MISSION MOONLARK, kotlc

33

"..... fifteen minutes," the guard finished firmly. "And don't even think about any funny business!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Sophie promised, trying to mask her excitement with a familiar dull tone. A week since Keefe had "betrayed" them had passed- and although she was sleep-deprived, sore, starving, and half dead with exhaustion, dehydration, and isolation, she somehow had enough energy to repress a smile as soon as the door shut.

Sophie forced a few bites of the stale mac and cheese- so disgusting that it stuck to the tray when tipped upside-down - and grabbed the cup of brown-tinted water swimming with all sorts of disgusting bacteria. Of course. The Neverseen certainly wasn't rushing to get her gourmet delicacies- in fact, Sophie was pretty certain they were trying to make her imprisonment as tortuous as possible without killing her.

She glanced wearily at the security camera, catching a glimpse at its intricate mechanism. Thanks to a few tips from Dex, she knew just where to hit it to send the feed blank- which would undoubtedly be hard. She was still handcuffed. Under different circumstances, she would've found a way to disguise a fake body of some sort to throw off the guards momentarily, but the Neverseen had been careful to deprive her of any resources. She'd have to be quick. Quiet.

Water trickled silently into the rusty, molded vent which was just large enough to fit her body into. Sophie risked a glimpse: it was frail enough that she could pry it off easily.

Fifteen minutes. Probably twelve, thanks to all her mental double-checking and paranoid preparation. And she doubted she had that much time either. As soon as the security feed went to static, the alarms would sound, and the guards would be swarming.

She grabbed the cup between both her palms and pretended to take a sip... then smashed the glass, sending the shards sailing and hitting the security camera. Sophie rushed to the door, shoving the interrogation table against the wall and prying off the padlock, which would hopefully make it a hundred times harder for them to get in.

The alarm started sounding. Heart pounding, she tugged the vent off and slipped inside. It definitely wasn't the most hygienic process- the pipes were filled with mold and other dead things that Sophie shivered when she thought about. The door handle jiggled- somebody was trying to open it from the other side.

Her waist had just passed through. Sophie squished herself farther down until she was up to her neck. Panicked shouting sounded outside.

"I almost got it!" a muffled voice announced angrily, as the door practically vibrated.

With a final gasp of fresh air, Sophie squashed her head below ground level, fastened the rusting vent back, and twisted the rusting nail at top speed. Just as the nail gave a final squeak and the vent fully reattached itself, the door burst open, sending the guard flying as he tripped over the desk and tumbled into the wall.

Sophie wished she could crawl away, but she was worried about making noise. She tried not to breathe.

"Where is she?" a furious voice demanded. Sophie peeked out the vent. A cloaked figure was darting around the room, lifting up the rubble and searching for clues.

"I- I don't know, sir!" another voice stammered nervously. Sophie recognized it as the guard who locked the door before her stretch breaks. "I told her fifteen minutes, locked it like I usually did-"

"Well she obviously got out!" the first voice shouted angrily. He whipped a finger towards the door. "You, you, and you! Get backup! I want every single hall, room, and capsule in this facility searched! No one leaves here, do you hear me? No one."

"Yes sir!" chorused the agents, sounding frightened as they scrambled to the door, tripping over one another to escape the room.

Sophie bit her lip and began to shimmy down the pipe. So far, it was only heading down, but Sophie could faintly see where it curved down to take a turn. Her feet hit the bottom a bit too loudly.

"Sir!" the second voice cried. "Sir, I heard something! Check the vent!"

"The vent!" the first figure muttered a few colorful words. "Of course, you imbecile! Why didn't you think of it earlier?"

"But sir, shouldn't you have-"

"Bah! Check the vent already!" the first voice said impatiently.

Her heart speeding away again, Sophie dove into the tunnel, not caring if she was making too much noise. A mouse scampered past.

Idea.

Sophie cupped the tiny creature in her hand and sent it scampering up the tunnel, managing to army-crawl a bit more as the Neverseen agent hastily unscrewed the vent.

"Sir, I- GAH!"

The mouse scrambled forward in fright, clutching the enemy agent in the nose. He screamed, and the vent dropped back into place as he crawled away frantically.

"It was a mouse, sir! A mouse!"

"Screw this," the first voice cursed. "Out! Out! Scan the perimeter-"

The door closed, and Sophie finally let herself breathe a sigh of relief.

More creatures scampered in the dark. Mold and water dripped off the sides of the wall. It stank of things Sophie couldn't find words to describe.

Amazing. Sophie thought. Full speed ahead.