I audibly gulped as we neared the prison. A towering wall stood in our path and search lights regularly surveyed the ground from the lookouts. On the ground, several guards patrolled around the wall. Astrid squeezed my hand and gave me a reassuring smile. We crept past the guards and neared the compound wall, narrowly avoiding the search lights. Gram looked around and then nodded to Astrid. She nodded back and started to back up. With her usual grace, Astrid scaled the wall, jumping over the electrified wire at the top, and landed on the other side with a soft thump. Again, I gulped. If I missed, this was going to hurt...a LOT. Getting electrified was definitely not on my bucket list.
I backed up and started running. I pushed hard, climbing the wall higher and higher. Finally, I pushed as hard as I could to clear the wire. Fortunately, I made it. Unfortunately, I was now falling. The wall had been a good 30 feet tall of solid rock and metal. I quickly shifted my body into a better position and landed, quite gracefully might I add, onto the ground. I was only unharmed due to being only half-human.
Gram landed down beside me and strode ahead. Astrid waited for me and we were off again, slipping into the shadows and disarming cameras and traps. We quickly entered the compound by knocking a strange looking guard unconscious and robbing him of his access card. Gram swiped the card across the scanner and we were in. The compound of Chognaput had two wings, east and west. Currently, we were in the west wing. We crept through the halls, hearing some chatter from the guards and the inmates. Gram nodded to Astrid and me. He pulled a knife from his boot and threw it at the ceiling. It hit a vital part of the lights and the halls were swallowed in darkness.
Surprised shouting could be heard in a strange language down the hall. Gram, Astrid, and I all had night vision and we could see perfectly fine in the dark. So, the guards didn't know what happened when they were suddenly knocked unconscious. After we dismantled the guards, we ransacked them for any keys we could find. We eventually made it to the cells and got to work unlocking the cells and releasing the prisoners. The inmates thanked us with teary eyes. The ones that were agents for the Association helped us free everyone else. After we had rounded up all the prisoners, we herded them to the exit with extreme caution, especially since they lights were out.
As I went through freeing the prisoners, I felt a foreign warmth in my heart. I felt like, for the first time in my life, that I was doing something right. Like I had finally broken free from my chains and now I was freeing others from theirs. I smiled as I ran through the halls.
Just as we had reached the doors to the outside of the compound, a shot was fired, scraping Gram on the shoulder. He let out a loud grunt in pain. Astrid immediately raced forward to help him and I pressed a button on a bracelet that I had received from Theo. He told me it was a kind-of panic button, letting him know that something had gone wrong.
Astrid had already helped Gram up when a wild laughter could be heard through the halls. It bounced off and echoed in a weird way, overlapping with the previous sound.
"Oh? And where do you think you are going with my prisoners."
Gram immediately swore underneath his breath and Astrid sucked in a breath. I knew that voice. I thought for a couple more seconds before finally identifying the voice. It was that guy, Ryder. Realizing how dangerous this situation was becoming, I approached Gram and Astrid.
I leaned down and whispered so only they could hear. "Get the prisoners out of here. I will create a distraction to buy you some time."
"No!" Astrid hissed. "You are-"
I raised a hand, silencing her. I gave her a silent smile and turned on my heel. I heard Astrid calling out my name quietly before I was out of earshot. I moved to the back of the crowd where a tall dark figure was standing. Now, I could only hope for Theo to make it in time.
He grinned when he saw me. "Well, if it isn't the little girl from the cell. You know you are actually not half bad in terms of skill."
I didn't respond. I didn't know what to say.
"Ah," he said. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to step aside and I will be obliged to use force if it is necessary."
"Sorry, but I'm not going to let you take these prisoners back," I said. "So, if you want to move, you are going to have to use force because I'm not letting you touch a hair on their heads."
He laughed again, a deep hearty laugh. "That's a pretty tough promise to keep, girly. Let's see just how long you will last."
He lunged towards me. He moved with such fast movements that it was hard to follow him. He hit me hard in the shoulder, sending me flying into the wall.
"Well, guess I didn't have to use much after all," he laughed.
"I'm not done yet."
I struggled to my feet and glared at Ryder. I closed my eyes and breathed in. My heart calmed and my mind entered into a serene state. These prisoners deserved to free. They deserve to see their families and I was going to make sure of it.
I opened my eyes and my vision cleared. I felt a subtle change. The only sign was the heightening of my senses and my skin that had changed from a light tan to an almost pure white with the slightest hint of pink. I dashed forward, grabbing Ryder and slamming him into the ground. Suddenly, he grabbed my arm and twisted it at a weird angle. I cried out in pain as I landed hard.
I was sure it was going to break, but surprisingly it was fine. I shrugged it off and I fired ice at him, but he slashed it with a sword that I hadn't noticed by his side. I weighed whether I should pull my sword out or not. I decided not to and chose the next best choice.
I formed a long icicle and made it extremely sharp at the end. I welded a handle and guard to the icicle. Finally, I infused my light in it, giving the sword an eerie glow and making it stronger. I was able to hold it like it was a part of me.
Ryder straightened and threw back the hood that had covered his face. Underneath, a devilishly handsome face sneered at her. Blood red eyes gleamed with an evil glint and his dark brown hair was slightly ruffled from his impact with the hard, cold floor. His smile widened when he saw my makeshift sword.
"This is about to get interesting."