Solacium

Ch 34: Blake

"We're here," I said as I brought the car to a stop on the road, still far away from the structure looming in the distance.

"This is the place? You have got to be kidding," Damien said from beside me. His dark eyes were admiring the compound in a mix of awe and disbelief.

"I'm not. This is where they are keeping Vorian, and I'm going to get him out. And you're gonna help."

At my words, Damian whipped his head over to me in shock. "You can't seriously be thinking of breaking into that, just look at all the guards!"

"I never said it would be easy," I said, leaning back into the cool leather of the seat and crossing my arms.

Damian ran his hand down his face in exasperation. "It's suicide, Blake. I've never seen anything as organized as this, at least not in a long time."

"I'll think of something."

"This is a horrible idea," Damian said, his wide eyes searching around the car in fear as if guards would appear beside us any minute.

I let out a breath, allowing my gaze to wander the dry desert valley surrounding us until my eyes landed on a large rock formation a little while away. It was one of many rock formations that littered the area, and until I had a plan, it would make for an adequate place to hide.

"I'll think of something. But first, we need to get out of sight," I said, making Damian mumble a string of curses to himself.

Putting the car back in drive, I turned off the main road. The car shook and jolted as it drove over the rocky desert terrain. Dust curled around the tires as I carefully navigated the car around sporadic groupings of cacti until we reached a large rock, which drove behind and out of sight of the compound in the distance. Once the car was fully behind the rock, I turned off the engine once more and swung open the door.

Stepping out, I was instantly greeted with the unpleasantly hot and dry air of the desert valley. It was mid-afternoon by the time we arrived here, and the sun was high in the sky, bearing down on my heavy layers. Taking off my jacket, the unforgiving sun burned the skin of my bare shoulders barely covered by my black tank top. Shading my face from the bright rays, I walked to the end of the rock where I peered behind the edge to observe the compound.

Beads of sweat began to form across my lip as I watched the compound. I soon spotted a line pair of uniformed guards that patrolled the surrounding barbed wire fence. I let my gaze follow them until they reached the entrance, where they swapped out with another set of guards. I watched the pair of guards leave the fence and walk into the compound as another set took their place patrolling the perimeter.

Hours passed as I watched the guards, only taking breaks to eat and rest my leg which had healed well, but grew sore from standing so long. After watching the guards for a while, I realized they switched off every hour.

The whole situation was almost laughable. I wasn't a military strategist or some skilled personnel to attempt something as lofty as breaking into a military compound, but I wasn't completely helpless. This was familiar to me in a way. It reminded me of the early days of figuring out how to navigate the city after the War. All the days I spent hiding behind cars or in broken-down buildings as I waited for Deviants to pass by. Meanwhile, I observed their routines, learned their patterns, and how to best avoid them. Surely this couldn't be that different. Or at least that's what I told myself.

If my calculations were right, the next guard switch was nearing, and I knew that this may be my only chance to get in. I had to act, and soon.

Taking a steadying breath, I fell back behind the rock once again.