Whumptober 2021

Escape (25)

We'll knock out the guards by the door, then you run. The cameras will have been disabled by Juniper, who will have distracted the men in the room long enough for you to get past. Once they notice, the Citadel will be put on full lockdown. Make sure you have a map. Go to the electrical floor to get a screwdriver and turn off the power. That'll disable the locks. There's a vent on the left-most wall that leads outside. Take that and run. Find the nearest Hero Port and report where you've been. Got it? We're counting on you, Aspen.

Aspen pushed through the thick brush, soaked to the bone. The rain beat down hard on his face and he thought about losing his clothes. They were torn already. It wouldn't make a difference.

"What about you? Why can't you escape when I shut off the power?" Aspen asked, rolling over on the tiled floor.

"It'll be a massacre. In a blind rage they'll abandon their research and kill anyone outside their cells. We'll wait for the Hero Association to rescue the rest of us."

"He went this way!" He knew that voice. Thermal vision. That's how they're still on his tail. Oh, Ben. They had never treated him quite right. He sighed. That didn't matter now. He'd have to lose them.

"Be safe," he wrapped his arms around Devyn and Zero.

"Don't worry about us. We'll see you soon." Approaching footsteps echoed in the hall. It was time.

He ran, the ground getting steeper as he went along. He eventually lost footing and tumbled down the hill.

"They're here." Devyn pulled from his pocket a knife. "Take it. I trust you know how to use it."

He picked himself up and leaned against a tree. Shit. That hurt. He checked his body for puncture wounds. Nothing. Thank god. He started to run but got caught in a bush. The tears in his clothes were caught in the thorns. From a distance he could hear someone yelling.

"Where is he?" A branch was pressing into his cheek. The hero must have lead them off trail. What would the villains expect? Nobody would willingly comply with them. He sighed. Thank you, Ben.

"I-" a gunshot made him jump. The branch cut a fine line down the side of his face. He braced himself and stepped forward, shouldering his way through the branches. He shut his eyes. Thunder shook the forest.

"Sweep the area! He's here somewhere." Covering the cut on his cheek with a scraped, bleeding hand, he pushed on.