Chapter 18 - Chapter 18:Hollow Retreat

​Yonsharin's head turned in all four directions. At that moment, the Yoriki clone, who had been standing behind her, approached and raised his face to her. [ Yoriki ]: Look at this great crack and this vibration shaking our bodies along with it; these are only warnings for us to leave. Withdraw from fighting him immediately. ​Her head turned to him, looking down at him. [ Yonsharin ]: You are right, the situation has become extremely dangerous, but the one beneath me will not stop just because I want him to; Rintoydi is the most stubborn of them, as you know. ​Rintoydi raised his hands and pressed them against the ground, lifting himself after he had been sprawled out upon his fall. He quickly stood, steadying himself until he launched forward, blood emerging in the form of small spheres from his neck, flying through the water. He formed a fist with both hands, and at the same time, Yonsharin's face turned toward him, his fist reflected in her eyes. She blocked them with the flat part of her cutting star, the meeting of his fists with the cutting star producing sounds as if swords had collided. [ Yonsharin ]: As I told you, Yoriki, Rintoydi is too stubborn to care about the danger surrounding us. ​Rintoydi stopped landing his strikes and rose using the ascending water, returning lunging and directing his right leg at Yonsharin with a force that made the water around his foot white. Yonsharin herself returned her cutting star to her back while looking at Rintoydi's leg coming toward her. In these seconds, his foot advanced toward her, so she grabbed it with her right hand and struck the ground—on which the long, wide crack was drawn—with his body again. But in a second, he pressed with his hands, standing with eyes staring at what was before him sharply. [ Rintoydi ]: I cannot leave without achieving my goal. I want to hear news of the vanishing of some of your kind within the wreckage of the earth, so do not expect me to go and leave you here to survive your end. It is enough that you were able to survive the first explosions that happened inside our caves; the same thing will not happen again. ​He raised his fists in front of him with multiple light jumps in a stance resembling a boxing preparation stance. [ Rintoydi ]: Come on, one last minute left. One last strike will make you fly away. ​He began moving, running and advancing his fist toward Yonsharin's face. In these same seconds, beneath his feet, the ground emitted the sound of an explosion's rush, and then the ground ejected an explosion in a moment, throwing Rintoydi along with quantities of smoke and rocks which, after being ejected, returned from above falling as if they were pouring rain. Both Yoriki and Yonsharin looked above them, then directed their gaze at each other. [ Yonsharin ]: Well, this was the earth's response to his desire to make me fly away, as he said; his will was fulfilled with him. [ Yoriki ]: Fine, now that you have finally finished, let us return to the submarine; there are no other reasons to stay longer. ​Yonsharin turned toward him, then they launched, running in the left direction to them in the northern side, while rocks fell like rain, ignoring the water pressure. [ Yoriki ]: Now, I have only Oshnirai and Chyohana left, and we finally leave this silver cave area. [ Yonsharin ]: Your words mean that my brother has preceded us and gone back to our vessel, is that not so? [ Yoriki ]: Yes, just as you understood.... So, now we will pass by our two colleagues. Do not think of helping them; I hope you ignore them and go to our vessel and wait for us until we finish. [ Yonsharin ]: What are you saying? They are already two, so why should I make myself a third individual between them? Rather, they are supposed to return with us, not for me to join them. [ Yoriki ]: Their problem is that they are not truly fighting Djintoyda, but rather playing with her. I am thinking of making my clone with them disappear and leave them. ​After minutes of their running, they reached a distance of one meter separating them from the trio, where Djintoyda was waving her long white water whip toward Chyohana, and the latter was jumping whenever the whip reached her. Upon its striking the ground, a line occurred in its place as if it were traces of cutting, under the gaze of both the Yoriki clone and Oshnirai. Yonsharin's facial features changed to a look of disdain while watching them. [ Yonsharin ]: They must stop joking with her. ​Yonsharin gathered her inhalation. [ Yonsharin ] shouting: Oshnirai!.... Chyohana! Come on, enough messing around. This is not the group training room... stop mocking the situation. ​Oshnirai's head turned toward her, the iron fist having been removed from her hands, then she returned her head to her front. [ Oshnirai ]: Fine, truly enough. It is time to leave. ​She advanced, walking toward Djintoyda while the latter moved her whip with the movements of Chyohana, and the Yoriki clone and Yonsharin had passed by running toward them. Oshnirai reached the back of Djintoyda and raised her spear, which she was holding with her right hand, then directed it at Djintoyda's foot, causing blood to fly as it was embedded in the foot. The latter turned without any change in her facial features, and in a moment directed her whip at Oshnirai, who removed her spear after embedding it in her foot, with some blood clinging to the sharp spearheads. The spear was struck by the whip, separating its head from its shaft, which fell to the ground. [ Djintoyda ]: I erred when I gave my attention to the frog and ignored you. [ Oshnirai ]: Frankly, you are erring, and your brothers as well, all the time. I only wanted to alert you that the place will meet its end after moments. Look around you; the ground is cracked and destroyed. It is time for goodbye. ​Chyohana advanced from near Djintoyda, raised her umbrella to the left, and struck the side of Djintoyda's head with it, its thorns embedding in the skin of her head. The latter moved away a few steps, and a waterfall of blood became on her head and its side. She placed her hand on the side part of her head while Oshnirai picked up her spearhead that had separated from its shaft, then adjusted her stance to look at her. [ Djintoyda ]: I mean, once my head is pierced, and once my leg is pierced, and another time the side of my head is subjected to piercing. [ Djintoyda ] shouting: Tell me, what is the meaning of this? ​The white water whip in her hand had its particles disintegrated, and from her mouth a flood of blood launched, turning her face into waterfalls of red liquid. ​Oshnirai approached her and struck her with the spear shaft, again on the side of her head, continuing her walk forward. Chyohana prepared herself to launch as well, so she walked running, and Oshnirai stood in her place without looking behind her. [ Oshnirai ]: Time ran out only because you are lucky; otherwise, you would not have survived the predation of my spear upon you, for it intended to turn you into pieces. But this might happen one day if you bother us again. ​Her face turned toward her, sending sharp, piercing looks from her eyes. As for Djintoyda, who was looking at her, she coughed some blood. [ Djintoyda ] to herself: Unfortunately, unfortunately, unfortunately, all our efforts went in vain. Originally, we did not want them specifically to come, but others who were weak, certain of whom they would have ended up at the hands of our workers. ​An explosion emerged from the ground again, showing more smoke. Djintoyda raised her foot and struck the ground with it, squeezing her fists. [ Djintoyda ] shouting: My brother Hintoydi!.... My brother Rintoydi! Come on, let us leave from here. ​A minute passed until Hintoydi passed by her, advancing by running. [ Hintoydi ]: I heard you, I heard you, stop shouting. ​She turned forward and launched, running in the southern side and the opposite direction to the path Oshnirai and the rest took. [ Djintoyda ]: Now, how will we find Rintoydi while the smoke covers the place? ​Due to the intensity of the smoke, it sometimes showed them and other times they disappeared inside it. Minutes passed while they were running, while explosions appeared at every moment, until Rintoydi emerged in front of her with eye looks from which sharpness emerged. [ Rintoydi ]: Where is that hen? ​Djintoyda's eyes widened, raising her arms. [ Djintoyda ] shouting: No hen, no rooster, and not even an old human woman and a frog. Forget them all and go. [ Hintoydi ]: It is time to leave, my brother. We have made our workers wait long enough. ​Veins appeared in Rintoydi's eyes and other veins in his arms, which were covered by muscles resembling rocks. He squeezed his hands, forming fists, and blood emerged like a waterfall from his mouth. [ Rintoydi ]: No, I will not be at peace until.... ​Both his siblings passed by him, and Djintoyda grabbed his hand, pulling him, which made him run as well. Hintoydi directed his face toward him. [ Hintoydi ]: No time for stubbornness, my brother. Next time, next time... surely we will succeed and we will not eliminate only a few of them, but we will exterminate groups. ​The veins receded from Rintoydi's eyes and arms, and he advanced with his siblings to become in one line. Thus, the turtle brothers gathered to run on the same plan, while the atmosphere around them was like a gray hell in which explosions multiplied as if they were projectiles being launched. Rocks flew and scattered around, and coral reefs and plants were uprooted from their ground to be moved by the water. The place became a smoke pollution and explosion to the point that the three caves, which had turned into rocky mountains, were no longer clear due to the mixture of smoke with the water. Each of the turtles stepped their steps forward until they reached an area as if it were a divider between the clear water and the hell of the explosion and its smoke. They jumped high, then returned to the ground at the divider area, continuing their walk by running until three submarines appeared before them, with sizes resembling the size of hills. They had the colors of plants, and each submarine had lines with colors distinguishing it from the others; the one at their front was striped with red lines, and the one behind it—which was in the middle—had purple lines, and the one behind it was distinguished by orange lines. In front of each submarine stood two gang members, including two female gang members in front of the submarine with red lines. They had a firm stance until the eyes of one of them widened. [ Gang Member ]: Finally they have come; what was the secret of their delay all this time?... Fine, in any case, let us open our submarine doors before they reach here completely, or they will scold us for not being prepared to move. Come on. ​They moved, turning toward the submarine. It had a wide door divided into two separate halves. Each of them placed her hand on the handle and began pulling it. The divided door moved with a lightness suggesting its small weight. A second later, the door opened completely to reveal a long, straight, and at the same time wide corridor covered in brilliant white, as were the walls, which absorbed and doubled the light of the lamps fixed in the ceiling. Toward the left were rows of chairs padded with pure white leather, lined up with precise regularity as if it were a reception hall. Each chair held a gang member, and every individual was bandaged with medical tapes and wraps. At the end of the corridor to the left lay hospital beds covered with sheets; beside each bed stood an intravenous stand to draw blood and transfer it. The stand was of shiny metal. On each bed lay a gang member from whom intermittent breaths emerged and eyelids prevented the eye from seeing the surface. Inside the entire submarine, which was teeming with chairs and beds, there was a carving in its wall of a crab carrying above its head, with its hands resembling cutters, a gemstone with fixed geometric shapes. This carving appeared clearly to everyone who set foot at the entrance of the submarine. As for the right side, there was a door resembling a wall separating the left from the rest of the right side. On both sides of the entrance stood the two gang members in anticipation of who would enter inside. The turtle brothers from one side were approaching bit by bit with steps shaking the ground and its sand, with Hintoydi in the middle, Djintoyda to his left, and Rintoydi to his right, until each one of them decided to part like arrows that had been launched. Djintoyda went to the forward submarine with the red lines, while Hintoydi continued his run to the middle submarine, and finally Rintoydi headed to the last submarine standing behind them all. All of them had their doors open, waiting for those they would receive inside. The turtles' feet reached the edge of each door's entrance. Djintoyda entered slowly and stood for a few seconds, her eyes wandering in the directions of the place. The gang members pulled the door to separate the inside from the outside and approached Djintoyda, standing on each side of her. [ Gang Member ]: Madam, please, come in to rest inside while your wounds are bandaged. [ Gang Member ] to herself: She seems angry; I see that despite her blood covering her facial features. ​Their bodies turned to the right side. One of the two members advanced ahead of them, approaching the door, and her hand grabbed its handle, revealing after opening it what was hidden behind it, as there were four chairs lined up regularly on each of the two sides. Standing at their front was the chair of the submarine driver, and the one sitting on it was one of the gang members in preparation to launch. As for the other chairs, specifically the ones parked on the right side, two gang members of different genders were sitting on them, with white aprons covering their bodies. The faces of everyone sitting and the driver turned with widened eyes where Djintoyda stood with the two members. Djintoyda had her eyes closed until she moved her feet, walking to the left chairs, followed by both members, and the eyes of those sitting moved with them. Soon they approached the seats and sat upon them. The driver's eyes were widened to a great extent. [ Gang Member ]: Madam, what happened with.... ​Djintoyda opened her eye, looking at him with reddened veins protruding inside it. [ Djintoyda ] shouting: Keep your silence and pay attention in front of you. Come on, move the vehicle and get us away from here. Execute the order immediately! ​The driver's mouth shrank, and he turned quickly to face his front, placing his hands on the steering wheel. Sounds began to emit from the submarine indicating its operation in preparation to launch. Seconds later, it began moving slowly, then launched like a lunging rocket, followed by both submarines behind it. Returning to the inside of the submarine with the red lines, the two gang members wearing white aprons had approached Djintoyda. The female gang member was bandaging her wounds while the other dried the blood, and another female was patting her shoulder while the other stood watching with her eyes what was happening in front of her. [ Gang Member ]: Madam, just tell me how you reached this state? And did you achieve your goal? Did we get rid of some sailors? ​Djintoyda opened her eyes with sharp looks from which veins emerged, with trembling eyelids. [ Djintoyda ]: In short, and with regret and failure, our will was not achieved. We were not able to crush them; rather, it was they who almost crushed us. We wanted to reduce their number, so they reduced our number, as four of my gang members were lost from us to be among the dead of our previous institutions. [ Djintoyda ]: The amount we spent in obtaining that small bomb has gone in vain, and nothing remains but the memory of its remote control.... Unfortunately, I worked hard until I was able to persuade the maker of this bomb, that stingray fish, that lady Tsyanga. All of this for nothing. This means one thing: that I will not be able again to obtain a detonation tool, for as I said, I barely managed to persuade her to sell it to me. ​At this time, the hands of the members with aprons moved away from Djintoyda's skin. The female gang member had finished wrapping the white cloth on her leg that was subjected to the spear attack, and then she stood from her place carrying the first aid kit. As for the other gang member, he preceded her, moving back to his chair while she was still standing, looking at Djintoyda. [ Gang Member ]: Madam, we have finished. You can now relax for rest. ​The member moved away, walking to where she was sitting previously. Djintoyda extended her body more on the chair as if it were melting upon it, and the gang member who had been standing returned to sit near her.