"...ninety-nine...one-hundred."
Caleb grunted as he let go of the iron bars in the cell. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he dropped down into a series of push-ups.
"Caleb, you need to take a break," Uncle Dan said watching him with warily.
Caleb ignored his uncle and swiped the sweat off his face. He flipped over to his back and executed several sets of crunches before collapsing on the floor in exhaustion.
"Are you happy now?" Uncle Dan asked.
"Ecstatic," Caleb replied, wincing at the pain.
"So your plan to save Sephora is by exercising yourself to death? Great plan, Caleb," Des called out sarcastically from the back of the cell.
Caleb couldn't take it anymore.
"What else would you have me do, Des? It has been two week since she was taken from us. I promised her that I would get her out, yet here I am, doing the exact same thing I was doing this time last week!"
Caleb took a deep breath trying to reign in his anger.
"I just want to be prepared for any opportunity we may have to get her out of here," he concluded, frustration laced in each word.
Silence descended on the cell.
Caleb got off the floor and started sprinting on the spot.
The last two weeks had been one of the worst in his life. They had spent the whole of the first week looking for ways to get out but with no powers and being so far underground, every plan got shot down. Duke Baxter had really covered all the bases.
Caleb felt a spark of anger at that name.
He could call Duke Baxter a number of things, none of them complimentary, but he was a man of his word. He had kept his promise to Sephora, making sure they were given the best treatment possible. None of them had been subject to any experiments or torture.
Every evening a Hunter would bring a live video of Timmy in his room along with a phone. Uncle Dan would spend most of the time talking to him but would give us a few minutes each.
The group had made a pact not to tell Timmy about Sephora giving herself up for him. They knew it would only make him upset.
"Is that boy working out again?" shouted Bill from the cell down the hall.
"Yep " replied Chris.
"Well, tell him to keep it down," Bill grumbled.
"Oh be quiet, Bill. You don't get abs like his from lying about all the time. That's something you definitely know," sassed Miranda from the other side.
The sound of laughter filled the dungeon.
Caleb couldn't help the smile that broke out across his face .
The only good thing that had happened through these weeks was the bond they had gotten with the other prisoners.
There was nothing like mutual imprisonment that brought people together.
Caleb was just about to shout his reply, when he was interrupted by the sound of several people bounding down the stairs.
"Where is he?" screamed a Hunter.
The dungeon fell silent.
"WHERE IS THE BOY?" repeated the Hunter, banging against several cells.
Nobody responded. This made the Hunter angrier.
"Search every cell in this place." He thrust out his arm in the direction of the cells.
The Hunters immediately did as he said, searching though each cell carefully. The head Hunter came straight to their cell and glared at each of them.
"I know you have the boy. Tell us and no one will be harmed," he said.
Uncle Dan sprung up and grabbed the Hunter through the bars.
"What did you do to my son?" He shouted.
The Hunter pushed Uncle Dan back and brought out a huge flashlight . He turned it on and searched through the cell.
"Sir, the cells are clear " shouted a Hunter.
"Same here," said the head Hunter reluctantly. He glared at them once again before leaving with the other Hunters.
The Hunters had only been gone a few minutes when Luke spoke.
"Timmy, you can come out now," he said.
Timmy instantly became visible. He had a wide smile and his eyes were dancing.
For someone who had been held captive for two weeks you would think he would be a little more distressed . Caleb thought.
"Timmy, how did you get out?" asked Uncle Dan.
"Mike helped me. He gave me this card that opens all the cells too. He said we only have ten minutes so I got to be quick," Timmy replied.
He brought out a sort of key card and waved it against the side of the cell. The cell door swung open and they quickly ran out.
Uncle Dan wrapped Timmy in a huge bear hug before setting him down gently. Timmy looked at each member of the group, obviously happy to be back, but his happiness quickly turned to confusion.
"Where's Sephora?" he said.
Caleb turned away from Timmy. He didn't know what to say to the little boy but luckily Lila saved him from responding.
"Her father took her a while ago." She said, deliberately being vague.
Timmy's face became serious.
"Then we need to get her back." He said.
"We will, Timmy. That's the first thing on our list." Caleb replied .
"Oh please, don't mind us. We're just prisoners here waiting to get out." piped Bill sarcastically.
Caleb turned to the group. There was no way they could leave the prisoners behind, but they couldn't take everyone with them. With a group that large, they would be easy targets.
Caleb relayed this information to the group.
"Yeah, and the upper level will be swarming with Hunters. We won't be able to defend ourselves and protect the prisoners. The younger ones won't be able to keep up." Alex added.
"Only Sephora has the ability to take on that many at a time ." Luke said quietly.
A brief sadness flew through the group.
"So let's get her back." High Trainer Globe said from his cell , "We will split the group into two. Caleb, Chris, Alex, Luke, Des and Uncle Dan will go to the upper levels and get Sephora. Timmy, you will stay with Lila and me to protect the prisoners. Once you have Sephora, come back here and we will all get out. If you're not back in thirty minutes, we will get the prisoners out and come back for you. Now, if someone can get me out of this cell , it will be much appreciated."
Timmy quickly ran to his cell and swiped it open.
High Trainer Globe stepped out and stretched. He saw us staring at him and spoke.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked.
Caleb smiled as his group made their way out of the dungeon. It looked like his opportunity had come earlier than expected.
*****
The group made it to the upper level of the building with no problems . Caleb couldn't hear much movement and assumed it was because of the time . A quick glance at his watch confirmed it was about one in the morning.
"Luke, check how many guards are on duty." instructed UncleDan.
Luke closed his eyes for a second before speaking.
"There are currently fifteen on patrol right now. They are working on two minute rotations. There are extra guards being positioned near an area called 'Testing Laboratory'. I assume that's where Sephora will be." He said.
"What's the plan? If there are extra guards, it will be impossible to get in without drawing extra attention to ourselves." Alex asked.
Caleb thought about this before he got an idea.
"Alex, how many people can you disguise at one time?" He asked.
"I haven't tried more than a three but I guess I could domore." Alex replied.
"Don't worry, three is more than enough." Caleb said.
Caleb heard voices approaching and sprang into action. He grabbed the Hunter closest to him and slammed his fist across his face. The Hunter dropped to the floor unconscious.
Caleb looked up just in time to see the other Hunter reach into his pocket and bring out a gun. The Hunter was about to pull the trigger when his gun flew out of his hand and smashed across his temple.
"Thank you." Caleb said facing Chris.
"No problem." Chris replied, "So what now?"
"Alex, make Uncle Dan and Luke look like these Hunters. The rest of us will act like their prisoners. Hopefully, the guards on duty will believe it and let us in." Caleb answered.
Alex quickly did as Caleb said. Uncle Dan and Luke quickly stripped the Hunters of their uniforms while Des gagged them.
The group moved towards the Testing Laboratory silently.Uncle Dan and Luke did their best to avoid interactions with other Hunters while the rest of the group tried to look depressed.
Once they got to the lab, Uncle Dan nodded at each of the guards and moved past them. They had just made it into the wing when a voice called out from behind them.
"What do you think you're doing, Jeff?" asked a Hunter.
The group froze in fear.
"Mr. Baxter decided he wanted more specimens for the experiments.He wanted a wider range apart from the girl." Uncle Dan replied turning to face the man.
"Huh, well Mr. Baxter didn't schedule their experiments until next week. I will have to clarify this before I let you go on." The Hunter replied bringing out a radio.
Caleb sent a look to Des who gave him a nod in reply.
Des crossed the space between the group and the Hunter and kicked the radio out of his hand. The Hunter pulled his hand back in shock.
Before he could make another move, Des thrust the heel of her palm upwards meeting the Hunter's nose with a sickening crunch. The Hunter flew backwards and hit the doors, sliding to the ground in pain.
"Mark, are you okay?! Say something or we're coming in." a voice came from the other side of the door.
"I'll stay back and hold them off. It will buy you sometime. Go and find Sephora." Des said.
The group turned back and ran down the long hall. They heard the door burst open as they continued on. Caleb knew Des was more than capable of dealing with those men.
Caleb sped up, ignoring the horrors all around him. His focus was solely on Sephora. He glanced into a room filled with scientists and something told him to slow down.
"Caleb, what is it?" asked Uncle Dan.
Caleb went closer to the window and watched as the scientists packed up and left the room, revealing a gaunt, skinny figure.
"Crap." Alex whispered in horror
Sephora was hanging off a metal straps on a vertical operating table. Her whole body shook with each breath she took. She had needle tracks running down her arms and legs.
Sephora's head flopped against her shoulder lifelessly, her eyes dead and unfocused.
Caleb rushed into the room and ripped off the straps from her arms. The other also got to work and broke the restraints on her legs.
Once released, Sephora gasped and crumbled to the ground,seemingly unable to carry her own weight.
Caleb caught her before she hit the floor and gently stroked her hair.
"What have they done?" he whispered emotionally.
A/N: Hi everyone. I hope you liked this chapter. If you did please press the tiny start button right below this. Comment too if you like!
Oh, I have a question for you:
Do you think Jade deserves another chance?