We all congregated in the middle of the cell. Prince pulled out the map of the compound- which luckily didn't get any of the pink dye on it- and handed it to Dante with a pencil. Dante lay it down on the ground and began drawing on it. They all crouched down around the map. Prince motioned for me to crouch down next to him.
"Alright boys- and girl now- it's just another escape. The exception this time is these guards aren't lazy. We don't know how or why but they've become quite aggressive towards us recently so I don't want any screwing around. I'm looking at you, Wings."
Gabriel grinned cheekily. "Fine," he replied mischievously.
Prince took off one of his shoes and chucked it at Gabriel. It whacked him on the forehead, leaving a little red mark. "I'm being serious here; we're not used to alert adversaries. And they sure as hell won't be pleased to find we've got the head's daughter."
Gabriel rubbed the red spot. "Sorry Prince," he mumbled.
"Don't worry about it. So, Dogs is going to go over the plan we have in place. Pinks, if you think you see a better route or if anything we've devised leads us straight into trouble, now would be the time to speak up."
I looked over the map and noticed several markings over certain areas. Arrows branched from the prison block all around the base; some places were crossed out; the gates leading out of the base were shaded and a number of areas were circled.
Dante cleared his throat. "The way I want to go about this is I want us to be out of the enemy's eye for as long as possible. Of course, it's inevitable we'll come across some problems but let's keep it to a minimum. Once we're out of the cell, I propose we head just down this hall and out that window over there."
I got up and walked over to the door, peering through the bars. I noticed the window Dante was referring to and instantly jumped in.
"That won't work," I said.
They all looked over expectantly. "How come?" Dante asked.
I shut my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temples. "If I remember correctly, that window is on the wall that joins with the south fence. The gap in-between is only so big. If you were to drop down there, you'd either get cut up by the barbwire fence or land in the minefield."
Dante nodded. "Okay, so what should we do?"
I looked over at the adjoining cell. "Well, we could open the door to the other cell and get out the window I normally come in through."
He frowned. "Thing is, we're not all headed in the same direction so at least if we were on the South side, we could both take an ideal path."
I looked back out at an opposite cell. "What if some of us went out the East side then? There should be a bigger gap there since that was where the East gate is."
He shrugged. "Alright, that'll work." He pulled out a pencil and crossed out his original line and redirected it through my path.
"So, after we've exited the cell, we split up and escape the prison block through these windows. Wings and Drifter, you will go through the adjacent cell and make your way to the shelters. You are to cause some sort of disturbance there. Since it is full of civilians, it should be enough to draw the attention of any guards in our way. After that, head into the mess hall. According to the map, there's a kitchen in which you can grab what we need to sustain our energy for the next few days."
I interrupted again. "What about the staff in there?"
He snorted. "We've got distractions ready when need be. Anyway, once they've got everything, they'll need to draw the attention of anyone who may be near the store room next to the exercise yard at this time. Do whatever it takes but don't get caught. In fact, as soon as you set off the distraction, go straight to Pinks' old house. Her room should have a window facing the South gate. Wait there until Prince gives the signal. When you see it, double-back to the prison and cross over to the exercise yard. Hide in the shipping container until we get back. That shouldn't be too hard since we'll have the attention of the guards at this time." Dante briefly looked over at me. I nodded, indicating him to continue.
"Prince, Pinks and I will go through one of the East windows and wait until the guards check on the shelters. From there, we head towards the exercise yard. We will wait in the shipping container until the second distraction is in play. Once that's happened, we'll head to the store room and enter through the back door. In there, we'll set up another distraction. That'll give Prince approximately five minutes to infiltrate the office and gather any information he sees fit to take."
I stared. "Why is Prince stealing information?"
Immediately, Prince jumped over the map and pinned me to the floor.
"Prince!" Dante yelled. "Stop it, I'll deal with her in a minute."
Wordlessly, he released me and silkily sat back down in his place. I turned away for a minute to let my heart rate slow. Once I composed myself, I glanced sideways at Dante.
"What will we be doing?"
He grinned. "Our job is to keep all personnel away from the classroom and office area whilst Prince is busy. We get the fun part of the plan."
I laughed weakly. "How will we do that?"
He lazily waved a hand at me. "Well, we can't exactly plan it from here. It requires a bit of spontaneity and quick feet. I'm sure you know this place like the back of your hand so you'll know where and where not to go."
I smiled. I knew more than that.
"Finally, once we've got everything, we'll all meet up on top of the shipping container. We'll jump the fence and you all sure as hell better be ready to run for your lives. Agreed?" Dante finished. We all nodded.
"Alright, so if that's all in order, we have about 15 minutes til we bust out of here. Prepare, stretch or do crap all, whatever you feel is necessary," Prince announced. "And you," he pointed at Dante. "Sort out Pinks. I'm this close." With that, he picked up the map and walked over to the jacket corner.
Dante pulled me aside and leaned against the cell wall. "Rose, you can't question Prince's antics." I groaned. "Look, I thought it was a pretty harmless question. Besides, can't we just leave everyone here alone? We don't have anything except recruits."
He sighed. "I know it's confusing and I know he forced you into this but now that it's happened, please just let Prince be his egotistical self."
I go to respond but no words came out. I cast my eyes to the ground. "Why would he do that to me? What am I supposed to tell-"
Dante's hand shot up and covered my mouth. "Don't mention him. You can't say his name around Prince."
I pushed his hands away. "What's with all the secrets?"
"Look, I'll explain everything once we get out of here. I promise."
I sighed. This seemed like more trouble than it was really worth. "I'll hold you to that," I mumbled.
He smiled. "Thank you, Rose."
I shrugged. "You're doing me a favour anyway; I don't want to have to grow up and fight with the people who killed Stevie."
Dante froze, his eyes hidden by his fringe. "Dante?" He didn't respond. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, reaching up to move his hair. Suddenly, he pulled me forward and I found myself caught up in his warm embrace. I could hear his heart beating in his chest. I reached up and patted him on the back.
When he finally pulled away, I looked up to see he was still crestfallen. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. I clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it," I grinned.
He returned a quarter of the smile I gave him. I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned to find Gabriel holding the bowl of water. "Come on Rose. Or should I say 'Pinks' now?" He sniggered.
I rolled my eyes. "What is it?" I asked flatly.
He tilted the bowl towards me. "Don't you want to see my masterpiece?"
I looked into the bowl and waited for the ripples to cease. Once the surface of the liquid calmed, I gasped. I couldn't believe that was me I was staring at. The pale pink strands of chin length hair were so foreign yet so familiar to me. It were as if the blonde colour it used to bear were the dye and it had finally washed away to reveal its true appearance.
"Gosh Gabriel... it looks great. Thank you," I smiled. He nodded and placed the bowl on one of the benches. Prince cleared his throat and we all turned to face him.
"All set?" He asked openly. When there were no objections, he flicked out my pocket knife and picked the lock of the cell door. The mechanism broke and he pushed the door open.
"Huh," I said. Prince glanced over at me. "I didn't know you could do that."
He grinned. "Learn something every day, right? You can do the next door."
We all exited the space where Gabriel and Elijah moved to the adjacent cell and we moved to the East. Prince chucked the knife at Gabriel who broke the mechanism on his door before chucking it back. Prince nodded at them. The two subordinates sprinted off without a word.
I opened the next cell door with a little difficulty. I then passed the knife back to Prince and he set to work removing the bars from the window. Once he'd finished, he folded up the knife and tucked it into his jacket. I went to ask if I could have it back but decided not to when I remembered what I'd be up against if he somehow found it offensive. Seeing the dustbowl in front of us, I instinctively walked forward and took it in for what would be the last time. I turned and indicated for Prince to lead. He stepped forward and looked down. To my surprise, his face contorted in confusion.
"Say Pinks, any idea why did they put us up so high? I mean, it'd be a lot easier to keep an eye on us if we were on the first floor," Prince asked.
I scratched my chin. "Well, you came from the North-East didn't you? I remember hearing something about disease being prevalent up that way. Maybe they put you up here as a precaution?" I said uncertainly.
Dante butted in. "That'd also explain why they'd keep their distance whilst we were outside in the yard. Well, it's advantageous for us so I'm not complaining," he laughed.
Prince snorted. "How dare they call me diseased..." he muttered darkly. I giggled and he returned to his usual state. He dropped down and hung from the window then made his way safely to the ground. Dante followed after him and I went soon after.
I waited for my eyes to adjust then turned to Dante. He beckoned for me and Prince to follow him. We pressed ourselves against the prison block's wall. Dante held up a hand, indicating for us to stay. The sound of screaming resonated from the shelters. Dante leapt off the wall and sprinted for the shipping container. He dived into it and looked out. Evidently, no one saw him. He signalled for me to follow but Prince had leapt off the wall first and sprinted off into the darkness. Once he was safe inside the container, I waited for my signal before running.
The cold night air filled my lungs and stung my chest. It was exhilarating yet terrifying, carrying out our plan of escape. We had to accept that at any moment, we could be caught. And if we were caught, we'd be dead. Literally.
I slid into the container with them and crouched down so I'd be harder to spot. There was quite a commotion occurring in the shelters which made me wonder what Gabriel and Elijah did.
We waited and waited for them to draw attention to the kitchen but nothing happened. Dante was getting impatient. "What's taking them so long?" He groaned.
My stomach churned. "Maybe something went wrong," I said quietly. He looked at me in dismay. It was obviously not the answer he was hoping for.
Prince cleared his throat. "Well, we better see if we can move on. If we stay here, we're gonna get caught."
I turned to stare at him. "Shouldn't we check on them?" I said in disbelief. Realising what I just did, I wanted to kick myself. Strangely enough, he didn't get mad. He smiled a condescending smile. "Ah Pinks, have faith in my Runners. They know what they're doing."
I gulped then nodded. Suddenly, there was a crash and I saw something being thrown out of the mess hall. I felt Dante sigh in relief next to me. "Pinks, you first," he muttered.
I took a step out of the container and went to run to the attic but something caught my eye. Someone on the second floor of the prison block was running back downstairs with a torch. They knew we were gone. Then I noticed something else. All the buildings were monotone but they were visible. I could see them as if it were daytime. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were illuminated in the moonlight. My entire body was bathed in silver. Anyone who was not under the shadow of something could be seen from where I was standing.
Which meant, anyone looking over at the exercise yard at any point would be able to see me.
I felt a hand grab the back of my jacket and pull me back into the shipping container. It spun me around and dug its fingers into my shoulders. "You idiot! Don't just stand out there! Run!" Prince hissed at me.
I shook my head frantically. "Don't make me go back out there, please," I begged. He dragged me by the collar and pushed me back out into the light. "Run or die Pinks," he growled.
I had no choice. I held my breath and ran as fast as I could across the exercise yard. Tears sprung to my eyes as I ran. I prayed that no one would look over at the yard whilst I was in plain sight. I felt like my legs weren't moving fast enough. I could already hear the bullets flying towards me. I could feel them hit me in the arms, in the chest, in the head.
Then I crashed into the door.
My hands stretched out and seized the handle. Inside, I collapsed on the floor and sobbed. I made it. I was alive. Mere seconds after hitting the ground, the doorway darkened and a shadow slid in behind me, followed shortly by another. Someone shut the door swiftly yet silently. A hand clapped onto my shoulder. "Well done Pinks," Prince muttered. I didn't acknowledge his praise. He continued forward and climbed on top of the shelf that led to the vent.
I remained kneeled on the floor for some time. It was only when Dante cupped my elbow and brought me to my feet that I became aware of my surroundings. "Come on Rose, we've got a job to do," he whispered gently yet firmly.
I swallowed hard and nodded. "Sorry," I sniffed. He gave me a small smile before climbing on top of a shelf to look through one of the small windows. He beckoned for me to join him. Slowly, I pulled myself up next to him.
Once I was sitting in a comfortable position, I peered out the window. By the prison entrance were several guards arguing about what I assumed was our sudden disappearance. A blonde-haired figure approached the group and began shouting orders I couldn't hear. I gulped. It was the woman I once called my mum.
"This isn't good," he muttered.
I raised an eyebrow. "Can you hear them?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No but I think they know where we are. Didn't it look like that lady was pointing at your house?"
I panicked. "That's where-"
"I know. We need to draw their attention, now."
I leapt off the shelf and scanned the dark attic. There had to be something I could use. I ran over to one of the shelves and began ripping lids off boxes. Bowls. Thread. Uniforms beyond repair. I ripped the lid off one of the larger boxes. Inside was several unused fire extinguishers. My face lit up.
"Dante!" I hissed. He jumped down and came up behind me. "Jam the nozzles of these into every window and door, I'm gonna go find some rope." He stared for a bit then took out some of the extinguishers.
I grabbed some rope began slicing them into lengths with a box cutter. Then I tied the ends together so they resembled water flowing out of a shower head. I passed Dante half of the rope ends and took the other half to the opposite side of the room. He raised an eyebrow. I tied the rope over the trigger of the extinguisher, pulled the pin out then indicated it to him. He nodded and copied it onto an extinguisher near him. We worked as fast as we could to secure the rope. I glanced out the window to see the guards only just now heading towards my house. Thank goodness my mum talked a lot.
I positioned the box of civilian clothes in the middle of the attic's floor then dragged the bunched-up end of rope to the ceiling. I checked to see that Dante had climbed into the vent then took a deep breath. With no time to have second thoughts, I let myself fall from the roof.
The lengths all tensed up and the room filled with white foam. I scrambled out of the box and made my way up to the vent. Dante pulled me in and I replaced the grate just as the door to the attic burst open.
We crawled further into the vent until we hit an intersection. "Okay, I'll go right and find Prince and warn him about the alert. You go left and get Gabriel and Elijah out of my house," I said.
He looked at me reluctantly. "No! I mean, I think it'd be better if you went after the others."
I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
He bit his lip. "Well, you know your way around here better. It'd be quicker if you went."
I didn't want to have to face running out in the open again but it looked like I didn't have a choice. Anyway, we didn't have time to waste arguing here. He placed a hand on my back. "You'll be fine. They won't shoot you even if they see you."
I nodded. Just before we split up, he kissed me on the cheek. "Good luck."
I dropped down from the vent outside a classroom then dashed outside. Some of the guards had gone to investigate the attic while the others were searching other buildings. A small group had entered my house. I clenched my fists. I ran around the back and dived under the window sill of my brother's room. I kept low and made it to my window. Without a second thought, I climbed in.
"Gabriel! Elijah! We have to go now!" I hissed. They were both sitting on my bed and didn't move. "Guys-"
"You liar."
Out of the corner of my room appeared a small silhouette. My eyes adjusted and I felt my entire body go cold.
"Alex..." I said but trailed off. He refused to look at me. He had his eyes locked on Gabriel, a gun pointed at his head. I heard the doorknob rattle, people struggling to get in. Before I could do anything, the door burst open. The guards piled in, ready to capture their prisoners.
That was before they saw me.
"Rose?" One of them said. I recognised her. I recognised every single one of them. And I could recognise the disbelief at what they were seeing.
"Take them back to the prison. The traitor included," Alex snarled, the gun still pointed at Gabriel's head. They remained frozen in place.
"Move!" He yelled and they snapped to it. They seized Gabriel and Elijah and shoved their hands behind their backs before carting them out of the room.
Someone grabbed my wrists and I freaked out. I wrestled out of their grip and jumped back. They didn't move. "Alex, I can't..." she said.
He just glared at her. "I don't care how, just get her to the prison block."
I could've sworn everyone in the room flinched. The guard gave me a pleading look. I stared back then dropped my head submissively. Two hands grabbed my shoulders and led me out of the room.
Outside, I saw Prince and Dante struggling with some of the other guards. However, as soon as they saw that three of their friends had already been caught, they stopped. I avoided Dante's gaze. I could feel the defeat in his expression. All the way to the prison, I could hear the mumbling of my former allies.
"It's actually Rose."
"Alex was right."
"I don't believe it. I just cannot believe it."
"What did she do to her hair?"
I kept my head down. I didn't want to look up into the eyes of the people who once trusted me. By accident, I looked straight at a little boy on my left. I stopped. It was the boy from whom I borrowed the rubber spider. He just stared at me, showing no signs of recognition. I felt the guards behind me push me a little to keep moving.
At the gate of the prison yard, I was stopped by who I assumed was a higher-up. I glanced up and found the people that I once considered my parents were staring wordlessly at me. I watched them, waiting for them to hit me or glare at me. However, the silence continued until Alex appeared and stood with them. My dad placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Well done, son," he said. I turned away and let the guards lead me into the block.
Inside, we remained on the first level. I saw Elijah and Prince together in one cell, looking absolutely defeated. A guard stood outside their cell. He looked up at me, shocked. I kept my eyes on the ground. Gabriel and Dante were nowhere to be seen. We turned left and I saw a line of three solitary cells. They opened one of the doors and waited for me to enter. I hesitated. The person holding open the door sighed.
"Rose," she said. I glanced up at her. "Please don't make this worse for us. It's hard enough as it is." She refused to look at me while she spoke. I hung my head and entered the cell. The door shut gently behind me.
It took a while for reality to hit. When it did, I fell to the stony floor and placed my forehead on the wall in front of me. At first, I just shuddered. Then the shudders turned into sobs. It wasn't long until I was nothing but an emotional wreck. The way everyone looked at me, the way Alex looked at me, the way Dante looked at me when he saw we were caught. Their faces were forever burned into my mind.
I couldn't believe it. We failed.