The ominous sound that we all feared echoed as the doctor pointed his gun at me. I stiffened for a second but then laughed gently. Alice shot me a horrified look, while the doctor wavered, just for a second.
I doubted that Doctor Prose would even shoot the gun, much less accurately. I raised my eyebrow at him, daring him, and he clenched the gun even tighter between his hands. "Just let me go, Doctor Prose," I bargained slowly, taking a step forward. "There's no need for anyone to get injured."
"Not on my watch," the Doctor replied. I took another step forward towards him. "Don't take another step or else I'll shoot," he warned.
"Fine. Let us go, and we will be of no more concern to you. No need to worry about us anymore. If you trap me here, I cannot guarantee that there will be no fatalities." Beside me, Alice glared.
"He's bluffing," Alice spat, "He's winded already from breaking a window—his kind wasn't meant for earth's conditions and he has been confined for months."
"Yes," Doctor Prose answered, acknowledging Alice's bold statement with a quick nod, "If you even try to escape, you'll go down."
I shrugged and twitched my foot slightly. Doctor Prose glared at me, and I smirked back. I noticed how his hands shook, his wavering grip following my every move.
I darted upwards, springing towards the ceiling, and recovered in a crouch immediately after. Doctor Prose fired a shot off, which ricocheted into the piles of broken glass, the bullet burying itself in the floor. "You missed!" I declared triumphantly, watching as Doctor Prose glowered and reloaded his gun.
"Are you crazy?" Alice hissed, "Are you trying to get shot?" She kept her eyes trained on Doctor Prose though, not even sparing me a glance.
"Perhaps so," I muttered.
Alice rolled her eyes at my answer. I shrugged, which startled Doctor Prose. His eyes bugged and he shot the linoleum ground. I resisted my laugh at his expression."Are you done making a fool out of yourself?"
Doctor Prose sneered at me, livid. "Are you done trying to get yourself killed? Maybe I will shoot you, seeing as you're so eager to die."
At this, Alice stepped forward, and raised her hands gently. She turned warily towards me, but spoke to the doctor. "Hold your fire, Doctor, we need him—we need to study him." Doctor Prose slowly lowered the gun, and I smirked at him again.
"Are you too scared, Doctor? Can't even go into the room since you're so paralyzed with fear?" I taunted, leaning back on my bare heels.
"That's it!" Doctor Prose pulled the trigger, and I felt a pain blossom in my shoulder. At first I thought it had echoed, only to realize that he had pulled the trigger once again. I fell down onto the ground with a sickening thud. I thought that was echoed, too, until the boots of the wardens surrounded me as they picked me up with their gloved hands.
Black spots began to create a vignette around Alice's angry face. Smiling a bit at her infuriated expression, I drifted off.
***
I woke up to Alice's face again, but this time it was arranged in a calmer expression. "You're awake," she muttered in a monotonous voice.
I groaned. The pain in my arm was unnoticeable, the flesh wound healed over the short time I was asleep to a small pink spot, but the headache battered my skull like a drum. "Atiem, yes," I said and laid my head back down. "Where am I? Tien—what are you doing here?"
"You're in a different room. This one is securely locked and always monitored under surveillance. I'm here to help you escape," I looked around the room, noting the location of the one door and the four cameras. I pierced one with my stare. It stared back, blank and full of apathy.
She laughed, noticing my disgruntled gaze. "I disabled them, and I replaced the feed with a fake video. One that was blurry enough where the real people could be easily mistaken as us. The video will stop in five minutes, and we need to be gone by then. Are you ready?"
"You are helping me escape?" I caught her last words.
"I guess so," Alice shook her head, as if she didn't even believe what she was doing. I grinned at her, and she gave a wan smile back.
I grabbed her hand and sat up. "So you believe me?" Alice's hand flew to the mark under her collarbone.
She hesitated. "Yes," her voice wavered unsurely, but she continued on, gaining confidence as she spoke, "And I have a plan, which you better not botch up. Like you did last time. Did you not see that Dr. Prose was willing to negotiate? He was lowering his gun!"
I scoffed. "As if. He was luring us into a veil of false security."
"Fine," Alice snapped, shaking her head at me. "But don't do anything foolish this time!"
I nodded in response. "I wonder if all of them are as derailed as he is." She muttered under her breath, but I still caught it.
"You insult me. I am Oriehn. We are not insane. That was a test to gauge him." I crossed my arms. "I had it under control. He just caught me off guard."
"Yes, of course." Alice rolled her eyes, and she smiled unsurely, which I joined. My chest felt warm and I trailed off into a content expression, closing my eyes for a brief second against the harsh fluorescent lighting. It was a kind of good feeling to get along and joke about something, but I was surely still treading on broken glass.
"So how about this plan of yours?" I asked, and she leaned in to whisper it.
"All I need to know is where they keep your grounded capsule," Alice said, her words tickling the side of my face. "We'll have to be quick, and you must be able to start it in a matter of seconds if this all goes well."
I nodded. "You forget I am a trained pilot, I can easily do all that. I am Oriehn. But are you used to all of this?" Alice looked nervous, staring down at her heeled shoes. "Perhaps not?"
She scoffed and threw them off, one hitting me squarely on the chest.
"I did track and field in college. And I go for a daily run every afternoon. I'll be fine," Alice dismissed my concern, waving an airy hand. "Remember, I also took acting classes. Please do not be fooled by my words," She whispered, cupping her hand around my ear.
"You can't fool me. But, nevertheless, I will heed your warning. Let us see if you will be good enough to fool everyone."
"Do not doubt me, Taliesin. I am perfectly capable. Shall we proceed?" She asked, putting her blonde hair up into a ponytail.
"We shall."
Alice walked up to the door, rapping on it quickly. "Dr. Prose! Dr. Prose!" Her voice, filled with panic, startled me as I looked to her. It was far more convincing than I had imagined, and perhaps a little unsettling that she could lie so well. "Dr. Prose!" Alice's voice rose in urgency.
"Yes?" I felt rage at the hearing the man's voice. He dared to shoot an Oriehn! If I had my way, he would wish for death. I quickly quelled my thoughts and to focus on Alice.
"I have just noticed! The cameras are down! Please turn them back on, especially since I don't want to be left alone with that vile creature!" Alice's voice held so much disgust and contempt, that even I was nearly fooled for a minute. Had I been unwary of our plan, I would have taken offense.
"What?" I heard Doctor Prose's voice shriek. "Electricians! Take a look into the footage!" After a minute or two, the response was heard.
"It seems to be broken, doctor! Someone must have downed the entire system. It may take a whole hour to fix," someone shouted. I could picture Doctor Prose fuming.
"What will we do, Doctor Prose? I can't stand him, yet I have to stay in the same room. Perhaps you can accompany me, doctor?" Alice wailed. If I strained my ears, I could hear Doctor Prose pacing the room and stuttering.
She discreetly looked to me, and I bared my teeth for effect, snarling. Alice darted up and clutched the door with horror. "Look, doctor! He is dangerous! My life is at stake! I want to be let out, doctor! Find someone else, please!"
"B-but no one else is willing, Ms. Proctor!" The doctor said in a frenzied tone. "You must complete your study on him. We worked out the agreement on the contract of our partnership, remember?" Alice's eyes began to fill with tears and she pressed her body into the corner of the room. She whimpered slightly.
"Doctor, if I must stay in here, could you perhaps give me something to protect myself and scare off his advances? I will quit if given no method of defense!" Alice threatened.
"You can't quit! The contract states our partnership will last a year." The doctor argued.
"It states when there is a life-threatening situation, the partner may leave. I will demand to leave unless you help me. I do not wish to die today, Doctor; if I do, it will be on your hands."
"Fine, fine. But be sure to complete your studies!"
"Oh, thank you! I will, Doctor Prose." As the door opened, Alice embraced the man and took the proffered gun. I quickly slid to the other side of the bed I was chained to, and Alice took aim.
Shots echoed through the small room, ricocheting off of the linoleum floor.
After a few tries, she managed to get the lock off. "Ms. Proctor!" I heard Doctor Prose's voice. "You let him loose! Wardens!"
"I'm so sorry, Doctor Prose! That was an accident, it was supposed to scare him!" She sobbed. "What am I to do, Doctor?" Actual tears leaked out of her widened eyes, and she shook while leaning on the white door.
"Stay put. The wardens will be coming in now!" The door opened just as I leapt off the bed. Alice quickly aimed at the wardens as I ran over. "Ms. Proctor! What are you doing?" Prose bellowed as I pushed a warden out of the way and ran out the door.
Alice followed, and she shot in the direction of the wardens, managing to ward them off for a little while as we ran down the halls. "Directions?" I panted, still not used to the difference in oxygen on Earth. Alice didn't reply, shooting down the hall once more.
"Take a left, and then a right. Three doors down, go down the stairs as quickly as you can!" Alice instructed, and I raced ahead. Opening the door, I ushered her in and blocked the door with my body.
After Alice made her way down to the next flight, I let go and the wardens all tumbled out, skidding on the steps and falling. I raced down to Alice, who was currently aiming at two wardens on the ground floor. As I emerged into the view, they pounced on me, pinning me to the landing. Alice shot aimlessly, hitting a warden's foot as another took his place roughly grabbed my arm.
I easily overtook the injured warden, pushing against the door, and effectively blocking more wardens from entering. The other two foolishly thought they could overpower me, but without their torture devices and chains, I was able to push them away.
"Go, go, go! Out!" Alice screamed, pulling the door to the outside wide open. As we raced across the parking lot, she shot a few bullets near the wardens that were dangerously close. She stumbled, falling on the ground, and her gun skidded towards me.
Recovering it, I shot two of them, hitting the center of each thigh. Holding a hand out to Alice, I pulled her up. She said a breathless 'thank you' and took off running. But not after five steps, her knees buckled and she fell down again. "My ankle," she muttered. "It's twisted!"
I groaned, irritated. Seeing I had no choice, I scooped her up in my arms. Shoving the gun towards, her, I instructed, "Point and shoot it! I don't care where. I'm going to make a run for it!" She nodded, and I sprinted across the grassy lawns, crossing the busy road as cars screeched to a stop around me. I narrowly escaped being hit and killed. The block-up slowed the wardens down a bit.
I roared in anticipation as I neared the capsule, sprinting as fast as my legs would take me. Alice kept shooting. "I hit an arm!" She declared triumphantly. "And a thigh!" I didn't look back.
Two more shots rang off. "I'm empty!" She yelled. I growled in frustration.
"Almost there!" I railed open the door, unceremoniously dumping Alice into the passenger's seat while hurrying over to the controls. My fingers flew over the keys, and the engine began to hum in anticipation.
I jerked my head over to Alice. "I need you to pull that switch," Watching as she lurched forward and forcefully drew it back, inch by inch.
I glanced out the window, "They're coming, Alice!"
The throttle hit the heel of the console, and Alice jerked her hand away as if burnt. I quickly pressed on the gas and we leaped into the air.