Flame (Fireborn) (40 page)

"It isn't here. I
think we need to go further in."

He helps me up. "Just
tell me where."

He intertwines his
fingers with mine and I sprint ahead, knowing we're running out of
time.

"Okay," I
stop, breathless. "Let's try this spot." I see faint
outlines of a familiar table. "It's got to be--"

The light goes out.

We freeze.

Even though I know
Kaiden's here I suddenly feel completely alone. "Kaiden?"

"Yeah."

My shoulders brush
against his, and I'm relieved to feel him so near me. "Hand me
your light and matchbox."

"It's out."

"Let me try
anyway."

His hands leave mine
for a few seconds. When they return he slips something small and
bulky in my palms. The matchstick is thin and coarse, and my thumb
touches the head of it. Holding the matchbox with my other hand, I
swipe the stick across it. The motion makes a ruffling sound, but no
light appears. I try again, feeling the stick sweep across the box
and scrape past my fingers.

Again, no light.

I swipe harder, feeling
the head rub harder against my index finger. It creates a strange
buzzing sensation, and instinctively I swipe past the matchbox and
onto my skin, pressing deeper. The buzzing grows louder, and my skin
feels hotter.

A cackle.

Excited, I sweep across
the box one more time. It brushes against my finger--

Fire.

I hand the bright flame
to Kaiden. "You just had to put some muscle into it."

He grunts.

Bending down, I feel
the cold soil beneath my palm. We break the earth with as much
ferocity as we can muster, moving rocks and dirt debris. My arms are
tired, but I don't let up, digging with all my strength.

I'm breathing hard when
Kaiden finally says, "I think this one's a false alarm."

"No." I'm
stubborn. "It's here. I know it!"

I keep digging. He
sighs, but continues. I don't know how long we go at it. It's
probably minutes, but it feels like an hour.

After some long
moments, Kaiden says, "We have to go, Kenna". His voice is
gentle as if he knows how precarious I'm feeling. I pretend not to
hear. "Kenna! We need to leave when it's still dark."

I stop.

Panic and guilt sprout
inside me. Panic, that we've taken too much time, and guilt that we
might have to leave the other prisoners after all.

Angry, I stand,
stomping on the ground beside the hole we've dug. "Damn it!"
I stomp again and again. It can't end this way-it just can't!

Again, my foot lands
hard on the ground.

I yelp. "Ow!"

I still.

My eyes are wide when I
turn to Kaiden. "It's here!" I exclaim excitedly.

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.

Blood.

It smells like I'm
drenched in it. I try to swallow but I can't. The taste is in my
mouth. I can't tell if it's mine or if it belongs to someone else.
Maybe both.

My eyes are trying to
adjust in the dark, but spots of white and orange flutter across my
vision. Disorientated, my fingers clutch at the ground beneath me,
feeling the soft soil. Trying to discern where I am, I lift my hand.
Nothing. I can't feel anything there. Terror ripples through me.

Taking a deep breath, I
inhale in debris and ash. Immediately, I begin coughing. The movement
hurts my chest, and my feeble body jerks in a spasm. I try to speak,
but nothing comes out. My fingers dig deeper into the ground,
desperate to move, desperate to feel
anything
. But there's
only a void.

Motionless, I realize
I'm lying down. Maybe I'm staring at the sky, but all I see are spots
too bright to be real. A deafening silence roars in my ears. It's an
unnatural kind of quiet. My body is numb, but my mind is beginning to
stir. The last thing I remember is Kaiden cutting the wires. Like a
movie, snippets play in my head: going into the caves, trying to free
the prisoners, and an alarm shrieking.

A loud boom shakes the
ground I lie on. As if on cue, every part of me suddenly becomes
alive. Nerve endings tingle, and I let out a guttural sound. Arching
my back, I strain to breathe clean air amidst the debris floating
into my mouth. When I'm breathing again, the first thing I do is look
at my trembling body. I'm covered in dirt and blood. My dress is
drenched in soil and body fluids darken the once scarlet color into
an almost black one. My chest hurts, but it isn't my lungs that make
me ache. My skin's cut, and I notice bruises and scrapes covering my
arms and legs, too.

"Holy crap."
My shocked whisper barely drifts into the night before a loud sound
shoots past it, violently surprising me. It sounds like gunfire.
Alert and in pain, I know I have to move. I'm on the ground with
nowhere to hide and nothing to hide with. Trying to crawl, I attempt
to roll over. It takes a few tries, but the sounds of more gunfire
motivate me to keep struggling.

I'm crawling through a
war zone. Even though I don't see any bodies, there are debris,
holes, and other materials like glass on the ground. Some parts are
covered in smoke, and when I pass through it I cover my mouth. The
smell is sickeningly sweet, and I'm petrified it's filled with
poison.

One knee is bloody with
the ground pressing into it. I want to walk, but I'm afraid I'll be
seen. My vision's still spotty, but eventually I see grass and
bushes. The prison walls loom ahead, covered by a faint cloud of
smoke. Vague memories of Kaiden putting something on the fence to
disable the electricity drift into my mind.

There's a part up ahead
where a piece of land broke, sliding under as if something has
collapsed beneath it. I crawl there, hiding behind part of a tree.
The gunshots sound even louder here, and I wonder if I've moved
myself nearer. There's no time to change though because an
earsplitting boom explodes in the sky, and I crouch, trying to
protect my head with my hands. Gravel and other debris fall on me.
It's so thick I choke. Curling myself into a tighter ball, I find
it's impossible to shield myself from the torrent of soil, ash, and
sticks, but I try anyway. Glass and thorns scrape my skin. I wince,
but I don't move, riding out the waves like a vulnerable seed in the
wind.

It's over in less than
a minute. When it's done, my ears are numb, and I hear sounds as
distant echoes.
I can't stay here.
Checking my surroundings, I
try to analyze my next move. If I climb over, it will only bring me
back to the Saguinox and probable death.

I'm on the edge of a
very small field, but beyond that trees and dense shrubbery surround
this place. Making the only decision I can, I go to my right where
the trees are heaviest. Crouching on wobbly feet, I note I'm about
fifty feet away. It's not far, but right now it feels like miles.
Something burns, and I'm sure I've stepped on a piece of glass
somewhere. My feet and body are completely bare, with the exception
of my flimsy dress, but I don't feel the night chill. Adrenaline
filled panic and heat from the thunderous explosions wash over me,
giving me an electric high that keeps me moving when I know I
shouldn't be.