstacle hit them as hard as a brick wall.
Their path was split.
"Uh.." The man bit his lip, pulse racing, his mind filling with a sort of fog that would easily take him out in moments.
They were dead. They were through.
It was over.
It didn't take a genius to figure that out.
His legs failed to listen to his defeated groans, though, pushing him off in seconds toward the thinnest of the two entrances, the rocks suddenly forming much closer to each other, the path significantly more narrow than the other.
He hurried into the mouth, hardly going all of the way in, his eyes fixated on the main entrance, his mind racing at a speed he'd never known, his lungs gasping for air. He could hear them clear as day, the men, their voices rough and sturdy, a sensation of fear instilling itself in his heart.
His entire body lurched suddenly in horror, though, when he felt something tug on his arm, his whole frame being slammed forcefully a solid wall, his head booming in anguish.
“Get in here, now!” He heard Shadow's voice order from within the dwelling, forcing him back into reality.
A sharp pain attacked his brain brutally, spine searing with hot lightening that swam through his veins. His eyes fogged over as he pushed himself back, deeper and deeper into the already unbreathable blackness that had completely engulfed his being, nothing but the sound of thick breathing audible as he shoved his body into the overwhelmingly claustrophobic crevice, for the first time in his life putting all of his trust into Shadow's judgment.
Everything was silent. Intensity and anticipation overwhelming sensations that viciously tore at his stomach, his mind deflated. It needed to end, and it needed to end now. But the finish was coming much faster and more brutally than he could have ever possibly hope for, a bright light shattered a stream of darkness.
A flashlight..
It was like listening to the ticking of your own life’s clock, waiting for the agonizing sound to slow down until it reached a halt. The two men’s lives were barely holding by a thread, that filament of darkness that was cradling them in an illusion of safety.
Shadow’s chest heaved in protest but he forced his breathing to be calm and silent, his heart slamming chaotically against the inside of his rib cage, screaming and begging for more oxygen. It made everything around him less real, like a dream you are unable to awaken from, hazy and distant, numbing.
Both of them were pressed tightly against the wall, their bleeding scraped skin slowly absorbing the moulding moisture that covered the rocky surface, poisoning the flesh with infection. He could feel his muscles tense up even further as they tried in vain to fight off the estranged substance. Shadow knew that if he got out of this alive and by some miracle, made it home, he’d be bed ridden for at least a week.
Outside, the dim ray of light became brighter, licking the walls in search of preys. Footsteps were soon heard and a dark imposing shadow appeared holding the source of light. The flashlight enlightening his traits upwards like so many did when telling bonfire horror stories, only made the bearded goon appear that much more horrifying.
Zenith and Shadow held their breath as the man slowly stepped past their hiding place, sweat heavily dripping of both of their faces, the tension so thick Shadow believed that if he squinted, it would actually be visible to the eye.
Step, tick. Step, tock.
The sound of each step felt like time was running out, and it drove Shadow to temporary madness as he was forced to stay still, powerless, his fate unfolding without him having a single say in it. He could envision a gruesome end worth the biggest horror blockbuster, goons chewing on his very limbs as he’d be kept alive just long enough to watch and feel.
The insanity of his own mind made every inch of his body twitch and tremble, the only sanity left in him, the fear and terror, keeping him from bursting out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. His nerves were beyond shot.
The sound of the steps ended and silence returned accompanied only by total darkness. Shadow let out a heavy sigh, allowing himself to break into the heaving panting his body had been requesting for what seemed like an eternity. Not bothering to look to what he knew he couldn’t see, he let out a barely audible whisper.
“You think it’s safe to get out?”
But Zenith didn’t have time to even emit a reaction, for a bright light suddenly illuminated the whole of the crevice, blinding them both as an evil pair of dark eyes blocked the way out, teeth shining in a terrifying and twisted grin.
“Well, well, well. Two trapped little rabbits. Come out come out little rabbits, the boss is waiting for you.”
