Finding Home - 4

Tires screeched as they shot down the road, now just minutes away from the destination. Sadier messaged Ali, a friend from the academy who Priscilla hadn’t seen since she passed away years ago.

Sadier eased off the gas and let the car coast for several blocks. He pulled up snug to a building and parked.

“We have to go right now,” someone said as Sadier and Priscilla climbed out of the car.

Startled, Priscilla held in a scream and turned to see who was talking.

“Oh, hi again,” I said. “Wait, is she coming in with us?”

“Priscilla, you remember Seth,” Sadier said, stepping out of the car.

“This is a really bad idea bringing her in,” I said. “A really really bad idea.”

“Well, let’s get on with it,” Sadier said.

We hurriedly crept towards the camp which was probably 12 stories tall and several blocks long. We dropped down into a dry gravel moat that was next to the camp. We traveled along the moat until we found a window. We opened the window and we were inside. You may be asking yourself why they left open windows. They have no choice. The windows are in the control of a governing body who keeps some of them open to give us a chance to do exactly what we were doing. They try to make the game fair.

The room was somewhat lit by moonlight but once we got into the hall it was pitch black. Our eyes adjusted after a moment as we sneaked around very cautiously. Camp guards could be anywhere.

A voice came through my radio at very low volume, “K, start climbing. Stairs to your right.”

“Who is that?” Priscilla asked startled again by an unexpected voice.

“It’s Ejay,” Sadier replied. “He’s helping us through this maze.”

We climbed up 6 flights of stairs. Sadier and I suddenly froze thinking we saw a figure in the shadows. Something purple raced through the air. It struck Priscilla on the hip and bounced up into the air. Sadier and I rushed towards it and caught it together with care. The guard who had thrown it went airborne momentarily and then collapsed to the ground. He would not be interfering with us anymore. That’s the rule.

“What was that?” Priscilla asked.

“That was a rocket,” Sadier replied. “You don’t want to get hit with these, but if you do you want to catch it before it hits the ground.

Ejay told us that Saymi was around the next corner, which made our hearts swell a little. This moment was a long time coming for me, and I can’t even imagine for Sadier. He was already reunited with his girlfriend and now the same could be true for his sister as well.

We inched down a hallway of doors; doors to cells, one of which Saymi would be in.

“That’s it,” Ejay said when we came to it.

Sadier walked to the cell door and put his hands on it. Her cell was the first after the corner in the hallway. I realized that there was no wall to one side. It was a balcony. I tell you this now because, unfortunately, it turned out to be relevant.

“Duck into that service room while I figure out how to tell you to unlock it,” Ejay said over the radio.

We obeyed venturing into a large room across the hall from Saymi’s door. We ducked under pipes and around cables locating a good hiding place.

“K, this is a tricky one but I’ll have it in a minute,” Ejay updated.

“Let me show you something,” Sadier turned to Priscilla. “Tap your thigh like this,” he said tapping his thigh. A faintly glowing purple ball appeared in his hand.

Priscilla tapped her thigh curiously but nothing happened. She tapped it again with more conviction and a purple ball bounced to the ground. Sadier picked it up and handed it to her.

“Now put it back,” he said demonstrating. He placed his rocket against his thigh so that it vanished.

She did the same.

“Everyone begins the night with one but you can pick them up from others,” Sadier explained. “I have two now because I picked up the guard’s.”

I was feeling good about our situation having picked up an extra rocket. Actually, Sadier wasn’t the only one with a second in his arsenal. I had picked up Ejay’s on the way to the camp hoping he wouldn’t need it to defend himself. We agreed I needed it more.

“I’ve figured out the key,” Ejay radioed. “A melting knock and three left swipes will get you in, but there’s a couple of guards down the hall right now.”

We waited a long time for the two guards to leave and started to worry that time was running out until they would come to take away Saymi.

“I could slip to the door without being seen and get in,” Sadier suggested.

“Then what?” I asked.

“Then she and I will find a way out of her cell from the inside,” Sadier replied. “Shouldn’t take but a minute to find if there is one.”

“Don’t you think she would have found it herself already,” I said.

“Maybe, but she probably hasn’t been learning like we have,” Sadier said. “She would likely not see it.”

Sadier rose and began to look restless as if he was going to rush out there.

“We could ambush them at the bus,” I suggested.

His body froze, his mind calculating. “We have the same odds taking them on right here when they come to take her,” he said.

“Not with those guards down the hall,” I protested.

We debated, weighing our options.

“I think he’s coming,” Ejay radioed. “A guard just started making his way up on the elevator system.”

Sadier stared at me with desperation in his eyes.

“Go,” I said, because I knew he wanted to.

Sadier crept to the threshold of our room and then dashed to Saymi’s door. He made the gestures on the door, but it didn’t open.

Ejay cursed and slapped his desk. “This one has a delay. It will open in 10 seconds.”

Sadier pressed against the door trying to peer down the hall towards the guards. There were dim lights facing Sadier so that he couldn’t see if the guards had seen him.

A purple rocket slapped quietly off his shoulder. He spun and tipped it up into the air giving him a chance to run it down. He hustled, lunged for it, bobbled it, but dropped it to the ground. He flew up into the air a few feet. I was about to run out and defend him but to our horror, rather than crashing to the ground like usual, he sailed right over the balcony and disappeared.

“They’ll find us here,” I said, “Come with me!” We ran deeper into the large service room and found an exit on the other side. I eased up just a bit right before we exited the room. I looked over my shoulder behind us and saw the door to Saymi’s cell swing open, the 10 seconds past. Inside I saw her sitting against the wall of her cell. Before I could even see her reaction I rounded the corner and lead Priscilla down a staircase.

We ran to where Sadier had fallen hoping that no guard had gotten to him yet. He was laying face down motionless. I rolled him onto his back. He yelled in pain and annoyance.

“Be careful,” Priscilla protested.

“Is it your leg?” I asked.

He just groaned.

“Is it your leg?!” I shouted not even worried about guards anymore.

“Of course it’s not my leg!” he retorted sitting up. “Don’t you think I know how to fall. It’s my shoulder.”

“You don’t need a shoulder to run,” I said. “Let’s intercept them at the bus.”

He was having trouble finding courage and needed a push.

“Get up! Let’s go!” I shouted. I grabbed his good arm and tried to pull him to his feet. He obliged at that point and started working with me.

When I got him to his feet, we started running, Ejay guiding us to the bus. We ran by guards a time or two but kept running hoping they wouldn’t catch us. We descended a staircase now and then and eventually the feeling under my feet told me we had reached the ground level. Ejay guided us to a metal door. I opened it cautiously not knowing what to expect on the other side. A large airplane hangar-like space was before us. There was a big gray bus running in the center of the hangar. We quickly ducked into a closet without being seen. The closet was small and there was much heavy breathing. We kept the door slightly open and watched for Saymi. I gave one of my rockets to Sadier since he had lost both his when he was hit.

“If this goes poorly for us, run for the exit when you’re sure no one is looking,” Sadier instructed Priscilla. “Don’t worry about us. Find Ali. Use your rocket to protect yourself if you need to.”

“But you may need it,” Priscilla protested. “Let me give it to you.”

“No,” Sadier said stronger. “Keep it.”

“If I have a chance to help you, I will,” she said.

We saw a few prisoners loaded into the bus, all girls. Then we saw Saymi being escorted by a guard.

“Let’s wait until he puts her in the bus,” I said.

Sadier heard me but was processing the sight of his sister for the first time in six years. When she disappeared into the bus there was fury in his eyes. We dashed out of the closet rockets in hand. In a panicked reflex the guard threw his rocket at me. I dodged it and in the same motion slung mine at him. It caught him on the hip and bounced to the ground. He went flying a few feet up into the air and came down.

We didn’t realize that another guard had been lingering on the other side until he popped around and landed a rocket on my thigh which I reached for but couldn’t corral. I went down.

Sadier returned fire with his rocket, but the guard reacted and managed to catch it in between his elbow and his side. If you catch someone’s rocket they suffer the effect of the rocket. Sadier flew up into the air and came down hard onto the garage floor. The guard had defeated us both, but maybe he hadn’t completely defeated us yet.

The guard radioed for assistance. He was going to lock Sadier and I up. We were going to miss our chance to free Saymi.

But suddenly a rocket struck the guard right in the center of the chest. Boy, I tell you Priscilla must have been a softball star or something because she certainly stepped up and delivered a bullet.

Priscilla rushed to Sadier hoping to free him, but the driver got to her first. He didn’t have a rocket, but he was a big man and he just scooped her up in his arms. He carried her to the bus and tied her in the back with the other girls.

Then he scurried to the driver’s seat and sped the bus out of the garage taking both Saymi and Priscilla with him.

Though Priscilla gave herself up, she had actually given us a chance. There is a rule to the game I haven’t told you about. Yes, if you overcome someone with a rocket you have power over them, but if the distance between you and them exceeds 100 feet they are freed. This is what happened when the driver sped off. There was no enemy within 100 feet of us and we were free.

There was no hesitation as to our next move. I fabricated a sportscar with my radio and we sped off after the bus.