When A Life Is Lost (NaNoWriMo 2013)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

She woke up the next morning early. Well, she couldn't tell exactly what the time was, but she knew it was early as the sun was just starting to rise in the sky, from what she could see from the barred window in her cell.

Breakfast was a stale bread roll and a cup of water, which was placed into her cell and removed exactly five minutes later, whether or not she had finished. Even the bread that she was still holding in her hands was torn away.

Yes, it was stale, but it was still food. She ignored her complaining stomach and leant against the wall which she had grown accustomed to sitting against - the one that she knew Malus was on the other side of. She'd ignored the bed, preferring to sit against the wall - she felt safer that way.

She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep, but she still felt almost rested. Her energy was low - product of little sleep and little food - but she still knew that she could fly away if she needed to - maybe even use her abilities. She hoped that wouldn't be necessary - she knew that she wouldn't be able to fly away if she had to use them.

She sighed, waiting for lunch and when she would be able to see Malus again. She'd acknowledged that she liked him - maybe even more than that - but the fact that it wasn't the first time that she'd been with him unnerved her slightly.

She had had a lot of time to think in the cell - it was the only thing that she could do between meals. It seemed that the prisoners had lunch together, but were given measly rations for dinner and breakfast. They gave a lot of food at lunch though, probably aiming to keep the prisoners happier.

Lunch came quickly. Malus and Ania exited at the same time again, and they smiled at each other. This time there was only a single guard - they seemed to trust them more due to their behaviour the day before.

They walked them through the courtyard, and Ania saw Malus casually look around, but she knew that he was looking for a way out. The only viable option seemed to be up, but they had to get rid of the guards first. They would shoot them before they got high enough, and Malus wouldn't leave Ania behind.

Ania looked around as well, counting the guards around the courtyard. One. Two. Three. Four...Five. The five guards dotted around the courtyard looked bored, and some were even chatting happily to the prisoners. She knew, however, that they would shoot if anyone tried to escape. She and Malus walked into the cafeteria and grabbed their food, sitting in the same place as before. The man and woman before (who had told them that their names were Lucas and Arria) were absent that time, and Ania almost felt sad - it was interesting the way they talked about prison life.

They'd been in the prison for three years, after being accused of fraud. They met whilst at the prison, but found that both had been involved in the same business. It was strange.

Ania sighed, spinning her fork and cutting her food into even smaller pieces.

"Eat," Malus urged her, "You'll need your strength."

The hopeful tone in Malus's voice made her look up, seeing a huge smile appear on his face.

"You have a plan?" she asked quietly, looking around to see whether any guard was near. One came and walked towards them, looking at her suspiciously for a moment.

Malus nodded slightly, trying to appear as subtle as possible, but the guard started to come over. He winced and made a face, but his face reverted to a neutral impression by the time the guard came over. Now that the guard was closer, Ania could tell it was a woman, but she looked just as tough as the men.

"Yes?" Malus asked her, smiling slightly.

"The cafeteria is closing," she told them, pointing around. They looked around, not realising that a lot of the people had left, "I am here to take you to your cell."

"Can we stay in the courtyard?" Ania asked quietly, her eyes begging, "I need some fresh air."

The guard hesitated for a moment, gesturing for them to follow her. They did so quickly, leaving their trays on the table behind them. She walked them out of the doors onto the courtyard. After an order to stay where they were, she walked over to another guard. She returned a few minutes later.

"You can stay here," she said, before a warning, "But don't try anything."

They nodded and smiled at her, before wandering over to a bench that was empty. There was currently a football game going on, with piles of cloth serving as makeshift goalposts.

Malus and Ania sat as far as they could from the game, not wanting to interrupt the game, or get hit in the face with the ball.

Ania sighed, slumping down on the table.

"Tired?" Malus asked, laughing for the first time in days.

"I couldn't sleep very well."

"Are you good for energy?" Malus asked quietly, crouching down to hide his speech more. Ania nodded, not wanting to say anything about it. She squeezed Malus's hand for a moment, before sitting up straighter and closing her eyes.

"How many guards are there?" she murmured her question, keeping her eyes closed.

"Six, now." He replied, obviously knowing what she planned to do. She had to work quickly - the guards would notice her sitting there with her eyes closed and would think it odd. Luckily, they didn't know what she wanting to do.

She focused herself, thinking about the guards' uniform first of all. She thought about what the guards looked like and what they held. She focused her energy and everything became silent. If she opened her eyes now, she knew that everyone would be frozen for a few seconds, before becoming unfrozen. She had to work quickly. She tried to remember where the guards were standing and snapped her eyes open.

True to what she thought, Malus was sitting frozen in front of her, his head turned away from her. She focused quickly on five of the guards, but the sixth one was hidden from view. It was too late to rectify though, as time snapped forward.

In an instant, all but one guard collapsed into silent piles, dropping their weapons in the process. The remaining guard and the prisoners crowded around various bodies, whispering and poking them to see if they would wake up. Ania knew that they wouldn't wake up for at least three hours - which she knew from experience.

Ania pulled a shell-shocked Malus from the bench and moved them towards more open air. The remaining guard caught her eye, and he stepped back in shock, his eyes widening. She knew in that instant that he knew that it was her that knocked out the guards.

He went for his tranquiliser gun, but Ania quickly used her ability to knock it out of his hand and break in half. He stared at her in shock for a moment, before pulling out his walkie-talkie and starting to talk quickly.

She panicked, snapping out her wings and shooting into the air. She waited for Malus for a second before flying off after Malus. She hoped that he knew the way to Alykana's house - but he should do. She sighed, flying smoothly behind him.

At least they were safe. For now at least.