Episode Six, Part 4:
Stoic

Bas pulled Wynn over to the fencing on the edge of the camp, imposing the feeling of imprisonment circling his chest, onto Wynn. There was desperation that mixed with the dark brown of his pupils, a wide-eyed fear that Wynn couldn't look away from.

"Please," Bas murmured. "Please. It isn't supposed to be like this."

The break in his voice was all it took for Wynn to cave in. It was like standing before a reflection of his past self: weak, hopeless, afraid - a part of himself that Wynn didn't want to go back to.

He took a sharp gulp, a waver in his voice, almost a doubt. But then he nodded in agreement with Bas. "We should leave tonight. With the fire going on, everyone's distracted. That way, Sol is less likely to catch us."

"Sol?"

"Riverly," Wynn corrected himself. He forgot that only he was the one who called her that.

Bas nodded and looked to Wynn expectantly as if he was the one who should have had everything figured out. But it wasn't his fault Bas felt that way. Wynn closed his eyes, breathing in deeply as he tried to figure out what they were going to do.

He knew it was a stupid idea, and that the training Sol had given him wouldn't be enough if they faced anyone else out there, but the desire and longing for their family was a force stronger than any fear the two of them could have. A force even stronger than death.

"Meet me at the tunnel in twenty. The one Ares and I left through. I'll get us some more bags."

"Anything you need me to get?"

Wynn shook his head. "Just try and stay out of sight."

///

The boy stood up, a groan escaping his lips and he leaned his head against the cold, metal bars. The ice temperature was a shock to him, flinching at the initial contact before relaxing back against the coolness.

He looked down at his hands, his inner wrists red and cut dry from all the tugging left behind from his attempts to free himself. The handcuffs wouldn't budge, and they had only been removed a few times a day for brief intervals, but now it was time. He had decided that when they unlocked them again, he would make his run for it.

"Cut it out, Ares," a voice from behind him drew his attention.

Ares turned around to face Fabian, lying on the bare, wooden slate on the opposite side of their cell.

"You know they're not coming off. You're just wasting your energy," he explained.

"I'm sorry, but I can't just sit around and do nothing whilst we're all locked up in here. This might be easy for you to just lay around, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to get out. MaReya would expect the same from you."

At the mention of his sister's, Fabian shot up from his position, lunging over to where Ares stood. "Don't you dare say her name," he warned Ares. "You've got your sister right there," he motioned to the cell next to theirs where Elara was watching on at the confrontation, "this is different for us."

"Is it?" Ares challenged, arguing back with as much rage. "Because I haven't got my brothers around."

Behind them, Elara fell to her knees, weakened by her brother's words, the constant reminder of their separation making her sick. There hadn't been a single day in her life where she had not been with Wynn or Quill, until now.

Ares screwed his eyes shut, a deep regret sinking in at having pierced his sister's heart again. He moved away from Fabian and wandered over to the other set of bars that separated Elara from them. He reached his hands out, still joined, but squeezing them through the broken bars to her cell.

Elara smiled softly. Keeping her eyes down, she took hold of Ares's hands, exhaling deeply. At least she wasn't completely alone. At least, in a selfish relief, there was someone else to share her misery with.

Their bond sparked something within Ares. An idea. A way out. He squeezed her hands.

"Ell, I need you to do something for me."

She looked across at him. "What?"

Ares looked over his shoulder, a miraculous smile on his face as he turned to Fabian. "I think I know how to get away. I think I figure it out."

"What is it?" Elara pushed, sitting up straighter, leaning closer so she didn't miss her brother's words.

Ares looked down to the broken bar between them; it started by his waist but didn't quite reach the ground. Too small for anyone to get through, but not for them to reach. He bent down, starting low, he pushed his arms forward, then slowly raised them up. Now, the bar rested between his body and the middle of his handcuffs.

"Fabian, move," Ares grunted.

Fabian did so and stood to the side of the cell, watching in confusion with Elara, until he understood what he was doing. Ares continued to pull backward, the restraint causing shock waves throughout his body. He groaned out in pain but he never stopped.

Suddenly, the metal of Ares' handcuffs gave in, splitting in two. It sent him flying to the other side of their space, Ares landing on the floor with a giant thud. Once helping him up, Fabian hurried over to do the same to himself, but Ares called out, stopping him.

"No! Someone has to keep their's on."

Fabian was frustrated, realizing that both Ares and Elara were now looking at him. "What? Why? Just spit it out, what's your plan here, Ares."

He bit down on his lip. No. There was no time to be doubting this. "When Lyra comes back, I need you to hold her, like this," he explained as he moved in front of Fabian and lifted his joined hands around his neck so his back was against his chest.

Ares pulled away to see the recognition on Fabian's face. "She won't be able to get away. But you have to do it fast, and you have to come from behind. When she goes to unlock my cuffs, that's when you do it. Then she'll be stuck and I get Elara out."

Fabian nodded. "Then what?"

"Then we get her to take us to my Mom and Harlow."

Fabian sighed. "She won't do that-"

"She won't have a choice," Ares explained. "If you pull your hands back, it'll choke her. She'll give in eventually."

"Woah, Ares, I'm not killing Lyra. Like it or not right now, she's family."

"I didn't say to kill her, you idiot. Just to scare her into helping us. Besides, seeing as she's so precious to the people here, I doubt they'd risk letting her get hurt. They'd rather lose us than her."

Fabian shot a puzzled look his way. "How do you know all this Ares?"

There was no easy way for him to explain it. "When I was at Basilisk, and waiting for Wynn to wake up, one of their people explained it to me. Why there's a war between the two clans..."

"Go on," Elara encouraged. Ares had almost forgotten she was listening.

He sighed. "Do you remember the stories of the ground? What it was like prior to going to the Bunker? Why our parents make the decision to hide?" 

Both nodded.

"Well, Blood Riders are the same as the antagonists in all those stories. They're the bad guys. And we need to get out." 

Six // Part Six

It isn't supposed to be like this.