Alric POV
The hallway became indistinct as Liora led us ahead, with her grip firm on Elina's hand.
"Where are we headed to?" I asked, looking over my shoulder. The distant cry for help and the rhythmic explosion made it clear that whoever had breached the facility were closing in on us.
"To a secret exit," Liora responded, her voice now laced with concern.
"What's going on, Liora?" Elina asked, her face now terrified as she looked up at her.
Before Liora could respond, I cut in. "The main family." The words came out colder than I intended, but the urgency felt too much for me.
My eyes met Liora's and for a brief moment, her expression wavered. She didn't need to say it out loud-I knew the answer already. But she did anyway. "Yes," she responded, her voice now calm. "They've got wind of what's going on here"
The main family. The reason they had us here. The reason why we children had been subjected to experiments for as long as we could remember. We were merely tools for the Branch family in whatever they had going on.
"Are we going to be okay?" Elina asked, her voice now barely above a whisper.
"Yes," Liora responded with a smile, her voice now calmer. "I'll make sure you two make it out of here alive, even if it costs me mine." This time, her voice sounded more serious.
I knew Liora treated us differently from the other kids, but I never really put much thought into why. But this time, I couldn't help but wonder why she did so.
We soon reached the corner that led to the hallway toward the Garden and the laboratory, where I had my first routine check earlier this morning. The sounds of the battle had now faded into muffled noises and distant explosions.
Then we turned the corner.
The hallway that once felt cold and sterile was now filled with wreckage. Bodies-too many to count-filled the floor. Children and doctors. They were broken in every way imaginable. Some were pierced through with ice shards, and others with metal spikes. Some were burnt beyond recognition, while others had been cut in half, their bloods spilled all over the walls.
The sight of blood and the dead bodies left me sick to my stomach and the same could be said for Elina and Liora. "They've breached here," Liora said, her expression now more cautious. Liora's grip tightened on Elina's hand. "We need to keep moving."
We reached the entrance to the Garden, and it was the same. The Garden I had just been to earlier today—the place where the children in this facility came when they wanted to escape the cold, sterile reach of the doctors—was now littered with dead bodies: bodies of children. They had met the same fate as the others in the hallway.
At that moment, I felt a burst of anger. Why us? What did we do to deserve this horrific life? We were the victims here, and yet we were the ones paying for it—the crimes of the Branch family.
We hurried through the Garden, our minds still clinging to the horrors we had just seen. Liora kept leading the way, her hand firmly gripping Elina's, who followed with trembling steps.
At the far end of the garden, we came to a stop before a wall. It looked like any other wall in the facility-sturdy and plain.
Liora let go of Elina's hand and stepped forward, pressing her right palm flat against the wall. She closed her eyes and a faint glow of lavender light emitted from her hand as she sent a pulse of mana into the wall.
The wall gleamed faintly, then it vanished immediately, leaving nothing but empty air in its place. Beyond the illusion was what seemed to be a dark cave.
"An illusion?" I muttered, staring at the space where the wall had been moments ago.
"Yes," Liora said as she turned to me. "I built this exit to get you two out of this facility."
I stopped in my tracks, my mind trying to process what she had just said. Liora had built this cave? And for us? What was going on? But then a pressing question hit me- Who exactly was Liora? Did she know this facility was going to get attacked? And how exactly was Elina and I connected to all of this?
I took a quick glance at her, trying to make sense of the answers I didn't have.
Before I could form another question, Elina's voice cut through my thoughts.
"What?" Elina asked, her expression filled with confusion.
Liora's gaze shifted between Elina and I, her face softening as she knelt In front of Elina. "Nothing you need to worry about…for now," she said, her voice gentle. "I'll explain everything, but for now, let's focus on getting out of here safely. We're almost there."
She was right. We needed to get somewhere safe and I knew deep down that she meant us no harm. I held Elina's hand and gave a nod to Liora.
Liora conjured a fire from her palm, and we made our way into the cave.
***
We continued walking through the cave, the silence only broken by the sound of our footsteps echoing. I glanced at Liora, my mind still spinning with questions I hadn't had the chance to voice. I had to know more. What was she keeping from us?
Without giving it another thought, I broke the silence.
"You can use magic" I said, my voice steady.
Liora turned to face me but quickly shifted her gaze forward. She remained silent for a brief moment but she answered.
"Yes. But I'm sure that's not what you're most curious about at the moment."
Taking a glance at her, I finally brought myself to ask the question that had been at the top of my list. "Who are you really?"
Again, Liora remained silent, and the only sound that could be heard from the cave was the echo of our footsteps. After a minute, she broke the silence.
"Who am I? Hm," Liora said with a quiet hum, her words trailing off. "Hmm… I guess if I were to put it simply, I'm just a woman repaying her debts to her saviors."
Saviors? I thought, glancing at Elina, who wore the same confused expression as I did. What did it have to do with us? More and more questions flashed through my mind, but I knew I had to take them one at a time, so I asked my next question.
"Who are your saviors, and what does that have to do with building a cave for our escape?" I said, my voice almost laced with frustration.
I had thought she would take her time to respond like she did with the others, but her reply was almost swift.
"My saviors are your parents," she responded with a smile on her face.