While We Escape Just To Survive

“So. What exactly are we gonna do when we’re asked to pay?” Tomas questioned, although he kept his tone low. Bi-Han returned his attention to him. “We don’t have any money to pay for this.”

“We’re going to dip before they can even show us the bill,” Bi-Han informed him, leaning across the table.

“Thats- That doesn’t feel right to me,” Tomas muttered, shaking his head. “We’re just stealing at that point.”

“Well what else do you suggest we do?” Bi-Han asked roughly. Tomas shut his mouth and remained silent. “That’s what I thought.” Bi-han surveyed the teahouse again. “Besides, with how packed this place is, the owner’s probably making bank. Three street rats dipping on their payment won’t cause a dent.”

“They cannot take the money with them to the grave,” Kuai mused, completely out of nowhere, causing Bi-Han and Tomas to share a bemused glance. “And the grave is the final destination for all.”

This had been happening with alarming frequency since they’d escaped. Kuai Liang saying the weirdest, creepiest and most cryptic shit imaginable, completely unprompted. It was unnerving, especially coming from his once cheerful sunshine younger brother. But since they had been inducted into The Lin Kuei, his personality had changed. The Kuai that Bi-Han remembered was still there, he was still the sweet and kindly person he’d always been, yet there was also this morbid side that would slip out. And sometimes, even when Kuai was happy and smiling, his eyes looked vacant, like he was a million miles away.

Bi-Han didn’t know what experiments The Lin Kuei performed on his brother, but if he ever found out, he’d make sure they suffered the same fate a thousand times over.

“That aside,” Tomas began, shuffling in his seat like he was uncomfortable. “We’ll need to wait until the old woman who owns this place is distracted. She doesn’t feel like the type who’ll let us go without a fight.”

Bi-Han nodded, the woman in question was across the room, talking with two young men who’d walked in seconds earlier. It seemed she knew them, given how the three seemed to be laughing and joking with one another. Bi-Han glanced at their table, they’d all finished eating and there seemed like no better time than now to try and make an escape.

“She seems pretty distracted now.” Bi-Han declared, pushing himself to stand up. He grabbed Kuai’s arm to try and get him to get up with them. “Let’s go.”

His brothers silently agreed with him. He kept his grip on Kuai, somewhat scared of losing him somewhere in the crowd. He could see Tomas from the corner of his eye, as the three of them tried to make a quick exit. They were so close, they just had to make it to the door.

And then the old lady stepped out in front of them with her arms crossed over her chest.

“And where exactly do you three think you’re going?” She questioned, glaring at them like they were lower than dirt.

“Uh, we were just going to get some fresh air,” Tomas immediately chimed in, although the grimace on his face gave him away. Dammit Tomas. He always was the worst liar of the three of them.

“Oh of course. You’ll be free to get all the fresh air you like, once you pay your bill.”

Bi-Han hissed, letting go of Kuai and stepping forward, keeping himself tall and trying to look as dangerous as he could muster.

“Move out of our way,” he growled, the threat implied by his tone. “And I won’t have to hurt you.”

“Do not try me, young man,” she snapped back, pointing her finger at him. “You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Bi-Han felt his rage rising, and before he even registered what he was doing his fist was flying towards her face. He was surprised when rather than hitting his target, her hand darted up and grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. He tried pulling back, but damn was this woman far stronger than she looked.

He attempted to punch her with his other hand, only for the same thing to happen again. Except she suddenly released his first wrist and got in a punch herself. He stumbled back slightly, only to feel himself flying forward as she yanked on the wrist she still had a hold of. He sloppily threw his fist again, completely missing her.

A leg swept at his feet and he hit the floor. The woman stood above him and he threw yet another punch, just for her to yet again catch it. This time, she flipped him over onto his stomach. There was a pressure on his lower back, realising she was sitting on top of him, bending his arm behind him so far his shoulder began to ache in protest.

“Get off me!” He thrashed, but stopped when he almost dislocated his shoulder. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Madame Bo!” Bi-Han looked up to see the two young men who’d been talking to her run over. “What’s going on?”

“Just a few street rats attempting to dine and dash, Raiden, nothing to worry about.” She yanked on Bi-Han’s arm, and he gave a pained and angry scream.

“Wait, please, we’re sorry,” Tomas tried, holding his arms in front of him. “We haven’t eaten in weeks and we have no money.”

“That may be so,” Madame Bo huffed, “but if you have no money, you should not come into a restaurant. I have bills to pay too, you know?”

“We are so sorry,” Tomas pleaded, and Bi-Han shot him the dirtiest look he could. The fact he was pandering to these people was pissing him off. “We don’t have a way to pay, but we’ll make it up to you.”

Madame Bo scoffed, until one of the two men, the one who wasn’t Raiden, cleared his throat, “how about we pay for their meal, would that de-escalate this situation?”

“You boys would really do that?” Madame Bo questioned, raising an eyebrow at them. Both of them nodded. She gave an annoyed sigh, as she commented “you two are too good for this world, and certainly too good for people like this.”

“Fuck you!” Bi-Han growled and he began to struggle again. “We don’t need your fucking handouts.”

“Bi-Han, it’s either let them pay or get your arm broken,” Tomas pointed out, desperation in his voice. Bi-Han was ready to scream at him, until he looked at Kuai Liang.

He wasn’t even watching the scene in front of him, his eyes fixed somewhere else, completely glazed over. Shit.

“Fine,” He spat out, “just get this crazy old bitch off of me!”

Finally Madame Bo let go of his arm and got off his back. He pushed himself to sit up, Tomas running to his side to help him. Meanwhile, Kuai didn’t move. Madame Bo walked over to the two boys, wiping down her dress with her hands and glaring over her shoulder at Bi-Han.

“That’s Madame Crazy Old Bitch to you,” she snapped, and Bi-Han jerked forward to attack her again, only for Tomas to grab the back of his shirt and stop him.

“How much do they owe you?” The man asked, getting out his payment card.

“150 credits, Kung Lao” she said, and the guys eyebrows raised at that.

“Only 150 credits? Shit, I spend triple that on just myself.” Kung Lao passed the card over to Madame Bo before looking toward Tomas and Bi-Han. “You really can’t afford 150 credits?”

Well no, because we’re homeless and jobless and on the fucking run from a corrupt military sect.

As much as Bi-Han wished that was his answer, instead he just bared his teeth at the man.

“We tried to spend as little as we could so the damages would be as low as possible,” Tomas lied. They hadn’t really thought that far ahead, it was more that they’d just got enough to maybe keep them going for a couple more days.

While Kung Lao began to generally converse with Madame Bo about the bill, Raiden was preoccupied with Kuai Liang. When Bi-Han looked towards his brother, he was still staring vacantly at nothing. He’d had moments like this, but not for as long as this seemed to have lasted.

“Uh, hey,” Raiden started, reaching a hand forward to touch Kuai’s shoulder. His entire body tensed and his eyes widened. “Are you okay?”

“Is this real?” Kuai asked, voice sounding panicked, head snapping to the man beside him. “Or… Am I just going to wake up in that laboratory again?”

Laboratory? Bi-Han’s gut twisted and he rushed to his feet. Stumbling a little, Tomas grabbed him before he fell to the floor again. He reached for Kuai, taking his face in his hands. Kuai looked at him with watery eyes.

“You always die,” Kuai whispered, blinking and causing the tears to roll down his cheeks. “They always make sure I can’t save you, and you die.” Kuai’s hands came up to grab his wrists. “And then there is fire, and burning, and it hurts but I can’t stop it because it’s coming from me.”

“Kuai Liang,” Bi-Han breathed out, he had no idea what to say. “I’m okay. I’m not dead yet.”

“But you will. One day.” He nuzzled against Bi-Han’s hands and gripped him just a little tighter. “And I don’t know that I will be able to hold back. I am The Scorpion. My destiny is to turn the world to ash.”

“What?” Madame Bo questioned, and when Bi-Han turned to look at her, she was looking… terrified.

“Sorry, he’s not been the same since-“ Tomas began and stopped himself, realising that explaining too much would give away who they were and what they were running from. “He’s just very unwell right now.”

Madame Bo approached them again, slapping Bi-Han’s hands away from Kuai. He had no idea why he complied. She gently angled Kuai’s head towards her.

“What is your designation?” She asked, and Bi-Han immediately went cold.

“LK-520,” Kuai said without hesitation. Bi-Han’s head was screaming at him to do something. If she knew to ask for a designation, that meant she was familiar with The Lin Kuei’s ways. It meant she could call them to collect the brothers.

And yet, the way she pursed her lips, how gently she pat Kuai’s head. Bi-Han got the feeling she wasn’t going to rat them out.

“Oh. I’m so sorry, boy.” She closed her eyes and sighed, before turning slightly to Bi-Han. “You three are Lin Kuei.”

“Lin what?” Kung Lao questioned, but Madame Bo ignored them.

“Please,” Bi-Han whispered, reaching to grab Kuai’s hand. “Please don’t tell them where we are.”

“I won’t tell them a thing,” she assured him. “I am just like you.” Bi-Han paused at that. Did she just admit to being a Lin Kuei runaway? It would explain how she was such a skilled fighter. “I never thought they’d actually go through with the Scorpion Project. It was barbaric, even by their standards.”

“I am so confused right now,” Raiden complained, rubbing his head like it was hurting him.

“They did something to him,” Bi-Han explained, ignoring the man completely in favour of Madame Bo. “I don’t know what but-“

“We should not talk of such things in the open,” Madame Bo told him in a hushed tone. Her hand went to take Kuai Liang’s. “Come into the back room. I can explain everything.” Her eyes flicked over to the two men. “To you two as well.”

And with that, she was walking across the teahouse, gently pulling Kuai behind her. Bi-Han sighed and looked at Tomas. Silently, it seemed they agreed this was about as good as this situation was going to get. So, they followed, hoping to god they’d get answers to what had happened to Kuai in that God forsaken laboratory.

Although Bi-Han had a terrible feeling the truth would be worse than he could have imagined.

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