Flame (Fireborn) (39 page)

He doesn't look like he
believes me. I don't care though. My toes are tingling with pain, and
that's proof enough for me. Kneeling for the third time, we make our
hands into claws, digging furiously, knowing it's our last chance.

When my fingers finally
hit metal, I let out a sigh of relief. I'm careful to move slowly,
and eventually we find all four sledgehammers right on top of one
another. I feel like a kid who's just found her present from Santa.

"It's amazing that
you would even try to hide a weapon, but four? You're extraordinary,"
Kaiden says, clasping the handle of one hammer.

"Not really.
Everyone knows the guards are pretty dumb." But I'm beaming with
happiness.

"Let's get out of
here."

We run, both of us
carrying a sledgehammer in each hand. The trek back is a lot faster
and Chloris is the first to see us. "What took you so long?"
She sounds scared and relieved.

"I'm sorry, "
I apologize, imagining the anxiety they had gone through waiting.

Nymphora's still
brooding, but brightens considerably when she sees the sledgehammers.
She takes one from me, testing its weight in her hands. She looks at
it like it's a treasure. I'm surprised she doesn't kiss it.

"No time to play,
" I tell her. "Let's go!"

We're running in the
dark. My dress flows behind like a cape. I'm scared someone will see
us, but the hard metal in my hands give me courage.

This time I don't need
Kaiden to lead because I know where to go. I retrace our steps, going
past the elaborate bathroom and through dark, dingy corridors until
we reach the cells.

The dead Saguinox guard
is still slumped on the floor, his face completely colorless. There's
an odor emanating from his body unlike anything I've ever smelled.
It's pungent and sour like rotten milk. I bend, searching him for
anything valuable that might help us. All I find are cigarettes.

"What's the plan?"
Chloris asks.

I look at the empty
hallway in front of us, and the cells lined on each side. There are
no sounds other than us, and I wonder if the other prisoners have any
idea what's about to happen. "Break the locks," I reply.

"Barbaric,"
she comments.

"That's what they
get for not even bothering to install cameras here. We're not big
enough fish for them to fry," I say sarcastically, referencing
Kaiden's earlier statement.

"They'll be
switching guards in about ten minutes so we better hurry," he
warns us.

Ten
minutes?

Filled with panic, we
spread out. Nymphora and Kaiden head for the cells upstairs and
Chloris and I stay here. I run to the end of the hallway. I know
which rooms are empty so I don't bother to stop by them. There are no
handles on the doors because they're all on the inside.

I make an exasperated
sound. "Do whatever you can to get it open."

The first sound of
hammer hitting wood and plaster is frighteningly loud. Even though
I'm prepared for it, I wince. It's the loudest sound I've ever heard
here, and I have to take another deep breath to calm my shaking body.

Raising my hand, I use
all my strength and bring the sledgehammer down hard on the door. The
sound is harsh, but I don't stop. My hands rise up and down. Down and
up. The pattern is endless, but desperation makes me resolute.
Eventually, I'm able to push the first door open.

The girl inside hears
the commotion. She's standing in the middle of the room, completely
bewildered. The scarlet dress hangs on her skinny, malnourished body,
and her eyes are as big as an owl's.

"Hi," I say,
breathing hard. I pull the door all the way back. "Come on!"

I don't have time to
explain so I move to the next one, hoping she understands what this
means. I'm focused on getting everyone out, and it's the only thing
driving me, as I pound through each door. I imagine every crack as a
crack in the Saguinox plans, and it makes me push harder, and drive
my hammer deeper.

Soon I feel someone
next to me.

"I'm Mia,"
the girl says timidly. She's the prisoner from the first cell I
opened.

"Go help the
others," I pant.

"I want to help
you."

"No--"

She pries the
sledgehammer from my fingers, and I'm momentarily stunned by the
strength in her little arms. Maybe she isn't so malnourished after
all.

Her small body heaves
with exertion, but her swings are strong. Other prisoners are walking
around dazed, confused or in tears. It's as if I'm in the aftermath
of a war zone where everyone is quiet and shocked.

Someone grabs me.

Chloris's eyes are wide
when she looks at me. I can see people behind her. Some are running.
One's trying to break open a door with a chair, and another has
Chloris's hammer, pounding on another door with as much strength as
she can muster.

"We have to go."

I start to shake my
head.

"We've done all
that we can. We have to go!"

She pulls me, and I'm
too weak to fight her. Kaiden and Nymphora are waiting for us. I see
a second guard lying nearby in a pool of blood.

"We got two
minutes before the system turns back on," Kaiden says. "The
alarm will ring when we leave. That should create enough of a
distraction for the rest of them to get out."

A female prisoner runs
by carrying his or Nymphora's sledgehammer. He grabs her. "There's
another exit through that hallway!" He shouts. "Take the
others and run!" He doesn't wait for her to answer.

For the second time
that night we sprint through the prison. It's surreal to run through
it again. This time my heart is lighter, knowing more might survive,
too.

Someone will get out
and tell what happened here. This suffering won't be for nothing.

The exit door is up
ahead.

I take a deep breath.

The second we bolt
through it the alarm sounds. It's a siren, squealing in our ears. It
hurts to listen, and we plunge forward. The air that greets us is
harsh and unyielding. Manic shrilling from the bell we triggered
surrounds us, alerting everyone to what we've done.

The fence is up ahead,
about thirty feet away, but every inch feels like a block.

Kaiden reaches it
first, almost sliding to get near it. His skin touches the
electricity, but he's unfazed. He fumbles with something from his
pockets. A scissor. Or at least it appears to look like one.

Nymphora is talking,
but the alarm is deafening. It's the only thing I hear in my head.
She looks as desperate as I feel. Kaiden examines the tool, quickly
turning it over.

I'm not sure what he's
doing, but my heart's bursting out of my chest. Silently, I count to
keep from falling to the ground.

Kaiden's fingers grasp
the scissor.

One.

He opens it, ready to
cut the wires.

Two.

He positions the blades
between the electric cable.

Boom.

Kaiden leads us, his
lean body like a beacon through a storm. I wonder how long he's been
here, and why I haven't noticed him before. Even in the darkness, he
doesn't hesitate, strategically walking through corridors and rooms
like he's studied their interior for days. There is an antique
pitcher of some kind in one room. He pretends to knock it over. We
all freeze in absolute terror until he catches it before it can drop
and make a sound.

"We don't have
time for that!" Nymphora hisses.

Kaiden only grins at
us, wiggling his eyebrows humorously.

He takes us through
mostly bare and grim spaces that look similar to the cells we've been
locked in.

"This building
used to be a storage warehouse," he explains.

It makes sense. Each
cell is small enough for someone to rent storage space.

"It was bare when
the Saguinox bought it, but they didn't really bother doing much with
most of it. Just the bathrooms." He gestures around. "Whatever
is finished has been done by the prisoners and the Saguinox slaves.
Like this room."

He opens a door.

We enter what probably
had been a meeting room. I'm instantly reminded of the bath room from
earlier in the day.
This must be the room for men.
Cream
colors adorn every inch of space, but the décor isn't feminine. Lush
paintings depict Saguinox warriors in tightly fitted metal armor
defeating their enemies. A scene shows a Saguionox man standing over
a headless corpse, holding the mutilated head of his opponent in one
hand, and a small pale sheet in the other. Passing by, I'm offered a
closer look and I take it, scrutinizing what sort of sheet he could
be holding. When I realize what it is, I feel sick to my stomach.

Skin.

He's holding pieces of
skin.

I look away, trying to
erase the gruesome sight from my head.

Shower stalls are to
the left of us, and instead of a Greek fountain there's a small
sitting area with masculine chairs neatly set up side by side. There
are a few wash spots where people can clean their hands and feet with
scented oils.

"They haul all
this stuff in their ships," Kaiden informs us. "They drop
it here for the prisoners to set up. The crystal was the last thing
to arrive. That's why you're digging for Braxi crystals instead of
playing maid."

"All this work for
a bathroom?"

"Saguinox culture
values cleanliness," Kaiden answers. Chloris and Nympohora don't
look interested because they probably already know this information.
"Cleanliness before meals, or ceremonies, even before death.
They believe in purity of the blood, body, and soul." His hand
gestures to encompass the entire room. "As you can see this
thought lends itself to their prisons, too."

"So they're
basically alien germaphobes," I summarize.

"
Bloodthirsty
alien germaphobes," Kaiden corrects with a grin.

"Are you sure the
cameras are all down?" Chloris breaks in.

"Of course. The
cameras aren't here anyway," Kaiden replies, motioning us to
keep moving.

I'm stunned. "They're
not afraid of us at all," I say.

"No," he
agrees. "This place is nothing to them. You're here because they
need a couple extra workers. That's why they left you all with the
guards. They've got bigger fish to fry."

What are they
planning?

I feel sick inside.

"Anyway, what's
there to be afraid of?" Nymphora asks. "The Saguinox are
physically stronger, and they're all enhanced by the crystal. We're
like mice to them." Her eyes go to my scarlet dress. "
Red
mice."

Kaiden motions us to be
quiet because we're coming to a door. It's gray, like the walls
beside it, and so ordinary looking I would've missed it had Kaiden
not stopped us.

I move to the head of
the pack right next to him. "This is the door to the outside?"

He shoots me a lopsided
grin, and nods. His eyes are sparkling when he says, "Can't wait
to stick it to them."

I agree. "What are
you doing?" I ask.

"Shutting down the
cameras and overriding their systems." I watch him punch in a
few numbers before the door opens. "Like magic," he grins.

"
This
magic
I'm not afraid of. It's the other magic that's frightening," I
mutter, stepping out. Already the air feels less stale to me, less
confined. With a shaking body, and rapid footsteps, I follow Kaiden's
lead. My heart's thundering with adrenaline, and the rancid taste of
fear. The night air makes me cold, but the danger of what we're doing
makes me colder.

Everything feels
strange, and gradually I begin to understand why. There are no animal
sounds. Not even the chirping of crickets can be heard. I realize in
this place that silence might be the most chilling sound of all.

In the shadows the
caves ahead are the darkest part of the night. We head toward the
largest cave, and the one we work in everyday. When we're standing
inside the entrance, Kaiden pulls out a match from his pocket. He
lights it, but it barely penetrates the blackness in front of us.

Disappointed, Kaiden
says, "It's not going to be much help."

"No," I
agree, sighing. "But it's better than nothing."

He holds the lit match
higher as if angling it down might magnify the light.

It doesn't.

"What are we
waiting for? Let's go," Nymphora urges.

"No," I
object. "It's too dark. We'll be able to move faster with only
two. Both of you can stay here and keep watch."

"Be quick."
Chloris looks troubled.

Walking close together,
Kaiden and I head deeper into the cave. "I hid some
sledgehammers here. I dug up a hole and buried them."

He whistles, impressed.
"How'd you manage to do that?"

I shrug, but he doesn't
see it. "It's this trick I have. People don't really seem to
notice me."

"Really? If I was
down here, I think I'd notice you."

Remembering how easily
Lenora forgot my presence, I replied, "I doubt it."

He doesn't respond.
Giving me a friendly smile and a pat on the back, he says, "Lead
the way."

It's difficult to see
where we're going, and the darkness becomes heavier the deeper we go.
I know we don't have much time, and it weighs heavily on my mind even
as we agree to run ahead. Eventually, the match becomes a drop of
light in an abyss of black. Ordinarily, I'd be petrified, but now I
know there are scarier things than darkness.

We go down a small
slope, and everything starts to feel familiar again.

I stop.

"Maybe here."
I gesture in the blackness.

"Are you sure?"

I shrug. Maybe he feels
it because he says, "This spot's as good as any."

We kneel, using our
hands to dig. I feel like a dog searching for his bone. Kaiden holds
the match over us with one hand, while maneuvering the soil below
with the other. The dirt is smooth and smells metallic. I dig faster,
but I don't find the hardness I expect to feel. After a few minutes,
I grab Kaiden's hand, stopping him.