Alasie could hardly believe what was happening! After losing all hope and accepting the fact that she would never escape this nightmare just a few hours ago, freedom, in the form of two men and a child who broke into her prison, stood before her and the other children. It was almost too good to be true!
The older man turned to face his companions. "Karim, go back upstairs. I want you to keep a lookout. Let us know if anyone is coming here. Tulok, you help me free these kids." The boy nodded and turned to go back up the stairs, while the younger man went to cell closest to him and immediately set to work freeing the child inside. He turned to the old man, asking "Hey, Panuk. These bars aren't responding. How are we supposed to get them out?" The older man, Panuk, held out his right hand towards the bars of another cell, then turned to face his companion, the man named Tulok. "You're right. I suppose we'll just have to smash them. Do you still have your club?" He said. Tulok shook his head and replied "Even if I did, that wouldn't work. These bars are reinforced."
Alasie heard all of this with growing confusion. What did they mean the bars were "not responding" and "reinforced"? Why wouldn't smashing them with a club work? She looked at the ice bars. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. She had analysed the bars for weaknesses before and even tried to break them by slamming herself against them. All she had accomplished was get bruised on her right shoulder, and the bars didn't even shake.
She had assumed that all the time being imprisoned here had weakened her, or that the bars were too strong for her. A few of the other children tried the same thing, but ended up with the same result.
Now though, she began to wonder if something had been done to the ice bars, to further prevent the children's escape. If so, then the bars couldn't be broken, and they can not escape. Alasie felt her hope start to drop, like a small stone falling into an ocean of despair and hopelessness.
Just as she was about to give into despair once again, Panuk grinned and held his right hand up, with his palm open. "Well then, I suppose we'll just have to melt them." As he said that, a small flame suddenly appeared, hovering above his right hand!
Alasie stared as Panuk brought his hand down and aimed his palm at the bars. Flames slowly started rushing from his hand to the bars in front, engulfing them in a stream of fire. Alasie blinked once, twice, then rubbed her eyes. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming; she wasn't.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing! She checked herself once more to see if she was just imagining all this. She simply didn't understand how this was possible!
How was this man able to create fire out of nothing?! How was he able to just shoot and control flames out of the palm of his hand, without hurting himself in anyway?
All of a sudden, the fight that occurred a few minutes ago finally made sense. This was how all that fire suddenly appeared, and disappeared, without any explanation. Of course, this revelation created more questions than answers, the main question being how they were able to create fire from the palm of their hand.
Alasie couldn't figure it. Her head hurt just thinking about it.
"Done!" A shout from Panuk snapped Alasie out of her trance. She looked up to see the man standing up triumphantly before the melted bars in front of him. The child in that cell could not believe her eyes. She looked up at the two men before her, hope and fear showing in her eyes.
The man named Tulok stepped forward and reached out to her with his left hand. He looked to her and spoke softly, his voice full of kindness.
"It's alright. There is no need to be afraid. You can trust us."
The girl looked to him, nodded slowly, and reached out to grab his hand. She stood up with much difficulty, as she was still hurt and weak from the old man's torture. Slowly, she made her way out of the cell, Tulok guiding her the whole time.
Meanwhile, Panuk set to work on the next cell, melting the bars with his mysterious fire. Alasie kept watching, never taking her eyes off of him. She was still trying to figure out how he was doing all this. How was he able to create fire with nothing but the palm of his hand? She continued to ponder the question as Panuk and Tulok continued to free the children from their cells, two at a time.
Eventually, Panuk appeared at her cell. As she looked up to see him through the ice bars standing between them, she felt a sudden chill of fear. Why am I afraid?, she thought. This man is here to save me. He's saving ALL of us. So why do I feel afraid?
Panuk looked at the girl in front of him and saw the growing fear in her eyes. He smiled at her, a warm, gentle smile. "Don't worry", he said in a soft voice, "There's no need to be scared. You'll be free in a few seconds. I just have to melt the bars with my fire. Just make sure to stay back while I'm doing it."
Alasie looked at him, then moved back a little as he set to work on the bars. He held out his left hand and flame suddenly rushed forth to meet the ice bars. She watched him as he worked, still trying to figure out how he was doing this. The fire doesn't seem to be coming FROM his hand., she thought, It really just appears out of thin air.
All of a sudden, she realised why she felt that rush of fear. It was because this reminded her of the cruel old man. Panuk's ability to create fire out of thin air is similar to how the old man tortured all the children. However, while the old man's torture left chills in Alasie's body, Panuk's fire was warm and helped calm her down.
In just ten seconds, the bars had been melted. Panuk stood up and then stepped back to give Alasie some space. The little girl slowly stood up, leaning against the wall for support. Her legs felt weak from the cold and torture. She tested herself before taking one step, keeping her balance before taking another, until she finally managed to step out of the cell.
She took a moment to take it all in; she and the other children were standing outside of their cell willingly for the first time since their imprisonment. For the first in months, they could taste a bit of freedom.
Alasie looked at Panuk and Tulok, at the men who freed her and the other kids. She looked up at them and said, in a hoarse, almost breathless voice, "Thank you!".