Ashan 14 722
Bodies. Too many bodies. That’s what Eternity thought as she stood around in the line to get into the bank. The line started around the corner from the bank and circled around it, all the way to the rear of the institution. It was a huge line. Why was there a line? Eternity couldn’t say. None of this made sense. She’d come to set up an account at the bank so she didn’t know that this was not the norm. She’d finally saved up enough money to justify stashing some away, she just hoped that nobody would ask questions about where she got the money. She wasn’t all too worried about that. They were bankers, of course they would want her money.
The weather was unexpectedly hot. The summer was over but the heat was punishing to all that were trying to get in. It did not help that they were spaced apart by mere inches. They had to squeeze together because there was only so much space to stand. Nobody wanted to talk to each other so they stood silently and every so often they would trudge forwards by a step or two at most. This went on for hours. Eternity had gotten there in the morning and at midday she was still nowhere near the front door. This was absurd. She felt like she was in a nightmare!
Eternity couldn’t imagine what the holdup could be. She thought, “are there even any workers in there?” She had the overwhelming urge to force her way to the front and check things out but the idea of being forced to the back of the line kept her in check. It was late afternoon before she finally got fed up and decided that she would rather come back another day than have to deal with this mess for another minute. She hopped out of line and the people behind her were happy to take a step forward. There was no way she was squeezing back into that line, not with the cautioning looks they were giving her. Eternity noticed how bland everyone’s faces looked as if they were just slightly different versions of the exact same person. It was unnerving. There was something else, something odd about this place but she hadn’t the ability to put a finger on it. It made her curious to find out what was going on in the bank that was taking so much time.
She went to the front of the line and found it physically impossible to fit through the doorway. It was jam packed full of people trying to squeeze in. There was even a fight that’d been taken off to the side. People really wanted to get in that bank. Eternity could see how one could get frustrated after having waited so long. She looked around for another way in. Surely there had to be more than one entrance, she thought. And unlike most, she knew how to work a lock pick so she imagined she would be able to get in. She crept along the sides of the building looking for any way in. The windows were far too high to climb to, something that she probably could have remedied if she put in the effort to train. She didn’t think going up there would be a good idea anyways because it’d probably be easy to spot her. The last thing she wanted was to get sent to jail.
She found that there were other doors. There were even other people that managed to find the doors. Unfortunately there were guards at each set of doors which made sense for a bank. The others who’d tried to get in were tied up on the ground, probably awaiting for city forces to come haul them away. Eternity shuddered. Was there no getting inside? She decided that if she was going to get in she was going to have to fight her way in.
She pulled out a dagger from her waist and crept along the side of the building while some guards dealt with other trespassers. This was her chance! She ran up behind the guard and stabbed them, one at a time. After that it was easy for the trespassers to deal with the guards. She felt guilt for disposing of the guards. It was not in her nature to kill, she didn’t know what came over her. She wished that somehow she could go back in time and stop herself from doing it. Perhaps a dagger was not the best weapon to carry around if you didn’t want to risk killing people.
“Thanks a lot, are you the backup?” asked one of them.
“Backup, for what? I just wanted to get inside,” Eternity said.
“Well, whether you like it or not you’re involved now,” said another one of them. “We’re robbing this place. You look like you can use a weapon so let’s get going. And oh, if you try to turn on us you’re dead meat. But we’re not bad guys, if you help us out we’ll cut you a piece of the profits.”
Eternity was definitely interested in stealing money but… did she want to associate with killers? She supposed she was a killer now too. She shuddered at the thought of killing more people but she nodded anyway. She said, “so, what’s the plan?”
“We go in, and take the customers and workers hostage. Then we demand a ransom.”
“Somehow I don’t see that working. We’re only three people,” Eternity exclaimed with exasperation. She debated running but one of them grabbed her arm and pulled her to the door. It was locked. Of course it was locked. Eternity hoped they’d give up then and there but they rummaged through the guard’s pockets and procured some keys.
Waiting for them to find the right key was painstaking but they did eventually figure it out. It was the one time in Eternity’s life that she wished a lock would open slower. They quickly shuffled inside and crept down the ornate hallway that led to the lobby. They didn’t know where they were going. Eternity knew that they didn’t know because they kept peeking in doors to see where they led to. If they were hoping this pathway would lead to a vault then they were sorely mistaken.
They peeked around the corner and saw the lobby. It was chaotic to say the least. People were actually running OUT of the bank. Why? Because it was being robbed. The one holding Eternity’s arm said, “don’t tell me they stole our idea!”
“Who?” Eternity asked.
“Our rival gang! Let’s go Pete, we have to stop them.”
They both drew their swords and ran into the chaotic lobby. There were guards fighting against a dozen or so thieves. Then there were thieves fighting with other thieves. It was impossible for Eternity to tell the groups apart and she took the first opportunity she could to hide behind a desk. She thought she could sit there until it all subsided but someone had seen her go hide and went to fight her.
She looked up to see someone standing on the desk brandishing a sword. He said, “I saw you come in with Pete. You thought you could hide? Where’s your honor?”
“I’m not with them I swear,” Eternity squealed.
“A turncoat is worse than a thief!” he shouted. He jumped down on top of her and tried to split her open with his sword. Eternity drew her dagger and deflected the blade which chopped right through the stool she was leaning against.
Eternity scrambled to her feet and sprinted away while the sword wielder gave chase. She supposed it would have been comical if it wasn’t HER life on the line. She couldn’t leave through the clogged front door and now the passageway she’d entered from had been shut as well. She had no choice but turn and fight. She traded blows with the thief with strength that surprised her. She felt stronger than she ought to have been but she wasn’t complaining. She got a lucky stab in and that was that. When she looked around the bank lobby again it didn’t look like things had gotten any better. If anything they’d gotten worse. More guards had come in, this time through the elevated windows.
This was her chance to blend in, she thought. She ran over to a downed guard in the corner and started taking his gear off. She yanked his helmet off and put it on her head. It was far too large but she didn’t care. She knew that her best chance of getting out of there alive was to pretend she was a good guy or at the very least get some armor on. She shrieked in freight when a stray arrow impacted the helmet and forced her against the wall. She went unconscious but only for a handful of seconds. She opened her eyes and remembered what she had to do and went back to stripping the guard of his gear.
“Why did I ever think to come in here,” Eternity thought to herself as she yanked the man’s shield off and swiped a sword from the ground. She’d have liked to take his armor too but there was no way she was getting that off in any short amount of time.
It was hard to see in the oversized helmet. Eternity whimpered in the corner with the shield held up to cover her chest while her eyes peeked over it. She saw that there was someone shooting actively at her, but they didn’t seem to be a very good shot. She assumed they were the ones to hit her in the head earlier. She moved her shield to intercept the arrows that were in danger of hitting her but there was only so much she could manage. Eternity crouched there and was pelted by arrows until she woke up. When she did wake she kept twitching and flinching until the memory of the dream faded.
[Template credit to Pyrre]
