Episode Seven, Part 5:

The Great Escape

There was a rustle sounding from behind Wynn, heavy breathing, and hurried footsteps. The girl stepped out into the clearing, looking around, the world coming to a stop only when she saw him.

Wynn braced for the bite of her words, for an ultimatum that she would only help Bas if they returned with her. Instead, Sol walked over, assessing the situation - how high up Bas was, what kind of trap was set and if there were anymore around, and how Wynnlow had picked up his bag - looking ready to leave.

She reached into her pocket, pulling out the radio before even a word was said to either boy.

"Dreea, its Riv. Just west of the dams. I've got one of them in Rider's trap. How close are you?"

"I can be there in 5 minutes."

Sol looked up at Bas, noticing the intense look of pain that was beginning to spread across his face. "How long have you been up there?"

"About eight minutes," Wynn replied, a distance in his voice. He was regretful for what he had done to Sol, for betraying her trust and guidance. His shame held him from looking at her.

Sol bit down on her lip, weighing out her options. She brought the radio back up to her lips, a message for Dreea. "Better make it 2."

With that, she ran forward, grabbing onto Wynn's wrist and tugging him behind her. He resisted a little, stopping her before they drifted too far away from Bas, who was panicking as he remained hanging in mid-air.

"Tell me what we're doing," Wynn demanded.

Sol rolled her eyes and pulled him away with her, replying once Wynn seemed to follow. "Don't worry about him; Dreea's going to get him down. I thought we were trying to get your people back." She stated nonchalantly.

Wynn looked over at her, keeping his pace as he ran alongside. "You shouldn't be here, Sol."

"You mean you shouldn't be out here," her voice was a mumble, almost lost beneath her breath.

"Hey," once again, Wynn brought her to a stop. She looked at him now, maintaining eye contact. "I meant not tonight," Wynn told her. "The Decider was important for you. Why did you give that up?"

Sol was hesitant to reply, to be honest with him. She wasn't used to justifying her actions to anyone, especially when it had cost her a tremendous sacrifice. "Because family is important, too. Look, I know you didn't see it, but that matters at Basilisk - and we protect our people. Rule number two," Sol paused, Wynncatching sight of her smile in the half-light, "no one gets left behind."

///

The group were lingering around the fences in the far corners of Rider's perimeters. They had exhausted almost every option and were losing hope that they were ever gonna make it out.

Fabian was kicking around at the wired fence, tugging on the chains, seeing how strong the frames were and whether they could support their weight.

"Fabian, get down, someone will see you," Ares ordered, crouching behind the large shrubs. His voice was tired. He didn't want to argue.

Fabian ignored him, continuing to analyze the fences. "We could climb it."

"Fabian-"

"We need to try everything here."

He sighed, not wanting to dismiss his friend's idea, but knowing already that it wouldn't work. "My arm, dude... I can't climb that thing. Besides, it's like 20 feet high."

Fabian groaned, his desperation turning into frustration. "There has to be some other way around it."

A few moments passed, and then Elara sat up suddenly, her eyes scanning the borders of the fence. "That's it." She muttered, sparking interest from the others. "Another way around it. Fabian, try pulling at the base of it."

Catching onto her idea, Fabian began accompanied by Elara as they began to tug at the bottom of the fence. "Someone's got to have got out of here before," she said. "Or at least tried."

Ares watched on nervously, making sure there was never anyone in sight, all the while trying to figure out an alternative escape route in his mind.

"Hey, over here," Elara called. Everyone turned to face her, now about 100 meters away from when she started, but even from there, they could see it: the fence lifting up in her hands.

All three boys hurried over to her, Fabian helping to pull the wires from the ground. There was an opening, and already a small ditch underneath as if someone had crawled their way out from inside. Without so much as a second thought, Elara laid down on the ground, attempting to crawl her way through the hole.

"Elara!" Ares warned, reaching down and grabbing onto her jacket. "We need to think about this."

"What is there to think about, Ares?" The young girl asked. "We stay here, or we get out now. This is our chance."

"Where are we gonna go? We don't even know what's out there. We can't just head out into the forest and expect to be able to find the others, there could be anything out there, including people from Blood Riders. Secondly, you're about to cut yourself on the fence if you're not careful, and then what will we do? And finally, there's no way Fabian or I could fit through that. There's gotta be something else we can do. Something we haven't thought of yet."

A moment's contemplation and Fabian answered. "Ell and Harlow go under the fence. Hide somewhere in the forest, somewhere where they could see us when we come out. Ares, you and I will head to the gates-"

"The gates? Really, Fabian? You think they're just gonna leave the front gates unmanned when they know their prisoners have got out?"

"No," Fabian replied. "But who in their right mind would actually try it?"

Ares shot back a questioning look, completely lost in his friend's train of thought.

Fabian rolled his eyes, elaborating on his idea. "Of course we wouldn't walk up+ to the gates and expect to just be let out. They'd know this. Meaning they wouldn't assign as many people to the most visible and obvious exit. The guards are more than likely to be in larger numbers searching every area or hideaway in this camp, or somewhere outside on the route to Basilisk. They're gonna be looking for us somewhere we could hide. Somewhere like here, not in the open. I'm saying Elara and Harlow get out here whilst they can, hide out nearby, and we deal with the few guards at the gate."

"Deal?" Ares asked. He was hesitant to receive confirmation. "You mean, like, shoot them?"

Fabian was regretful to say it in front of the two younger ones but knew that he couldn't hide it from them. He nodded. "If we have to."

Ares looked down shamefully at his sister as if to say that he was sorry for even considering it. But Elara looked back, past all the darkness clouding over Ares, and saw her brother who she knew would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

"We'll head over to those bushes over there, stay low, out of sight. We won't move until you find us. I promise."

Ares nodded, having run out of words, and watched as his sister and Harlow crawled their way out of Blood Riders. They disappeared out of sight, and unsure whether it was the trees or the night that covered them first, Ares turned away fearful of what was to come.

///

Lyra stumbled into the room behind Martha, a shove from one of the guardsmen almost sending her to her knees. For the first time in a while, she couldn't hide her fear from anyone, and she felt weak as she stood before them, her vulnerabilities exposed.

In front of them, Rogue Rule appeared - the kind of Blood Riders. He paced around the room, not even offering a hint of acknowledgment to either one of them, his silence causing anxiety to dwell in Lyra.

Minutes passed by, and several pauses later, Rogue finally turned to face the girls. Lyra noticed that there seemed to be a permanent coldness imprinted on his face - an absent and unforgiving void in his eyes.

"Judas," he called over to one of the guards in the corner, not taking his gaze away from the girls.

"Yes, Rogue?" The girl replied, something callous in the way she spoke - as if she was enjoying being witness to their punishment.

"Bring in my son."

Concern grew in Lyra after Rogue's declaration. Despite the fear that burned along with Rogue's presence, she would much rather prefer the conditions he would settle upon than face the decision of his son. She had heard that people would do terrible things to bring honor to Rogue, no one more determined to than his own child.

When he followed Judas back in, Lyra was somewhat confused if she had been thinking of the right person. The son she had heard about was cunning and arrogant and had a very low tolerance for other people. But this boy was young - perhaps a few years older than Lyra, and he stood nervously before his father in fear of rejection. It was only the confirmation of his name that told Lyra it was the same boy.

"Noah," Rogue smirked, placing a firm grip on the boy's shoulder. "You will be in charge of deciding their discipline." He turned to face them both. "Judas, tell Noah of their violations."

"Failure to follow instructions given to them by breaking visitation rules of the prisoners - their family." She explained. "Failure to put Riders before own emotions leading to one of our guardsmen being shot. Thankfully it was only a stim-gun, but Lyra knew that... Didn't you?" She shot a wicked glare towards Lyra, smiling as she continued on, enjoying the trial she inflicted upon the two. "Because of their actions, the location of our captives from the Bunker is currently unknown. And they took a kid with them."

"My brother," Lyra muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me?" Judas spat, the disrespect evident on her face.

"I said 'that kid' is my brother."

Rogue watched onward at the feud, somewhat impressed by Lyra's fearlessness to challenge the authority.

"You think you can talk to me like tha-"

"Enough, Judas." Rogue interrupted. "Noah can take it from here. You've been dismissed, thank you."

Lyra shot back a cocky half-smile towards the girl. In a huff, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

All attention was now focused on Noah. He took a few moments registering the faults that had been listed, eyes glazing back and forth between both girls.

"An ultimatum." He broke his silence, stepping closer to them. Rogue watched on from his place behind. "You return with your people from the Bunker, or," he tensed up, almost seeming to choke on his words, struggling to keep up his act in front of his father.

"Or?" Rogue pushed.

"Execution."

From beside her, Martha gulped. The first of her words came out, soaked in fear. "What if we just don't come back?"

Noah laughed a little. It felt forced, but it was still evident that he meant it. "You think we won't find you?" He asked. "If you have any courage, you'll return, and we'll kill you. If you don't, we'll find you," he lowered his voice, leaning in close, "and then we'll kill you."

///

There was a snapping sound from somewhere nearby, and the indistinct blur of whispering. Elara pulled Harlow as close to her as she could manage, covering his mouth with her hand. People had passed by already, and she forgot that she was out there on her way to freedom, and instead shivered against the cold roots of the tree, fearing every sound over someone discovering them.

But a voice called out. "Ell?" It was quiet, but she would recognize the voice anywhere.

She jumped to her feet, all fear melting away in Ares' voice, his arms suddenly around her. "You made it out." She murmured into him. "I was so afraid."

As Ares pulled away, silent, Elara caught sight of the distant look in her brother eyes. And her skin felt why he drifted away: his hands soaked in red, a shade now splattered across his clothes, and a quiver in the way he stood. Something happened that couldn't be undone. 

Seven // Part Five