IT WAS FINALLY TIME. IT WAS TIME THAT JESS AND HER FRIENDS GOT ARRESTED. You heard that right, arrested. Apparently, the sky was the limit to what Aspyn could suggest the lavine's do to save Covia. Jess was getting increasingly uncomfortable as the time passed by.
"Okay," Jess uttered, adjusting the belt around her waist one more time.
"Jess," Leo teased, "When we get arrested, no one is going to care whether or not your belt is velcroed on the right way round. All they're going to do is throw you in some cell with handcuffs."
"Oh, shut up, you." She smacked his arm lightly. He chuckled in response.
"But seriously, Jess. Relax." He said after a moment gazing at her in a pitiful manner. Although she hated pity in general, she enjoyed his attention and continued to fumble with the tangles in her hair.
Scar coughed sarcastically, "You two are something else."
"Why thank you, captain." Jess saluted.
"Complete with a hand motion, wow, Scar. You must be really important." Ellie mocked, nudging Jess softly. Jess winked back before adjusting herself to take a seat in the tightly packed room. The others followed suit. "Aye, Captain." she teased.
"Oh?" Louis said, "Since when did we get promoted to teasing status, and why wasn't I informed."
"The usual." Jess nodded with a wink. She was seconds away from doing just about anything to either alleviated the growing boredom, or the increasing stress multiplying when she wasn't busy being bored. "Find an underwater colony in the middle of a war, decide to help it. Trust your life with not-so-stranger-like strangers over parents in a place where we can actually die and never see Earth again. You know, the usual."
"Sounds just about right."
Jett clears his throat as he strides into the room, he's eyeing the five of them like they've just committed a crime. "Shall we proceed with phase one." he nodded. "Jess, Leo, Scar, take the floor away."
Jess stood up, rubbing her sweaty palms against the tight fabric wrapped around her skin. Her second skin. One that wouldn't be enough to shield her from a knife. It was thin polyester, an easy stretch, easy move type of grab and go idea. But it wasn't armor. "Okay." She said, finally.
This was a risk that gambled their lives, and her necklace.
"Trois," Leo whispered as the three ran into a place they would most likely get caught. Avinians continued their daily lives as per usual while ignoring them, although Jess was sure that once they had ducked behind their soft cottony tents made as barricades, they would be dialing the police.
This was the easiest part: getting caught.
"Glad you learned something in class," Jess muttered as her mind urged her to focus. Leo shot her a look from where he stood.
"At least try to do something useful with this time besides muttering numbers in French." Scar grunted, next. "After all, we're going to have to make it out somehow."
"All we need to do is get the transmitter in. It'll create some white waves that'll distract the connection within the premises." Jess nodded, "Once the soldiers are all in a mess, that's where the others come in to get us out of there, and into Avine's private cellars, where he'll be. Alone."
"How are we even supposed to know if he's alone? For all we know, he'll be surrounding us with guards." Leo spoke. "Again."
"He only lets his trio council in. Currently, one is dead, one is in Covian prison, and one is Madrinay, who'll be staying out of our way."
"Why isn't he helping us, attack him I mean?"
"Beats me." Scar shrugs, "But I suppose his connection with Avine might be useful in the future. Aspyn's playing safe is my best bet. She isn't breaking any useful ties until it's a sure win."
Jess sucked in a breath. She heard it: a squeal. It was short and had almost faded into the background amidst the typical market noise. She stuck her hand out stopping the two boys on her either side from moving. "I hear them."
"Shall we cause some commotion?"
A staged mischevious smile is plastered on Jess' face as she recalls the lines that have been drummed in her head. Just get yourself arrested. "No need," she says loud enough for the Avinians to hear, "I think we'll be just fine." Then she eyes the soldier at the front who, in a hassle is approaching her as quick as possible.
Jess, who happens to be shaking on the inside, confidently strides towards the officer and positions herself so that only he can hear her voice. Her menacing tone precedes. "Try me."
And with that, he's had enough. Almost as quickly as he entered, he whips up a set of handcuffs and tries to trap Jess. She's got to make it easy for them though, but it can't be too obvious. So, she raises the pebbles on the ground and sends it flying in his direction. Leo and Scar have already charged forward and are far enough from her.
Subtly, she unclasps the transmitter from her necklace and tucks it into her belt, while everyone seems to be distracted. While she's in the air, she pauses to think: If she's about to get arrested, her necklace will be taken, smashed, and that's the end for her.
But, if they never got the necklace, then they couldn't trap the lavine's in Covia, or wherever.
Then, she spotted Brea hiding behind a building, and she sighed in relief. It was time to get arrested, but not before transferring the necklace. With her hands, she removes the buckle tightening it to her neck and sends it to the other girl, who shoots her a look of surprise.
All Jess does is nod as she lands back on the ground where an officer waits to put her in handcuffs. She swallows the lump in her throat.
She was never good at drama.
**
The cell is quiet, dark, and murky. It's distraught and quiet. No one is speaking, and no one bothers to start. Except, although she's in the cell alone, she's sure the others are scattered within this area. After all, they must have extra security for the lavines.
She sighed. All devices have been taken off her. The bracelet for sending messages to one another, and all the wristbands she used to make by hand on Earth. Her belt was taken away, too. But it was too late for them, she had already strategically transferred the transmitter to somewhere on her body. And in her hand, she held it now.
"Leo," she whispered, "Scar?"
"It's just the three of us here. We're in the extra security department." Scar says. "The rotational cycle is the problem. We're supposed to wait for them to rotate, but it's been a fantastic five hours. It's dusk outside, and none of them have moved."
"Wait." Jess screeched softly. "I hear shuffling."
"Who can actually see the guards movement from their cell's view?" Leo asks.
"I can." Scar nods. "Jess, they're moving. Press the transmitter when I tell you too."
"Copy."
Suddenly, the main door is opened. Jess squints at the brightness of the light. It's unbearable. Or has she just been in the dark too long? She pushes the thought out of her mind as she peeks out from the identical cylindric bars the cloud her vision.
But instead of a plain sunset as the view from the glass barricades that surround her and her friends on all four sides, she sees a figure, lit up by the soft moonlight beginning to take over. Aspyn.
Jess sends her a cryptic look that reads: soon. But the guards have begun to enter to check that all prisoners are still present before they go off to rotate, so Jess is forced to look away, and tell Aspyn to leave before someone notices her.
The guard passes her cell and doesn't give her more than a glance, and soon enough, the guards file out. They've shut the door, and are beginning to transfer the keys over to a new set of guards.
"Now."
As quick as she can muster, Jess whips out the transmitter and presses the button. All walkie talkies are now disabled for a startling two minutes.
"Now, we just have to get out and knock em' dead."
Somehow, Aspyn is already inside. Apparently, she's studied the entire Avinian territorial premises before even suggesting such an obsolete idea. Jess physically relaxes at the sight of Aspyn. "Get us out of here."
She nods, letting the ring keeping all the keys in place dangle from her finger. Aspyn presses the key onto the lock then twists it. She releases it and moves on to do the same to the others. And just like that, they've all escaped. "Now," she whispers as the four crouch behind the door. "phase two: the fifteen guards."
Then, she knocks the door down and Jess follows behind her. The guards look stricken, some preparing for an attack, a taser, and gun armed onto them, the rest, hitting their walkie-talkies, the ones Jess' transmitter disabled.
Enter Ellie and Brea, who come charging in, Jess doesn't even know how.
Aspyn's voice hovers over them, "They'll take care of them, I want you three to follow me." Jess nods, chasing after an Aspyn who happens to already be turning the corridor and charging up a flight of stairs. As she reaches the top, Louis joins the group, handing the group the items they had to surrender to the guards when getting arrested.
But Jess' necklace is still with Brea.
He smiles radiantly, "Apparently, I'm great at doing all that techy stuff."
Aspyn storms in the next room that the group come across, and mouths 'Avine' to the others. Quietly, she flicks the knob and begins to stalk through the neatly placed belongings. Jess nods to the group as each individually moves quietly throughout the room. There were no signs of movement.
Jess inches her way to the switch, and flips it on, just at everyone aims their weapons in a certain direction. Everyone's weapons are aimed in the wrong way. Why? Avine isn't there. "I thought he would be here. Alone." Aspyn pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Where else would he be."
"There's only one more place." Brea pitches in, quietly, as she joins the others. "It's his room."
Although Jess is tempted to simply march into Avine's room and press the katana against his heart for the sake of every single living Covian, she knew it wasn't just going to be that easy. Instead, she knows that he would be smart.
He was smart enough to trick the Covians for as long as he did, he was smart enough to orchestrate his attacks until he was fully banished. He was smart to gain alliances, and he was smart enough to know when to have his revenge on Luphoria.
He would be smart enough to destroy her, once and for all.
So, she searches the current room for anything she can use against him. A weapon, a poison dart, anything, or at least something. Then, that's when it catches her eye.
It's a photo, framed within a golden plaque. It's tiny, but given that it seems like the only sign of humanity in Avine's council room, she knows it means something to him. But upon a closer look at the photo. She freezes.
Brea peeks at what she's holding. "A family photo." she sighs. "That's Avine, that's me." She points to two figures smiling against the candid beach. There are four people though, Avine stood beside a mesmerizing beauty, while Brea stood beside a younger girl that looked like her sister.
"Avine's original name isn't Avine," Jess whispers.
"Yes," Aspyn nods, "We covered that already. He named it after 'Lavine' which, in Covia, meant hero. He was more like a narcissistic ruler, though."
"Was his name Reynold, by any chance?" Jess asked not understanding the coincidence of the photo. Maybe it was no coincidence. Was it truly meant to be?
Brea's eyes widen at the word, "H-how did you know?"
Jess shook her head, shielding the tears. Then she took her shaky finger and pointed to the girl standing next to Brea, "That's me."
Time had stopped.
She was more than sure. It was the exact same photo that she kept on her desk. Her full family. Jess was flaunting her blue sundress, while Brea, her sister, tried to balance a too-big-for-her yellow hat that belonged to Leslie, their mother.
Whenever her mother would barge into her room, singing Disney songs while completely, and utterly drunk for her own good, she would pause and stare at the photo, and forget she was drunk. For only a moment.
Jess could recognize that photo anywhere.
It was one of the happiest memories of her life.
One step backward,
Two steps forward.