Alex was looking at Theresa, then to Kora.
"I wasn't expecting this," she said.
No freakin' duh, thought Kora.
"We're not ready to fight," said Alex to Theresa.
Theresa was taken back. "I don't give a damn, girl."
Kora wasn't sure what Alex was doing, but Alex had Theresa's attention. Kora couldn't make out the others' faces well. Didn't matter. Theresa stood front and center.
While Theresa's attention was on Alex, Kora jumped from the bed, straight towards the big figure in the center of the room.
*****
Alex jumped off the bed as well, and now Kora and Alex sailed towards Theresa.
Kora hit her first, wrapping her arms around the large woman and holding as hard as she could. Alex came in at a diagonal. And they overpowered the larger woman.
Taking her hard to the floor, Kora held her grip, until a foot came across her face, knocking her off of Theresa and rattling her head around.
She rolled onto her back, edges of her vision blurring, one of Theresa's crew jumping on her.
Kora covered her face with her arms as the woman started pounding fists into her face. Kora deflected most of them.
That's when the woman on Kora groaned—in the same moment Kora heard the woman's ribs crack. Alex had planted a hard kick in the woman's side.
Kora, summoning strength from the dash of hope Alex had given her, threw the woman off of her and rolled to her feet. Theresa was getting to her feet.
Three of the crew were between them and the door to the cell.
Kora knew the only chance they had at winning was getting out of this small cubicle, to the interior of the prison—they could run around the halls, the courtyard. It was their only chance.
Unless.
Kora saw the bundle of keys in Theresa's pocket—two of them were poking out.
Without another thought, Kora swooped down beside Theresa, snatched the keys, and ran toward the crew of three. Alex was alongside. They bulldozed through the women, pushing, swinging fists. Kora slammed an elbow into a woman's side. Crack!
Then they were on the other side of the doors.
Alex turned around and tried to slam the door shut, but one of the women tackled her. Kora tried to yank the door closed, but one of the women shoved her back.
Time to retreat.
*****
Brighter here in the open center of the prison.
A dim electric chandelier hung overhead, shedding ambient light. Prison cells down every hall and around every corner. Kora held the keyring. She wondered if it held a master key to all cells.
Alex and one of the crew were rolling around on the floor, throwing fists at each other. Kora planted a knee on the woman's head. She fell away from Alex.
As Kora helped Alex to her feet, Theresa and the remaining crew were coming through the open doorway. "You're gonna pay, girlie," shouted Theresa.
There were shouts, hoots and hollers as prisoners woke up to the fight.
Koran and Alex ran side by side across the open center of the floor plan, to the cell far across from them.
"It's a master key," said Alex, extending her hand.
How Alex knew that Kora had no idea.
Kora slammed the keys into Alex's hand as they ran for their lives.
Alex went directly to the cell, shoved a key in the lock, but it wasn't the right one. Kora spun around to face Theresa, flanked by two women, running towards them. Kora would have to hold them off somehow while Alex got this cell open, released prisoners. Which would give them a chance at fighting off Theresa.
"Idea, idea, need an idea," Kora was muttering.
As the women came barreling towards her.
*****
Kora turned away from Alex and ran.
Theresa and crew didn't follow. They stayed the course for Alex, whose back was turned to them. Kora stopped, saw that they weren't even looking at her. Cocking her head to one side, amused that they'd lost interest, she realized she could come back at them.
Kora rammed them from the side as hard as she could. She tripped two of them. The third was just about to reach Alex—too late, Alex flung the prison door open. Two large females bolted out, throwing punches. Alex dodged away, letting the interested parties collide, and ran a few cells down, opened another door.
Kora was with her now, watching her back.
Inmates stood at their prison bars down the stretch, banging on them, shouting, yearning and ready for a riot. The word 'riot' started materializing, and Kora knew that's what they were starting.
It wasn't the best idea, because Authority soldiers would be brought in to gas them, but what else could they do?
"Nothing else we can do," said Alex.
They got ten doors open, then handed the keys off to someone who said they'd open the rest. Prisoners started wrecking each other, then started trying to break down the doors to the front halls. Fists were swinging. Legs were kicking. Shouts punctuated the night.
Alex and Kora stayed together, side to side, back to back, dodging, jumping, ducking. Shoving and throwing kicks from time to time.
Kora had learned to fight from Joe Kingston—the famous boxer himself, until he was assassinated by the Authority. Joe was the most famous boxer on the west side of Ricca. During professional matches, he only used hands, as per the rules. During unofficial matches, he used legs too—had a brutal front kick. Which he had taught Kora.
He'd told her that since she was a female, it would be much more difficult to take on a larger man, or a larger person in general. He'd taught her a front kick that he said could even take him down. It had to be executed with flawless technique. He made her practice it day in and day out. He made her practice it until she beat him in a sparring match, which took her six months. Six months of practicing one kick to the best of her ability made her a bit deadly.
But of course he'd taught her a pretty nasty sidekick as well.
Which she'd honed to nearly as deadly.
Alex and Kora weaved through the rioting crowd. A woman to their left cried out in pain, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a shiv repeatedly entering a body. Looking over, Kora saw blood squirting out everywhere from the woman's body as she collapsed to the floor.
"Watch your back," said Alex.
"I thought you were watching it."
"I am. I was talking to myself."
"I got you."
It wouldn't be a riot without a stabbing.
And then flaming mattresses flew down from the level above.
The place started getting hot fast. Flames went up in the corners of the room, near the main doors that led to the front halls— the only possible path of escape.
"What happens now?" Alex yelled. Had to yell over the noise.
Theresa showed up in front of them, a snark on her face, backlit by a fire.
Before she could say anything, Alex launched herself toward the woman and cannonballed. She hit Theresa's body, but Theresa had been expecting it. She stood her ground, but Kora swooped in behind Alex, landed a front kick right to Theresa's sternum.
Ribs cracked.
Theresa, feet slipping backwards out from under her, fell facedown to the floor. Her nose slammed against the concrete.
Out of commission.
Alex rolled away and Kora caught her hand, pulling her to her feet.
"You like cannonballs," said Kora.
Alex smiled and let out an uproarious laugh, wicked almost.
Three women charged them from different angles. Kora stopped one deadpan—another front kick. Alex ducked under one and threw her over her shoulder. The last one punched Kora in the stomach—hard. Kora keeled over, but Alex tackled the girl to the floor, punched her repeatedly in the face until she was unconscious.
They were near one end of the open center. Surrounded. Sweat soaked their clothes, in part from the physical exertion, in part from the heat of the fires.
Thick grey smoke filled the air.
Kora and Alex slapped their hands together and held. "We did it," shouted Kora. "I don't know what we did. But we did it." Alex smiled back, proud.
Then the Authority soldiers showed up. The glass in the vaulted ceiling broke inward as smoke grenades fell, down and down, landing all around them.
"In case I don't see you again," said Kora to Alex. "Thanks."
"We'll see each other again. There's a reason we met."
"Whatever you say."
Smoke from the grenades, rising, mixing with the already-present smoke.
Shards of glass falling against the concrete.
One particularly large shard fell right into a woman's head. Blood oozed. The woman hit the floor, probably dead. Kora and Alex covered their heads with their arms. After the glass stopped falling, Kora looked up, beginning to cough in the smoke. And then, just as she saw three Authority soldiers rappelling down, she lost consciousness.