♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 26//: It's a prison♕✿~♕✿~

Ahren's POV

I stay hidden from the view of any people in the Rogue Dawn base by hiding behind the large trunks of the clustered trees. Nick was beside me, along with other soldiers, all hiding as well. Opposite of us in the other cluster of trees on the other side of the Rogue Dawn base was another group of soldiers, all waiting for the signal to attack. Four more groups surrounded the sides of the base. There would be no escape for the people inside of the Rogue Dawn base.

Nick turns to me, telling me quietly that he's going to send out the signal soon. I nod in acknowledgment of his words. I watch the people walking around occasionally in the Rogue Dawn base. They were completely oblivious to the storm about to come their way.

Nick sends out the hand signal to the other groups of soldiers opposite us, who go on to send the signal to the other groups. My heart is pounding in anticipation for what is to come, and my hand shake slightly from nerves. No matter how many times I had to kill someone, I would never stop being nervous before hand.

Nick turns to the other soldiers with us and whispers a few words of encouragement to hype them up. And then we all made sure to be in line and ready to march out.

I stood next to the two magnetrons in front who were going to tear open the fence for us to get in. We quickly walked across the clearing to the fence, and our marching steps had quickly garnered the attention of the few people hanging outside. They looked panicked and moved to run outside of the fence and escape but stopped when they noticed the other groups of soldiers marching towards them. They were trapped and they knew it.

The magnetrons ripped open a large hole in the fence with a single flick of their hands. I let fire grow in the palms of my hands as we march into the Rogue Dawn base, where we are met by the members who have regained their courage and have chosen to fight. They had called the other members out, each holding guns. One of them started firing at us immediately, but the magnetrons and I deflected the bullets, either manipulating it or burning it away.

The woman stopped firing at us, realizing it was futile. We continued to march towards them as the other groups of soldiers finally breaches the base. It seemed like time was moving too quickly at the moment because we were already charging at each other with ferocity.

I knocked down a man who charged at me and quickly put up a wall of fire to burn away the barrage of bullets coming at me. I continue to walk forwards as the bullets continue to hit my fire wall, most burning away the moment they touched it.

I gritted my teeth as my arm suddenly burned from the grazing of a bullet. One of the bullets had evaded my fire wall. My skin burned, but I did my best to ignore it, putting more focus into strengthening my wall of fire. Around me, I noticed the other soldiers fighting with the Rogue Dawn members, some falling and others making the Rogue Dawn members fall.

When you have the power over someone else, you need to make the killing blow when the chance is given. You can not hesitate. Lose your emotions when killing because they will kill you if you let doubt creep in. My father's words echo in my head. My opportunity to end the barrage of bullets was right now. I could pinpoint the people shooting at me, and I could kill them right now. Stop them.

But they were people. People who were doing wrong, but people. I wasn't like them. I couldn't just kill and forget. I killed and I remembered. When my father had sent me to the war front back when the war between Norta and the Lakelands were still happening, I had watched in barely concealed horror. I had witnessed murder at a young age, and yet I still couldn't kill easily. But did this humanity make me weak or strong?

Kill them now before they kill you, a voice in my head says. I don't know if it's my father's words or mine. Some of them who are shooting at me are killed by some of my soldiers. The others evade their killing blows, shooting still. Kill them, kill them, you're supposed to be king aren't you? the voice whispers in my head.

I involuntarily shut my eyes as I send a blast of fire at the Rogue Dawn members, hearing their screams of pain mixing in with the other noises in the air. I open my eyes after I stop hearing their screams and immediately turn away from their ruined bodies, burned by my fire.

I would need to be less hesitant the next time. I would have to learn how to kill and forget. I rush back into the battle, forcing myself to empty my mind of anything and to only focus on the robotic movements my hands make as they injure people. I've always known my ability was deadly, but now I was getting a visual representation of how deadly it could be.

I blast a line of fire in front of Rogue Dawn members, making them fall down in pain when they run into it. The soldiers jump upon them, making many of them take their last breath. Two Rogue Dawn members are simply injured by the soldiers, taken away to be questioned later. I feel sorry for them; it would be better if they were dead because questioning would be long and torturous.

I continue to use my ability to make the Rogue Dawn members fall down, letting the soldiers get to them. I didn't try to kill them myself, choosing to leave that to the soldiers who seemed to be able to do so easily.

It was easy to recognize that the Rogue Dawn was painfully losing. The last of the members are taken down by soldiers, and I'm finally given time to rest. My hands fall back to my side, and I look around at the carnage around us. I hadn't realized just how many people were in the Rogue Dawn. Some of the bodies lying on the ground were those of our soldiers. I saw a figure rushing to some of the soldiers' bodies and recognized him as Nick. He seemed to only have suffered from minor cuts, and the only serious wound on his arm was already wrapped up. He set to work trying to heal the soldiers close to death.

I look around to notice the other soldiers grouping up by the Rogue Dawn prisoners they had collected. They smiled at each other, glad that their friends had survived. My eyes roam down to my arms and hands, and I stare with bile in my throat as I stare at the mixture of silver blood and red blood on me. I had killed people today. And even though I had survived, I felt like I would never escape this place from my mind ever again.

But I had to focus on something else right now. Madison was still here, and I needed to get her out now. My legs move on their own, taking me to the closest door. I open it, looking into a small room. She wouldn't be here. I move on to the next door.

I continue to do this, opening doors and looking into the rooms. I was becoming more and more panicked each time I closed the doors. Where could she be?

I open another door, and pause. I'm met by stairs leading down into darkness. This place was hidden. This would be a place Madison could be at.

I turn around and call out Nick's name, gesturing to the stairs. He calls over two more soldiers to come with us and then meets up with me.

We don't exchange much words because we both understood that this could be where Madi is. I lead them, walking down the stairs carefully. Who knew what was down here. I let a ball of fire grow in my hand to light the way as it got darker and darker.

We reach the bottom of the stairs, and I'm met with a series of hallways. A bad feeling goes through me; this place wasn't giving me good vibes.

"Which way should we go?" Nick questions me. I look at both of the hallways in front of us. I didn't know at all which hallway we should take. We couldn't waste much time right now.

"How about we split up? You two," I gesture to the two soldiers, "go that way," I point to the hallway on the right. "And Nick and I will go this way." I point to the hallway on the left.

They nod at the order, moving towards their designated hallway. Nick and I move towards the hallways on the left.

We walk in silence until we reach another fork. There was two hallways leading different ways. I anxiously stared at each hallway, trying to decide which one would lead to Madi. I wanted to get to her as soon as possible.

"How about we go this way?" Nick points to the hallway on the left. I was hesitant to go that way since we had taken the left hallway before but I agree with Nick and we walk that way.

We continue to do this, coming upon multiple forks and having to choose between the left and right hallway. After a while, I hear something.

"Are those voices?" I ask Nick, beckoning for him to listen as well. He does, and nods in agreement. "Yeah, those are," he tells me, suspicion laced in his voice.

The voices were coming from the hallway on the right. We had been about to walk to the hallway on the left but upon realizing where the voices were coming from, we quickly changed our destination and moved towards the hallway on the right. I walked in front, keeping my hand out far to light the way since the lighting was poor here.

We carefully make our way down the hall, the voices morphing into panicked tones. Nick and I walk into a long hallway with bars on the walls by us and people in them.

"What is this?" Nick asks quietly, shock on his face as he looks around.

I do the same, taking in all of the faces staring at us, the tired looks on their faces and their skinny frames. Immediately, I realize what this is.

"It's a prison."

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

You know, one of the weirdest things about writer's block is that it comes at such random times with no warning tbh.

Has school started for you guys?

And also I decided to double update since I had to cut this chapter in half AGAIN. This whole scene is really long, so anyways go on to the next chapter!

Glass_Sword